“Where are Rachie’s attending maids?!”

At Father’s thundering shout, a few of the maids trailing behind the servants hesitated and stepped forward. Among them, one young maid stood out in particular. It was ‘Sofia.’ Sofia, with the adorable rosy flush on her freckled cheeks, had been my personal maid during my time at the Grand Ducal Household.

She stood out in my memory because she was the only one who had genuinely and wholeheartedly attended to me during the time when even the servants looked down on me for being a bastard.

“What were you doing instead of properly looking after your mistress while she ended up like this?”

“I am so sorry, High Priest! It is my responsibility for failing to properly care for the princess.”

Sofia prostrated herself flat on the floor to beg forgiveness. As she pressed her hands neatly together above her forehead, her sleeve slid up slightly. Both Arbo and I recoiled in shock at the parade of bruises visible on Sofia’s arm.

Father also trembled at the sight of the bruises marking the maid’s arm. He looked consumed not just by anger, but by self-reproach.

“Everyone, roll up your sleeves!”

Father ground his teeth and issued the command to the servants. The servants, who had been glancing nervously at Norman and standing at a loss, began hesitantly rolling up their sleeves under Father’s withering gaze. What came into view was truly wretched.

‘That bastard Norman was laying hands on my maids.’

Only my personal maids, Sofia included, bore bruises on their bodies. My jaw trembled at the rage that crashed over me like a tidal wave. Just then, a gentle hand reached out and touched my shaking body.

I turned my head and saw Arbo. He was carefully patting my shoulder to calm me down.

“Th, this is not something I did!”

Norman made his excuses. But the sight of only my personal maids being singled out for *buse was plain for anyone to see, and Father squeezed his eyes shut.

In most noble households, it was common practice to physically discipline servants under the pretext of punishment. But this was the household of the sacred High Priest.

If the servants were to let it slip outside that *buse was taking place in the Aedis household, people would surely whisper that the cruelty of the Aedis family was no different from that of ordinary nobles.

On top of that, if word got out that only the maids assigned to me, a bastard child, had been abused, there would be no greater disgrace than that.

“Norman. Your shortsightedness nearly brought shame upon the Aedis household.”

Father’s trembling voice carried a faint trace of magical energy. Even though it was a meager amount, the servants and Norman all began to shake.

“As if the strange rumors circulating because you failed to manifest your magic were not enough, you dare pull something like this!”

“Fa, Father……”

“If this matter spreads, people will say you are keeping Rachie in check because you could not manifest your magic! With such little foresight, how do you expect to lead the Aedis household?!”

“I, I was wrong. I am sorry, Father!”

Only then did Norman bow his head before Father. Arbo looked at Norman with contempt, his expression twisting with disdain. The hand Arbo had placed on my shoulder tightened ever so slightly.

“Norman, the authority of the next household head that I entrusted to you is hereby suspended until further notice! Reflect on your conduct!”

“Fa, Father……!”

“If something like this happens again in the Grand Ducal Household, it will not end here. Let everyone take heed!”

“Yes, yes! High Priest. We will take heed!”

The servants, now sharply disciplined, answered in unison.

“You, take Rachie to her bedroom.”

Father exhaled a labored breath, seemingly drained even from that small exertion of magic, and spoke to Sofia, who was still kneeling on the floor.

“Your Imperial Highness, I apologize, but I am not feeling well and will take my leave first.”

“Understood, High Priest.”

Father gave Arbo a silent nod of farewell, then fixed Norman with a hard stare. Under the wordless pressure to follow, Norman’s face drained of all color as he scrambled after Father on trembling legs.

Sofia rose on numb knees and moved to support me. But my body kept swaying, and it put Sofia in a difficult spot over and over again.

“I will carry the princess.”

Just as Sofia was struggling, Arbo’s voice came at exactly the right moment.

“Pardon the intrusion.”

With those words, Arbo swept me into his arms in one effortless motion. Caught off guard by his sudden action, every cell in my body seemed to lock up, and I went completely rigid.

“Yo, Your Imperial Highness! I am fine. Please put me down.”

“Lead us to the princess’s bedroom.”

Despite my insistence that I was fine, Arbo did not loosen the arms holding me. He acted as though he had not heard me at all and ordered Sofia to lead the way to my bedroom instead. All the way to the bedroom under Sofia’s guidance, I had no idea what to do with myself and could only fidget with my fingers.

Being held in Arbo’s arms like this made me deeply uncomfortable. The guilt and embarrassment made it impossible for me to even look at him.

“Has this been the kind of treatment you have been receiving all along?”

While I stared blankly at the empty air ahead, Arbo lowered his voice to where only I could hear and spoke to me. His tone was full of concern. I did not answer. Saying no would have been a lie, given the extent of Norman’s mistreatment of me.

“I hope it never comes to that, but if something like this happens again, please contact me right away.”

“Pardon?”

“It troubles me.”

My gaze drifted without thinking and tangled with Arbo’s violet eyes. I startled and immediately dropped my eyes back down.

“……I thank you for the kind words, Your Highness.”

“Will you attend the farewell ceremony?”

Near the end of our brief exchange, Arbo changed the subject and asked me. I gave a small nod in answer.

“I am glad to hear you will attend. I hope to see you looking well that day.”

The corridor, which had felt endless while I was in Arbo’s arms, finally came to an end, and we arrived at the bedroom door. Arbo laid me down on the bed, then spoke to Sofia.

“Call the attending physician to examine the princess’s condition.”

“Yes, Your Imperial Highness.”

Arbo stayed by my side until the attending physician arrived. When the physician explained that it was a combination of malnutrition and severe exhaustion, Arbo’s smooth brow furrowed.

“I will bring something suitable for the princess to eat before taking her medicine.”

As the physician moved to leave the room, Sofia, who had been watching me with a worried expression, followed him out. With Sofia gone, only Arbo and I remained in the wide space. I could not bring myself to look at Arbo and sat there fidgeting with my fingers when a soft cloth touched my temple.

“You are perspiring quite a bit.”

“Thank you. I, I will do it myself.”

I stumbled over my words in surprise at Arbo wiping the cold sweat trailing along my face with his own hand, and I reached around for a towel. Arbo shifted the fingers holding the handkerchief and gently swept the tip of his thumb across the corner of my weary eyes.

At a touch so tender it bordered on wistful, my heart began to stir faintly. I could not tell whether that flutter came from simple nerves or from something impure stirring in response to his deep, lingering gaze. 

The corners of my lips trembled faintly under the violet eyes that traced down my face with unwavering focus. Arbo’s amethyst-like eyes were dangerous enough to bewitch every part of me just by looking into them.

“……You really do look alike.”

After staring down at me in silence for a long moment, Arbo murmured quietly. I was about to ask him to repeat himself since I had not quite caught his words, when the hand that had been brushing my eye corner grazed the tip of my ear and came to rest on my flushed cheek.

“Your Imperial Highness?”

“Ah……”

I called out to Arbo in a flustered voice as his hand drew close enough to touch my cheek. Only then did Arbo seem to come back to himself, letting out a small exhale as he withdrew his hand.

“Then I will take my leave. I look forward to seeing you again at the farewell ceremony.”

The persistent gaze Arbo kept fixed on my eyes until the moment he turned away stayed with me. It was the eyes of a predator who seemed to long for something, yet also seemed to have finally found it.

For some reason, I kept turning over his parting words in my mind, words that carried the unmistakable will to see me no matter what at the farewell ceremony.

After Arbo left, Sofia came back carrying medicine and a light meal. She insisted I had to eat something before taking the medicine or it would upset my empty stomach, so I had no choice but to chew and swallow food I had no appetite for. Only after I took the medicine in front of her did Sofia finally smile, looking relieved.

Not long after Sofia left the room, Father stopped by my bedroom.

“You ended up making a poor showing in front of His Imperial Highness the Prince. Did you really have to make such a scene on a day like today?”

“……I am sorry, Father.”

Even though I was clearly the victim, Father did not offer me a single word of warm comfort. At my reluctant apology, Father let out a small sigh with a complicated expression.

“Do not push yourself before the farewell ceremony. Get some rest.”

Father approached me with a stiff expression and reached out, beginning to heal my exhausted body with his magic. The moment the sacred Aedis magic touched me, the fatigue throughout my entire body melted away and color returned to my face. Though I had just received harsh words, this was the first consideration Father had ever shown me. It truly was a strange feeling.

As I rested my weary body in bed, a knock came at the door along with Sofia’s voice. I told her to come in right away.

“Princess, are you feeling all right?”

Sofia’s eyes were still glistening with moisture as she stood there holding a tray with tea.

“It is chamomile tea, which helps to calm the mind and body. Princess, your complexion looks very poor.”

“……Thank you.”