0&1 Ch 10.5

“Edward!” 

I pulled my hands away from my eyes. My eyes were fine. Joffrey’s eyes were unscathed.

The blurry vision caused by the pressure of my hands slowly cleared.

“It’s okay, Edward. Look at me.”
“… Your Highness, you’re bleeding!”
“Edward.”

I gripped Edward’s face with both hands. When I made him look straight at me, his eyes focused on me. His expression twisted. He looked like a child who was too scared to cry, searching for his parents.

But Edward didn’t cry. He just stood there, pale as a ghost.

I thought the pounding sound was Joffrey’s heartbeat, but I couldn’t tell if it came from within Edward.

But it didn’t matter whose heart was pounding. I just wanted Edward to calm down.

“Look. I’m fine, aren’t I?”

Edward’s eyes trembled. Something was flowing down my cheek. The numb, aching area was stimulated and began to sting.

“Prince Joffrey, it’s blood. Blood is flowing,” Grey said.

That can’t be. 

I wiped my cheek with the back of my hand. The back of my hand was red.

It was true.

I couldn’t touch Edward with my bloody hand. I tried to keep my distance, but Edward grabbed my hand with his trembling fingers.

“Does it hurt?”
“I’m fine.”
“I didn’t mean to.”
“I know.”

Edward moved his lips. “You can make the same wound on my face.”

“Don’t be silly.”
“To Her Majesty…”
“I won’t tell her. You don’t tell her either. Grey, you won’t, will you?”

Grey let go of my arm. My legs gave way. It seemed that I hadn’t been standing on my own until now.

Grey caught my swaying body again. “Call the physician.”

“Later. Let’s go back to the palace.”

“You’re bleeding!” Grey seemed frustrated. As if he thought I would change my mind if I knew the situation, he grabbed my wrist and showed me the back of my hand.

Look, your blood.

My wrist shook.

“I know.”
“You don’t like getting hurt.”
“Is there someone who likes that?”

“You’ve changed so much. You’re not the same person I knew.” Grey was annoyed. My heart was pounding, and I wished he hadn’t said that.

“I’ll call a doctor.” When I obediently agreed, Grey became irritated again for some reason.

“Don’t just go along with me.” 

Did he just want to be irritated with Joffrey?

“Take Edward with you. I’ll clean this up.”
“Take care of yourself, Your Highness. Someone else can clean up.”
“Then will you do it?”

I had to destroy the evidence. I couldn’t hide the fact that I was hurt, but I could hide the fact that I had been with Edward.

“I’ll do it, so you can go.” Grey got angry.

I thought he would say, ‘Why should I?’

This wasn’t the Grey I knew. Not that I knew him very well.

“Thanks for hanging out with me today, Edward. You were a big help. Don’t worry, it’s not your fault I got hurt.”

I said to Edward one last time. It was a mistake anyone could have made. If anyone was to blame, it was 99 percent my fault. The remaining 1 percent was Edward’s wooden sword.

Edward bowed his head and didn’t answer.

I signaled to Grey to take care of Edward and stopped the bleeding on my face with my hand. It looked like I had a cut under my eye. It was flowing with blood, which was strange.

How did I get cut when I was hit with a wooden sword? Joffrey must have delicate skin.

This was no time for such escapist thoughts.

My hand was still throbbing suspiciously. Would I be able to continue my sword training?

Sir Baumkuchen would be shocked if I told him. He would ask why I did something like sparring on my own.

Or maybe not. I remembered Sir Baumkuchen’s giggling laughter.

He might find it funny.

But he might react differently if he saw my injury.

The real problem was the Queen. What should I do?

When Sir Baumkuchen saw my face during class, he looked shocked. Dot had covered my cheek with cotton pads and tape, so anyone would have thought it was serious.

Every courtier I passed had the same reaction as Sir Baumkuchen.

My attendants were speculating about how my face had ended up like that. The most likely hypothesis was that I had been kicked by a horse, and the second was that I had been bitten by a horse.

Did I make an enemy of a horse? I wanted to tell them that it had nothing to do with that, but I couldn’t as they were talking behind my back.

Why are the attendants talking about this in the hallway? Do they want me to hear them?

“… Your Highness, I’m glad you’re motivated, but you overdid it.“ Sir Baumkuchen was misunderstanding. He thought I had injured myself while training for the hunt because I was eager to show off my skills.

“It’s not as serious as it looks.”
“Yes. It looks like you were hit by a carriage. Did the doctor treat it like this?”
“No, I just had Dot treat it for me.”
“What was so urgent?”
“Your class, of course.”
“Are you looking forward to my class that much?”

I had no response. Sir Baumkuchen had probably never been called weak-hearted before.

Isn’t it basic for students to not be late for class? I can’t say I was a model student, but I was never late for class.

Sir Baumkuchen was in a good mood and asked, “May I check the wound?”

No need to ruin his mood. I closed my eyes and let him examine my face.

He removed the tape and cotton wool one by one. When the thick lump on my face disappeared, I felt much better.

The scab stuck to the cotton wool and came off. My skin felt cool and the pain subsided.

“It looks like a cut, but it’s not a deep wound. The bleeding has stopped and it should heal in a few days.”
“Then I don’t need to call a doctor?”
“What are you saying? Doctors are there to do their job.”
“But if I show it to a doctor, the Queen will find out.”

“You were planning to hide it?” Sir Baumkuchen’s eyes widened.

At that moment, Dot, who had reluctantly followed us to class, discovered our misdeed. “Your Highness! Why are you unwrapping the bandage! You can’t expose the wound like that; it won’t heal!”

”Sir Baumkuchen is the expert. He said it’s fine.”

“Really?” Dot looked at Sir Baumkuchen.

He replied, “I didn’t say it was fine. I just said there was no need to cover it up like that.”
“See, Dot?”
“Yes, sir. I’ll treat it with medical tape.”

I meant it wasn’t my fault for exposing the wound.

Dot took some medical tape out of his pocket and cut a small piece. He stuck the tape on my cheek.

When I tried to touch my cheek, Dot said, “Don’t touch it!” and took out a mirror and placed it in front of me.

There was white bandage tape under my eyes. It looked like something a character in a comic book would wear on their nose after getting into a fight.

In an instant, my appearance changed from that of a young nobleman to that of a mischievous child.

Moreover, the wound didn’t look like much at all.

“I suppose we’ll have to tell the Queen?”

“Of course.” Sir Baumkuchen said it as if it were obvious.

Since even he said that, I guess I should tell her.

Honestly, the Queen was hard to deal with. I knew she was a scary person and not a good person, but she loved Joffrey.

I didn’t think her way was right, but she was showing him affection and attention.

I didn’t want to cause unnecessary worry.

I touched my sore right wrist. It was bandaged, but it was still a problem.

In fact, it was the biggest problem. If I couldn’t hold a pen, I couldn’t take notes.

“Sir, would it be alright to end class early today?”
“Of course. You’re in no condition for lessons anyway.”
“Dot, if we leave now, will we be on time for the Queen’s tea time?”
“I’ll check, Your Highness.”

Sir Baumkuchen smiled happily. He seemed pleased that I was going to take responsibility for my actions. He was a good person, but also a strange one. He disliked the Queen, yet he liked that Joffrey was kind to her.

I asked the stablehand for permission and borrowed a horse. I wanted to show her I was capable and reassure her.

The Queen liked it when Joffrey did something well.

The stablehand brought me a gentle horse. I could ride it well enough to gallop. There were no obstacles nearby, and I had to keep my speed down.

The Queen’s tea time took place in a pavilion overlooking the lake. The white pillars, made of some kind of marble, shone brightly, and the thin curtains stretched between them like spider webs billowed in the wind.

In the late afternoon sun, the Queen sat with her maids.