***
“Please, try this.”
Blueny placed some food on Delight’s plate as she spoke.
“I have some too, so don’t worry about me, just eat.”
Delight’s eyes widened slightly as he cleared his throat, a little flustered.
“I can see it’s the same food, you know? I just felt like giving you an extra piece.”
“………”
“That’s just how I feel.”
Blueny, pouting playfully, stuck out her lips and grumbled a bit before breaking into a sly smile, as if admitting it was a joke.
Delight was momentarily speechless, his mouth slightly open, unable to respond.
“Give me some too!”
I eagerly slid my plate toward Blueny, shouting.
“I like meat!”
“Of course, I’ll give you everything!”
“No, you shouldn’t. If you eat all of it, you’ll get a stomach ache.”
Delight, noticing how much I’d already eaten, firmly intervened.
“…I see. Then, could I have just a little more?”
“Yes!”
Blueny cut the steak into smaller pieces and shared some with me.
“Yum!”
“Is it good?”
“Yes! It tastes even better than mine!”
I beamed with satisfaction.
We were having breakfast together, Blueny, Delight, and I.
Although we were still strangers to one another, we made it a habit to share at least one meal together every day.
Throughout the meal, however, Blueny’s behavior was unpredictable. She continually engaged Delight in conversation, showing active interest in him.
Was she acting this way because she couldn’t remember anything? I kept a close eye on Blueny.
“What do you do after breakfast?”
“I have work to attend to.”
“Do you ever take breaks in between?”
As Blueny’s questions kept coming, Delight sighed lightly, finally putting his utensils down. He gently wiped his mouth, took a sip of water, and then looked at Bruni as he spoke.
“There’s no need for you to push yourself like this.”
“Huh?”
“I mean, there’s no need to try so hard, especially since you’re without your memories.”
“Trying too hard? I didn’t mean it that way…”
Blueny, slightly taken aback, responded to Delight’s unexpected reaction.
“The reason I brought you here was because I couldn’t bear to leave you behind. I never expected anything beyond that.”
Delight drew a firm line, one that Blueny would find hard to cross.
“All you need to do here is focus on living comfortably and letting your memories return at their own pace.”
“……..”
“Well, then, I’ll take my leave first. Ollia, I’ll come see you in the evening.”
“Okay, see you later!”
Delight got up first to leave, just as we were finishing the meal. I also hopped down from my chair, circled around the table, and approached Blueny.
“Empress, Your Majesty. Let’s go for a walk this afternoon.”
“With me?”
“Yes. Let’s get closer while we walk!”
***
When the morning lessons were over, Blueny was already waiting for me at the path near the walking trail.
“I’m still not very familiar with the palace trails. Could you guide me, Violyana?”
“Yes! I’ll show you around!”
As we walked along the path, I noticed Blueny kept fidgeting with her hands, as if she were hesitating about something. My gaze naturally followed.
“…Could I hold your hand?”
From the first moment I met her, Blueny had been kind and warm, yet there was also a subtle distance between us, like an invisible boundary.
It felt as though she was deliberately trying not to get too close to me, beyond a certain point.
Thus, this was the first proactive action Blueny took toward me.
“No, it’s fine. I’d rather just keep walking.”
After speaking, Blueny seemed to second-guess herself, shaking her head. Then, with an awkward smile, she hid her hands behind her back.
“My hands just feel a bit empty, that’s all. Haha. What’s your favorite spot on this trail, Violyana?”
It felt as though she was deliberately changing the subject.
‘Was she debating whether to hold my hand?’
Over something as trivial as that?
“…….…”
What’s so special about holding hands, anyway?
I quickly caught up to Blueny, who was walking slightly ahead of me, and grabbed her hand firmly.
“…Violyana?”
I wasn’t sure why, but that hand of hers was just on my mind.
That was all there was to it.
“Let’s walk holding hands!”
Blueny’s face flushed slightly before she smiled brightly, holding my hand tightly in return.
Just then—
“How is it that you’re here?”
A menacing voice came from the other side.
“Huh?”
“…Lianne?”
Standing there was Lianne, her hair in disarray, her dress torn and dirty. She stormed toward us with a fierce expression, getting right in Blueny’s face.
“So, it really was you?”
“…Me?”
“You were supposed to be dead! How are you even alive?!”
It was as if her usual elegance had been completely stripped away.
Lianne looked like she had nothing left to lose.
I feared she might even try to harm Blueny right then and there.
“You took the position that was supposed to be mine, and now you’re getting in my way again?!”
“What are you even talking about?”
“Why are you the empress? Who do you think you are?!”
It seemed she was on the verge of doing something drastic.
The fact that Lianne, who was supposed to be in prison, was here either meant she’d escaped or that something else had gone terribly wrong.
‘It seems like someone should be showing up to help us about now.’
As I looked around, Lianne’s head suddenly snapped toward me, her gaze fixated.
“Ha, just look at you, clinging by her side.”
“!”
“This is all because of you. You dared to deceive and play with me?”
“It was Lianne who deceived me first.”
“Ha, I knew it from the start. You’re just too arrogant. All you need to do is obey me! Why do you keep acting as you please?”
Lianne’s fury was now directed at me.
“What do you think you’re doing to a child?”
Blueny quickly stepped in front of me, angrily confronting Lianne.
“Stand back.”
“What are you two doing in front of me? Playing a little family game as mother and daughter?”
“We are real mother and daughter.”
At that moment, Lianne’s face twisted as she shoved Blueny away.
“Move aside!”
“Ugh!”
The force of her push caused Blueny to lose her balance and fall.
“What are you doing?!”
I shouted sharply, but Lianne didn’t pay me any mind. She was just about to put her foot down on Blueny.
“Roaaar!!!”
Suddenly, a dog lunged at Lianne from behind.
It was Hiel!
Lianne fell to the ground as Hiel, in his wolf-dog form, pinned her down, preventing any movement.
“Ahhh! What’s this beast now?! Aghhh!”
She struggled, but couldn’t push the wolf-dog off.
Eventually, she was left pinned to the ground, only able to scream incoherently.
“Your Majesty, the Empress! Your Highness, are you both alright?”
“Arrest the escaped criminal!”
Knights arrived and restrained Lianne, ensuring she couldn’t make any further trouble.
“I apologize. She escaped while being treated for a seizure. We never imagined she’d come here.”
One of the knights bowed deeply in apology.
“Are either of you injured?”
“Thankfully, we’re unharmed,” Blueny replied calmly.
“But she keeps glaring at me. It seems like she has something to say.”
“Ignore her. She’s been speaking nonsense since she was imprisoned. This won’t happen again.”
As the knights began to take Lianne away, Blueny spoke up.
“If it’s alright, may I speak with her briefly? I have something to say as well.”
“With this criminal? Do you recognize her, by any chance?”
The knight paused, concerned that allowing this might lead to further trouble.
“I’m seeing her for the first time, but I know what happened in the palace when I arrived.”
The conspiracy orchestrated by Lianne and the Shanen family had been exposed.
After a moment’s thought, the knight nodded.
“Alright, but please keep it brief.”
He took out a binding mana stone from his coat and used it on Lianne.
“She won’t be able to cause any trouble.”
“Thank you.”
As the knights stepped back, Blueny approached Lianne.
“What? What could you possibly have to say to me?!”
Lianne shrieked, resisting till the end.
Blueny, unfazed, leaned in close to Lianne’s ear and whispered something.
What was she saying?
I couldn’t hear from where I stood, but I could clearly see Lianne’s eyes widening in horror, almost as if she were possessed by a demon.
“Aaaah! Who do you think you are?! Who do you think you are!!!”
“Take the criminal away!”
Her screams offered no clues, and soon, she was dragged away by the knights and vanished from sight.
Blueny returned to me with a smile.
“That was quite a shock. Are you okay?”
She gently patted my head, showing concern.
“Your Majesty, what did you say?”
“Hmm. Are you curious?”
“Yes, very curious.”
I was dying to know what she’d said that made Lianne react so violently.
Blueny smirked.
“Oh, it wasn’t much.”
She cupped her hand over her mouth, leaning in as if sharing a secret.
“I just told her that the position of Empress is mine.”
“What?”
“In other words, even if I hadn’t returned, there’d be no place for someone else.”
She said it calmly, fully aware of how deeply those words would wound Lianne.
That’s precisely why she’d chosen to say it.
“I heard she tried to deceive and manipulate you, all to claim the title of Empress for herself.”
“…….…”
“I was angry that she hadn’t repented, and that she’d even tried to harm Violyana again, so I might have been a bit harsh.”
Blueny scratched her chin awkwardly, glancing back at me.
“Do you think that was too petty?”
She asked, watching my reaction.
The more she did, the more I couldn’t quite understand who Blueny really was.
