𝐓𝐎 𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐒

第二 | TWO

Claude remembered every single thing about your death. Your blood had scalded him like a thousand suns; so viscerally red that he couldn't bear to look at it; yet his eyes could not tear themselves away.

The gods had seen him sin—he had committed the sin of letting you die. Being selfish—being...

You were here with him. Claude let out a quivering, long drawn sigh—you were here with him. You were safe, above all things. You were alive.

Where would he have been if he hadn't turned back time? Gone, dead, his soul torn from his body. A mindless cog in the system.

You were his heart. A heart where you had slipped into each valve, and brimmed into spaces. You had filled it.

You were here.

You were here.

You were here.

You were here.

You were here.

You were...

An image of you slipped into his mind; bright, soft, sweet. Smiling.

Here.

For the first time since your death from the previous timeline, Claude could sleep easily.

And for once the sky didn't mourn you, and Claude felt lighter than he had ever been.

.

.

"His Grace has been acting odd this week, don't you think?"

"It hasn't just been odd," you sighed. The past day had been a flurry of confusion and fondness and oh gods—relief that he had woken up. Suddenly it was like he was a small child again; stubbornly pleading for your attention. Though in his wilful childhood he had been rude, horrible, and lonely. "He's...I can see similar traits in him he had prior to the accident from the way he treats others, but..."

You paused.

The handmaid, Anya, gave you a sympathetic smile. "It's the way he treats you that's so vastly different. That's what you're trying to say, aren't you?"

You were sheepish enough for a faint blush to flare up on your ears. Anya chuckled when she saw you and laughed.

"I would say cherish it, Y/n. It was about time he started to actually show some emotions. We all thought they had festered," she grinned, "but admittedly, it is a strange thing. Why His Grace has become so—tame—is beyond my comprehension."

You hoped it was temporary. You weren't used to this. But if you became used to it—then would you like it? For now, such thoughts were useless. You had to really focus on getting Lord Claude's reputation up first.

Claude was someone you served for years. Your family had served his one for generations, but in the previous years, had fallen out of favor. Claude was illegitimate: he was the son of the emperor, the son of the Duchess. He was living, breathing proof of a great black stain, a disgrace of the noble society. And you, equally shamed, had been cast aside and thrown to him.

He was difficult to work with at first. You two had met when you were both children, and it was hard to explain why his father was never present and why his mother sent him angry glances all the time, when even you didn't understand it. You dealt with the brunt of his tantrums, his anger fits. But you understood.

And you would lead him to usurp the throne. You would crown him as Emperor.

"It is beyond anyone's imaginations. The physician said his mana levels have been fluctuating deeply. There's apparently some unknown mana flickering inside...was it a side effect of what happened?"