Translator: Nox
(26) The Golden Lion's Treasure and Contaminated Water (10)
Roxy didn't know why she was saying these things.
Perhaps it was because she hadn't been able to do anything to protect her own family, and she hoped that if she could protect someone else, God would have mercy and embrace her family.
Floyd frowned.
"No."
"I might be of help."
"That power is very useful, but I never want to see you use it again. Do you even know what state you were in when you collapsed?"
"But I'm alive, aren't I? I'll be your sword and shield, Your Highness."
"And the Sorceress?"
"That too, if you wish."
Floyd laughed heartily.
"Being a Sorceress might be alright. If I share a bed with you, I might get to sleep under a fluffy blanket too. But no, Roxy. Right now, you seem hardly capable of acting like a proper noblewoman, let alone a saucy Sorceress."
Floyd looked Roxy up and down before saying, "Unless you want me to pick you up and carry you back to Lily Palace, get up now and go rest."
Roxy realized that stubbornness wouldn't work. Besides, she reminded herself that she wasn't in a position to be stubborn.
Until recently, she had only wanted to die without any will to live. She felt guilty even breathing and couldn't bring herself to swallow anything.
She was embarrassed by her own behavior, acting as if she were perfectly fine just because she had saved a few people.
'Right, nothing has changed.'
She was still useless. She collapsed after accepting the Spirit and caused trouble for Floyd. There was no way a body that crumbled from briefly accepting a Spirit could be of any help in killing monsters.
Floyd silently watched Roxy leave the bed and head towards the door without a sound.
He found it strange that she, who had been so full of fighting spirit just moments ago, as if she were about to lead the charge onto the battlefield, had suddenly turned into a ghost.
'Why is she like that again? Did I say something wrong?'
He was grateful that she had saved the people who had almost died because of her power. But he never wanted to experience what had happened afterward again.
A body that turned so cold it could frost over!
He had been able to save her thanks to a capricious, crazy being. She called that being a Fire Spirit, but whatever it was, it was clear that it hardly ever did what Floyd wanted.
If her body were to freeze again, there was no guarantee that he would be lucky enough to save her this time.
But he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong as she opened the door weakly without looking back, so Floyd called out to her without realizing it.
"Roxy."
Roxy, with her hand on the doorknob, turned her head. Floyd looked at her dejected eyes and asked cautiously, "Are you sulking?"
Roxy's eyes widened and then narrowed. She seemed to be angry at his words, slightly furrowing her brow before returning to a blank expression and replying calmly, "You are truly absurd, Your Highness."
+++
Roxy felt the gazes of the servants as she walked through the main palace. She knew they were glancing at her and whispering among themselves, but she pretended not to notice and walked forward, looking straight ahead.
Passing the large garden next to the main palace, she saw the archway leading to the Lily Palace garden. Only today did Roxy truly take in the scenery of the Grand Duke's palace.
Floyd's bedroom had been desolate, but the Grand Duke's palace garden was vibrant and beautiful. It was late November in the Kanta Kingdom, when plants usually lost their vitality due to the winter, but it wasn't so cold here, and the plants were still growing vividly.
Roxy ran her fingers along the vines wrapped around the archway as she walked, entering the Lily Palace garden. Passing the pond where the child had collapsed and entering the Lily Palace, the servants who were working were startled and bowed their heads.
"Princess."
Roxy didn't know why the servants, who had been distant until now, were suddenly greeting her so respectfully, but she lightly bowed her head in response.
"I'm not a princess anymore, I'm Roxy. Just call me Roxy."
She didn't know why everyone was calling her princess when she wasn't one anymore. Perhaps it was because the owner of this Grand Duke's palace called her that, but the title was very distressing and burdensome.
Roxy left the servants, who couldn't answer, behind and went up the stairs. Entering the bedroom on the second floor, Petria, who was cleaning, hurriedly ran over.
"Roxy! Are you alright? I heard you collapsed. Are you in a lot of pain?"
Roxy looked at Petria's face with a fresh feeling.
Petria had been polite, kind, and attentive to Roxy from the beginning. Just like Lasha.
Gratitude that she hadn't been able to feel before because she hadn't had the emotional capacity welled up in her chest.
"I'm fine. Thank you for worrying, Petria."
"That's a relief, really. I heard you did a great thing. Jackie was so loud about it that everyone in Lily Palace knows what you did."
"Jackie?"
"Oh, she's a trainee cook working in the kitchen. She collapsed yesterday because of the Contaminated Water. She said to tell you that she's really grateful and will be loyal to you for life. She'd be very happy if you acknowledged her sometime."
Roxy didn't know how to react to Petria's fuss.
She had just done what she could. She didn't think she had bestowed a great favor on them.
"Aren't you hungry? The cooks are very eager to make anything for you."
"For me?"
"Yes, everyone wants to do something for you. You're their benefactor."
"Ah..."
When Roxy closed her mouth, not knowing what to say, Petria blushed.
"Yes, I understand how you must feel, Roxy. They've been treating you so badly all this time, and now their attitude has completely changed because you've done them a favor. I'm the one who's dumbfounded. I've been telling them off so much."
It was natural for the servants to treat her poorly, Roxy thought. It would be strange to treat someone with a slave mark so respectfully in such a visible place.
"So, Roxy, please tell me if there's anything you want to eat. We can't use water freely yet, so it's hard to make anything grand, but we'll cook for you with all our heart."
"Just... I'll just have some fruit."
After Petria left, Roxy slumped onto the sofa, feeling drained.
She hadn't known that accepting a Spirit into her body would be so exhausting. Her body was still shivering, her legs felt weak, and she had difficulty breathing as if her lungs had hardened.
'But everyone survived safely.'
Roxy hugged the cushion embroidered with Adelia Flower.
While thinking it was fortunate, she couldn't shake the thought that it would have been better if she could have helped when her own family was dying.
Roxy buried her face in the cushion and tried to escape the terrible despair.
She didn't realize that she had been letting despair swallow her up until recently, but now she was trying to escape it.
'It's a good thing. My family would have said I did a good job. God must think I did a good job too. That's why he showed me Echion in my dream.'
As Roxy was recalling Echion's affectionate touch, Petria returned with a basket of fruit. Putting down the basket filled with fresh fruit, Petria said, "Roxy, you have a visitor. They're waiting in the drawing room..."
"A visitor?"
So far, the only person who had visited Roxy was Floyd. Besides, he always entered her bedroom as he pleased, so she wondered who the polite visitor waiting in the drawing room was.
"Yes, Sir Lenardo has come to see you."
+++
When Roxy entered the drawing room on the first floor, Hexton, who had been waiting on the sofa, jumped up.
Hexton, who always went around in shabby clothes, was wearing the royal guard's uniform. His disheveled hair was neatly combed back, and he wore a golden sash, looking like a knight who had come to pay homage to the King.
He stood in front of Roxy, clenched his right fist, placed it on his left chest, and bowed his head.
"Hexton Renardo of the Golden Lion Knights greets Princess Franche."
Roxy, who had never expected to receive such a formal greeting, stopped and stared at him before saying, "I'm not a princess, Sir Lenardo. Please raise your head."
"You are a princess. No matter what anyone says, you are a princess to me."
Hexton said with his head bowed.
"You saved my daughter, Princess. If you hadn't been there, my family would be in despair, standing before our daughter's corpse. So you saved me, you saved my wife and son, and you saved my daughter."
His voice, speaking resolutely, trembled slightly.
"You saved my treasure, Princess, so please allow me to give you the knight's oath."
"The knight's oath... Sir Lenardo. I am now just a slave. If you give me the knight's oath, it will be the ultimate insult not only to you but also to your family and members."
"I have already asked for permission from my family and members. I only need your permission, Princess."
Roxy was flustered by Hexton's stubborn attitude. Hexton was still bowing his head, as if he wouldn't move until he received permission.
