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"Maximilian?"
I blink at her silently. She just called my name. By my name. Instead of feeling repulsed and detested by that sound I instead can't feel anything anymore. All I can see is her.
My breath stops for a moment again. Just like back i...
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Elizabeth had been staying at the imperial palace for the next few days, until her health is back to normal. Maximillian even spoke to her father, to keep her at the imperial palace until she gets better. Expectedly, the Duke agreed to that arrangement quickly. The Duke always had one plan in mind, to get Elizabeth married to the crown prince, and he wouldn't let this opportunity pass at all.
He returned back home that night to check on her again. "Hello, again." He says softly, taking seat in his usual chair that was beside her bed. She hasn't even moved an inch since the moment she got here, not once opened her eyes to look at the person that was speaking to her daily. Maximillian comes here daily, when he's finished with his work, he comes down to speak to her about absolutely anything. "Today was an interesting day, I was working and working like always, and then I heard from Ludovika today. These are the kind of things you'd like to hear, so I'll tell you. We've been meeting quite a lot of times these days, she's much better now. She isn't hurt anymore, and she's recovering slowly from the kidnapping. I helped her along the way and I got closer to her in that way, I felt special to her. I was the one she called for to help her." He runs a shaky hand through his hair and grips the back of his neck, and lets out a heavy breath. "I'm so happy these days. I feel so happy with her," Now he's just trying to find more things to say, to justify that he's happy. But he's not happy. Not without her. "I might just confess this week. Sometime soon. I wish you would be there to see me do it. I think I'd be more confident and brave if you were there to tell me to do it." He says. And he continues on and on and on, until he's run out of words to say. He leans his head back in the chair, staring silently at the ceiling.
"Elizabeth, why did you do that? Just why? Please tell me that you didn't go this far just for this stupid plan of yours to get me with Ludovika. Please tell me it isn't that, because I'm going to slap you the moment you wake up, you stupid fool. You don't need to go so far for that. So just why did you do it?" He asks, running his hand along the length of his face, and breaths out. "You're such a fool." He says.
"I'm going to be going." He stands up, but right before he leaves, he takes one good look at her and then plants a kiss upon her forehead, just a soft brief one, and then he leaves. He does this everyday. _____________________
The days had passed like that. With him visiting her everyday, talking to her about his day, and then leaving with a kiss atop her forehead, wondering maybe she would startle awake at each one. One day he did the exact same thing he's been doing, his body bent down to kiss her, lips barefoot touching her hair, but as he was backing away her lashes flutter. He blinks.
There could be no possible way, this was happening. He goes weak in his legs, falling down to the floor next to the bed. "Elizabeth?" He breathes, and he waits a beat, before hearing a small "Hm?" Right after. His heart completely stops, it stops beating, it doesn't want to miss a single thing she says. "Maximilian?" She whispers, and his world stops for a moment. She just called him by his name, not by 'your highness'. He simply smiles so widely, "Why do you have to give me heart attack after heart attack? I'm only human, you know." His heart was beating faster now, standing up properly, but he was still weak before her.
