She was the birth mother of Crown Prince Matteo, the wife of the late Emperor Idoel, and now the wife of his younger brother and traitor, Emperor Claude.
Should they be reprimanded for bringing up a name that’s almost taboo in this mansion, or comforted that it wasn’t like that? The majordomo hesitated because he couldn’t get his bearings. Mrs. Maureen shook her head painfully.
“She’s weak both physically and mentally. If the new mistress…”
“She won’t be, nanny.”
Maureen’s shoulders shook at the sound of the handsome boy’s voice behind her.
“My God, Your Highness!”
Crown Prince Matteo smiled bitterly. Mrs. Maureen sprinted toward her baby.
“Oh my God, this one is so distracted that I completely forgot His Highness was coming… Did you have a lot of trouble?”
“I wrote in the letter that there was nothing to worry about.”
“Look at how dry these cheeks are.”
“The scales don’t lie, nanny. Rather, I gained some weight.”
For Mrs. Maureen, whose eyes were watery, no logical explanation was going to work. She hugged the prince as she snapped.
The grown up boy only shrugged as he endured the rather tight hug.
The majordomo held onto this lifeline.
“Welcome back, Your Highness. I hope you had a good time, shall we head to your room?”
“I’d appreciate it if your would. Anyway, nanny.”
“Yes, yes.”
Mrs. Maureen hurried off, wiping her eyes. The boy patted her comfortingly.
“The new mistress will never be someone like Her Majesty Empress Aratine.”
Mrs. Maureen’s face went white. He heard her.
“Your Highness, this Maureen is getting older and will stop talking…”
“I don’t mean to reprimand you. I just wanted to tell you that you don’t have to worry too much.”
The boy touched his chin and said, “How should I explain it?” He murmured.
“If I had to put it that way, I would rather say she resembles His Majesty the late Emperor rather than Her Majesty Aratine.”
“Pardon?”
Mrs. Maureen and the majordomo looked puzzled as they couldn’t figure it out. The prince smiled and added in a cryptic tone.
“Anyway, you’ll see. I promise you one thing, you can look forward to it.”
***
It was almost morning before Lilian came to her senses.
“Are you awake?”
“Um…”
As Lilian narrowed her eyes, she saw Damian looking down at her.
Lilian reached out. Damian lifted her up without her saying anything.
…she felt slightly dizzy, but Lilian didn’t show it. She reassured those around her, befitting a patient who had been ill for a long time.
“I’m fine. I’m just a bit tired…”
“You’re bleeding from the nose.”
“Oh.”
She hurriedly tried to block it, but the blood that flowed from her nose quickly drenched her palms. At least Damian’s quick support of a handkerchief saved her from ruining her clothes.
“Thank you.”
“It was nothing.”
Lilian muttered shyly, with her head dizzy and her nose plugged in a ridiculous manner.
“I must have been a bit tired.”
Fortunately, the bleeding quickly stopped. Receving the handkerchief, Damian just shrugged.
“If my doctor had heard that, I think he would have said, ‘Don’t diagnose yourself without being a doctor’.”
Damian’s voice was as smooth as usual. Except with a little less smile on his face, he was no different from before Lilian passed out.
…wait, no difference at all?
“Your Highness, how long have I been unconscious?”
“…”
Instead of answering, Damian smiled awkwardly. Rita answered instead.
“You were asleep all night.”
“Did you spend the night here by any chance?”
When she pointed out that he was wearing the same clothes she had seen before passing out, Damian took out his watch and pretended to look at it.
“Not that long. We arrived late at night, so it’s early in the morning…”
“Your Highness.”
There was no hint of anger in Lilian’s tone. However, Damian stopped making ridiculous excuses that he randomly made up.
“Go and rest. Change your clothes as well.”
It was a gentle voice, but there was a strange force that didn’t allow refutation.
***
Damian, who couldn’t be persuaded by anything, couldn’t stand it any longer in front of Lily, who bluntly said, “it’s difficult to rest comfortably in front of Your Highness.”
“All right. I hadn’t thought of that.”
Then he turned around and went out, but the expression on his face was cold and his shoulders looked strangely droopy…
‘He looks hurt.’
Lilian was oblivious. Not having the courage to explain, Rita just shut her mouth. She was immediately distraught since Lily had a nosebleed again.
“I’m really fine. Aside from the nosebleeds, there’s no significant difference in how I feel.”
“You mean it’s just as bad as usual.”
“You’re still sharp.”
Lily sighed and waved her hand. Rita removed the hand that was pressing her nose. This time, she made sure the bleeding stopped.
“A wet towel.”
“Yes.”
The quick-witted maid held out a warm towel moistened with water that had been heated for tea. Lilian took the towel and wiped her face.
“You’ve been overdoing it lately.”
“Isn’t it better than I thought since it ended like this?”
“You are very positive.”
Even as she said that, Rita sympathized. At least she didn’t collapse at her wedding.
“Anyway, since it’s just a nosebleed, you better not make a fuss. Wouldn’t everyone be surprised if the new bride who collapsed yesterday looked like this? Take good care of it.”
“Ah, y-yes!”
The face of the maid, who was nominated directly by Lilian without going through the housekeeper, turned red. Strangely, she didn’t come to her senses when the soft words and eyes were completely directed at her. The maid took the towel with her barely trembling hand.
Rita clicked her tongue. How could she refrain from that habit of bewitching people regardless of the gender?
“You still need to see a doctor. Especially if you don’t want a situation where the impatient Mr. Winston storms in.”
“Well.”
It made sense.
After a while, the tall doctor appeared with his customary medicine bag.
“You suddenly had a nosebleed.”
“I’m embarrassed.”
“You are weak, but your body must have been surprised by overexertion. Let’s see.”
Lilian quietly let Shaw examine her. Shaw, who was holding Lilian’s pulse and checking the state of her core, mana and vitality, suddenly frowned.
“The core is more unstable than I thought. Are there any other inconveniences?”
“Until now?”
Shaw kept his mouth shut. Lilian asked lightly, taking her wrist and tidying up her clothes.
“Is it that bad?”
“I’m not sure yet…but the progress has accelerated.”
Shaw had no knack for delivering sad news. Fortunately, Lilian was calm and strong.
“First of all, it’s highly likely to be a temporary phenomenon because you’ve been overdoing it for a while. It’s better to take a break for a few days and watch your condition. You may see signs of recovery again at that time.”
Lilian was 19. She was approaching an age where it’d be appropriate to call her a Lady rather than a girl.
It has already been a long time since her growth spurt, which was like new sprouts sprouting in spring, has slowed down.
Since the growth period, the most vital period in the life cycle, has ended, the decline could actually be predicted.
‘The status quo period is over.’
However, the problem was that the time came a little earlier than expected.
“Anyway, the solution is as usual.”
“Is it eating well and sleeping well?”
“Yes, you’ve taken good care of it until now, but you will need to be more careful in the future than before.”
Shaw took his bag.
Lilian asked.
“Are you leaving today?”
“I plan to.”
Contrary to Mrs. Maureen’s guess, Shaw didn’t follow Lilian at all. He had only followed in case something unexpected happened along the way.
“My older brother will be coming to the capital soon. You can stay until then.”
“Do you want to keep hearing your doctor nagging you?”
“It’s not like that.”
Shaw laughed. Even if he wasn’t as heartbroken as Cedric, he cared for this young lady as much as his nephew, having seen her for seven years.
“Sorry for taking your time. Please take care of yourself.”
“You shouldn’t like it too much. We’ll see each other again soon.”
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