Grant Me Your Grace

Rustle, rustle—

The sound of something moving through the grass made Dahlia quickly turn around. But it wasn’t Hissin who emerged—it was Rayrion.  

“Ah… Rayrion.”  

Dahlia let out a soft sigh as she watched Rayrion approach and rub its head against her. 

Rayrion pressed its body against her more insistently than usual, marking her with its scent.  

Come to think of it, she had always looked for Rayrion first whenever she came to the temple. 

But ever since Hissin arrived, she had been so preoccupied that she had completely forgotten about this little creature.  

“I’m sorry, Rayrion. You must have been so lonely.”  

Rayrion’s fur had become dull and matted, and its body had grown thin, as if the temple staff, too distracted, hadn’t been taking good care of it.  

“You must be so hungry… I’m sorry, Rayrion.”  

Feeling sorry for Rayrion, who kept licking her fingers, Dahlia picked up the small creature and held it in her arms. Rayrion nestled quietly into her embrace.  

“Rayrion… What should I do about this situation?”  

Dahlia hugged Rayrion tightly and murmured sadly, “Bad rumors are spreading. He hasn’t done anything wrong, but people are saying whatever they want about him. They’re saying he came to ruin this country…”  

Rayrion’s mysterious heterochromatic eyes stared intently at her.  

Perhaps it was unhappy that, after such a long time apart, she was only talking about someone else. Rayrion seemed more restless than usual. 

Maybe it was looking for a chance to escape, realizing she had no food to offer.  

Still, Dahlia held onto Rayrion and poured out her frustrations.  

“No matter what… he saved me.”  

Dahlia was certain of this. He was her salvation.  

Even if his methods were a little—no, very—immoral, he was the only one who had pulled her out of that terrible suffering.  

“I want to comfort him… but I don’t know how.”  

Rayrion’s small triangular ears twitched. Its mismatched eyes stared intently at Dahlia before its pupils suddenly narrowed, and it let out a long, fierce cry.  

“What’s wrong, Rayrion? Are you hurt? Or is someone there?”

She turned around, half-expecting someone to be there, but no one was in sight. Dahlia turned back and gently scratched Rayrion’s cheek, trying to soothe it.  

“Do you not like the idea of me comforting him?”  

At this, Rayrion’s fur bristled, even the white parts puffing up, and it let out an even fiercer cry. 

Rayrion had never bared its teeth at her before, so Dahlia couldn’t help but feel deeply unsettled by this reaction.  

It felt like a rebuke, or perhaps a scolding.  

As if something was terribly wrong.  

“Rayrion, why are you suddenly… Ah!”  

At that moment, Rayrion forcefully pushed itself out of Dahlia’s arms and leaped to the ground. 

After glancing back at her, Rayrion stared at Dahlia in silence for a while before disappearing into the tall grass.  

Dahlia, flustered and unsure of what to do, stood frozen.  

Then—  

“…”  

Someone approached from behind and wrapped their arms around her. She didn’t need to turn around to know who it was—the familiar scent gave it away.  

Biting her lip lightly, Dahlia forced herself to call his name, her voice strained.  

“…Hissin.”  

Hissin buried his face in the nape of her neck.  

“You came to see me.”  

His words, spoken with his lips pressed against her skin, came out soft and muffled. The warmth of his breath spread across her skin, and Dahlia instinctively hunched her shoulders.  

Though he had dared to hold her, the princess, without permission, Dahlia felt nothing but relief at seeing him. Nothing else crossed her mind.  

“…Yes.”  

Dahlia grasped the arm wrapped around her and nodded obediently. Just being close to Hissin eased the unbearable pain coursing through her body.  

She closed her eyes and felt her body calming. This much was enough—she could pretend to be fine in front of him.  

Today, she didn’t want to use him. She just wanted to comfort him. To offer warmth, even if only briefly, to his grieving heart.  

After clearing her throat, Dahlia cautiously spoke.  

“Are you alright?”  

At her concerned question, Hissin nodded slightly. But the way he held her felt so exhausted, so weary, that it kept nagging at her.  

Dahlia slowly turned in his arms to face him. Thankfully, he didn’t avoid her gaze and met her eyes directly.

The first face I saw under the bright moonlight was incredibly beautiful, yet at the same time, it looked very weary. 

Even if she tried not to show it, the whispers of the people must have piled up inside her, little by little, eating away at her soul.

A self-proclaimed gift from the gods.

They exalted him as the divine gift, and now they point fingers, calling him a demon’s offering.  

Dahlia’s heart ached for him. The Hissin before her now looked so weary, so unlike the man who had once touched her so boldly in this very place.  

“You’ve been through so much,” she said softly, her voice filled with pity.  

Carefully, she cupped his face in her hands. Hissin obediently rested his face in her palms and closed his eyes. His long lashes cast a faint shadow over his crimson eyes.  

“It won’t be easy, but don’t pay attention to the careless words people spread,” Dahlia whispered.  

“If you wait just a little longer, they’ll quiet down as if nothing ever happened.”  

She knew how painful it was to be unfairly judged. 

As the princess was burdened with rumors of being cursed and impure to hide her divine power, she understood his pain all too well.  

Even if her words of comfort couldn’t fully reach his heart, she wanted him to know that someone truly cared for him.  

Fortunately, it seemed her feelings reached him. Hissin, who had been leaning into her touch with his eyes closed, let a faint smile tug at the corner of his lips.  

“Do you really think so?”  

His long lashes lifted, and his crimson eyes met hers with a deep, somber gaze.  

“It still seems like they desperately need a sacrifice, though.”  

His words were so pessimistic that Dahlia was momentarily at a loss for a response. 

Perhaps, as someone from Baran herself, her words might have sounded hypocritical to him.  

The thought made her even more ashamed. Blinking rapidly, she withdrew her hands and spoke in a weak voice.  

“…I’m sorry.”  

Hissin’s eyebrows twitched slowly.  

“Why is Your Highness apologizing?”  

“You’ve done nothing wrong, yet people exalted you as the divine gift and now blame you without reason. You, who have no memories of anything…”  

The more she thought about it, the more she felt she had no right to face him. Dahlia lowered her gaze and spoke with sincerity.  

“I want to apologize to you on behalf of Baran. Even if I’m a useless princess… I’m still a part of Baran, after all.”

Hissin gazed down at Dahlia with an unreadable expression. His crimson eyes shimmered with a strange, indescribable light.  

Was it gratitude? Or perhaps, deception?  

Though she herself was a victim, she willingly shouldered the guilt on behalf of others and apologized to him.  

What expression would she wear when she learned the full truth one day?  

Erasing the fleeting thought, Hissin cupped Dahlia’s face in his hands. Then, just as she had done moments ago, he slowly stroked her cheek.  

‘What does it matter? Even when that time comes, you won’t be able to escape me.’ 

“It doesn’t matter what others say,” Hissin murmured, his crimson eyes filled with Dahlia’s reflection as a faint smile curved his lips.  

“From the beginning, the only one who mattered to me was you.”  

For a brief moment, Dahlia felt as though her breath had been stolen. 

It was the same feeling she had when Rayrion, still a small and fragile creature, had first leaned against her long ago.  

It felt as though if she pushed him away, he would stop breathing. As though she had become his entire world.  

Of course, Hissin was no small creature like Rayrion. He was a grown man, much larger than her. But at least for now, she felt as though she was his only refuge.  

‘Just as you ease my pain… I want to lessen your suffering, even if only a little.’  

Dahlia, looking at Hissin, removed her veil herself. Then, rising on her tiptoes, she pressed her lips to his.  

She held the kiss, transferring her warmth to him. She wanted to comfort his pitiful heart, even if only in this way.

When she slowly pulled away and looked up at him, she saw her reflection etched in his eyes, so close to hers.  

His sole devotion. Seeing her face imprinted in Hissin’s eyes as though carved there, Dahlia felt an indescribable emotion.  

Then, as the crimson eyes holding her reflection deepened, Hissin wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her deeply.