Episode 46
Rurick couldn’t bring himself to say that he had already seen that book in the chest behind his father, the Emperor.
The Emperor’s face, hastily changing the subject, showed no intention whatsoever of sharing any information with him.
“Ah, yes. I have ordered the Tower Lord to forge a new demon sword.”
Rurick listened quietly, unable to guess what the Emperor would say next.
“The Magic Tower’s technical skills have improved greatly, so it should be better than that old relic, no? Once a splendid new sword is made, I will bestow it upon you.”
The Emperor laughed heartily.
“Who else but you would be worthy of wielding such a sword, hahaha.”
However, the Emperor’s words sounded different to Rurick.
‘The territorial expansion is over, so hand over the Imperial treasure sword.’
If he didn’t want to do that, he would have to go and conquer Whitney.
A week had passed since the Thanksgiving Festival, but I had not yet publicly received a diagnosis of pneumonia.
This was due to Rurick’s unstable condition.
So, pretending to be sick with a lingering illness and spending time in bed had become my entire daily routine.
“Are you very sick?”
Then one morning, without any prior notice, Chirilla came to see me.
Of all days, it happened to be the day Callisteon had sent me flowers as a rare gift.
“Is it contagious? And what are all these flowers?”
Couldn’t she ask one question at a time…?
I coughed, hoping Cyril would return to her true nature and spread the news far and wide.
“Cough! It’s just that this cold, cough! seems to be lasting unusually long…”
Phoebe intervened appropriately.
“Colds can be contagious, so please be careful, Your Highness the Second Princess.”
At that, Cyril flinched and stepped back.
Then, raising her voice a little more, she asked,
“I see these flowers are get-well gifts? Had I known, I would have brought something too.”
I quickly signaled to Phoebe with my eyes.
Cyril didn’t need to know that all these flowers were from Callisteon, and that they arrived regularly, whether I was sick or not.
Fortunately, Phoebe remained silent, and Chirilla, seemingly not offended, was able to get to her main point.
“The reason I… came is this.”
Then she suddenly furrowed her brow deeply and showed her irritation.
“What in the world is Archduke Callisteon doing in Flavi?”
I had never heard from anyone that Callisteon had gone to Flavia.
“…What?”
When I blankly asked in return, Cyril, as if frustrated, lightly tapped her foot and asked again.
“Does his stay in Edessa have anything to do with you, or not? Just tell me that.”
Edessa?
‘If it’s Edessa in Flavi, of all places… that is the location we are primarily considering as a convalescence spot…’
I laughed, pretending to find it absurd.
“Sister… cough! I’m just here in the Imperial Palace with a cold, what does the Archduke going to Edessa have to do with me…”
“You, listen to me carefully.”
Cyril glared with her brilliant golden eyes.
“If the Archduke insists on choosing you, weak and useless, it must be due to his broad-mindedness and compassion. I respect and admire that side of him too.”
Oh, is that so…?
I looked up at Chirilla with genuinely puzzled eyes.
“But you’re literally weak, so who knows how long your life will be?”
Telling me to live a little and then die, how can she say that so blatantly?
As someone who once lived with an expiration date, it was an insult that made my blood boil, but Cyril tirelessly continued.
“And besides, I can’t stand to see him suffer because of you. You need to understand that I’m here for a truly important matter. Consider it me showing you leniency!”
I tilted my head and asked.
“What… what can I do for you?”
Cyril repeated her question.
“Is him being in Edessa related to you?”
Was it some kind of premonition?
Although Cyril would never, ever be on my side, even if she died and came back to life, I had an intuition that she had come to help me this time.
“Is it related somehow or not, answer me!”
Cyril pressed.
“…Yes, Sister.”
When I finally answered honestly, she sniffled.
“You fool! Have you been cooped up in this palace all your life, tormented by Mother like that, and still learned nothing? The more you hesitate stupidly, the more the Archduke has to pay to win you over!”
“…What?”
I couldn’t immediately grasp Cyril meaning.
“Our eldest brother is tracking the Archduke’s movements! The more deeply he is connected to you, the more Mother and Brother will do their best to manipulate him as they please!”
Cyril burst out with indignation.
“This time, I caught wind of it midway, so it can be contained. I hate the fact that you, with your stupid face, were chosen by the Archduke so much it makes me want to die…!”
Her voice, pouring out these words, was so agitated and rapid it was almost like a scream.
“I sincerely wish you would choose that doll-like Crown Prince, or even now, play dangerous games with him instead.”
She wiped all the agitation from her face and spoke coldly.
“If you’re going to go to the Archduke in the end, then stop causing him harm and just disappear quickly.”
As I blankly pondered how to take this, Cyril drove her point home.
“Later, when you vacate your position, I will heal his wounds.”
So it seemed I had just heard a rather cultured version of “marry the Archduke quickly and drop dead soon after.”
I was genuinely shocked and couldn’t help but ask.
“But by the time I marry, won’t you be married to someone too, Sister?”
Cyril replied as if she was hearing the most pathetic thing.
“I’ll handle my own divorce.”
Wait, is our genre possibly a remarriage story?
It seemed like Chirilla was under a very big misconception…
“…Anyway, thank you for your help. Sister.”
I expressed my gratitude sincerely.
Now it was time to draw lots to decide whom to call and discuss this astonishing fact with.
As fate would have it, wasn’t there a video communication pearl included among the flower baskets today?
My drawn lot, naturally, was Callisteon.
“Lu.”
Even after not seeing him for so long, the man was as handsome as ever.
His clean, well-defined features were composed of perfect lines, and his sea-blue eyes were filled with joy and affection.
“It’s been a long time.”
He greeted me like the majestic and benevolent Northern Archduke who had never caused a single trouble.
“Cal…”
I felt an impulse to admire his flawless face for a while, but now was not the time.
“Where are you?”
When I asked directly, Callisteon seemed slightly flustered.
“…I’m outside on business. How is your body? Your complexion doesn’t look good.”
“My complexion is intentionally made to look sickly, so don’t worry. Though my head hurts a little.”
“Your head hurts?”
What’s the big deal about a little headache?
I could clearly see the composure he was trying hard to maintain rapidly crumbling.
“I trusted that Ren fellow prepared enough emergency medicine, but do you need more? If the palace physician isn’t reliable, I’ll send my personal doctor.”
“No, the medicine is sufficient, but…”
“But?”
Looking at his worried face, I asked sullenly.
“I heard you went to Flavi without telling me, Cal, and I’m hurt. You must have passed through the capital.”
It was obvious he moved via gate, so saying he passed through the capital was pure nonsense.
But that level of a shallow trick was enough to fluster Callisteon.
“No, that is…”
His long, white fingers roughly tousled his silver hair, like a galaxy.
When his vision was obscured because of it, he blew a puff of air to move the stray strands aside.
Then, as if giving up on hiding it, he asked.
“How did you know? Did that Erni guy tell you?”
“No. What are you two doing, leaving me out?”
“Leaving you out…”
His blue eyes rolled around as if wandering, then soon grew calm.
Callisteon hesitated, then finally confessed.
“It’s not like that. I came here without even Erni knowing. That’s why I’m asking how you knew.”
I pouted and asked.
“Shouldn’t you first explain why you went there, Cal?”
“Well, you see. Actually…”
He finally opened his mouth.
“…It’s because you said you wanted to come here for convalescence…”
“So?”
“So… I bought a hotel. I’m renovating it to suit your needs.”
