The Doll and The Prince - v3 Chapter 56, v3 Chapter 57, v3 Chapter 58

Naruhito (64)
I feel like I can't breathe. My mouth hurts. I realized my hand was in my mouth and slowly took it out. My hand hurts too.
Am I on the carpet again?
Soon, I feel someone lift me up. I don’t need to open my eyes to know who it is. The familiar scent puts me at ease, and I snuggle closer. My whole body must have been tense. Exhausted, I lean into them, and they hug me tightly.

“Hiiro.”
“Yeah.”
“Hiiro.”
“Right here.”

My throat hurts.

“I want ice.”
“Water first.”

Someone hands Hiiro some water, and soon, I feel it touch my lips. The water enters my mouth—it’s not very cold. My mouth hurts all over.

“It hurts...”
“I’ll call Ikumatsu. Just hang on.”
“No, I want ice.”

I open my eyes and see Hiiro’s face, looking like he’s about to cry.
He gives me another sip of water, kissing it into my mouth.
It tastes good.
When he pulls away, I notice blood on his lips.

“Hiiro, there’s blood.”
“It’s yours.”
“Then, it’s okay.”

He licked my lips angrily.
It hurts.

“Ouch…”

Now that I think about it, I still haven’t changed into my nightwear. Did I take a bath…? What happened? Did I fall asleep?

“Your Highness.”

Hitachimaru's voice comes from behind.

“Oh, leave us.”

When I tried to turn toward the voice, Hiiro held my head, preventing me from looking.
Why?
I sensed someone leaving the room. It seems Hitachimaru was dragging someone out. Had they been in the room this whole time? That’s unusual...
As they leave, Ikumatsu entered. He undressed me and gently wiped my body with a towel soaked in warm water. It felt so comfortable that I started to doze off.

“Your Highness…”

Ikumatsu said something to Hiiro. After a moment of thought, Hiiro left the room.

“What…?”
“He’ll be back soon.”
“Hmm…”

Something was applied to my right hand, and it was wrapped in a bandage. It felt over the top, and I chuckled a little.

“It doesn’t hurt that much…”
“I can’t wrap your heart, so… here. At least here…”

With Ikumatsu’s whispered words, I find myself lying on a comfortable bed, and before I know it, I fell asleep.

----------

Hitachimaru (4)
In the middle of the night, the two of us had our cheeks treated, but when he returned to his room, he probably couldn’t sleep.
His face was pale, with sunken eyes and swollen cheeks, giving him a gaunt appearance. It was no surprise, considering it had been like a torture session.
When he tried to extend a hand to help his suffering friend, it only caused more pain. He couldn’t touch him, his voice wouldn’t reach him, and all he could do was wait for him to wake from the nightmare.
The despair of standing at the edge of an unreachable distance, waiting for consciousness to return, is something he will never want to experience again...
How many nights has His Highness been through nights like this...?
Such thought probably made him feel faint.

“Rikimaru.”

I pulled him out of the room and headed to the military training grounds. Skipping one or two meals won’t kill him. Early in the morning, the soldiers already training give us shocked looks, probably due to our swollen cheeks and casual clothes.
I ignored them and engaged my lifeless brother in a sparring match. It’s a routine we’ve done since we were kids as a warm-up. Even without thinking, Rikimaru’s body moved. That’s just how we are. As I gradually increase the speed, he started to keep up, as if snapping out of a daze.
Ah, my cheek hurts. I went easy on him, but His Highness didn’t hold back. I was prepared to take the full blow, but my body instinctively lessened the impact. It seems my bones didn’t break. At that moment, I thought I wouldn’t mind if they had, but later, considering the upcoming missions and Otoha’s feelings, I was thankful for my reflexes. Last night, Otoha had been so worried about me...
The speed increased. The movements became fast enough that a single mistake could lead to injury. The only thing I could focus on was the sparring match. Pushing to the limit of what I can handle, I signaled for the final move.
We stop perfectly, bowing to each other, and I hear gasps of admiration from around us. At some point, a crowd had gathered.

“B-brother...”
“Feeling a bit better?”
“... Yes.”
“Good. Let’s go home.”

We hadn’t brought anything to wipe off the sweat, so we used our sleeves to mop up the dripping perspiration as we walked.

“Is he asleep now...? I hope he got some sleep...”
“No idea.”

At the palace baths, we quickly rinsed off with just a shower. Feeling refreshed, we head to Ikumatsu’s room.

“Sorry about last night.”
“No worries.”

Ikumatsu quietly responded as he swiftly applied medicine to our swollen cheeks and places cooling patches on them.

“It’s my fault. I did something. But what did I...?”

Ikumatsu sat beside Rikimaru and looked him in the eye.

“What Naruhito experienced is called a flashback. It happens when someone has gone through something so terrible or painful that they become overwhelmed with fear that it might happen again, causing them to relive the experience as if it’s happening all over. It's said that unpleasant memories play back repeatedly. Not just mentally, but physically—the sensations are all felt again by the person. Triggers vary from person to person, and we thought Naruhito’s trigger was physical contact while he was in bed. At least, that's what we believed. He didn’t sleep last night. Do you remember the situation?”
“I... I called out to him, inviting him to the bath...”
“I see... The invitation to the bath as well. We’ll make sure no one ever asks him that again.”
“I’m sorry. I...”
“It’s not your fault, Lord Rikimaru. No one knew that was the trigger. No one could have known.”

A wave of pain flowed through me, not just from my cheek.
I suddenly remembered the droplets of blood that fell from His Highness’s clenched fist.
Summon me over, Hiiro...
Don’t cry alone.

----------

Naruhito (65)
I ended up taking a day off from work...
Even after waking up, I still felt sluggish, and since Hiiro was in the room, I clung to him. He even fed me lunch. But then, I suddenly realized something.
I was lying face down, clinging to Hiiro’s chest while he sat on the sofa working. It felt really nice, but maybe I was getting in the way.
I wriggled and tried to sit up.

“What’s wrong?”
“Sorry for bothering you.”
“You’re not bothering me.”

He stopped me as I tried to pull away.

“If staying in the same position is uncomfortable, you can sit up and face forward.”
“Nah.”
“If it doesn’t bother you, you can stay like that.”
“I’m fine.”
“Alright, alright.”
“I want to work.”
“Once you finish eating lunch, I’ll think about it.”

My mouth and lips still hurt, so I hadn’t eaten much...
I sighed and leaned back against Hiiro, still lying on my stomach.

“It’s rare for you to sigh, Naruhito.”

Sai chuckled softly from the other sofa.

“I slept a lot, though.”
“We tend to get tired easily, don’t we?”
“You too, Sai?”
“Yes, indeed.”

But Sai could now finish his lunch properly. His right hand and leg still seemed difficult to move, so he ate with his left hand, taking his time. Still, he had already started taking on work from Hiiro.

“I think for now, we should settle on waiving the guarantor fee for those with family names as guarantors when it comes to licenses.”
“I agree. Rushing things rarely leads to anything good.”

It seemed like an important discussion was taking place.

“In the end, I’d like everyone in the country to have a family name. That way, anyone could take the exams, right? Obtaining any kind of license requires considerable effort, so those who work hard should have an equal opportunity. It’s a waste to restrict it to just those with family names.”
“I think that’s a wonderful idea. However, taking away the privileges of the nation’s elite will be a challenge, so let’s proceed step by step. We’re still young, after all; we have time to move slowly.”
“Hearing that from you is surprising.”
“What? I’ve never been the impatient type.”
“You were, though. Just until recently.”

At that, Sai looked down.

“... Humans are such fickle creatures, aren’t they?”
“It’s a good kind of fickle. I’m counting on you. We still have a lot to do.”

Sai has many things he must accomplish in life.
And so does Hiiro.
Do I... as well?

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