By the time we had rescued all the survivors from the palace infirmary and given them first aid, the moon was already halfway up in the sky.
I wanted to stay and take care of the patients, but Julion kept staring at me with an axe-like gaze, so I had no choice but to return to Garnet Palace.
‘My body is reaching its limit too.’
I couldn’t eat Apherium once again. I had planned to eat after the spring banquet, but with this massive incident, I couldn’t find the opportunity to go and eat it.
Still, I had been eating it consistently for over a month, so skipping a day wouldn’t be a problem.
‘I’ll make sure to eat tomorrow.’
If I still can’t eat tomorrow, it might become a problem.
“Your Highness, the bathwater is ready.”
“Oh, yes. Thank you for preparing it quickly.”
As I immersed my body in the warm water, drowsiness poured over me.
So much happened today. I thought that something might happen because of Hemion Martin, but I never expected it to escalate to such a large scale. Come to think of it, wasn’t Hemion’s room a mess?
The garden seemed to have returned to normal at some point, but I wasn’t sure about the state of her room.
“What about Hemion?”
“I guided her to a new room.”
“I should go check on her.”
After finishing my bath, Zenid and I went to see Hemion’s room. However, in front of her door, I couldn’t bring myself to knock.
“…sniff. Mom, Dad… I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry.”
It was a faint sound, but I could clearly hear her sobbing. I had always thought of her as a brave and bold girl.
‘Today must have been traumatic for her.’
Her life was threatened, and she even encountered Lilliana. Knowing Lilliana’s personality, she probably said some vicious words.
I had warned Hemion in advance, but I had hoped that such a situation wouldn’t arise.
“Mom……, I miss you. I’m having a hard time…….”
However, judging by her condition, it seemed like the conversation I had been worried about had taken place.
Zenid looked at me and asked if I wanted to knock, but I shook my head.
As I tried to go back, my feet didn’t move, so I had to stand there for a long time. I had to remain in her room until dawn, waiting for her sobs to subside and her breathing to shift into quiet, shallow breaths.
━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━
The spring banquet fire incident resulted in a total of 57 casualties, with only one fatality.
It was a large-scale fire that burned the palace infirmary to the ground, but thanks to the quick rescue and extinguishment, it was recorded as an accident with almost no casualties. Of course, there were many seriously injured people, so we can’t relax yet, but it was still a remarkable result.
The Crown Prince, who had directed the rescue operation on-site, and the Crown Princess, who had tirelessly treated the rescued patients, became the subjects of rumors sweeping through the empire.
However, the actual individuals involved, especially Julion, were far from being in a good mental state.
“Pailson, you weren’t able to confirm the identity of the deceased. What happened?”
“It’s as reported. The entire body was burned to a crisp, making it impossible to identify.”
“If the person was part of the palace infirmary, we should be able to identify them by checking the list of survivors.”
“Well…” Pailson shrugged his shoulders with an uneasy expression.
“For some reason, there’s no empty slot in the list.”
“…So, all the individuals on the list have been confirmed to be alive?”
“Yes. I went through it meticulously, checking everyone from the doctors to the soldiers, knights, and even the maids. There’s no one missing.”
Julion sighed and rubbed his forehead. It was a grim situation. To not even be able to mourn for a life lost because they couldn’t identify who it was.
“What should we do, Your Highness?”
“Then, could it be that the deceased person wasn’t part of the palace infirmary, so why were they there at that time?”
While the palace infirmary was a place where many people could come and go, it was still part of the imperial palace. It meant that someone without proper identification couldn’t enter.
But what are the odds that a stranger who stumbled in would end up as a lump of charcoal in the deepest part of the palace infirmary, even close to the source of the fire?
As Julion immersed himself in thought, his golden eyes became chillingly cold. Simultaneously, Pailson spoke in a stern tone.
“It must be the perpetrator.”
Julion neither affirmed nor denied the statement. Was it really the perpetrator, unable to escape after starting the fire? Did Roxis, the supposedly intelligent individual, have such a foolish subordinate? Or perhaps it was treated as a lost cause from the beginning, and they burned the evidence along with it?
“This is unsettling.”
Tap. Tap. Out of habit, Julion tapped the table and gave out a new set of instructions.
Pailson’s eyes widened slightly in surprise, but he quickly nodded.
“I understand. The next agenda is regarding temporary residences for the palace infirmary residents.”
Flipping through the papers, Pailson held them out in front of Julion.
“The currently available empty palaces are Lapis Palace, Razzly Palace, Thorndell Palace, and Bandyas Palace. I excluded other places because they are too small and shabby for dozens of people to reside immediately.”
Julion contemplated as he looked at the circled marks on the palace map. They were all located on the outskirts.
Even though it was going to be a temporary palace infirmary, it needed to be easily accessible since it would become the main residence for the medical staff.
“It’s too far away.”
“Yes, I am concerned about that too, but currently, these four places are the only ones available for immediate use.” In response to Pailson’s resolute words, Julion stared at the map in silence.
The infirmary was one of the places Rohiriel frequented the most. Among the servants and maids, it was common knowledge that if you wanted to find the Crown Princess, you should check the infirmary before Garnet Palace.
However, the four palaces selected by Pailson were all too far from Garnet Palace. He could see how hard it would be for Rohiriel to get around. Unable to easily make a decision, Julion furrowed his brows, and as he did, Pailson cautiously spoke up.
“Your Highness, there is one more candidate.”
Glancing up from the map, Julion turned his gaze to Pailson. With eyes that seemed filled with anger at a glance, Pailson spoke with a nervous tone.
“Her Highness, knowing the circumstances, recommended Garnet Palace.”
“……What does that mean? Isn’t Garnet Palace the Crown Princess’ residence?”
At Julion’s genuinely confused tone, Pailson continued.
“Her Highness said that since she has to go to the Palace infirmary every day anyway, and the Garnet Palace is spacious enough… to accommodate the medical staff.” As Pailson continued explaining, Julion’s expression became increasingly strange.
There was a murderous air around him that made Pailson unconsciously avert his gaze.
“S-surprising, isn’t it? I was surprised too.” Sighing, Julion lowered his gaze back to the map as Pailson laughed nervously.
Four circles far from Garnet Palace. And Garnet Palace itself. Both options were unfavorable, but if he had to choose…
“Well, there’s no other choice. I’ll talk to the crown princess myself.”
“What, you mean now?”
“Didn’t you say it was an important matter?”
“Yes, but there are other matters that haven’t been—”
“The important matters need to be dealt with quickly. I’ll be back soon, so you can finish organizing the documents here.” Cutting off Pailson’s words ruthlessly, Julion took decisive steps.
The deliberation was lengthy, yet the execution was swift.
Pailson, left alone, looked at the towering pile of documents with a helpless expression.
━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━
“Her Highness has just left the palace.”
Julion hurriedly went to Garnet Palace, but the owner of the palace was not there. The maid at the entrance bowed her head apologetically.
“Where did she say she was going?”
“She said she was going to the garden.”
“There again?”
Now that the infirmary is gone, this time it was the garden. Julion thought she must have gone to the Golden Garden. Now that he thought about it, he remembered hearing that she went to the Golden Garden at least once a day. Julion turned his heel nervously.
Arriving at the entrance of the Golden Garden, as expected, Zenid was there. When she recognized him, she bowed respectfully.
“Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”
“I greet Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”
Beside Zenid, someone made awkward greetings in an unsure voice. Observing the face of the girl with brown hair, Julion expressed surprise.
“It’s not Hemion Martin, is it?”
Meeting Julion’s gaze, Hemion, flustered, bowed deeply. She had committed the shocking act of throwing eggs at the Crown Princess on the day of their wedding, and just a few days ago, she had seen him diligently working alongside the Crown Princess in the Palace infirmary. However, due to the hectic environment, this was the first time she had properly observed him.
“That’s correct,” Hemion replied in a small voice.
As Julion’s gaze returned to Zenid standing next to her, she added an explanation.
“Her Highness said she would keep her as a maid for a while.”
“……I see,” Julion replied dryly, and without further conversation, he entered the garden.
As always, he was greeted by lush bushes and then dry ground. Beyond that, deeper inside, there was a rare flower that Rohiriel often sought.
As expected, Rohiriel was crouching down in front of the flowerbed, doing something. Just as he was about to approach with a welcoming feeling, the voice of Rohiriel muttering something to the flowers reached him.
