SPWHC 38

Chapter 38

Thanks to Friedrich’s massage, I was able to start the morning feeling refreshed.

After a simple breakfast, I had Elsa take care of my hair. As I kept yawning, she said,

“I’ll prepare some tea that helps relieve fatigue.”

“Thank you. I went to bed late last night.”

“Understandable, since you went to the prince’s room past midnight.”

“Really? I went there that late…”

I tried to brush it off casually but paused mid-sentence and turned around. Elsa looked at me with a puzzled expression.

“…What did you just say?”

“Pardon?”

“That you went to Friedrich’s room past midnight?”

Elsa nodded. I became even more flustered and asked again.

“Are you sure? I went to Friedrich’s room past midnight?”

Elsa showed me a small notebook. It was a record of my whereabouts by the hour.

“…It really is true.”

I had left my room yesterday at 12:03 a.m. — just past midnight. But Friedrich had greeted me in his adult form, and even after that, it had taken more than ten minutes for him to return to his child body.

It was the first time the usual rule had been broken. Why?

“There’s no such thing as an exception to a curse,” I thought.

If a rule wavers, it means the curse has been affected somehow. But I had no idea what caused it.

For now, I had no choice but to observe. Anyway, the fact that the curse seemed to be loosening was a positive sign.

“…Could it really be because it’s our first day of marriage?”

Elsa looked at me with a baffled expression. I handed her the notebook again and changed the topic.

“It’s nothing. Ah, by the way, Princess Marie didn’t come to my wedding, right?”

“No, I didn’t see her at the ceremony or reception yesterday.”

“I wonder why she didn’t come… I guess it’s still difficult for me.”

I muttered casually and got up from my seat. Elsa draped a delicate shawl over me and asked,

“Are you going to the Knox Palace?”

“Yes. I need to see Marie.”

“….”

Elsa fell silent for a moment before speaking.

“It might be okay to be a little lenient on your first day of marriage.”

“…Are you worried I might eat Princess Marie?”

I chuckled lightly to reassure Elsa.

“Don’t worry. I’m a bit upset, but we haven’t known each other that long.”

For someone you aren’t that close to, giving a wedding gift can be stressful. I joked as I got into the carriage. Just then, we ran into Friedrich outside.

“Fritz.”

I smiled warmly and greeted him.

“Going for a walk?”

“Yes.”

“Where are you headed?”

“Well… to the Knox Palace, then probably to the library. What about you today?”

“Um…” Friedrich hesitated with a strange expression before answering.

“Just a walk.”

“Don’t stay outside too long in this heat.”

Friedrich nodded obediently.

“When you get back, let’s have something cold together.”

“Sure.”

I chuckled and ruffled his hair.

When I arrived at Knox Palace, Lady Neuvan looked shocked and bowed to me.

“Ha… Your Highness. What brings you here…?”

“I came to see my younger sister.”

She acted as if it were surprising. Haven’t I come here more than once?

“Where’s Marie? She’s not still asleep, is she?”

“Ah, well… Your Highness, it seems Princess Marie has been sleeping more lately. We didn’t expect you to come so early today…”

“Really? Sleeping again today?”

“That’s right. She has been resting whenever you’ve visited.”

I looked at Lady Neuvan, who was fidgeting nervously, and asked,

“Why didn’t she come to my wedding? She even sent her dress herself.”

“Ah, that… it was a decision Princess Marie made after much deliberation. Of course, she is grateful for the gift of the dress, but she judged that it was inappropriate for her to attend such a joyous event…”

“So you’re saying it was your judgment?”

“Yes… yes?”

She paused, realizing her mistake, and anxiously glanced at me.

“…I’m just giving advice,” she stammered.

“I didn’t ask for advice. I clearly said she should come.”

I narrowed my eyes at her pale face and asked again,

“I want to see Marie. Where is she?”

“Please forgive me, Your Highness. I… dared not speak of her location, fearing to upset you…”

I sighed and spoke.

“Elsa, take this woman with you. She refused to answer the royal command. Search the rooms and find Marie immediately.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Lady Neuvan panicked as the maids approached her. She bowed repeatedly.

“Please forgive me! I only wished to help Your Highness…”

“Quiet. Shut her mouth.”

“Your… ugh! Ugh!”

While Lady Neuvan was held by the maids and gagged, the other maids began unlocking the rooms one by one with hairpins.

Then, suddenly, a voice called out:

“Your Highness, we found her!”

I immediately headed toward the voice. The moment I stepped into the room, my expression stiffened.

“…This.”

My breath caught in my throat. The narrow room could be seen in its entirety at a glance.

The window was boarded up, like a prisoner’s cell. Light barely entered, contrasting sharply with the bright outside.

The musty, damp, and moldy smell hit my nose. The room was poorly maintained, but what captured my attention most was—

“She was trapped inside the wardrobe.”

It was a wooden wardrobe barely big enough for a child. The inside was scratched as if someone had clawed it repeatedly.

Not just a few marks, but many, ranging from small to large, as if showing the passage of time.

I shivered. I stared blankly at Marie standing before it.

She looked exhausted and powerless. Large purple bruises marred her cheeks.

Her eyes had the faintest glimmer, like a dying ember.

Seeing her like that made my heart sink. I clenched my lips to suppress the emotions rising from deep inside me.

Marie flinched slightly at my expression. I hugged her delicate body.

It was the first time I held her. She was so soft, so small. Like a young spring branch, she could break with just a little force.

I held her gently, trying to steady my breathing. I expected her to cry, but she seemed surprisingly calm.

Her composure made my heart race even more. How did it come to this? Since when was it like this? Why does she act so nonchalantly…?

Questions surged inside me, but now was not the time to ask them. My desire was to help her.

I let out a trembling sigh and looked at her. Then I gently stroked her pale cheek and whispered,

“It’s okay now, Marie.”

“…….”

“Elsa.”

I quietly gave a command.

“Take Marie to the Rene Palace. Call the royal physician immediately to check her condition. This child must be…”

“I will take care of her, Your Highness,” Elsa said quietly, as if no further instruction was necessary.

I managed to lift the corners of my mouth and met Marie’s gaze.

She looked like a newly rescued bird, her wary eyes trembling.

“I’ll see you later, Marie.”

I stroked her head and turned away. The heat of anger in my cheeks had already cooled.

‘Yes…’

How to deal with that cunning old fox, I wondered.