Finally, finally…

  My long-cherished wish has been achieved.

  How many years, I wonder?

  Today I met my helper.

  Today… unlike the usual, my helper visited me on the day I woke up. She also stayed until sunset.

  In my coma, I felt that warmth. As usual, I tried to open my eyes. Yet, I could not do so as expected.

  It was long after that warmth was gone that I could open my eyes.

  Yet, the moment I opened my eyes, I could see a hand reaching out to me, or was it pulling back?

  Upon seeing that, I excitedly asked the owner of that hand. “Are you the one who has been sneaking in here?” It was my first word to my helper, Lilia, when I tried to hold her hand. I was afraid that she would run away.

  Lilia answered in a questioning tone. She showed me her confused face. “Ah, um, yes?”

  Come to think of it, it was reasonable for her to be confused. For someone who has been in a coma all this time to suddenly wake up in front of her and ask her the question, I, too, would be confused.

  “I see. It seems you have been helping me all this time.” I could not hide my smile when I said that. I even invade her personal space. I leaned forward so close that I could see my face in her eyes. Still, I kept holding her hand, so that she would not run away.

  Because of my exuberant behavior, she pulled herself back. She even tried to deny it. “Ah, no, I didn't do anything.” She tried to back away from me. She also used her free hand to peel off my hand, grabbing her other hand.

  At that moment, I knew she would run away. And I would never meet her again, should I let go of that hand. So, instead of letting it go. I tighten my grip on her hand.

  I also realized my mistake and pulled myself back.

  After I calmed myself down, I sat in an upright position and spoke to her in a gentler voice. “...... no need to be humble.”

  Seeing me calm down, she, too, calmed down.

  However, she still tried to pull her hand from me. “I really mean it. I did not do anything. So, could you let go of my hand? I would be in trouble if someone I knew found out that I came here.”

  I knew I did not have great strength. She could free her hand if she put her mind to it.

  Yet she did not do it forcefully. She was waiting for me to let go of her hand willingly.

  Seeing her like that, I let out a soft laugh.

  Was she afraid of Duke Raven? He was really a stern person. For others, he would appear to be a strict and demanding person; however, I knew he had a gentle personality.

  I thought she might already be familiar with him; however, it turned out I was wrong.

  So, I tried to reassure her that I would not tell him.

  “You don’t have to deny it. I knew what you had been doing to her. Please trust me, I won’t tell anyone about you.”

  When I said that, she showed me her confused face and asked back. “Huh? What did I do? I only sneak in here.” She was playing dump with me; however, it would fool me.

  After that, she showed me her serious face. After she shifted her gaze to my hand that grabbed her, she asked in a demanding tone. “Anyway, could you let go of my hand? I would be punished if I didn’t return soon.”

  However, the way she tried so hard to intimidate me… I found it to be so cute.

  I also noticed something unusual about her words.

  She talked about sneaking in. And she was afraid someone would find her here. She also spoke about being punished.

  So, I arrived at that fact. More than voluntarily coming here, she might be, against all the orders from others, put herself at risk and come here in secret.

  She even put her safety and well-being on the line just to come here and help me.

  I knew Duke Ellon and the clergy faction wanted me dead. They would do everything to make it happen.

  They would stop anyone from helping me. They would sabotage any attempts.

  However, despite the risk, she took it upon herself and came to help me.

  This might be the reason Duke Raven refused to talk about her.

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  And he even asked me to take responsibility for her.

  When my thought came to that point, I kind of blurred out my inner thought. “Hmm, I see. So, that is what he means.”

  However, Lilia, unaware of my inner thought, asked me in puzzlement. “What are you saying?”

  At that time, I was a bit embarrassed when I spoke out of my mind, so I tried to brush it off. “It is nothing of your concern.”

  Then I cleared my throat and told her what I needed to say. “I will take responsibility for you when I get out of here.”

  “What do you mean by responsibility? You have been saying nonsense for all this time now.” In response to my sincere heart, she frowned at it.

  And as if she really wanted to get away from me, this time she forcefully pulled her hand from me.

  Seeing her action, I tried to stop her. “Ah, wait, arg.” However, it was too late. I almost fall forward. It was thanks to her support that I was able to save myself.

  Seeing me like that, she asked me in a panic, “... hey, are you alright?”

  With great difficulty, I replied with a smile while leaning on her. “Ah, I just feel weak. It has been a while since I last moved my body.”

  I was in pain too. However, I hide it from her. It would not make me look good in her eyes if I told her that.

  When she heard that, she pouted. “So, don't move your body.”

  That was too cute. I really wanted to pin that check of hers. I almost did it.

  However, I just playfully replied to her. “I did not want to. It was you who caused it.”

  That was the truth after all. It was because she tried to run away that we got into that incident.

  After that, she helped me lie on the bed.

  After I lay down, she brought a chair and sat next to me. She asked me in concern. “Are you sick?”

  “..... didn't you already know about it?” I just half-heartedly replied to her as I knew that was another attempt of hers to pretend she did not know anything.

  “It is your illness. How can I know about it?” She ended it with a hum. Then she crossed her hand and turned away.

  Seeing her profile from the sideline, I let out a smile.

  And I decided to change the topic.

  It was something I had been dying to know.

  What was the origin of that warmth?

  So, I asked her. “What have you been doing to me?”

  Then, she turned to face me again. “Ah, oh….” Then she scratched her cheek with a troubled expression as if unsure how to explain it.

  Then she continued. “I saw that your body is leaking the divinity, and it seems to be serious, so I tried to inject my divinity into you.” She said in an apologetic tone as if she felt guilty about it.

  Her word confirmed it. It was truly she who has been helping me. And the origin of that warmth was the divinity from her, after all. “So, it was really you all this time.”

  That explained it. I always felt warm whenever I was about to wake up. It might be because of the supply of divinity from her that I could wake up. So, I tried to be selfish and asked her to continue helping me.

  I really need her help. I needed to come to my feet and stop being a burden to my family.

  So, I tried to direct our conversation in that direction.

  I told her about my condition. “Do you know about divinity deficiency?”

  Hearing me say that, she began to think. She was trying hard to remember something. “.... hm, I think it is a rare condition. Hmmm, …”

  Then she exclaimed in excitement, “I think I remember now. Mother taught me that the person who has this condition needs a constant supply of divinity to stay alive.”

  “.... I see. It is correct.” Seeing her cheerful face at that time left me in shock.

  Then, I tried to reconfirm with her whether it was truly her who had been injecting divinity into me. “So, was it you who injected divinity into me?”

  “Well, I somehow did a little when you were asleep. Was it helpful?” She shyly replied to me. She also confirmed the fact that it was she who infused me with the divinity.

  At that time, I also noticed that she was a person full of emotion. With just a short interaction, she showed me many emotions, many versions of hers. At the end, I came to the conclusion that she was indeed a cheerful person, as I had predicted.

  In response to her previous question, I also told her the truth. Her actions really help me. “It was.”

  “I am glad if it helps.” I could see her smiling when she said that.

  So, I decided to push forward. “It is shameless of me. But could you continue to come here?” I said that as I gently placed my hand on top of hers.

  Then she just silently retracted her hand and replied. “I don't know, but I didn't come here by myself. I somehow accidentally entered this forest.” She rejected my request. At that time, she might have found it troublesome or risky to continue coming here.

  So, I could not be more selfish. What she has been doing to me is already plentiful.

  I decided not to push my request further. “... I see. It can’t be helped then.”

  Seeing my dejected face, she was somehow lost in thought.

  I was watching her in anticipation.

  At the end, in her kind heart, she decided to help me. “.... as I said, today is my first day here. So, I am not sure if I can come here again. However, I will do my best to come back here. But I can't do it every day.”

  She also emphasized that it was her first time here. She hinted to me that I should hide her previous action.

  I also noticed that she wanted to reset our relationship.

  Our new relationship shall restart from today.

  With joy overflowing in my heart, I replied to her with a smile. I even set up and grabbed both of her hands.

  “You do not have to come here every day. Maybe. Once a month? How does one a month sound? I usually wake up around this time. So, could you come here again next month at the same time?”

  While in a state of bafflement over my action, she leaned back and replied.

  “I can't promise you. But I will try. So could you back away? It gives me gosh Bumb.”

  So, we promised to meet each other once a month.

  She decided to leave. “I needed to go now. You should rest here.” She stood up and walked away in great haste.

  Before she left the hut, when she got to the entrance, I remembered that I had forgotten to ask her something important. “Could you tell me your name?” I shot at her.

  “Just call me Lilia.” And she replied without turning back as she ran off.

  After she left for a while, Duke Raven came to me. “Your Highness, what was the matter? I heard you shouting? Do you need something?” he was really panicked.

  “It’s nothing.” I dismissed him and tried to change the topic. My mood was great at that time. So, I reverted to asking him in a commanding tone. ”Where have you been?”

  Perhaps he perceived my change; he replied perplexedly. “Ah, that, I was escorting your helper back.”

  Then, I thought of Lilia. I found myself smiling when I thought of her shy face. “I hope she has a safe journey.”

  “She?” To my previous remark, Duke Raven immediately noticed it. I accidentally identified her gender.

  Afraid of him learning about my encounter with Lilia, I pushed out of the hut and said.

  “Could you leave me alone? I need to do something alone.”

  Yes, I needed to write this diary before I fall into a coma again.

  I needed to record it.

  I did not want to miss it.

  I did not want to forget it.

  I really look forward to our next meeting.

  I also notice the new book placed on top of the desk.

  However, I could not bring myself to read it.

  I was still excited about my meeting with Lilia.