Episode 35
When she opened her eyes, the ceiling was familiar.
Reina groaned from the stinging pain and sat up.
She vaguely remembered Kaiden rescuing her.
At some point, she must’ve fainted, and now she was in her bedroom.
As Reina stirred, Lily, who had dozed off beside her, jolted awake.
“Your Grace! Are you alright?”
“What happened?”
“You were chased by snowfoxes, and His Grace saved you. You’ve been out for a full day.”
“I see.”
“You must’ve been so scared. You’re safe now.”
Lily’s voice trembled, and Reina gave a faint smile.
“You seem more shaken than I am.”
“Ugh, my heart dropped to the floor and back! I swear I aged ten years!”
“Sorry.”
“Why should you be sorry? I’m the one who’s sorry for not serving you properly.”
Lily bowed her head, looking ready to cry.
Reina glanced around and asked.
“Where’s Dahlia?”
She was worried Dahlia might’ve been hurt while escaping.
Lily forced a smile and replied.
“Lady Dahlia is unharmed.”
“That’s a relief.”
“Relief? You’re the one so badly hurt! Lady Dahlia said the snowfoxes only chased you. Do you have any guesses about why?”
“Well…”
As Reina quietly recalled the incident, Lily sighed.
“The castle’s in an uproar over this.”
“An uproar?”
“His Grace thinks it wasn’t an accident. And it’s suspicious—snowfoxes swarming in the safety zone.”
“…Have they caught the culprit?”
“Not yet. Actually, Rose is under suspicion…”
Lily glanced at Reina cautiously before continuing.
“I swear it wasn’t my sister, Your Grace. She can be sharp, but she’s not the type to harm anyone. She grumbles but does her job well. I know it sounds like I’m defending her because she’s family, but it’s true. Please believe me.”
Her face showed worry that Reina might think she was biased.
Reina smiled faintly to reassure her.
“I understand, Lily. Calm down.”
It wasn’t that she believed Rose was innocent.
‘Rose is probably suspected because of the map.’
Rose had handled the map, and when Reina followed it to the refuge, there was nothing there.
Having nearly died, she couldn’t fully trust Rose, but she didn’t voice it.
Besides, the map alone didn’t explain everything.
A mistake with the map could be overlooked, but snowfoxes breaching the safety zone wasn’t mere coincidence.
It was definitely within the safety zone.
If the magical devices worked, such a large pack couldn’t have attacked.
Even if it was a fluke, shouldn’t they have fled when Kaiden appeared?
His menacing aura could make even magical beasts flinch.
Yet, the snowfoxes didn’t flee—they charged at her ferociously, almost as if enchanted, drooling wildly.
Recalling the oddities, Reina sought Dahlia.
She needed to confirm the girl’s safety with her own eyes.
“Can you call Dahlia?”
“I’ll be right back. She’s been waiting more than anyone for you to wake up.”
Soon after Lily left, Dahlia arrived.
“Reina, ma’am!”
Puffy-eyed Dahlia threw herself into Reina’s arms.
She looked like she hadn’t slept, consumed by worry.
Burying herself in Reina’s embrace, Dahlia mumbled.
“I’m sorry for running away alone.”
“No, I’m the one who’s grateful, Dahlia. Thank you for trusting and following my words. And I’m glad you’re unhurt.”
“But you got hurt, ma’am. They said it’ll be hard to walk for a while because of your leg…”
Dahlia glanced at Reina’s bandaged foot, tearing up.
To prevent another flood of tears, Reina soothed her.
“I’m fine. Were you scared yesterday?”
“I was, but… I was okay because you were there. More than that, I lost the gift Big Daddy gave me…”
Dahlia’s face crumpled, likely referring to her snowfox scarf.
“Oh!”
Reina suddenly recalled her own scarf.
When she’d waved it, the snowfoxes’ eyes had gleamed strangely.
At the time, she thought it was lucky, but now it felt suspicious.
‘Now that I think about it, Lady Mary took both my scarf and Dahlia’s.’
What seemed trivial then now felt dubious.
Especially since it involved someone she already found unsettling.
Reina asked Lily about the scarf.
“Where’s my scarf?”
“Oh, it was too dirty, so I asked Rose to take it to the laundry. She just returned from questioning.”
At the word “laundry,” Reina shot up.
If the scarves were behind this, washing them could destroy evidence.
As she grabbed crutches to move, Lily supported her.
“Your Grace, you shouldn’t move like this…”
“I need to get to the laundry. Now.”
* * *
With Reina gravely injured, the castle was in disarray.
Rose, carrying a basket with the bloodstained scarves, headed to the laundry.
‘Even escaping, she went outside the safety zone, making trouble for everyone!’
After enduring questioning all night for something she didn’t do, Rose was on edge.
The outdated map she’d given Reina had caused the trouble.
“I checked, and it was definitely the updated map. I swear!”
No matter how she explained, no one believed her.
Finding an old map in her bag made her denials suspicious, leading to overnight interrogation.
With no further evidence, she was released at dawn.
Questioned all night and then straight to work—Rose fumed.
Honestly, she found Reina annoying, but not enough to send her to her death.
Her sharp tongue often caused misunderstandings, but this level of humiliation was a first.
Grumbling as she crossed the hallway, she saw Lady Mary approaching.
“Miss Rose, heading to the laundry?”
“Yes.”
“I heard you had a rough night. Leave this to me and rest.”
Lady Mary naturally took the basket from Rose.
Caught off guard, Rose blinked.
Realizing her mistake, she grabbed the basket back.
“No, this is my job. Besides, the scarves are bloodied and need hand-washing to avoid stains.”
Already under suspicion, she didn’t want to be accused of shirking duties.
But Lady Mary was insistent, gripping the basket firmly.
“Come on, hand it over. Hand-washing is my specialty. You must be exhausted from the interrogation. I was headed to the laundry anyway, so don’t feel bad.”
“It’s really fine…”
“I’ll tell Lily you did it.”
“Thank you, Lady Mary.”
Too tired to argue, Rose thanked her, relieved to avoid hand-washing.
As she turned to head to her room, she spotted Reina, supported by Lily, in the distance.
