TWFLLYM Ch 21

A Kiss for a Cold

[Roserikta] "Your Highness......?"

The Crown Prince's bedchamber defied every expectation. She had imagined a sprawling, opulent hall swarming with court physicians and head maids.

Instead, she found a void.

The room lacked gilded ornaments and exquisite furniture. No breathtaking ceiling frescoes or portraits of the late Empress adorned the walls. Only a fireplace and a bed occupied the space. Heavy curtains smothered the massive windows, plunging the room into gloom.

In this barren, lonely expanse, Kalart lay alone.

[Roserikta] "Your......"

She whispered his name, then bit her lip.

Silence was better. Eaton had mentioned that the Prince spent the entire night battling a fever; she refused to shatter his hard-won sleep.

[Roserikta] "......"

The sight of his fever-flushed brow and pale, cracked lips drew tears to her eyes.

He was suffering.

Memories of their previous encounter flooded back.

Her heart had nearly stopped when she heard he had been burned. Despite the risks, she had mixed Axaca powder into his salve, driven by a singular, desperate wish: that he would not hurt. When she discovered the "burn" was a lie, her relief had nearly curdled into anger.

Now, seeing him in such a state—far worse than a mere scratch—her heart felt like crumbling sand. It scattered, making a cold, rasping sound against her ribs.

I must break the fever first.

Since the antidote remained out of reach, she had to dismantle his symptoms one by one.

She retrieved a fever reducer from her apron. Since he couldn't swallow medicine, she would have to apply it topically.

She uncapped the vial, set it on the nightstand, and reached for the Axaca powder. The magical substance would ensure the medicine's efficacy even through skin absorption.

The mixture turned her palms icy. She pressed them gently against his forehead.

[Kalart] "Ah......"

His parched lips twitched in his sleep. Even that small movement looked agonizing.

Her vision blurred again.

Please, don't be in pain.

She had no right to say such things, considering the Love Potion caused this misery. Yet—or perhaps because of that—her plea carried the weight of a desperate prayer.

I will heal you. I promise.

[Kalart] "S-So cold......!"

Delirious with heat, he instinctively welcomed the chill, but his instincts soon detected an intruder. Within his private sanctum, an uninvited presence meant a threat.

His eyes snapped open. He lunged, his hand snaring her wrist in a vice-like grip.

[Roserikta] "Ah!"

A small cry escaped her. She stared at him, her wrist twisted at an awkward angle.

His eyes, bloodshot from the fever, radiated terror. He looked like a wild beast cornered by a predator.

She didn't know that when he fell ill, his vision distorted, leaving him in a state of hyper-vigilance.

[Roserikta] "Please, let go, Your Highness."

Recognizing her voice, the focus slowly returned to his eyes.

[Kalart] "Why are you......"

The fever still clouded his awareness.

[Roserikta] "I heard you were ill. I came to check your condition."

[Kalart] "Ah, I see......"

The words rasped out of him. The strength left his fingers, releasing her wrist.

[Kalart] "You came because I am suffering. Because you pity the wounded. Because you are a pharmacist."

[Roserikta] "That......"

The truth stung like a thorn.

He turned his head away, breaking eye contact.

[Kalart] "Enough. You may go. The court physician has likely done everything necessary."

[Roserikta] "Your Highness."

She called out to him, her voice pinning him in place before he could fully retreat.

[Roserikta] "It is easier for me to craft a remedy if you tell me exactly where it hurts."

[Kalart] "They said it would pass if I left it alone."

[Roserikta] "No. That is not true. You are in deep pain, and......"

Ordinary medicine cannot cure this. I am the only one who can save you, yet I still haven't found the way. I am terrified that time will run out...... that I will fail you.

[Roserikta] "I...... I mean, I......"

Drip.

A tear, heavy and swollen, escaped her eye and rolled down her cheek.

He turned back toward her. His vision swayed, and the images before him were grotesque as always, but he could tell her eyes were brimming with moisture.

[Kalart] "Are you crying?"

[Roserikta] "......"

She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand, but it was too late to hide.

He reached out, his feverish fingertips brushing against her eyelids.

[Kalart] "Is this also because you are a pharmacist?"

[Roserikta] "It......"

[Kalart] "If so, do not answer. I do not want to hear it."

[Roserikta] "......"

Silence followed, but not because she was a pharmacist. It was because his hand continued to stroke her face. He seemed to be trying to wipe away her tears, but the gesture only made her want to weep harder.

[Kalart] "This is useless."

When the flow of tears outpaced his ability to dry them, he propped himself up with one arm.

[Roserikta] "It's all right, Your Highness. I......!"

Searing heat reached her first. His dry, rough lips pressed against her eye.

Slurp.

He sucked the tear away. The sensation, entirely foreign and primal, paralyzed her thoughts.

What...... what is he doing to me?

[Kalart] "Were you thirsty?"

He tilted his head, his lips still grazing her skin. Every movement radiated a stifling warmth.

[Kalart] "I want more."

His hand cupped her chin. He tilted her face and pressed his lips to her other eye. The raw, wet sound of skin against skin echoed in the silent room.

[Roserikta] "Your Highness, please stop......"

The sensation was too much to bear. She raised a hand to push him away, but he caught it and pressed her palm against his cheek.

[Kalart] "If my illness is the reason you are here, then I welcome the pain. Stay just like this. Perhaps you should cry more."

[Roserikta] "......"

[Kalart] "I feel like I could drink from you all day."

His lips found her damp eyelids again.

This time, as the tears subsided, the gesture evolved into a deliberate kiss. His lips lingered against her skin. Her heart threatened to burst from her chest.

[Roserikta] "Ah......"

A moan escaped her. The strength vanished from the arms she had used to push him away.

A flash of predatory clarity sparked in his fever-dazed eyes. He recognized the opportunity. He knew she couldn't cruelly reject a man in his condition.

[Kalart] "Think of it as giving medicine to a patient. The medicine I need most."

He pulled her chin forward while his other arm coiled around her waist.

The distance vanished. He parted his lips and consumed her.

[Roserikta] "Your......!"

Her shock was swallowed by his mouth. The heat of their joined lips scorched away her ability to think.

A fever must have transferred to her—otherwise, she wouldn't be wishing for this heart-pounding sensation to last forever.

He explored every corner of her mouth with obsessive detail. He acted like a man who couldn't eat, and thus sought to memorize her flavor instead.

Like Kalart himself, the kiss felt maddening. It shattered every concept she ever held about what a kiss should be.

It was hot, intense, and utterly consuming.

He finally released her lips only when she gasped for air.

He smiled slowly, his face looking far more ravaged than before they began. His hand moved from her chin to trace her swollen, wet lips.

[Kalart] "How strange. I have never kissed anyone before, nor did I ever care what it would be like."

[Roserikta] "......"

She didn't know how to respond. She could only wait for her breath to return and her sanity to follow.

[Kalart] "And yet, it seems I knew it would be this good. That must be why I wanted to kiss you so desperately."

[Roserikta] "......"

His smile deepened. The sight of this magnificent man smiling after a long-awaited kiss was devastatingly handsome. Nothing else in the world seemed more beautiful.

Once again, she felt breathless. It felt as if she were the one who had consumed a Love Potion, not the Prince.

[Kalart] "I am glad I caught a cold."

[Roserikta] "......"

She, lost in a daze, took a moment to process his words.

[Roserikta] "A cold......? You mean you actually have a cold?"

[Kalart] "Yes. Though the coughing seems to have stopped for now."

As if on cue, a violent cough ripped from his throat. He covered his face with the duvet, but the agonizing sound of his lungs struggling reached her ears.

[Kalart] "......Perhaps not. The court physician said I needn't worry once I can manage to swallow medicine...... Cough!"

The coughing persisted. Fever radiated from him. His eyes remained glassy, and his forehead glistened with sweat.

It was cold. A genuine, mundane cold.

[Roserikta] "Ah, ha......"

A hollow sigh escaped her.

What is this? It's just a cold.

The potion's symptoms hadn't worsened. This wasn't lovesickness. He wasn't dying.

She had fallen for this exact trick just days ago; she had spiraled into worry over a "burn" that turned out to be nothing. And yet, she had done it again.

She couldn't deny it anymore.

She wasn't worried about him because she was a pharmacist. It wasn't because he had consumed a forbidden substance. In front of him, her professional identity crumbled.

Her emotions had blinded her to the obvious physical symptoms.

I've lost my mind. Over this man. Me.

She had forgotten her own vow. She had sworn never to fall for him.

She bit her lip.

Even amidst his coughing, Kalart noticed the change in her. He slid his thumb between her lips.

[Kalart] "Don't bite them. It makes me think strange things."

[Roserikta] "Strange things......?"

[Kalart] "Like you regret kissing me."

It wasn't regret. It was something far more profound.

The idea that "one time is easy to forget" was a blatant lie. She loved him so much it blinded her. Somewhere along the way, she had fallen.

[Kalart] "Just so you know, I have no intention of ending this with one time. I already rejected your proposal, so don't try to lump them together."

He looked even more feverish now. A man intoxicated by a kiss didn't look much different from a man suffering from the flu.

[Kalart] "Cough!"

Another fit of coughing seized him.

She hid her complicated expression and pulled the medicine from her pockets.

The sight of her holding a recipe book for a mere cold was laughable. With the right dosage, he would be better within the day.

[Roserikta] "Wait here. I will prepare your medicine."

[Kalart] "Don't go."

He caught her as she tried to stand.

[Kalart] "Forget the medicine."

[Roserikta] "You need to get well."

[Kalart] "I told you, there is no need."

He was serious. Despite his red nose, bloodshot eyes, and constant hacking, his claim that he enjoyed being sick was entirely genuine.

It broke her heart.

If this were truly his heart speaking, would things be different?

Whether I am a witch or he is a Prince, would I have been happy to know he loves me?

She would never know. This was a fraud created by a potion.

Perhaps it was for the best. If she were the only one who loved, she could leave quietly when the time came. No one would ever have to know.

[Roserikta] "If you don't need medicine, then I shall leave."

He looked aggrieved, like a pouting child.

[Kalart] "Why? I am a patient. I need a pharmacist by my side."

[Roserikta] "A pharmacist has nothing to offer a patient who refuses to recover, Your Highness."

[Kalart] "You don't have to do anything."

[Roserikta] "Then there is even less reason for me to stay."

[Kalart] "I want you here. Is that reason not enough to keep you?"

[Roserikta] "......"

No. I wish that reason alone were enough for us to be together.

But that was a story that didn't even exist in fairy tales.

She lowered her head, avoiding his gaze while fidgeting with her apron.

[Roserikta] "I have work to do, Your Highness."

At her hesitant reply, he let out a weary sigh.

[Kalart] "......Was keeping someone by my side always this difficult?"

When she didn't answer, he gave a reluctant wave of his hand.

[Kalart] "Fine. Do whatever you must. That is better than you leaving."

[Roserikta] "Yes, Your Highness."

She stepped out of the room briefly and, with Elona's help, returned with warm tea laced with cold medicine.

After drinking the brew—which carried potent sedative and analgesic effects—Kalart fell back into a deep sleep. Roserikta waited until his coughing ceased and his breathing evened out before returning to her own room.

By the next day, Kalart's cold had vanished entirely.

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