Chapter 6. Someone’s Despair
As I arrived at the royal palace while listening to the clattering sound of horse hooves, I saw Wilson and Isabella greeting me at the main gate.
When they asked if anything had happened at the banquet, I lied that nothing had happened, only to be caught with a wrist reddened as if bruised, and received a scolding that wasn’t quite a scolding from Isabella.
Isabella’s nagging, which started from the entrance of the royal palace, continued until she went to the kitchen to bring an ice pack.
“…Anyway, that’s why you, my lady, really need to take better care of yourself! But you just go for walks without wearing enough and catch a cold easily, and today, you didn’t avoid the hateful… no, the eccentric… no, the sensitive Duke Hazel, and hurt your wrist. Please, don’t be so defenseless!”
With her lips pouting, she continuously poured out stories without pause and then placed an ice pack on my wrist.
It seemed intended to ease the pain rather than to actually reduce the swelling.
Watching Isabella struggling to temper her fierce spirit, I let slip a meaningless smile. Having her act as if she was my guardian warmed a corner of my heart.
Perhaps that was why an uncharacteristic whine spilled out on its own.
“But Isabella. It’s not because the animal is defenseless that it steps on a trap, but because the hunter has set the trap there. Then why do you talk as if it’s my fault that my wrist is hurt?”
“It’s because I’m upset, so upset! How beautiful our lady’s wrists are, and to think they’ve got bruises. If only I had a higher status than Duke Hazel, I would’ve gone straight to Duke Hazel’s mansion and confronted him.”
Isabella exhaled roughly with a tear-stained face and eventually clenched her fists tightly. They were tiny fists that wouldn’t threaten even a rabbit, let alone a person.
While I was inwardly enjoying her but futile yet touching promise, Isabella glanced at the wall clock and sighed as she wiped her hands on the hem of her dress.
Seeing her check the time and get ready to leave, it seemed she hadn’t expected me to enter the palace early and decided to help the other maids as usual.
I wanted some time to rest alone, so this worked out well.
I muttered to myself as I watched Isabella, now looking tidier.
Although I enjoyed the time spent with her, I missed the silence due to the significance of the day. The calm and peaceful quiet where I could be wholly myself.
Isabella seemed troubled about leaving me injured and hesitated for a long time after checking her appearance several times before she finally spoke.
“Anyway, take a rest. If you need anything, just pull the bell string. You got it?”
“Got it.”
As I easily nodded, Isabella, still hesitating, eventually left the bedroom with her lips tightly sealed.
I watched the door silently close, swallowing her retreating figure, then quietly lowered the ice pack that was resting on my wrist. While the cold from the ice pack made my wrist ache less, I disliked the feeling of the chill against my skin. I wasn’t particularly sensitive to the cold, but neither did I enjoy it.
I placed the ice pack on the nightstand and flopped down on the bed. Perhaps it was the accumulated fatigue from the banquet, but my body felt as heavy as if it had absorbed water.
“…….”
With eyelids that could close at any usual pace, I blankly stared at the ceiling. It was by chance that the ceiling caught my eye, as I looked around wishing to fixate my gaze on something.
Should I just go to sleep?
Enjoying the sensation of being submerged in deep water, I drew a languid smile. As the gripping tension around my chest loosened, the shadow called fatigue, lying in wait below, enveloped me.
It was in this moment of gradually encroaching drowsiness, as I was about to end the long day, that an unexpected knock on the door shattered the silence.
“Hmm?”
Surprised out of my drowsiness, I blinked my eyes wide open and, feeling unexpectedly refreshed as if I had never been tired, slowly lifted myself off the bed and looked towards the closed door.
Who could it be?
There weren’t many who would seek me out at such a late hour. At most, it would be only Isabella or Wilson.
But Isabella had gone to help her colleagues, and Wilson had said he was busy preparing for the upcoming hunting competition and Ruth’s birthday party. Therefore, it was unlikely that they would be coming to find me now.
I tilted my head for a moment before asking, “Who…?”
“Are we on informal terms now?”
Before I could even form a question mark, the playful response immediately made me realize who was on the other side of the door. I sprang up from my bed.
“…Your Majesty.”
“Right. Now that you know who I am, how about you open the door for me?”
As I called out to him softly, there was a gentle knocking on the door.
The sound was overly cautious for someone who ruled an empire, and holding back a laugh about to burst, I hurried to open the door. There stood Ruth, leaning casually against the wall and lifting the corners of his mouth.
Perhaps because it was the evening, Ruth looked unusually comfortable, which made me involuntarily purse my lips.
It was the first time I had seen Ruth since we parted ways in the garden. Being busy, I had sent the gift for Cedric through Wilson.
Reflecting on the past, I was relieved that Ruth didn’t remember the incident that happened in the garden. It was better for such uncomfortable memories to be kept to myself.
After all, despite what had happened, Ruth didn’t seem bothered in the least. Had he remembered, he surely would have avoided me.
Having thought this far, I met Ruth’s gaze for a few seconds before blurting out a question.
“What brings you here?”
“I was thinking we could go for a walk.”
“A walk?”
“Yes, a walk.”
Convinced that he wouldn’t have sought me out for something so trivial, I pressed him, but the affirmation I received was undeniable.
I couldn’t hide my confusion. There was no particular reason for Ruth to go for a walk with me, especially since he was already so busy; it surely wasn’t right to waste time on a walk.
What is this… A strategy meeting disguised as a walk?
Amidst my perplexity, I hesitantly inquired for a reason.
“Why?”
“Because the moonlight is especially nice today, you could say.”
Obviously, it’s a strategy meeting.
With that conclusion, I responded.
“Okay. Could you wait just a moment, please?”
“Why?”
Ruth cocked an eyebrow as if he didn’t understand my request. I awkwardly grinned, watching his face fill with perplexity. Even though spring had arrived, the evening weather was still chilly, and I needed to cover the bruise on my wrist as well. There was no benefit in letting others see my injury.
While I was listing reasons in my head, Ruth’s gaze stopped near my waist, precisely where my wrist was. Could he have noticed? I saw Ruth staring intently at my bruised wrist and subtly covered it with my right hand. My desire for him to know clashed with my wish for him to remain unaware.
Ruth stared at the empty space where my wrist had been for a long while, then looked directly at me. There was an unfamiliar light in his clear eyes. Seeing that, I was wrapped in an inexplicable anticipation, convinced that he had seen my wound. I was mistaken.
“You seem fine to go out as you are now.”
He hadn’t seen it.
“I was going to grab a shawl.”
“Ah, my shawl.”
No, I didn’t see it.
Even though it was for the best, the bitterness that rose up my throat was only harsh.
Struggling to make an excuse for taking care of the shawl, I forced a smile with my eyes.
In contrast, I covered the bruise with my left hand behind my back.
“I’ll wait for you in the garden, so take your time coming out.”
“Yes.”
Ignoring me, Ruth turned and walked away after saying that.
“……”
I watched his platinum blond hair getting farther away, then looked down at my bruised wrist.
What exactly was I expecting from Ruth? Worry? Anger? Comfort?
“……Such strange thoughts again.”
Just as I was about to lose myself to my thoughts, I finally managed to drag myself out of the mire and let out a sigh. Then, promising myself that I would someday definitely fix this habit of getting easily lost in thought, I hurried along so as not to keep Ruth waiting for too long.
“The handkerchief should be somewhere around here.”
Unaware of the fact that once you fall into a morass, it’s impossible to get out on your own.
***
In a hurry, I decided to go out without a shawl, and there was Ruth, in the middle of the garden, looking up at the moon.
“Excu…”
I tried to call him to let him know I had arrived, but my voice wouldn’t come out, as if my throat was choked.
Why is that? Is it because looking at Ruth watching the moon is too beautiful? Or is it because I’m afraid of how those clear eyes of his will change the moment they see me?
Questions for which I couldn’t even know the answers myself wandered in my head. Thus, without realizing it, I stayed still, frozen, until Ruth, belatedly realizing my presence, scolded me jokingly.
“If you’re here, you should call out, Lady. How would anyone know you’ve arrived if you’re so silent?”
“Oh… Sorry. I was just lost in thought for a moment.”
“I didn’t say that to make you apologize.”
Ruth shrugged off my apology and approached with steady steps.
“As far as I know, you attended the Dright’s second son’s birthday party today, right?”
“That’s right.”
“How was it?”
What does he mean by asking that? Is he really asking how the party was? Or is it about the people who attended the party?
The question, lacking a subject, brought up two assumptions, but since Ruth and I were bound by a contract, the latter seemed more contextually appropriate than the former.
After roughly grasping Ruth’s intentions, I pondered what to talk about first. I figured I had to tell everything eventually, but still, I wanted to decide the order of sharing.
Excluding the strictly private matter with Duke Hazel, what remained were Helen and Cedrics.
Both pieces of information were equally significant, so after some hesitation, I made my decision and broke the ice.
“First, Helen… that is, I found out what the only daughter of the Abyss family wants.”
