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Chapter 11
What was the Imperial Palace Banquet Quest?
It was a quest where one had to impress the Emperor with exceptional musical or dancing skills in order to earn his recognition.
In her previous life, Lucy had chosen musical performance—and failed miserably.
The instrument performance section had been conducted in the style of a rhythm game, where the difficulty was determined by one’s proficiency level.
Did higher proficiency mean higher difficulty?
Of course not.
True to the game’s terrible design, having low proficiency automatically triggered hard mode.
“It was hard enough back then, and now…”
With her negative intelligence stat, she probably couldn’t even read sheet music.
“But dancing might work.”
Through the painful experience of failing the quest before, Lucy had gained a clue about how to win the Emperor’s favor.
The Emperor had casually muttered something after the banquet, and that hint had been incredibly useful.
“If I make use of that, even clumsy dancing won’t be a huge problem.”
To do that, Lucy intended to raise Cecil’s affection level and make him her dance partner.
“I thought I could just raise affection quickly with gifts like I did in my previous playthrough.”
But because of the Charm status abnormality, she had become unable to give gifts at all and had fallen into despair.
But now—look before her.
Wasn’t Bartholomew standing there like a savior?
In front of Bartholomew, Lucy could speak and act freely regardless of her stats.
“If Bartholomew agrees to be my dance partner…”
Not only would she clear the Imperial Banquet Quest, she could also obtain the soft, chewy rice-cake puppy as well.
“But…”
There was one thing troubling her.
Bartholomew’s health.
“I’m planning something simple, but wouldn’t it still be hard on him?”
To begin with, Lucy didn’t even know exactly what illness he had.
All she knew was that his condition was serious enough for him to be treated in the Special Care Room.
“And he’s coughing up blood like this.”
Could Bartholomew possibly be terminally ill?
The excitement shining in Lucy’s eyes quickly faded into worry.
“Of course, Sir Bartholomew’s health comes first—”
“I refuse.”
Bartholomew interrupted her sharply.
“Is it because your condition isn’t good?”
When Lucy expressed concern for his health, Bartholomew’s brows lifted slightly.
“It has nothing to do with my condition. I simply dislike the idea.”
“……”
“In the first place, attending the Imperial Palace banquet itself is impossible.”
“Impossible? Why?”
Bartholomew was momentarily speechless.
He had simply assumed it was impossible; he had never really thought about why.
After all, his entire life had been limited to traveling between the estate and the temple.
He had never once appeared at a public event.
He had grown up being told that he must not.
And he had been in no position to disobey.
Bartholomew looked at Lucy.
With the corners of her brows drooping slightly, she looked oddly pitiful.
“Attending isn’t completely impossible, but…”
The aftermath would be troublesome.
After a brief moment of thought, Bartholomew spoke again.
“I do owe Her Highness a debt.”
He straightened his clothes and rose from his seat.
“If it is another request, I will grant it.”
With those final words, he left the library as though he had no intention of continuing the conversation.
Left behind, Lucy braced both hands against the floor in despair.
“He refused just because he didn’t want to…”
She had never imagined he would reject her for such a reason.
Nothing ever came easily.
She had finally thought she’d found someone to make her dance partner, only for him to say he simply didn’t want to.
“How am I supposed to persuade him?”
Bartholomew already didn’t look like an easy person to deal with.
No matter how brightly Lucy smiled at him, he had never once returned anything resembling a smile.
He also seemed incredibly stubborn.
How was she supposed to convince someone like that?
“But is it really just because he doesn’t want to?”
Something about it bothered Lucy.
What lingered in her mind was Bartholomew’s statement that attending the Imperial banquet was impossible.
“Is there some reason he can’t go?”
A ducal family like House Faraday should naturally attend an Imperial banquet.
Lucy pondered it, but nothing clear came to mind.
“I guess becoming closer to Bartholomew comes first.”
Thinking that, Lucy straightened up from her slumped posture.
Then something entered the edge of her vision.
“Hm? This is…”
Lucy picked up a small flask.
It was the emergency medicine Bartholomew had taken during his coughing fit.
“He left this behind.”
Just as she thought she should return it, another thought struck her, and she opened the lid.
“This smell…”
A sweet scent drifted out—a mix of strong floral fragrance and berries.
It was an unusual smell for medicine, which had already caught her attention earlier.
“If I learn more about this medicine, maybe I can uncover Bartholomew’s secret too?”
What illness did he actually have?
Was he really terminally ill?
Thinking that, Lucy tucked the vial into her clothes.
* * *
Cecil visited Lucy’s room for her treatment.
Perhaps because it was their first meeting since the previous incident, Cecil felt awkward.
“It’s because I was partly at fault.”
Thinking of his immature behavior, and how Lucy had still worried about him despite that, he felt unable to meet her eyes directly.
Still, he couldn’t postpone the treatment.
Clearing his throat, Cecil entered Lucy’s room.
Lucy, who had been sitting against the headboard of the bed, immediately smiled brightly upon seeing him.
She looked genuinely happy to see him.
Cecil had entered with a stiff expression, but seeing Lucy’s cheerful face unconsciously eased his tension.
“Was she always smiling like that?”
He found himself wondering.
Come to think of it, she always smiled around him.
“…Or does she only smile when she sees me?”
The thought made him shake his head.
His thoughts seemed to be drifting somewhere strange.
“How are you feeling? Any better?”
At Cecil’s question, Lucy nodded brightly.
She still couldn’t properly speak.
To help with that, Cecil had brought a document.
It was a questionnaire he had personally prepared in order to accurately assess her condition.
Ever since she had found his mother’s keepsake, the way he viewed Lucy had changed.
Instead of becoming frustrated by her inability to speak properly, he had decided to be considerate.
“I’ll ask several questions now. Please answer by nodding or shaking your head.”
Lucy looked puzzled for a moment, then nodded.
“Have you ever suffered from severe headaches difficult to endure?”
Lucy shook her head.
“Have you ever felt tightness in your chest?”
Lucy shook her head again.
As Cecil observed her responses and continued asking questions, he bit lightly on his lip.
After a brief hesitation, he asked:
“Princess Lucy. Why do you keep smiling?”
Seeing the slight crease between Cecil’s brows, Lucy suddenly realized something.
She had been maintaining a smiling expression because she wanted Cecil to like her, but perhaps it made her look insincere about the treatment.
“Did I upset him again?”
Just as Lucy began worrying—
Ding!
[Affection level change detected!]
[Cecil’s affection has increased.]
[Affection: ?? → Affection: ??]
“…?”
Why did it go up?
Lucy was baffled.
“He looked annoyed, though.”
Maybe people really couldn’t resist a smiling face?
Thinking that, Lucy smiled even more brightly and pulled something from her arms.
It was a gift she had prepared just in case after Cecil’s affection rose from her returning his belongings earlier.
Just like before, it was medicinal tea blended specifically to suit Cecil’s tastes.
Cecil quietly stared at the cloth-wrapped package Lucy held out with both hands.
“How did you know?”
He lifted his gaze to her.
“How did you know this particular tea blend is the one I enjoy drinking?”
Lucy flinched internally.
How could she possibly explain that she knew because she had played the game in her previous life?
For once, Lucy was grateful she couldn’t speak and simply covered it with a smile.
Seeing that smile, Cecil let out a small sigh and accepted the package.
“Thank you.”
Lucy’s eyes widened.
At last—he had finally accepted one of her gifts!
Ding!
[Affection level change detected!]
[Cecil’s affection has increased.]
[Affection: ?? → Affection: ??]
Lucy barely suppressed the urge to cheer.
Instead, she pulled out another item.
It was the small medicine vial Bartholomew had left behind.
“What is this?”
Cecil frowned slightly as he opened the vial.
The moment he caught the scent wafting from it, he looked sharply at Lucy.
“Why do you have this?”
Lucy blinked in confusion.
Watching her clueless expression, Cecil spoke.
“This is a deadly poison.”
