Lady To Queen Chapter 30

Chapter 30 – I'll Never Let You Die

Why on earth did this man take the arrow instead of her? As the urgency of the situation passed, new questions arose. Why did Lucio allow himself to be hit on her behalf?

Patrizia felt both pity and curiosity towards him. He didn't love her. She didn't love him. It was an arrangement that they were both well aware of. But that begged the question—what was the reason for such self-sacrifice? Did he feel sorry for her? Did he feel sorry for not loving her? Or did he have a guilty conscience about Rosemond's actions towards the envoys' wives? Patrizia had many hypotheses, but no certain answers. She decided to stop dwelling on such pointless questions. If they had been in the comfortable and safe palace, such an unexpected and life-threatening situation would have never arisen at all.

Patrizia stood up to do something more meaningful with her time. She had swallowed some of the scula flower juice earlier, so her symptoms improved somewhat. Her head no longer spun, and the nausea had largely faded away.

Feeling energized, Patrizia slowly walked out of the cave to get something to eat. In order to transport the Emperor to the palace, she had to increase her own physical strength as his guardian. She brought her empty quiver, hoping to find some food.

Meanwhile, Rosemond was gracefully sipping tea inside Bain palace. The scent of her favorite rosemary tea drifted to her nose, and she soon stopped drinking and turned her head towards the window. The sky was gray with clouds, and it looked about to rain soon. Once it did, it would wash away any evidence.

Looking satisfied, Rosemond asked Glara for another cup of tea. At the concubine's order, Glara picked up the teapot and approached Rosemond with a smile.

“You look good, My Lady,” Glara said.

“I have to look good, Glara. You wouldn't understand.”

“No, My Lady. But I am happy when you're happy.”

Her master was positively glowing with glee. In other words, she was in a good mood. Not long ago, Rosemond secretly hired one of the kingdom's most notorious assassins' group. She would pay them a generous amount to get rid of the Queen at the hunting competition. They were very skilled killers, so the plan probably worked. If one spent money, one got results, and Rosemomd was full of money. Even if Raphaella, the queen's knight, was by Patrizia's side, she would not be able to defeat all thirty or so men—not unless she had an extraordinary ability she had never demonstrated so far.

Glara spoke to Rosemond. “Now the palace will turn upside down. You will be the new queen.”

“Absolutely, Glara. If I become the queen, you will also be the queen's lady-in-waiting. Well, aren't you happy?”

“I'm very happy, My Lady. As I said, your joy is my joy.”

“Oh, I like your words.” Rosemond was in a good mood, and her tone didn't have its usual scathing bite.

Glara wondered what it would be like if every day was like this, then spoke in a little more serious tone than before. “Unless something unusual happens, the queen will die, and the weather will easily erase away the evidence.”

“I agree. In fact, even if it didn't rain, it would be hard to find evidence at all. As I always say, money can pay for anything.” Rosemond giggled and held her nose to her teacup. Everything was going her way. From now on, her path would no longer be a thorny road, but a soft and beautiful flower path. Even if all the flowers were stained in blood and hideously colored. Even if the scent in the wind was not of fragrant flowers, but of blood.

Contrary to Patrizia's expectations, Lucio's recovery did not happen quickly. She had found some fruit to eat in the surrounding area, and had since been keeping silent watch over Lucio's condition. He seemed to get a little better at first, but then a fever began to rise, and the increase of his body temperature was too sharp to regard as an improvement. The books Patrizia read hadn't said what to do afterwards. She knew she had to give him the scula flower, and he had improved a fraction…but then what? If he wasn't waking up, did it mean it was too late?

Patrizia shook the thoughts from her head. It was too early to jump to grim conclusions. Lucio was not yet dead, and there were still other things she could do. She wondered how to cool him off, and then removed some of the straw that covered him. Insulating his body when he had a fever was probably not the best idea.

Rumble rumble boom!

A thunderstorm announced its presence, followed by the sound of pouring rain. Patrizia jumped up in fright, then pulled herself together enough to bring in Sally from the cave entrance. Sally shook her head, spraying droplets of water on Patrizia. She brushed the wetness from her clothes, and then tied Sally to another spot inside the cave.

In the meantime, rain continued to fall, and Patrizia lifted her head to look at the numerous streams of water pouring from the sky. It would be impossible for anyone to find them now. Furthermore, the river would rise from the rain, making it difficult to cross.

Without consciously choosing to do so, Patrizia lifted up her hand to receive the raindrops on her palm. The water was cold, as she thought it would be a good way to cool Lucio down. But she soon changed her mind. She was sure she read somewhere in a book that a sudden drop in body temperature could strain the body and lead to worse consequences.

The book had other passages, which said that to lower a fever without medicine, another person would have to cool their own body and then hug the fevered patient. Patrizia blushed once again when the thought came to mind, but once more, this was no time for embarrassment.

She stepped out into the cool rain. She heard Sally neigh, as if wondering what was going on, but it didn't matter. If Patrizia didn't make a decision now, the horse, the man, and herself would all die. She took in a deep breath as rivulets of water ran down her hair, face, breasts, and stomach. Her body shivered at the cold sensation, but she gritted her teeth and endured. She had eaten some of the scula flower earlier, and she wouldn't die easily.

I will never let you die. Damn it. Who's going to die?We'll all return to the palace in good health. We'll all be safe.

Patrizia clenched her jaw to stop her teeth from chattering. After she stood in the rain for about twenty minutes, she started to feel delirious. She stumbled into the cave, wondering if it would be a big deal if it rained more. Sally gave a neigh of concern, and Patrizia offered a reassuring smile, before staggering towards the rock where Lucio lay. She felt like her mind was about to fly into space.

“Haah…” She exhaled, then held his body as close to hers as possible. He felt like a hot fire all over her. She closed her eyes tiredly and tightened her arms around him.

“I'll never let you die. Never,” she muttered constantly.

At this moment, his life was the same as her life. She had to return with him alive if she were to be cleared of any wrongdoing. After three or four more round of cold rain and hugging, she soon fell asleep.

The first thing Lucio noticed when he began to wake was a bitter taste in his mouth and a cold sensation pressed all over his body. He began to come to his senses little by little, with a strange sensation of both coolness and warmth. For someone as seriously poisoned as Lucio, it would take about two to three hours for the scular flower to take effect.

A cold sweat stuck to his forehead—did he have a nightmare, or had he suffered some terrible pain? There was a cold sweat on his forehead. Given that his body was a normal temperature, the former seemed likely. His nightmares had always tormented him.

He could sustain everything else through sheer mental will, but his dreams were different. It was not something humans could endure even if they cultivated the willpower up to an old age.

Thus his nightmares were always the same, and he could never be free of constant suffering, and ever. It was an eternal punishment imposed on him, like Prometheus' punishment, which never ended. Lucio always wanted to escape from the punishment he had been given, and yet at the same time, he thought he deserved it. He thought he needed to pay the price. But reason and emotion were always in opposition. His reason always justified his evil dreams, but his feelings cried out to end his suffering.

His nightmares had no rules. It found him when he was happy, it found him when he was unhappy. It found him when he was neither happy nor unhappy. Nightmares were his daily routine. Never to be removed; never to be freed.

Chapter end