In the end, life is always full of complicated things. Whether she wants it or not, it does not matter because as someone who is living, she has no control over what will happen in her life, is not she?

Kinda, unfair. Yet, what could she do instead of moving forward?

Although her heart feels so anxious every time she looks at him. When his touches are vividly engraved in her mind, while his scent starts to be something that could calm her down. Then after being drowned in the comfortable embrace- the reality of her past slap her in the most agonizing way.

and life sometimes likes to joke around as it then put her in a situation where she could not do anything but, live.

[ I will ask you again, are you sure?]

" I am sure!" said Arisha.

[ It is okay if you still want to take a break.]

" No, My teacher said today will be the day we learn magic!"

and Irisha sighed while looking at her little sister who is now ready with her uniform. [ Are you not tired?]

Then, she shakes her head quite hard while showing a big wide smile to her. " I am okay! I will come back after school is done!" and excitedly do her sign language in front of her.

" I will pick her up, Irisha. So, don't worry." and the second prince, shows up behind Arisha's back while pinched Arisha's cheeks, and her little sister does not seem to mind it.

Again she sighed while looking at both of them who already becomes a good ally if something that Irisha argues about comes out. [ Your Grace, you have to attend your classes too.]

" I am!"

and Irisha glares at him, quite a while.

"... Okay, okay...." and he chuckled. " Why do they always tell you about it now?"

[ Your teachers' concern about you!] she said. [ Arisha, don't play with his grace if he slacks her classes.]

and Arisha nodded. " Okay, sister!"

" Wow, you traitor!" and he really plays with her cheeks so much but Arisha ends up laughing so hard.

Arisha again sighed, [... alright then, please have fun both of you.] who then makes both of them excited as Arisha kisses her in her cheeks after Irisha leans toward her because she is now sitting in the bed.

" I love you, sister!" she said.

As Irisha smiles, as she then looks at the maid behind them. [ Please take care of her.] as this maid is now in charge to take care of Arisha.

" Of course, My Lady." and she said that with sign language, she never expected to be used in this imperial palace... and yes, she is now living in the palace. The place where the member of Imperial family lives and to be specific, the very palace of the first crown prince. It has been one week and, she is confused about why she is still here. To stay in this humongous and luxurious room with the thick accent of the Malum Empire. The strong color of silver and platinum with engraved dragons statues.

Now, she could see the detail of it clearly as the light now is turned on. In fact, she already remembers the details of it as she already spent quite a while in this room. Most of the time to be exact because her body was injured so badly. It will worsen if the medicines run out and will be better if the Imperial Pharmacy does the healing to her body. Yet, unfortunately, they will only allow doing so for four hours per day. It depends on her body and the injury.

'... Tara should come soon, I'd better prepare.' and yes, after several days and treatment- her body gradually becomes better and could move her body without that much pain except her broken right foot.

That is also the reason for her struggling to reach the wheelchair that is prepared for her after she asked it stubbornly. Yet, before her hand reaches it, a big hand she familiars with, reach it first and push it close to her.

Then when she looks up, she finds the handsome wicked prince that seems just out showering.

" ... How many times should I tell you to call someone to help you?" asked him with his nagging expression that recently becomes so much expressive.

and she has already gotten used to it. [ ... Dry your hair first before coming out from the bathroom.] and she decided to just ignore it as she figures out that is the most effective solution. Then he will just look at her for a while as if he asks to have a staring battle with her in the very morning like this. [ I will help you dry your hair. Please sit down.] and she will just find a distraction to stop his nagging.

.

After he sits down in the chair that he always sits down on whenever he comes to his own room that is now being used by her- Irisha puts the towel he gave her to then dry his hair gently.

strange?

Yes. Of course. She is not that dumb for not realising. Yet, she is also confused with all of this things from the start.

[ The meeting will end around 7 P.M.] he said with only his hands because she is now looking down. [ I can have dinner with you.]

and she just gently brushes the towel.

[ Tomorrow, I will put off my schedule too so I could accompany you with your treatment.]

as she then pulls him up, and they both look at each other before she turns her eyes away and gently brush his ears.

" Bring Ray whenever you go." and his golden eyes, sparkling while looking at hers. " Don't go everywhere without anyone." while saying something that she is still confused about how to react.

' How am I suppose to answer that?'

the question that recently she asked every time they both have this kind of conversation.

' who am I to answer that?'

and the more further she thinks about it, the more it becomes difficult to bear the answer.

So, she decides to be silent.

" Do you understand?"

and she looks at her while letting go of the towel, ' ... because I can not do anything now.' as her condition is worse, and his protectiveness is something she could not argue, with this kind of body.

Then she smiles gently, [ I understand.] and just says something that she could say for now.

" Then good." he smiles while reaching her with his sturdy hands and lifting her up as if she is a feather. It is so casually being done, even though Irisha still feels her heart jumps whenever he does this. She is also surprised by herself, of how could she still compose her expression while she always feels sudden hyperventilation if she is in his embrace.

" Both of you, surely romantic even in the morning." said the first princess, Eve Isaac Malum who is now entering his room with Tara behind her.

he stares at her. " I don't think that my room is a place for someone to enter freely."

and she lifts her shoulders, " It is open, so I just come in." she said. Who then looks at Irisha and smiles warmly and beautifully. " Sister Irisha, how are you?" with slow sign language but still understandable.

and Irisha who is now still in the crown prince's embrace, smile awkwardly. [ Good morning, My La- Ivy. I feel refreshed, how about you?] and how she still trying to be more natural to the first princess of this empire because the princess is the one who asked her to. Every time she failed to do so, she will show Irisha a heart-broken expression that Irisha could not stand with.

" That is nice," she said with a bright smile. A very lovely one that will make people think of how cute she is every time they look at it, and Irisha does think the same. Compare to the first time after the accident when she somehow, asked Irisha to talk with her.

She was so quiet, bowed her head, and could not talk and write much. Even though she was not sure either the fact that the princess became so much quiet was because of the lacking of the skill to communicate, or the princess just did not want to communicate. Either way, the princess was the one who asked for the meeting and Irisha just did what she asked. The princess was so different from what people always said about her, of how she was so talkative and expressive. Yet, in front of her that time, the princess could not do anything.

then after a quite long time, Irisha writes something on her note.

[ If it is hard for you to say something now, you can send me a letter.] she said and attracted her, who then looked at her. She then wrote something again, [ I also had a time when I felt hard to tell someone about my feeling, so I wrote them a letter.]

and then, after that, the princess took her note and went away leaving her alone in confusion. Yet, later on after that, her ladies in waiting came to Irisha and send her a letter from the princess.

It was a simple letter.

[ Thank you.]

and that's it. Yet, Irisha feels that the princess was trying so hard to tell her about her gratitude and that was enough reason for her to reply to the sincere gratitude with the same one. She replied to her letter. Then, after that day... the princess came to her with a bright shy smile of hers.

Then, they are now becoming a partner to talk within this very palace.

" ... Then, when will you go, brother?" asked her while staring at his brother. She still uses sign language so Irisha could still understand.

He then stares at her sister for a while, before sighing and putting Irisha down in her wheelchair. "... Don't overwork yourself." while he touches her cheeks gently while smiling without guilt even though he realizes how red her cheeks are right now due to embarrassment. Yet, he enjoys it. Pretty much. " Then I will go now." Then he stands up while looking at Irisha for a while before turning to Tara who jolts after realizing his stares. " Report me if something happened."

and Tara nodded, before then giving him the imperial greeting who is leaving his room.

The wide back of him that is now something that she will always look at every morning.

Ah, her heart thumping real hard as her cheeks feel burning.

" I will wait for you until your work is done." the princess said. Wakes her up from her endless thoughts, " Is it, okay?"

and she smiles, [ Of course.] she said. While then the princess pushes her wheelchair even though Tara asked to do it. Yet, the princess seems to enjoy doing so, and they just let her be.

In the end, she is still 16 years old despite the titles she has. Then after a while of living in the palace and meeting all of the Imperial children, she somehow questioned, are they not lonely?

The palace is humongous. They state that there are several palace others than the main palace on this rocky mountain. There are all beautiful, luxurious, extravagant, and filled with elegant decorations. There are many elite imperial maids all over the places protected by the Holy Knights of the Malum Empire. In every corner, the charismatic dragons' statues will be found. Yet, even at the first time, she came and after she spent a lot of time here, she could see how everyone try not to get close to them.

' ... because they are all terrified.' as she once felt the same.

The dreadful threats of them that crawled in her body. The painful pressure of something they call the dragon's pheromone. Even though a child is only born without knowing anything.

" I always like to spend times with you, Sister Irisha," she said while they are sitting in the crown prince's study room that is being lent to her for her to do her works while in this condition.

Surrounded by a lot of books on the big shelves and elegant decorations. She was so awkward for using it by herself but, the crown prince is not letting her go and she could not force herself to go in her condition right now. So, she ended up accepting it.

[ You can come to me every time you desire, Ivy.] she said while then looking at her who is reading the book about the Althera world. Again, a similar genre that she will pick. [ You are like Arisha, you sure like the world.]

and with her beautiful face and golden eyes, she looks at the book that is showing a big picture of the ocean. " ... they said worlds are all beautiful," she said with a nonchalant expression but, feels so lonely. " I never go outside the empire, so I don't know. Yet, I've met elves though."

[ You can if you want. Is someone forbid you?] as she is the crown princess of the empire,

and she giggles, " No one will dare, my brother and my father also will not care. Moreover my mother." she said casually. " ... If people are not all over the world, maybe I might."

[... are you afraid, with people?]

and the princess looks at her for a while. "... they the one who does." and she giggles weakly. " ... and I just unfortunate to have this kind of fate. Even though you have a dragon that will bring you everywhere... yet, I am still here after 16 years living. Even my ancestors also did live here for their entire life."

... it is ironic. After then realising and knew that the wicked and mad princess that people talked about was locked up in the invisible cage. To then worsen the situation-the one that is blessed by the dragon has the powerful blood of the dragon flowing inside their body that is affecting their whole humane traits of them. They need a regular daily human blood transfusion to stabilize the blood inside them so that they will not go wicked and humanless. Just like the princess was back then.

" The princess was usually not appropriate in melee fight, it is not her style." said Ray to her, "... It seemed, in the critical situation, she then overused her power and triggered her dragon' instinct. Whenever the blessed one uses that, either friend or foe they will just eliminate everything that blocks them." he said it with a casual expression as it is nothing new to him.

"....Yet, your blood, Ms.Irisha... then wakes her up," he said. " As I am not the dragon's blessing, I don't really understand but, it seems human blood has different traits from their blood. The aroma could help them take control of their mind for a while... but never it is effective as it needs a lot amount of aroma."

[ How?]

and he smiles awkwardly, " ... I am sure you don't want me to tell you about it."

Irisha then took a moment for awhile before then realizes,

Then Ray smiled vainly, " So that is why we have to make sure that they get their daily transfusion so we could prevent the worst case of this dragon's blood."

[ You did a great thing.]

"... I pleasured to hear that, Ms.Irisha but, I am not," he said. " I just do what fate told us to do."

" All of us has our own struggling, it is also applied to the Imperial members," he said. " They had a hard start in the very beginning of their life, as well as they are now.... to see someone like you come across them, I am truly grateful Ms.Irisha."

" I hope you can stay a long time with us."

'a long time', he said and she questioned it always. With the same amount of how she feels so much happiness as she is now, in the times she loses control of her mind or body... many questions will come overwhelmingly.

As she is right now looking at the lovely princess that is smiling toward her, '...will you be the same if you know who am I?'

as she remembers the gentle touches of him and his smile she starts to miss. Her heart thumping and aching, painfully. It is hard to breathe and compose herself to act okay in front of people while her thoughts are going so wild.

' I am not someone like you think.'

' ... you will despise me eventually.'

' As it is my punishment.'

and yes, it is as she then tries to hold the trembling hand of her and anxious feeling inside her.

" Sister, are you okay?" asked the princess.

and she smiles gently. [ I am okay.]

***