“It seems you two have become quite close while I was away.”

“I greet His Majesty the Emperor, the noble sky and sun of the Renel Empire. We were having a brief conversation.”

Countess Grantia rose with an unperturbed expression and gracefully offered her respects.

Parnes looked intently at Kasallin, not at her, and asked.

“I see. What were you talking about?”

Countess Grantia’s lips moved slightly for a moment, then she glanced at the portrait abandoned in the corner.

“We were talking about that painting.”

“Countess.”

Kasallin was quite flustered and gave her a meaningful look.

She must know how furious he would be to learn that a portrait of his face was neither completed nor discarded, but merely gathering dust in a corner.

Kasallin couldn’t understand Countess Grantia’s intentions at all.

Kasallin bowed her head.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. I’ll go dispose of it right away.”

“Who said you could do that?”

“Pardon?”

“Though it’s merely painted with colors, it is still my face. Are you saying you’ll burn it and destroy it now?”

Kasallin rolled her eyes earnestly, thinking about how to respond.

Parnes, who had been quietly watching such Kasallin, let out a soft chuckle and roughly tousled her hair.

Seeing this, Countess Grantia somehow lost her words and froze.

“You’re making such an unusually serious face. I meant it as a compliment.”

“A… compliment?”

“A full month has passed and you still haven’t thrown away the painting, which means you’re prepared to continue working on it. Well then, how about sitting the model in front of you this time and painting properly?”

Parnes slowly caressed Kasallin’s hair that had fallen around her ears.

Every time his fingertips inadvertently touched her cheeks and earlobes, her skin burned as if scorched by fire.

Kasallin nodded deeply to hide the blush that bloomed red like a summer rose.

“Of course, if you would permit it.”

Parnes stared at Kasallin’s reddened face for a long while with impatient eyes.

He moved his hand as if to caress her cheek with hesitation, but eventually forced himself to regain his composure and pulled his hand far away.

Like a giant beast carefully hiding its claws for fear of damaging a small, delicate flower.

“I’ll come to fetch you by tomorrow. Wait for me.”

Parnes turned to leave.

Just before crossing the threshold, he suddenly remembered and gestured toward Countess Grantia.

She, who had been lost in confused thoughts alone, quickly came to her senses and approached him.

“Did you call for me, Your Majesty?”

“Today I’m in quite a good mood, so I’ll overlook it this once.”

Parnes whispered in a low voice that Kasallin couldn’t hear.

“But if you speak such nonsense in front of that child even once more, you’ll have to be prepared for the consequences.”

“Your recovery has been faster than expected since you started using crutches. You may experience some pain for a while, but it seems the bandages can be removed sometime this week.”

The court physician who visited to check on her progress spoke with a satisfied expression.

The leg that seemed like it would never heal for a lifetime was fortunately recovering rapidly, and now she had reached a level where she could walk slowly without crutches.

“It’s thanks to you, court physician. Thank you.”

“I only did what was necessary. If anything, it’s thanks to His Majesty the Emperor, not me.”

“That’s right. I don’t know how I can repay this debt.”

“Since it’s just the two of us, I’ll say this: His Majesty has been extremely worried about you all this time, even though he didn’t show it outwardly.”

“Is that so?”

The court physician waved his hand as if to say don’t even mention it.

“Especially the day you were first found injured, I don’t even want to think about it again. That cold-blooded Emperor completely lost his reason… He’s not usually like that, but truly, you live long enough to see everything.”

“What happened that day?”

When Kasallin asked with interest, the court physician smiled awkwardly and packed his medical bag.

“It’s nothing. Take your medicine and don’t skip meals. Well then, I’ll see you again.”

Why does everyone keep holding back their words like this?

She was leaning against the sofa with a frustrated heart, gently stretching her stiff leg.

“Miss Kasallin. I’ve brought some snacks.”

“Yes. Please come in.”

An unfamiliar maid came in carrying fruit sandwiches and ginger cookies on a silver tray.

Kasallin responded with a polite smile.

“Thank you for taking the trouble to prepare this. It looks quite delicious.”

“Not at all. Please enjoy it.”

After the maid left the room, Kasallin, who was feeling a bit peckish, picked up a ginger cookie.

But there was a white envelope sticking out from under the tray.

‘What’s this?’

She carefully opened the mysterious envelope that only had “To Miss Kasallin” written on it with no sender’s name anywhere, and a similarly white note came out.

It read as follows:

If you want to know the truth, come alone to the entrance of the western forest before dawn breaks.

I will be waiting. ]

She turned the paper back and forth to see if there were any hidden letters or the sender’s name written, but there was nothing.

It seemed they intended to thoroughly hide their identity until meeting in person.

‘Shallen and Rose have been deceiving me for a long time? What does this mean? Who in the middle of the Renel Imperial Palace would send such a note?’

Kasallin tossed and turned all night unable to sleep, and when the clock hands pointed to four, she slipped out of bed.

She put on a wool shawl for winter, held a candle lamp in one hand, and carefully went down the stairs.

Knowing it was impossible to avoid the eyes of the guards on night watch anyway, she deliberately walked out through the main gate with confidence.

“Wait, who’s there!”

At four in the morning when everyone was asleep, the guard held his breath for a moment seeing a woman walking with white ankles showing under her fluttering dress.

Kasallin brought the lamp close to her face and said.

“It’s me.”

“Oh my. Isn’t it Miss Robepon? Where on earth are you going at such a late hour?”

“I couldn’t sleep at all, so I thought I’d take a walk before going back in. Don’t worry. I won’t go far.”

“Then I’ll escort you.”

“No.”

Kasallin firmly held up her palm.

“I’m truly grateful, but I’ll decline. I want to be alone right now.”

“But if His Majesty the Emperor finds out…”

“Please keep it secret from His Majesty. I don’t want to see him worry because of me. You’ll do that, won’t you?”

When Kasallin smiled and asked, the guard’s face reddened as if troubled, but eventually nodded saying he had no choice.

Kasallin pretended to head toward the nearby garden, and when she was far from the guard’s sight, she turned and took a side path.

After going round and round for a while, she arrived at the entrance to the western forest and calmly looked around.

The forest at dawn was silent and eerie.

Pale mist embraced the tree leaves, heavy with damp dew.

Just then, an unknown bird with red wing feathers crossed the sky.

She thought it might be going to feed its chicks, but the creature stumbled and fell to the ground before even reaching its nest.

Looking closely, the wing feathers weren’t red but stained with blood from injury.

“It’s similar to you. Small, pretty, and wounded.”

Just as she was about to examine the pitiful bird that seemed about to die.

A strange man’s voice was heard not far away.

As soon as she saw him emerge from the mist, Kasallin was seized by a strange feeling.

It was definitely a face she was seeing for the first time, yet somehow she felt a peculiar déjà vu as if she had met him somewhere before.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Kasallin Robepon.”

He took off his hat and bowed gentleously like a gentleman.

His loosely tied red hair flowed down below his broad shoulders.

Kasallin maintained her distance.

“Are you the one who sent me that suspicious letter?”

“It’s not a suspicious letter, but I did send a letter anyway. I’m glad you received it well.”

Aster glanced at Kasallin’s leg with an interested look and continued.

“You still seem uncomfortable in your body, yet I’m grateful you came all this way.”

“The pleasantries are over, so reveal your identity. Who are you?”

“I am the faithful attendant of the beloved Queen Rose, Your Majesty, or in other words, I am merely a humble servant named Aster.”

“Aster… Could it be that Aster family?”

“As expected of Miss Kasallin. Her Majesty the Queen thought for quite a while when she heard my name.”

If memory serves correctly, his father probably visited her house once long ago.

She had heard that despite being nobles in name, they were somewhat eccentric, researching secretive studies passed down as secrets within the family.

Though not famous, those in the know knew it was a family of pharmacists who were fairly recognized for their skills in rural areas.

“I haven’t heard that Rose has an attendant like you.”

“Of course you wouldn’t know. I was appointed to the attendant position while Miss Kasallin was confined within Emperor Parnes’s comfortable and warm sanctuary.”

A slight tremor occurred around Kasallin’s eyes.

This man is no ordinary person, her rational mind kept sending signals.

“Did Rose send you all the way to the Renel Empire to find me?”

“No. Her Majesty the Queen thinks Miss Kasallin is dead. King Shallen too, of course. How could they believe you’re alive? Despite such a long period of persistent searching, not a single trace was found. Naturally, they think you were swept away by the river or taken by wild beasts.”

“Wait. Searching?”

Aster’s eyes sparkled like a fisherman discovering a fish that had taken the bait.

“Oh my. You didn’t know? His Majesty King Shallen searched for you for quite a long time. He’s given up now though.”

“His Majesty Parnes didn’t mention that they were looking for me in the Kan Kingdom.”

“Yes. That would be the case. His Majesty King Shallen didn’t request cooperation from the Renel Empire. How could he say to the emperor of a neighboring country with whom relations are already bad, ‘Kasallin went missing because of me, please help find her’? He has his pride.”

But you know.

Aster took a step closer with both hands thrust in his pockets.

“Did Emperor Parnes really not know that fact?”