crown [C. TARTAGLIA]

13

you couldn't face him.

your face wouldn't stop heating up whenever you see his face or hear his voice. your heart pounded so fast where you thought it might explode and you hated the feeling. you were beginning to get nervous whenever he was present.

"[Y/N]!" you hear him run after you.

after running across andrey, the first prince, you sparred with him a bit to clear your head. it proved useful for a while but after hearing him call out to you again, your mind was filled with the thoughts of last night.

"hey!"

you ignored him and walked faster.

"damn it, wait up! just let me speak to you for a bit!"

"there is no need for that." you replied.

unsurprisingly he catches up to you and pulls your wrist, turning you around to face him. "yes, there is. if there isn't, why avoid me?"

you quickly look away, "i told you i have business to attend to."

"no you don't." he spots your lies. "tell me, did i do something last night?"

you knit your brows together and finally stared up at the taller man, "what do you... are you saying you don't remember anything?"

he shook his head, "i... i don't. so if i did something just tell me."

he saw you clicking your tongue, the expression on your face more annoyed than it was before. "you're unbelievable."

"w-wait!" he stops you again when you were about to walk away once more. "just please–"

childe stops when he spots something on your neck that was previously covered by the collar of your uniform. his eyes widen at the bruise, "is that..."

realizing that he saw the bite mark you took a step back from him and tried to hide it. "...it's nothing."

"did i... do that?"

"it doesn't matter." you glared at him. "if you don't even remember what you said or did that night then none of it matters."

"no. it does." he approaches you and placed a hand on the side of your neck, his fingers feeling the mark he placed. "i'm sorry."

"...you don't even know what you did, what are you sorry for?"

"seeing that you can't even say what i've done just proves it was bad." he sighs. "i... i'm sorry, i truly am."

you see him frowning at the mark he gave you, it almost seemed genuine. his eyes weren't dark like it was last night, this time it was filled with worry. it was a new sight to see on him.

"then tell me this." you pulled his hand away from you. "do you by chance have any feelings for me?"

his eyes widened at your words. "did i... say that last night?"

"just answer me."

for childe, it was a new feeling for him to like someone in a romantic way. he grew up in the palace with only his siblings and servants, parties would disinterest him preventing him from making any acquaintances, he just didn't want to get involved with people.

the closest thing he could compare to love was the obsession with fighting. he loved the feeling, the thrill of it all.

but you, you were different. for once, he was interested in someone. he grew possessive, seeing you with someone else angered him and he wanted you all to himself.

in his mind, this was all just because you were his guard. you were his servant, it was natural that he would be so possessive of you, right?

that was until you told him something in that hallway, "don't fall in love with me." you said so with a smile on your face.

fall in love? him? he could almost laugh. he hated how those words rolled off your tongue so effortlessly, he hated how he just realized why he was so angry at your words.

how could you say that when it was already all too late?

"fine. you wanted an answer? then yes, i do. i like you, [Y/N]." childe balled his hand into fists. "you, nothing more than a guard whose duty is to protect me with your life, a peasant who i just met. i like you, and nothing you can do could change that."

how you wished he said those words were only because he was intoxicated last night. you didn't want to believe it, you wanted him to deny what he told you.

the last thing you wanted was for someone to grow an attachment towards you.

"i see." you look down. "then i'll tell you my answer."

he notices the disappointed look on your face, childe couldn't deny that this wasn't the reaction he was expecting. you were the one who said so yourself to not fall inlove, being rejected was only natural.

"i'm quitting." you said. "tomorrow morning, i'll be leaving the palace."

childe's heart ached at your words, he obviously didn't expect that one. you looked at him with no emotion whatsoever, like you were prepared for this day to come.

"what? you can't just–"

"growing an attachment to a servant will do you nothing but trouble, your highness." you couldn't dare look at him. "i've already warned you before, you can't–"

"you can't just decided on that!" he starts raising his voice. "you can't control how i feel, [Y/N]."

"i know." you sighed. "that's why i must distance myself from now on. you can't... you can't fall in love with a walking corpse." when your eyes finally met his, you had to hold back any form of emotion from showing.

you couldn't show him how much this also hurted you.

walking corpse? what did you mean by that? then, he remembers your question to the first prince a little while ago.

"is it true that a bullet could go through two people at once?"

"so that's what your question to andrey meant earlier." childe looked distraught at the realization. "you... you plan on killing yourself with the murderer, aren't you?"

he had wondered why you would ask such a weird question. if a bullet could kill two people at once? it wasn't hard to decipher what you were implying after telling him that you were now just a walking corpse.

you were surprised at how he managed to figure out so quickly. from the moment you decided to pour your whole life into finding who killed your parents, you made one thing clear.

to kill the murderer, then taking your own life right after.

"so you even figured that out?" you laughed. "i'm impressed. but since you now know about that, it just proves that you can't continue on doing this prince."

"you can't." he grits his teeth in anger.

"from tomorrow onwards, i'm no longer your guard. your words will mean nothing to me." you turn your back against the man, holding in the lump that was forming in your throat. how long could you continue acting so harsh to him? you wonder.

"[Y/N]!" unexpectedly, he wraps his arms around you from behind. "i can't. i can't just leave you be, not after learning about what you're planning to do."

your eyes widen at his sudden embrace, "prince–"

"just... just let me hug you, even if this is for the last time." he squeezes you in his embrace.

"but–"

"just don't leave. i'll distance myself from you starting tomorrow but just..." he rests his head on your shoulder, voice cracking a bit. "stay. stay at the palace, this is your final order as my guard."

°

a/n: probably has some spelling errors i didnt check im so sleepy its 2am.w.....
for those asking for an update on poison, ill most likely update that book once this one is finished ^^ probably around 20 chapters or so