Crown of Thorns

Team : Cuties, WilsonWilson, Stephanie

While Yohan met with nobles and grew his connections, Evan had been working for the Emperor, going in and out of his palace. It never occurred to me that Evan was unaware of Yohan’s plans. It seemed like Yohan was also waiting for the right time to act, just as I was.

I had initially hoped that Yohan would quickly persuade all the nobles to stand by him so that they could have one of their own seize the throne while the rebels and the Royal Guards were fighting. I thought that if my plans were successful, the noble faction would fall apart , the emperor would die by my hands, and a new ruler would be born; with him, the birth of the new era that everyone wanted.

And another player I didn’t expect began to get involved with Evan.

“We meet again.”

Princess Heleina, a beautiful woman whose looks mirrored the Emperor’s, possessing lovely blond hair and sapphire blue eyes.

She used to greet the emperor from time to time when the nobles were rarely seen in the Central Palace, so now that there was no one else, she went in and out of the palace more freely.

Naturally, she had no choice but to frequently meet Evan, who lived in the palace and stayed by the Emperor’s side, helping and healing him. However, I could not go inside the Heavenly Palace, so I only caught sight of them when they entered the palace separately prior to now. As they walked together, getting farther away from me, I noticed that the two seemed to have gotten a little closer.

“I think you came earlier than usual today.”

“The weather is so nice today, so I came out to look around, only to find myself heading here. . The Royal Palace is indeed big, but I think this the only place to relax in.”

“There are so many palaces but they’re so boring. All the people we ever meet there are the workers.”

“They can’t help it. They need to make a living.”

Everyone felt the unusual atmosphere in the palace. Rumors quickly spread inside the palace, and soon, they had no choice but to know how the war was going. Now; what would happen if the last standing noble, who was rumored to have joined hands with the witch, came here? That concern was why Trudeau, one of the witch’s followers, was ordered to come and go in and out of the palace—bringing in groceries to try and spread rumors through the kitchen staff.

I looked at the two people talking in their own little amicable world. It was a gray world in the eyes of the Shadow, but I painted it with the colors that remained in my memory. My eyes colored the scene themselves without my permission.

With white hair and red eyes, Evan was tall, beautiful, and manly. Due to his extensive training, his moderately tanned skin looked healthy, and even though his body was covered with clothes, the outline of his sturdy physique could still be seen.

Standing beside him was Heleina. She was a beautiful, slender woman, similar to a porcelain doll, with blond hair and blue eyes. White, transparent, and pure. Her slim, feminine body made the dress she was wearing look all the more glamorous, even though it was not very fancy to begin with.

They shined. As if to bless the beautiful pair, the sky cascaded light beams around them, creating a glow. The flowers bloomed in the periphery with bright colors and distinct freshness. It was all so dazzling that I wasn’t confident that I could keep my eyes on them.

This was a good thing. She was an excellent match for Evan. She was bright and beautiful, and unlike others, she knew how to see the world properly. In addition, she was a woman who was cherished by the Emperor. She had everything. She was a necessary and fitting woman for Evan.

Yes, unlike the witch.

In the past, Evan had been involved with the witch. Since then, a lot had changed; I molded it with my own hands, for Evan’s future. But I was not a princess. I haven’t done anything to bring them closer yet. Perhaps my dream was actually a precognitive dream. After all, the two of them got involved without me intervening.

Everything was going the way I wanted it to. I was so glad that this was the case.

Somewhere in my heart, it felt like I was being poisoned. As a result, I could no longer watch. So, instead, I returned to the tower.

*

As the days went by, Evan’s visits to the Emperor became more frequent and longer-lasting. Even though he had more time to meet Princess Heleina, he still came to the Witch’s Tower late at night. Teleporting to the tower whenever he so pleased , there were times when I didn’t even know he was there. It was a good thing that he came when I was busy looking at the world through Shadows, because he woke me up by calling me like he thought I was asleep.

But if he had come during the time when I was looking at the tarot cards…

“Nyx!”

Something warm and heavy had been firmly attached behind my back. Before I realized what it was, a pair of arms stretched out on both sides of my face and hugged my shoulder. Suddenly, Evan’s face appeared very closely next to mine.

“Are you looking at the future again?”

He was so close that it was like he was whispering inside my ear. His voice rang low and I could feel his breath.

I couldn’t turn my face, so I put down my cards and tried to get up, but he reached out with his arm and grabbed my hand. Simultaneously, his upper body pressed harder against my back. He was still hugging my shoulder with the other hand, holding it firmly, not giving me a chance to move. I was stuck in his caging embrace. I could feel his warmth on my back, shoulders, arms, neck and face, and it felt like my mind was turning white.

“Whose future did you see this time?”

His hair tickled my cheek. If I were to turn my head only slightly, our faces would probably touch . I sat still without saying anything and he moved the hand that he was holding me with and flipped the card underneath his palm.

“What does this mean?”

“That the future I want isn’t too far away.”

“That means I’m a warrior?”

“Yes.”

“Really?”

Evan asked again for confirmation in a pleased voice, his arms letting go of me. My body immediately felt empty; my back, arms, and shoulders ached at the lack of his physical touch.

“Anyway, I came to show you this.”

I turned around to see what he wanted to show me. He pulled the sword out of the sheath he was wearing on his waist and pointed the tip at me. My breath caught in my throat. The sword looked very familiar. The Evan I saw in my dream overlapped with the Evan standing before*. I felt like he was the warrior who had stabbed me in the heart.

“Amazing, right?”

/*TN : she means the second dream here, the one where she dies at the hand of Evan while murdering the Emperor*/

Evan swung the sword lightly and laughed curiously, as if he hadn’t noticed my reaction. A piercing slash sounded through the black air. Unlike just a moment ago, his sword was no longer directed at me, but I couldn’t shake off this uncomfortable feeling.

I managed to open my mouth.

“Did you get it from the Emperor?”

“Yes. What a great sword. I love it; it’s like it was made for me.”

Evan displayed his swordsmanship skillfully, as if he were really satisfied. His white hair fluttered lightly as he moved. His sharp red eyes were already stained with seriousness and his taut lips and slightly furrowed brows were more masculine than anyone else’s.

Every time he swung the sword, the muscles in his arms flexed and his fist, which gripped the sword, tightened. Although he was big and strong, his movements were very light. His sword strokes greatly resembled a butterfly’s wings;you couldn’t even hear his footsteps.

I blankly stared at his figure. I took another step towards my dream, towards the future. All kinds of complicated feelings washed over me.

Shortly after, his movements began to feel unnatural. He was inside a narrow tower with me next to him. He couldn’t use all the room he needed, leading to his movements being restrained, so I moved to the wall.

His back facing me, he swung the sword toward me, showing off his colossal figure. I was seeing his back one moment and the next, he was pointing the sword at me. He shouted as if he didn’t expect me to be there, his face flushing with embarrassment. He managed to snap out of it by pulling the sword towards his body. But I also tried to avoid the sword and lost my balance somehow, falling to the side.

“N-Nyx!”

It all happened in a flash.

When I came to my senses,I found myself lying on the floor with no pain. A pair of hands held me tightly.

I was in Evan’s arms. I had heard a sharp clang and Evan dropped to the floor after he tossed the sword aside. I could hear his rough breathing over my head and could feel his heart beating fast through his body that touched mine. There was no way to know if it was my heart or Evan’s.

“Nyx, are you all right?”

He raised his upper body by covering my head with one hand and prompting himself up with the other. As he looked down at me from above, I thought of the young man from my memory. A young man who cried, saying, “I thought you were going to die.”

“Nyx?”

His forehead was exposed by a slight lift in his bangs. The mysterious and beautiful eyebrows were shown, and the white and transparent eyelashes repeatedly blinked, covering his red eyes full of worries.

I looked up at him vacantly. After managing to come to my senses, I opened my mouth.

“I’m all right.”

I raised myself up by pushing my shoulder. No, I tried to get up. But as soon as I raised my upper body, Evan gave a strong hug with the hand that was covering my head. As he leaned his face on my head, he mumbled. Something ticklish ran over my head. It was his lips, grazing over my forehead.

“Evan?”

I called his name out of embarrassment. Instead of answering, he raised himself up and sat down as he held my head. I, who had only raised my upper body in a clumsy manner until then, also came to a sitting position on the floor. He wrapped my waist with his arm that was touching the floor. With one hand around the back of my head and the other around my waist, he gave me a strong hug. I tried to push him away with great surprise, but not only was I rendered immobile, my hand fell in limp embarrassment again and again, making it difficult for me to give it proper strength.

“…Evan! What the hell is this?”

“Nyx.”

Evan still spoke in a slightly muffled voice, his lips sealed to my head.

“Were you originally this small? I thought you were very big.”

I wasn’t small, he was just too big. He had grown so much before he knew it.

“Why are you so skinny? Why do you look so young and fragile?”

“…”

“Why are you so tiny? Making me worried…”

Evan swept his hand down my back. I held back my sigh that almost escaped without me realizing it.

He also seemed to feel that I was so weak, just as I thought Evan was so strong. It was simply because of differences in physique, and if there were other reasons, then I didn’t want to know them.

The afterimage of Evan standing with Heleina came to my mind. Two bright and beautiful people smiling. They looked like a painting, and they looked natural.

It was such a figure that didn’t suit me. That I dared not dream of.

Eventually, I closed my eyes, trying to block out all my thoughts.

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