NMRJKM Chapter 82

 

“Donation?”

“Yes.”

Dorothea covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes sparkling with excitement. Well, it’s not like I’m donating my own money, but seeing her so happy makes me feel a little guilty.

“I received some jewels from Carlothian. I’d like to sell them and donate the money.”

Dorothea’s face suddenly became complicated.

“Wait.”

“Yes?”

“You said you received them from Carlothian?”

“Yes.”

I nodded cheerfully. Dorothea, however, looked deeply troubled and let out a thoughtful hum.

“Hmm, Ariadeline, this is just my personal advice.”

“Yes, yes.”

“I don’t think that’s a very good idea.”

Why? How come? These jewels are worth 60 billion gold! With that, you could buy bread—no, a house for poor children.

And…

‘If I donate under the Denaves family name, it would reflect well on the family.’

I was thinking of using this opportunity to improve Carlottian’s warmongering image…

Curious, I asked, “Why not?”

Dorothea looked at me with a somewhat frozen smile.

“Well, first of all, I don’t think Carlothian would like it.”

“Really?”

“…Anyway, I’ve been consistently making donations, so don’t worry too much.”

“Hmm, I suppose it’s a bit strange to donate something I received as a gift.”

What a shame; I thought it was a good idea. I let out a deep sigh.

“Speaking of which, since we’re on the topic, do you have time tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow? Yes, of course.”

What else would I be doing?

“Then would you like to join me for the volunteer work we talked about last time? Tomorrow happens to be the day I go out to volunteer.”

Ah, right. I had made that promise. Ugh, I’m not really interested in volunteering, and I doubt people would welcome me, but I can’t just say I won’t go.

“Um, okay.”

Dorothea clapped her hands excitedly.

“Would you like to stay at the palace tonight?”

“Excuse me?”

I asked, surprised.

“No, wouldn’t that be a bit inconvenient?”

“Ah, is it really inconvenient?”

I waved my hands.

“No, no. It’s not that it’s inconvenient for me, but it seems like it would be inconvenient for you, Dorothea.”

“Me? Why me?”

“Well, you see, I’m the one who cursed you, and… I don’t think the Crown Prince would be too happy about that.”

“Haha, don’t worry about it.”

Dorothea smiled brightly.

“Luciano can’t argue with me.”

Wow…

I looked at Dorothea with admiration.

The Crown Prince seems to be well under control.

After all, who could match someone like Dorothea? I nodded in agreement. Dorothea, looking pleased, said, “Then let’s sleep at my palace tonight and go volunteer together tomorrow!”

“Ah, may I send a letter to the mansion?”

“Of course.”

While enjoying tea with Dorothea, I wrote a letter to Carlothian. It would probably be delivered directly to the mansion within an hour.

I sat on the sofa in Dorothea’s room, savoring my tea.

“So I’ll be sleeping in the guest room tonight…”

“Oh my, the guest room?”

Dorothea laughed heartily.

“You’ll be sleeping in my room with me.”

I blink in surprise. Of course, Dorothea’s room was so large that it took up most of one floor in the palace; it seemed like it could comfortably fit thirty people.

“I wanted to try it at least once!”

“Try what?”

“Talking and falling asleep in the same room with a friend.”

Well, I suppose that could be a dream for some, but of all people, why me? The one who tried to curse you? What kind of mental state are you in?

“We can chat all night, but shouldn’t we sleep somewhere else?”

“It’s fine. The bed is big, and there are plenty of attendants waiting, so nothing bad will happen.”

Ahaha, I awkwardly nodded, as Dorothea’s sparkling eyes were fixed on me with anticipation.

“I grew up alone in the temple since I was a child, so I’ve never had that kind of experience. Even after becoming the Crown Princess…”

Dorothea subtly glanced around.

“My noble friends wouldn’t even imagine something like that…”

Ah, I see. That’s why she’s asking me, someone who isn’t a noble. You should be grateful I’m not Ariadeline. If Ariadeline had even the slightest noble sensibility, she would have flat-out rejected this.

“Well, I suppose it can’t be helped.”

As I reluctantly agreed, Dorothea nodded enthusiastically.

“Thank you so much!”

“Don’t mention it.”

I scratched my cheek awkwardly, and Dorothea turned to look outside as it began to darken, gently pushing me toward the dressing room.

“Quickly change into your pajamas. I’ll have them prepare some light snacks for us.”

“Uh, okay.”

I entered the dressing room and changed into my pajamas. While looking in the mirror…

“Oh, right…”

I noticed the red marks that Carlothian had left on my neck. In the end, I had no choice but to grab a shawl from Dorothea’s dressing room to cover my neck.

“Oh my, are you a bit cold?”

“Ahaha, I’m just sensitive to the cold.”

“Should I tell them to raise the temperature?”

“No, this is fine.”

So, the two of us chatted while enjoying our snacks. I didn’t have much to say, so I talked about how I usually got along with Carlothian, and Dorothea seemed to find it quite entertaining, laughing heartily.

“And in this social season, it’s all about the bustle dress…”

Then Dorothea shared stories about the social scene and her noble friends. Since I had been away from high society, I found her stories extremely interesting and enjoyed listening to her.

As the night wore on, it became too late to delay any longer, so we decided to go to sleep.

“It’s probably best to go to bed now.”

“Yeah, we should.”

The attendants began turning off the magical lights in the room one by one. Without thinking much, I pulled off my shawl and took it off.

At that moment, Dorothea’s eyes widened, and she covered her mouth, exclaiming, “Oh my, oh my!” Oh, right.

I felt my face flush with embarrassment as the realization hit me. Why do I keep forgetting this?

Feeling bashful, I tucked myself into the bed, pulling the blanket up to my neck. Dorothea climbed up beside the bed, smiling as she poked me playfully.

“I knew from that day, but it seems like you two are quite close, huh?”

No, I’m sorry, but at that time, we really weren’t anything like that.

“Well, it just happened that way.”

“I’m so glad for you two.”

I said, feeling embarrassed. “Please don’t talk about how close we are to anyone else.”

Dorothea tilted her head.

“Why?”

Why do these people have such a lack of understanding?

Of course, this world isn’t completely repressed sexually. But a scandal involving someone like Carlothian, a duke, and a sinner?

“Well, Carlothian is supposed to marry someone else. What about the heir?”

“What?”

Dorothea made a strange face in an instant. What’s with that expression?

“Did Carlothian say something like that?”

“Isn’t it just common sense?”

At my words, Dorothea’s expression turned serious, and she lay back on the bed. I lay next to her, quietly watching her face.

“What’s wrong?”

“Um, there seems to be a problem.”

Dorothea seemed to contemplate something before turning to me with a smile.

“It wouldn’t be so bad for him to experience some hardship.”

I blinked, not quite understanding what Dorothea meant, but she gently patted my shoulder as if to say it wasn’t necessary to understand.

“Well, since we’ve been chatting for a while, shall we get some sleep? We have volunteer work tomorrow.”

“Ah, goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Ariadeline. Sleep well.”

With that, the lights in the room were completely turned off, and we soon fell asleep.

Or rather, pretended to sleep.

 

☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓

 

Time passed, and Dorothea got up from the bed. She glanced over to the side and saw that Ariadeline had also opened her eyes at some point.

“Is it okay to go out now?”

“Shh.”

Dorothea slowly rose, and Ariadeline followed her lead. Together, they quietly opened the door.

Fortunately, only her guard was standing at the entrance. Dorothea spoke to her guard.

“We’ll be going out quietly.”

“Be careful.”

“Don’t worry.”

Ariadeline and Dorothea began to walk along the servants’ path instead of the route used by the royals and nobles.

Ariadeline asked, “Is he trustworthy?”

“Sir Tarn? Of course. He’s been my guard since I was at the temple.”

“Then he must be reliable.”

As Dorothea walked quietly down the corridor with Ariadeline, she thought about the letter from Ariadeline, which expressed her desire to meet her. The letter contained the following message:

[I want to see that maid again. Your Highness. Please.]

It was about the maid who was caught on the day of the poisoning incident. That maid was likely still imprisoned in the underground prison of Dorothea’s palace.