Episode 53. Wheened's Secret
"The Blessing of the Imperial Family Comes to the Orphans."
The Princess used the stolen ring incident as an opportunity to reflect on the values the imperial family has followed, and the article went into detail about the donation.
The article also positively evaluated the fact that the Riley Auction held a special charity auction to remind the nobles of the meaning of charity.
The relationship with the imperial family is also important to Targan. Last time, the Princess was exposed and given a disease, so this time, they gave her medicine.
The Princess read the article over and over again without saying a word.
Since she was silent, I also became anxious.
What are you going to find fault with?
I said carefully.
"The Princess, the tone of the article is not bad."
"..."
"Your Highness?"
Her highness, Milliora, raised her head and bit her lips slightly. Tears welled up in her eyes.
"You're praising me right now."
When I heard her slightly hushed voice, I felt a sore throat for no reason.
I sincerely hoped that this wasn’t the first compliment she had ever heard.
“Wherever I went, children said that Your Highness was the best in the world.”
“That’s the power of money.”
I resisted the sagging feeling at those words and said firmly.
“I was so scared carrying that much money. It was possible because Lord Rond was right by my side and protected me. I think it would be nice if you could give Lord Rond a small reward or a word of praise. Your Highness.”
“No problem.”
Milliora cut me off and stared at the newspaper.
“Go ahead.”
When I didn’t understand right away, she nodded, her silver hair fluttering.
“I didn’t have a tea party because I was planning to do it when you got back. Since I don’t have anything to do today, you can go back.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
I smiled awkwardly and went outside.
I didn’t know what was on her mind, but she wasn’t angry, so that was fine.
***
In the past, Rond’s body would have been incapable of a carriage trip that lasted several days.
This was especially true when the Princess’s new, noisy maid was constantly urging the groom.
However, Rond was able to use this opportunity to see how much the medicine Lorisha had forced him to take had improved his body.
After returning to the palace, he could have rested in his room for a day to recover from the aftereffects, but he went out to the backyard as usual.
Sunbathing in the backyard was his routine, and knights usually did not like to break their daily routine.
When he arrived at the bench a little later than usual, there was Princess Miliora, who was very tired.
Before he was injured in the Tunbar Mountains, he had been a young knight who was full of pride in his abilities.
It was quite a sight to see such a large man suddenly swallow his saliva at the sight of the skinny Princess.
The Princess spoke to him nervously as he hesitated.
“What are you doing? You’re not sitting down.”
When Rond sat down with an uncomfortable expression, she became irritated.
“You’re so late!”
“...”
Rond’s visit to the backyard was not an appointment with anyone.
But he didn’t explain. He just sat up straight with an uncomfortable expression and looked ahead.
Miliora handed him a Targan News. The rolled-up newspaper hit his chest with a thud.
“I’m in the paper. Isn’t it cool?”
"...”
Rond appealed with his eyes that he didn’t know what expression to make right now.
But Miliora ignored him and stood up with a cold face. Then, the two of them looked about the same height.
“Lorisha says you're amazing.”
After Miliora left that comment and turned around as if she was upset, Rond opened the newspaper.
There was an envelope between the pages where the article was.
Rond paused, looked around, and then opened the envelope. It was a receipt from the Princess’s palace.
It was a simple reward.
***
I visited the apothecary director after a long time. I wanted to see the director’s face and get some medicine for Sir Rond.
Before I did, I didn’t forget to stop by the kitchen and get some macarons. I felt bad that I always seemed to be asking for favors.
“Director Royman... Director? It’s Lorisha.”
There was some noise from inside, but there was no answer to the knock.
“Director, open the door!”
When I opened the door slightly, I heard a snoring sound.
I giggled and went inside. The director was asleep on a long chair on one side of the pharmacy. It seemed like he was taking a nap after working all night.
I was putting the macarons I had brought on the table when I saw something strange.
'Arrows?'
The table was filled with a pile of arrows, small strings that could be hung on the ends, and wicks. The thought of a fire arrow with a flammable substance inside the string naturally came to my mind.
'The director is developing a weapon?'
I stood there blankly, unable to believe my guess. Making a lethal weapon in the palace pharmacy, I must have seen something I shouldn't have seen.
At that moment, I felt a pressure as if a dark shadow was clinging to my back.
At that moment, I really thought that.
'Am I going to die?'
I slowly turned around.
"Ugh."
"Shh."
'Prince Kydel?'
He covered my mouth and led me into a small storage room attached to the lab.
The storage room was so narrow that the two of us had no choice but to stand right next to each other.
I was so uncomfortable I could die, but he pushed me forward without hesitation.
As we got closer, he was looking down at me.
What, what...
But before I could open my mouth, he spoke first.
“What are you doing? Miss Lorisha.”
I had to swallow hard at the gloomy voice I heard for the first time.
Can’t you turn off those glaring eyes?
Judging from his attitude, the weapon the director was making must have something to do with him. It was clear that he had ordered the director to use his alchemist skills to make it.
But why?
Could it be that His Highness Grayon was up to something...
All sorts of catastrophic thoughts flashed through my head at once.
In the end, I even thought that His Highness Grayon was trying to assassinate His Majesty.
I couldn’t believe it myself.
Whatever the purpose of that arrow, I had spied on someone else’s secret, and the owner of that secret was angry.
When I glanced up at him, he couldn’t have been more terrifying.
This kid must have had exactly this kind of face when he cut off the Amata tribe's neck.
Thinking that his usual sly face was all a play, it was even scarier.
"Uh..."
"I asked."
"Uh, if you'd step away..."
But Locard Kydel, who ate tree frog meat, did the opposite of what I said.
He stretched out both arms to the shelf and trapped me in his arms. By then, I couldn't even speak.
It was close. It was too close!
"I asked."
I shut my eyes tightly and answered.
"I was going to give the director a macaron..."
"Ah. It's delicious. That."
He replied in a very gloomy voice.
A low voice that made it hard to tell whether he was talking to himself or to me.
I wiggled my whole body, trying to somehow reduce the surface area my body occupied in this world.
"Rond, I was thinking about making a potion for Lord Rond..."
He muttered very gloomily and slowly.
"Oh. I see. Miss Loire."
Don't lower your voice? You’re a little scary today!
“But it’s a little rude to enter someone else’s room without permission, isn’t it?”
I nodded vigorously.
“Yes, it’s rude. I’m sorry! No, I won’t apologize to the Prince, but I’ll apologize to the director. I’ll come and visit you formally next time. Because I didn’t see anything today!”
Prince Kydel then gently lowered the arm that was holding me.
“Did you see anything?”
“Yes! Look at me now. My eyes are tightly closed, right?”
I said and pushed my tightly closed face toward him.
Then I felt him holding his breath.
He quickly stepped away from me and opened the storage room door, saying,
“Since you didn’t see anything, you can go back. If you see anything on your way back, forget it again. Is that okay? Miss Loire. This is very important.”
I nodded unconditionally. This kid, when he sets his mind to it, it’s no joke.
I went out with my head up toward the ceiling so as not to look inside the room any longer. I quickly walked down the hallway and looked back to see if he was chasing me, but there was no one. For the first time in a long time, my heart was pounding as if it was going to burst.
'But why does Director Royman have a weapon...?'
I shook my head and squeezed out some hope.
Maybe it was just Director Royman's hobby, who was also an alchemist.
Alchemists make gold, but they often make all sorts of strange things in the process of failing to do so.
And Prince Kydel was just playing around with me like some kind of mastermind in a novel.
I wish that were true. It shouldn’t have been an incident where I actually happened to see him do something masterful.
My thoughts weren’t completely absurd. If he had really been doing something mastermindful without His Majesty the Emperor knowing, he wouldn’t have let me go back alive.
I tried to calm my mind with that thought.
However, as soon as I got back to my room, I unconsciously locked the window.
What if he came in here at night and slapped my neck?
I couldn’t erase the moment when I stood chest-to-chest with him in the apothecary storeroom, holding my breath, as I closed my eyes under the covers.
My heart was still pounding, pounding, pounding on its own.
In the midst of all that, I was surprised that he also liked macarons.
How could bad relationships be this bad?
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