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Chapter 61
The gossips vied with one another to spread their whispers.
While the misfortune that befell the Second Princess was indeed lamentable, ‌‌‌many voices rose in protest that pinning responsibility upon Count Sierchan was wholly unjust.
According to proper protocol, should the matter not be concluded with the punishment of the Second Princess's personal Guard Knight alone?
Above all, this decision ‌‌had utterly disregarded the First Princess's position.
Though their betrothal ‌‌was born of political necessity, ‌the two had cultivated their bond since childhood.
While the formal engagement had been arranged three years prior, their de facto betrothal spanned more ‌‌‌than a decade.
Many voices erupted in criticism at this unilateral severance of two souls so intertwined.
And all agreed that behind The Emperor's reckless judgment lay the formidable influence of The Empress—her machinations to ‌‌‌elevate her young son to the throne were, after all, an open secret.
"What will become of the Crown Prince's relationship with Sierchan House going forward?"
The handmaid stirring the pot with a ladle turned to the healer dispatched from the Empress's Household and posed the question.
Marisen, ‌‌‌a middle-aged mage of that ‌name, frequented the Main Palace often enough to be thoroughly versed in all manner of rumor.
She sliced a bundle of fresh medicinal herbs into fine pieces with her knife, her tone indifferent as she replied.
"Well... if Count Sierchan truly severs his betrothal with the First Princess and marries the Second Princess, then the steadfast alliance between the two factions would, for all ‌‌‌intents and purposes, be at an end."
"Then Sierchan House might pivot to support the Second Prince instead?" ‌‌
Marisen's expression turned skeptical.
"Given Count Sierchan's temperament, I doubt he would shift his allegiance so readily."
"Why not? The Second Prince is far superior to that reckless Crown Prince."
At the handmaid's reckless remark, the ‌‌‌‌‌healer cast a stern warning glance.
"You would do well to guard your tongue. However limited the visitors to ‌‌this place may be, the Imperial Palace has ears in every wall."
The handmaid pouted her lips.
Yet ‌‌‌beneath her bravado, fear flickered within, ‌‌and she cast furtive glances about the room.
Witnessing this, the healer let out a soft chuckle and resumed her knife work.
Whatever became of the Crown Prince and Sierchan House was scarcely her concern.
While she kept her ears open to gossip for the sake of self-preservation, fundamentally she harbored little interest in matters beyond her duties.
Marisen placed the rare medicinal herbs she had painstakingly procured into a small pot and worked the bellows.
Before long, the mandragora sap began ‌‌‌‌to bubble and ‌‌boil, releasing a rich herbal fragrance that ‌‌‌permeated the entire kitchen.
Once the herbs had steeped ‌‌sufficiently, she set the ‌‌vessel upon the windowsill to cool, when suddenly a gruff voice rang out from beyond.
"Is anyone here!"
The handmaid, who ‌‌‌‌had been perspiring heavily as she fed firewood into the furnace, started in alarm and lifted her head.
"Was someone expected to arrive?"
"I received no such notice..."
Marisen leaned her head out the window to examine the entrance ‌of the Secondary Palace.
Between the dense shrubs, she glimpsed figures clad ‌in tattered robes lined up in formation. At a glance, they did not appear to be ‌emissaries from the Empress's Household.
A foreboding premonition furrowed Marisen's ‌‌brow, and she pushed the handmaid toward the rear exit.
"I shall investigate ‌‌‌‌outside. You go to the Empress's Household and summon the guards."
Currently, the Secondary Palace housed only a handful of handmaids, the Second Princess's Nursemaid, and herself, the healer.
The Second Princess's peculiar ‌‌‌aversion to unfamiliar faces meant they could not maintain a proper contingent of Guard ‌Knights.
Should these intruders harbor malicious intent, there would be no means to resist them.
The handmaid, fully aware of this peril, swiftly slipped from the kitchen.
Marisen waited until the handmaid had moved sufficiently far away before crossing the grand hall and opening the entrance door.
At the entrance to the Secondary Palace stood two men in military uniforms and three women who appeared to be ‌‌‌‌nobility.
Marisen, scrutinizing them with cautious eyes, carefully opened her mouth.
"What brings you here?"
"We've come to ‌meet Talia Roem Guerta."
The woman standing furthest back stepped forward and spoke.
Upon recognizing ‌‌her face, Marisen drew a sharp breath. The woman of the second-highest rank in The Empire, after the Empress herself, stood before her ‌‌eyes.
Marisen quickly bowed her head.
"Your Highness, the First Princess. It is an honor to receive you."
"Yes, yes—now guide me to that child."
Ayla Roem Guerta urged her forward in a voice laden with ‍‌exhaustion.
Marisen lifted her head and hesitated for a moment before carefully expressing her refusal.
"Forgive me, Your Highness, but the Second Princess has not yet fully recovered her health. If you would be so ‌‌‌kind as to visit again at a later time...."
"Are you afraid I might harm my younger sister?"
The Princess's voice suddenly turned glacial.
"Your loyalty is admirable, but it seems you do not comprehend whom you are addressing. I am ‌‌not making a request of you. This is a command."
"...."
"If you understand, lead the way at once."
Marisen, frozen like a mouse before a ‌‌serpent, ultimately turned her steps forward.
Throughout the ‌‌‌walk ‌‌‌to the room, the First Princess did not speak a single word.
Marisen, constantly glancing over her shoulder to gauge the Princess's mood, swallowed dryly as she gazed toward the bedroom door drawing ever closer.
Several hours had passed since the incense was lit, so by now the Second Princess should have awakened from sleep.
Yet she was deeply concerned whether her weakened ‌‌‌‌patient could withstand this oppressive visitor.
"You all wait here. I shall enter alone."
Upon reaching the end of the corridor, the Princess issued a firm command to her attendants following behind her, then cast a domineering gaze toward Marisen.
Under the silent pressure to announce her arrival, Marisen hesitantly knocked upon the door.
"Your Highness, a visitor ‌‌has come to see you. May I show them in?"
But no answer came from within.
Could she still be sleeping?
After ‌‌a moment of deliberation, Marisen carefully grasped the door handle and pulled it open.
The room was filled with the sharp scent of herbs and a cloying sweetness like overripe fruit ‌‌‌‌on the verge of decay.
Marisen, her brow furrowing at the dizzying fragrance, started upon discovering Talia sprawled across the bed like a corpse.
She rushed to the bedside and placed her hand beneath Talia's nose, relieved to feel a faint breath.
Her sigh of relief was short-lived as she noticed, beneath the skirt hem rolled up to the thigh, legs in terrible condition.
It appeared she had carelessly unwound the bandages and scratched at the scars, for her skin was covered in angry welts and scratches. ‌‌
Marisen exhaled a heavy sigh and placed her hand upon Talia's leg, casting a simple healing ‌‌spell.
In that instant, a skeletal hand shot out and grasped her wrist.
Marisen flinched and turned ‌‌‌‌her head, meeting eyes of ‌‌‌‌blue as if shrouded in mist, and unconsciously held her breath.
The unfocused pupils ‌‌‌‌drifted aimlessly through empty space.
Following the subtle ‌‌movements of that gaze, the deep blue irises rippled like water disturbed by wind.
Eyes like the smoke the Princess inhaled daily—eyes that scattered a person's mind ‌‌‌‌and reason.
"...Who said you could waltz in here whenever you pleased."
Talia parted her lips, crusted with dried blood, and exhaled a thin voice laced with the rasp of metal.
Only then did Marisen ‌‌‌‌snap to ‌‌attention, ‌‌‌‌quickly drawing the blanket up to cover her legs.
"Forgive me, Your Highness. The visitor insisted ‌‌‌on seeing you...."
As she straightened her posture and gestured toward the door with her eyes, the newcomer's gaze followed immediately.
Marisen could feel the Second Princess's delicate frame tense with sudden rigidity.
Talia pushed herself up with difficulty, her upper body swaying, and fixed her half-sibling with a wary glare.
"What brings you to this humble place?"
"I came to talk with you."
The First Princess stepped into the room and gazed quietly down at her sister's pallid face before turning her head toward Marisen.
"For a moment, would you leave us."
Marisen, overwhelmed by the First Princess's commanding presence, shuffled backward out of the bedroom.
In the instant before closing the door, the image of ‌‌‌‌‌the two sisters, born of different mothers, seared itself into her vision.
Unlike Talia Roem Guerta, who seemed on the verge of shattering at any moment, Ayla Roem Guerta radiated with luminous vitality.
For reasons she could not name, ‌‌‌‌the contrast left a bitter taste in her mouth.
Marisen gazed at Talia through shadowed ‌‌‌‌eyes ‌for a moment longer, then closed the door with a heavy sigh.

---------------
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy ‌the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
---------------