Chapter 54
The Prince Died and I’m Starting Over From Scratch
It was shocking.
I think I finally understand why the Third Prince had once described me as indifferent.
‘Ah! Could it be that he just can’t remember the main character’s name?’
A plausible hypothesis flashed through my mind.
It was difficult because I had a lot to do right away, but it seemed I needed to look into this strange phenomenon later.
Although it wasn’t much of a substitute, I decided to at least drop the “what’s-his-name” part when referring to him.
After the Young Duke left, I wrapped the Winter Lynx Tail back in the silk cloth and hid it inside a drawer.
I had not the slightest intention of brewing and drinking this precious herb myself.
While it’s impolite to regift a present, I really wanted the Third Prince to take this medicine. It was something I’d thought of ever since I first learned about this herb.
I had been constantly worried about the Third Prince, who kept collapsing every time he used magic.
According to the magic books the Third Prince read, magic is essentially an activity that uses natural mana to materialize the power inside one’s body outside of it.
In other words, to use magic well, one must first have a healthy body.
I didn’t want to faint anymore.
I hated waking up to find that several days had flown by.
I hated the commotion the Count and Countess Lulupel caused, pestering the healers.
I felt sorry for constantly worrying Anna.
To solve this problem, the Third Prince needed to be made stronger.
If the Third Prince drank the decoction of the Winter Lynx Tail and became healthier, it would be good for everyone.
But there was one problem.
How on earth could I get this herb to the Third Prince?
The dried Winter Lynx Tail was brittle and would easily crumble if gripped too tightly. I couldn’t even imagine shoving this sensitive herb under the door crack.
A special method was needed. A new way to get it out of this room without anyone noticing…
But after searching the room all day, no such method appeared.
In the end, I spent the day without accomplishing anything.
The Young Duke visited my room again the next day.
“Have you tried the Winter Lynx Tail yet?”
He looked at me with very expectant eyes.
I didn’t want to disappoint this boy, so I decided to tell a white lie.
“Yes. I brewed and drank it exactly as written on the first line.”
The Young Duke seemed to readily believe my lie.
“That’s a relief. So, how is it? Does it seem to have some effect?”
“Yes. It seems so.”
“If you wish, I can get you as much as you want.”
“Well……”
Even though I hadn’t tried it myself, since the Northern Duke treasured it so much, its effectiveness was practically proven.
“……Then, could I ask for a little more?”
When I asked, looking up at him intently, the Young Duke nodded like someone bewitched.
“By the way! Aside from the Winter Lynx Tail, are there any other methods?”
“……What methods are you referring to?”
“Ways to become healthy. I mean, to raise… no, to become a strong, tall person with strong immunity like you, Young Duke… what must one do?”
The Young Duke fell into brief thought.
He twitched his eyebrows a few times, then spoke with a somewhat reluctant expression.
“Hmm… The only method I know is one you would likely dislike.”
“……Swordsmanship?”
“Correct. Learning the sword trains both mind and body.”
“Well, I suppose that’s true…”
Come to think of it, when I was young, my mother also forced me to learn Taekwondo because I was too delicate and shy.
Thinking back, I really benefited from the exercise back then. It might be a good idea to get the Third Prince to exercise too.
“……If you learn the sword, do you have to become a knight?”
I asked in a very cautious voice.
I thought such a question might be rude to the Young Duke, who took swordsmanship so seriously.
Contrary to my thoughts, the Young Duke didn’t seem offended at all. He calmly shook his head.
“No. In human affairs, where is there such a thing as ‘must’?”
He added that if I wanted, he could help me experience the sword.
“……Could I bring someone else?”
“……Someone else? Who do you mean? Do you mean the young Count Lulupel?”
“No, not him… His Highness the Third Prince.”
The Young Duke frowned, seeming troubled.
Although they were distant relatives, their relationship didn’t seem very good.
Now that I thought about it, the two had never once encountered each other during their stay at the Ludvekia court.
No matter how large the court was, it was still hard to understand. It seemed they were intentionally avoiding each other.
Then again, being vaguely acquainted is often the most uncomfortable relationship of all.
Still, the Young Duke agreed, saying if the Third Prince consented, I could bring him along.
“Then I’ll visit you next time. After my confinement is lifted.”
“Alright. This time, please don’t make me wait too long.”
The Young Duke gave a light farewell and left the room.
‘…This time?’
Only after he left did I notice the oddly out-of-place word hidden in his parting words.
‘Did I make some promise with him? Now that I think about it, he said he wanted to talk about the weather…’
As I carefully pondered each of the Young Duke’s words, I finally remembered a fact I had forgotten much later.
“That’s right, I promised to have a meal with him!”
I had been so busy lately that I had completely forgotten about it.
It had already been over two months since the Young Duke asked me about the weather.
Thinking that the other party had been waiting eagerly while I had completely forgotten made me feel terribly sorry.
‘Even if I can’t leave the room, I should be able to invite someone to my room, right?’
I decided to send a servant to the Young Duke first thing tomorrow.
But I couldn’t keep this resolution either.
That night, an unimaginably enormous event occurred.
The incident began early in the evening.
Before dinner, Anna left the room, saying she was going to take a quick bath.
I was lazing around in bed.
Then, the cleaning servants quietly entered the room.
Originally, they were supposed to clean when both Anna and I were away, but since I was practically confined, they had no other choice.
Perhaps they couldn’t see me well lying in bed, the cleaning servants chattered among themselves while they worked, unlike usual.
Up to this point… it was understandable. Anyone would prefer to work happily, right?
The problem was that the topic of their conversation gradually crossed the line.
“By the way, I heard the young lady of this room is really… like that, right?”
“Miss Lulupel? Don’t even mention it.”
My ears perked up at this conversation.
‘What am I like? What is it that you shouldn’t even mention?’
I slid down under the covers and hid my body.
“Oh my… I’ve never seen a child so vicious before.”
“Why, it’s famous. I heard she once slapped a maid for accidentally blocking her path?”
“I heard one of the servants who worked at Count Lulupel’s estate was driven out of the city because of her. Later, he lost his leg while working in a mine just to make a living.”
I could hear the cleaning servants clucking their tongues, shuddering.
Their malicious gossip continued incessantly.
I was beyond baffled; I was utterly flabbergasted.
When did I ever do such things?
I thought about jumping up right then and there and demanding to know why they had such misunderstandings.
But I couldn’t. Because an even more interesting story was spilling from their lips.
“Honestly, I feel so sorry for His Highness the Third Prince, it’s killing me.”
“…Hey, watch your tongue.”
“What, it’s fine. She’s asleep.”
I’m not asleep.
But the maids, unaware of the truth, seemed reassured seeing me lying still under the covers.
“…I heard she was the one who proposed to His Highness first, but as soon as the Young Duke of Caledonia arrived, she pushed His Highness out of a tree?”
“And she tried to drown him in the lake, too.”
“For me, the fact that she tried to secretly ruin His Highness’s formal clothes was even more shocking. How can a child be so cunning?”
“I heard the reason His Highness the Third Prince eats alone in his room is because of her. They say she forces him to eat until he’s about to burst?”
This was truly maddening.
I knew rumors spread quickly among servants, but I didn’t know they could be so distorted.
What was more frustrating was that their words weren’t entirely baseless.
To someone who didn’t know the inside story, my and the Third Prince’s interactions might have looked that way.
“I’m really looking forward to the future. I wonder what she’ll become when she grows up…”
“Well, she is exceptionally pretty. And she has a good status.”
“That’s exactly the problem. Kids like these grow up to become the villainesses you read about in history books.”
Villainess?
For a moment, my mind went blank.
“Villainess? What have I done to be called a villainess already?”
I shot up from the bed and shouted. The startled servants jumped and fell over backwards.
“A-Ah, Young Lady!”
“Sh-Sh-She’s awake!”
“Answer me quickly! Why am I a villainess? I really don’t understand.”
“W-W-Well…”
The servants, who had been so talkative when they thought I was asleep, clamped their mouths shut as if they’d stolen honey.
“Young Lady? What are you doing?”
Just then, Anna entered the room. She looked curious about why I had the servants kneeling.
