The gossips all competed to wag their tongues.
Many openly argued that while the Second Imperial Princess’s misfortune was regrettable, it was unreasonable to place the blame on Lord Siorcan.
By rights, they said, the matter should have ended with the punishment of the knight who had served as the Second Imperial Princess’s personal guard.
Above all, the decision completely disregarded the First Imperial Princess’s position.
Though theirs was an engagement born of political interests, the two had shared a bond since childhood.
The official engagement had taken place only three years ago, but in practice they had been promised to one another for well over a decade.
Many criticized the decision to separate them so unilaterally.
And everyone agreed that the Empress’s influence must have played a major role in the Emperor’s excessive judgment. It was an open secret that she was scheming to place her young son upon the throne.
“What do you think will happen between His Highness the Crown Prince and House Siorcan from now on?”
A maid stirring a pot with a ladle glanced over at the healing mage dispatched from the Empress’s Palace.
The middle-aged mage, whose name was Marisen, frequently came and went from the main palace and was well versed in every rumor circulating through the capital.
Finely chopping a bundle of fresh herbs with a knife, she answered indifferently.
“Well... if Lord Siorcan truly breaks off his engagement to the First Imperial Princess and marries the Second Imperial Princess instead, then the solid alliance between those two factions can be considered effectively over.”
“Then House Siorcan might switch sides and support His Highness the Second Imperial Prince?”
Marisen wore a skeptical expression.
“Considering Lord Siorcan’s temperament, I wonder if he would really change his position so easily.”
“Why not? His Highness the Second Imperial Prince is much ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) better than that reckless Crown Prince.”
The healer shot the maid a stern warning at her careless remark.
“You would do well to watch your tongue. Even if only a handful of people come and go here, the Imperial Palace has ears in its very walls.”
The maid pouted.
Yet she seemed frightened by her own words and began glancing nervously around.
Seeing that, Marisen let out a small laugh and resumed her chopping.
Whatever became of the relationship between the Crown Prince and House Siorcan had little to do with her.
She kept her ears open to rumors for the sake of self-preservation, but fundamentally she had little interest in matters beyond her own work.
Marisen placed the rare medicinal herbs she had struggled to acquire into a small pot and worked the bellows.
Before long, mandrago sap began bubbling vigorously, and a rich herbal fragrance spread throughout the kitchen.
Once the herbs had steeped sufficiently, she set the jar by the window to cool.
Then, without warning, a rough voice rang out from outside.
“Is there no one here?”
The maid, who had been sweating profusely while feeding firewood into the furnace, jerked her head up in surprise.
“Were we expecting visitors?”
“I haven’t received any notice...”
Marisen leaned out the window and looked toward the entrance of the detached palace.
A line of figures draped in flowing robes stood among the thick shrubs. At a glance, they did not appear to have been sent from the Empress’s Palace.
Frowning at the ominous feeling creeping over her, Marisen shoved the maid toward the back door.
“I’ll go outside and see who it is. You run to the Empress’s Palace and bring soldiers.”
At present, the detached palace housed only three or four maids, the Second Imperial Princess’s nanny, and Marisen herself.
Because the Second Imperial Princess was exceptionally wary of people, they had not even managed to assign her a proper guard knight.
If those people intended harm, there would be no way for them to stop it.
Knowing that perfectly well, the maid hurried out of the kitchen.
Marisen waited until she was sufficiently far away before crossing the hall and opening the front door.
At the entrance stood two men in military uniforms and three women who appeared to be nobles.
After studying them with wary eyes, Marisen spoke cautiously.
“What brings you here?”
“We have come to see Talia Roem Gwirta.”
The woman standing at the very back stepped forward as she spoke.
The moment Marisen saw her face, she sucked in a sharp breath.
Standing before her was the woman with the highest status in the Empire after the Empress herself.
Marisen immediately bowed her head.
“Greetings, Your Highness the First Imperial Princess.”
“That will do. Simply take me to the child.”
Aila Roem Gwirta urged her forward in a voice heavy with fatigue.
After raising her head, Marisen hesitated briefly before carefully voicing her refusal.
“My apologies, Your Highness, but the Second Imperial Princess has not yet fully recovered. If Your Highness would return at a later date—”
“You think I might harm my own sister?”
The princess’s voice suddenly turned cold.
“Your loyalty is commendable, but it seems you have forgotten whom you are speaking to. I was not making a request. I was issuing an order.”
“......”
“If you understand, then lead the way.”
Frozen like a mouse before a serpent, Marisen eventually turned around.
Throughout the walk to the room, the First Imperial Princess did not utter a single word.
Stealing nervous glances over her shoulder, Marisen swallowed dryly as the bedroom door drew closer and closer.
Several hours had passed since the incense had been lit. By now, the Second Imperial Princess should have awakened.
But she was deeply worried whether her patient, who had grown weak to the point of frailty, could endure this intimidating visitor.
“You may wait here. I shall go in alone.”
Upon reaching the end of the corridor, the princess firmly instructed her attendants before turning an authoritative gaze upon Marisen.
Feeling the unspoken pressure to announce her arrival, Marisen timidly knocked on the door.
“Your Highness, you have a visitor. May we come in?”
No answer came from inside.
Could she still be asleep?
After a moment of hesitation, Marisen cautiously turned the handle.
The room was thick with the sharp scent of herbs and a cloying sweetness reminiscent of fruit on the verge of rotting.
Frowning at the dizzying smell, Marisen spotted Talia sprawled across the bed like a corpse and nearly jumped out of her skin.
She rushed over and placed a hand beneath the princess’s nose.
Thankfully, she could feel a faint breath.
Marisen let out a sigh of relief.
It lasted only a moment.
Below the hem of the skirt, which had ridden all the way up to her thighs, Talia’s leg was a mess.
It seemed she had once again removed her bandages and clawed at her scars.
Angry red scratch marks covered the inflamed skin.
Releasing a heavy sigh, Marisen laid a hand on the leg and cast a simple healing spell.
At that moment, a skeletal hand shot out and grabbed her wrist.
Startled, Marisen turned her head and found herself staring into mist-veiled blue eyes.
Without realizing it, she held her breath.
The unfocused gaze drifted aimlessly through empty space.
With each minute movement of her eyes, the deep blue irises rippled like waves.
Like the smoke the princess inhaled every day, they were eyes capable of unsettling another person’s mind.
“...Who said anyone could come in whenever they pleased?”
Talia parted her lips, crusted with dried blood, and spoke in a soft voice threaded with the scrape of metal.
Only then did Marisen come to her senses.
She hurriedly pulled the blanket up to cover the princess’s legs.
“My apologies, Your Highness. The visitor insisted on seeing you...”
Straightening herself, she motioned toward the doorway with her eyes.
Talia’s gaze immediately followed.
Marisen could feel the slender body of the Second Imperial Princess stiffen with tension.
Slowly pushing herself upright, Talia fixed a guarded stare upon her half-sister.
“What brings you to such a miserable place?”
“I came because I wished to speak with you.”
Stepping into the room, the First Imperial Princess silently studied the face of her obviously ill sister before turning to Marisen.
“Leave us alone for a moment.”
Driven back by the First Imperial Princess’s imposing presence, Marisen retreated from the bedroom.
Just as she was about to close the door, the sight of the sisters—born from different mothers—caught her eye.
Unlike Talia Roem Gwirta, who looked as though she might shatter into pieces at any moment, Aila Roem Gwirta seemed radiant with life itself.
For some reason, the contrast left a bitter taste in her mouth.
Watching Talia for a long moment with shadowed eyes, Marisen finally closed the door with a heavy sigh.
