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Chapter 25
Phoebe, her eyes brimming with tears, glared at me.
“But Lord Ren is right, isn’t he? If it wasn’t Lord Ren, why would he go out of his way to help you avoid the doctor? You two aren’t even on good terms!”
My maid was too sharp for her own good.
So, I had no choice but to utter a line straight out of a soap opera.
“Because, even Ren….”
Embarrassed, I closed my eyes tightly.
“Even Ren doesn’t know!”
“What?”
Phoebe’s green eyes widened in shock.
“You mean, Lord Ren is… he doesn’t even know if it’s his child? How could you… how could you…”
She gasped.
“Your Highness! Don’t tell me others think so too? Who is it? Is it Grand Duke Callisteon?!”
Might as well rip off the bandaid.
Not wanting to make Phoebe cry twice, I bit the bullet and answered.
“…Ernido.”
“Your Highness!”
But it seemed my prediction was wrong.
Phoebe cried out and collapsed to the floor, sobbing again.
“Have I… have I served you so poorly…?”
It seemed to be a variation of “Did I raise you wrong?”
I meekly apologized.
“It’s not your fault, Phoebe…”
It wasn’t really my fault either, but Phoebe yelled back.
“I should have known when you suddenly gave me a vacation!”
Aha.
Now I knew how I ended up spending a night with those three after ditching sharp-as-a-tack Phoebe.
“Ugh…”
Phoebe, who had been sitting on the floor crying, suddenly jumped to her feet.
“Then, the reason you collapsed… could it be…?”
Rubbing my still-flat stomach, I said,
“The baby seems fine. I just felt dizzy for a moment, and Ren already took care of all the necessary medicine…”
Phoebe’s tear-filled eyes narrowed.
“Then, what about when you felt sick at Heim’s?”
“Oh, no, that time I was really trying to avoid Lord Heim.”
Then, she resolutely wiped her tears.
“Get ahold of yourself, Phoebe. This is no time for this.”
Phoebe led me to the bed, holding me with her tear-stained hands.
“Come on, Your Highness. You need to lie down and rest.”
Even in this unbelievable situation, I smiled weakly at my maid who was trying to take care of me.
“Right away!”
Phoebe urged.
Of course, the barrage of questions continued long after she had tucked me in, but one thing was for sure: I had gained a valuable ally.
‘𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘦𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘺 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨…’
I should have told her sooner.
🔹🔹🔹
The next morning, Helena came to see me and apologized.
“I must have failed to assist Your Highness properly. I am truly sorry.”
Her pretty, protagonist-like face was swollen.
‘𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘦𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘱 𝘩𝘦𝘳?’
Or maybe she cried herself to sleep because she was so upset.
Phoebe glanced at me with an even more disapproving look before excusing herself for a moment.
‘𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘦𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦……’
Feeling apologetic, I held Helena’s hand.
“Helena, you’ve done nothing wrong but follow my orders faithfully.”
But Helena, who had been bowing her head meekly, tilted her head and looked up at me.
“……Your Highness?”
“Yes?”
Then she awkwardly pulled her hand away from mine.
‘𝘐𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦?’
Saddened by Helena’s changed demeanor, I withdrew my hand.
As if trying to break the awkward silence, Helena spoke up.
“I heard that His Majesty the Emperor… shortened your stay at the Imperial Palace to a week. That means you’ll be leaving in four days… And Her Highness the Princess is forbidden from going outside.”
I laughed awkwardly.
“Yeah. I came here with good intentions, I don’t know what kind of trouble this is.”
Then I asked cautiously,
“Um, yesterday… Did you get scolded by my brother because of me? He’s not a bad person, but he can be a bit extreme sometimes…”
I did my best to sugarcoat Lurick’s rudeness.
“He’s been away from me a lot since we were young… He’s just worried, that’s all. If my brother was too harsh on you, I’ll…”
… apologize.
I was about to say that and bravely take Helena’s hand again.
Helena stared at me blankly, her hand still clasped in mine.
Our eyes met, and her expression instantly morphed into one of shock, forcing me to stop talking.
“Helena?”