I Became The Younger Sister Of A Dying Woman - Chapter 58

58. Warehouse of Memories

“…..Who’s insulting me? Why is my ear so itchy?”

I lightly pressed my ear. I couldn’t scratch my ear openly in the presence of people.

“Your Highness, do you mind if I leave it here?”

The newly bought pink dressing table caught my eye and pleased me.

“A little more to the right.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

With my arms crossed, I watched the workers decorating Hernan’s chamber.

They were the workers I had requested from Letty.

The first thing they did early in the morning was to change the wallpaper to something elegant.

And now they were bringing in the newly purchased furniture.

‘Now that the bedroom is almost ready, I think I’ll take a look at the hallway.’

A crimson carpet had been laid in the hallway, which hadn’t been there before.

And in various spots along the hallway were splendid decorations.

I had received them from Viscount Flan.

“Now it feels like a place where people live. Hehe.”

I wonder if there’s anything else to steal… I mean, receive.

Viscount Flan isn’t the only vassal of Hernan’s, there are two more. Snicker.

I grinned like a villain and stretched.

I hadn’t slept properly, and waking up early in the morning made me truly tired.

My legs were shaky.

Since the bedchamber would probably be organized by this evening, I felt like resting somewhere else for now.

With the knights, maids, and Mini in tow, I settled in an empty room near the bedchamber.

Hernan had gone to a political meeting as usual.

I lay down on the bed in the empty room.

I wasn’t going to fall asleep right away. I was going to fall asleep reading a book I had brought with me from my room.

The title of the book was “Regarding Apophis.”

Due to its grandiose title, I wouldn’t usually touch a book like this….

“It’s good to know about Apophis.”

I opened the book.

⌜…The time when Apophis, who founded the Kleman Empire, disappeared is quite accurately documented.⌟

It was a year after the death of Empress Leona.

Apophis had married numerous individuals, yet he wasn’t a lecherous dragon.

His many marriages were driven solely by political reasons.

To further subjugate the various small states that had become part of the Kleman Empire.

However, even amid all this, there was one woman he truly loved. That woman was none other than Leona…

Oh-ho, a dragon who knew love.

How romantic.

Leona, the only woman Apophis ever loved.

According to the book, she didn’t suffer from any major illnesses. She simply passed away at a young age due to frail health.

Without any major illnesses, but still unwell…

‘…Similar to me.’

Anyway, after her death, Apophis spent a year stabilizing the empire, determining his successor, and then abdicated the throne.

It’s said that his speech upon abdicating the throne was quite famous.

⌜Listen. Though I may step down from the forefront, it doesn’t mean I will leave this place forever.

I will create a refuge that no one can enter and watch over all of you.

If you hate each other and commit murder once again, I will personally descend and punish you. ⌟

The key phrase here was the “refuge.”

For that place was what is today called the royal archives of the Imperial Palace.

It is said that Apophis settled there and wrote several books himself.

⌜…… So, in a way, the Royal Archives were similar to Apophis’s memories. ⌟

A warehouse of memories.

All I had been interested in were the materials related to health recovery in the library.

However, after learning about the history of the archive, I became curious about the other books there.

I can’t wait to get to the Royal archives to find out.

“……What about Illiya’s case?”

I sat up from where I had been lying down.

I had been so engrossed in the book that the drowsiness that had surged like waves vanished as if by magic.

For some reason, my energy had even been restored.

“I must go to the West Palace myself.”

Go and see it with my own eyes, to find out what it’s like there.

Consider how to handle the whole situation with Illiya.

And confirm just how splendid Illiya’s aide, as mentioned by Mini, is.

…Being curious about how handsome the advisor is, is definitely not the top priority.

***

I was walking to the West Palace with Mini, the palace maids, and some knights.

Originally, I had planned to go with Hernan.

However, Hernan, who had briefly returned, mentioned that he had a lot of work to attend to today.

When I offered to go with the knights to the West Palace, Hernan said he would send someone in his place.

“……Forgive me for being late in introducing myself. My name is Jackson, the vice commander of the Olive Knights.”

Jackson. Hernan’s replacement.

“Nice to meet you.”

I exchanged a brief greeting.

The memory of Jackson and his knights treating me as a strange woman came to mind.

But the reason I couldn’t completely ignore him was because he was quite handsome.

Jackson had a slightly tanned complexion from the sun, and he had a thick-jawed handsome face.

Do they select their knight recruits based on looks? I wonder.

I still believe in the saying that the face is the mirror of the heart.

Handsome as he was, Jackson’s face had the same harmless glow as Hernan’s.

I thought the chances of someone like him plotting something bad were close to one percent.

Innocent Jackson, attending to the innocent Hernan.

A truly fitting combination.

I couldn’t possibly dislike Jackson in the least.

If he thought it was weird that he had never met me, it was probably because Hernan was so worried about me.

After exchanging greetings with Jackson, I walked on in silence.

I hoped my legs would be fine by the time we would reach the West Palace.

The Eastern Palace and the Western Palace were a bit far from each other, but it was an awkward distance for riding a carriage.

I hoped my legs would hold up until I reached the Western Palace.

Walking slowly and occasionally stumbling, I sneezed a few times.

Although I couldn’t see any flower gardens near the Western Palace, my nose oddly felt itchy.

I wondered if there was a hidden flower garden somewhere.

“Um…”

It was Jackson’s voice, following closely behind me.

“Yes?”

“I humbly apologize for my initial negative thoughts about Your Highness.”

“I heard that from Hernan.”

“But after observing Your Highness for a few days, I realized I was mistaken. Since we’ve met like this, I wanted to express my apologies.”

I turned to look at Jackson.

“Explain why you changed your mind.”

“His Highness Hernan’s face has brightened.”

“Again.”

“The intensity of the training has decreased. Perhaps because he’s more at ease.”

“Again!”

“…We also grew fond of Your Highness’s nickname.”

Are they talking about George and Bush?

It was a pleasing answer.

“Well, well. I’m really sincere about Hernan’s Highness. If you misunderstood that, it would be very troublesome.”

Jackson’s gaze, which had been soft and sorrowful as he looked at me, suddenly sharpened.

“I ask that you take good care of his Highness Hernan in the future.”

It was a sincere request. I could tell how much Jackson respected Hernan.

If Jackson had shown an attitude of ignoring Hernan, I would have treated him harshly like the other vassals.

“Only with words?”

“That… … What should I do?”

“Hmm. For now, I don’t have any immediate requests. Help me when I need it later.”

“Of course.”

“Enough chit-chat let’s hurry up and go. We’re almost there.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

As I walked and talked with Jackson, we had already arrived at the entrance to the Western Palace.

I looked up at the overgrown Western Palace covered in ivy.

‘Mini said the Western Palace was eerie, and it really is.’

The Western Palace was filled with an ancient atmosphere.

It wouldn’t be strange if something other than a person popped out from somewhere.

Mini walked ahead and confidently knocked on the entrance gate of the Western Palace.

“Hello? Her royal Highness is here!”

***

The interior of the Western Palace had a similar atmosphere to the outside.

Melancholic, desolate, and lonely…

I thought Hernan’s Eastern Palace was the most modest, but the Western Palace had even fewer decorations.

There weren’t even many lanterns lit, making the corridors feel dark even though it was the middle of the day.

We were following a maid from the gloomy Western Palace to meet Illiya’s aide.

Illiya was a prince who even declined meetings with the emperor and empress.

It seemed unlikely he would meet me right away.

‘Could I bribe the attendant well enough to meet Illiya?’

Just then, a maid from the West Palace, who had gone ahead of us, announced our arrival at the door.

“Mr. Mercy. Her Royal Highness Linzel has arrived.”

There was no immediate response.

Instead, after about two seconds, the closed door swung open wide.

As the door opened, I was startled by the man who appeared through it.

“……Heuk!”

It was because the man who had appeared was dazzling to the eyes.

Everything about the man, from his handsome appearance to his surroundings, was radiant.

Reddish-orange irises, lips even redder than mine, platinum blonde hair neatly swept back.

Earrings dangled from his ears, and multiple rings adorned his hands.

The black formal attire the man was wearing was adorned with various accessories.

What was impressive was that all this extravagance didn’t seem odd or off-putting.

It strangely seemed harmonious.

But even so, I didn’t feel any fondness towards him.

Somehow, it felt like I needed to be cautious around him?

In other words, the man was like a dazzling but poisonous flower.

Drawn to his beauty, approaching him would mean falling victim to his poison.

There was no exaggeration in Mini’s astonishment at the man’s radiance.

Now, I finally understood Mini’s sentiments.

The man bowed respectfully.

“I was not expecting a personal visit from Your Royal Highness. I am Mercy, an aide to His Highness Illiya.”

After finishing his greeting, the man straightened his posture.

Meeting his golden eyes was like being caught in a spell, my mouth went dry.

“……Mercy the aide. Nice to meet you, too.”

Mercy responded with a faint smile.

“Please come in.”