# 43
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“Stop, Veronica. Don’t bother your brother any more.”
The Empress said weakly.
The voice that was trying to stop them was like a candle about to go out.
“Mom... are you awake?”
Veronica ran towards the Empress. Sirtin followed slowly. The Pale Empress was staring at him.
“I'm glad Evelyn is okay. I was worried about Evelyn.”
“Don't worry, mom, it wasn't serious.”
The voice was indifferent.
The Empress smiled awkwardly.
“Yesterday, there was a lot of hard work for you. I wanted to stay in my seat until the end for fear that it would disturb people….I’m sorry.”
“What are you sorry for, mother? The accident that happened yesterday was definitely the fault of young Duke Augustin...”
“Don't make false assumptions, Veronica. You should be careful with such serious statements.”
The Empress was always careful in her life. She had a weak personality and even avoided walking in places where she might step on someone else's shadow.
Even when Sertain was being driven to death as a child, she couldn't say a word.
“I, mom...”
“Sirtin, this mother is fine. I’m sorry.”
But she can only say sorry.
Veronica stared at Sertain with concern.
"I'm glad you're okay, mom. As long as mom is strong, I'll be okay too."
The voice was devoid of any emotion. Veronica was biting her lip as if trying to hold back her words.
The Empress nodded.
“Of course. What about young Duke Augustin? What happened in that incident yesterday…?”
“Were there other witnesses? Except for you, Mom.”
“No one but Veronica and me. I was tired and wanted to get some air. I was looking for a quiet place where no one was.”
"Understood."
Neither Veronica nor the Empress had testimony to present. They feared Duke Spelman.
Neither of them could make official statements against young Augustin.
His head was hurting.
"Don't worry, mother. Young Duke Augustin will be fine. I will not go against Duke Spelman's wishes."
But this saying aroused a strange feeling in his heart. The Empress smiled sadly.
“Living with the hostility of the world is difficult, Sirtain. Sometimes we have to follow the right path.”
If he had followed the right path, he would have already lost his life.
But he simply laughed at those words that denied all the dangers he had gone through.
His shoulder was heavier. He gritted his teeth.
He felt a greater desire to see Evelyn.
He felt like his breath was shortening.
When I opened my eyes again, I wasn't alone. It wasn't Cyrtain, but it wasn't Rosalina or Serena or Rosie either.
“…Julia?”
“Her Highness Evelyn.”
Julia smiled sweetly.
Why is she here?
There was no one who should be in the palace.
“How do you feel?...Okay, this seems pretty embarrassing. But do you feel any pain?”
“No, there is no pain.”
She muttered in a low voice.
"Where did everyone go? What about my husband?"
She asked in a confused voice.
“Hmm, His Highness Sirten sent them all away. He thought you should rest for a bit.”
Did he fire them all? Because of my comfort? What does that mean?
But I couldn't ask that question. I am a child. Instead, I nodded.
It seems to mean that they fired them for me. Perhaps Cyrtain had discovered my identity… However, it didn't scare me like before.
Anyway, no one hated me or watched me. My heart became a little lighter.
“Hmm...”
“His Highness the Crown Prince is carrying out official duties.”
“Do you mean work?”
"Yes, this is correct."
Julia smiled as if she was proud.
“Can I touch your forehead for a moment?”
“Yes, you can.”
Julia touched my forehead carefully. It's noticeably different from the hand that was stroking my face early in the morning.
Sertin was not a dream.
That moment was real.
I felt a pounding in my heart.
“Fortunately, your temperature has completely gone down. However, you have to take medicine. Can you eat something?”
“Something delicious! Except carrots and green peppers!”
“Okay, I'll fix that.”
Julia nodded. Then she pointed to the people outside. As I expected, this is the first time I've seen their faces. Did he send them two CVs?
“These people will take care of you for a while. They are my friends, would you like to greet them?”
So it was Julia who brought them.
"Okay! But, what about Roderick and Leia? They didn't come with you?"
“Do you want to see them?”
“Yes, I would like to see them! We are friends!”
Half of it was a lie, and the other half was truth. Apparently, Yulia brought these people with her at Syrtin's request.
Maybe he wanted to leave me with trusted people.
But Julia is a mother, so she took her children with her. Of course, they had an influence on me.
They were a little annoying and gave me negative feelings, but they were good friends. At least… they should have been.
“Should I ask them to come?”
"Okay! But I don't want the horse. It's terrifying!"
"Yes, I'll make sure they don't bring that up. I promise."
Julia smiled calmly.
If I had to get back on the horse and ride again, I'd rather throw myf out the window.
“So, do you want to meet new friends too?”
"Good!"
“These here…”
Julia began introducing the people she had brought. After listening to the story, it seems that everyone, from the cooks to the maids, has been fired.
I exchanged greetings with the people Julia introduced to me.
“We will prepare you delicious food without carrots and peppers, Your Highness.”
A middle-aged woman said with a particularly warm expression.
“You're too thin. I'm going to reorganize my diet to be more nutritious.”
“Thank you for your trouble.”
Julia ushered everyone out of the room.
“How about showering before eating?”
"Hmm... yes! I want to go out and play outside too."
I wanted to know what was happening around me.
Meanwhile, I was hoping to meet two women. I had so many questions I wanted to ask him, so much I wanted to investigate.
I really wanted to check how Sertin would look at me.
In the kitchen of the Crown Princess' palace
The people brought by Julia met with serious faces. They gathered all the materials that were in the food pantry and began to discuss them.
“She is very thin.”
"I felt it too. I think she's undernourished."
"It's hard for her to even walk like this. She must be gaining extra weight."
“Let's start with a meat diet.”
“We better make some desserts too.”
“Her digestive system seems to be weak. We should prepare her food that is easy to digest.”
They all agreed on the same opinion.
They were all nodding their heads with serious faces.
The image of Evelyn, so weak that one thought she would melt in the sunlight, left a profound impression on them.
She was like little snowflakes, and inside her body everything seemed transparent as if one could see inside. Her little hand, which was holding the quilt, was very weak.
Her light blue eyes, which were rolling anxiously, were commanding attention. Her lips and skin were so dry.
Everyone knew how Evelyn was going.
“Tsk tsk… I wonder how those people treated her.”
“They seem cruel.”
“I heard they sent observers from Spelman.”
"That makes sense. Maybe her diet was unbalanced."
"It looked like they were just feeding her cookie crumbs. I didn't need to see her to know. That was the cause of the nutritional deficiency."
"Did you hear the doctor's diagnosis? He said she was suffering from malnutrition. How could this happen in this era, and in the Imperial Palace?"
“His Highness the Prince should have been careful.”
“I thought he was a gentleman. How could he even neglect his subjects? His Highness made a mistake.”
“At the very least, you should gain at least 10 pounds while we're here.”
A sudden warmth came to the Crown Princess's palace, along with Julia.