“Episode 29”
“Who would have thought the Empress is someone who moves as I say?” He mocked me, referring to last night’s incident. I humbly accepted his incredulous expression and stood up from the sofa.
“Tonight… where do you plan to sleep?”
Ah, I wanted to sew my mouth shut as soon as I asked that question.
“I’ll rest wherever I want. You don’t have to worry about the Empress,” Lionel replied curtly as he walked towards the window. Strangely, I didn’t feel hurt at all by his cold attitude. Instead, I felt even heavier and more apologetic.
“Well then, I’ll go check for real,” I said, giving a nod to Lionel’s back as I turned away. Exiting the study, I glanced back at him standing by the window. But at the same time, he was also looking back at me. Just as he seemed to be about to move towards me, the study door closed. Without realizing it, I reached out towards the study door handle. But then…
“Your Majesty, I’m here to see you. Sincerely, Duke Etienne Calleaux.”
I heard an aged voice behind me. Duke Calleaux? He was Catherine’s father, the Prime Consort.
“Welcome, Duke Calleaux. Catherine was in the study a moment ago; I’m not sure if you’ve met,” I replied, trying to maintain composure.
“Is there such a place?” I showed curiosity, and this time it was Teresa who spoke up.
“Yes, I heard that Her Majesty sometimes visits the greenhouse when she has a headache!”
“Teresa, shh.”
“Anyway, clueless as always.”
Sharon and Sally teased Teresa, poking her back with their elbows. It seemed like they were indirectly criticizing Teresa for bringing up his story to me, knowing that I wasn’t in a good mood after meeting Lionel just now.
“Alright, shall we go check it out?”
I smiled at Teresa and said, wondering if it would really be helpful, as I was also experiencing a headache.
“I’ve been studying healing magic on my own since I was young, reading spell books.”
“What? Healing magic?”
“Oh, well, it’s not really studying… It’s just a hobby, you know!”
Blushing, Rosie answered, fiddling with her hands.
“You have an impressive hobby, Rosie.”
I sincerely expressed my admiration. It’s uncommon for a noble-born to study healing magic. Among all types of magic, healing magic is usually learned by lower-ranking nobles who aspire to become physicians or by clever commoners seeking to earn a living.
“If I ever feel unwell, I’ll have to ask Rosie for help.”
“Could I possibly be of assistance to Your Majesty?”
She declined, but her eyes twinkled with a secretly pleased expression as she smiled.
“Seems like I’ll benefit a lot from you somehow.”
“Thank you so much for saying that!”
It felt like Rosie’s gaze had lingered on the scar on my right cheek since earlier.
“Ah! S-sorry. It’s not stuck yet, so I just made a mistake…”
I also realized belatedly why Catherine was scolding her. I decided to observe their conversation a bit more.
“I think it would be better to talk later… since Her Majesty is also here…”
Flustered, Rosie again forgot to raise her voice to Catherine.
“Yeah, let’s talk later.”
Catherine nodded in agreement to Rosie’s suggestion.
“But first things first.”
Whack! Catherine’s hand swiftly slapped Rosie’s cheek. A sharp sound echoed through the peaceful greenhouse. Rosie’s neck snapped to the side. I glanced at Rosie and then shifted my gaze to Catherine. …Whoa, what’s going on here?
