"Princess, I'm sorry, but I forgot to bring my parasol. May I go quickly?"
"Yes. I'll take my time going down."
"Yes! I'll be right back."
I walked along the hallway and looked around. The framed pictures lining both walls were filled with masterpieces of high quality, even to someone like me who knows nothing about art.
I think I heard before that the East Palace is also called the 'Gallery Palace' because it is filled with works of art, and seeing it in person, I realized that it really is true.
'Come to think of it, what happened to Maud? I'm worried about whether he managed to hide well during the war.'
I thought of Maud Norua, my only friend in this world, who had told me about the nickname of the Crown Prince. She was a lady-in-waiting who assisted with cooking in the kitchen here at the Crown Prince's, and she was the only one who secretly helped Thierry and me when the people of the Imperial Palace treated us as if we didn't exist.
'I'll have to look into Maud later when I get the chance.'
I clenched my teeth and nodded. I wasn't going to do anything specific when we met, but I just wanted to hear if she was doing well.
I was just turning the right corner of the hallway, looking around wistfully.
"Did you see that Princess?"
Princess? No way, me? I instinctively pressed myself against the wall.
I peeked my head out toward the source of the sound and saw two maids wiping the picture frames displayed at the far end.
"Hey! Watch out! I heard that Princess is staying here?"
"It's okay, it's okay. She wasn't moving an inch from her room because she was sick. Besides, you know nobody walks around here at this hour, so why are you making such a fuss?"
Thinking it's deja vu? It was like this in Ashtad, and now the maids here are doing it too.
Everyone seems so careless... Even if it's a secluded spot and they whisper quietly, doing that in a hallway where people can come and go at any time is just... ugh.
I clicked my tongue inwardly and held my breath to hear better.
"Still, you never know... But why that Princess?"
"No, she really was pretty. Even though she was lying there in so much pain, she looked like a Princess from a fairy tale. I was surprised when I heard a foreign Princess was suddenly coming; did he bring her because he thought she was pretty?"
"If it's him, His Majesty? Are you serious?"
"...It really doesn't make sense, does it? In all those wars, nothing like this has ever happened, so I'm so curious that all sorts of thoughts are running through my head."
"It's obvious he brought her here as prisoners. I wonder if his only interest is war... He's never once been interested in people. Ah. Wasn't there one?
"Ah—if they lived together when they were young, was she a maid? Was her name Lari?"
"Hey! Seriously, watch your back! Don't you know that name is forbidden?"
Huh? Why am I forbidden from being mentioned? I opened my eyes wide.
'Wow, I'm surprised!'
At that moment, as the two maids suddenly turned their heads and looked around, I quickly hid myself.
You gossip about the Emperor all the time, so why are you trembling like that over a mere maid?
"There's nobody here, really nobody."
"I know... but it's scary, so let's finish talking later."
"Once we leave this area, we won't have time to talk, okay? The Imperial Palace is bustling right now; cleaning the Crown Prince's palace is our only break time..."
Ah. Why is her voice so quiet? Since no one is around, she should speak a little louder. Why is she being so cautious?
I pressed my ear against the wall and pouted.
"Anyway, let's be as careful as possible. His Majesty hates it. Don't you see how everyone was purged just for mentioning the past? If he were close to that maid, he should have been trying to find her or showing signs of missing her. Given his reaction, I have no excuse if people assume he had a terrible relationship with her."
A purge? On top of that. What? Thierry didn't get along with Lari?
We were happier than anyone else until my unjust death! I felt so frustrated that I wanted to run out right now and vent my disbelief.
"So listen. The reason I specifically brought up that name is that I heard some rumors about that person."
“...What is it?”
...What is it?
My heart pounded as if it were about to burst, as if sensing the escalating atmosphere.
"They say the maid hit the young Emperor on the back of the head and secretly ran away."
I suddenly felt like I couldn't breathe.
***
By the time Marie appeared holding a parasol, the two ladies-in-waiting had already disappeared.
I could feel Marie looking at me puzzledly as I stood blankly in the hallway, but because I was feeling unsettled, I just walked on without saying a word.
'I ran away? What on earth happened?'
I trudged along the walking path with a troubled expression. Even though I was breathing in the fresh air for the first time in a while, I felt incredibly stifled.
'Did the person who killed me secretly dispose of my body as well? Or is it just a rumor?'
It is unfair enough that I died, but to think such a bizarre rumor is circulating.
I thought that finding out who killed 'Lari' was the priority rather than looking into the possession.
'Even if I go to the library, I feel at a loss because I don't know where to start researching possession...'
The parasol in my hand gradually tilted loosely over my shoulder. As my thoughts dragged on, I began to wonder if I should just go back to my room, and everything felt like a bother.
crackle.
"Ugh..."
"Princess!"
Just as I heard the sound of something running, something came running and slammed my leg. I staggered and leaned on Marie, who urgently grabbed my arm.
"The wolf of His Majesty..."
Rood clung to me with an excited look. Marie, looking pale and at a loss, recoiled slightly.
"Why, why is it acting like this? Princess, please be careful. This wolf only listens to His Majesty, so if you touch it carelessly, it will bite! Princess, you must not touch it!"
First, to calm down Marie and the wolf who were holding me up and down, I released my arm from Marie. Then, forcing a clumsy smile, I carefully stroked Rood's head.
"I think it wants this. Did it miss human company? The wolf is quite gentle."
"You're saying that wolf is gentle? That can't be true."
With a face full of distrust, Marie pressed her body against me and tried to grab my arm again.
"Krrrrr."
“Aaaah!”
As if thinking Marie was going to take me away, Rood bared his sharp teeth. Marie recoiled in shock, looking as if she were about to fall over, so I smiled at her to reassure her that everything would be alright.
"Haha, it looks like it doesn't like having too many people around... Stay back. I don't think it will be dangerous if I just pet him like this."
"Princess...!"
Marie looked up at me with a touched expression, as if she thought I had saved her.
It seems like you've seriously misunderstood something, but I guess it'll be fine.
"Huff huff..."
Rood, panting with joy, was cute, but I had to consider the gazes around us for now. I restrained my desire to hug him to my heart's content and just lightly stroked his back.
The rough yet fluffy texture of the fur made me feel somewhat relieved of the stifling stuffiness inside me.
“It’s so good I’m dying.”
That voice, like a sweet potato, blocked my insides again, though.
"Damn it. The fact that Rood is here means Thierry is going to show up soon; I didn't even think of that."
I squeezed my eyes shut at the heavy aura I could feel instinctively without even looking.
"I greet His Imperial Majesty the Emperor, the Sun of the Empire."
"...I greet His Imperial Majesty the Emperor, the Sun of the Empire."
I belatedly followed Marie and greeted Thierry. As I slowly raised my head, his blood-red eyes gleamed coldly at me, as if he had been waiting for me to see them.
Unlike when he was clad in chilling armor, Thierry was dressed in a free-spirited white shirt and trousers. He had unbuttoned his shirt to reveal his toned cleavage and rolled up his sleeves, showing the veins on his forearms.
A generally languid atmosphere naturally emanated from him. Of course, that didn't mean the cold vibe had disappeared, though.
The weather, which had been just the right amount of cool, felt strangely cold.
His sharp gaze narrowed. At this rate, he might pierce through my face... For now, I smiled awkwardly to lighten the mood.
As the saying goes, you can't spit on a smiling face.
"You're quick. Greeting with a smile."
He was the kind of person who would spit on Thierry's smiling face.
"I thought we were going to have to clean up the corpse, but it's a real relief for Ashtad. It would have been a dilemma if the token of the pact that saved their life had died so senselessly."
One after another, gruesome and brutal lines followed. Naturally, I was scared.
However, that was only for a moment; as the words the maids had said earlier came to mind, the distress intensified to the point of surpassing fear.
'I wondered why the kid had become so twisted, but could I possibly be part of the cause?'
I lowered the corners of my eyebrows and made a slightly tearful face.
'Do you really think I ran away? Is that why you grew up to be such a heartless person, shocked by being betrayed by the person you had finally opened your heart to?'
Of course, I know it wasn't 100 percent my fault. This wasn't an overestimation of self-consciousness. Still, having spent several years together so affectionately when we were young, there was no way we weren't connected.
Since changes in the environment during childhood can significantly affect the growth process.
'Then does Thierry not know the cause of my death either?'
I felt even more at a loss because I had merely thought vaguely that I should look into it. It seemed unlikely that I would find any satisfactory information, no matter how much I inquired about my death, which even Thierry did not know about.
Of course, splitting hydrogen is only possible after breaking down the boundaries of the Podia people, though...
It was my first time traveling such a long distance, so I think it took a toll on my body. However, thanks to your care, I recovered quickly.
"You say, huh is over in a flash? You must have lost your sense of time since you were bedridden for seven years?"
Thierry was the biggest problem.
Should I just keep my mouth shut? I suppressed a sigh that threatened to escape my lips at the sneer that followed every word. Pfft. He let out a short click of his tongue, sounding displeased.
"You wander around alone without any fear, and do you really think you can protect your pathetic life all by yourself?"
"..."
"For the time being, just get treated by the royal physician every day."
"Yes."
Looking at the context, it seems like he was trying to be considerate, but since the person speaking was Thierry, it just turned into scathing insults.
I just let out a hollow laugh, half-giving up on that amazing way of speaking.
And as if agreeing with my laughter, he twisted one side of his lip. It was a sinister smile, the kind that anyone would recognize as villainous.
'The image of him as a child, with tears welling up in his eyes asking me not to get sick, feels like a dream.'
What is so special about that damn affection? I felt a slight pity for Thierry's character, who had grown up without mercy.
“Uuuu.”
As if Rood had sensed my feelings, he let out a groan and gently rubbed his head against me.
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