“Your Highness is good in every way, but you’ve always had a problem of getting excessively absorbed when you focus on something. Ever since you said you were entering the palace, the Duchess has been so worried. You even skip meals like this when you’re preoccupied.”

She replaced her nagging with the reason she had brought sandwiches.

“If there’s anything I can help with, please let me know anytime. Though I might not be of much help.”

Bernice shrugged her shoulders as she said the last part.

“You’re already being plenty helpful.”

“Then maybe you don’t trust me.”

She replied with a slightly sulky voice.

“That I don’t trust you? How could that be?”

Karina became serious. There was no reason not to trust Bernice, of all people. They had grown up together like sisters since childhood. Moreover, in her previous life, Bernice had unhesitatingly stood in Lloyd’s way even at the final moment. In the end, that’s why she had died before Karina.

Bernice was the person Karina trusted most in the world. Perhaps she relied on her even more than her parents.

“But lately you’ve been constantly hiding something.”

Bernice, having been with Karina for a long time, knew her well too. She seemed to sense that Karina had changed somehow from before.

“Bernice, that’s…”

She opened her mouth but didn’t know what to say. That I’ve come back three years in time? That I saw you die before my eyes three years later? Either way, the words wouldn’t come out.

It wasn’t that she thought Bernice wouldn’t believe her. She just didn’t want to make her aware of the terrible things that had happened. Rather, she was considering whether it would be better to send her away from the palace first. She thought it was because she had brought her into the palace that Bernice had ended up dying too.

“Don’t you miss your siblings?”

When she suddenly changed the subject, Bernice looked at her with an expression that seemed to say, ‘What nonsense is this?’

“Your siblings, they’re still young.”

“But they’re already thirteen and fifteen. Soon we’ll hear they’re having their coming-of-age ceremonies.”

“Wouldn’t it be better for you to be by their side rather than staying with me in the palace?”

“Why are you suddenly saying this? I like being by Your Highness’s side.”

Bernice answered seriously. Having spent more time with Karina than with her siblings since childhood, it was natural in a way.

“Why are you saying such things? Could it be that you find my presence uncomfortable?”

Her expression darkened, as if she had thought through everything. Karina quickly shook her head and grasped Bernice’s hand.

“It’s not like that. It’s just that this place… inside the imperial palace is more… than I thought.”

The word ‘dangerous’ rolled to the tip of her tongue but was swallowed. If she said that, Bernice would insist on staying by her side even more.

“It’s stifling. I thought you should meet good people and have opportunities, but I wonder if you don’t even have those chances here.”

The excuse she came up with sounded pitiful even to her own ears. Bernice laughed too, saying there was no need to worry about such things.

“Surprisingly, you can do everything inside the palace too. When two or three maids gather, they’re busy gossiping about who’s handsome, who they saw secretly meeting whom. Life is similar everywhere people live, after all.”

As she was saying this, she frowned as if something had occurred to her.

“Oh, by the way, I wish you would refrain from meeting with Sir Kai.”

“Sir Kai?”

Karina just blinked at the mention of Aidan’s knight.

“There’s a group spreading ridiculous rumors that Your Highness has taken a liking to Sir Kai. I guess they’re having strange thoughts because Sir Kai has been coming and going here lately.”

Bernice grimaced, wondering what kind of brain one must have to imagine such things. Karina also let out a sigh. It seems that his coming and going to report on the attack investigation appeared that way to others’ eyes.

“Moreover, there are whispers that someone saw you practicing dance with Sir Kai.”

It was true that they had practiced dancing, but Aidan had been there too. Yet people only saw what they wanted to see and gossiped as they pleased.

“I don’t know why they like to gossip about others so much. Don’t they have anything better to do?”

As she listened to Bernice grumbling on her behalf, Karina laughed weakly, then suddenly paused as something occurred to her.

‘They’re even saying nonsense like the princess consort might be replaced, it makes me want to tear their hair out!’

Previously, Bernice had similarly vented her anger in front of Karina like this. It was when she reported that Kate Spencer was going in and out of Aidan’s bedroom daily to nurse him.

‘One of the maids who used to tidy His Highness’s bedroom suddenly stopped coming out, they say she might have been fired. They’re saying Miss Spencer must have disliked her.’

She had dismissed it at the time, but thinking about it now, it seemed strange. Aidan had fired a maid who tidied his bedroom? Just because Kate Spencer found her bothersome? Were the Aidan and Kate that Karina knew the type to do such a thing? Could it be…?

Karina quickly ran her finger down the list on the table. Her finger stopped in the middle of the list, where the name of the maid who tidied Aidan’s bedroom was written.

*

The banquet was a day away. Late in the evening after dinner, the physician changed Aidan’s bandages and checked his wounds.

“Fortunately, it’s healing well, but you should still be careful not to put any strain on the wound area.”

He repeated the same words out of habit, visiting every other day. Aidan nodded halfheartedly and buttoned up his shirt.

“You have something like painkillers here too, right?”

“Painkillers?”

It might have sounded strange, but the physician focused only on the word ‘painkillers’.

“I’ve already mixed herbs that alleviate pain into the medicine Your Highness is taking. Is the pain severe?”

“It’s bearable for now, but I’d like to have some other painkillers just in case for tomorrow.”

At Aidan’s request, the physician stared at his abdomen. In fact, it was quite a deep wound. When he first saw the wound, he was worried whether his consciousness would return. However, his consciousness returned faster than expected, and instead of complaining that it hurt terribly, he even occasionally cracked jokes with good humor. But when disinfecting the wound, it was visible that he was gritting his teeth and suppressing groans.

He wasn’t fine, he was just enduring well. If no one else, the physician accurately understood his condition.

“Do you really have to attend the banquet? In my opinion, I’d prefer if you didn’t overexert yourself as much as possible. If necessary, I can submit a medical opinion to His Majesty.”

Lying still and pretending to be fine was a completely different matter from getting up, moving around, and even dancing at a banquet. The physician was quite skeptical about whether Aidan could really attend the banquet.

“I’ll attend.”

It wasn’t a question of whether he could or couldn’t. At Aidan’s firm answer, the physician swallowed a groan. No matter how much he tried to dissuade him, his answer was set.

“I’d appreciate it if you could get me some strong painkillers.”

Aidan looked at the physician and grinned. He couldn’t understand why Aidan was asking for strong painkillers when he was already pushing himself too much.

“I’ll send someone early tomorrow morning.”

“If possible, in a form that’s easy to take anytime. Something like a decoction would be inconvenient to carry around.”

The physician became even more worried at those additional words.

“Strong medicines can have side effects. They might cause nausea or dizziness, so it’s better not to take them if possible.”

“Okay.”

Unlike the serious physician, Aidan replied lightly. The physician swallowed a rising sigh. He was somehow different from the Aidan he had known since childhood. He wondered if this was really the same person who used to tremble and refuse to leave his room for a while, claiming someone was trying to kill him even for a small scratch.

“I’ll say it once more, but please be absolutely careful not to reopen the wound…”

“That’s enough, you’ve said plenty. Any more and it’s just nagging.”

Although he was speaking with a smiling face, there was a strange pressure. The physician swallowed a groan and bowed his head, stepping back. Just then, there was a knock at the bedroom door.

“The imperial dressmaker has brought the completed formal wear for the banquet.”