Don’t Concern Yourself With That Book

“The god of the earth and the ability to communicate with and control plants. Brother, that means you’re the templar of Tellus which means you have an abundance of abilities you can utilise. You can create any kind of medicine and poison. You can communicate with plants and know what they’ve seen and heard. How does it feel? To have all the plants in the world under your fingertips.”

Amor’s position in the palace was very vague. The Imperial blood flowing through him was thin. He was not from an exceptional noble family nor did he excel in anything. He had a weak constitution and had already escaped death several times from a young age.

‘Considering his age, it must have been hard for him to live even when Rusbella appeared.’

But one day, when his power manifested, it changed everything. The powerful divine power that manifested in the then powerless prince was a force that no one could ignore.

‘The god of the earth and plants, Tellus.’

The power that was thought to have dissipated long ago had appeared in the 4th Prince, Amor. All kinds of agencies were fascinated by his power that had enormous potential.

“You look like you have a lot to say.”

I knew why Amor was so shocked and astonished. Because his powers were a secret that only a few people knew.

When his power that granted absolute control over all plants was revealed, the Emperor and his aides decided that they needed to control this power and get rid of it.

‘Because there must not be a power that threatens to be stronger than the Emperor’s.’

He had been accused of daring to undermine the power of the Emperor. His powers had shattered the young boy’s life.

<”Hello? By the Emperor’s decree, everyone here except you will die today.”>

When his powers were revealed, Castor killed everyone who knew about it before poisoning Amor. He had been apathetic to the struggles of the young Amor. In exchange for letting him live, they used Amor for his powers when he could hardly use his strength himself. The boy was left with no choices and could only accept the deal.

Left alone in such a cruel and violent world, the boy began to live his life as a tool.

<”This is the antidote. You’ll die if you don’t eat it everyday.”>

For his little brother who would die if he did not ingest the antidote everyday, the Crown Prince would bring it day after day.

After all, Amor was confined in this palace. Giving him an antidote that only lasted one day allowed him to live for one more.

“Have you eaten the antidote?”

“… You!”

Amor exclaimed, throwing away not just the quilt that had been covering him but his calmness, revealing his discontent.

“You, that! How did you know!”

His slender ankle protruded from the bed and his fluffy hair trembled wildly. His face contorted like a tangle spider web revealing the melting pot of intense emotions he was feeling.

“No one can know that!”

He came running over to me barefoot with his mouth wide open, leaving behind any grace I thought he had. Amor was much more of a sight to behold up close.

His eyes were burning with rage but I could see something deeper within his gaze that he could not hide. Instead of seeing his fiery rage, I saw a boy who was whimpering like a little bird soaked in the rain that I remember reading about in a story.

The sickly man who could only see Rusbella. I once felt sorry for him. His affection for her was so deep it could be considered a disease since that was the only form of love he experienced his whole life.

In the end, even when Rusbella used him to escape and when his older brother came to kill him, this foolish man could not bring himself to hate either of them. That part of the novel made my eyes wet with emotion.

That unlucky boy was looking at me right now with his trembling shoulders and pale face.

“Do you believe me now?”

I did not want to get involved with this pitiful person. How could I take care of him when I had my own business to deal with? Even before I found my diary, I already knew the world I lived in was that of a novel and that I was only one of the many in the Imperial family. I had been busy just looking out for myself.

Even more now since I knew I was going to die.

“No, you can’t help but to believe me.”

I spoke as if I could not see him writhing in fury.

This must have been absurd for him. Because this was something a princess who was far from ever getting the throne could dare to know.

“… This is ridiculous. How dare you.”

The flames of his fury were beginning to dissipate.

“… How dare you.”

Amor was grabbing onto me with his mouth still agape. He was obviously in shock which made him look like a monster.

“You. You. Is that all you know?”

“There’s probably other things I know?”

Amor let out a fake laugh while I straightened my crumpled skirt. He then muttered, “Probably?” in a dejected voice.

“You. What the hell are you?”

When I raised my head, Amor was acting indescribably disturbingly as he hardened his face before rubbing his cheeks and eyes.

“How did you know about my powers? What else do you know? No… It’s not something you can just know…”

I knew all these things but he must have been wondering why I was threatening him with the information. I was an uninvited guest who could not even take part in the main film.

“Well, I wonder how I knew…”

In fact, I was such a nobody that I could barely meet Amor. An insignificant princess who was not even well known in the public. If the diary had not drawn me in, I would have been just quietly breathing in a corner before running away before the Empire fell into ruin.

I would have ran far away without ever having to meet him.

“I don’t know, I wonder if I got this information from another world.”

What a pity. I never thought I would have to see him in my life and now I was using information I never thought I had to. He would never believe me now but it made living a lot easier in the future. I blinked my eyes innocently as if I did not know the weight of what I just said.

“Anyway, it looks as if you seem to be very fond of the Crown Prince.”

Amor then looked at me with a face I had never seen on him before.

“I didn’t know you’d be this easily upset by this. Everything I had prepared to say is now going to waste.”

A tornado was swirling in his eyes which looked large enough to crush his delicate arms that looked like it was made of ceramic.

“… I’m ready.”

“Alright.”

I could feel the warmth emanating from his forehead as his approaching eyes glimmered like a jewel, trapping me in an illusion of crystals.

I spoke quietly. The point was to shake Amor to his deepest core.

“Is it because the Crown Prince brings you the medicine you need to take every day?”

Just then, I felt an intense pressure on my wrists and neck and at the same time I was pushed down. At the area I felt the most weight and pain, I saw a dark bluish green plant.

“You’re being very cheeky.”

Amor who was tying me up laughed coldly before raising his head.

“I knew you wouldn’t be easy. But you’ll still be exactly like those scraps that a person like you should be looking for.”

He glared at me.

“Stop provoking me and tell me what you want.”

“Urgh, if you want me to talk, you should ease up a little, don’t you think…”

Amor clicked his tongue coldly before letting the plant release me and lifted me up. I threw a fit of coughs before I managed to say hoarsely.

“Cough. I’m not a bad person. I’m not here to exploit my brother! No matter what you think, I’m here for a good reason. Cough. I want everyone to get a happy ending!”

“Happy ending?”

“Yes, this is the deal. I don’t want to avoid my brother. It’s only natural that we should work together so that both you and I get to live.”

This was a win-win situation. If you help me, you would get benefits too. I looked at him confidently.

Either way, I just wanted him to live.

“Please save me.”

After a while, Amor’s face morphed to form a strange expression.

“…. What do I need to do?”

The way he looked at me was so tenacious I was shaking.

“We start from where everything scary comes from.”

They said that there was a fine line between love and hate but it was hard to see even a bit of love in his gaze. Suddenly, I wondered why my face turned out like this. One day, I had a high fever that I could not even remember then the next day, my face changed.

I was not going to die.

I panted before slowly choosing my words and spitting it out right in front of him.

“If you help me, I’ll help you too.”

When I first came up with this plan, it was not without hesitation. I had stayed up all night, wondering if there had been any other way. There was none.

Amor was seeking to find another way to live. He did not want to continue living as a hostage with a body that had a limited amount of time left.

The moment I chose to carry out this plan, the road to having a good relationship with him will be forever closed and it would be difficult to see a happy future with the two of us. He could hate me forever which would make me very sad. If I was not going to die in two days time, I would have approached Amor much slower. He was my favourite character and I wanted to be liked.

But I had already chosen this path. Before any more time could pass, I quickly showed the cards I had.

“Like the disease that’s keeping my brother from being free.”

“…..”

“What if I can fix it for you? I’ll fix it for you.”

I looked up at him nervously. It looked as if he felt a little out of place. Suddenly, he rubbed his free wrist and thought about his reply.

‘I wonder if it’ll work.’

Four years from now, a miracle medicine will appear. A medicine that could cure any disease, curse and even strong poisons. It was discovered when Rusbella met the only man who could make that medicine in the abandoned temple in the western part of the empire. I remember how Rusbella had gone all the way there so save her loved one.

It was a poison and curse that was plaguing Amor’s body right now. It was a very terrible curse that only the Emperor could release him from.

Amor had nothing to say back. I did not know if it was because he was in too much agony or if he was too dumbfounded to answer.

I looked at him for a while before lowering my head after seeing the red sky outside the window. I had to wait for his answer patiently.

Then, I coincidentally saw a pair of feet moving towards me.

‘Why is a prince walking around in bare feet?’

No, it would have been weirder if a person who lay on his bed the whole day was wearing shoes.

I knelt with one knee bent. Amor lowered himself till he reached my shoulders before tilting his head and whispering directly into my ear.

“… What are you doing?”

He pulled on my clothes, forcing me to listen and follow his lead. I slowly removed my shoes and placed them in front of him. Amor let out a strange sound as he watched my actions. Once he put them on, I noticed that the shoes were wrinkled but I was still pleased since he was no longer barefoot.

‘Now, you won’t be cold.”

I smiled, satisfied at my work. Now he could not do anything to me. I could not just ignore the pair of pale feet right in front of me.

The moment I got up and wiped my skirt off, Amor fell onto the floor.

“Puhahahahahaha!”

Amor was kneeling on the floor with one knee since he was still grabbing my shoulder and was looking more lively than I had ever seen him.

Amor had burst into laughter like a flower bud.

A few minutes later, he calmed down. After wiping his tears, he asked “What the hell?”.

“How old are you?”

His cheeks were still twitching from laughing too hard. From up close, his eyes were still cloudy but was now also a warm green. After looking at it a while more, I realised that it looked like a misty forest at dawn. And the green of his eyes had a beautiful tinge of blue I did not notice in my first glance.

“Are you by any chance a 20-year-old woman who’s only pretending to be a child?”

He laughed after accidentally saying the truth about me. It was a smile that looked relaxed and yet twisted at the same time.

“What do you want?”

Something very warm bloomed in my chest that did not suit me. It felt as if it was of a light greenish colour like a sprout or a leaf against the midday summer sun.