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35.

Before long, I heard Cassian's labored breathing.
I carefully dried his wet hair without waking him, then searched through the cottage and found a heating pad.
I boiled water to maintain ‌‌the humidity, and placed the heating pad beneath his blankets to keep his body temperature from dropping.
'This brings back old memories.'
Back then, I was ‌‌‌truly on the brink of death—was that any better than this?
The memory of trembling, feeling as though my breath might stop at any moment, yet pushing myself forward, remained vivid.
'I remember crying then too, telling myself I had to keep going, had to persist.'
In comparison, a fever and body aches now seemed like a ‌‌‌far better state.
I summoned a messenger bird to inform the Old Butler, who might otherwise worry, that Cassian and I would be late returning from Ilium after viewing the night scenery, then placed ‌‌‌my hand on the cube.
It resembled the cubes the Magicians had created at the Winter Palace, yet something about it felt different, so ‌‌‌‌I began carefully manipulating ‌‌‌‌it.
'Cassian likely deduced the meeting location, and must have ‌‌‌‌been threatened by the Magicians during the process.'
Realizing the danger, he probably jumped into the river or something similar, which led to his current state.
This cube would be crucial evidence.
'But did they conduct another transaction on a pleasure boat this time?'
Why did he flee in such a soaked state?
Unlike the lake from before, the river ‌here was quite narrow, making it impossible to deploy a large pleasure boat.
Even stretching ‌‌‌the limits, a ‌‌‌‌garden of perhaps two hundred paces at most would be ‌‌the ‌maximum capacity.
'With so few people, there would be nowhere to hide.'
Illegal transactions required discretion.
So was the pleasure boat itself merely a deception?
That seemed more likely.
As my thoughts crystallized, my hands moved faster across the cube, and soon all its faces aligned into a single color.
In the next moment, ‌‌‌‌a faint light emanated, and ‌‌a rolled bundle of documents tumbled to the ground.
As I examined the contents of the papers that lay before me, my eyes widened.

*

I spent time observing Cassian Artez until it was dangerously late, then decided to stop by the Lopez Estate Villa first.
Just to be safe, I changed the water in the basin and installed magical devices around the cottage so people wouldn't notice anything amiss.
By the time I returned home late that evening, the Old Butler of the ‌estate wore an expression of profound relief.
"I've prepared bathwater for you. ‌‌Miss Wilhelmina Lopez was most insistent ‌‌that we leave nothing wanting in our service to you."
His words, delivered with a gentle smile as though he were addressing his own granddaughter, pricked my conscience slightly, but I resigned myself to the situation and spoke.
"Thank you. I'll be staying here tonight and need to leave early tomorrow morning."
"Is something ‌‌‌the matter?" ‌‌
"I'm an aide to the Second Prince, and he's asked me to prepare early because he says the dawn at Ilium is particularly beautiful."
"...And he's kept you occupied until this hour?"
"When he wants to show someone something he enjoys, he tends to become rather single-minded about it."
At my words, the butler's eyes grew tender with ‌‌sympathy.
I felt momentarily guilty for tarnishing my superior's reputation, but I decided not to dwell on it.
In any case, I immersed my exhausted body in the warm bathwater, released the tension, and managed a brief but restorative sleep.
The remaining schedule at Ilium promised to be quite demanding and arduous.
I rose early at dawn, made a ‌‌vague excuse to the kitchen staff, and received a few ingredients for stew.
Given how elevated Cassian's body temperature had been yesterday, I needed to warm his insides when he awoke.
Before leaving the estate, I asked that any remaining luggage I hadn't packed be sent to ‌the Capital City, mentioning that after completing the schedule at Ilium, I would likely return directly to the Capital City with the Second Prince.
Before departing, I remembered to ask the butler several questions.
"Now that I think of it, I heard something from Wilhelmina."
"Yes?"
"Among the pleasure cruises that travel to and from Ilium, there's one that ‌‌‌Wilhelmina owns."
"Indeed. Miss Wilhelmina received it as a birthday ‌‌‌gift from the Duke when she turned eight. Though I must say, it is curious."
"How so?"
"Ever since Miss Wilhelmina's grandmother, the Dowager Duchess, collapsed ‌while aboard that vessel and never recovered from her sickbed, the young lady has not so much as mentioned it."
"She's never used it since coming here?"
"Not at all. Whenever she has business in Ilium, she insists on taking the carriage."
Having said this, the butler asked with a hesitant expression.
"Has Miss Wilhelmina decided to ‌‌lend you that cruise ship for a pleasant time with the Second Prince?"
"No, I was simply curious about something Wilhelmina mentioned in passing."
"I see. Should you need it for any reason, please let me know. I'll contact the operations manager in advance."
I thanked him for his kindness and left the estate.
And in that moment, clarity crystallized.
The malice ‌‌‌of this world and the First Empress.

*

The moment I arrived at the Cottage, I ‌‌‌pulled out a large pot and began preparing a stew using the ingredients I had brought.
After crushing the tomatoes to the right consistency and chunking the vegetables, I poured in the spices and broth that the Villa's head chef had thoughtfully prepared, and before long, a delicious aroma began wafting through the air.
I was gazing blankly at the simmering stew, thinking that all it needed was a touch of salt to finish it.
"...That smells wonderful."
I felt warm body heat against my back.
"How are you feeling?"
"...Fine."
His voice still ‌‌‌‌‌carried the haze of sleep, and I simply allowed him to cling to me as he wrapped his ‌‌‌arms around my waist like a petulant child.
After all, one should show mercy to the afflicted.
"Do you think you can eat?"
"Of course."
Cassian Artez lightly rubbed his forehead against my shoulder—whether to shake off his drowsiness or simply to seek my warmth, I couldn't quite tell.
I waited a ‌‌‌‌moment for him to indulge himself, then gently tapped the hand encircling my waist as I coaxed him.
"Then go wash up. ‌I won't serve you a meal while you still have sleep in your eyes."
"Is it because I'm not pretty like this?"
At his playful question, he let out a soft laugh.
The drowsiness had nearly vanished from his voice, and he slowly pulled away from me.
"I can't afford to be disliked by Rose."
Unlike when he had approached, his slippers whispered against the floor as he made his way to the bathroom.
Listening to the sound of water beginning to run from the bathroom, I placed the bread I had brought into the oven to warm it through.
By the time he had finished ‌‌showering and emerged, the completed stew was rising ‌‌‌with fragrant steam on the table.
I set out some butter and jam, then took my seat.
"A meal made by Rose."
At those words, memories unbidden surfaced ‌‌‌in my mind.
'There was that time when I served him absolutely dreadful cooking as a child....'
Overcooked scrambled eggs, bread charred halfway through, and soup that ‌‌had congealed into ‌‌‌a thick sludge because I had mishandled the heat when secretly reheating something the head chef had made.
"Are you afraid to eat?"
"Not at all."
When I asked ‌‌‌with polite concern, recalling those memories, Cassian Artez shook his head with a gentle smile.
"I was simply thinking how precious this moment is."
With those words, he broke apart the well-baked bread, preserving its tender crumb, spread it ‌‌‌with jam and butter, and placed it in ‌‌‌‌his mouth.
Without the slightest hesitation.
'Even as a child, he ate my ‌‌‌haphazardly prepared meals without a trace of ‌‌‌‌wariness.'
Just as he does now.
Despite being a prince, Cassian Artez was not one to be finicky about food.
If anything, I was the picky eater between us.
He consumed even the congealed, thickened soup without complaint.
When I told him to spit it out because I thought it was too salty, he had only looked bewildered—and now that young Cassian's expression overlapped with the present moment.
'...So that really was the face of someone eating something tasteless.'
I had simply assumed his emotions didn't show on his face ‌‌‌because of the times we lived in.
Watching him take a large spoonful of ‌‌‌the tomato stew—a dish I myself found delicious—I could sense that his initial intention had merely been to fill his stomach without much thought.
"Thank ‌‌you, Rose."
With such impeccable courtesy, he paired his ‌‌compliment about the taste with gratitude toward me for preparing the meal.
Truly.

'Thank you, little lady.'

Those childhood memories I had tried to forget, fleeing from the fate ‌of this world, surfaced once more.

*

"The analysis of ‌‌‌the documents from the cube is complete."
"Yes, sir. They contain the actual date and location of the transaction, as well as contingency measures should circumstances go awry."
Since Cassian Artez had volunteered ‌‌‌to handle the cleanup, I proceeded with my report on what he had entrusted to me yesterday.
As I watched his back while he skillfully washed the dishes, I felt an odd sensation wash over me.
'He's a prince, so why does he ‌‌‌seem so accustomed to doing such things?'
Even if he had been through countless battlefields, had he really done all the dishwashing himself?
Of course, ‌‌‌‌my mouth continued the report diligently, even as my mind wandered elsewhere.
"The owner of the pleasure cruise is Wilhelmina Lopez...."
Upon hearing part of my report, Cassian Artez finished organizing the cleaned dishes, then fell into thought while shaking the water from his hands.
And ‌‌‌‌as I quietly observed his figure from behind, I detected something amiss.
'His posture seems a bit off today...?'
He was the type who always displayed perfectly sculpted core muscles without a trace of humanity, as if to make others envious.
But today, unusually— ‌‌‌‌
"...Your Highness."
"What is it, Rose?"
I should have noticed sooner. The sight of him shirtless yesterday, or this cottage ‌‌devoid of any sense of life.
"How serious is your condition right now?"

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