In the infirmary, the senior court physicians who had arrived earlier were discussing something serious. Irina stood beside them and listened.

“…so the atmosphere in the palace is tense right now. Don’t draw attention to yourself and stay quiet. One wrong move and your head could roll.”

They were saying someone had tried to kill Maverick the Royal Guard Commander and then planned to kill the king and queen next. Apparently some elder marquis had been arrested. It must have been because of that incident. Some count was also involved.

It seemed Maverick had already uncovered the conspiracy and made arrests. Irina listened intently to the information from right beside them.

“If I had worked that night, I might have run into the assassin.”

One physician shuddered, saying it had originally been their shift.

“Who covered for you then?”

“Who else?”

When someone needed a night shift covered, it was always Irina. This had become an accepted truth in the infirmary.

“Why does Irina work so many shifts like a miser… wait, now that I think about it, I haven’t seen her for several days.”

“Me neither…!”

Suddenly the seniors started making a fuss. They claimed they hadn’t seen her since that night.

Irina was exasperated as she stood right beside them listening. She knew she had a faint presence, but this was too much.

“What…?”

A senior who had been organizing reports in the corner and hadn’t joined the conversation suddenly jumped up.

“That’s impossible!”

He shouted with a face that looked like the world was ending.

Now they’re treating me like I’m dead.

“Ahem. Hem.”

Irina cleared her throat. Normally, they would have turned at the sound and asked how long she’d been there. But the physicians were too confused to hear Irina’s throat clearing.

“Were the knights searching so desperately because someone really died?”

“But there were no reports of bodies other than the assassins.”

“They must be keeping it secret!”

“Then could Irina really be…!”

“AHEM, HEM! HEM!!”

Irina cleared her throat so forcefully it hurt.

“Irina couldn’t possibly… Irina!”

One senior who had been wearing an expression of total loss finally spotted Irina and shouted.

“You’re alive!”

“Irina!”

They all patted her shoulders, saying how fortunate it was that she hadn’t died. Irina wasn’t sure if they were teasing her, the youngest member for two years, or if they were genuinely this clueless.

“I’m so relieved, Irina.”

The senior who had been most shocked by her supposed death spoke.

“But Irina.”

Irina became wary of the senior’s hesitant manner, as if there was something they wanted to say.

Could this senior, who was so unobservant they couldn’t even tell if a person was present, have somehow noticed that her mole had disappeared?

Irina felt her mouth going dry with anxiety. As the senior’s lips parted wider, her eyes grew larger.

“If you’re free when the market opens this time…”

“I’m working that day.”

Irina answered before the senior could finish. The senior turned away with a sad face, saying they had expected as much.

Though Irina understood the senior’s feelings, she firmly declined. She wasn’t interested in someone so skinny. Not that she preferred bear-like men with large builds and lots of muscle like Bill either.

“You’re too harsh, Irina.”

“You should at least listen to the end.”

The other seniors who had been watching secretly each added a comment.

“The real rudeness was you all declaring me dead while I’m perfectly alive.”

When Irina shot back, the seniors apologized awkwardly, saying they were sorry.

They hadn’t meant to bully their junior intentionally. They genuinely failed to notice her presence quite often.

Irina had a strangely faint presence. This despite being quite beautiful when observed closely.

But that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Irina hated drawing attention. She had mastered the art of making her already faint impression even fainter and used it to her advantage.

Just then, a maid appeared and knocked on the open infirmary door. She was one of the Queen’s maids. The court physicians bowed their heads in greeting when they saw her.

“Is Irina here? Has Irina arrived?”

“Yes, I’m here.”

The maid nodded as Irina approached.

“The Queen’s throat seems a bit swollen.”

Irina gathered her bag, saying she would go immediately.

The biggest benefit of Irina’s now-you-see-me-now-you-don’t presence was that the Queen preferred Irina’s care over the other court physicians.

Irina bowed her head as she entered the Queen’s bedroom. Then she bowed once more before the Queen, who was sitting on a sofa in her nightgown.

The Queen gave her a gentle smile before continuing her conversation with the maid.

“…so I told him. But he wouldn’t listen at all. Isn’t that too much?”

“Men are all like that.”

“Indeed, Your Majesty. No matter how many times I tell my husband something, it goes in one ear and out the other.”

“Excuse me for a moment.”

Irina gently examined the inside of the Queen’s mouth with the medical tools she had taken from her bag.

The Queen listened to what another maid was saying while keeping her mouth open. When Irina stepped back, the Queen spoke again.

“He claims everything he does is for the Queen’s sake, with his fancy words.”

Irina laid out the medicines from her bag beside the Queen. With the throat slightly swollen, she would need this herb and that herb.

No matter how much Irina ground herbs into powder beside them or poured them into paper pouches, no one paid her any attention. They didn’t even notice what she was doing.

“He’s always been like that, but lately I really don’t know what he’s thinking. He says he’ll marry eventually, but meeting women is troublesome? What does that even mean?”

Irina handed the paper pouch of powdered medicine to the nearest maid.

“Your Majesty’s throat is slightly swollen. I’ve prescribed medicine, please serve it after meals.”

As Irina rose from her seat saying she would withdraw now, the Queen finally turned to look at her.

“Oh my, are you finished already?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“When other court physicians examine my throat, I can barely suppress my gag reflex, but with Irina, I never even notice when you start or finish.”

The Queen sought out Irina specifically because her examinations were so unobtrusive, as if they were hardly happening at all.

“Thank you for your hard work, Irina.”

The Queen smiled a smile that seemed to melt like snow. As Irina left the bedroom feeling proud, she thought about how neither the seniors nor anyone else had noticed that she had concealed her mole with makeup.

“If I just avoid Sir Maverick, I should be fine somehow.”

Irina felt confident. Supporting that confidence, nothing happened to her for quite some time.

At one point, knights did burst into the infirmary looking for a blonde woman with a teardrop mole.

“Brown hair and no teardrop mole. You may pass.”

Irina was questioned because she had been working that night, but she was cleared because she didn’t match the description.

Poor Violetta was taken in by the Royal Guard just for being blonde, though she returned quickly.

“What did the Royal Guard say to you?”

Irina carefully asked Violetta, feeling guilty. Violetta’s expression twisted strangely.

“Well, I was taken there, but as soon as Sir Maverick saw my face, he said I wasn’t the one.”

That was the end of it. Unlike Violetta, who seemed slightly disappointed, Irina was relieved. She was glad Violetta hadn’t suffered any hardship because of her.

I hope he forgets my face.

Irina hoped, but Maverick was a persistent man. Despite turning the palace upside down several times, he continued to search diligently.

As a result, the palace atmosphere grew increasingly tense, and complaints erupted from people who had been taken in for questioning. Eventually, King Ashin had to step in for those suffering.

“Sir Maverick, stop chasing this phantom assassin.”

Rumors spread about how much Maverick had protested, but it was fortunate for Irina. Since the king had told him to stop, Maverick couldn’t do anything more.

A month passed in an atmosphere more tense than during the war. Once Maverick quieted down, things couldn’t have been more peaceful.

It seems this matter is finally settling down. Just as Irina was beginning to relax, the Queen summoned her. This time, the reason was slight stomach discomfort.

When Irina arrived, the Queen gave her the usual gentle smile before focusing on her conversation.

“Do you know how much my mother and father have been pestering me to try and convince you?”

It wasn’t the maid the Queen usually spoke with. No, it wasn’t a maid at all—it was Maverick Pride.

After trying so hard to avoid him, to run into him here so suddenly!

Irina was so startled she nearly fled the reception room immediately.

Barely collecting herself, Irina approached the Queen with her head bowed as low as possible. She carefully kept her back turned to Maverick so he couldn’t see her face.

“Stop making that sulky face and try to consider my position too.”

The Queen frowned as she spoke to Maverick, apparently upset about something.

“Ignore what the Duke and Duchess are saying, Your Majesty.”

Maverick answered in an annoyed tone.

“How can I ignore them, Sir Maverick?”

“There’s no reason you can’t ignore them. Just let it go in one ear and out the other.”

Maverick sat on the sofa across from the Queen with his arms crossed and his head tilted defiantly.