~Chapter 93~
Why my eyes…?
I didn’t even realize what was happening, but my instincts made me close my eyes.
Puk—!
“Aagh!”
Right after, I heard a short, sharp sound and then a scream.
I couldn’t see, but I knew right away that it was the maid who had been helping me bathe.
I realized instantly that she was trying to hurt me.
If Melona hadn’t come in, would I have died?
Suddenly, the back of my neck felt cold and I got chills all over.
“Your Highness, are you okay?”
I didn’t know how much time had passed, but Melona’s voice pulled me out of my fear.
But I was so scared and shaken that I still couldn’t open my eyes.
“M-Melona… Sorry, I’m too scared to open my eyes…”
“You must have been so surprised, right? It’s okay! There’s no one else here now. I’m right by your side, so you can relax.”
Melona comforted me gently.
I carefully opened my eyes, but I couldn’t bring myself to look back where the maid had been.
“Just now, that maid tried to…”
“Don’t think about it, Your Highness. I should have stayed with you the whole time. I’m so sorry.”
“…No, I told you to go and rest.”
Trying not to remember what just happened, I shook my head, just like Melona said.
Melona bent down to look right into my eyes.
“Your Highness, can you get out of the bathtub first? If you stay in the water too long, you might catch a cold.”
“I want to, but… my legs feel weak.”
“Ah. Don’t worry! I’ll help you. But you’ll need to get dressed first. You don’t want to call another maid, right?”
I shook my head quickly at her question.
I really didn’t want to see any maids right now—not even their uniforms.
“Sorry for asking something so obvious. I’ll help you! I might not be very good at it, so please be patient with me, Your Highness.”
With a gentle smile, Melona brought me the robe I’d taken off earlier.
Thanks to her caring help, I was able to leave the bathroom.
Strangely, I didn’t see a single maid around.
Before we went into the bedroom, Melona asked me to wait for a moment—she must have sent all the maids away.
After changing into my indoor dress and sitting on the bed, I finally started to relax.
That’s when I thought of someone’s face.
“Where’s Richard…?”
He was always the one who would appear whenever something happened to me, hiding me behind his back.
But now Richard wasn’t here, so I couldn’t feel completely safe.
When did I become so dependent on him?
I guess I didn’t realize how much I’d come to rely on Richard.
His absence felt so big.
“Um. His Highness the Prince is probably ten…”
“Ten?”
Melona rolled her eyes and looked toward the bedroom door.
Was she saying he’d be here in ten minutes?
“Nine, eight, seven, six…”
“Huh?”
“Amelie!”
While I watched Melona counting seconds, suddenly Richard came into the room and called my name.
“You got here five seconds early. You must have run here!”
Oh, so she meant he’d arrive in ten seconds?
Feeling confused, I looked at Richard.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”
Richard kneeled on one knee in front of the bed, gently holding my shoulder and checking all over me.
“As you can see, I’m fine. Melona handled everything well.”
“Even if you look fine, you must have been really scared. I’m sorry I was late.”
Richard’s soft, kind voice helped calm my frightened heart.
‘This is bad.’
As soon as I saw Richard’s face and heard his worry, everything started to feel okay.
This wasn’t a good sign.
Our engagement would end someday.
He was just a fake fiancé, the original male lead of the story—I shouldn’t depend on him.
I used to be someone who never relied on anyone, who was really independent!
“I was surprised, but I’m okay! I didn’t see anything, and nothing happened, right?”
I forced myself to sound strong, so I wouldn’t be too dependent.
Richard let out a deep breath and his shoulders dropped.
He must have been just as tense as I was.
Then, he quickly turned to Melona.
“Melona Divot, I told you never to leave Amelie’s side, even for a moment.”
His kind tone was gone. Richard’s voice was now cold and strict as he questioned Melona.
I hurriedly grabbed his arm before he could scold her more.
“I-I told Melona she could go rest! I was so tired and wanted to be alone today.”
“Even so, this is—”
“I won’t do it again! From now on, I’ll stay with Melona until I go to sleep.”
I kept defending Melona, and Richard closed his mouth with an unhappy look.
He clearly didn’t like the situation, but he didn’t argue anymore.
“…My brother was right. I was careless.”
“Your brother? What did the Crown Prince say?”
“I shouldn’t have left you alone.”
Was he ignoring me?
Richard just muttered to himself, not answering my question.
“Let’s move to my room, Amelie Garnet.”
“…What?”
His answer was so unexpected.
“So, the Empress really was behind this.”
Richard looked down at Amelie, who was now sleeping peacefully on his bed, and spoke quietly.
She had insisted she’d never sleep in the same room as him.
But with all the stress and the busy schedule, she’d fallen asleep like she’d passed out.
“We couldn’t get a confession, but from the situation, it seems Her Majesty the Empress ordered it.”
“She went so far she’s lost even her son. What about the maid Amelie brought from her home?”
Richard asked about Sophia’s whereabouts.
Before Amelie fell asleep, she’d asked them to make sure her maid was safe.
“She was found sleeping in a servant’s room that hasn’t been used in a long time. I think she was given sleeping medicine, but there was nothing seriously wrong with her.”
Lux looked at Amelie and spoke in a quiet voice.
“Is that maid still alive?”
“For now, yes… but Melona is questioning her, so she won’t last much longer.”
“I see.”
If Melona was questioning someone, it was basically the same as torture.
Melona Divot had learned sword fighting even before her sister and mastered many techniques—she was basically a human weapon.
And whenever she needed to, she could completely turn off her emotions.
This time, Melona was definitely responsible too. But if she hadn’t been suspicious of the maid and waited quietly, things could have ended terribly.
“It was my mistake for being careless.”
The truth was, Richard blamed himself more than Melona.
He’d thought he’d gotten rid of all the spies in the Prince’s Palace. That was a mistake.
And he’d put Amelie on a different floor, thinking she’d be more comfortable—but in the end, it only put her in danger.
“We need to move Amelie’s room next to mine.”
“Yes, I’ll tell Melona to get it ready.”
“And build a door in the wall. So we can go between our rooms anytime.”
“Uh, what?”
Lux started to answer out of habit, but then stopped and asked again.
He was telling her to break down a wall and build a door—in the royal palace, no less.
“I understand you’re worried, but breaking a wall in the palace… That’s never happened before, and it’ll take a long time to finish the construction.”
“What’s the problem with breaking a wall? If we call enough workers, it can be done in a week.”
“Shouldn’t you at least discuss this with His Majesty the Emperor or the Crown Prince?”
“Until then, we’ll stay in another room together. Get the biggest empty room ready by tomorrow morning.”
Even though Lux tried to object, Richard didn’t listen at all.
‘Wow, he really does love her fiercely.’
Every time she thought about it, Lux could only call her lord’s love “intense.”
In the end, Lux could only follow orders with empty eyes.
