Today, I returned to the duke’s residence later than usual after work.

As I was about to quickly go to my room to wash up and rest, a dark figure resembling a black leopard blocked my path.

“Back now, master?”

It was Carl, who was leaning against the wall next to the central staircase with his arms crossed.

“Oh? What’s this. Were you waiting for me?”

“I haven’t been able to see my busy master’s face lately.”

Carl approached slowly and bent slightly to gaze at my face.

I could feel his obsidian-like eyes examining me closely.

“You look tired.”

“Huh?”

“Seems like he’s making you work a lot.”

“Well… he does make me do quite a bit of miscellaneous work.”

Even though it wasn’t physically demanding, running various errands tended to make me oddly tired.

Carl, with a slightly displeased expression, straightened up and asked.

“You said you were serving the Crown Prince, right? How is it? Manageable?”

I poetically delivered my review.

“Looks pretty from afar.”

“……?”

“Looks like a dog up close.”

That’s the Crown Prince for you. I whispered, and Carl couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Ha… they’re making someone else’s master suffer.”

“I’m not entirely blameless in this.”

After all, because of the mission, I had to approach the Crown Prince anyway.

Carl, brushing his hair back slowly, spoke as if tossing out his words.

“Tell me if it becomes unbearable.”

“Why, are you going to scold him?”

“If that’s what you want, Master.”

His calm yet reassuring answer made the corners of my mouth twitch.

Carl always made me feel like I had someone on my side in these little ways.

For someone like me, who had lived a lonely life, he was truly the best bondservant.

“Still, I should handle it well so that you don’t have to step in. I’m the master who should set an example, after all.”

I smiled broadly, patted Carl’s shoulder, and climbed the stairs.

I was itching to lie down on the bed.

There’s some rule that people should lie in bed for at least a few hours a day or something.

Yawning as I walked up the stairs, I stumbled.

“Ah!”

I screamed as I felt myself falling backward, and Carl quickly approached, catching me by the waist.

“Wow, I almost cracked my skull.”

“You need to be careful.”

Frowning slightly as he looked down at me, he spoke as if making a decision.

“This won’t do, it’s too risky.”

“……?!”

The foot I awkwardly planted on the ground suddenly lifted into the air.

Carl had picked me up.

Startled, I clung to his shoulder and protested.

“W-what are you doing! Put me down!”

“You seem very tired, just stay like this. I’ll take you to your room.”

“No, it’s embarrassing!”

Although there was no one around at the moment, it would be quite damaging to my image if someone saw me being carried like a princess.

However, Carl responded as if he didn’t understand my concern.

“It’ll be comfortable.”

What nonsense. There’s no way being carried by someone could be comfortable…

‘Huh? It’s really comfortable?’

His embrace was as solid as an old oak tree and as comfortable as a bed that absorbed any shock.

Before I knew it, I relaxed and leaned against him, yet Carl climbed the stairs without showing any sign of strain.

“Here you go.”

In no time, he had brought me to my room and set me down.

I had even dozed off for a moment due to the stability, which made me feel a bit sheepish.

“Ahem, ahem! Thank you.”

“I’ll do it again tomorrow.”

“No, once is enough.”

I waved my hand dismissively.

I have my pride. Next time, I’ll definitely walk up on my own two feet.

* * *

Knock, knock.

Hearing the sound of knocking on the office door, Linus closed the book he was reading.

Not only that, but he also hid it under the desk as he faced the unexpected visitor.

“Linus, are you busy?”

“No, come in, Mother.”

The Empress, wearing a high-neck dress that reached up to her neck despite it being midsummer, entered.

“Let’s have some tea together.”

“Sounds good.”

Linus ordered a servant to bring out a tea set.

The Empress, wearing thick gloves, lifted a teacup.

“I met Miss Sharofe in the garden yesterday.”

Linus’s shoulder momentarily twitched at the seemingly trivial comment.

The Empress, not missing this, slightly curled her lips.

“Did you?”

“She’s a fresh and pretty young lady. Is she someone you fancy? She looks familiar somehow…”

Recalling the delicate, white face she had seen the previous day, the Empress tilted her head.

It was such a strangely familiar impression that she couldn’t just pass by without speaking.

Of course, it was also largely because she was interested in the rare young lady her prickly son had brought to his palace.

“Don’t misunderstand. She’s Dain’s cousin, so we’re acquainted, and she offered to help because I injured my arm.”

Linus, slightly frowning, denied it. The Empress, through the veil, sounded slightly surprised.

“You mean she’s the cousin of the Diart boy? Then…”

“Yes, I heard she’s the daughter of the late Lady Diart.”

“Oh my, she’s Diane’s daughter.”

The Empress, who had known Diane during her lifetime, covered her mouth with her hand.

Now she understood where her unique silver hair and sharp features came from.

“It seems the Sharofe family and the Duke of Diart family have started interacting again?”

“No, according to Dain, only that young lady is staying at Diart.”

“I see.”

The Empress, who was slow to social news due to her reclusiveness, nodded with interest.

Gazing silently at his mother, Linus slowly opened his mouth.

“How are you these days?”

Understanding immediately what he meant, the Empress paused for a moment.

“…It’s always the same.”

Her voice was tinged with bitterness.

A few years ago, she was attacked by followers of demons and contracted a terrible disease that covered her whole body in hives.

Neither the imperial physician, renowned for his skills, nor the doctors painstakingly brought from foreign countries could cure the disease.

Unable to bear her hideously changed appearance, the Empress shattered all the mirrors in her room.

And she withdrew from all public activities, keeping it a secret.

Of course, she planned to resume once the disease was cured, but there was no sign of that happening.

“I’m looking for a cure, so please wait a little longer.”

“There’s no need to trouble yourself, Linus. Because of your unworthy mother…”

“I don’t want to hear such words.”

Linus cut off his mother’s self-reproaching words sharply.

As the illness dragged on, her spirit also deteriorated.

The confident and kind demeanor she once had vanished, and she lived as if she were guilty of some crime.

Linus knew the real reason his mother had become like this.

‘It’s because of Father.’

When the Empress’s face, once famous for its beauty, was ruined, his father, the Emperor, criticized and distanced himself from her.

He said he couldn’t even sit next to her because her appearance was so repulsive.

Instead of comforting her, he poured out harsh criticisms, so it was only natural for the Empress’s self-esteem to plummet.

Even the imperial consorts mocked her, calling her the ‘Ghost Empress.’

They said they couldn’t tell if she was there or not since even the Emperor didn’t seek her out.

‘I must find a way to cure Mother’s illness.’

After seeing his mother off, Linus fell into deep thought.

For a while, it felt like he was walking through an endlessly long tunnel, but recently, he was starting to find some clues about a treatment.

However…

‘I must not get caught with this book until then.’

His gaze turned to the red book with a leather cover.

The book, without a cover or title, was actually a banned book designated by the Emperor.

Written by a heretical scholar, it contained research on demons, which landed it on the forbidden books list.

Thanks to it, he found a way to treat the disease that was like a demon’s curse, but if he were caught possessing it, even the Crown Prince could be punished.

With a complicated expression, he let out a low sigh, when a lively voice came from behind.

“Your Highness, I’m here.”

It was Shailyn.

She smiled brightly, wearing a flowing chiffon dress.

Facing her directly, Linus strangely remembered what his mother had said.

‘She’s a fresh and pretty young lady. Is she someone you fancy?’

It was likely a comment made with the intention of teasing her son, who rarely let any woman close.

But somehow, it lingered in his mind, prompting a more formal greeting than usual.

“Yes.”

“What can I help you with today? Oh, should I tidy up your desk?”

Seeing the slightly cluttered desk, Shailyn approached willingly and reached out her hand.

Startled by her picking up the forbidden book, Linus raised his voice.

“Don’t touch that book!”

“Yes?”

Thud!

Rushing over, he pressed down on the book, brushing away Shailyn’s hand.

Her eyes shook at the unexpected intense reaction. She stepped back two or three steps and bowed her head.

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“…It’s fine. Just organize the bookshelf over there today.”

“Yes.”

Her small shoulders seemed slightly drooped as she quietly turned away, which bothered Linus.