Chapter 69……………………..
“I’ve heard he always wakes early to begin work.”
“Then he must be up already.”
I turned my eyes toward the main building, where Eid would be.
But just because he was awake didn’t mean I could barge in on him whenever I pleased.
This wasn’t some countryside village, and we weren’t mere neighbors anymore.
Even so, I needed to see Eid quickly.
I needed him.
To be precise—I needed the information he had from serving the duke for so long.
‘I have to strike a deal so the duke will help with my reinstatement.’
At the moment, I couldn’t be sure he had brought me here because he supported me.
‘On the contrary, the fact that I had to request the meeting myself makes it feel more like the emperor forced me onto him.’
Duke Lloyd Eckhart was strictly neutral, but the power he wielded was immense.
If I could win him over, he would surely be the fastest path back to my throne.
For now, the plan was to discreetly leak one of my cards through Eid.
The duke would take the bait—he had struggled with that issue even in the original story.
But I couldn’t bring it up carelessly. I bit the inside of my lip, then exhaled deeply.
“If it’s not inconvenient, tell him I’d like to invite Aslan and Ayla for lunch together.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Luisa bowed politely, then quickly went off to carry out the order.
After she left, I lay face-down on the bed to receive a proper massage.
A wave of guilt pressed down on my shoulders.
To think I was using the children as a pretext to dig out information about the duke…
Ah, if I were really Minerva, I wouldn’t drag the children into this.
My head sank lower.
Sensing my sour mood, Jane smiled awkwardly, then pressed down on my muscles harder.
“Ahhh! What are you doing, Jane?!”
“What else? A massage, of course!”
Jane beamed as she pressed even harder into my shoulders and arms.
My earlier gloom was driven out by pain so sharp it brought tears to my eyes.
I cried out with a scrunched-up face, but Jane did not stop.
And oddly, maybe because some muscles had already loosened, the same pressure no longer hurt as much.
By the time my expression relaxed a little, Jane spoke with a nostalgic look.
“Lady Theodora always trained you harshly, didn’t she? You haven’t changed a bit.”
Jane had served me even in the palace, so she knew of Theodora’s bad habit of pushing me past my limits.
I’d only endured for a few months, yet Minerva had lived with it her whole life. I couldn’t imagine how.
Still, it was thanks to that training that I hadn’t died immediately in the Fran mansion—I had bought time.
I arched a brow and smirked faintly.
“I’ve been feeling the need to train lately too… Ow, ow. But yes, she went too far this time. Anyway, this muscle ache is lasting longer than I thought.”
“I heard you suffered for five days? Then you’ll need at least that long to recover.”
“No, but when I broke my arm last week, it healed in just two days.”
Wait—that was strange.
At my own words, I suddenly felt doubtful.
Looking at both arms while lying down, I saw they were perfectly fine—not only outwardly clean but strong enough to wield a sword again.
Jane too seemed puzzled by this unnatural recovery. Yet the other attendants had also recovered quickly despite their serious injuries.
Not as flawlessly as I had, but well enough to work and travel without issue.
Jane pressed gently on my back and offered the most reasonable explanation.
“Maybe the doctor is a genius? You said the same thing yourself back then.”
That was the most plausible explanation, but…
I still couldn’t shake my doubts.
‘But even with modern medicine, a fractured bone takes at least four weeks, doesn’t it?’
Even a hairline fracture in a toe would require a month in a cast. And I had broken both arms.
There was no magic involved. It didn’t make sense…
Even stranger, no one seemed to find it strange at all that I had healed so fast.
It was like before—
‘When Aslan became human.’
No one had found that strange either.
Suddenly, drowsiness hit me hard.
Despite my sore body, my eyes drifted shut.
But just before they closed completely, the door burst open.
“Mom, I’m ready!”
“Aslan, you’re here?”
Aslan bounded in, as energetic as always.
Earlier, while I was talking with Luisa, I’d sent him to wash up.
Perhaps Flora had fussed over him since this wasn’t our house—he returned looking like a noble young lady’s child.
But no matter how he was dressed, his wild streak didn’t vanish.
The moment he saw Jane pressing into me mercilessly, he leapt forward in outrage.
“Jane! Don’t hurt my mom!”
“No, Aslan. It doesn’t hurt. Jane is helping me heal.”
“That looks just like what I usually do for you.”
Tilting his head, Aslan looked skeptical.
With his catlike features and twin tails tied up, he looked so adorable that I wanted to squeeze his cheeks.
I really had raised a fine child.
A satisfied smile spread across my face.
“A massage is to loosen sore muscles.”
Aslan tilted his head even further. Clearly, he didn’t understand.
Massage, kneading—it all looked the same to him. Perhaps he thought he could do it too.
Suddenly, Aslan clenched his little fists.
“Then let me do it! I can!”
“What? No, massages are hard work for the one doing them too.”
“But I’m strong! And I won’t hurt you like Jane did!”
Good grief. But how precious he was. Aslan was indeed strong—though surely his massage wouldn’t be as intense as Jane’s weight-pressed one.
“Alright, then I’ll let you try.”
“Yeah!”
At my permission, Aslan leapt onto the bed and climbed onto my back.
‘I’ll have to ask Jane to finish the massage later.’
I shot her a look, and she smiled knowingly before leaving the room.
For now, I would just enjoy this touching moment.
Aslan settled on my back like a cat curling up, then pressed his tiny hands into me.
His little fingers pressed and released, over and over—it felt like dough being kneaded.
He purred loudly, occasionally muttering as if casting a spell.
“Heal up fast. Pain, fly away.”
I closed my eyes, savoring his murmurs.
I felt like I’d heard him say those words once before…
‘But I can’t remember…’
The soothing sound of his purrs and the gentle pressure made my body feel lighter than before.
Slowly, my eyes closed completely.
Meanwhile, at the Golden Palace in the capital.
On the highest throne, a platinum-haired middle-aged woman sat arrogantly, gazing down at Theodora with piercing eyes.
“So, Minerva has safely arrived at the duchy.”
Even before such leonine majesty, Theodora bowed loyally without fear.
“Yes. As Your Majesty commanded, I personally witnessed the duke’s steward receiving her, and then returned.”
She also presented a letter from Duke Eckhart.
Upon confirming it, Emperor Jupiteria’s grim face finally softened.
With a deep sigh, she slumped into her throne, releasing the tension that had bound her body.
“You’ve truly done well. Truly.”
“I am honored.”
More relaxed now, Jupiteria’s face overflowed with emotion and her tongue loosened.
“Still, it’s strange when I think about it. She acted as though she’d never set foot in the palace again… And yet this day has come.”
“…”
Theodora knew why.
But it wasn’t something she could speak of lightly, and Minerva had begged her to keep it secret. Even as the emperor’s knight, she held her tongue.
But the secret news reached Mars as well.
“Damn it…!”
Mars clenched his trembling fists and ground his teeth.
