***
“Oh my gosh…”
It was none other than Runa.
“What is the meaning of all this?!”
The tray in her hands fell to the ground, spilling bandages and medicine all over the floor.
She had looked all over the place to find Sez and treat her wounds, worried about her after the incident earlier.
Never in a million years did she imagine that she would see this mess.
It was ridiculous, shocking even.
She was shocked just by seeing the fight, let alone the fact that Rayton was beating the hell out of Bern.
He was the crown prince.
His mother, Yuria also held tremendous power and held the favor of the emperor.
That was why no one in the palace could control the brat known as Bern.
Runa had no idea how Rayton would deal with the aftermath of this.
However, the most surprising thing was that Sez, the fragile princess, who used to tremble at the mere sound of someone yelling, was biting Bern like a rabid dog.
“Princess Sez!”
Runa dashed forward to pull Sez back.
The sudden interruption put a stop to most of the mayhem, but Rayton couldn’t care less.
He kept whacking Bern’s already bloody cheek over and over again.
“What are you all doing?
Stop him, right now!”
A couple from Bern’s gang pulled the two apart as Lilien yelled hysterically.
Rayton continued to glare at Bern’s gang with his blood-red eyes.
The fight could restart at any moment.
“Y-Your Royal Highnesses!
Stop, stop right now.”
One thing was sure in Runa’s mind, she had to prevent any further violence.
Runa pressed on with a trembling voice.
“Go…
go back to your quarters and treat your wounds, Your Highnesses.
Hurry.”
The maid’s eyes were locked on Bern.
She knew he was the alpha of the gang.
Runa had to take care of him first to end the situation.
“Hold my hand, Your Royal Highness.
I’ll- Aaagh!”
Poor Runa couldn’t even finish her sentence.
Bern jerked up and pushed Runa to the ground.
“….”
Standing there, Bern shot a death glare at Rayton, who didn’t back down either.
They looked at each other with an almost chilling, murderous intent.
Sez joined the staring contest and stood behind Rayton, staring at Bern with her big blue eyes.
‘You started it.
We were just minding our own business and you started everything!’
“Damn trash…”
“Filthy blah blah blah… dirty blah blah blah…”
Bern mumbled some cuss words before turning around and leaving the library.
His minions, plus Lilien, followed him out.
They didn’t quietly though, as Lilien spat and boys left swearing at them like Bern had.
Soon enough, only Rayton, Sez, and Runa remained in the library.
“Y-Your Royal Highness…
wha-what…?”
Runa, finally letting her guard down, patted Sez’s back with a trembling hand.
It hadn’t even been more than a few hours since the morning, when Yerna had practically beaten Sez to death.
She was seriously battered even before all of this mayhem, and now… she looked like she was about to die.
Her messy hair was like a bundle of straw, and her dress was torn and ragged.
The same could be said for her face as well, which was swollen and cut.
Her nose was still bleeding, blood dripping down from the cloth plugged into her nostrils, making her look like a bad painting of red and blue.
But at this rate, Runa would be the one to pass out first.
She was so dumbfounded she couldn’t even speak properly.
Her jaw had dropped and her mouth was leaking unintelligible sounds.
“Runa, I’m fine.
I really am.”
The words were meant to be reassuring, but the problem was, they didn’t seem at all credible given the state she was in.
Sez turned her head and looked up at Rayton quietly.
Sez herself was quite a mess, but she thought she wouldn’t look worse than Rayton.
At least the only place stained with blood was his hands, his face was still perfectly intact.
‘Did he dodge everything?
He’s quite a good fighter, I’ll give him that.’
Sez wasted her energy on such useless thoughts yet again.
All of a sudden Rayton looked back at Sez.
His face was as blank as an empty piece of paper.
Sez stared vacantly back at her brother, too.
She’d avoid making eye contact with him on any other day, but not right now.
Seeing Rayton beating Bern mercilessly didn’t scare her.
She even felt like she’d developed some kind of bond with him, like they were battle buddies of some sort.
That’s why Sez smiled innocently up at Rayton.
Rayton’s lips twitched as if he was trying to say something.
Suddenly, Runa grabbed Sez’s shoulder and pulled her back.
“……”
Runa looked at Rayton fearfully, hiding Sez behind her back.
It wasn’t due to ill will, just a reflex that everyone in the palace seemed to share.
Rayton clenched his jaw and turned around, walking away.
“R-Ray…
brother…”
Sez murmured quietly, still standing behind Runa.
She thought his figure disappearing off into the distance looked somewhat sad, and lonely.
Sez’s eyes found his hands dangling in mid-air, covered in scabs and dry blood.
The princess glanced around, looking for the medical supplies that Runa had brought.
“Your Royal Highness…?”
“Hold on.”
Oh, there it was.
Sez picked up a bandage that was still rolling around on the floor.
She held it tight before scuttling towards Rayton.
“Brother!”
Sez caught up with him easily as Rayton stopped striding onward.
“You’re bleeding.”
Sez pointed at Rayton’s hand.
Rayton just stared back at her silently.
Sez acted bravely after hesitating for a moment, grabbing Rayton’s bloody right hand.
“It might get worse if not treated.”
Sez began to wrap the bandage around her brother’s hand.
All was good, except for one thing: she had no idea how to apply a bandage properly.
‘…Is this the right way?
Ugh, I don’t know.
I’ll just wrap it up, literally.’
In the end, Sez wasted a whole roll of bandages making his hand look mummified.
Rayton grimaced slightly and spoke in a low tone.
“…Blood.”
“Huh?”
“I said it’s not my blood.”
“Ah…”
‘Oh, really?
Could have told me a bit earlier…’ Sez just nodded, not letting her thoughts slip out of her mind.
“……”
Rayton squinted, his eyes locked on Sez.
Confused by his actions, Sez only realized a bit later on that he was looking at her nose.
It seemed the raggedy piece of cloth had finally given in.
Sez felt the warm liquid flowing out of her nose and down her chin.
She could taste the saltiness on her lips.
“Ah, that happened earlier.
My mother hit the wrong spot….”
Sez paused as she spoke.
She had lied that she was late because she had overslept, yet she thoughtlessly confessed just like this.
Rayton didn’t seem to be particularly moved by her admission.
It was like he knew already.
“Well, anyway…
strangely, it won’t stop.
It should’ve stopped by now…”
“Wipe off your blood,” Rayton told expressionlessly.
“Don’t worry about others and just wipe off your own blood.”
‘You shouldn’t be mean to at least someone who’s worrying you…’ Sez looked a little sulky before blocking the bottom of her nose with her sleeve.
“Anyway, thank you for teaching me Kazarkish today, brother.
Really!”
“….”
“Of course, I know it’s mediocre in your standard, but I’ll do my best.
Okay?”
Instead of answering, Rayton whirled around and began to walk away.
He was so fast that Sez couldn’t even think of chasing him this time.
‘Maybe it’s because he’s got long legs…?’
Sez, watching Rayton get smaller and smaller as he stalked away, shouted out.
“You’ll come to the library tomorrow, right?”
Of course, there was no response.
But Sez continued on anyway.
“Tomorrow – I’ll be waiting for you!”
Sez, who had made a hand trumpet to blare out her words, exhaled.
Sez didn’t know if she had succeeded in winning her brother’s favor, but…
she felt relieved somehow.
She had also suffered a lot because of Bern, so when she thought of him being hit relentlessly by Rayton, she felt even better.
‘Besides, it’s not just Rayton!
I did my part, too.
My teeth were shaking.
Well, that is not important for right now, and…’
Soon enough, the corners of Sez’s mouth raised slightly.
Rayton had helped her when she was snatched up by Bern.
Of course, it was Rayton, he was probably only provoked by Bern saying they looked alike, but it was the first time had someone helped her and the first time someone had taken her side.
Maybe that was why Sez felt great.
Her original plan was to gain the favor of Rayton but it looked like it’d worked the other way around, as Rayton had grown on her.
‘Well, let’s not overthink it and just enjoy this feeling.’
Shrugging her shoulders, Sez walked down the quiet hallway back to Runa.
Runa, whose face was still pale, spoke.
“Your Highness, oh my…
What the hell is going on…?”
Sez patted Runa’s shoulders and then asked, “But Runa, will he come tomorrow?”
Runa’s face turned even paler at the question, but Sez didn’t care.