The Evil Empress Adores Me-Chapter 36
“Would it be easier, even just a little, if I simply let my uncle kill me like this?”
Even as he desperately struggled to survive, Diamid was constantly tormented by that temptation.
What if he just gave up on everything?
After all, no one welcomed his existence.
But...
He wanted to live.
He didn’t want to die so meaninglessly.
He wanted to be loved. He wanted to hear kind words.
He didn’t want to suffer from loneliness anymore.
So, anyone—please.
“Hold my hand.”
Gasp!
At the same time, Diamid opened his eyes.
His entire body felt as heavy as waterlogged cotton, and his breathing was ragged, as if he had been running for a long time.
But right now...
There was a small hand holding onto his.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince!”
A voice filled with sobs called out to him.
Charlize, her eyes brimming with tears, was looking at him with desperate concern.
It felt like he had finally escaped from a long, dark tunnel, and warmth flooded his chest.
“...Why are you crying?”
A voice, terribly hoarse, slipped out.
Charlize tightened her grip on his hand and snapped at him.
“You weren’t waking up!!!”
“Because of me?”
“Of course! Do you have any idea how worried I was?”
Diamid’s lips curled slightly.
Though his entire body ached too much to tell whether he was actually smiling,
he didn’t like making Charlize worry, nor did he like seeing her cry.
Charlize continued.
“Y-you have such a high fever... and I couldn’t do anything.”
“What do you mean you couldn’t do anything?”
When he looked into her lilac-colored eyes, glistening with tears, a dull ache throbbed in his chest.
With trembling fingers, Diamid brushed away the tears from Charlize’s eyes.
Tears kept falling.
What was she going to do if she cried this much?
“You stayed by my side the whole time.”
“...Your Highness.”
“You did so much...”
His weak, broken voice trailed off, and Charlize sniffled but tried to hold back her tears.
Diamid’s smile deepened slightly.
“So don’t cry.”
He wasn’t sure if his clumsy attempt at comforting her worked, but fortunately, Charlize didn’t cry any further.
Wiping her tears roughly with the hem of her apron, Charlize clenched her fists and looked at him with determination.
“F-first, we need to bring your fever down.”
Charlize crouched beside the bed.
Wondering what she was up to, Diamid glanced over and saw a basin filled with cold water sitting next to the bed.
Charlize dipped a towel into the water and started wringing it out with great effort.
“J-just... wait a moment...!”
A moment later, Charlize placed the wet cloth on Diamid’s forehead.
Splat!
The towel, still soaked with cold water, landed on his forehead with a heavy plop.
It seemed she hadn’t been strong enough to wring out all the excess water.
Droplets trickled down, dampening his pillow.
But Diamid smiled softly.
“Thank you.”
“But this alone won’t be enough. We need to call a doctor...”
Charlize murmured in a worried voice.
At that moment, Diamid’s expression hardened, and he shook his head firmly.
“I’m fine.”
“B-but...”
“I told you before, right? Keep it a secret that I’m sick.”
His voice was uncharacteristically firm.
Charlize couldn’t hide her frustration as she looked at him.
“Why did you suddenly get so sick? Did you overheat? Or is it a summer cold?”
“T-that’s...”
“Either way, if you’re sick, you need treatment. So why do you keep refusing to call a doctor?”
Questions spilled out one after another.
Diamid hesitated for a moment.
Could he really be honest with her?
“Because this isn’t a cold, nor is it from the heat.”
Despite his hesitation, his lips moved on their own, speaking the truth.
Charlize’s eyes widened.
“Then...?”
“This is... divine fever.”
“...Divine fever?”
Hearing the unfamiliar term, Charlize tilted her head.
Her clear lilac eyes met his directly.
“What’s divine fever?”
Diamid felt a brief wave of confusion.
Normally, he would have just brushed it off as a cold.
Because ‘divine fever’ was his greatest weakness.
Why is it that in front of you... I keep becoming so honest?
Diamid pressed his lips together tightly.
“...They say when the body weakens, the mind weakens too.”
It seemed that saying was true.
Otherwise, there was no way to explain his own strange behavior.
Meanwhile, Charlize was still looking at him with her usual innocent expression.
“Your Highness?”
“......”
There was no helping it.
Still, Charlize... was someone he could trust.
Leaning his head back against the pillow, Diamid spoke in a hoarse voice.
“You know that I inherited the power of the divine beast, right?”
“Yes, I know that, but...”
“Great power comes with a price.”
Slowly, Diamid explained.
The divine beast’s power was a double-edged sword for him.
Without it, he wouldn’t have survived the constant assassination attempts.
Well, the Emperor probably kept sending assassins precisely because of that power.
However, with his immature body, controlling the divine beast’s strength was extremely difficult.
Because of that, every month or so—sometimes even half a year—he would fall ill with divine fever.
The irregular cycle allowed him to keep fooling others by claiming it was just a cold, but...
“...So, I’ve been suffering from divine fever for about three years now.”
Diamid tried to smile nonchalantly despite his exhaustion.
In reality, there was no fundamental cure for divine fever.
It wasn’t like he could simply expel the divine power from his body.
‘But...’
For some reason, this time the divine fever didn’t seem as severe.
Usually, when it struck, it was hard to even remain conscious until it passed.
Why was it different this time?
“Th-then.”
Charlize, who had been listening intently, slowly opened her mouth.
Her voice trembled.
“You’ve... always been this sick?”
“...Huh?”
Diamid was caught off guard.
Charlize’s expression was now full of guilt.
“I... I should have come to find Your Highness sooner.”
“Charlize, this isn’t your fault.”
“No, it is my fault.”
Her eyes were filled with determination.
What exactly is she blaming herself for?
Diamid was puzzled but had no time to ask.
Charlize suddenly shot to her feet.
“Your Highness.”
“...Yes?”
“Can’t we tell Her Majesty the Empress?”
At those words, Diamid fell silent.
Divine fever was an incredibly sensitive issue for him.
If the Emperor found out that he periodically collapsed, he would surely use it as leverage to strike at Diamid.
And now she was suggesting telling the Empress?
“I’ll just say you caught a cold. Okay?”
Charlize added earnestly.
By now, her eyes were teary once more.
“You said you’ve managed to fool people by calling it a cold so far.”
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“......”
“We can’t just leave it like this. At least let a doctor examine you.”
In the end, Diamid gave in to the sight of her glistening eyes.
Considering that the Empress had protected him once before, at least she didn’t seem as hostile toward him as the Emperor.
And seeing how firmly Charlize trusted the Empress...
‘Somehow... I want to believe in her too.’
Diamid gave a small nod.
“...If you insist, then fine.”
At that, Charlize’s face lit up.
Her eyes sparkled as she clenched her hands into fists.
“Then I’ll go tell Her Majesty right now!”
“Alright.”
“Stay right here until I get back! You have to hold on!”
Charlize ran out of the room, turning ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) back several times as she went.
Diamid quietly watched her go before collapsing back onto the bed.
His temples throbbed from the relentless fever, his vision blurry and unfocused.
His breath was still scorching.
But...
‘...It’s quiet.’
For once, the usual ringing in his ears didn’t accompany the divine fever.
The world was silent.
His body burned, but his mind remained cool.
His thoughts were clear, and he wasn’t on the verge of passing out.
‘Was it because Charlize... was here?’
Diamid unknowingly smiled faintly.
That was ridiculous.
How could a mere little maid have the power to suppress divine fever?
Ah, Charlize told him to stay conscious.
But his eyelids were too heavy.
Slowly, he closed his eyes.
Sleep swallowed him whole.
