Chapter 3. Be Careful of That Time

The Princess of Valter’s day always begins with handstands and stretching. Her ladies-in-waiting have become accustomed to this situation in less than a month.

Later, when the day comes that Tatiana skips her handstand and they cannot see the upside-down face of the princess, the ladies-in-waiting will think:

‘Her Highness must surely be deathly ill.’

This means they have now come to accept whatever Tatiana does in her room as just the way she is.

Rather, it was Tatiana who found this situation unfamiliar. The Muller house maids would always leave her alone by this point.

Watching someone exercise would only be boring for those who aren’t interested. So why do they keep coming to watch like this, as if it’s some great spectacle?

Tatiana tilted her head puzzledly as she landed on the carpet. Now it was time for push-ups.

As Tatiana got down on the floor to position herself, one of the ladies-in-waiting stepped forward as if she had been waiting for this moment. It was Connie, who had suffered greatly before.

“Your Highness, shall I get on your back?”

“Huh? Why are you suddenly like this?”

Then why did Your Highness do that to me that time? When that incident worthy of becoming royal gossip happened to her, Connie thought it was truly a disaster. Is this what it feels like when the world crumbles, she had worried sleeplessly about her family’s future.

However, when she woke up the next day, the world hadn’t crumbled, and the princess even smiled at her. Too kindly, as if nothing had happened.

Usually, the one who hits forgets while the one who gets hit can’t sleep. Rather, Tatiana’s expression showed that she found the current situation much stranger.

“I didn’t know you were such an enthusiastic person.”

Tatiana looked over all the ladies-in-waiting. Besides Connie, nothing had changed with the others. They still maintained their ‘as long as it’s not me’ attitude and started to look away.

But the ladies-in-waiting would realize one day. The ‘as long as it’s not me’ attitude in life only helps you avoid responsibility for that exact moment.

Isn’t there a famous saying? When my neighbor was in trouble and I didn’t help, there was no one left to speak up when I faced injustice.

Of course, the ladies-in-waiting knew all this too. They just wanted to avoid responsibility for this moment alone.

In a royal court where anyone’s head could roll any day, thinking about tomorrow was a luxury. However, Tatiana wasn’t trying to put the ladies-in-waiting in trouble, and she had no intention of randomly beheading anyone.

She had only played a somewhat mischievous prank before. The problem was that those who received it remained uncertain until the end.

“It’s okay, Connie. I think I need to take care of my back for a while.”

“……”

“This…… needs time to adjust.”

Nighttime activities with her husband put considerable strain on her back. Do all married couples test their flexibility and stamina like this every night? Looking at it now, they were all amazing people. They were doing such incredible exercise among themselves in places I didn’t know about.

So that’s why ordinary people were so weak and frail during the day. Because they used up all their energy at night.

Tatiana, who had no point of comparison, asked Gideon if everyone did it like they did, but he said he didn’t know either, saying ‘You’re my first too, Titi.’ And then he kept chuckling to himself for a long time for some reason.

Meanwhile, the ladies-in-waiting who could guess why Tatiana suddenly needed to spare her back blushed. However, Tatiana, who had brought up such an interesting topic, focused back on her push-ups. 

 ‘Ah. It was about to get interesting. This is disappointing.’

How healthy does the princess want to become? Tatiana’s exercise routine was so regular and repetitive that it made observers feel breathless. 

 The ladies-in-waiting who were watching got quite bored. So they started whispering very private gossip among themselves.

“My lower belly keeps sticking out lately.”

“Yeah, you’ve been eating a lot.”

“No, that’s age catching up.”

The lady-in-waiting who brought it up raised her eyebrows at her colleagues’ input.

“……I won’t let either of you get away with that.”

Though they tried to keep their voices down, Tatiana heard everything. But she pretended not to hear and focused only on her task.

People have different reasons for exercising. If the purpose was solely limited to beauty, Tatiana had nothing particular to advise.

Since meddling unnecessarily would only invite jealousy and hatred, Tatiana usually kept her mouth shut even when similar topics came up at parties.

“My back hurts so much. I wonder if this is an occupational disease?”

But if the direction of that exercise was aimed at health, Tatiana had so, so many things she wanted to say. This, she couldn’t hold back, right?

Tatiana, who had been focused on push-ups, smoothly turned to look at the ladies-in-waiting.

She had known from the start who had spoken. Since that person was also very interested in posture, there had been something noticeable for quite some time.

‘You…… that’s scoliosis.’

But should I tell her this? Tatiana pondered for a moment. Even with good intentions, commenting on someone else’s body could be considered rude.

Tatiana didn’t want to say such things if it would make the listener uncomfortable. However, when the princess looked at her while lying prone, and with an expression full of things to say, the lady-in-waiting inadvertently nodded.

Tatiana nodded back as if she had been waiting for this and said:

“Hey you. Don’t stand with your weight on one leg.”

Perhaps because she had cut off both the preceding and following words too abruptly, the lady-in-waiting misunderstood Tatiana’s intention and went “uh uh uh” before bowing her head. She had taken it as the princess pointing out her improper posture.

“I’m, I’m sorry.”

“No, no, that’s not what I meant……”

Tatiana stopped her exercise for the day and sat down on the carpet. She crossed her arms, sensing this would be a long conversation.

“If you keep your body’s center of gravity on one side like that, your spine becomes crooked. Your pelvis gets twisted like this, like this. Do you also cross your legs when you sit?”

“……”

“If that gets worse, one day you suddenly won’t be able to get up, you see? Seriously.”

“……”

“If you absolutely can’t fix it, then at least stand on the opposite leg starting tomorrow.”

Tatiana offered emergency advice like someone saying ‘well, what can you do.’

But would that be as easy as it sounds? It’s like telling a right-handed person to live as a left-handed person starting tomorrow, right?

But Tatiana was actually someone who was born right-handed and now lived as ambidextrous. She wouldn’t even snort if someone tried to argue with her.

She patted the space in front of her, signaling the lady-in-waiting to come closer. It seemed they needed to talk more quietly and privately.

The body was a private domain. One couldn’t be too careful when commenting on someone else’s body.

But other ladies-in-waiting also gathered around at Tatiana’s signal. They found it interesting that Tatiana, who usually exercised quietly or acted as if nothing else mattered, was suddenly leading the conversation.

“It must already hurt quite a bit at this stage? Doesn’t it?”

“……It feels like being stabbed with needles, all tingly.”

Tatiana sighed, saying “Oh my, this is serious.”

People expected her to suggest some clear solution after finishing her sigh, but……

“You’re on leave today. Go see a doctor right away.”

It was so anticlimactic that they were disappointed.

Tatiana continued with fundamental statements, completely unconcerned about the atmosphere.

“I’m sorry, but there’s no way to get better instantly.”

“……Is that so.”

“Of course. Habits are all engraved in your body. How can your body forget something you’ve repeated for decades all at once?”

“……”

“That’s the same as saying you’ll lose weight you gained over a year in just a week. It’s quite a thief’s mentality, I’d say.”

“……”

“……Why are your expressions like that. Do you all do that too when summer comes?”

The ladies-in-waiting responded with dubious looks, just like the Muller household maids.

‘We were just listening quietly, why are you scolding us? Besides, I’m sitting with perfect posture right now, okay?’

Tatiana, who had no intention of reproaching anyone, looked embarrassedly toward the window. She cleared her throat unnecessarily and continued with her principles.

The lady-in-waiting before her was standing at a very important turning point. That’s how it appeared to Tatiana. Because she had recognized and confronted the problem herself.

She didn’t want to tell her to be disappointed because things wouldn’t change in an instant. Let’s approach this with a more long-term perspective and patience, that was the point.

People shouldn’t be afraid or hesitate in front of exercise and hospitals. True athletes are always ready to welcome newcomers. Intensely.

“It won’t get better right away, but if you just try to sit straight and exercise consistently, it will get much better. I can guarantee that.”

“……Really?”

“I’m telling you. Most of our physical hardships can be overcome through exercise.”

Once muscles start building, they all become strength that supports your back.

Tatiana said while fondly touching her precious eleven-line abs with a serious expression.

“People ultimately live by this core strength.”

By enduring, with pure grit and determination, right?