The Crown and The Rose
Chapter 31: Not You

Chapter 31: Not You

The Crown

I stir a little as a surge of warmth starts to spread across my body from my core. I relish the warm and relieving feelings. It is relieving my burnt spots and creating a new layer of skin over the scorched ones.

I slowly blink open my eyes and try to focus on the face right before me as it is all hazy and blurry.

"You are awake, Your Highness." Edward’s anxious and worried voice rings beside my ear and an unknown disappointment clenches my heart.

You aren’t the one I wanted to see right now, Edward...

I can still vaguely remember some scenes before I passed out completely. I saw Vermilion coming to me, acknowledging me, smiling at me. He smiled at me...?

The lone thought of it makes hundreds and thousands of butterflies bubble on the surface of my heart.

"Your Highness?" Phillip’s stoic voice calls out to me with a hint of worry laced with it.

"H-Huh?" I blink to get all my surroundings in focus. "W-Where am I?" I attempt to sit up.

"Please lay down for a little more, Your Highnesses, I am not done healing you." Edward pushes me back to the bed, a soft green glow still flowing out from the palm of his hand as he continues to heal me. I can visibly see how the scorched marks on my skin are reducing and making my skin flawless once again.

"What happened to me?" I lay back down on the bed, and all the incidents from the past few hours start to rush in.

"Lord Vermilion brought you here," Phillip says from the side of the bed. "How are you feeling now by the way?"

"I am fine," I reply slowly. All my burns have been healed. But the itching feeling in my chest is yet to be healed and it won’t heal until I see Vermilion.

Edward retreats his hands and stands up from the bed, "You should dress yourself now, Your Highness."

"Right." I sit up, feeling no pain at all, "Where are my clothes?" I then just now realize that I have nothing on my body except for a white blanket.

"They were soaked in the water of the lake so we needed to take them off so that it can’t harm your body more than it already has," Phillip explains.

"So what am I supposed to wear now?" I blink.

"I will go fetch something from the professors." Edward proposes.

"There is no need for that." a deep cold voice speaks up from the other side of the curtains that surround the bed and obscure it from other’s sight. "I have brought the prince a set of clothes."

My heart skips a few beats almost dangerously, I am feeling that bubbling feeling again inside my stomach, "M-My Lord...?"

"We appreciate it very much, my Lord." Phillip approaches the shadow that is forming on the curtain and opens the curtains, "Forgive this servant’s ignorance that he made you do something like this." He bows to Vermilion with the utmost respect. Edward bows as well, paralyzed with fear.

But Vermilion’s ruby red eyes are trained on me and only me and I too can’t keep my eyes off that majestic face, it is doing something to me. And that something is really bad for me.

"It is fine." Vermilion says without taking his eyes off me, "Be more careful from the next time." He hands Phillip the clothes and disappears behind the curtains once more.

"Here, Your Highness." Phillip hands me the set of clothes.

I blink, "Y-Yes, thank you." I take my eyes off the place where Vermilion was just standing.

"Me and Phillip will step out for a little, please take your time dressing up." Edward gives me one last look of worry before leaving and I nod in response. Phillip follows him out of the curtains.

I trail my finger over the smooth fabric of the clothes then push myself off of the bed. I quickly dress up. A black tight-fitting shirt and pants which fit me unbelievably well. It’s almost like these clothes were made solely for me. However, I don’t waste too much time wondering over it and tie my long hair into a braid then step out of the curtains.

"Looks like you are back to normal, prince." Vermilion’s lips move slightly so ever as these words collectedly fall out of his mouth. He is standing before the door frame of the chamber, his arms crossed over his broad chest.

Phillip and Edward are standing at the corner of the room with their head hanging low, showing their fear and respect for the Demon lord.

"I appreciate the Lord’s kindness, my Lord." I fall to one knee, I am getting overwhelmed by his immense presence once more.

"You need not to be grateful for my kindness." Vermilion’s eyes are narrow, gleaming like the night star. "Just pay it back with your performance further in this festival."

Of course, he’d say that. What I was even expecting?

"Yes, my Lord," I reply.

I can imagine what this scene is painting. I am a devotee who is worshiping his almighty God. Well, I do not mind if I get to worship Lord Vermilion like this. But again, I am the God-blessed one, I am the one who should be worshiped, am I not right?

"There are some announcements left, I assume." Vermilion says again after a moment of silence, "You may attend them." Vermilion spins around, his red robes and snow-white hair, fluttering with the motion, "Phillip, come."

"Yes, my Lord." Phillip hurriedly follows his lord out of the chamber.

I release a breath and get on my feet. Edward approaches me.

"You got yourself beat up, pretty bad on the first day, Your Highness," Edward remarks pointedly,

"Can you blame me?" I laugh nervously as I scratch the back of my head. " By the way, It is good to see that you are alright, Edward. How did you get out of there anyway?" I try to change the subject from me to him.

"I managed to bloom my flower with my magic." Edward starts to explain, and his expression starts to return to normal as we get out of the chamber, "But soon figured that this is not the flower that I will need. Just then a demon came to me and asked me for my flower. He was quite fragile so he didn’t want to fight. He instead insisted that we trade flowers. I agreed and we traded the flowers. His flower turned out to be the one that I will need and I got out of there pretty quickly."

"I see." I nod in acknowledgment.

"Hey Edward, you bastard!" Erick rushes to us, "Where did you run off, huh? I am already worried sick about the crown prince that he might not be able to get out of th— Oh? Your Highness?!" Erick’s eyes fall over me and he almost screams.

"Hello." I grin broadly at him.

"Your Highness!" Erick falls onto his knees and wraps his arms around my waist as he wails.

"Hey!" I jump, caught off guard by his sudden gesture.

"Erick, what are you doing?" Edward cringes, "Everyone is watching us!"

Indeed everyone is watching us and we are just in the middle of the field, making us the spotlight of it.

"May I get your attention now, little demons?" A calm and serious voice rings through the field and our attention is grabbed by it, "I now announce the number of the people who died on the first day."

Erick’s expression turns serious and he climbs back to his feet. My jaw clenches as we approach the other side of the field where all the other students have assembled, the atmosphere is thick with tension and nervousness.

"A total of 1600 students entered the first day’s trial and only 1158 of them passed the trial." Professor Felix’s cool voice says. He is standing on top of the stage with a calm expression. The number doesn’t bother him at all. "Quite a lot of you survived the trial it seems. What a disappointment."

What the hell...?