Ines tilted her head.
“Well, I thought this was all I could do...”
At that moment, Louis returned to Ines with a tearful face. Ines instinctively bent down to examine Louis’s complexion.
“What’s wrong?”
Louis didn’t answer, but spread her finger and pointed to the grassy pile. Lenora, the larger of the two cats, wandered around the garden a little, but Alba hid under the grassy pile as if she were dead.
“I guess I was being greedy to bring them.”
At that moment, Charlotte heard Louis’ words.
“Alba was very sick on the way here. She kept vomiting and sleeping. That’s why Her Highness was very worried.”
Ines quietly held Louis in her arms and patted her back. Her small body lost strength and leaned forward.
“It’s not greed. It’s natural to want to be with them because you love them. She will soon adjust and get better. And she must have been sadder about parting with Your Highness than about being sick.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, of course. And soon, His Majesty will appoint a very good doctor for them.”
“But he must be very busy right now.”
“He said he would have lunch with you today. If you tell him then, he will be happy to help you.”
“But I don’t know if it’s okay to ask him that. I heard that ruling a country is very difficult.”
“Your Highness.”
Louis raised his head as Ines called her affectionately. Ines’ heart swelled with pride at the sight of her golden eyes, which she had not seen in a long time.
“Don’t you know why His Majesty came to this position?”
“...”
“It was to protect you.”
“Me...?”
“Yes, have you forgotten?”
“I haven’t forgotten.”
Louis seemed lost in thought for a moment. But it didn’t last long.
“Ines is right.”
“Yes, so he will definitely protect what is precious to you, Princess. That’s the kind of person he is, no, His Majesty the Emperor.”
At those words, Louis looked Ines up and down. Ines looked at her body to see if there was anything on it under those serious eyes.
“Does my clothes look strange?”
There were no restrictions on the royal maids’ clothing. However, there were certain colors that they absolutely could not wear, such as purple, red, gold, and black.
The maids had even more color restrictions. The length of their skirts could not drag on the floor, and the same was true for their sleeves. Lace or excessive decorations were naturally not allowed.
As a result, most of them ended up wearing simple dresses in light or dark blue, green, or ivory.
They didn’t all wear the same design as the maids, but if you looked a little closer, you could tell what her status was right away.
“No, no.”
Ines thought that Louis was a little strange because Ines wasn’t wearing the clothes she wore as a temple maid.
At that moment, a servant from Granzaim Castle came to pick Louis up. When he told her that she had to go, Louis hugged Ines again.
“You’ll be here, right?”
“...Yes.”
“I’ll be right back.”
“Have a nice day.”
Ines grabbed Charlotte as she watched Louis follow the servant.
“There...”
“Yes, don’t worry. I’ll do whatever it takes to tell Lord Noah about Young Lady.”
As expected, Charlotte read her mind before Ines could even ask her. Seeing her relieved, Charlotte hurried.
“Thank you.”
“I have to go quickly. I can’t enter the castle, so I’ll ask the servant for now. If there’s anything urgent to tell you about the Princess, I’ll definitely get word.”
Ines nodded and watched the two until they disappeared. Then she quickly returned to the castle and busily searched for Casey.
Casey, like Ines, had no work to do, so she often stayed in her room.
However, for some reason, she wasn’t seen in the room. Ines went back up the stairs to find Casey. The room of the closest maid was on the same floor as the secretary's maid. But the two of them had rooms at the end of the hallway, and they used different stairs.
But there, she saw someone she shouldn’t have seen.
‘Heidi...?’
She could have seen it wrong since she was already far from Casey’s room. But Heidi was much taller than the other women, and she moved faster. There was no woman as tall as her in the castle.
But why on earth was Heidi, the secretary’s maid, near Casey’s room? Ines watched her quietly for a moment.
Heidi looked around for a moment, then went into Casey’s room. She might have run an errand. But her movements didn’t seem natural.
Besides, it was right not to go in when you knew there was no one in the room. Even if you accidentally went in, it was common sense to come out right away.
However, even as she counted to ten, Heidi did not show up outside.
“What is it?”
As Ines was about to move her body to go back to Casey’s room, Heidi showed up. She looked closely, but nothing had changed since she had gone in.
Ines decided that she had to see Casey first.
***
Carson had not been able to sleep properly for several days. He closed his heavy eyes tightly and took a deep breath. His head was pounding, but he could not delay going to see Louis.
The child had not come to the capital for the coronation. According to what he had heard, the schedule had been delayed because of the cat. A smile briefly crossed his face at this very Louis-like behavior.
But even that did not last long.
His nerves were even more sensitive than when he stood on the platform of Jacohena Square to push the Empress away.
“Whew...”
Carson thought he would find Ines soon.
But it had been a long time already. The coronation was over, and the coronation was just around the corner. If she had not soared into the sky, where on earth had she disappeared to?
He searched the capital as if he had found a trace of her, but there was no trace of her anywhere as if she had really disappeared into thin air.
The owner of the dress shop he had visited often remembered Ines as the daughter of a Count of a local estate who had spent a lot of money.
The things he had to do were squeeze his breath, but since the most important thing was not resolved, the work kept going around in circles.
As he was sighing deeply again, news came that Louis had arrived at the banquet hall.
Carson opened a small banquet hall today to welcome his younger sister. After the coronation, she would become the first Princess in name and reality. This kind of hospitality was a given.
He felt his headache subside for a moment at the thought of seeing his younger sister, and he got up from his seat. He couldn’t show his overly sensitive side in front of his younger sister. She seemed slow, but she was a child who observed others more keenly than anyone else.
“Welcome.”
Louis hadn’t grown much in the past few months. Her long black hair, which was even better than his own, hung down on her still-pale cheeks, and she met his gaze for a moment.
Then she lifted her skirt and bowed to him.
“Meet the Sun of the Empire.”
At that sight, Carson laughed out loud for the first time since entering the palace.
“Where did you learn that?”
“I knew how to do it from the beginning.”
Louis answered bashfully and took a seat not far from him. Then she met his gaze and blinked twice.
She didn’t smile brightly, but he knew that this was Louis’ expression of joy.
“Wasn’t it hard to come here?”
Carson couldn’t help but look at the little girl’s expression again without realizing it. It was because she felt bad that they had to move around because of him.
“I was fine. My cats had a hard time.”
Carson answered with the corners of his mouth raised because he found it cute that she spoke so confidently.
“Lenora and Alba?”
Louis raised her head, surprised that he knew the names of her cats. As Louis was about to say something, food began to come out in front of the two.
Louis began to eat the food given to her without making even a small noise. Then, perhaps feeling that the atmosphere had become ripe, the child swallowed the food in her mouth and said,
“Alba was very sick. She kept vomiting and sleeping.”
“Is that so?”
“You must be busy, but please help me treat my cats.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll find a good doctor.”
“Yes, thank you. And I’ll go to Chandera right away. Cats don’t like changing homes.”
“Okay, I’ll get ready quickly.”
Louis smiled slightly and picked up her glass of water to quench her thirst.
“I thought it was my greed to bring the cats here..."
"No, that’s not your greed.”
“Since I love them, it’s natural to want to be together.”
Carson stared blankly at his sister who was speaking cutely. He couldn’t be more proud of how much faster she spoke than before.
“Is it hard to rule the country?”
“Yes?”
“You look really tired. You’re really angry. Just like a hungry Lenora.”
Carson couldn’t help but laugh out loud again at his sister who compared him to a cat.
“Do you think so?”
“Yes, so you’re just going to leave her alone?”
“Yes?”
“Are you saying that you brought her here and just left her because she’d be sadder about parting with you than being sick and tired?”
“That... What do you mean?”
“Ines.”
“What?”
“You’re so busy. It seems like ruling a country is hard. Looking at my brother’s face. But even so, you said that you would protect what’s precious to me.”
“Who...?”
“Ines.”
“When?”
“Just now. You said that you were here to protect her. Ines is precious to me. So please protect what’s precious to me.”
Carson turned to Noah in disbelief. But he, too, was at a loss. Carson had to bite the inside of his mouth hard to keep from pressing Louis.
“Louis, can you explain what you mean a little more?”
“Why did Ines become a maid? A maid has a lot to do. The girls I used to play with when I was little were always busy. In the winter, their hands would get red and swollen.”
“Maids... you say?”
“Since I love them, it’s natural to want to be together.”
Carson stared blankly at his sister who was speaking cutely. He couldn’t be more proud of how much faster she spoke than before.
“Is it hard to rule the country?”
“Yes?”
“You look really tired. You’re really angry. Just like a hungry Lenora.”
Carson couldn’t help but laugh out loud again at his sister who compared him to a cat.
“Do you think so?”
“Yes, so you’re just going to leave her alone?”
“Yes?”
“Are you saying that you brought her here and just left her because she’d be sadder about parting with you than being sick and tired?”
“That... What do you mean?”
“Ines.”
“What?”
“You’re so busy. It seems like ruling a country is hard. Looking at my brother’s face. But even so, you said that you would protect what’s precious to me.”
“Who...?”
“Ines.”
“When?”
“Just now. You said that you were here to protect her. Ines is precious to me. So please protect what’s precious to me.”
Carson turned to Noah in disbelief. But he, too, was at a loss. Carson had to bite the inside of his mouth hard to keep from pressing Louis.
“Louis, can you explain what you mean a little more?”
“Why did Ines become a maid? A maid has a lot to do. The girls I used to play with when I was little were always busy. In the winter, their hands would get red and swollen.”
“Maids... you say?”
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