Chapter 122: Lucy's Accident
Knock, knock, knock!
It was rare for anyone to knock on the Queen Consort's office door so urgently, so Beatrix found herself rising from her seat without realizing it. Olivia also hurriedly stood up, as the Head Maid with a serious expression entered the office.
Feeling as if her heart was sinking, Beatrix asked urgently, "What is it?!"
"Your Majesty..."
"Speak quickly!"
As Beatrix sharply pressed, the Head Maid approached with quick steps and delivered earth-shattering news.
"Princess Lucy is said to have been in a carriage accident."
The Royal Palace was thrown into chaos.
When Olivia supported the Queen Consort and rushed out to the main gate, King Leonard and Usher were already there.
Usher, on behalf of his parents who were out of their minds with worry, was receiving a report on the full details of the incident from the Royal Guards.
"What is Lucy's condition?"
"She has a wound on her forehead and says her shoulder is a little sore."
"What happened?"
"The baggage cart couldn't handle the weight and slipped on the downhill slope. The Royal Guards tried to stop the oncoming cart, but eventually the cart overturned and collided with the Princess's carriage, causing the carriage to overturn from the impact. The coachman is currently under investigation."
"Who owns the cart?"
"The coachman's occupation is a baggage cart driver, so he was the owner."
Olivia firmly held onto Beatrix, whose shoulders kept drooping. Her hand, touching Beatrix's, was constantly trembling. Queen Consort or not, a mother was a mother.
And beside her stood King Leonard, pale as a sheet. Although pale, unrefined energy was wildly emanating from him. Overwhelmed by his frightening aura, Olivia couldn't even dare to look him in the face and averted her gaze.
Her heart was pounding.
As the image of her parents' wrecked carriage flashed through her mind, Olivia broke out in a cold sweat and her mouth felt parched.
Not long after Noah arrived upon hearing the news, Lucy, whom everyone was waiting for, arrived. Instead of the damaged Royal carriage, a simple navy carriage appeared, carrying Lucy.
King Leonard, who always greeted his daughter with a loving call of her name, rushed to the carriage without a word and personally flung the door open.
"Father..."
As Lucy, with a bandage wrapped around her head, called out to him in a tearful voice, King Leonard slowly took a breath and extended his hand to the child.
"Come here."
King Leonard carefully lifted Lucy into his arms. The body of his daughter, whom he held in his arms, was intermittently trembling as if the shock of the accident had not yet subsided.
"Lucy!"
"Mother..."
Beatrix rushed to check on her daughter, but King Leonard simply strode away. No one dared to speak to him, intimidated by his coldly refined demeanor.
Olivia and Noah, as well as Usher, quietly followed the King as he entered the Main Palace.
The Royal Palace sank into a cold silence. No one could even breathe easily.
Even while the Royal female physicians were all summoned to examine Lucy, King Leonard remained silent.
After a silence as sharp as a blade, the physician who had finished examining Lucy quietly came out and said, "Fortunately, there are no major injuries other than the wound on her forehead. It seems that her right shoulder was impacted during the collision, but it's just a muscle strain, so it will get better with time."
Despite the physician's words, King Leonard remained silent. Seeing this, Beatrix stepped forward and praised the physician for her hard work.
Soon, Mrs. Lehman cautiously opened the door, and the Royal family entered Lucy's room.
The girl, startled by the accident, had a pale face, but it seemed that she was not seriously injured, as the physician had said.
"Are you alright?"
As Beatrix asked, Lucy gave a slight smile.
"Yes. I'm alright, Mother."
Then, she stealthily turned her gaze to her father. Since King Leonard said nothing, Usher, Noah, and Olivia could not easily speak to Lucy either.
As King Leonard looked at his injured daughter with complicated feelings, Lucy cautiously opened her mouth.
"Father."
"...Yes."
"I... I did a group presentation today..."
Lucy probably wanted to change the serious atmosphere caused by her injury. However, King Leonard let out a short sigh and cut off Lucy's words.
"Lucy, this is not the time to talk about group presentations."
"......"
"It's a relief that it ended there."
As her father spoke in a heavy tone, Lucy quickly nodded.
"Yes, Father! It doesn't hurt at all."
"......"
Nevertheless, as her father's expression remained dark, the girl cautiously asked about the thing she was most worried about.
"So... I can go to school tomorrow, right?"
"......"
"My forehead isn't very hurt either. My shoulder is just a little stiff. My legs aren't hurt at all. So, tomorrow at school..."
"Lucy."
King Leonard gently stopped his daughter's words. Then, he said firmly, so that the girl could not open her mouth again.
"Rest."
He then turned around and, as he left his daughter's room, ordered his secretary, "Thoroughly investigate the person who crashed into Lucy's carriage and clearly punish them. And contact Lucy's school and tell them that she can't go for the time being."
Each syllable was so sharp that it felt chilling.
He could hear his daughter's crying behind him, but King Leonard's mind did not change.
The girl cried as if her world had collapsed.
It was surprising even to Beatrix, not to mention Noah and Usher, who had watched her for a long time. Lucy was wailing with her mouth wide open.
"Waaaaah, hwaaaaah."
Her nanny, Mrs. Lehman, rushed to comfort her, but it was no use.
"Princess, Princess. Please stop crying, Princess..."
Beatrix tried to comfort her by hugging her daughter's back, but it was equally useless.
"Lucy, Lucy. If you do this, the wound on your forehead will open, baby..."
Lucy cried as if she would die soon. Since they had never seen the child cry so hysterically, her nanny, Mrs. Lehman, was also pale and at a loss.
Her older brothers were of no help in the face of her crying. They were just standing there blankly, repeatedly thinking about how to calm this situation.
At that time, Lucy shouted while crying.
"I'll never be able to go to school again! Father will never let me go out of the Royal Palace again!! Hwaaaaaaaaaah."
"No, Lucy. That's not true."
Even as Beatrix comforted her, Lucy just cried.
Olivia, who was standing by the bed and watching Lucy crying with a pitiful heart, was reminded of the moment when she had been running towards her with a bright face.
The girl, who had barely gone to school, was crying because she was afraid that she would never be able to return there. She was crying because she was afraid that the time when she existed simply as Lucy Therese would never come again.
Olivia quickly looked around.
The aide who had been following King Leonard was holding Lucy's crumpled bag...
Sure enough, Lucy's bag was placed in one corner. Olivia quickly picked up her bag and approached Lucy.
Noah, who had been watching Olivia, tilted his head when she brought Lucy's bag.
Olivia stood next to Mrs. Lehman and kindly asked Lucy, who was crying.
"Did you do well on your group presentation today?"
At the absurd question, the people around her all looked at Olivia at once.
Lucy herself didn't seem to hear Olivia's voice because she was crying. Olivia leaned over and carefully took Lucy's hand and asked again.
"Did you do well on your group presentation today?"
Then Lucy blinked and looked at her. Olivia faced Lucy with a detached expression.
"What subject was it?"
"......"
Lucy's crying, which had only been crying at everyone's comfort until now, surprisingly subsided. Lucy didn't answer, but Olivia sat down on the bed and continued to ask without paying attention.
"Group presentations are subtly difficult. It's not easy to coordinate opinions, and it's difficult to divide roles. What role did you take on? Presentation?"
Lucy sniffled and nodded slightly. Then Olivia smiled brightly and praised her.
"Wow, it's not easy to do a presentation! You have to know all the contents, right? That's amazing! Do you have the presentation materials in your bag?"
As Lucy nodded, gasping for breath mixed with tears, Olivia seized the momentum and asked Lucy if she could look at the contents and opened her bag.
As Lucy tried to get up, Mrs. Lehman stepped back and gave Olivia her seat.
As Olivia sat next to Lucy, Lucy began to take out the things she had studied, sobbing but steadfastly.
"...Today's presentation was on Herot's history. This is what I prepared for the presentation... sob."
The notebook was filled with presentation content. Considering how hard she must have moved her pen with her maple leaf-like hands, it was truly admirable.
Olivia read the contents she had written with a serious expression.
As Olivia read the materials, a sense of dignity was felt for some reason. It seemed like her expression had changed, and it seemed like her atmosphere had changed. Perhaps it was the experience that only someone who had been doing such work for a long time could have.
Even the Queen Consort, Usher, and Noah were overwhelmed by her atmosphere and held their breath.
