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~Chapter 26~
“By herself, without even a maid? Why did Diane leave the princess alone?”
There was clear displeasure in the emperor’s voice.
Oreon answered, “Diane tried to follow Her Highness, but the head maid gave her an urgent task. Apparently, the head maid has been acting suspicious lately, so Diane decided to be careful.”
The emperor listened to the report with a blank, unreadable face.
“How long has Diane worked in the princess’s palace?”
Oreon thought the emperor probably already knew the answer, but he responded quickly.
“Three years.”
The emperor nodded and asked, “Any rumors about the princess?”
“There aren’t any yet. But…”
Oreon hesitated, and the emperor looked up at him, his gaze sharp. Oreon quickly continued.
“Rumors about Your Majesty have started to spread.”
The emperor gestured for him to explain.
“People are saying that His Majesty brought a mysterious woman into the main palace. They’re saying the rumor about Your Majesty not caring for women was a lie all along. Apparently, some nobles saw you carrying the Hurdarn young lady. Thankfully, her face was covered, so her name hasn’t come up.”
The emperor nodded, understanding. Oreon’s eyes lit up.
“And, I think we’ve finally uncovered Hurdarn Young Lady’s real identity. The love letter that Heart reported—this must be it.”
Oreon handed over the letter with a proud look. Grey’s eyes widened slightly as he read it.
[To Aunt Dalia. Come quickly. I love you. Rose, Princess.]
“There’s only one princess called Rose in the Kingdom of Poevern, and she’s four years old.”
“Where did you get this?”
“It was found near the lake. At first, I thought it was a letter the princess left behind and decided to read it.”
Oreon’s voice grew more subdued as he explained.
He must have worried the princess was thinking something dark.
Grey looked at the letter again and quietly listed what he knew.
“Ria… Dalia. Princess Dalia of Poevern, who lives in the secluded side palace.”
“Yes.”
Why hadn’t he realized it sooner when he heard the name “Ria”?
She was such a mysterious princess that even the nobles of Poevern didn’t know her face.
Yet here she was, in the empire.
Suddenly, Grey understood why she hadn’t seemed scared of him, even as emperor.
But why had the princess approached him?
From Poevern’s perspective, there was no reason to push for a marriage with him. In fact, they would avoid it—if she married him, it would make Poevern look like a vassal state of the empire.
So why did she hide her identity and come to me?
Why did she insist on going to the lake she’d never seen before?
How did she save Vivian, as if she knew in advance that Vivian would fall in?
He’d peeled back one layer of her secret, but there were still more mysteries inside.
Heart quietly approached Annie.
Annie was sitting by the head of the bed, not moving all day.
“Miss Annie, aren’t you going to eat?”
“I’m fine. I’ll eat with Ria when she wakes up.”
“Mr. Cole said the same thing.”
Annie’s orange eyes turned to Heart.
“Neither of you have eaten all day. I’ll take good care of Miss Ria while you both go eat.”
“I said I’m fine.”
“If Miss Ria finds out you both skipped meals because of her, she’ll be sad.”
Annie’s eyes wavered at that.
It’s true. If the princess knew they’d skipped meals for her, she’d be upset—and probably blame herself for not waking up sooner.
That’s just the kind of person the princess was.
Heart, sensing Annie’s change, continued:
“I promise I won’t take my eyes off Miss Ria.”
Annie stared at Heart.
She’s probably one of the emperor’s people.
But even so, she won’t harm a diplomatic guest like me. Right?
“Can you swear on His Majesty the Emperor?”
“Huh?!”
Heart looked shocked.
“You’re a palace maid, aren’t you? The emperor is your master. Can you swear on your master’s name that Ria will be safe while we’re gone?”
“Yes… I swear!”
Heart nodded, forcing a smile.
“Alright.”
Annie checked the princess’s peaceful face once more, then stood up.
Cole was slumped against the wall, hanging his head.
Ever since the princess had collapsed, his amber eyes had looked empty, like he’d lost all focus.
This big, clumsy bear is probably blaming himself for not protecting her. Who could understand that feeling better than me?
Back in the side palace, neither Annie nor Cole needed to follow the princess everywhere.
They never thought anything dangerous would happen in the imperial palace.
Trying to let the princess enjoy a new place freely had backfired.
Now they were paying the price for being too relaxed.
“Cole.”
“Yes?”
He replied without raising his head.
“Let’s go eat.”
“No, while you’re gone—”
Annie cut him off.
“If Ria finds out we both skipped meals, she’ll be upset. You know how she is.”
If she didn’t drag this bear off to eat, he’d probably pretend he’d eaten anyway, so going one at a time wouldn’t work.
“…Yes. You’re right.”
The two of them shared a look—a bond only those closest to the princess could understand.
Both looked at Heart.
“Let us know the moment she wakes up.”
“Yes, I will. Please go eat!”
Heart watched them until their footsteps faded, then pulled out a tiny whistle and blew it.
It was a sound only Deck and the emperor could hear.
A moment later, the emperor entered the room.
“Your Majesty.”
The emperor kept his eyes on the bed and quietly spoke:
“No more investigating the Hurdarn Young Lady. From now on, just focus on guarding her.”
“As you command.”
Heart quietly closed the door so the emperor could spend time with her.
Grey approached the wide bed, where the princess lay still.
Her face was still pale. Her long eyelashes didn’t move. Her lips were tightly closed.
As he watched her, an uneasy feeling rose up in his chest. Without thinking, he put his fingers in front of her nose.
She’s breathing.
Only after confirming this did the unfamiliar worry inside him fade.
Just as he was about to pull his hand away, a lock of pink hair brushed his fingers.
He gently moved the hair aside, and she murmured in her sleep, voice heavy with drowsiness.
“…I’ll save her.”
Was she talking about the princess?
“You did save her, Princess Dalia.”
At his words, a small smile curved her lips.
She’s smiling in her sleep…
“I saved her…”
“Yes. You saved her.”
“I’m glad… Really glad… This time, I could save her…”
Clear tears rolled down her closed eyes.
This time? Has this happened before?
Who are you, really?
She kept crying in her sleep.
Grey carefully took out his handkerchief and wiped her tears.
“Don’t cry, princess.”
For a while, she silently cried, then slowly drifted back into peaceful breathing.
