NABC Page 83
Page 83
He has no right to think about it.
This surging love had barely begun to emerge when he forcefully suppressed it.
He could only keep it hidden in his heart, deeper still, so deep that he almost forgot it himself, so deep that he only dared to secretly sketch the princess's appearance in the dead of night when no one was around, facing the moon.
From that day on, Shi Kuan's world consisted only of the two words "become stronger".
Before dawn, he plunged into the training ground, punching, kicking, slashing, and hacking.
Sweat soaked through layer after layer of his clothes, and his wounds scabbed over and were rubbed raw again, but he didn't even flinch.
In the training room late at night, only his figure swayed in the moonlight, his demonic power surging through his meridians. Every breakthrough was only to get one step closer to "being able to protect her".
"I want to become stronger, even stronger."
He whispered to his own reflection in the bronze mirror, his face covered in wounds, his eyes filled with an almost obsessive determination.
"I want everyone to be unable to harm her in the slightest."
Standing amidst the torrent of memories, Butai clearly felt the love that Shi Kuan had hidden deep in his heart.
The love wasn't expressed with grand vows, but it seeped into every little detail of daily life, so tender it made your heart ache.
In the dead of winter, she always felt a chill down her spine when she was reading aloud in the morning. Turning her head, she saw Shi Kuan standing under the eaves, holding a fur coat that still had the warmth of his body in his hands. When he saw her looking at him, he just mumbled something.
"It's windy, put this on."
During the plum rain season, she went to see the lotus flowers with an umbrella. Just as she reached the lakeside, a heavy rain started, and a shadow suddenly fell over her head.
Shi Kuan held up an oil-paper umbrella, his shoulder half soaked by the rain, yet he stubbornly tilted the umbrella toward her.
She casually mentioned wanting to eat osmanthus cake from the south of the city, and half a day later, Shi Kuan stood in front of her, covered in dust.
He pulled out a pastry wrapped in three layers of oil paper from his pocket. The pastry was still warm, but he only said, "I bought it on the way."
On her birthday, Shi Kuan handed her a bracelet. The wooden beads were not polished enough, and the knots were tied crookedly. His ears turned red.
"I... I made it myself. If it doesn't look good, I'll just throw it away."
Ah-Kuan is really timid.
He didn't dare say "I love you," and even the words "I like you" were stuck in his throat and buried deep inside.
He always felt that he was vulgar and lowly, unworthy of a princess of noble birth. He even felt that getting close to her was an offense, so he could only watch from afar and suppress all his feelings.
But Ah-Kuan is really brave.
He condensed all his love into these clumsy details.
He dared not say it aloud, so he proved it little by little through his actions.
He dared not approach, so he used his protective barrier to create a safe area.
Clothes in the cold sun, an umbrella in the rain, food from afar, a rough bracelet...
Each and every one of these things reflects his unwavering sincerity and his deep love, expressed day after day, at all times.
Butai's eyes gradually welled up with tears, which slid down his cheeks.
It turns out... someone treated her as their whole world, turning that unspoken love into a lifetime of daily life.
Chapter 101 My Princess, I will love you forever and ever…
"Princess, beware of assassins!"
A sharp whistling sound pierced the air, and a poisoned crossbow bolt hurtled straight toward Butai.
Shi Kuan lunged forward almost instinctively, his broad back shielding her. The arrowhead pierced deep into his shoulder blade, and blood instantly stained his dark outfit.
He didn't even utter a groan. He drew his long sword from his waist, and the sharp wind from the blade instantly knocked down the assassin who had attacked from the shadows. When he turned to look at Butai, his eyes were filled with lingering fear.
"Princess, are you alright?"
The princess clutched his blood-stained sleeve, tears welling in her eyes, but he smiled and raised his hand, gently patting the back of her hand with his uninjured one, his tone light.
“Princess, my minor injuries are nothing. This pain is nothing compared to protecting you.”
Every time danger arose, Ah Kuan would stand in front of the princess.
“Princess, don’t be afraid, I’m here for you. As long as I have a breath left, I will never let anyone hurt you.”
Ah Kuan wasn't afraid of death; he was only afraid of the princess getting hurt.
Ah Kuan's death is nothing to worry about, but the princess's injury is far more terrible.
On the muddy path.
“Princess, let me carry you. It’s too dirty here. Don’t let it get on your clothes. Your skirt should be covered in the fragrance of flowers, not mud.”
Countless days and nights, countless dawns, noons, and sunsets, until the next dawn—
In the early morning, he would wait outside the palace gates, holding warm milk in his hands, watching her walk out sleepily, and handing her the cup.
At noon, she was reading in the pavilion, and he stood in the shade of a tree not far away, silently shielding her from the glaring sunlight, even keeping his shadow as close to hers as possible.
As the sun sets, she wants to enjoy the sunset, so he prepares a soft cushion beforehand, brews her favorite tea, and quietly stays by her side, watching her smile radiantly.
Late at night, she suddenly developed a high fever. He braved the heavy rain to knock on the door of the Imperial City Medical Clinic, prepared the medicine, and brought it to her bedside, staying by her side until dawn.
Ah-Kuan has always loved the princess in his heart. He never speaks fancy words of love, but only uses the simplest way to piece together her happiness little by little.
She liked the begonia by the window, so he would get up early every day to water and fertilize it.
She wanted to see the temple fair outside the city, so he inquired in advance about the most bustling stalls, took her hand, and brought her all the fun and delicious things.
She casually mentioned wanting the stars in the sky, so he stayed up all night stringing fluorite into a necklace, clumsily put it around her neck, and said, "That way, the stars will always be by your side."
He is happy when the princess is happy; he is joyful when the princess is joyful.
He wanted to do everything in his power to give the princess everything she desired.
Even the moon in the sky, even a pearl in the deep sea.
Even if it costs my own life!
In his heart, the princess was his whole world.
Protecting her, loving her, and wishing her peace and happiness was his only obsession and his only destination in this life.
Butai's eyes were already red and swollen with tears, which rolled down his cheeks like beads from a broken string.
She was like an observer trapped in a glass dome, unable to control the princess's body, only able to look at Shi Kuan with greed and heartache through the princess's eyes.
See how he etched his meticulous care into every glance, and how he hid his deeply restrained love in every bow of his head.
His love was too heavy, as heavy as waterlogged cotton, making her heart feel suffocated.
She was even a little jealous, jealous of her naive self in her past life who was able to possess this unconditional love so early and so easily.
She was even more afraid that she was no longer the princess she once was, that when Shi Kuan awakened his memories, he would see her as an ordinary person, that disappointment would appear in his eyes, and that she was unworthy of this deep affection that had transcended life and death and been tempered by the passage of time.
Warm scenes flashed before my eyes like a revolving lantern, until that day, the sunlight was particularly dazzling, the princess's skirt swept across the flower path full of crabapple blossoms, and stopped in front of Shi Kuan.
Behind her followed a man dressed in fine clothes, with gentle features, which made Shi Kuan freeze instantly.
“I’m getting married,” the princess’s voice rang out softly, trembling slightly. “This is… my husband.”
Butai clearly saw that Shi Kuan's pupils suddenly contracted, and the color drained from his face instantly, leaving only a deathly pale complexion.
He stared blankly at the princess, then at the man beside her, whose eyes, which were always full of tenderness, were instantly overwhelmed by sorrow and despair.
Like a lake ravaged by a storm, only broken ripples remain.
Butai felt as if an invisible hand was gripping his heart tightly, causing him so much pain that he could hardly breathe.
She knew! She knew perfectly well!
The princess said she wanted to get married in order to break the binding seal that bound Shi Kuan.
It was to free him from the shackles of being a "guard" and to give him true freedom!
But Shi Kuan didn't know that!
Ah-Kuan doesn't know!
Ah Kuan, who loved her deeply, knew nothing!
All he knew was that the princess he had protected since childhood and cherished for so many years had suddenly brought a strange man with her.
All he knew was that the person he was willing to protect with his life had told him personally that this was her husband.
How much pain will he be in?
Butai dared not think about it.
The man who treated her as his whole world was suddenly told that there was no longer a place for him in his world.
This blow is enough to crush a person.
Butai even felt that if she were in Shi Kuan's position right now, she would probably have already broken down and gone crazy.
But Shi Kuan didn't.
He opened his mouth, but his throat felt like it was filled with scalding sand. It took him a long time to squeeze out a few words, his voice hoarse and barely audible.
"I see…"
He didn't even ask "why," he just nodded slowly, then turned and walked away step by step.
His back view was so dejected, as if all his strength had been drained away. His shoulders were slightly slumped, and the hem of his dark coat swayed gently in the wind, but he no longer had the upright posture he once had.
"That's not real! That's not real!"
Butai could no longer hold back her tears, which streamed down her face as she cried out in anguish at Shi Kuan's retreating figure.
"You weren't abandoned. You are the one the princess loves, and you are the one I love!"
But Shi Kuan in my memory can't hear.
He walked slowly but firmly, step by step, as if each step was on a broken heart.
Shi Kuan, end your delusional fantasies.
He said to himself in a voice as cold as ice.
You're just a guard, a lowly stone demon. You only have the princess's favor, do you really think you can stand by her side?