I thought for a moment and headed toward the door. When I opened it, Oscar, who was waiting outside as usual, looked at me.
"Where are you going?"
"Is His Majesty in his office right now?"
"...Yes. But are you planning to go to His Majesty?"
Oscar asked in a surprised tone. It was understandable, considering that even though he had traveled all over the imperial palace, he had never once gone to see Thierry first.
"Yes. But... it would be a bit rude to show up suddenly, wouldn't it?"
"Hmm, the Princess will be fine, though."
Oscar was deep in thought for a moment, then nodded firmly. He then politely extended one hand toward the hallway, as if to say he would take responsibility for guiding the way.
Judging by how Thierry has been acting lately, I don't think he'll say anything if I go to see him, but I'm a bit worried that I might just end up standing there feeling awkward if I go for nothing.
I awkwardly scratched my cheek lightly with the tip of my index finger and followed Oscar down the hallway.
It was my first time heading to the office, so this path felt completely unfamiliar; I scanned my surroundings for no reason. It was just the same hallway, nothing special, yet I wondered why it felt so strange.
Or maybe it's the fact that I'm going to Thierry instead of the hallway that feels strange.
I was walking along with such a strange feeling...
'Wow, what's with the timing.'
They say enemies meet on a narrow bridge; who would have thought I’d run into Duke Joubert right here?
I saw Oscar's back naturally blocking my path. He wasn't blocking my entire way, but rather just slightly covering half of me; however, it was obvious he was on guard, so the sensitive Duke Joubert wouldn't let this slide. Naturally, I waited for the retort that was about to fly at me.
"Princess, are you going to see His Majesty?"
However, unlike last time when he looked at me with blatant displeasure, Duke Joubert actually approached me with a welcoming expression.
“...Duke Joubert.”
"Come to think of it, I heard you were sick. Well, you look fine."
Duke Joubert smirked as he looked me up and down. Ignoring his sarcasm, I smiled sweetly as usual.
"Thank you for your concern."
"Oh, worry... Did you hear that the maid His Majesty cherished has returned?"
"Of course. I even said hello."
"The Princess really does have her way everywhere. Well, you won't be able to do this anymore soon, so go ahead and have fun until then. Seeing you heading to see His Majesty like this, I can only imagine how you feel. Haha!"
I carefully caught Oscar from behind as he was about to take a step toward Duke Joubert, who looked excited. Then, I took a step forward and stood beside him, tilting my head with an innocent look on my face.
"What is wrong with going to see His Majesty? Isn't the Duke also on his way back from seeing His Majesty?"
"What? That's not what I meant!"
Duke Joubert frowned sharply with a frustrated look on his face.
"What do you mean I won't be able to do as I please? Can you tell me what the maid's return has to do with me?"
“Hey, Princess!”
"I'm asking because I really don't know. Could you explain it to me clearly, step by step?"
Since there was no need to have a calm conversation with this person anyway, I kept picking apart his words with the sole purpose of making him burst out laughing.
Gone was the excitement he had shown just moments ago; Duke Joubert gritted his teeth and murmured in a low voice.
"...I'm really sick of you. Anyway, I don't like you."
"The reason why I don't like you."
"Stop!"
I expected him to spout mean words at any moment, but the Duke surprisingly backed down obediently. Cutting me off as if in disgust and walking past me with a look that seemed to say, "I'm not going to deal with you anymore," the Duke whispered very softly when he got close to me.
"I will personally correct your ill-mannered behavior someday."
There has never been a decent villain who says, "Just you wait." I watched the Duke's retreating figure as he solemnly warned me and disappeared, then quickly turned my gaze away.
No matter how I look at it, it seems like there is some kind of plan. Could it be that the Duke is under the delusion that the imposter is the real one?
If that is the case, isn't it truly interesting? I will definitely expose it as a fake and watch Duke Joubert's face crumble in despair.
I made a promise to myself and moved my feet again after stopping.
I could feel Oscar’s gaze scanning my expression, but since I didn’t really have anything to say to him, I just kept walking forward.
“It’s over there.”
The office was on the second floor and located at the end of the hallway, opposite the stairs. I checked the room Oscar was pointing to and was walking when the door suddenly opened, and Wagen and Thierry came out.
"Huh? What's going on?"
It looked as though Thierry had come out of his own accord, rather than being dragged along by Wagen. It was somewhat strange that he was being dragged out by Wagen with such a displeased look—uncharacteristic of him, who usually refuses things he dislikes—but I was more curious about where on earth they were going.
I cautiously closed the distance and pricked up my ears. Fortunately, they were so engrossed in conversation that they didn't notice I was nearby.
"If she's sick, just rest. Why is she calling me?"
"Lari says she is afraid to be alone. Since she wants you to stay by her side, please watch over her at least until she falls asleep."
“Why?”
"Your Majesty. You said you would treat her well."
Thierry let out a deep sigh at Wagen's last words. From the look of it, it seemed Lari was sick and had asked Thierry to come.
I stared blankly at Thierry's profile as he muttered softly to Wagen while deep in thought. He listened to Wagen's story with a serious expression, and as if he had made up his mind to go, he obediently pressed himself against me.
"Princess?"
As a result, I ended up running into him head-on.
Thierry approached me quickly with a surprised look on his face. I could hear Oscar greeting me from the side and Wagen greeting me, but my attention was entirely focused on Thierry. No matter what they said, the only person I could see was Thierry.
"What brings you all the way here? You didn't come to see me, did you?"
"...Yes. But it looks like you are on your way somewhere."
"I heard Lari was sick... Ah, but what brings you here? Isn't this the first time the Princess has come to see me like this?"
Thierry curved his lips into a smile as if in a good mood. Mesmerized by the beautiful daylight, I missed my timing to answer and finally opened my mouth a beat late.
'I came to ask when you were planning to go for a walk today. But since you say you're sick, are you okay?"
"It'll be fine. Then, let's go for a walk just the two of us later. Just wait a little while."
I quietly nodded at him as he made his promise so nonchalantly. Of course, contrary to his calm exterior, his insides were incredibly complicated.
I've noticed this since yesterday, but Thierry didn't seem to be getting as emotionally agitated by the impersonator as I expected. It felt even more jarring when I recalled the way he asked me if I was Lari.
'Come to think of it, it’s clear he isn’t looking for me in a bad way.'
It was my fault for trusting rumors too much and being caught up in prejudice, failing to look at Thierry properly. Even if Thierry had asked if I was Lari to try and lure me in, if I had made an effort to prove just once that I really was Lari, the situation wouldn't have escalated to this extent. It is in the past now, but for some reason, I felt a bit of regret.
My heart grew heavy knowing that even if it were revealed that the imposter was a fake, it would obviously become even harder to reveal the fact that I am Lari in the future. With the real Lari's face, the woman who knew all my childhood memories was a fake; who could I trust now?
With a troubled expression, I watched Thierry's retreating figure. And in the end, our promise was not kept.
***
Yesterday, Thierry sent a message suggesting that we postpone the appointment until tomorrow. As someone who naturally assumed the imposter was faking illness because she didn't want to meet Rood, this was a somewhat perplexing turn of events.
Well, anyway, since it was Lari he had been looking for, I thought he couldn't help being worried, but I also couldn't help feeling a sense of bitterness.
"The palace physician visited and said there was nothing wrong with her body. They even said her temperature was normal... I think she just feigned illness to keep His Majesty around."
And the fortunate thing was that Marie, quick-witted enough, figured it out on her own and brought back news. However, the problem was that the news she brought was not exactly satisfying. It was news that might have been better left unknown; if everyone else knew it was a feigned illness, there was no way Thierry wouldn't have known. And it left a bitter taste in her mouth that Thierry had stayed by her side knowing all this.
If it weren't for the dream I had last night, I might have been worried about it all day.
'Why did that red-haired woman appear in my dream again?'
My heart and my mind were a mess. It wasn't a repeat of the dream I had a few days ago when I was sick; it was a new scene. Moreover, the red-haired woman repeatedly demonstrated slowly how to handle the power of fire, as if she were teaching someone.
It was clearly a dream, yet I had a hunch it wasn't just a dream. For one thing, it seemed certain that she was a dragon, but why on earth was she appearing in my dreams, and why had I gained the power of fire?
I felt frustrated by the mysteries that just kept piling up without being solved.
"Are you feeling very unwell? Shall I call a royal physician?"
"No, it's nothing. I'm just feeling a bit stifled. I'll call you back later, so could you step outside?"
"Yes... If you feel even the slightest bit off, please call me right away. Make sure to!"
I nodded, sat on the windowsill, and looked out the window. Gloomy raindrops filled my vision. The sky seemed to signal the arrival of summer, so I thought that it might continue to rain for a while.
"It looks like I won't be able to go for walks for a while..."
I muttered softly and slowly lowered my gaze.
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