Love & Poison (3)
"You're seeing a person flickering before your eyes?"
A hallucination? Had someone tried to poison me without my knowledge?
No. A poisoning attempt I didn't notice was impossible.
I frowned, running through every possible scenario, when Catherine's eyes suddenly sparkled.
"Oh my, who is it? Could it be..."
She narrowed one eye and spoke in a mischievous tone.
"A girl?"
"Uh..."
Edwin turned deathly pale, as if Catherine's words had genuinely shocked him.
"H-how did you know?"
"Kyaaaak, what am I supposed to do!"
She was clearly thrilled.
Catherine slapped my shoulder repeatedly, her eyes shining brighter than before.
"So, Your Highness? When you think of that person who keeps coming to mind, what does it feel like?"
"Um, well..."
Edwin hesitated a moment, fidgeting with his fingertips.
"I keep thinking about her. If she appears even for a second, I can't stop looking. I want to talk to her..."
The boy blushed, clearly embarrassed.
"I-I want to get closer to her. But whenever she comes near, my heart races so fast and I'm so nervous I can't do anything."
Just like he'd swallowed poison.
At Edwin's innocent reply, Catherine clapped both hands over her mouth.
"Oh my goodness, it's first love!"
"F-first love?"
Edwin blinked rapidly, not even trying to hide his flushed cheeks.
The beginning of a great disaster.
I sighed without thinking and pressed a hand to my forehead, only for Catherine to slap my shoulder again.
As if telling me to keep my mouth shut.
"So who is the one who has stolen our prince's heart?"
"Um, well..."
Under her expectant gaze, Edwin scratched the back of his head shyly.
Finally, he mumbled in a tiny, hesitant voice.
"...Brigitte."
"Brigitte? You mean Lady Brigitte? Who is..."
"You don't mean the daughter of Duke Jerome Crown, do you?"
The only daughter of Duke Jerome Crown, commander of the Gloria Knights. Brigitte Crown.
As far as I knew, there was only one noblewoman named Brigitte.
"Oh my, you mean that Lady Crown?"
Catherine looked as if she hadn't imagined the person would be the daughter of the empire's most powerful noble house.
I left her stunned and opened my mouth.
"You've been completely distracted this whole time just because of that? Mmph!"
"Now that I think about it, the other maids in the palace mentioned that Lady Crown's birthday banquet is being held at Her Majesty's palace this time. Did you know, Your Highness?"
At that moment, Catherine covered my mouth and fired off words like a machine gun.
But how on earth did she know the duke's daughter's birthday banquet was being hosted at the empress's palace?
No matter how I looked at it, this woman was better suited to be an informant or an assassin than a maid.
"Yeah, I heard it from Sir Philip."
"Oh, that's perfect! If it's a banquet at the empress's palace, Your Highness could attend!"
"Ah, well..."
Edwin's shoulders suddenly slumped at Catherine's words.
"Sir Philip said only invited guests can go. It's a gathering for people close to the duke's daughter..."
Of course. This was the birthday banquet for a young lady who hadn't even made her official society debut. On top of that, she was the sole daughter of that Duke Crown, so inviting just anyone would be out of the question. Any unnecessary commotion would only cause headaches.
"Don't worry!"
Catherine shouted in a triumphant voice.
"I'll make it happen somehow!"
That was my line.
I raised one eyebrow as I looked at Catherine.
"What exactly do you mean by 'make it happen'?"
"Obviously!"
She thrust her white fist into the air with a solemn expression.
"It means I'll ensure His Highness Edwin can attend Lady Crown's birthday banquet!"
"It's you again."
Philip, vice-commander of the Gloria Knights, was visibly irritated.
For the past several days, a certain woman had been pretending to run into him by chance and lingering in his path.
Catherine Veil, the maid from the Third Prince's Palace.
"Hello, Vice-Commander! Fancy seeing you again today?"
Even as the vice-commander frowned at the sight of her, Catherine simply beamed at him with a bright smile.
She lifted the large snack basket she carried.
"Today I brought apricot pie and fried sardines! The fried food gets soggy quickly, so we should eat it right away..."
"Lady Veil."
"Yes?"
Philip continued with a strict, solemn expression.
"No matter that you serve in the prince's palace, it is inappropriate for you to frequent the knight order's quarters like this."
"I only came because I was worried His Highness Edwin might be struggling with his rigorous training. And the knights all look tired too, so I thought it might give them some strength..."
"Enduring harsh training is part of the training. Do you think a knight would pull out snacks and eat them mid-battle just because it's difficult?"
Philip disliked the woman before him, who seemed to lack color in every way.
He disliked her visiting the knight order under the excuse of snacks, the way the 3rd Division knights grinned foolishly at her and let discipline slip, and the fact that he ran into her every single time she came.
"If your goal is to deliver snacks to His Highness Edwin, leave them with the guards at the entrance from now on. I don't know what scheme you're plotting, but these constant encounters are extremely uncomfortable."
It was awkward to admit, but Philip was popular with women.
Plenty of maids and noble daughters visited the knight order just to see his face.
This woman must have the same objective in the end.
Philip frowned with clear displeasure.
Because of his status as a commoner-born noble, maids from similar backgrounds often launched direct assaults on him in hopes of climbing the social ladder.
But with his naturally fastidious personality, Philip loathed such women.
Thanks to that, the imperial palace maids who admired him had given him the nickname "Iron Wall of Gloria."
"Oh my, Sir Philip! How can you say something so cold?"
Meanwhile, Catherine covered her mouth with both hands in front of his serious face and made a dramatic fuss.
"His Highness Edwin worries when I don't show my face. And I've grown close to the 3rd Division knights, so just dropping the snacks and leaving would seem so heartless! I'm not trying to draw a line or anything!"
"Such a ridiculous excuse..."
"And I was simply passing by here by coincidence!"
Catherine drooped her eyebrows as if deeply wronged.
"What am I supposed to do when Sir Philip keeps appearing on the path I always take?"
"Then are you saying I should hide inside the knight order quarters?"
"Oh, that's not what I mean at all."
"In the first place, it violates regulations for an outside maid to wander freely inside the knight order's quarters. If you don't want to be reprimanded by the commander later, restrain yourself."
"...Ugh, your tone is exactly like my nanny. You two are so alike."
"What did you just say?"
"Nothing at all!"
When Philip's expression hardened, Catherine shook her head frantically.
He frowned. He wanted to point out that muttering to herself in front of others was also rude, but he held back.
It would be troublesome if such kindness led her to mistakenly think he was interested.
"Then please return now."
"Ah, Sir Philip! Just a moment!"
Catherine grabbed the edge of Philip's sleeve as he turned away.
When his gaze grew icy, she carefully released it.
"I... I have something to tell you."
"What is it."
"You said I must have some scheme."
Catherine looked up at him with her large eyes.
"Aren't you curious what that scheme might be?"
What kind of woman is this?
Philip stood frozen for a moment, as if his mind had gone blank.
Was she really asking him to be curious about her scheme?
"Ugh, this is so frustrating!"
When Philip simply stared at her in silence, Catherine let out a sigh of exasperation.
She set the basket on the ground, planted both hands on her hips, and straightened her back.
"Fine! The truth is I did have a scheme with you, Sir Philip. That's why I kept using this path! Because you always take this route!"
As expected.
An unpleasant glint appeared in Philip's eyes.
The moment he opened his mouth to speak, Catherine fired off her words like a cannon.
"You're the same, Sir Philip. There's a limit to ignoring someone! After running into each other and exchanging greetings so many times, don't you even think about speaking to me first?"
"...So you're criticizing me? For not acknowledging you first?"
"Yes! You're the most frustrating man I've ever met since the day I was born! Were you embarrassed? Even though I look only at you every single day, you never say a word!"
"Embarrassed..."
It was truly absurd.
Did this woman not realize he had no interest in her attention? Did she really not understand that he was deliberately ignoring her and refusing to speak first?
"Lady Veil, I don't know what you're thinking, but I..."
"Do you know how difficult it is to keep arranging these 'coincidental' meetings?"
Why would I need to know that?
Philip could only move his lips now, completely at a loss for words.
"You know it too, don't you? How popular you are! Half the maids in the palace are watching to see who flirts with you! Do you think it's easy to approach someone like that in such a situation?"
"Then why would you..."
"Obviously because I have a favor to ask of you, Sir Philip!"
It was an answer he hadn't expected at all.
He had assumed she would complain that he didn't understand her feelings, that he was ignoring a woman's heart, and demand he accept her confession.
Philip hesitated briefly, then fixed his gaze on the fried sardines and spoke.
"...What is this favor? Let's hear it."