As Judith carefully poured the medicine into the King's mouth, she expected him to suddenly open his eyes, but of course, that did not happen. Judith washed the empty dishes and the ring pot cleanly and looked around her surroundings one more time before leaving the kitchen. She was a little disappointed and nervous that she still couldn't find any traces related to medicinal ingredients.
After organizing the sheets and separating the things the maids needed to take to the laundry room, Dakar said it was okay to leave. Perhaps it was because she was constantly worrying about the medicine, or because the weather had gotten so hot, but she had constant headaches. Judith walked with her eyes half closed as she continued to rub the sides of her temples.
'A herb that prevents odor... Should I get those first? If I knew what they are and what they do, wouldn't I be able to guess them...'
Judith was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice that she had come out in a completely opposite direction from where she always went. Only after realizing that the usual sight was somehow unfamiliar did she realize that she had left the palace through the exit opposite. If she follows this much more extravagant and beautifully decorated garden, it won't be long before she sees the Queen's Palace.
Judith hurriedly tried to go back into the palace in case she ran into Queen Gilsis, who was out for a walk.
It was then.
"Really... Please let me go. What are you going to do in a place like this?”
“What kind of place is this? I don’t know what I’m doing or why I’m doing this.”
It was like a whisper, but it was a sound that even Judith, who was far away, could hear. The nasal voice of a woman followed by a man's voice was familiar. Judith walked away with a look of blood drained from her face.
"Oh!"
The rustling sound seemed to get louder, and then the woman let out a low scream. It was closer and clearer than before.
Judith's startled steps suddenly stopped. Should she pretend not to know and leave, or should she turn around?
The conflict did not last long. No, it couldn't be longer.
“Your Highness the Princess.”
A wet, cold snake-like voice seemed to wrap around the back of her neck. Judith, who shuddered at the feeling of blood running down her spine, bit her pale lip once and turned her head as if nothing was wrong.
'What the hell is that?'
However, she could not remain calm at the sight that unfolded before her eyes. The woman was busy fixing her disheveled dress, her face scrunched up, and Krald standing next to her was giggling proudly. The woman hastily smoothed her hair down past her ears, and as soon as her eyes met Judith's, she smiled exaggeratedly and bent her knees to bow.
“Your Highness, it is an honor to meet you. It’s called Libencia Montfort.”
Libencia. It was a name that remained in Judith’s memory. The daughter of the Count Montfort, a woman who was publicly rumored to be Krald's mistress even before his coming-of-age ceremony. Count Montfort tried to flatter Queen Gilsis to make his daughter the Princess of Krald but was ultimately unsuccessful. As far as Judith knew, that was it.
'I don't know if she would have become a Princess after that.'
When Libencia saw Judith nodding her head at her greeting, she immediately made a pitiful expression on her face. Her attitude, unable to hide her emotions and not even trying to hide them, is exactly like that of the Queen.
Judith had no intention of hanging out with them for long, so she nodded once again with only a faint smile that could have been polite.
“It was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Montfort. And Your Highness Krald.”
When Judith turned around without any regrets, she felt like she could breathe a little. Even with Libencia by his side, she had a hard time withstanding Krald's persistent gaze on her. It felt like a disgusting bug was crawling all over her body. She didn't want to look at the eyes like Queen Gilsis's black eyes, filled with nothing but greed, without guns or warmth, for even a second longer.
“Sister-in-law.”
However, Krald had no intention of letting Judith go away smoothly. He wanted to pretend not to have heard the voice that followed her, but before she could, a cold hand grabbed Judith's shoulder.
“Would you like to talk for a moment?”
Krald said. Judith frowned and looked down at his white hand on her shoulder. Franz had white hands like Krald, but while his hands felt clean, Krald's hands were like reptiles with smooth skin.
“The story is not difficult, Your Highness. This attitude is not right.”
“Why are you going to keep doing this at this level? I'm sad. Aren't we family? family. I told you this before.”
“If you have anything to say, please say it. I have more work to do when I go back.”
“Ah, it’s a bit different here... Libencia!”
As Krald chased after Judith, Libencia, who had suddenly stood still, crossed her arms with a sullen expression.
“Why, Your Highness?”
“Can you wait here for a moment?”
“Hmph, why should I do that?”
“Then you can leave for today.”
His smiling face looked mean. Libencia opened her mouth as if she was astonished, then kicked the ground with her shoe and walked towards the garden again. When she left without any resistance, Judith was even more embarrassed.
“Your Highness, I don’t think you should let Miss Montfort go alone now.”
"It's okay. She's probably hiding somewhere. Because she came today with a purpose. That girl will never leave until she does what she wants to do. She's like a leech.”
Leech? Judith almost burst out laughing in front of him and spit at his feet.
"Really... Please let me go. What are you going to do in a place like this?”
“What kind of place is this? I don’t know what I’m doing or why I’m doing this.”
It was like a whisper, but it was a sound that even Judith, who was far away, could hear. The nasal voice of a woman followed by a man's voice was familiar. Judith walked away with a look of blood drained from her face.
"Oh!"
The rustling sound seemed to get louder, and then the woman let out a low scream. It was closer and clearer than before.
Judith's startled steps suddenly stopped. Should she pretend not to know and leave, or should she turn around?
The conflict did not last long. No, it couldn't be longer.
“Your Highness the Princess.”
A wet, cold snake-like voice seemed to wrap around the back of her neck. Judith, who shuddered at the feeling of blood running down her spine, bit her pale lip once and turned her head as if nothing was wrong.
'What the hell is that?'
However, she could not remain calm at the sight that unfolded before her eyes. The woman was busy fixing her disheveled dress, her face scrunched up, and Krald standing next to her was giggling proudly. The woman hastily smoothed her hair down past her ears, and as soon as her eyes met Judith's, she smiled exaggeratedly and bent her knees to bow.
“Your Highness, it is an honor to meet you. It’s called Libencia Montfort.”
Libencia. It was a name that remained in Judith’s memory. The daughter of the Count Montfort, a woman who was publicly rumored to be Krald's mistress even before his coming-of-age ceremony. Count Montfort tried to flatter Queen Gilsis to make his daughter the Princess of Krald but was ultimately unsuccessful. As far as Judith knew, that was it.
'I don't know if she would have become a Princess after that.'
When Libencia saw Judith nodding her head at her greeting, she immediately made a pitiful expression on her face. Her attitude, unable to hide her emotions and not even trying to hide them, is exactly like that of the Queen.
Judith had no intention of hanging out with them for long, so she nodded once again with only a faint smile that could have been polite.
“It was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Montfort. And Your Highness Krald.”
When Judith turned around without any regrets, she felt like she could breathe a little. Even with Libencia by his side, she had a hard time withstanding Krald's persistent gaze on her. It felt like a disgusting bug was crawling all over her body. She didn't want to look at the eyes like Queen Gilsis's black eyes, filled with nothing but greed, without guns or warmth, for even a second longer.
“Sister-in-law.”
However, Krald had no intention of letting Judith go away smoothly. He wanted to pretend not to have heard the voice that followed her, but before she could, a cold hand grabbed Judith's shoulder.
“Would you like to talk for a moment?”
Krald said. Judith frowned and looked down at his white hand on her shoulder. Franz had white hands like Krald, but while his hands felt clean, Krald's hands were like reptiles with smooth skin.
“The story is not difficult, Your Highness. This attitude is not right.”
“Why are you going to keep doing this at this level? I'm sad. Aren't we family? family. I told you this before.”
“If you have anything to say, please say it. I have more work to do when I go back.”
“Ah, it’s a bit different here... Libencia!”
As Krald chased after Judith, Libencia, who had suddenly stood still, crossed her arms with a sullen expression.
“Why, Your Highness?”
“Can you wait here for a moment?”
“Hmph, why should I do that?”
“Then you can leave for today.”
His smiling face looked mean. Libencia opened her mouth as if she was astonished, then kicked the ground with her shoe and walked towards the garden again. When she left without any resistance, Judith was even more embarrassed.
“Your Highness, I don’t think you should let Miss Montfort go alone now.”
"It's okay. She's probably hiding somewhere. Because she came today with a purpose. That girl will never leave until she does what she wants to do. She's like a leech.”
Leech? Judith almost burst out laughing in front of him and spit at his feet.
Who is it that you call a leech?
She clearly knew that he was even uglier than that, not even human.
“Anyway, let go of this hand.”
Judith twisted her body with all her might and escaped his grasp. Krald raised his eyebrows with an expression that said, “Look at this,” and as he took a step closer with a grin, an unpleasantly sharp and strong scent wafted out. Judith's headache got worse.
“I want to get along well with my sister-in-law, but why are you being so cold to me?”
“If you keep the line that is due to me, then I too will be polite to you.”
“I never asked for anything polite, so why do you say that? Ah, does Brother Franz have that kind of taste? I heard he likes a wife who listens well and obeys him?”
“...Your Highness Krald, you are saying too much.”
“It’s okay to be a little honest in front of me. My sister-in-law didn't get married because she liked my brother. Isn't it? Honestly, my brother is a bit of a boring person.”
These words are worthless. She shouldn't deal with it. Judith brainwashed herself in her mind and chanted endlessly. Since she couldn't completely kill Krald here and now, she shouldn't have laid a hand on him hastily. It was obvious that sparks would fly not only to her but also to Franz.
“He probably won’t be able to take off one layer of that robe until my sister-in-law gets old and dies.”
The sound of insidious giggling sticks to Judith's ears. She could bear it up to that point, but the moment Krald's hand touched the front hem of her robe, she couldn't bear it anymore. As the robe was half removed by Krald's hand, Judith felt white flashing before her eyes.
"Just be quiet, sister-in-law. I will find out if you are a stone woman as rumored or not."
A voice buried in her memories suddenly came out. The fur on her whole body stood up, and Judith's eyes rolled back.
That was the moment when Judith's small hand reached for Krald's neck, a voice was heard. Her fist, with such force that her bones stood out white, grabbed only the air.
“Franz!”
Judith suddenly came to her senses when she heard a deep voice coming from a few steps away. When she turned around, she saw Bartholomew standing there with a shocked expression.
No, he wasn't standing, he was running, but it looked very slow. Why?
“Anyway, let go of this hand.”
Judith twisted her body with all her might and escaped his grasp. Krald raised his eyebrows with an expression that said, “Look at this,” and as he took a step closer with a grin, an unpleasantly sharp and strong scent wafted out. Judith's headache got worse.
“I want to get along well with my sister-in-law, but why are you being so cold to me?”
“If you keep the line that is due to me, then I too will be polite to you.”
“I never asked for anything polite, so why do you say that? Ah, does Brother Franz have that kind of taste? I heard he likes a wife who listens well and obeys him?”
“...Your Highness Krald, you are saying too much.”
“It’s okay to be a little honest in front of me. My sister-in-law didn't get married because she liked my brother. Isn't it? Honestly, my brother is a bit of a boring person.”
These words are worthless. She shouldn't deal with it. Judith brainwashed herself in her mind and chanted endlessly. Since she couldn't completely kill Krald here and now, she shouldn't have laid a hand on him hastily. It was obvious that sparks would fly not only to her but also to Franz.
“He probably won’t be able to take off one layer of that robe until my sister-in-law gets old and dies.”
The sound of insidious giggling sticks to Judith's ears. She could bear it up to that point, but the moment Krald's hand touched the front hem of her robe, she couldn't bear it anymore. As the robe was half removed by Krald's hand, Judith felt white flashing before her eyes.
"Just be quiet, sister-in-law. I will find out if you are a stone woman as rumored or not."
A voice buried in her memories suddenly came out. The fur on her whole body stood up, and Judith's eyes rolled back.
That was the moment when Judith's small hand reached for Krald's neck, a voice was heard. Her fist, with such force that her bones stood out white, grabbed only the air.
“Franz!”
Judith suddenly came to her senses when she heard a deep voice coming from a few steps away. When she turned around, she saw Bartholomew standing there with a shocked expression.
No, he wasn't standing, he was running, but it looked very slow. Why?
Judith turned her head in the direction opposite to where Bartholomew was running. His movements also seemed ridiculously slow.
“Franz, stop! Your Highness!"
Bartholomew screamed and forcibly pulled Franz away from Krald. Only then did Judith realize that Franz had appeared at the moment she was about to strangle Krald. The sound of something bluntly colliding was the sound of Franz punching Krald in the face.
“What are you doing? What are you doing now?”
Krald's face, which had been beaten helplessly in the blink of an eye, was now a mess. The area around his eyes and cheekbones was torn and bruised red, and blood was flowing from the side of his lip.
“How dare you touch me! You were so crazy because you wanted to die!”
“Dear Krald! What kind of mannerisms are you talking to your brother?”
Bartholomew, whose face was red as he was holding on to Franz, who was about to rush at him, shouted. Krald stood up shakily, cupping his swollen cheeks and pointing alternately with trembling fingers.
“I’ll tell everything to my mother! Everything, nothing left out! Especially you! If you're yelling at me, your liver is overboard! You don’t know how threatening the royal family is punished!”
“Punish us! Didn’t His Highness Krald cause trouble for Her Highness the Princess?”
“Franz, stop! Your Highness!"
Bartholomew screamed and forcibly pulled Franz away from Krald. Only then did Judith realize that Franz had appeared at the moment she was about to strangle Krald. The sound of something bluntly colliding was the sound of Franz punching Krald in the face.
“What are you doing? What are you doing now?”
Krald's face, which had been beaten helplessly in the blink of an eye, was now a mess. The area around his eyes and cheekbones was torn and bruised red, and blood was flowing from the side of his lip.
“How dare you touch me! You were so crazy because you wanted to die!”
“Dear Krald! What kind of mannerisms are you talking to your brother?”
Bartholomew, whose face was red as he was holding on to Franz, who was about to rush at him, shouted. Krald stood up shakily, cupping his swollen cheeks and pointing alternately with trembling fingers.
“I’ll tell everything to my mother! Everything, nothing left out! Especially you! If you're yelling at me, your liver is overboard! You don’t know how threatening the royal family is punished!”
“Punish us! Didn’t His Highness Krald cause trouble for Her Highness the Princess?”
The tip of the torn lip twitched unsightly. After Krald fled the scene, Judith lost strength in her knees and fell down.
“Judith!”
“Your Highness!”
Franz and Bartholomew ran towards Judith at the same time. They tried to get her up, but her weak legs refused to listen to her.
“...It's okay, Your Highness. Just a little bit, just a little bit. Just wait a little while and I will calm down.”
Her shriveled fingertips trembled as if she had been shriveled by the cold. There was no color on her face, and her pupils were so wide that she looked like she was about to pass out. Franz gritted his molars and turned his back to Judith before Bartholomew came forward.
“Get on my back.”
“Franz, I....”
“Get on my back, hurry.”
Judith looked at Franz's back in front of her with blank eyes. She felt like tears were going to pour out, and her eyeballs felt so hot that they were about to melt, but strangely, she didn't cry.
“Please excuse me for a moment.”
Bartholomew, who could not see her lost in thought, pulled Judith's small body and placed her on Franz's back. When Judith's shoe fell off her dangling toe, Franz had Bartholomew pick it up and clumsily picked up Judith's body.
“Hold on tight, it will be a big problem if you fall.”
Then Franz felt Judith's fingertips slowly grasping his collar. Franz's shoulders became hot and wet as he walked slowly, carrying her trembling body like an aspen. Franz counted frantically in his mind as he heard small sobbing sounds. Otherwise, it seemed like he would run to the Queen at any moment and beat up Krald.
Comments
Post a Comment