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

“I greet Your Majesty, the sky and sun of the esteemed Renel Empire. We were just having a brief conversation.”

Countess Grantia rose and curtseyed gracefully with an unperturbed expression.

Farnese stared intently at Katharine, not the Countess, and asked:

“I see. What were you talking about?”

Countess Grantia’s lips twitched slightly, then her gaze shifted to the portrait abandoned in the corner.

“We were discussing that painting.”

“Countess.”

Katharine shot her a concerned look, quite flustered.

She must know how furious His Majesty would be to learn his unfinished portrait was left gathering dust in a corner, neither completed nor discarded.

Katharine couldn’t fathom the Countess’s intentions at all.

She bowed her head.

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

“Who said you could do that?”

“Pardon?”

“Though it may be mere paint on canvas, it is still my face. Are you saying you’ll burn it and destroy it now?”

Katharine’s eyes darted about as she tried to think of how to respond.

Observing her silently, Farnese let out an amused chuckle and ruffled her hair roughly.

Seeing this, Countess Grantia was inexplicably rendered speechless and frozen.

“You look so serious, unlike you. I meant it as a compliment.”

“A compliment…?”

“It’s been at least a month, yet you haven’t discarded the painting. That must mean you intend to continue working on it. Well then, how about painting it properly this time with the model sitting before you?”

Farnese slowly stroked Katharine’s hair that had fallen by her ear.

Each time his fingertips inadvertently brushed her cheek and earlobe, her skin burned as if on fire.

Katharine nodded deeply to hide the blush blooming on her face like a summer rose.

“If you’ll allow it.”

Farnese gazed at Katharine’s flushed face for a long moment with impatient eyes.

He hesitantly reached out as if to caress her cheek, but ultimately pulled his hand away, forcibly regaining his composure.

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

“I’ll send for you tomorrow. Wait for me.”

Farnese turned to leave.

Just before crossing the threshold, he suddenly seemed to remember something and beckoned to Countess Grantia.

Lost in her own confused thoughts, she snapped back to attention and approached him.

“You called for me, Your Majesty.”

“I’m in a rather good mood today, so I’ll overlook it this time.”

Farnese whispered in a low voice so Katharine couldn’t hear.

“But if you speak such nonsense in front of her one more time, you’d best be prepared.”

“Your recovery has been faster than expected since you started using the crutches. There may be some pain for a while, but I think we can remove the bandages this week.”

The court physician said with a satisfied expression as he visited to check on her progress.

Fortunately, the leg that had seemed like it would never heal was recovering quickly, and she could now walk slowly without crutches.

“It’s all thanks to you, doctor. Thank you.”

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

“That’s true. I don’t know how I can ever 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 if he hasn’t shown it outwardly.”

“Is that so?”

The 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. That cold-blooded Emperor completely lost his senses… He’s not usually like that, it was quite something to witness.”

“What happened that day?”

When Katharine asked with interest, the physician awkwardly smiled and packed up his medical bag.

“It was nothing. Take your medicine and don’t skip meals. I’ll see you again soon.”

Why does everyone seem to hold back when speaking?

As she leaned back on the sofa, gently stretching her stiff leg with a frustrated heart, it happened.

“Lady Katharine. I’ve brought some snacks.”

“Yes, come in.”

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

Katharine responded with a polite smile.

“Thank you for going out of your way to bring these. They look delicious.”

“It’s no trouble at all. Please enjoy.”

After the maid left the room, Katharine, feeling a bit peckish, picked up a ginger cookie.

But she noticed a white envelope peeking out from under the tray.

‘What’s this?’

She carefully opened the mysterious envelope, which only had “To Lady Katharine” written on it with no sender’s name. Inside was a white note that read:

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

I’ll be waiting. ]

She turned the paper over, checking for any hidden writing or sender’s name, but there was none.

It seemed the sender intended to keep their identity secret until they met in person.

‘Charlen and Rose have long deceived me? What does this mean? Who could have sent such a note from the heart of the Renel Imperial Palace?’

Katharine tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep. When the clock struck four, she slipped out of bed.

She draped a woolen winter shawl over her shoulders and carefully descended the stairs, holding an oil lamp in one hand.

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

“Halt! Who goes there!”

Seeing a woman walking quietly with white ankles peeking out from under her fluttering dress at 4 AM when everyone was asleep, the guard momentarily held his breath.

Katharine brought the lamp close to her face and said:

“It’s me.”

“Oh my. Lady Roberfon, isn’t it? Where are you going at this late hour?”

“I couldn’t sleep at all, so I thought I’d go for a short walk. Don’t worry, I won’t go far.”

“Then allow me to escort you.”

“No.”

Katharine firmly held up her palm.

“I truly appreciate it, but I must decline. I’d like to be alone right now.”

“But if His Majesty finds out…”

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

When Katharine smiled and made her request, the guard looked troubled, his face reddening. Finally, he nodded as if he had no choice.

Katharine pretended to head towards the nearby garden, but once out of the guard’s sight, she turned and slipped onto a side path.

After wandering for quite some time, she reached the western forest entrance and calmly surveyed her surroundings.

The pre-dawn forest was eerily quiet.

A pale mist clung to the dewy leaves, enveloping the trees.

Just then, an unknown bird with red wingtips flew across the sky.

She wondered if it was going to feed its young, but before reaching its nest, it faltered and fell to the ground.

On closer inspection, its wingtips weren’t naturally red – they were stained with blood from an injury.

“It resembles you. Small, beautiful, and wounded.”

As she was about to examine the poor bird that seemed close to death,

A strange man’s voice came from not far away.

As soon as she saw him emerge from the mist, Katharine was struck by an odd feeling.

Though she was certain she’d never seen his face before, she felt a strange sense of déjà vu, as if they had met somewhere.

“Pleased to meet you, Miss Katharine Roberfon.”

He removed his hat and bowed gracefully at the waist.

His loosely tied red hair fell over his broad shoulders.

Katharine maintained her distance.

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

“While I wouldn’t call it suspicious, I did send a letter. It seems you received it well.”

Aster glanced at Katharine’s leg with interest as he continued speaking.

“You still seem unwell, so I’m grateful you came all this way.”

“We’ve exchanged pleasantries, now reveal your identity. Who are you?”

“This humble one is a loyal servant of Her Majesty Queen Rose, or in other words, a mere dog at her feet. My name is Aster.”

“Aster… Could you be from that Aster family?”

“As expected of Miss Katharine. Her Majesty the Queen took quite some time to recall my name.”

If her memory served correctly, his father may have visited her home once long ago.

She had heard they were something of an eccentric noble family, studying secret arts passed down through generations.

Though not prominent, those in the know were aware they were a family of apothecaries with some repute in the rural provinces.

“I never heard Rose had a servant like you.”

“Of course you wouldn’t know. I was appointed as a servant while Miss Katharine was confined in Emperor Farnese’s comfortable and warm enclosure.”

A slight tremor appeared at the corner of Katharine’s eye.

The rational part of her mind kept signaling that this man was no ordinary person.

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

“No. Her Majesty the Queen believes you to be dead. King Charlen as well, of course. How could they believe you’re alive? Despite such a long and persistent search, not a trace was found. Naturally, they think you were swept away by the river or devoured by wild beasts.”

“Wait. What search?”

Aster’s eyes lit up like a fisherman who had spotted a fish taking the bait.

“Oh my. Could it be you didn’t know? King Charlen searched for you for quite some time. Though he’s given up now.”

“Emperor Farnese never mentioned that I was being searched for in the Khan Kingdom.”

“Yes, I’m sure he didn’t. King Charlen never requested cooperation from the Renel Empire. How could he say to the emperor of an already hostile neighboring country, ‘Katharine went missing because of me, please help me find her’? He has his pride.”

But you know,

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

“Did Emperor Farnese truly not know about this?”