Chapter 8
“Princess, I’m sorry I didn’t bring an umbrella. Can I hurry and come back?”
“Sure. I’ll take my time going downstairs.”
“Yes, I’ll be right back.”
I walked down the hallway, scanning my surroundings. The frames lining both walls were filled with masterpieces that even I, an art blind man, could appreciate.
I had once heard that the East Palace was called the Gallery Palace because it was filled with art, and now that I saw it in person, I realized that it was true.
I wondered, ‘What happened to the Maude? I wonder if he hid himself well during the war’.
I thought of my only otherworldly friend, Maude Noir, who had told me about the Palace’s nickname. She was a maid in the kitchens of the East Palace, the only one who had secretly helped me and fed me when the Palace people treated me and Thierry as if we were nothing.
‘I’ll have to get a chance to see her later and find out about the mods.’
I pursed my lips and nodded. I wasn’t going to meet up and do anything, but I wanted to hear how she was doing.
I was just rounding the right corner of the hallway, looking around wistfully.
“Did you see the Princess?”
A princess? Could it be me? I instinctively braced myself against the wall.
Peeking my head out in the direction of the sound, I saw two maids polishing the picture frames on display at the far end.
“Hey! Careful, I thought the Princess was staying here?”
“It’s okay, it’s okay, she’s sick and hasn’t moved from her room, and you know there’s no one here at this hour, so what’s the big deal?”
It’s déjà vu. It was like this in Ashtad too, then the maids here like this too.
I think you’re all too careless… Even if you’re whispering in a corner, in a hallway where people can come and go at any time. Oh my.
I clicked my tongue and held my breath to hear better.
“But hey, you never know… What about that Princess, anyway?”
“No, she was pretty, really pretty. She looked like a Princess from a fairy tale, even though she was lying there in pain. I was surprised to see a foreign Princess here, but did he bring her here because she was pretty enough for him?”
“If it is him, Your Majesty, are you serious?”
“… It doesn’t make sense, does it? In all the wars we’ve fought, it’s never happened before, and I’m so curious, I can’t think of anything else.”
“He must have brought her here as a prisoner of war. All he cares about is war… He never cares about people, ah. Wasn’t there one?”
“Ah-the maid I used to stay with when I was younger, her name was Lari.”
“Hey! You’re so careful! Don’t you know that name is off limits?”
What? Why am I off limits? My eyes widened.
‘Oh my gosh, this is surprising!’
I ducked quickly as the two maids suddenly whipped their heads around, looking everywhere.
Why are you two so bad at gossiping about the Emperor, but so bad at talking about a maid?
“There’s no one, really.”
“I know… But I’m still scared, so we’ll talk about it later.”
“We can’t talk if we leave this area. The Palace is so busy right now, this is the only time we have a break to clean the East Palace…”
Ah, why is her voice so low, why doesn’t she speak louder when no one is around, why is she so cautious?
I pouted my lips with my ears pressed against the wall.
“Anyway, let’s be as careful as possible. The Emperor doesn’t like it, and the mere mention of it has resulted in a purge. If you were close to the maid, you’d be looking for her, or at least missing her. The way you’re reacting makes me think you and the maid had a very bad relationship.”
A purge? And what, Thierry and Larry weren’t on good terms?
We were closer than anyone else until I died unjustly! It was so frustrating that I wanted to run out right away and complain about this horrible situation.
“So listen. The reason I brought up her name is because I’ve heard some rumors about her.”
“… What is it?”
… What is it?
My heart pounded as if I sensed the rising tension.
“The maid stabbed the young Emperor in the back and snuck away.”
Suddenly, I felt breathless.
***
By the time Marie showed up with the umbrella, the two maids were long gone.
I could feel Marie looking at me questioningly as I stood in the hallway, but my stomach was churning, so I just kept walking.
‘I ran away, what on earth happened?’
I trudged down the rutted walkway, my face a mask of confusion. It had been a long time since I’d breathed fresh air.
‘Did the person who killed me secretly get rid of my body too? Or is it just a rumor?’
It’s bad enough that I’m dead, but these strange rumors are spreading.
I realized that finding out who killed Lari was more important than finding out about the possession.
‘Even if I go to the library, I don’t know where to start researching about possession, so I’m stuck…’
The umbrella in my hand slumped more and more roughly on my shoulder. The longer I thought about it, the more I wanted to just go back to my room, and the more annoying it all became.
Dug.
“Ugh-.”
“Princess!”
I thought I heard something running, and then something ran and struck me in the leg. I staggered and leaned into Marie, who urgently grabbed my arm.
“Your Majesty wolf…”
Rudd clung to me with excitement. Marie, pale and helpless, took a hesitant step back.
“Why… What’s the matter, Princess, be careful, this wolf only listens to His Majesty, and if you touch it, it will bite you… gah! Princess, you mustn’t touch it!”
I released my arms, which had been leaning on Marie to calm her and the wolf, and smiled sheepishly as I gingerly patted Rudd’s head.
“I think that’s what he wants, I don’t know, did he miss his human? The wolf is so gentle.”
“The wolf is gentle? That’s impossible.”
With a look of disbelief, Marie snuggled against me and tried to grab my arm again.
“Krrr-.”
“Kyaaa!”
He bared his sharp teeth at me, as if he thought I was going to take . Marie stepped back in horror, and I smiled at her as if she were about to fall over.
“Haha, I guess he doesn’t like crowds… Stay back, Marie, I don’t think he’ll be in any danger if I pet him like this.”
“Princess…!”
Marie looked up at me, impressed, as if she thought I had saved her.
She must have misunderstood something, but whatever.
“Hehehe-.”
As cute as it was to see Rudd panting with joy, I had to consider my surroundings. I restrained myself from cuddling him to my heart’s content, only gently stroking his back.
The feel of his rough but fluffy fur eased the tightness in my stomach.
“Very good.”
The chestnut voice made my stomach clench again.
‘Damn. If Rude’s here, that means Thierry’s going to show up too, I didn’t think about that.’
I narrowed my eyes at the heavy aura I could feel even without looking.
“Greetings, His Imperial Majesty, the Sun of the Empire.”
“… Greetings to His Imperial Majesty, the Sun of the Empire.”
I bowed to Thierry, following Marie’s lead. I raised my head slowly, his eyes glinting coldly at me, as if he’d been waiting for me to see him.
Thierry was dressed in a loose white shirt and pants, a change from his creepy armor. His shirt was unbuttoned to expose his toned sternum, and his sleeves were rolled up to reveal the sinewy muscles on his forearms.
There was an overall languid air about him. Not that the chill was gone, of course.
The weather, which had been just right, felt strangely cold.
His sharp eyes narrowed. At this rate, he’s going to pierce my face… I smiled, at least half-heartedly, to lighten the mood.
As the saying goes, you can’t spit on a smiling face.
“You’re fast. Smile and say hello.”
-What. Thierry was the kind of person who would spit phlegm on a smiling face and still be left behind.
“Put the invoice away, Ashtad, it’s a good thing you’re here, because it would have been embarrassing to see the token of a pact that was meant to save your life die in such a ridiculous way.”
One gruesome, murderous line after another. I was understandably terrified.
But then I remembered what the handmaidens had said earlier, and my frustration overcame my fear.
‘I wondered why the child was so twisted, but could it be that I am one of the reasons?’
I lowered my eyebrows and frowned slightly.
‘Does he really think I ran away, and that’s why he’s such an emotionally unavailable human being, traumatized by being betrayed by the one person he’d finally opened up to?’
Of course, I know it’s not 100% me. It wasn’t overly self-conscious, but we had spent so many years together as children that it couldn’t have been unrelated.
Because environmental changes during childhood can have a significant impact on the growth process.
‘Then Thierry doesn’t know about the cause of my death?’
I felt even more stuck because I had only vaguely thought to look into it. I didn’t think I could find out anything about my death that even Thierry didn’t know about.
Of course, inquiries are only possible after you’ve broken down the boundaries of the people of Podia…
“It was my first time traveling long distances, so I must have been tired, but thanks to your care, I got better quickly.”
“Three days passed so quickly. You must have lost all sense of time after being bedridden for seven years.”
Thierry was the problem.
Maybe I should just keep my mouth shut. I suppressed the sigh that threatened to escape my lips at the frown that followed each word.
Tsk, he gave a short, dismissive click of his tongue.
“You wander around without a care in the world, and you’re so confident that you can take care of your little life on your own.”
“…”
“You’re going to see the palace physician every day for a while.”
“Yes.”
In context, the words sounded caring, but in the context of Thierry’s voice, they became a sour insult.
I half gave up and just laughed at his amazing way of speaking.
And then, as if in sympathy with my laughter, he twisted one of his lips into a sneer, a truly villainous, bitter laugh.
‘It feels like a dream, like the image of me as a child with tears in my eyes telling me not to get sick.’
What kind of affection is that? I felt a little sorry for Thierry, who had grown up without mercy.
“Kkhinggg.”
Rudd made a pained noise and rubbed my gently head, as if he’d sensed my thoughts.
