Chapter 5: How Much She Resembles Her Father

The bonus of one hundred adena she was to receive for accompanying the princess to a meal with the grand duke. After sitting on pins and needles befitting that amount and attending to the princess’s meal, Fosa emerged with all her energy drained and her shoulders drooping.

‘I thought I was going to be eaten alive.’

She had been unable to eat properly because of the grand duke, who moved his knife as though he intended to carve her flesh with a hand large enough to cover her entire face.

It might sound like a joke, but she had almost put a piece of chicken into her nose. Truly.

After escaping that meal from hell and returning to her room, she found Jayti dividing the dried petals among thin cloth pouches.

“Oh? Where did you get the pouches?”

“The gardener gave them to me. They’re pouches used to store seeds, but when I told him we had nothing to put the dried petals in, he gave me a whole lot.”

Fosa knew how sociable Jayti was. She was someone whose attitude toward those around her was utterly sincere, to the point that she had memorized the names of everyone working in the western castle in a single day.

“Jayti, I think you’re truly remarkable.”

Fosa did not have an affable personality, and even her appearance was easily misunderstood, so people tended not to approach her readily. That was why Jayti’s ability to mingle so easily with others seemed both fascinating and remarkable.

“Oh, please don’t say that.”

The freckled cheeks of the small sixteen-year-old maid flushed pink. Along with a murmur of, “Really, my lady,” her hands moved even faster as she filled the pouches with dried petals.

Fosa rolled up her sleeves and crouched beside her. Then, as she filled an empty pouch with petals, she whispered.

“Let’s live together for the rest of our lives.”

“Of course, my lady!”

The maid smiled brightly. Fosa grinned along with her.

Martin watched Belisian elegantly drinking warm water. His mind was noisy because of the sudden change in his sister.

For him, who had intended to force her mouth open and feed her if she refused to eat again today, it was certainly a relief, but—

‘What on earth did Fosa Bedonio do?’

Throughout the meal, Belisian had eaten only the food her lady-in-waiting placed on her plate. They had even whispered so that only the two of them could hear, and she had asked her lady-in-waiting to eat something in her place or licked her lips while watching her eat.

It was only the second day since Fosa Bedonio had entered the castle.

He could not understand what had happened in that brief time to make his sister change so abruptly.

“Belisian, explain why you brought your lady-in-waiting to the meal.”

“That? It was nothing much. I wanted to see what Miss Bedonio could do for me.”

“And did you?”

“Yes. So I’m going to trust her just once.”

Martin was appalled, but he spoke without showing it.

“That woman cannot be trusted.”

Belisian slowly set down her cup. Her brother’s face, filled with worry and a little anger, looked particularly like her own.

“She won’t do anything foolish. Unless she is prepared to lose her life and see her family destroyed.”

“You say that because you do not know the Bedonios.”

Martin’s gaze suddenly turned cold. He did not like hearing his sister say she would trust someone who had been at her side for only a day.

Belisian decided to explain a little more to soothe her brother.

“Miss Bedonio turned out to be quite an honest person. She said she would reduce my waist circumference and asked for money.”

“Money?”

Wondering what this was supposed to mean, Martin recalled the count’s financial situation. According to his investigation, the family was not so impoverished that its only daughter needed to earn money.

He thought of Fosa as he had seen her in the audience chamber. He had seen nothing particularly problematic. He had merely been busy searching for whatever plan might be hidden behind her devious smile.

“She said she needed to save a lot of money. There is no more straightforward motive than that. And I can think for myself, so I won’t let my guard down completely.”

Belisian stared at her brother, who had begun stroking his eyebrow with a finger, then spoke.

“If you are that suspicious of Miss Bedonio, keep her close and investigate her.”

“Keeping her close may be even more dangerous.”

“Brother.”

The princess set down her empty cup with a short sigh and spoke.

“Look at the person herself, not the family she comes from. Just set aside a little of your strength, as you did when you made Zahid your aide.”

Martin pressed his lips shut without answering.

Hamet, who had been warming up at the main building’s training grounds in the center of the castle until his shift, stood facing Fosa, who had come to see him.

“What brings you here?”

He was a little flustered by the unannounced visit, but that was no reason to tell his visitor to leave.

He straightened his sweat-soaked tunic with his hands. Each time he moved, the muscles of his upper body showed briefly.

“Hello, Sir. To get straight to the point, I came to ask a small favor of you.”

Fosa held out two pouches of potpourri she had carefully selected and brought with her. His gaze touched the white pouches before moving away.

“You do not need to give me anything like this, my lady.”

“Your lover or parents would be pleased if you gave them these.”

“I have neither…… In any case, thank you.”

Muttering quietly, he accepted the pouches. Fosa looked at Hamet, whose forehead was still beaded with sweat because he had not yet cooled down, and spoke.

“I need a personalized exercise plan for Her Highness. I can manage her diet, but exercise is not my specialty.”

“If it is tailored to Her Highness, should I prepare something for maintaining an ordinary woman’s fitness?”

Fosa recalled Belisian saying that her ankles and knees hurt after even a short walk.

“No. Something like rehabilitation exercises for an elderly person with almost no muscle, while also maintaining an ordinary woman’s fitness.”

“Pardon?”

Hamet tilted his head, wondering what she meant. Fosa decided to explain a little more.

“She has little muscle because of frequent fasting. Even walking quickly drains her strength, so she first needs to use her stored energy and build muscle strength without overexerting herself.”

“That will not be easy.”

Hamet blinked slowly in thought, apparently unable to come up with a plan. Fosa firmly took his hand and spoke.

“You are the only knight I can rely on. Please, I’m counting on you.”

“Yes. Since it is for Her Highness, I will do my best.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

Fosa smiled with the corners of her mouth raised as high as they would go. Hamet flinched for an instant, quickly withdrew his captured hand, and asked.

“Will you perhaps be exercising with her, my lady? Should I take that into account as well?”

“Oh, no! I’m allergic to exercise.”

“Pardon? Is that not dangerous?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Fosa answered, “When I exercise, I experience symptoms of shortness of breath and tiring easily.”

Hamet reacted seriously, asking whether those were really symptoms of that, then laughed when he realized she meant she did not want to exercise.

A woman with dazzlingly beautiful long blond hair and a mysterious air of elegance.

Ella, the empire’s empress dowager and the current emperor’s biological mother, was looking down from the highest balcony of the main building.

Reflected in her blue eyes was Fosa Bedonio, leaving the training grounds with cheerful steps.

‘They said Count Bedonio’s daughter had become the princess’s lady-in-waiting.’

The political lifeline the late emperor had attached to Grand Duke Kalfried through his will.

The empress dowager watched Fosa all the way as she headed toward the princess’s castle, her red hair streaming behind her. Only after her figure disappeared completely into the connecting bridge did she withdraw her gaze.

“Sarah, did you say the princess has stopped fasting?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I am told she ate breakfast.”

“With such weak willpower…… Tsk.”

“It seems the new lady-in-waiting did something for the princess, but I could not confirm the details.”

“She is Bedonio’s child, so she must have done something.”

Having already returned inside, Ella sat on a long, soft sofa and lifted the teacup a maid had just brought. The tips of her long nails struck the cup with a sound.

“I should meet that lady-in-waiting. I must see how much she resembles her father.”

The empress dowager’s lady-in-waiting left the room, saying she would return shortly.

Left alone, Ella scooped some tea from the cup the maid had served with a teaspoon and placed it in the water dish of the caged canary. The small creature flew over with a chirp and busily moved its beak to drink the tea.

Only after some time had passed and she confirmed that the bird was unharmed did she close her eyes and savor the fragrance.

A faint smile settled around her mouth.

The bird cried out because the amount had been insufficient to quench its thirst. Its feeder was completely empty, as though it had never been given any food, and the empress dowager drank her tea, paying no heed to the small animal’s feeble cries.