— A senile hero, I suppose!

She exclaimed without the slightest hesitation and then looked at me with sympathy.

— Contrary to expectations, my father has taken a liking to you, so he’s just being spiteful. You know Amelia is General XX’s niece, right?

I see……. I didn’t know that……. I smiled awkwardly and subtly changed the subject.

— So, why were you looking for me?

— Ah, the book I promised to lend you. I finally found it in my pile of books.

Princess Rosemary smiled brightly and handed me a thick book. It was a history book that the king had asked me to read aloud.

I recalled the princess’s room in my mind. The first thing that came to mind was the pile of books stacked almost to the ceiling. I thought it remarkable that she had found this book among them.

— Thank you. Was it difficult to find?

— It was manageable thanks to the chief chamberlain’s help. Though I’ve been meaning to do a major cleaning soon.

Her room was like a scholar’s study, with no space to step due to books, maps, various papers, and bundles of newspapers.

Just by looking at the state of her room, one could tell that the princess hadn’t neglected her studies and leadership education. In fact, whenever I knocked on her door seeking help, she was always deeply immersed in her studies.

Recently, she had even extended her studies to medicine and anatomy, determined to uncover the cause of her eldest brother’s death.

— You seem to really enjoy studying, Rose.

When I worriedly looked at the dark circles under her eyes from staying up all night studying, the princess gave a bitter smile.

— Pepe. Do you know what the role of royal women is?

— ……Nursing the sick and attending royal events?

I answered, reflecting on my life so far. The princess burst into laughter as she looked at me with my furrowed brow.

— Smiling brightly for the cameras, or showing off a quiet and elegant demeanor.

Smiling brightly…… for the cameras? I tilted my head and pondered.

Just yesterday at the exhibition celebration event, all I did was smile brightly at the journalists. I thought I would participate in the ribbon-cutting ceremony, but that role was only given to government ministers.

During the ribbon-cutting ceremony, I stood behind the ministers, smiling brightly and clapping enthusiastically. Then I immediately returned to the palace and began nursing His Majesty.

It was a rather tiring day in its own way, but looking back, it was also a schedule with nothing particularly special. There wasn’t a single moment dedicated to me.

The same goes for Viett, but…… I sighed as I thought of him, whom I’d been finding it difficult to even see lately.

— Rose…… are you satisfied with such a life?

When I murmured as if asking myself, Princess Rosemary opened her eyes wide. Then she made a strange expression as she awkwardly raised the corners of her mouth.

— I was taught not to carelessly reveal my desires.

She checked her pocket watch and hurriedly turned her back to me.

— Oh my, it’s already this late. I’ll be going now, Pepe.

I waved to her as she walked away, then turned with heavy steps.

As I climbed to the floor where His Majesty the King’s bedroom was located, I heard noisy footsteps from the landing above. Looking up, I saw a group walking briskly down the stairs.

They were ministers in uniform. They all seemed to have just finished a meeting, their wrinkled faces full of anger.

I spotted Viett among them as they descended the stairs arguing. He was talking with the Prime Minister, coming down at the very back.

He seemed too engrossed in conversation to notice me. Though I felt somewhat hurt, I couldn’t stop a busy person, so I dejectedly stepped aside.

From the group of ministers who were passing by with eye greetings, a white-haired gentleman stepped out and stopped abruptly in front of me.

— Your Highness the Crown Princess.

The white-haired gentleman greeted me respectfully. It was Minister XX, newly appointed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

— It is an honor to meet you. I am XX.

— I’m pleased to meet you too!

— I apologize for interrupting you when you’re busy, but I wanted to let you know that my wife and daughter are huge fans of Your Highness the Crown Princess.

— Really? That’s an honor!

As we exchanged pleasant greetings, I felt Viett passing behind me while talking with the Prime Minister.

At that moment, a piece of paper was pushed into my hand. I turned around in surprise, clutching the paper. Viett had already moved far away without even giving me a glance.

I looked at the paper he had placed in my hand with a bewildered expression. It wasn’t just paper but an envelope.

It was surely a letter he had written himself. The minister pretended not to have seen Viett giving me the letter, maintaining his dignity.

— Well then, I have a meeting to attend, so I’ll take my leave now.

I exchanged vague farewells with the minister, and as soon as the group of ministers moved away, I hurriedly opened the envelope. Sure enough, there was a letter inside.

— Wow!

Just as I excitedly tried to take out the letter, it suddenly occurred to me that if I read it now, this letter would no longer be ‘mine alone.’

— Ahhh! No, I’ll read it later while playing music on the gramophone!

I quickly closed the envelope, slapping my tightly closed eyes.

I carefully placed the envelope in my pocket and ran to His Majesty the King’s bedroom. His Majesty, who was reading a newspaper while sitting in a plush chair, opened his eyes wide.

— What happened to your eyes?

His Majesty was initially puzzled by my red, swollen eyes, but later he genuinely marveled at how I chatted more enthusiastically than usual due to my excitement.

— You really talk a lot without getting tired.

— Am I talking too much for you to handle?

His Majesty snorted indifferently at my question.

— Who said anything? I didn’t say a word.

— Sometimes people tell me I chatter too much.

— ……I was just thinking that a chatty daughter-in-law is better than a son who doesn’t have a shred of charm. Don’t worry about it and keep talking.

Fortunately, His Majesty seemed to have already grown accustomed to my chatter. He even permitted me to ramble on aimlessly, saying it was better than deathly silence.

I diligently sought topics to entertain him in his boredom, and later I also read aloud from the history book that the princess had lent me.

Spending each day like this, I suddenly thought it wasn’t much different from when I worked at the Costonian field hospital.

— By the way, now that I think about it……”

His Majesty the King, who had been listening to my reading while drinking tea, abruptly interrupted me.

— I heard that my daughter-in-law studied sculpture and architecture at the academy.

Happy that he showed interest in my talents, I nodded with the brightest smile possible.

— Yes!

— ……Do you perhaps have some skill in sculpture?

— Of course!

— Then……”

After a pause, staring into space for some time, His Majesty finally spoke with difficulty, avoiding my gaze.

— I’d like to request a sculpture depicting my empress.

— The queen?

— ……Long ago, in my anger, I destroyed all traces of that person.

I was a bit taken aback by his expression, which somehow looked sad, but pretended not to notice and nodded with a bright smile.

— Don’t you need a portrait? I’m confident in my painting skills too.

— With portraits, you can’t turn them to the side, can you?

His Majesty said with a tired smile.

— I plan to turn my wife’s sculpture slightly to the side so our eyes don’t meet as much as possible.

— With portraits, you could just place them face down?

— Then what would be the point of you taking the trouble to paint it?

— That’s true!

— I’ve already prepared the ivory.

Surprisingly, His Majesty possessed several pieces of expensive sculptural ivory. He added that he had wanted to create a sculpture of the queen for some time but couldn’t find a suitable sculptor to entrust with the task.

— I’ll have to trust my daughter-in-law’s skills.

— Leave it to me!

Full of enthusiasm, I left the bedroom to start planning the sculpture.

As I walked, estimating how many tools I had brought from Costonia, I happened to make direct eye contact with Amelia who was walking from the opposite direction.

— Have a pleasant evening, Amelia……”

I greeted her awkwardly and passed by. However, I could feel Amelia staring at the back of my head as if she had something to say. I turned around awkwardly and asked.

— Do you have something to say?

— Uh…… no, you **!

Amelia shouted with a reddened face. I stared at her with a suspicious expression.

I had begun to sense awkwardness in her behavior at some point.