LGYH 06

You Said We Were Going to Your House, So Why Are We Going to the Imperial Palace?

Episode 6

I had a dream.

The North, where I had spent over a year going through hell, appeared in my dream.

In that place, where monsters invaded several times a day and the stench of blood and pain swept over everything, Dana was assigned to medical duties.

Calling it “medical work” made it sound more important than it really was. The doctors were responsible for the actual treatment.

Dana’s job was to wash bloodstained towels and change the patients’ bandages.

As usual, Dana was on her way to throw away the completely worn-out bandages when a black smoke suddenly approached her.

It was thick, acrid smoke, as if a fire had broken out.

Strangely, however, Dana wasn’t afraid of it.

Instead, she felt at ease and found herself smiling.

The smoke asked her,

‘Why are you smiling?’

‘Just because.’

‘Where are you going?’

‘To dispose of the bloodstained bandages.’

‘…….’

Before she could move, a curt voice came from behind her.

‘……Be careful.’

At those words, Dana burst out laughing.

Then, without looking ahead, her foot caught on a stone.

Huh…… what?

She was just about to hit her forehead against the ground.

“Gasp!”

Startled, Dana barely managed to wake up from her dream.

She had sat up so forcefully that the blanket covering her slipped softly onto the floor.

“Are you all right?”

At the sudden voice, Dana flinched.

When she looked to the side, Edwin was staring at her worriedly.

‘Ah, right. I was working overtime.’

Once she understood the situation, her fear subsided.

Edwin gently cupped her face with both hands.

“Looks like you had a nightmare.”

He examined her face here and there, asking if she was all right.

Dana had noticed it before, but Edwin had a way of suddenly making people flustered.

‘You’re way too close……!’

Without any warning, he would bring his handsome face right up to her.

“I’m fine, so don’t worry.”

Dana forced herself to push his shoulders away.

Even then, Edwin didn’t seem reassured. He brushed her tangled hair back and gently stroked the area around her back.

Dana blinked.

‘Does he have a lot of younger siblings at home? Why is he so affectionate?’

Since Edwin’s expression was so serious as he examined her, Dana told him about her dream.

“It was nothing. I dreamed I was greeting some black smoke and got so distracted that I tripped.”

“……Black smoke?”

“Yeah. I suddenly remembered working in a medical facility in an area where monsters appeared……”

“…….”

After hearing about the dream, Edwin let out a small laugh.

“It wasn’t a nightmare, then.”

“Huh?”

“It was a good dream.”

His face looked strangely excited as he said it.

Dana also smiled gently.

“That’s right. A good memory I’ll never forget for the rest of my life.”

“…….”

Edwin was silent for a moment.

A memory she would never forget……

It felt as though a warm spring breeze had blown through his heart.

It was a soft yet overwhelming and bittersweet feeling.

The red eyes gazing at Dana darkened.

The thirst he felt for her became more intense than ever.

“Oh my goodness, did you do all of this by yourself?”

At that moment, Dana’s clear voice cleansed his mind.

Edwin tightly closed his eyes and opened them again.

A moment later, he wore the same gentle smile as though nothing had happened.

“Yes. Somehow.”

“What should I do? I feel bad. I just slept.”

Dana sincerely apologized to Edwin.

Edwin casually resumed organizing the documents.

“I actually liked it.”

“Liked what?”

Being able to look at your face as much as I wanted.

Edwin swallowed those words and smiled.

“I liked being able to learn the work.”

What an enthusiastic newcomer.

Dana nodded.

“We’re going home, right? Let’s leave together.”

He turned off the magical lights.

Inside the pitch-black office, Dana groped along the wall.

Then warmth touched the back of her hand.

In the darkness, where nothing could be seen, Edwin’s fingers gently brushed over the back of her hand.

“Take my hand.”

His large hand gently took hers.

The sudden touch felt awkward and ticklish.

In the quiet, silent office, the only thing she could vividly feel was Edwin’s body heat.

Edwin led the way and slowly made his way out of the office.

Thanks to him, Dana was able to leave work with ease as well.

“……”

“……”

Until they left the Department of Magic and headed toward the side gate of the gardens, neither of them said a word.

Dana kept sneaking glances at Edwin.

‘Why isn’t he letting go of my hand?’

Unlike the office, the outside was softly illuminated.

A cluster of stars glittered across the pitch-black night sky.

The magical lights would continue illuminating the path as they passed through the gardens and all the way to the mansion.

“Um, Edwin……? I think you can let go of my hand now……”

“Is that so? It’s still dark.”

With those words, Edwin gently released her hand.

Dana didn’t notice the disappointment spreading across his face.

After they had walked for quite a while, a question arose in Edwin’s mind.

‘Where on earth is the carriage?’

There was no carriage coming to pick Dana up.

It was dangerous for a noble young lady to be wandering around alone late at night.

Since she said she worked overtime every day, he had naturally assumed that her family would send a carriage for her……

‘Aren’t they neglecting their daughter too much?’

Edwin became angry at Dana’s parents, whom he had never even seen.

He swallowed his anger and decided to carefully ask Dana.

There was always the possibility that he had jumped to conclusions.

‘But how should I ask?’

Although Edwin was a member of the imperial family, he had absolutely no talent for speaking indirectly.

He had never really considered the other person’s position in the first place.

‘What are your parents doing that they don’t even send a carriage?’ How about that?

No. Too aggressive.

‘Do you like walking?’ How about this?

No. That might sound sarcastic.

As Edwin struggled with how to phrase his question for the first time in his life, Dana spoke up.

They had reached a fork in the road.

“I walk from here to my mansion. What about you, Edwin?”

If their paths were different, it meant she was suggesting that they part ways here.

So she really does walk home.

Edwin’s face hardened.

He blamed himself for not secretly assigning a guard to her.

Should I send her a carriage instead?

He hurriedly erased the dark expression from his face.

“Our homes are in the same direction.”

“Really? Then we can go together whenever we work overtime!”

Dana looked at him with a bright smile.

Together?

The word sank deep into Edwin’s heart.

‘Walking together every night wouldn’t be so bad.’

His plans for guards and carriages disappeared into the distance.

Meanwhile, Dana……

‘He must be of a similar social status to me.’

She had learned one more thing about Edwin.

The higher-ranking a noble was, the closer their residence tended to be to the Imperial Palace.

Naturally, lower-ranking nobles like Dana’s family usually lived farther away from the palace, gathered together in areas at a greater distance.

And yet Edwin had accompanied her all the way to her mansion.

“Is your house around here too?”

“Yes. I have to go farther in.”

Edwin pointed beyond the road.

Dana felt relieved at his words.

She had been worried that the kind new employee might have gone out of his way to escort her home.

“Then I’ll go in. Sleep well and see you tomorrow!”

“Sleep well.”

Dana waved and entered the mansion.

Edwin watched her back and murmured quietly.

“Sleep well, Dana.”

The next morning, at dawn.

Edwin, who needed very little sleep, woke up early as usual.

After getting out of bed in the Imperial Prince’s Palace and finishing his swordsmanship training, he immediately opened a cookbook.

“……”

Even after looking through hundreds of recipes, he wasn’t satisfied.

Every dish seemed incapable of holding a candle to Dana’s cooking.

‘I should ask the head chef.’

Edwin was the kind of person who acted as soon as he had an idea.

His confident strides soon brought him to the Imperial Palace kitchen.

When he flung open the door, the startled head chef inhaled sharply.

“Hic-hello!”

Edwin paid no attention to the ridiculous greeting.

He immediately asked him a question.

“Something simple, elegant, and delicious.”

“……”

The head chef quickly racked his brain.

“How about a fresh omelet……?”

At those words, Edwin rolled up his sleeves.

He then silently cooked according to the head chef’s instructions and cast a warming spell over it.

He didn’t forget fresh apple juice, either.

Thinking of Dana happily munching away at her meal cleared his mind.

With the packed lunch in hand, Edwin entered the Department of Magic and hurried toward the Potion Management Division.

He wanted to see Dana Hartwin as soon as possible.

Just before he entered the office, Dana came out into the hallway.

She was with her colleague, Kira.

Edwin was about to call out to Dana with a smile on his face.

That was, until he heard what Kira said.

“Dana, there’s a man I want to introduce you to.”

At those words, the air surrounding Edwin turned cold.