Chapter 16
16
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When that kid was doing crazy things, Rosa and I used to lament how wasted her eye color was, but now I see that was spot on.
'Of course, there's no way I can communicate with her...'
I kept shaking the flower and insisted.
"Where else would you find pink eyes like Icarus'? The prettiest, and..."
"Ah..."
Then I stopped talking at Icarus' strange sigh.
'I mustn't touch a nerve and make the crazy guy snap...'
It was the moment I decided to reduce my words.
He lowered himself further, kneeling on the one knee he hadn't bent yet.
"So, you are saying you will give the flower to me?"
I barely managed to nod, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.
"Thank you, Your Highness. Sincerely..."
Haa, it's a relief, but...
Looking at his expression, he seems about to go crazy.
'How come everyone's going crazy over a single flower?'
I shook my head and approached Icarus, tucking the flower into a small pocket on his uniform chest.
The single flower stood out against the jet-black uniform.
'Looking at it like this, it really is the same color as his eyes.'
He was still taller than me even kneeling on both knees.
I looked up at him awkwardly and pointed to the bed.
"Peep-peep... That's a bird. You... Thank you for saving him. Icarus saved him."
"Ah, that bird..."
But when Icarus looked at him, Peep-peep turned away as if he felt bad.
'Why is he acting like that...'
But to Icarus, he's probably no more than dust on the bed.
He turned his gaze from Peep-peep back to me and said,
"I am glad I could be of help, little Your Highness."
I became even more embarrassed by his overly polite greeting.
Gabriella returned just as Icarus was getting up.
She found the pink flower I had brought on Icarus' chest and smiled softly.
Icarus greeted Gabriella with his eyes only and left the room.
"You did well, Your Highness."
With Gabriella's praise, a peaceful day in the Separate Palace began.
Meanwhile, Rosa seemed to have started a silent cold war against me and Peep-peep.
The next day, when I went to the Main Palace, Rosa wasn't sleeping soundly as usual.
She didn't say anything or do anything noticeable, but the resentment in her glaring red eyes was more intense than before.
'It must be because her plan to get the cat back by begging her mother has failed.'
The moment I met Rosa's eyes, I turned my head away.
It's not that I'm avoiding her because I'm afraid of poop, but if I just stay still in front of Rosa, I'll really become a pushover.
'How long did it take me to learn that...'
I will never, ever, forget the lesson Rosa taught me.
As if to show off, I ignored her, and I heard a small, puffing breath behind me.
'Let her get as angry as she wants.'
After all, the cat won't be coming back.
I nonchalantly stroked Peep-peep's head, but Rosa was already in Gabriella's arms.
'Too bad.'
If Rosa saw Peep-peep answering questions, she might faint from envy.
Soon Gabriella quietly turned away, and Rosa's angry breathing disappeared.
'What's she going to do if she's angry?'
She's only four years old, just like me.
It's amazing that a four-year-old remembers the resentment of the previous day, but that's just like Rosa, so I shake my head.
'Well, it's just like Rosa.'
After a while, Beatrice came to wake me up.
"Your Highness, did you sleep well?"
I stretched as if I had just woken up.
"Huum... Hello, Tritz."
Then Beatrice winked mischievously and asked.
"Did you deliver the gift to the knight safely yesterday?"
"Huh?"
"The flower! He's even wearing it on his chest!"
Still?
I smiled, thinking of the wilting pink flower.
Before that flower withers, I should pick a new one.
When I went to the audience hall to say good morning, I heard my mother's exclamation from inside.
"Is this all medicine?"
Marquis Hestia smiled quietly and replied.
"Yes, Your Majesty. My son kept talking about the loyalty of a vassal and urged me to bring it quickly, so I had to come to the palace this morning."
"Gray, that child? How grateful. I should see that child separately sometime."
"He will be very happy, Your Majesty."
Beatrice, holding me, hesitated at the door and looked around, but from what I heard, the situation was obvious.
'He was so worried when he saw my wrist the other day...'
Gray must have begged his father to send the medicine.
I tapped Beatrice's shoulder to let her know that I wanted to go inside.
Beatrice swallowed hard and resumed her steps.
The guards shouted.
"The Princess enters!"
After entering the audience hall and Beatrice put me down, I ran to my mother with a happy face.
"Mom!"
"Oh, our daughter is here!"
My mother looked pleased to see me and quickly added.
"Marquis Hestia brought medicine. The young marquis was so worried about our daughter?"
"Thank you, Marquess."
As I slightly lifted my skirt and greeted him, laughter erupted in the hall.
"It is an honor for Hestia, Your Highness."
After responding, the marquis raised his voice towards my mother.
"Indeed, my son was right to be captivated. She now greets so gracefully. You must be proud, Your Majesty."
"Don't you think so too?"
My mother smiled broadly and boasted about me.
I chuckled inwardly and looked at the medicine that the marquis had brought.
There were four or five large chests that I and Rosa could fit into together.
'The scratches from the cat have already disappeared without a trace, so why so much medicine...'
The marquis explained at my bewildered expression.
"Ah, our family's merchant group recently signed a new contract with the Mercure Merchant Group of the Empire. And that Mercure Merchant Group is the most famous apothecary on this continent."
Suddenly, I felt a strange sense of déjà vu, and I stared at the open chests.
Each chest was filled with numerous bottles containing pills, powders, herbs, and liquids.
"So those are all medicine? To eat when you're sick?"
"Ah, clever little Your Highness..."
The marquis said so, then knelt on one knee in front of me with a benevolent smile.
"Most of them are, Your Highness. But the ones in this chest are different."
When he opened the smallest chest, my mother seemed to sense something and stood up in surprise.
"Marquis, the princess is still young."
Then the marquis stood up with an apologetic face and apologized to my mother.
"I apologize, Your Majesty. She is so intelligent that I thought it would be good for her to know the danger in advance, so I was presumptuous for a moment."
At his sincere apology, my mother quickly smiled.
"Presumptuous? I didn't mean that. I will keep Hestia's friendship deeply in my heart."
However, while the adults were exchanging superficial greetings, I couldn't take my eyes off the small chest that the marquis had opened.
In the front row, in a clear glass bottle, was the dried grass that I had seen and touched all my life.
'Siare.'
It was the Poisonous herb whose identity I had realized just before my death.
My mother's voice echoed in my ears as if it were coming from afar.
"Siare is a grass that grows naturally on Momi Mountain in northern Habib. Its scent is similar to that of Mercure, which is often used as an incense, but it is a powerful Poisonous herb that can cause immediate burns upon contact with the skin."
I remember every word.
'How could I forget the shock those words gave me.'
The faint hope that I had buried in my heart, wondering how Rosa, who was only seven years old, had obtained the Empire's Poisonous herb, crumbled.
Rosa would have obtained that grass without any difficulty.
'Because Gray would have helped her...'
Gray, who looked at my wounds with his intelligent blue eyes, came to mind.
'Then, in the past, did Gray give it to Rosa knowing the purpose of that grass?'
From that young age, could he give Rosa anything she asked for?
'...That's too much of a leap.'
I shook my head, thinking of Gray blushing with love.
'What Gray did in the previous life no longer matters.'
He has now decided to be my friend, and he persuaded his father to gift me so much medicine because he was worried that I would be sick.
'So now no one can hurt me...'
However, now that I have faced the greatest fear of my past life, I cannot quell my anxiety with self-consolation alone.
My vision blurred and my ears rang.
The hand holding the fork trembled.
I tried to pick up a fruit, but I missed and the fork slipped with a clatter.
My mother's gaze turned to me.
"...Princess?"
I have to say I'm okay and quickly pick up the food again...
"Icarus!"
My mother calling Icarus and him approaching and catching me from behind happened almost simultaneously.
"Icarus..."
Protect me.
'Mother, please protect me.'
'Gray, please don't hurt me.'
I desperately repeated those words, but nothing escaped my lips.
My vision went dark.
