Chapter 1 – The Nameless Empress

When Levisia opened her eyes, a hand hovered above her face. It was an unusually large hand. At the moment she breathed, someone said, “You finally woke up.”

She  rolled her eyes to see whose voice it was. Certainly, those words weren’t her own murmur, but she couldn’t move an inch. Then, a familiar guy came into vision, but it was difficult to speak.

“Your Highness? Is this real?” he asked as he thrust his face closer. Levisia traced his eyes with her fingers, which she managed to lift after immense effort, and spoke in a hoarse voice. “Your eyes.” 

“Ah.” He frowned, quickly closed his eyes, and retreated. 

She withdrew her  wandering hand, thinking she must have touched a sensitive spot. As a servant in the palace, Pel takes on many responsibilities but is full of secrets. He hates talking about his past, doesn’t mention his family nor does he like to touch others. Once in a while, he showed a sensitive reaction to all of these. Just like now.

Levisia groaned as she lifted her body up. Her one and only servant seemed to have no intention of helping, so she couldn’t do much. As she barely rested her back on the headboard and looked around the room, she caught sight of a familiar scene.

This room, neither too big nor too small, was simple. Only dull furniture placed throughout the room occupied some space, but the rest wasn’t much. It was plain and modest, exactly how she remembered her room.

This time, she turned her head and gazed at Pel. Between his large eyes, there was a nose large enough for a bird to sit on; his skin was fair and white and his lips were deep red although he never applied anything. Oftentimes, his orbs glimmered bright golden; at other times, they glimmered an unusual glow.

Pel was a good-looking guy who gave the impression of being somewhere between a boy and a young man. Except for his fluffy blonde hair and crooked posture.

His golden locks barely brushed his shoulder muscles, and it made her wonder if he did this purposely to distinguish his beauty. On top of that, he hunched around as if he was hiding a secret. If only he would straighten out his bent torso, he’d look much taller.

Well, he doesn’t try to hide his good looks. As expected, nothing’s complete without an attractive face.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” He turned around to see if she was glaring at him. In return, Levisia asked him the same question that had been lingering in her head. “This place is Kraiden, right?”

He responded, attempting to conceal his embarrassment, “If it weren’t so?”

“No…” she clenched and stretched out her pale hands. She still felt the scent of burning on the tip of her nose. Perhaps it was because of a long dream.

“Am I alive?” When Levisia asked him to confirm, he gazed at her with a peculiarly expressionless face. “You almost died, but I’m surprised to see you wake up like this.”

“What happened?”

“The cause is unknown. Even the doctor is clueless.”

A crisis came that almost killed her, and even the doctor didn’t know? She asked this as she felt a bit leery, “So, how long was I lying here?”

Pel directed his head towards the bedside table, to where the calendar was. “It’s been two weeks. This whole time, I was watching you.”

Twenty-four years old. The age that will greet death. Levisia had just seen twenty-four years of memories in two weeks.

“Where am I injured?”

“Huh?”

“I don’t have any injuries?” 

Pel looked over her body as she spoke. There weren’t any particular problems. “My clothes are wet. Was I sweating? I want to wash up.”

“You’re not hurt anywhere, correct?”

“Maybe?”

Pel frowned at her uncertain reply, but she didn’t even know why she was laying here for two weeks. Isn’t that even stranger? As Levisia shrugged her shoulders, Pel turned up without saying a word.

“I’ll run the bathwater and tell Mrs. Merne.” Pel left the room shortly, then Mrs. Merne entered just like he had said.

Sheila Merne. This woman has been the only one to raise her since she was a child.

“Your Highness.” Her hands covered her mouth as she entered through the door and witnessed Levisia’s condition. Levisia could have guessed that she must have been very worried about her. “Dear God, thank you.”