Alicia locked herself in her room.

She literally shut herself away, ignoring even the fact that she had to appear in public on the last day of the spring banquet.

The emperor, the crown prince, and his wife hadn’t seen Alicia’s face for four days now.

“Does Alicia still not want to see my face today?”

“It’s not that she doesn’t want to see Your Majesty’s face, but she says she’s embarrassed to show herself.”

Adrian, who had visited the Imperial Princess’s Palace early in the morning, swallowed a sigh as he looked at Amy, who gave the same answer as yesterday.

He didn’t want to push Amy too hard because she didn’t look too well either.

“Is she eating properly?”

“Mina and Marisa take turns going in and out, but…”

“Sigh… Alicia, are you listening? You don’t have to show your face, but you need to eat.”

Adrian, who conveyed his concern to his sister beyond the door with a voice full of worry, left the Imperial Princess’s Palace, saying he would visit again in the evening.

Amy, who had seen Adrian off, shook her head as she looked at the tightly closed door.

The rumors that had spread from the hunting grounds had now reached beyond the capital to the outskirts of the provinces.

If she had known this would happen, she should have supported Alicia herself, regardless of how fiercely Duke Diaz glared at her…

What was Killian thinking when he supported Alicia, holding her as if embracing her, as she trembled all over with worry for her family and could barely walk?

She wasn’t sure what such a frightening man was thinking, but she could tell what emotion was evident on his face every time she reached out to support Alicia instead, only to be met with a murderous glare.

‘Possessiveness.’

But why?

When did he start harboring such feelings after ignoring his precious master all this time?

No, why did he develop such feelings when he never had them to begin with?

Amy, who had taken in the small child seeking her mother’s embrace and raised her preciously, wanted Alicia to no longer be hurt in her relationship with Killian.

‘That man is not right.’

He’s a man who doesn’t know what family is.

That man, who never learned or understood what love or affection is, can never make Alicia happy.

So Amy decided to pretend not to have seen that vivid emotion that was almost tangible that day.

It’s not like anyone would believe her if she said she saw any emotion from that man anyway, so it would be better to act as if she hadn’t seen anything at all.

Having sorted out her thoughts, Amy asked Marisa, who was standing guard in front of the door.

“Is Mina inside?”

“Yes.”

“You two are working so hard.”

“Mrs. Campbell is working even harder.”

Amy nodded with satisfaction at Marisa’s polite attitude, who had solidified her temporary position with her own abilities.

Marisa had a calmness that Mina lacked.

‘She’s twenty-one, wasn’t she?’

Is it because she’s four years older than Mina?

As Amy was pondering where Marisa’s calmness came from, she noticed the door quietly opening without her touching it and realized who would be coming out.

“Your Highness?”

“She’s still not feeling well. What should we do, Mrs. Campbell? It’s been days since she’s eaten properly.”

If Marisa had a calmness that Mina lacked, Mina had a loyalty that Amy hadn’t yet confirmed in Marisa.

“I’ll go in and see her.”

“Should I prepare a meal in advance?”

“There’s no need to rush. Wait.”

“Yes.”

Amy gently patted Mina’s shoulder, who nodded with her fists tightly clenched, and then lightly knocked on the tightly closed door.

-Knock knock

“Your Highness, it’s Amy. I’m coming in for a moment.”

There was no answer, but Amy opened the door herself and walked inside.

If someone were to punish her for this, she would accept it willingly.

There was no time to think about such things when her precious master might starve to death at any moment.

“Your Highness. You need to eat.”

“…”

“The curtains have been closed for too long. The air is heavy.”

“…Amy.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Are the rumors still the same?”

“…Yes.”

That was a lie.

They weren’t the same, they had grown even bigger.

Just listening to the whispers behind closed doors, one would think Alicia and Killian were about to get married and oppose Adrian to claim the throne.

What nonsense were they spouting about the siblings who were known to be unusually close throughout history?

Amy briefly clicked her tongue without Alicia noticing and sat down on the edge of the bed, gently stroking the top of the blanket that was bulging in the middle of the bed.

“Your Highness. Baseless rumors are bound to disappear.”

“Will they really disappear?”

“They’ll vanish as soon as another incident occurs.”

No.

Alicia, curled up under the blanket listening to Amy’s words, muttered inwardly.

She had been plagued by countless rumors until she returned to the past.

The thought of the time she had suffered from rumors that spread endlessly, subsided, and then resurfaced again made her stomach churn.

‘Will it be the same this time?’

It will be.

The subject of the rumors was none other than the Imperial Princess of the Empire.

And with the Duke of the Empire entangled as well, people would enjoy dissecting and chewing on various rumors about the two of them until they died.

“How is Killian… I mean, how is Duke Diaz dealing with this?”

“Nothing.”

“…What?”

“He’s not doing anything.”

Surprised by the unexpected answer, Alicia emerged from under the blanket and looked at Amy, asking again.

“He’s not doing anything?”

“Yes.”

Amy answered while using her fingertips to comb through Alicia’s disheveled hair.

“Why?”

“Pardon?”

“Why isn’t the Duke doing anything?”

“Well…”

At that moment, Killian’s face from the hunting grounds flashed through Amy’s mind.

Could that be the reason?

If so, she absolutely couldn’t tell Alicia.

Alicia was already so stressed just from the rumors of being involved with him again.

Although her feelings for Killian remained, she had declared for some reason that she would give up on him, and after all her efforts, this contradictory result had followed…

‘I didn’t see anything.’

Amy, who had completely erased that face of Killian from her mind, gently caressed Alicia’s soft cheek, which had grown gaunt in just a few days, and said,

“If both of you show no reaction, the rumors will quickly die down. Duke Diaz must know this too, which is why he’s not responding at all.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes, so please eat something now.”

Alicia, who had been lost in thought with a gloomy face, nodded slightly.

Pleased with this response, Amy pulled the cord beside the bed and instructed Mina, who came in quickly, to bring Alicia’s meal, while ordering Marisa to draw the curtains covering the windows to air out the room.

She herself began to move busily to prepare Alicia’s washing water and change of clothes.

The once quiet room became bustling with activity.

Alicia, still unable to leave the bed, watched the busy movements of her maids while trying to comfort herself, who was about to become gloomy again.

‘That’s right, compared to the things I’ve done in the past, this is nothing.’

It should be nothing.

‘It should be, but…’

In the past, the more she tried to get close to Killian, the farther he became, but now the more she tried to distance herself, the more closely they seemed to be entangled.

She had a feeling that simply staying within the Imperial Palace and avoiding him wouldn’t be enough to resolve this situation.

“Should I leave?”

Alicia muttered quietly to herself and quickly looked around to see if anyone had heard her words.

Fortunately, the maids, busy with their assigned tasks, didn’t seem to have heard her.

‘When summer comes, Killian will leave for the west. If I can just stay away from the capital until then…’

If she says she’ll stay in Lasa Castle, not too far away, the emperor would allow it.

Considering the rumors that must have spread in the capital, her brother would gladly nod his approval too…

‘The problem is Sienna… Will it be okay?’

There were still many tasks she hadn’t handed over to Sienna yet.

Last winter, when Alicia left the capital, Sienna had confidently accepted the tasks handed over to her, but when Alicia returned in early spring, Sienna had welcomed her back with tears in her eyes.

‘More precisely, she begged me to save her.’

Having experienced the overwhelming workload once, would Sienna be willing to take on the tasks again this time?

‘She would take them… That’s the problem.’

Sienna cared for Alicia as much as Adrian did, so if Alicia said she wanted to leave the capital for a while because she couldn’t bear the rumors, Sienna would surely accept her wishes and try to take on all the work again.

It was true that Sienna would have to take over everything eventually, but it was too much work to hand over right away.

‘Should I leave Amy behind?’

Amy, who had helped the young Alicia not to be overwhelmed by excessive work, would be a great help to Sienna.

‘I’m not sure if Amy would agree to stay.’

Although it wasn’t as noticeable due to the overprotectiveness of the emperor and Adrian, Amy was also one of the people who tried to overprotect Alicia.

‘I should meet with Father first.’

The emperor would surely give Alicia the right answer and method.

Having sorted out her thoughts, Alicia got out of bed, and Amy, who had already approached and was waiting, held out a basin of water.

“I’m going to see Father.”

“After you eat first.”

“…I’ll move right after I finish eating…”

“I’ll personally convey your wishes to His Majesty the Emperor. Will that do?”

“Yes.”

Although he was her father, he was also the emperor, so permission had to be granted in advance to meet him.

Since it was Alicia, of all people, who wanted to see him, the emperor wouldn’t refuse.

Alicia, who had washed away the gloom on her face with clean water, wiped her face with the clean towel Amy handed her and took in the view beyond the window where the curtains had been drawn.

Unlike Alicia’s complicated mind, a clear and clean sky welcomed her gaze.