Chapter 8 – Danger Quietly Under Happiness (Part 1)

Ria’s medicine was more effective than expected. Despite having gone through a serious situation, her attending physician described her rapid recovery as a miracle, saying she could be fully healthy in about a month.

The problem was that the added ingredients made the medicine taste much more bitter, likely because they thought her body needed to be supplemented with good herbs during such times.

Unable to avoid taking it, Ria, who had been staring at the medicine for a long time, finally held her breath and drank it all at once.

“Bitter…”

As the strong bitterness seemed to numb her tongue and made her frown, Eden immediately fed her a sweet cake. Initially, the taste was odd as it mixed with the bitterness, but as the sweet cream flavor deepened, her frown gradually eased.

Seeing her chew the cake well, the four people around her smiled warmly. After such an incident, they realized how precious such daily moments were. The mansion became warm again, as if spring had returned, with her more frequent smiles and brightened atmosphere.

So they momentarily forgot.

“Your Grace, Marchioness Rosevita has come to visit.”

There was another person who desperately wished for Ria to wake up.

“Ria!”

Before Rune could respond to the butler’s whisper, Serena arrived in the garden where they were. It felt like a similar situation had happened before.

“Serena?”

Ria, who widened her eyes at the sudden hug, soon recognized the familiar scent and identified her. It was the same scent that always came with Serena’s letters.

“I never thought I’d meet you like this… I’m sorry for coming without notice. But I couldn’t help but rush over when I heard you woke up. Are you okay now?”

Although Rune was the master of the mansion, Serena naturally apologized to Ria. No one pointed it out.

“Yes, I’m okay now.”

“Are we invisible to the Marchioness?”

As Ria nodded to reassure Serena, Cherta interjected with a grumpy voice. A bright smile, like a newly bloomed rose, spread across Serena’s face.

“Oh my, I thought you didn’t know since you didn’t contact me when Ria woke up. I never dreamed you’d be here together.”

“That’s…”

“I understand. Ria woke up, so who would have the mind to contact anyone? No matter how meticulous and thorough you are, such mistakes can happen. Do you think I wouldn’t understand that?”

Then she released Ria from her embrace and greeted them with elegant noble etiquette.

“Serena Rosevita, head of the loyal Rosevita Marquis family. I greet you belatedly.”

She straightened up without erasing her smile.

“I was also too preoccupied when I heard Ria woke up, so I hope you understand. Even the great Crown Prince and the two Dukes of the Empire make mistakes, so how could I be perfect?”

It was her way of saying she understood they were too preoccupied to inform her and hoped they would understand her rushing over without notice.

In fact, they, who had higher power and status, could have ignored her words. They could have asserted their authority. But with Ria there, and her being Ria’s favorite friend, they couldn’t do that.

They didn’t want to risk upsetting Ria. So, even if they were annoyed by the interruption, there was nothing they could do.

Serena, being perceptive, likely knew this. Her current actions were a sort of experiment to see how far she could go in front of Ria and what would be tolerated.

‘Just being smart…’

They realized, responding with a charming smile to her sharp gaze, that the Marchioness would likely continue to be a significant obstacle in their relationship with Ria.

***

Unfortunately, their sharp intuition was correct.

“Where is Ria?”

“I heard she’s having tea time with the Marchioness in the Duke’s garden.”

Despite the sudden question, the butler replied calmly, accustomed to Cherta’s frequent inquiries. It had become a routine for the butler to keep track of Ria’s schedule due to Cherta’s constant questions.

“Again?”

Cherta lifted his head from the documents he was buried in. The butler bowed his head slightly in response to Cherta’s frown.

“Sigh…”

‘It would be nice if it were wrong at least once.’ 

Cherta sighed and roughly ran his hand through his hair.

Since that day, Ria’s meetings with the Marchioness had become frequent, almost constant. Every time he asked about her, the answer was always the same: she was with the Marchioness!

Even the replies to his letters, sent out of longing, were filled with mentions of the Marchioness—what they did together, what they talked about, every sentence had ‘the Marchioness’ in it.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say there were no words of missing him or encouraging him; really, more than half of the content was about the Marchioness!

Cherta put down the quill he was using to sign documents and approached the window. Opening it, he saw the bright, peaceful scenery with warm sunlight, gentle breeze, and birds chirping beautifully.

It was a perfect day for tea time in the garden with Ria.

“Why am I here then?”

‘Is the Marchioness not busy? Why are they always together?’ 

His expression, contrasting with the sunny weather, darkened.

As the Crown Prince of a country, he couldn’t afford to be idle. His schedule and the documents he needed to handle filled his day completely.

Moreover, the work that had piled up during the days Ria was unconscious had caught up with him, making him even busier recently. No matter how quickly he tried to finish, it never seemed to end.

“It’s hard to even have a meal together.”

“……”

“Even when I finish my work, there’s more.”

“……”

“Should I have brought her to the palace after all?”

Hearing his endless complaints, the butler couldn’t show his thoughts outwardly and only shook his head inwardly. It would be better if he worked during this time. The saying that late bloomers are more intense seemed to perfectly describe his master.

During work, he never thought of anything else, especially not about women. But now, just a warm cup of tea and snacks made him think of Ria, a gentle breeze made him think of Ria, and even blooming flowers made him think of Ria.

‘He’s even jealous of the Marchioness, who is of the same gender as Ria…’

The butler never thought he’d see his master jealous, let alone in this way. He sighed inwardly and thought of a solution to this situation.

‘What did they say to do at times like this?’

Recently, while keeping track of Ria’s schedule, he had become acquainted with the head butlers of the Astina and Carlisle households, who occasionally shared good tips. Some included ways to get their masters to work immediately using various excuses.

“I apologize for interrupting, Your Highness.”

Turning towards Cherta by the window, the butler clasped his hands and bowed his head respectfully.

“I heard that Lady Ria said she finds people who work hard very attractive.”

As expected, Cherta quickly returned to his seat and picked up the quill again.

The butler, seeing how well the method worked, brightened his eyes as he continued. Sometimes, appropriate incentives are needed for efficiency.

“And the documents on your desk are the last of today’s workload, including the backlog. Once you finish them, you’ll be done.”

“Then this will clear all the backlog?”

“Yes. These are the ones that require Your Highness’s review. The rest have been handled by Albert.”

“Having a competent aide was indeed a good decision.”

Satisfied with his master’s voice, the butler remained silent. There was no need for Cherta to know about Albert’s dark circles reaching down to his jaw from overwork.

Once again, the sound of papers being flipped and the quill moving filled the office. The documents on the desk quickly diminished at a different pace than before.

It wasn’t long before he finished all his work.