When Parnes Escalo returned after briefly stepping away, his face carried a somehow different atmosphere from when he had risen from his chair earlier.
It was a cold chill that was difficult to describe in words.
Kasallin picked out kidney beans from her salad while secretly observing his expression.
“Did something happen?”
“Don’t be picky with your food.”
“……”
The kidney bean dropped from the tip of her fork and rolled between the lettuce leaves.
Kasallin silently pushed the salad bowl away and pretended not to care by drinking her beverage, avoiding his sharp gaze.
Then he let out a deflated laugh.
“You really are something.”
“Why, why?”
“When you’re among people, you seem like a proper adult, but when no one’s watching like this, you show surprisingly childish sides.”
As he said this, he carefully surveyed the dining table where the overall amount of food had clearly decreased.
“While you’ve completely devoured the meat, eggs, mousse cake, and fruits without a trace, you’ve barely touched the vegetables. Your parents must have had quite a hard time raising you.”
“I’m, I’m full, that’s why. And I was a very good daughter.”
“Don’t play innocent. It’s because you don’t eat well-balanced meals that your personality is so wicked.”
“Then Your Majesty, who skips meals at every opportunity, is that why your personality is the way it is?”
“……What?”
At his voice that had sunk low, Kasallin’s shoulders flinched upward.
Had she gotten carried away with the playful banter and unknowingly crossed the line?
When she carefully looked up to gauge his reaction, instead of the anger she expected, there was Parnes Escalo bursting into loud laughter.
“I lost. I lost.”
He even shook his head side to side while holding his forehead as if he couldn’t handle it.
The sight of his always coldly set lips forming soft curves was unfamiliar yet somehow tickled a corner of her heart.
He looks so wonderful when he smiles.
Why doesn’t he laugh often?
“What did you lose? I never suggested we make a bet.”
“No. It’s nothing. It’s just……”
He rested his chin in his palm crookedly and muttered as if talking to himself.
“You seem rather cute.”
“What? Who……”
“Look how late it’s gotten already. Let’s get up if you’re finished eating.”
Kasallin hurriedly chased after Parnes Escalo who had left his seat alone without looking back.
She thought what she had just heard might have been her imagination, but seeing his back as he adjusted his walking pace for her as always, she wondered if perhaps she hadn’t misheard after all.
“You know that the hunting competition is coming up soon.”
He said while walking forward.
The annual imperial hunting competition held regularly had the nominal purpose of being a charitable event to distribute fresh meat and other food supplies to orphanages.
Except for a few simple rules, it was basically a format where all nobles could freely enjoy hunting.
Of course, Shallen Riche and Rose Robepon were also scheduled to attend, and Kasallin, as a maid, had to follow Rose and take care of her.
“Of course. I was planning to prepare thoroughly for it.”
“No. You should take sick leave and rest.”
“What?”
His feet, which had been walking at an unusually slow pace as if hoping the time returning to the palace would last longer, came to a stop.
He turned to look this way.
His face, where the laughter from moments before had completely disappeared, was silently swelling with incomprehensible conflict, confusion, and displeasure.
“It’s a schedule too demanding for you to handle right now. Know that and stay at the palace.”
“I cannot do that. Isn’t the hunting competition an important event with major dignitaries from various countries attending in large numbers? I must take care of Her Majesty the Queen as a maid and as her sister.”
Kasallin replied seriously, noticing that his words contained not a hint of jest.
Then a strange mockery flickered in his honey-colored eyes as he looked down at Kasallin.
“You have no obligation to take care of Queen Rose. There’s no need for it, and no reason for it either.”
“What do you mean……”
“It’s okay to be more selfish and cunning. You’re a decent person anyway.”
He left behind incomprehensible words until the end and disappeared toward the other side of the garden.
[This is the timeline separator]“I plan to take sick leave for a while.”
Kasallin went to find Shallen during her time to breathe after dinner and tea.
She was concerned about Parnes Escalo’s firm voice telling her not to come to the hunting competition.
Actually, even without him, going to the hunting competition might have been too much.
With lack of sleep, neurosis, body aches, and even a cold all overlapping, her recent physical condition could hardly be called normal.
If she set out on a long journey in this condition, there could be accidents and she might not be able to skillfully take care of Rose, so she was about to explain that she would rather rest thoroughly and return.
“I refuse.”
Before hearing the detailed reasons, Shallen dismissed it with a single “no” and sipped his tea with its bitter aroma rising.
“Why won’t you allow it?”
“Because taking sick leave by feigning illness when you’re not even slightly unwell is negligence of duty. Know that and go back.”
One side of her head began to throb again.
Just thinking about having to argue with him again seemed to revive the headache that had somewhat subsided while she was with Parnes Escalo.
“Do you think I’m feigning illness right now?”
“It’s fine to go around having fun and flirting with the Emperor, but you can’t attend the hunting competition to assist the Queen? If that’s not feigning illness, what is it?”
“How did you know I was with His Majesty the Emperor yesterday? Don’t tell me you were watching?”
“Being treated specially, you probably think you’ve become royalty yourself. Don’t be mistaken. The Emperor is just treating you as an interesting toy and playing along for a moment.”
Shallen put down his empty cup with a thud and stood up.
As he passed by Kasallin, he declared:
“Make sure to come along to the hunting competition. Stop that pathetic act of pretending to be sick.”
Unfortunately, Shallen, who had spoken that way, would experience regret for the first time in his life a few days later.
That he shouldn’t have spoken that way then.
That he should have at least pretended to believe her words about being sick.
[This is the timeline separator]The day of the hunting competition that many nobles had been eagerly awaiting dawned, and the atmosphere was truly festive.
The Emperor’s hunting grounds, which spread extensively across the mountain foothills, were located about thirty minutes away by leisurely horseback ride from the imperial palace.
Foreign delegations departed in groups with people from the same countries.
At the entrance to the mountain lodge nestled in thick fog between deep valleys and winding ravines, many nobles had already gathered.
In that chaotic crowd, Kasallin found herself unconsciously looking for one man.
“When it comes to hunting skills across the continent, it has to be His Majesty Emperor Parnes Escalo, doesn’t it?”
“That’s right. Who else could take down a brown bear with a single arrow?”
Nobles dressed stylishly in riding clothes continuously praised Parnes Escalo.
From what she heard, Parnes Escalo’s hunting skills seemed to be quite exceptional.
Kasallin kept scanning through the crowd with her eyes while perking up her ears.
“By the way, who do you think His Majesty Parnes Escalo will present his game to this year?”
The hunting competition had one special culture.
Whether gentleman or lady, when they caught good game, they would dedicate it to their respective spouses, or if unmarried, to someone they usually cherished, to convey their feelings.
Therefore, it was often used as a means of expressing affection.
The fact that they said “this year” must mean that Parnes Escalo had also been giving presents to many people until now. Kasallin was thinking that she somehow couldn’t imagine it when:
“Don’t even expect it. His Majesty the Emperor has always delivered all the game he caught to the orphanages. Such a thing won’t happen this year either.”
“No. Maybe this time there might be an upset. Look over there.”
The noble ladies who had been whispering all turned their heads somewhere in unison.
At the end of their gaze, Parnes Escalo was walking across the field with his characteristic sharp yet elegant stride.
However, she soon had no time to watch him.
No sooner had he appeared than countless nobles swarmed around him, and Shallen beside her called Kasallin with an irritated voice.
“Kasallin. What are you standing there dazed for? Hurry up and take care of the Queen.”
“I was about to do that without your rushing.”
Shallen, who had been glaring at her with disapproving eyes as she retorted without backing down, glanced toward where Parnes Escalo was.
While doing so, he sneered knowingly:
“Don’t tell me you also want to get in there and receive the Emperor’s attention?”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“Your eyes just now did. You had an expression as if you were secretly hoping the Emperor would give you game as a present. Don’t play innocent.”
“What benefit do you gain by portraying me as a frivolous and foolish woman in that way?”
When Kasallin sharply retorted, Rose beside them grabbed her hand.
“Sister. You can’t speak to His Majesty that way. His Majesty always thinks of the dignity of the royal family. Sister should be careful of your behavior as a maid.”
“Indeed, our Queen understands my feelings well. Unlike someone who just feigns illness, the Queen actively came forward saying she definitely wanted to attend the hunting competition. I can’t help but say she’s admirable.”
As he put Kasallin down while elevating himself, Rose lowered her head slightly and smiled sweetly.
The faint shadow that had been cast over her face had somehow completely lifted.
There, superiority as a queen and even confidence from being loved by her husband had emerged.
“Kasallin. From now on, stay close by the Queen’s side. Although it’s a controlled area by soldiers, the forest is still dangerous. Make sure to assist her well so that she doesn’t get hurt by any chance.”
Kasallin replied with silence instead of words and went to stand beside Rose as instructed.
Only then did Shallen smile with satisfaction, pulling at his lips.
“We depart soon! Everyone prepare!”
A soldier at the front was about to blow a horn after shouting loudly when:
“Wait.”
At someone’s single word, the soldier exhaled the breath he had inhaled to blow the horn.
Everyone’s gaze was drawn to one place all at once.
The place where Parnes Escalo, who had been walking with rustling steps from far away, stopped was right in front of none other than Kasallin.
“Why are you here?”
“Your Majesty.”
“I should have personally advised you that taking sick leave would be good.”
Kasallin tightly gripped the reins while lowering her long eyelashes.
Then Parnes Escalo’s face, which had been coldly rigid, softened considerably.
“……I’m not angry, so don’t make that expression.”
“I apologize, but.”
At this moment, Shallen interjected.
He looked back and forth between Kasallin and Parnes Escalo with a face like stiff old tree bark and continued:
“Sick leave, what do you mean by that?”
“Exactly what I said. I told her it would be better to rest at the palace rather than attend the hunting competition.”
“But why……”
“There were circumstances that warranted it. Unfortunately, just recently, on a day when a downpour fell, she was caught in the rain for a long time because of someone and her physical condition is not good. I thought Your Majesty the King would already know this well. It seems you failed to pay attention to her.”
Shallen, who realized that Parnes Escalo was making remarks with ulterior motives directed at him, felt something called conscience stirring while also feeling somewhat flustered.
Only now did he think that perhaps Kasallin’s attempt to take sick leave might not have been simple malingering after all.
My Step-brother Is Obsessed With Me (Female-dominant)
A gentle female protagonist vs pitiful in the early stage, and a sick male protagonist in the later stage
Cheng Songer transmigrated into the body of a vicious cannon fodder female supporting character with the same name as her in a female-dominant novel.
In the original story, the cannon fodder female supporting character was inhumane, committing domestic violence, gambling excessively, being lustful, and even wanting to sell her stepbrother to a brothel for money.
As luck would have it, she just happened to transmigrate at this time.
Seeing Cheng Qingzhi biting his lip, enduring the tears in his eyes, looking pitiful, her heart softened.
She stuffed the money back into the Madam’s hand and reached out to him.
“Brother, come home with me.”
