DEDLB | Ch 07

“…Did you say the bedroom?”
Ibi slowly nodded her head.
“That’s right.”
“Are you talking about the Empress’s bedroom?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you serious? Asking me to stay in the Empress’s bedroom, that’s ridiculous!”
Ricardo scoffed, clearly stunned.
“I thought about it seriously.”
“Well, I can’t take you seriously when you say something like that.”
Stay in the Empress’s bedroom… honestly, it’d be better to just accept death.
Ricardo mumbled in disbelief as he looked at Ibi.
“The safest place in this vast palace is that room,” she said calmly.
“……”
“Who would dare to search the Empress’s bedroom? It’s safer than an open greenhouse where anyone can come and go.”
Ricardo listened quietly to her and then slowly spoke.
“…It’s absurd, but you’re not wrong.”
With a serious look, Ricardo finished his sentence just as a sound came from the door.
…Click.
“……!”
Ibi was about to turn her head when Ricardo quickly moved and jumped on her.
“What…!”
“Shh.”
Ricardo pulled Ibi close, covering her mouth with his hand.
He moved with incredible speed, as if he wasn’t injured, and headed toward the bushes.
Then, he lowered his body and stared at the door where the sound was coming from.
Ibi was startled by the sudden movement, and she tried to struggle, but then froze.
The smell of blood and sweat hit her nose.
Realizing again that Ricardo was injured, Ibi looked at his face.
The man who usually kept a certain distance was now much closer.
They were so close that she could hear his heartbeat and the sound of him breathing.
In that moment, with her mouth covered, Ibi broke out in cold sweat, unsure of what to do.
“…Really, Your Majesty lost her earring, so I came here to look for it.”
“Do you think I’ll believe that?”
Just then, a strange man’s voice and Lucy’s voice could be heard from outside.
From the way Lucy was arguing, it didn’t seem like she was known by the people around the Empress.
Ibi, still pressed against Ricardo, widened her eyes in surprise.
“A woman walking around at this time of night? Of course, we have to be suspicious.”
“How rude! I’m the closest maid to Her Majesty!”
“Rude or not, I’m more curious if you’ve hidden some man here, so move aside.”
“Hey!”
“Move aside, or I’ll tie you up. Are you not moving?”
Ibi realized that Lucy was deliberately making noise to stall for time.
“……”
Then, Ricardo’s finger brushed Ibi’s ear.
Ibi immediately understood what he meant.
Without hesitation, she threw one of the earrings into the dirt, and just as she did, the greenhouse door opened with a loud sound.
“Come out now!”
The royal guard, confidently entering the greenhouse, held up a torch and started looking around.
“……”
Reluctantly, Ibi lowered her body, still pressed against Ricardo. He did the same.
Both of them were so closely pressed together that not even a needle could fit between them, hiding behind a garden tree.
If they got caught in this position, there would be no way out.
Ibi swallowed dryly and looked up at Ricardo.
He was observing the guard’s movements with a surprisingly calm expression.
The guard, after exaggeratedly searching the place, seemed to give up and shrugged his shoulders.
“Nothing here.”
Then Lucy entered the greenhouse, and seeing the guard’s confusion, she quickly shouted.
“Look! This is Her Majesty’s earring!”
A small ruby earring was lying at the guard’s feet.
Lucy quickly picked it up and shoved it in front of the rude guard’s face, then raised her voice proudly.
“See? Do you think I’m lying? What? Hiding a man here? How dare you speak such rude things to the Empress’s closest maid!”
“Th-That’s…”
“What’s that? What? Stop stammering and speak up!”
Lucy once again exaggeratedly yelled and pushed the guard out of the greenhouse.
“Who do you think you are, barging into the greenhouse that only the Empress can enter? Who’s your superior? What’s your name? If you don’t tell me right now, I’ll shout and get you in trouble!”
“Ah, miss, please calm down.”
“Do you know me? Since when did you start calling me miss!”
Bang!
The door slammed shut with such force that it seemed like it might break. Lucy and the guard’s voices faded as they left, but Ibi remained hidden for a while.
“…We should move away.”
After about 10 minutes, Ibi slowly realized her situation and froze.
She was still pressed against the unknown man’s chest.
“I’m not at fault. Her Majesty just happened to cling to me and wouldn’t let go.”
Ibi quickly moved away, mumbling awkwardly.
“I got so flustered, I didn’t even realize…”
She bit her lower lip, embarrassed, but then muttered.
“…He doesn’t smell bad.”
Ricardo, with his usual teasing tone, added, “I can tell you’ve noticed.”
The bandage around his side was soaked in blood.
Ibi, realizing that his wound had reopened, was slightly taken aback but quickly went to work without showing it.
She remembered the clean new bandages Lucy had brought.
Without looking at him, she whispered to the man still watching her with a smirk.
“You should lie down. The wound needs to be checked again…”
Ricardo didn’t listen right away, and his voice was full of mockery as he spoke.
“Are you saying you want to see my bare body?”
“Do you think you have more than one life to risk?”
Ibi sighed and continued, “The wound is deep. If I hadn’t noticed, you could have died. It’s still not healing properly, so it’s better for you to lie down and show me.”
“Seems like you enjoy getting involved in troublesome things, doesn’t it, Your Majesty?”
Ibi looked at Ricardo, who reluctantly lay down but still wouldn’t stop his annoying chatter.
She couldn’t help but think of him as a wild animal, impossible to tame.
Despite knowing that she would benefit by secretly getting rid of someone like him, she still chose to save him.
He was the leader of the opposing faction, and logically, it would have made more sense for her to leave him to die.
Yet, she was treating his injury as if his life mattered.
Ibi looked at Ricardo, who was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn’t even notice the wound had been reopened.
She continued to clean his wound with the warm water Lucy brought, but he watched her quietly.
To Ricardo, Ibi seemed like a woman with strange tastes.
But she wasn’t showing weakness. Even though she had no reason to save him, she had done everything she could to keep him alive.