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Chapter 6
With each chime of the bell, I could feel divine energy seeping slowly into my body.
Control it!
I have to swallow everything I see and hear—no one can know!
If I lose consciousness here, I might really end up locked in a hospital.
I crossed my arms and wrapped myself tightly, forcing my trembling shoulders to stay still.
Strange visions flickered across my mind—followed by sounds.
I couldn’t help but sob along with the voice I heard.
“No! H-heuhk!”
“Giselle?”
Even though back then I’d been only a fake shaman-child, when Mother performed the naerimgut ritual, she had prophesied that someday I would have to obey the will of the spirits. If I didn’t, my body would suffer…
She didn’t want my fate to be the same as hers—but life rarely goes the way we wish.
Living as we want to… is terribly difficult.
“Giselle? Princess?”
I faintly heard Adrian calling my name.
A vision?
Why can I see him crying? Who is that he’s holding? A woman?
I pressed my trembling hands against the table, forcing myself upright, and slowly rose to my feet.
Then I reached out toward the small bell in Prince Benjamin’s hand.
“Would you give that to me? The sound… it hurts my head.”
Benjamin glanced at his mother, the queen, and when she nodded, he handed the bell to me.
I grasped it tightly so it wouldn’t make a sound and exhaled shakily before sitting back down.
“Ha… So that’s where the bell I was looking for was hiding!”
Then, clutching my chest, I turned toward the queen and Prince Benjamin and apologized.
“Mother, I’m sorry for startling you. And Benjamin, I’m sorry too. I wasn’t angry. It’s just… when I fell from the horse, I heard a puppy’s bell ring. The horse reared and threw me, so I still get frightened when I hear that sound.”
Benjamin nodded and answered in a sweet little voice.
“That makes sense, sister. I don’t like grapes anymore either—ever since one got stuck in my throat.”
“Thank you for understanding!”
When I sighed again, Father gave me a worried look, and Lucas tapped my shoulder, checking my face.
“Are you feeling sick again?”
“No. Please, continue eating, Father, Brother.”
I tried to steady my breath, then noticed someone’s gaze—Adrian’s.
Why was his brow furrowed so deeply again?
Was he worried? Or did he just not want to look at me?
Feeling uncomfortable about how much he seemed bothered by my earlier behavior, I tried to lighten the mood.
“Why aren’t you eating at all? Do you have a chef at home better than our José?”
Adrian’s tone softened a little from before.
“No, I’ve eaten plenty. Are you still… feeling unwell?”
“Well, I’ve never been all that healthy to begin with.”
“…”
“Sir Adrian, if this kind of gathering makes you uncomfortable, please feel free to decline next time. I’ll continue to respect you as my brother’s friend—but meeting like this must be difficult for you too.”
Maybe I was just being petty. The image of him weeping while holding another woman from that vision lingered in my mind, souring my mood.
He isn’t even my man, so why should I care? But watching someone who’d been so cold to me cry so desperately for someone else—it stung, more than I wanted to admit.
“Hey? Adrian! Why are you coming out of His Majesty’s quarters? Were you summoned to the palace today?”
Hugo spotted Adrian leaving the royal apartments and ran toward him.
Adrian nodded, loosening the tie around his neck.
“Mm. There was a luncheon.”
Hugo’s brow furrowed immediately.
“What? Don’t tell me the princess changed her mind and wants to marry again?”
Adrian shook his head quickly.
“No. She just invited me to dine together.”
“Oh, really? Maybe she wanted to thank you for looking after her yesterday or something?”
“…”
Adrian had felt frustrated throughout the entire meal.
He had long noticed that the princess was not quite the same as before—but he was certain now that something else, something he didn’t understand, had happened.
She acted as though she had never liked him at all, as though she remembered nothing. That unsettled him.
And when she had entered Lucas’s office yesterday afternoon, she had been nothing like the timid Giselle he’d always known.
She was lively, unpretentious, and smiling brightly.
“Oh! It seems you gentlemen were all working hard together?”
She moved lightly around the office, almost as if dancing a waltz, and then approached his fellow knight Tristan to ask whether he had a sweetheart.
Tristan had glanced nervously at Adrian before stammering, but when the princess flashed him a radiant smile, he couldn’t help but smile back.
“N-no, I don’t. I’d like to meet someone as beautiful as you, Princess.”
Giselle covered her mouth and giggled.
“You have good taste! Do you like parades? Instead of going anywhere else on the national holiday, why not come watch the parade? You’ll meet ladies much prettier than me!”
Then she turned to Hugo—who was staring at her wide-eyed in shock—and winked.
“Sir Hugo, you’re wonderful, but you shouldn’t hide your feelings so much. You’ll make yourself sick that way. One day, your passion might burn you instead, so try expressing yourself—even slowly.”
Everyone in the room looked as though they’d been struck dumb.
Wearing her pale blue dress, smiling like sunlight, she was as fresh and bright as a daffodil touched by morning dew.
Because Giselle had always walked quickly with her head bowed, no one had ever seen her this lively or cheerful before.
Then Lucas’s face tightened; he grabbed his sister’s wrist.
“What’s gotten into you? You just barge in while we’re working!”
“Brother!”
“What?”
Giselle leaned her head lightly against his chest and whined playfully.
“Brother, I’m jealous!”
“Of what?”
“Of you getting to see such handsome men every day!”
“Are you drunk?”
“Drunk? Hardly… Look! Those young knights there—and our dear Adrian, well, except him—Sir Hugo, and that man who said he didn’t have a lover earlier, and that one glaring at me from over there—they’re all so handsome! Handsome! Fweee~!”
She puckered her small lips and blew a cute little whistle, and the office fell silent.
Adrian lowered his gaze to the floor, unsure where to look.
Timid Giselle. Innocent Giselle. Wounded Giselle.
Weren’t those the words that defined her?
And yet here she was—bold and playful. Adrian hardly recognized her.
Lucas pulled back from her, his voice rising.
“Have you lost your mind? What kind of nonsense is this? You’re embarrassing yourself!”
Then, looking around at the knights and his friends, he hastily tried to explain.
“She’s been sick since she fell from her horse. Didn’t wake for days. The physician even warned us to prepare ourselves. Tch!”
As if to back him up, Giselle lowered her head and giggled softly.
“But it turned out well, didn’t it? The Giselle that Sir Adrian so despised finally came to her senses after the fall—and canceled the wedding herself. Isn’t that a wonderful thing for him?”
“…”
All eyes turned to Adrian.
Despised her? Me?
Adrian looked at her face—calm yet faintly lonely.
It was true that he had refused the marriage, but he had never despised her.
And for her to say that canceling it had been a favor for him—it felt strangely unfair.
Giselle crossed her arms over her chest and declared,
“I’m going to marry someone who truly loves me! That’s all I ask for. If anyone out there says they love me—let them all come!”
And with that, she suddenly collapsed onto the carpet like a deflated balloon.
Lucas rubbed his face, clearly flustered. A maid, Lynn, rushed over, shouting, “Princess!”
Giselle lay pale on the floor, golden hair spilling around her, eyes closed beneath long lashes.
Adrian quickly lifted her into his arms—and was startled by how light she was.
“I, uh, hurt my back at the training ground… right. Take her to her room, will you?”
Lucas pressed his hand to his waist, feigning pain.
If he carried her out himself, rumors would spread among the men in the room instantly. Besides, he wanted to give Adrian and Giselle a moment alone.
He hadn’t realized how deeply his sister had been hurt until now—and he regretted not doing more for her.
Without a word, Adrian carried her out through the door that the maid had hurriedly opened.
