A week had passed.

I continued my role as the personal doctor, staying in the palace.

Although it wasn’t a long time, I thought it might have been too much to keep skipping my classes.

However, I didn’t need to worry about this. I had already made arrangements with Selena in advance.

After all, I had taken the position of head assistant specifically for times like this.

- "Are you planning to be absent for a while?"

- "I don’t intend to refuse, but… I’m concerned because this has been happening more frequently."

- "You must not neglect your duties as a student."

- "I won’t ask for the reason for your absences. After all, our relationship was established under such conditions."

- "However, I will add a piece of advice: be careful with your health."

I received permission easily.

If a student were to behave like this, their teacher might get curious, but our instructor didn’t ask a single question.

He simply let me do as I pleased.

Choosing Selena as my backup was indeed an excellent decision.

Had it been any other professor from Gallimar, they would have been desperate to control my actions to suit their needs.

I was relieved once again.

‘Thanks to that, I have some freedom.’

Because of that, I was able to focus entirely on my tasks here.

Over the past week, I had worked on two major things.

First, of course, was treating the rose. Second, I had been gradually taming the little prince.

These were necessary steps for the upcoming events.

Both tasks required patience, so I approached them slowly, taking my time.

Naturally, it wasn’t easy to see results right away.

- “I clearly told you to get lost.”

- “I don’t want treatment, so stop touching my body.”

- “Just leave me to die.”

Especially in the case of Elise.

While Charlotte was slowly opening up, her younger sister consistently responded with coldness.

Or rather... she seemed to be growing more hostile over time.

Despite her improving health, Elise still couldn’t accept it. Every time she received treatment, she resisted fiercely.

As a result, I had to spend hours every day attending to her.

- "Ugh… you garbage."

- "Do you think a mere royal princess can be treated this way and get away with it?"

- "I’ll kill you one day."

Whenever my gentle hand touched her pale skin, her hazy eyes would glare at me.

Beyond those empty pupils, malice would slowly crumble.

Her sweet breath would falter, her red hair damp with sweat, the sticky scent of her skin would fill the air, and the girl would lie there, exhausted.

Her pitiful gaze was always filled with resentment.

- “Die already.”

It seemed that I was unintentionally being hated, but still, I had no intention of letting go.

Once I gave up, even the slightest hope would vanish.

The death of the rose would inevitably lead to the little prince’s tragedy.

Thus, I continued to gently stroke the red petals, despite the pricks from the thorns.

Always with a smile.

- "You’ll get used to it soon."

- "I hope you don’t think too much, just focus on recovery."

- "I will be here to help you."

- "Even if you don’t want it."

Taming isn’t something that happens overnight.

It takes time, careful observation, and consistent effort to help a beautiful flower bloom.

That’s where we were now.

Rather than looking for meaning in each other, we were in the stage of planting meaning in each other.

A little patience was needed.

‘Of course.’

That doesn’t mean there has been no progress.

While Elise was still keeping her thorns up, the little prince was steadily warming up.

Charlotte thanked me every day.

- "The frequency of her episodes has noticeably decreased."

- "Her complexion seems to be improving as well."

- "Yes... it’s all thanks to you."

- "You’re the only one who can save us."

The effects of repeated learning seemed to be showing.

Every time Elise would fall asleep after treatment, we would have a two-hour private session in the next room.

Officially, it was to check her progress.

But in reality, it was a process of gaining trust by spending more time together.

Whenever there was an opportunity, I would whisper to her.

- "Your highness, you don’t need to worry."

- "Just leave everything to me and wait quietly."

- "I will take care of everything."

I made it clear that I was a place she could rely on.

At first, Charlotte seemed hesitant, but now she would absentmindedly nod.

Perhaps it was because I was the only visible hope for her.

Seeing her sister’s improving complexion, Charlotte could do nothing but follow the voice in her ear.

Perhaps she didn’t want to miss this opportunity.

- "I’ll follow your words."

Her blue eyes, unfocused.

When she looked at me with a stirred expression, I would gently pat her head to reassure her.

The princess of the empire did not brush away the serpent’s touch.

She simply melted into the coldness and accepted the narrowing of the distance between us.

I smiled in satisfaction.

‘It’s going smoothly.’

This was all a part of thinking ahead.

The more Charlotte relied on me, the easier it would be to use her.

A high status is always useful.

As her condition improves, trust steadily builds.

‘Charlotte… and Elise.’

Before I knew it.

I had become a part of their daily lives.

---

Late in the evening.

The once bright scenery outside the window had turned to darkness.

I had just finished a long and tiring treatment session, and now I was tidying up the room that had been disheveled in the process.

The bed where the rose lay was a mess again today.

- “Ha, ha…”

Heavy breaths exhaled.

Her red hair, damp with sweat, was sprawled everywhere.

Perhaps due to the particularly rough resistance today, her shirt, which normally only became disheveled, was now completely stripped away, exposing her white skin.

She wasn’t even wearing underwear, leaving her in a near-nude state.

Only the thin sheet covered her body, hiding the delicate end of her soft flesh.

The sticky scent of her skin filled the air as the exposed skin caught the light.

- “Ha… ugh.”

“Well done.”

I spoke to the exhausted girl.

A phrase marking the end of the treatment.

When I removed my hand from her abdomen, a soft moan escaped her red lips.

It was a pitiful echo she couldn’t voice.

- “Ugh.”

Five hours of treatment.

The countless times I had pressed her down left clear handprints on her abdomen.

Elise lay there, twitching.

- “…”

Her limbs, bound by shadows, didn’t move.

She seemed to have no strength left.

Her lips, devoid of color, were the same.

Only her green eyes stared at me.

There was a slight shimmer in her eyes, but the feeling of being glared at didn’t fade.

I answered her gaze with a light smile.

‘How long will she keep reacting like this?’

It seemed about time for her to start adjusting.

I flicked my fingers lightly.

*Snap!*

The room was tidied up immediately after the short snapping sound.

The damp sheets returned, and the girl’s body, once exposed, was now covered.

I quietly looked down at the bed.

- “I will check again today.”

I reached out.

Elise’s arms, still bound.

I rolled up her thin sleeve, revealing the thick bandages underneath.

With careful movements, I peeled away the cloth.

- *Swoosh*…

The bandages unraveled slowly.

The wrist revealed scars.

Thick, criss-crossing lines.

Had she cut herself again when I wasn’t looking? New wounds that hadn’t been there yesterday had appeared.

I sighed quietly.

- “Your highness.”

- “What?”

- “I told you, this isn’t a good habit.”

- “What business is it of yours?”

She had been deliberately injuring herself.

It was a temporary way to relieve the pain by expelling the reverse mana, but it didn’t help in the long run.

Despite my warnings, she couldn’t stop herself.

- “... It was so painful in the morning.”

- “Excuses won’t work. If it hurt that much, you should have called for me.”

I grabbed a salve from the shelf.

As I applied it to her wrist, Elise turned her head away, uninterested.

She acted as if the scars didn’t matter.

- “It doesn’t even sting.”

She didn’t seem to care about recovery.

I set the salve down and asked a question that had been on my mind.

- “Your highness, do you really not believe in hope?”

- “I don’t understand.”

From what I had observed over the past week, she was like a flower crushed by a storm.

A misfortune that had trampled her to the point where she could never rise again.

Elise had given up on life.

Her eyes, dimmed and faded, proved that.

She didn’t seem to believe in hope anymore.

- “I think you’re mistaken. Whether you can cure this disease or not, it’s none of my concern.”