Chapter 19: Being held in my arms is quite comfortable

The corridor continued ahead.

Sunlight gradually brightened, and the air grew warmer.

Ilya suddenly slowed her pace and glanced sideways at her.

“If you’re bored,” she said, “we can sit in the pavilion for a while. The light there will be good for your recovery.”

Flora was stunned for a moment. “Are you… really not going to handle government affairs today?”

“I can accompany you for a while first.”

“But won’t those ministers and officials… be in a rush?”

“You are more important than they are.”

Ilya spoke casually, but the sincerity in her tone was unmistakable.

Flora’s heart skipped a beat again.

She swallowed hard, trying to make her voice sound normal. “Then… what if I don’t want to go to the pavilion?”

“Where do you want to go?”

“I don’t know.”

Ilya watched her gently. “Then let’s just walk together and see where you want to end up.”

These words somehow sounded like, ‘No matter where you go, I will accompany you.’

Flora was suddenly speechless. She could only lower her head and continue walking forward, her steps tinged with the discomfort of being seen through.

But she didn’t refuse, nor did she protest again. She simply followed by Ilya’s side, silently shielded within the Queen’s shadow, light, and pace.

Flora’s steps were small and stiff. She didn’t want to appear weak, but she was plagued by yesterday’s injuries and the toxins still lingering in her system, making her footsteps light and unsteady.

Moreover, because her legs were naturally weak and she had been walking for a while, they were now trembling slightly.

However, she forced herself to keep her steps steady, refusing to let herself look like she was about to collapse.

As a result, after walking for a short while, her vision suddenly went white.

Her legs gave way.

The ground felt as if it had suddenly dropped an inch, being hollowed out.

Flora’s body swayed.

Her reflex was to grab the wall, but just as her fingertips touched the cool stone wall, her knees lost all strength, and she fell backward.

She didn’t even have time to cry out.

Just when she thought she would embarrassingly hit the ground, a pair of hands steadily supported her waist.

The strength was light but reliable.

There was no pain, no impact, only the sudden sense of security that came from falling into an embrace.

Ilya supported her waist with one hand and her thigh with the other, lifting her up gently.

Flora was picked up entirely, looking much like a child being carried.

Her body was almost pressed against Ilya’s chest.

Flora’s mind went blank for a second.

Then, a surge of shame exploded.

“Put—put me down!!”

She reflexively propped her hands against Ilya’s shoulders, the tips of her ears turning red as if they had reached a boiling point. “I can walk on my own!! What—what are you doing!!”

Ilya didn’t let go; instead, she held her more steadily.

“You almost fell just now.”

“I—I didn’t fall! Just now was just… just some dust on the soles of my feet!”

Ilya looked down at her. “There is no dust on the floor.”

Flora lacked the breath to argue, but she had plenty of shame.

Her struggle was very light because she had no strength at all. She could only symbolically tap Ilya’s arm. “Put me down. I’m not a child!”

“But you’re weaker than a child right now.”

Ilya’s tone was incredibly soft, like she was coaxing a frustrated kitten.

“It’s safer to hold you.”

“It’s not safe at all!!”

“Mhm,” Ilya responded tenderly, “then I’ll hold you a little tighter.”

As she spoke, she actually tightened her arms slightly, pulling Flora closer.

Flora’s entire face burned as if she had been thrown into an alchemy furnace.

She turned her face the other way, her lips pressed into a straight, stubborn line. Her hands nervously gripped Ilya’s collar, but she refused to admit one thing.

Being held was actually… quite comfortable.

Ilya’s body temperature was steady, and her embrace was warm and soft, unlike the bone-chilling cold of last night.

She had a faint scent—not a perfume, but a natural, clean fragrance like ice and snow mixed with moonlight. It was gentle, clean, and unexpectedly reassuring.

Even worse, after being picked up, she didn’t have to rely on her weak legs to walk.

Her legs finally stopped feeling weak. Her waist stopped trembling. Even her breathing smoothed out.

It was so comfortable that… Flora almost forgot to struggle.

No, that wouldn’t do!

She absolutely couldn’t show even a hint of enjoyment right now.

That would be too embarrassing, and it would be equivalent to admitting that it was comfortable here.

She kept a straight face and said coldly, “You—you put me down… do you hear me?”

“I hear you.”

“Then let go!!”

“I didn’t agree.”

“Ilya!!”

“Mhm.”

“Why are you always like this!”

Ilya looked down at her, seemingly letting out a soft laugh at her frustration.

“Because the risk of you falling is always higher than the probability of you admitting your weakness.”

“I… I’m not!!”

“Then what were you doing on the floor just now?”

“I just wanted to see the patterns on the carpet!!”

“The way you were lying on the carpet didn’t look like you were observing patterns.”

“…Shut up!!”

Ilya carried her forward steadily, her pace so smooth that Flora could barely feel any vibration.

As they turned a corner in the corridor, two guards happened to approach from the opposite direction.

The guards first saw Her Majesty the Queen.

Then they saw the Princess, who was being held in her arms with red-tipped ears, her face turned away stubbornly.

Guard A: “…”

Guard B: “…”

The two moved in unison. “Gree… Greetings, Your Majesty! Greetings, Your Highness!!”

Flora froze instantly, as if she had been struck by a heavy hammer and then turned to ice.

Then she exploded.

“Don’t look!!! None of you!! Turn around!!”

The guards immediately whipped their heads around, staring intently at the wall. “Yes! Your Highness!”

Flora wished she could bury her face in Ilya’s sleeve.

Her voice trembled. “I—I could have walked by myself… why did you have to do this so everyone could see…”

Ilya gently patted her back. “They can’t see you.”

Flora looked up sharply. “Who are you lying to?!”

“Because you are in my arms right now.”

“Can you stop talking!”

She gave Ilya a random slap and then hunched her shoulders, continuing to be carried with a huff, looking as if she were saying, ‘I can’t beat you, but I’ll be petty about it.’

She looked exactly like a soft, sleepy kitten that had been picked up by force.

As they continued forward, the crackle of quiet discussion began to echo in the corridor. “Her Highness looks so… well-behaved today.”

“She looks so soft… so cute.”

“The way Her Majesty is holding her, it’s as if she’s holding her own daughter.”

Ilya’s footsteps paused for a fraction of a second, her eyes deepening.

Flora’s ears turned bright red, her mind feeling like it was filled with steam.

She wished she could cover herself completely with a blanket.

“You heard everything,” Ilya said softly.

“Ugh, shut up!”

A gentle smile spread in Ilya’s eyes.

When they reached the corner, the morning wind blew in from the window.

Flora huddled in Ilya’s arms, her face stern, but because of her weakness, she held on tightly. She looked like a stubborn, spoiled little princess.

Ilya supported her gently and whispered, “Flora, where else do you want to go?”

Flora, whose face was burning hot, remained silent for three seconds before whispering like a mosquito, “…Anywhere is fine…”

Ilya looked down. “Hmm? Say it again?”

Flora covered her face. “I said anywhere is fine! Can’t you hear me?”

Ilya carried her forward with steady, gentle steps, never letting go.

It was as if she weren’t holding a prickly little hedgehog, but a heart… that had finally been saved and must be held with care.

“Since there’s nowhere in particular you want to go, let’s go eat. You haven’t had breakfast yet.”