#103
“What were you just doing? Huh?!”
Anture shouted in a harsh voice. Enrique silently wrapped his arms around Anture’s neck. The arms embracing Anture trembled. It was unclear whether it was due to losing too much blood or simply from shock.
Anture flinched as he hugged Enrique. His dark eyes moved towards Enrique’s lower body. Due to continuous bleeding, not only his pants but also the place where he sat was soaked in blood.
“Enrique, this is…”
Anture’s eyes shook violently. At that moment, a servant who had been pushed aside spoke urgently.
“He gave birth before retreating to the tower. There was no time to stop the bleeding as we had to flee here right after the child was born.”
“What?”
Anture’s eyes darkened.
“Anture. The child, we need to get the child.”
Enrique said urgently. Anture reached down and felt Enrique’s stomach. Realizing the servant’s words were true, his face contorted.
“The child, I hid the child, Anture. I hid it with Pol.”
Enrique said in a trembling voice. Anture carefully lifted Enrique into his arms. Enrique, his body completely drained of strength, limply dropped his head onto Anture’s chest. Anture was soaked in blood as if he had charged through, slaughtering soldiers with his bare hands. Just as Enrique wondered if he was injured, he lost consciousness.
His body felt heavy as if soaked in water. Enrique was dragged down to the bottom of the tower, discovered by the Monta army, having failed even to take his own life. The hall that had been full of wounded was now filled with Monta soldiers. There, Enrique saw Pol surrounded by enemy soldiers, with the child in his arms.
‘No!’
Enrique shouted urgently and sprang up.
“Enrique!”
A familiar voice was heard. Enrique floundered for a moment between dream and reality, then turned his eyes feeling a warm touch on his cheek. Dark eyes filled with worry and concern were right in front of him.
“Anture?”
When Enrique called out, Anture pulled him into an embrace without a word. The broad, firm chest and familiar, missed scent enveloped Enrique. Only then did Enrique let out a sigh of relief, certain that what had just happened was a dream.
“Good heavens, Enrique. If I had arrived just a little later, you would have…”
Anture muttered as if lamenting. Enrique could feel his heart beating rapidly.
“The child?”
Enrique asked softly while in Anture’s arms. Anture let out a big sigh with an incomprehensible meaning. Then he gestured behind him.
“Your Highness.”
Pol’s voice was heard. Enrique pushed away from Anture’s chest and saw Pol approaching the bedside. In Pol’s arms was the child, now slightly whiter, sleeping with closed eyes.
“You’ve done well, Pol.”
The words to Pol came out slightly trembling.
“Your Highness, hold the baby. You don’t know how bravely and quietly they’ve been.”
Pol handed the child to Enrique. Enrique reached out towards the child he had given birth to but hadn’t been able to hold even once. But before his hand could touch the blanket wrapping the child, a large hand stopped him.
“You shouldn’t lift anything heavy yet.”
Anture said coldly, supporting Enrique and laying him back down on the bed. Enrique looked at Anture with surprised eyes. But Anture, with a hardened expression, only stroked Enrique’s head affectionately. He didn’t even glance at the child.
“It’s our child, Anture.”
Enrique said as if coaxing. But Anture’s hardened eyes didn’t soften. His large hand pulled at Enrique’s thin nightgown, revealing his shoulder. Seeing the clear arrow scar on the shoulder, Anture’s expression hardened even more.
Enrique read deep guilt and helplessness in Anture’s eyes. This war was started because he wanted Enrique all to himself. And now Enrique had been driven to the point of attempting suicide. It was understandable for him to feel such emotions. Instead of pushing the child towards Anture again, who looked as if he was backed into a corner, Enrique cupped his cheek with his hand and smiled.
“The capital of Baron?”
“Captured.”
“My spoils of war?”
“I rushed here without time to collect them, but my subordinates will probably take care of it.”
“Any injuries?”
“None.”
“The Monta army?”
“We won’t leave any prisoners.”
Anture’s eyes glinted with murderous intent at the mention of not leaving prisoners. Enrique covered Anture’s eyes with his hand. And as Anture tried to remove that hand, Enrique said as if admonishing:
“Why don’t you make prettier eyes? Don’t look at me with such fierce eyes.”
At Enrique’s words, the strength left Anture’s hands. Anture took a deep breath with his eyes covered for a moment. When he removed his hand, thinking it was okay now, Anture’s eyes were not exactly pretty, but at least reasonably calm.
“You… almost died.”
Anture said, tightly gripping Enrique’s hand with both of his.
“If I had stabbed my neck, I would have died, of course. Anyway, I didn’t die.”
“That’s not it… You almost died from severe bleeding.”
“…”
“Do you know what you looked like when I found you? Sitting in a pool of blood, your face and lips turned blue… You had lost consciousness and wouldn’t wake up…”
Anture trailed off at the end, burying his forehead on the back of Enrique’s hand.
Enrique could feel Anture’s breath trembling slightly as he breathed heavily. Hot drops were falling on the back of Enrique’s hand. Enrique left Anture alone as he quietly sobbed while holding onto Enrique’s hand. Anture’s tears, which Enrique had never seen before, and the slight trembling of the man sobbing silently were unbearably lovable.
“I love you, Enrique. I can’t live without you.”
Anture confessed his love in a trembling voice after a long sob. Only then did Enrique reach out and lift Anture’s face. Although a grown man crying so much should have looked ridiculous, he only looked tender and lovable, as if Enrique’s heart was melting.
“Will you kiss me?”
At Enrique’s request, Anture dropped a hot tear from his chin and pressed his lips respectfully and tenderly on Enrique’s forehead. The hot lips moved from the forehead to the bridge of the nose, and from there to the lips. They savored their reunion with a long, soft kiss after several months.
*
The statement about almost dying from blood loss was not an exaggeration. They said the bleeding was extremely severe, probably because he had moved constantly right after giving birth. Even when he was brought back to the bedroom in Anture’s arms, the bleeding hadn’t stopped, causing quite a commotion, according to the doctor. The doctor euphemistically expressed that he had almost died. Not killed by the enemy, not by suicide, but almost dying from postpartum hemorrhage. Enrique felt a chill down his spine for a moment.
The effects of excessive blood loss were evident. Even just sitting up briefly made him so dizzy that his vision spun. His stomach was nauseous, and his mouth was dry, making it difficult to eat. The dull headache also persisted, requiring him to constantly take medicine from the doctor.
Enrique looked at his hand while sitting up in bed. The color of his nails was still not as good as before. The pale skin color also remained, indicating that the effects of blood loss had not easily subsided. Even being awake for a short time brought on fatigue, and even eating and digesting took a toll on his energy. Anture kept Enrique from moving an inch from the bed. In fact, he didn’t have the strength to get out of bed even if Anture hadn’t stopped him.
“Why do you keep coming in and out when you’re busy? I can’t rest because of you.”
Enrique scolded Anture, who was holding a spoon to his mouth. Anture silently brought the spoon to his lips. Although he had no appetite, he had to eat to recover. Enrique forcibly suppressed his nauseous stomach and opened his mouth to eat the soup.
The soup was quite gamey. It was natural since they had boiled it with lots of meat to replenish blood. He closed his eyes tightly and swallowed, causing his stomach to churn. Enrique struggled not to throw up. His brow naturally furrowed deeply. Anture gently rubbed his back, trying to suppress the nausea.
When the nausea subsided a bit, Anture scooped up another spoonful. Enrique pushed away Anture’s hand with a grimace.
“I’ll have a servant do this, so please stop now. You must be so busy you don’t even have time to sleep, so go out and do your work.”
His voice naturally carried irritation due to his poor physical condition. In fact, he was even more irritated because he often ended up vomiting after eating. While he could do this in front of servants, it was certainly not how he wanted to appear in front of Anture. Seeing the sincerity on Enrique’s face, Anture obediently withdrew the spoon and handed the bowl to a nearby servant.
“No matter how busy I am, nothing is more important than being by your side.”
Anture said, taking Enrique’s hand and rubbing it against his lips. Since their reunion after several months, Anture had been desperate to cling to Enrique like a lost puppy. Having rushed to Francia Castle right after capturing the capital of Baron, there must have been a mountain of follow-up work piled up. Judging by the dark circles under his eyes, it was clear he was working without proper sleep, yet Anture still came to spend time with Enrique whenever he had a moment.
