I Like Another Man, Not the Male Lead - Chapter 54

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 54

 

Consciousness slowly returned.

 

The first thing I felt was warmth. Something soft and warm was wrapped around me. I slowly opened my eyes. My vision was blurry at first, then gradually became clearer.

 

It was a cave. I could hear the sound of water dripping from the ceiling. The air was damp and cold. But warmth was enveloping me.

 

When I moved my head slightly, pain shot through me. My whole body ached. As if I had fallen from somewhere…

 

Ah, that’s right.

 

The cliff.

 

Tangled memories were returning like ink spreading on wet paper. Why on earth was I in the forest… I couldn’t understand it.

 

I hurriedly tried to sit up. Or rather, I tried to. But my body was wrapped in something.

 

I slowly looked down.

 

It was a coat with the Imperial Emblem embroidered in silver thread on the chest. Reina’s memories recognized it at a glance. It was Caesar’s. Caesar’s black coat was wrapped around me.

 

“Are you alright?”

 

A low, quiet voice reached me. I turned my head toward the sound.

 

Caesar was sitting with his back to the cave entrance, building a campfire. He had gathered small branches to start the fire. Caesar’s silver hair glowed red in the firelight.

 

“C… Caesar Prince?”

 

My voice was hoarse. My throat hurt.

 

Caesar looked up. Golden eyes gazed at me. In those eyes… there was relief.

 

Caesar tried to stand but swayed. My heart sank.

 

“Your Highness, did you injure your leg?”

 

One side of Caesar’s pants was torn, and red blood was seeping through the gap.

 

“I’m fine.”

 

“You don’t look fine!”

 

Ignoring the coat that fell onto my legs, I sat up. Since my legs still had no strength, I dragged myself toward Caesar.

 

“Don’t move.”

 

Caesar, reacting somewhat slowly, grasped my shoulder. Gently but firmly. He stopped me and sat down beside me.

 

“Your body isn’t fully recovered yet. Since you fell from the cliff… you need to recover slowly.”

 

I fell from the cliff?

 

My memory of that wasn’t complete either. I continued speaking in a trembling voice.

 

“But Your Highness is injured.”

 

“…It’s a minor wound.”

 

“It doesn’t look minor.”

 

I pointed at Caesar’s leg. Blood kept flowing out. It was hard to tell whether his pants were wet from blood or water.

 

“I must have gotten scraped by a branch when falling. But really, you don’t need to worry. A Sword Master’s body is different from ordinary people.”

 

Different how? Does becoming a Sword Master turn your body into steel or something? No matter how well-trained, it’s still a human body. You can’t just ignore injuries.

 

“You can’t just leave it. It could get infected.”

 

“Sword Masters have excellent recovery abilities. Something like this…”

 

“Even so!”

 

My voice rose. Caesar looked at me in surprise.

 

For a moment, silence flowed. I realized I had spoken too loudly.

 

“I’m sorry. I was just… worried.”

 

“…You’re worried about me.”

 

I lifted my head. Caesar was looking at me. Complex emotions were mixed in those golden eyes.

 

“Of course. Your Highness saved me.”

 

The memory of Caesar saving me when I was about to become food for wolves was clearly etched in my mind. It seemed like there was another knight there too. It was frustrating that my memory was so hazy.

 

And it felt a little uncomfortable. Wasn’t that understandable? We had such a complicated relationship. It was a strange form of relationship where whenever one of us approached, the other would push away. And in the midst of all that, this man had saved my life.

 

No, this man had risked his life to save me.

 

But why?

 

His changed attitude still didn’t make sense to me.

 

But still, the fact that I was grateful was true.

 

I set aside other emotions and conveyed my gratitude.

 

“I’m truly grateful.”

 

Caesar didn’t answer. He just stared at the campfire. The flames painted his face red. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

 

Only after a long while did Caesar turn to look at me. Our gazes met. The redness of the flames flickered between us.

 

“I only did what was natural.”

 

Caesar answered hurriedly and quickly averted his gaze. He stared at the fire again.

 

During that time, my tangled memories gradually became organized.

 

I had felt dizzy while drinking tea at the tea party, and my memory was hazy from that point on. And the only thing I had drunk was the tea the Empress had poured for me.

 

“The tea…”

 

“Tea?”

 

“The tea Her Imperial Majesty gave me. After drinking that… something was strange.”

 

“You’re saying you drank tea that my mother gave you?”

 

“Yes. Her Imperial Majesty said I had to drink that tea… But after drinking that tea repeatedly, my head became heavy, my vision blurred… and I walked into the forest, but I don’t know why I did that.”

 

Caesar’s face hardened.

 

“…It could have been a drug.”

 

“What?”

 

“Someone might have intentionally tried to… harm you.”

 

Caesar’s voice turned coldly serious.

 

“The wolves’ behavior was strange too.”

 

“It seemed like someone was controlling them, didn’t it?”

 

I continued Caesar’s words. Caesar looked at me with surprised eyes.

 

“Do you remember?”

 

“Vaguely. I heard something like a whistle sound. I think I… walked following that sound.”

 

I frowned. My memory wasn’t clear. But I definitely heard it. The place in my memory kept shifting from home to forest, but only that sharp sound remained vividly in my mind.

 

“A whistle. I definitely heard that sound too. There’s definitely a connection.”

 

Caesar’s eyes sharpened as he clenched his fist tightly.

 

“Come to think of it, where are we? How long was I unconscious?”

 

I looked around. The cave was deeper than I had thought. Faint light was coming in from the entrance.

 

“It’s a cave by the riverside. You were swept away by the current, and I steered us into this direction.”

 

Caesar explained.

 

“And it’s dawn now. The sun will rise soon.”

 

“Then I need to go back quickly. My family will be worried….”

 

I tried to stand up. But my body swayed. Ah. I’m still not normal.

 

“Be careful!”

 

Caesar quickly caught me. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

 

I froze in panic as Caesar suddenly came close. Caesar was excessively close. His body heat felt so vividly hot. His heartbeat was also thunderously loud. No, is this my heartbeat? Thump, thump, thump.

 

“Ah, I’m sorry….”

 

I tried to hastily pull away, but Caesar didn’t let me go.

 

“You need to be careful. Don’t overexert yourself.”

 

Caesar carefully seated me again. And he covered me with the coat again. His touch was gentle.

 

For the past 8 years, Caesar had been cold and indifferent. But the Caesar now was different. He wasn’t the person Reina had known.

 

However, Caesar after my possession might be closer to this side. That was extremely strange.

 

Caesar placed another branch on the campfire. The flames blazed higher. He spoke without looking at me.

 

“…I’m sorry.”

 

What for? What is he sorry about?

 

“For confusing you, and perhaps even for being here. I’m sorry because it seems to be because of me.”

 

I didn’t know what to say, so I just opened and closed my mouth. Right, though I expressed it vaguely as someone, there’s no way anyone else would tamper with tea given by the Imperial Family. As expected, it was the Empress’s doing. My mouth tasted bitter.

 

After a long while, Caesar spoke.

 

“And I’m sorry again. In the past… the way I treated you wasn’t right.”

 

I looked back at Caesar. He was still looking at the burning fire.

 

“I was… a coward. I think I lacked courage. The courage to refuse, and the courage to accept. So… I ran away.”

 

It was the first proper apology I had ever received. I never got one from Heyson, who had cornered me with only his delusions. Who would have thought the day would come when I’d receive an apology from this man. Caesar sighed. He ran his hands through his hair and said.

 

“I thought if I avoided you, you would give up.”

 

“But I didn’t give up.”

 

I smiled bitterly. The persistent patience that the original Reina had, the Reina from those days that had now become my past, was worth acknowledging.

 

“I followed you around persistently. For 8 whole years.”

 

“…Yes.”

 

“You must have been really annoyed.”

 

I muttered quietly.

 

It was the first time in 8 years that we faced each other together like this. My eyes met with Caesar’s. He didn’t say anything.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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