🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 30
Looking into those eyes, a young girl’s voice came to mind.
“Our eye colors are so similar. Could we have been separated siblings from long ago?”
It was a playful remark from Edit, who had been staring into his eyes.
Although Richard knew it was just a joke, for some reason, he felt uneasy and immediately rebutted.
“We only have the same eye color.””Hmm, yeah, that’s a pretty ridiculous idea.”
Edit quickly agreed to his reply, and strangely, Richard felt a sense of relief. He couldn’t quite understand why he felt that way.
When Edit responded, Richard snapped back to reality.
“I don’t know why the noble knight is bothering with a lying maid.”
His tone was sharp, like a dagger.
“Why do you keep coming to see the princess?”
Suspicion dripped from his voice.
“If you’re so curious, why don’t you ask the princess directly?”
Edit’s blue eyes met his, unwavering and confident, as if she had done nothing wrong. Richard felt a knot form in his stomach.
Unable to hide his feelings, Richard glared at Edit coldly.
“You cling to sick people, pretend to be friendly, and then betray them. If that’s your hobby, it’s a disgusting one.”
Edit’s expression, which had been a little uncomfortable, vanished. Her face became like a blank canvas, emotionless and void of any traces of the earlier feelings.
For some reason, Richard felt a cold shiver run through him at her reaction.
She opened her lips, which had been pressed shut.
“Then tell the princess.”
She moved closer to him. Richard couldn’t breathe, feeling the weight of her presence. She poked his shoulder lightly with her finger.
“A wicked woman like me is someone you shouldn’t associate with.”
And just like that, she walked away, without looking back.
Finally snapping out of his daze, Richard shouted at her coldly.
“When a person commits evil deeds, they’ll always get their comeuppance. That’s the way of the world.”
But Edit didn’t acknowledge him at all as she walked away.
Richard clenched his teeth, watching her retreating figure. After a moment, he knocked on the treatment room door.
“…Come in.”
As soon as he heard the princess’s voice, Richard, who seemed unusually agitated, opened the door.
The princess was startled by his sudden, intense demeanor.
“…Richard, is something wrong?”
Having known him since childhood, she called him by name in private.
Their relationship was not one of close friends, yet it was deeper than that of a typical bodyguard and princess.
Though she asked casually, she already had an idea of what had happened.
Looking at the situation, there was a clear chain of events.
“Princess, why do you keep bringing Edit to the palace?”
“Hmm…”
The princess closed her mouth, looking troubled.
Richard still didn’t know about the treatment medicine, and though he was a close and trusted bodyguard, telling him the truth was a delicate matter.
She carefully observed his face before speaking again.
“…By now, the empress’s palace must be full, right?”
She glanced around the quiet treatment room, as if making sure no one else could hear, and spoke with a self-deprecating tone.
“Some might criticize me for my situation… but I’m actually thankful to those who come to see me.””No one would dare think that about you, Your Highness.”
Richard’s eyes darkened as he spoke, and the princess silently apologized in her heart.
“I’m sorry, Richard.”
She didn’t often feel lonely, knowing that the visits from nobles weren’t sincere, and dealing with those visits drained her energy.
The visits from nobles, who only came for selfish reasons, had become more of a nuisance than anything else.
But Edit was different.
Her reputation was tarnished with negative labels like “evil woman,” “fraud,” and “witch.”
When she had first received a letter from Edit, she had been filled with distrust and suspicion. But when she saw the neat handwriting and plain style of writing, something about it felt like the kind of person who would endure any storm.
That was why she had attended the trial, and the Edit she saw in person was exactly what she had imagined from the letter.
“I think I now understand why Richard gets so agitated by Edit…”
The princess observed Richard with a narrow gaze. He still hadn’t managed to hide the uneasy tension in his face.
When someone realizes that the person who caused them the most pain is less hurt than they are, it often leads to frustration.
The princess sighed quietly, feeling a sense of awkwardness.
Later that night, I was in the carriage, letting out a long sigh.
“Ugh… this is so frustrating.”
I couldn’t stop feeling angry when I thought about our conversation.
“If your hobby is pretending to be friendly with sick people, that’s truly a disgusting taste.””When a person does something wrong, they’ll always get their payback.”
Even when he was accusing me, his dignified attitude only made me angrier. If anyone saw us, they’d probably think I was the evil woman and he was the righteous knight.
“That’s how the world sees us.”
A strange tightness formed in my chest.
“And of all people, Richard Edmond is the princess’s personal bodyguard.”
If I wanted to talk to the princess about the treatment medicine, I would inevitably have to deal with him. It was a meeting I definitely didn’t want.
“Well, he probably feels the same way.”
But I couldn’t just hide away, avoiding him like falling leaves in the sky.
As the fatigue crept up on me, I closed my eyes for a moment, only to open them again when I heard a loud crash.
“Clunk! Bang!”
The carriage jolted as we left the imperial palace. At first, I thought it was just a stone in the road, but then the coachman shouted out.
“Boss! The horse is panicking and won’t listen!”
“What?”
I quickly opened the window to check the situation. The carriage was heading straight toward a large tree.
My heart raced as I noticed the familiar red markings on the wheel.
“It’s Cornelli’s magic!”
I had seen this kind of trap magic many times before.
Realizing the danger, I shouted to the coachman.
“Luke! Jump off the carriage!”
Then, there was a loud crash. The carriage collided with the tree, and everything flipped upside down in an instant.
I felt a hot sensation in the palm of my hand, followed by a flash of purple light.
That was the last thing I saw before I hit my head and lost consciousness.
That night felt especially cold.
Outside, the snow was falling heavily, accompanied by strong winds. Inside, there were screams and cries.
“Stella won’t make it through the night?!””Ma’am, children with hyperactive bone growth often die before the age of ten. Stella has lasted a long time.”
A slap echoed as a harsh blow struck the doctor’s cheek.
Then, a beast-like cry rang out in the room. I felt like covering my ears, but I couldn’t. Stella was watching the entire scene with her eyes wide open.
Amidst all this chaos and sadness, I had to remain calm.
Then, through the storm, someone came to the duke’s castle.
“Richard, you came?”
“Yeah… how’s Stella?”
“She’s lying there.”
“Okay.”
When he arrived, I felt an odd sense of relief. It felt like I didn’t have to carry this burden alone.
At that moment, Stella whispered something to him.
“Richard, if I die, tell Edit…”
That was all I heard.
I wanted to know what Stella had said, but I didn’t ask. It was Stella’s final words to Richard.
Even though my name was faintly mentioned, I felt guilty just overhearing, so I stepped away.
Maybe Stella blamed me for her condition, and that’s why I kept my distance.
I turned away from it all.
“It’s because of you that I’m dying.”
“I’m dying because of you.”
But those voices continued to fill my mind, relentless and inescapable.
