Chapter 25

“Your Majesty.”

I grabbed Hadel’s hand tightly once more before speaking again.

“Your Majesty, I want to rest now. I’ll deal with the incidents regarding the ledger tomorrow, after I’ve gotten rest.”

Hic!

Hiccup!

As soon as I finished my sentence, the Grand Chamberlain—who had collapsed on the floor—started hiccuping loudly.

When everyone’s gazes shifted to stare at him, the Grand Chamberlain clasped both hands over his mouth with wide eyes.

“I-I apolo— Hic!”

The thought that “people from the palace are truly strange” came to my mind.

Hadel gave an order while coldly staring at the Grand Chamberlain.

“Since the Silver Lily is saying she’s tired, I will leave the punishment for tomorrow. However, just leaving things as they are may lead to the destruction of evidence. So listen carefully.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

When they heard Hadel’s solemn voice, the servants—who’d been standing in a line waiting to be addressed—all kneeled and replied in unison.

“Lock the Head Maid in prison and don’t give her a drop of water until the Silver Lily looks over the ledger and announces her crime.”

“We understand, Your Majesty.”

“Y-Your Majesty! I feel wronged!”

The Head Maid kept shouting about how wronged she felt as the servants dragged her away.

Although even her shouting voice was flat, it was still the most humane side of her I’d seen up until now.

After the Head Maid was dragged out, Hadel gestured with his hand for the other servants to wait outside.

The moment everyone left and the door finally closed, he buried his face into my arms as if he’d been holding himself back.

“Haa… Asha.”

“Gosh, what were you thinking by escalating the situation while I was sleeping?”

“You were in pain, so how could I just stand by and do nothing? What’s the point in being Emperor if I can’t do anything about how much pain you’re feeling?”

“It’s not a big deal. Anyway, since what’s done is done, we have to switch up our approach a little bit.”

“…How?”

The sides of my lips tilted upward as I slowly moved my head to stare into Hadel’s shiny blinking eyes.

“This might actually be for the best. Good job, Hadel.”

“Hm?”

Even though he had a perplexed look on his face, Hadel grinned foolishly when I began petting his black hair.

“I’m going to contact Duke Valkirino tomorrow.”

“Why contact him?”

“It’ll soon be revealed to everyone that you love me, so I have to make a deal.”

I used to wonder with frustration how much longer I’d have to secretly meet Hadel at night, but since things had turned out this way, it wouldn’t be so bad to grab the sword by the hilt myself.

Considering that my family members were being held hostage, I had to balance things out by gathering some power, right?

“Asha, your expression right now is very cute.”

“What?”

“Hehe. I want to draw a portrait of your current expression. Ah! Should I hire a painter tomorrow? Yes, I think I shall.”

While talking to himself about painters and portraits, Hadel looked at me and started giggling again.

Argh, who’s the actual “very cute” one here?

* * *

Tickle tickle.

Tickle tickle.

Tickle.

The feeling of something crawling across my palm caused me to open my eyes. I tried to raise my upper body, but strangely enough, everything felt heavy like a water-soaked cotton ball.

“Asha. Are you awake?”

Noticing my struggles, Hadel worriedly lifted a hand to my forehead.

Ah. I must’ve fallen asleep after spending time with Hadel in his arms last night.

The Head Maid was dragged to the prison and… Um. What else?

More importantly, why did Hadel stay with me until morning instead of going back?!

“Did you also sleep here?”

“Yep. How’s your body? Your forehead’s still a bit warm.”

As if he had only half-heard my question, Hadel’s pink eyes were filled with worry.

“I’m fi…”

I almost habitually said I was fine. My ten years of living as a maid had forced me to be okay even when I wasn’t, after all.

But right now?

I was with my most beloved Hadel, so it was okay for me to act a little childish in front of him.

“Asha?”

Hadel’s eyes filled with even more worry when he saw me pause in the middle of my sentence.

I hugged his neck closer to me, smiling gently.

“I’m not fine at all… My throat hurts, and my head feels woozy. My body also feels so heavy that it’s hard to mo… huh?”

While I let out all sorts of complaints, Hadel got up and pulled on the bell-rope with a very serious and turbulent expression.

“Did you call, Your Majesty?”

Since the Head Maid had been dragged away in the middle of the night, the person standing guard in front of the Lily Palace was Hadel’s exclusive Grand Chamberlain, Derrell.

He entered with a haggard face, sweating profusely as he bowed his head.

“Call the Imperial Doctor immediately. The Silver Lily’s condition is critical.”

“W-Wait, there’s no need to go that fa—”

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“U-Understood.”

Regardless of what I said, it seemed the Grand Chamberlain would only listen to Hadel’s commands. Unlike his haggard appearance, he moved his legs so quickly it seemed he would fly, as he left.

“Asha, are you very sick?”

“No, it’s really not that bad. Argh. Don’t be so extra.”

“But…”

Ah, I made a mistake. I shouldn’t have said I was in pain in front of him.

I was feeling at ease for the first time in a while, which caused my mind to be void of thoughts.

“Why do you act so scary around the servants? That’s why everyone calls you a tyrant.”

“…”

“In the future, try speaking a bit more kindly. What sins have the servants committed?”

“Okay. If you want me to, I will. Just don’t be sick.”

After saying that, Hadel buried his face into my embrace. I caressed and petted his black hair.

“I just have a cold, and I’m aching a bit. It’s really nothing serious. Don’t worry.”

“…Fine. Still, make sure to get examined by the Imperial Doctor.”

Even though he replied with a sulky voice, he must’ve liked the feeling of my hands, because he burst into low laughter soon after.

Ah. How nice. I’d missed this feeling so much.

The more my current happiness increased, the more anger I felt toward those who had snatched away ten years’ worth of time from me and Hadel.

“Hadel.”

“Hm?”

“No matter what I do, can you just protect me without worrying?”

“…Though it’s impossible not to worry, I will always protect you, no matter where you are or what you do.”

“Okay. That’s all I need. I’m going to send a letter to Duke Valkirino today. I want to meet him personally and negotiate with him.”

Hadel’s expression hardened in response to my words. I lightly tapped his crumpled forehead before smiling.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Valkirino Duchy…

The air was so cold, it wouldn’t be strange if a cold wind was blowing around.

No, to be exact, the air wasn’t cold—the atmosphere was.

After setting down the tea he was drinking with a clack, the Duke stared at the butler who gave the report to him.

The butler, who was prostrating in front of the Duke, felt like sweat was dripping down his back.

However, he couldn’t show a disorderly appearance while he was in front of the cold-blooded Duke Valirino.

The butler got a grip of himself and gulped back his spit.

Finally, the Duke opened his slender lips.

“So that child won the Emperor’s favor, and Countess Chunet was locked up in prison?”

“…Yes, Your Excellency.”

“I can’t believe all this could happen only a few days after she entered the palace. It’s so inconceivable that I’m thinking I must’ve misheard what you just said.”

Goosebumps ran across the butler’s back when he heard the Duke’s low voice. When he snuck a glance upward, he saw an evil grin on the Duke’s face.

It was an expression he only made when something very entertaining or very unpleasant occurred.

“How curious. Is it because the child reminds him of his dead wife? If not that, does she have some kind of special talent she used to seduce the Emperor?”

The Duke took another sip of tea while wordlessly stroking the teacup’s handle.

The bitter yet sweet scent spread into his nose and helped clear his mind.

“Okay. Regardless, there’s nothing she can do. Even if Madame Chunet was chased out, I still have many eyes and ears at the Lily Palace.”

He’d stationed many hands and feet over there, but since everything had happened overnight, it’d be best to wait and see what that child was thinking.

“Leave. If even the slightest of changes occurs, report it to me right away.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

At the Duke’s command, the butler quickly left the room and concealed himself. On days when his master was in a bad mood or a fit of rage, deaths could occur soon after.

The Duke was truly in a bad mood, but it was still strange to say that he was completely full of displeasure.

This was because the unprecedented events left him unable to predict the future.

Just how much time had he spent trying to gain the Emperor’s favor?

Since he himself couldn’t become the Emperor, he’d worked hard to at least have the power to control him.

One of the methods he’d tried was turning his daughter Nella into the Empress, but because the Emperor rejected every woman, it seemed like that would never happen.

However, the worth of a commoner he’d thought of as a throwaway card had somehow soared in comparison.

“Was Serienne her name?”

She was a silver-haired woman who was rumored to be a distant relative of the de Ach family, but was that truly the case?

If she wasn’t, though, there was no explaining the familiar features and colors she shared with them.

Well, it may be possible that she was a close relative rather than a distant one.

“I’ll need to investigate. I should also report this incident, especially if there’s anything significant about it.”

The de Ach family had already fallen. He’d thought they weren’t even worthy of focusing on, so he’d just blocked them from contacting the Emperor, but to think they’d get on his nerves like this…

While taking out some paper from his drawer, Duke Valkirino dipped his pen in ink.

After considering it for a bit, his hand started moving across the paper without hesitation.

Upon completing the letter, he sealed it, opened the window, and held out his arm.

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Flutter.

A messenger pigeon landed on his arm. After tying the case that contained the Duke’s letter onto the bird’s leg, it flew off.

The bird glided over the duchy for a bit before flying off to the East, disappearing without a trace.

During that dinner, the letter Ashella had sent arrived at the Duke’s.

Nice, then what was left was…