“Ines, let’s go.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
As the two of them started walking, the court ladies standing behind them quickly began to move. They were to unpack their belongings from the castle where they had stayed the night before and move to Chandera.
The bedroom was always well-cleaned, but it needed to be prepared to welcome a new owner.
Louis, who had been walking three or four steps, turned to his brother and bowed. It was a court etiquette that everyone had forgotten in their confusion. Louis stood for a moment after finishing his bow.
“Your Majesty the Emperor.”
When Louis called, Carson responded immediately.
“Why is that?”
“If Ines is supposed to be a court maid, can I make my maid’s court maid too?”
“Oh, that’s...”
When the Emperor was unusually flustered and unable to finish his words, Ines bowed her head and said something to Louis. Then the child nodded coolly.
“No. I’ll be going now.”
As he smiled and nodded, the people around him retreated in an instant. Carson watched Ines and Louis disappear for a long time.
He couldn’t help but feel uneasy, and he didn’t want to let them go. Every moment she moved caught his attention.
There were so many things he hadn’t asked.
Did she sleep well? Was it too long since she couldn’t breathe? Was there a moment when she wanted to stop because the road to me was too long?
However, Ines finally appeared in front of him, despite all his worries. And she had an unexpected face.
Even after her figure became a dot and completely disappeared, Carson stood still. Then Noah, who had been by his side, coughed in vain.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
“Still, that’s fortunate. She was at the palace.”
While Ines and Carson were reunited, Noah heard about what had happened from Charlotte.
“Take Ines to my palace tonight.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“Hurry up and give the earldom to the Swenden family.”
“But do it after the coronation. You shouldn’t shake the order of the nobility before you even wear the crown.”
“Do you think I don’t know that?”
Noah bowed his head and took a step back from him.
“But don’t tell me that. You shouldn’t tell me to wait for that woman any longer, talking about the order of the nobility.”
“I’m sorry.”
After the coronation, a grand ministerial meeting was held after entering the imperial palace.
During the process, the families of the meritorious subjects who helped him ascend to the throne were appropriately rewarded. That, too, required the consultation of the ministers.
If he were to step forward now and give the earldom first, Swenden would become an easy target. And the one who knew that best was, of course, Carson.
“What about the former Empress?”
Carson asked about the whereabouts of the woman who was the cause of all this.
“Certainly, she didn’t cross the border, but her location has not been determined yet.”
“Anyway, she’s no help at all.”
The former Empress wasn’t the kind of woman who could simply be described as no help at all.
“It would have been better if the damned Crown Prince’s investiture ceremony had only been held in April.”
But Noah knew that this was Carson’s usual way of dealing with serious situations. And that his light-hearted words alone could not be used to gauge the depth of his heart.
“I will bring the coronation date forward a bit.”
So Noah, as the only right-hand man the Emperor could trust in this palace, gave the answer the Emperor wanted the most.
“Yes, and I will write the letter to Viscount Swenden now. I will prepare him mentally before he officially becomes the Lord of Landhill.”
Carson raised the corners of his mouth and smiled wickedly. He felt a little sorry for trampling on Viscount Swenden’s dream of living a normal life, but he was so upset about trying to get Ines married. So it didn’t seem bad to shatter his modest dream a little sooner.
“Understood.”
“But...”
“Yes?”
“Were there always this many flowers here?”
Carson looked around again. Flowers that had received the warmth of the midday sun were embroidering the entire garden. The flowers that reached his knees were purple, red, light red, and white.
“It’s a zinnia. It’s a long-blooming flower that blooms from June until the frost comes.”
“Really?”
“Yes, there’s a legend.”
“Legend?”
It was a story of a poor but happy couple. The husband loved his wife so much that he went far away to do business to enrich her. However, when the husband did not return for a long time, people said that he was dead. And they all advised her to forget about him. The wife, tired of waiting, became more and more withered. The wife who still has feelings thinks that she will wait until this flower withers.”
“...”
“But the flower continued to bloom and did not wither. That is why the flower’s meaning is unchanging love.”
Carson tilted his head for a moment as he looked at the flower.
“Did that husband come back?”
“Yes?”
“Did that husband come back?”
In fact, Noah did not remember how the legend ended. However, a legend is just a legend.
“Yes, and they lived happily.”
Carson smiled with satisfaction after hearing Noah’s answer.
“If that husband had not come back, these flowers would all be buried in the ground today.”
After saying this, Carson moved busily to finish the remaining schedule. After a long time, he had a feeling that the royal family's day would be long and short.
***
Louis soon fell asleep. Emma offered Ines a cup of warm tea.
"Thank you, Emma."
"You always say that to me."
"Is that so?"
Ines smiled faintly and looked at Louis again. The sound of the sleeping child's breathing softened the surrounding atmosphere. Did the children know that the moment they stroked the sleeping child's hair, the adults were actually comforted?
"Her Highness didn't say much, but she missed His Majesty a lot."
"I did too."
"We won't be parting anymore, right?"
Ines nodded confidently at Emma's words.
"Of course. Always, thank you, Emma."
The two continued to have small talk about Louis. After some time, Ines left the room to find Casey. She went out into the hallway and stood in front of the large window that overlooked Granzaim Castle. She tried to calm her surging heart, but a deep sigh came out of her. When she met Carson again, he smelled an unfamiliar scent that she had never smelled before. That made Ines' mind wander. She wanted to hold his hand and follow him wherever he went. Her change of heart became even more certain when she saw him.
Ines took a deep, long breath.
The red autumn flowers that had been out of sight for so long were now all over the royal garden. She thought for a moment about what the names of the flowers might be, but Ines quickly smiled.
It was not yet time to be sentimental.
Ines hurried to meet Casey. She must have heard the news already.
When she went to the room and knocked on the door, Casey opened it.
“Ines.”
“Yes.”
A joyful expression appeared on her face. Casey reached out and led Ines into the room.
“That’s great. But what on earth happened?”
Ines told Casey everything that had just happened.
“Thank goodness.”
“I just barely managed to buy some time.”
“But where is that?”
“Are you okay with not being the closest maid anymore?”
Casey shook her head.
“Actually, I’m just glad I can stay in the palace. To be honest, I’m not sure if I really wanted to be a maid.”
She said that when she was young, she thought she had to become a maid naturally, following her father’s wishes.
“The closest maid position was also what my father wanted. I’m actually happier about this opportunity now. I want to learn as much as possible.”
Although she hadn’t watched her for long, Casey was good at handling tasks. You could tell just by the way she was organizing her work and preparing for her successor.
“Besides, we haven’t proven our usefulness yet. Let’s work a little harder.”
Looking at Casey, who was smiling brightly with hope, Ines wondered again why she had gone to Romfield.
“Were you packing?”
Casey’s room was a little messy as if she was packing.
“Yeah, I got a message telling me to move to Granzym Castle tonight. Shouldn’t Ines pack too?”
“I’m fine. It hasn’t been that long since I came in.”
She nodded and opened the third drawer of her desk. It was always locked. Ines went over to the closet to help Casey organize her clothes.
“Huh?”
But then Casey tilted her head and looked at Ines.
“Why?”
“This is a little strange...”
Ines approached her.
“This drawer is always locked. And I haven’t had any money to deal with lately, so I haven’t had a chance to open it.”
“But...?”
“I always keep my seal in the left corner of this drawer... As you know, Ines, I’m left-handed."
One of the main duties of the closest maid was to handle the royal family’s expenses. The seal she was talking about was the official seal she used whenever she did so. However, the seal was not in the left corner, but on the right. Ines lifted the seal and felt its bottom.
The wax, which should have been completely dry, left a mark on Ines’ palm.
The two surprised eyes met in the air.
“What the...?”
At that moment, Ines remembered Heidi, whom she had briefly forgotten while meeting Carson.
Ines handed the seal back to Casey and became lost in thought. Casey had fallen into a trap and had come to Romfield. If she had committed any crime in the royal family and was going to prison, it would have been logical to go to a prison within the system.
And at Romfield, she was using the surname Orlando of her family, who lived in Landhill, not Hampshire. So she would have been divorced. One of the reasons a spouse could ask for a divorce was a crime against her family. It occurred to her that perhaps the crime she was about to commit was related to her family.
“I think someone has used your seal to get into the royal treasury.”
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