CHAPTER 44…..
Anna tried to lift the limp Linaria. Kaas reached out again, as if to help.
“What if you try to lift the young lady with that injured arm and end up dropping her by mistake?”
“That won’t happen.”
“Forget it. I’m more than enough without your help.”
In the end, Kaas had no choice but to step back.
A sidelong glance.
Anna shot him a glare.
His golden eyes, sharp like those of a raptor, were fixed on Linaria.
Seeing him like that, covered in blood, she thought he really must be out of his mind.
“If you’re planning not to treat that wound just so the young lady can see it, then stop. Do you think she’ll like seeing you like this? She’ll just think you need to be gotten rid of quickly.”
Leaving only that advice, Anna returned to the bedroom.
As a bonus, she shut the door firmly with her foot so Kaas couldn’t follow her in.
“Young lady, I’m sorry I didn’t clean properly. Your feet are a mess because of me.”
Laying Linaria on the bed, Anna spoke in a gentle voice, as if she’d never been cold just moments ago.
Then she soaked a towel in lukewarm water and wiped Linaria’s feet clean.
“I’ll take care of the aftermath, so please feel free to go wherever you like.”
Anna thought to herself—
She didn’t care if the young lady never knew of her efforts for the rest of her life.
If she could remain in Linaria’s heart as just one particularly loyal maid, that would be enough.
“But… could it be because of Madam Meryl?”
Maybe it was because Kaas had asked when the sleepwalking began.
She began to think that perhaps the cause was Meryl, who was no longer here.
“If the young lady hadn’t treated Madam Meryl like a mother… if she hadn’t loved her enough to mourn her death… I might have quietly taken care of her myself.”
If Meryl and Mia really had been the cause, she should have killed them long ago.
Regret welled up inside her.
“But if I had gotten rid of them, I wouldn’t have been able to stay on as just an ordinary maid, right? And I wouldn’t like that. My life shines because you’re here, young lady.”
Anna pulled the blanket over Linaria. Then she turned to leave the room.
But suddenly, her earlier conversation with Kaas popped into her mind, and her face flushed.
‘Why did I blab to that man!’
Looking back, she was mortified.
She’d been taken in too, so what made her think she was any better, running her mouth like that?
If she could go back in time, she’d clamp her own mouth shut.
**
“Somehow…”
Early the next morning—
Linaria, just awake and still disheveled, sat up in bed and murmured,
“I think Kaas was sleeping on the floor again.”
She couldn’t tell if it had been a dream or reality.
Especially the memory of lying next to Kaas in his bed—it felt so unreal that it seemed even more like a dream.
“Young lady, you’re up?”
“Mm…”
Anna had prepared wash water for her.
As Linaria washed her face, she suddenly spoke.
“Kaas.”
Clatter—
Anna dropped the kettle she’d been pouring water from into a cup.
“Oh my. That was careless of me.”
Anna, who normally never made mistakes, smiled as she tidied up.
“Anna, are you alright?”
“Of course. Perfectly fine. So, what were you about to say?”
“It’s about Kaas…”
“Yes, the slave who was formally appointed a knight by the duke, correct?”
Cutting her off before she could finish, Anna acted as though she were meeting Kaas for the first time.
“Yes. I’m curious about him.”
“Oh, but I don’t know anything about that man. Ah, though… I do think he’s slyer than he looks. Aside from that, I know nothing.”
But Linaria’s instincts told her Anna knew far more about Kaas than she let on.
Still, now wasn’t the time to debate whether or not he was sly, so Linaria voiced her question.
At that, Anna’s expression grew serious.
**
Meanwhile, at the Imperial Palace—
Early that morning, the Duke of Leviathan had been summoned by the Empress.
Following his father, the heir to Leviathan, Eva, unwillingly found herself having tea with Maximilian.
It was her father’s idea.
Eva understood his reasoning.
As a member of the imperial in-law family, her visits to the palace were limited, so this was a rare chance to strengthen ties with the Crown Prince.
Still, just because they were cousins didn’t mean they got along.
Even now, the two didn’t bother with friendly greetings or small talk.
They simply did whatever they pleased as though they were in separate spaces.
Eva read her book, and Maximilian leaned back as far as he could in his chair, tilting his head in pensive thought.
It was Maximilian who broke the peaceful silence.
“What do women like to receive?”
“What?”
“You’re a woman, so you’d know.”
Eva was indeed a woman.
But being female didn’t mean she could answer such a question at the drop of a hat.
She considered it seriously.
If Maximilian hadn’t kept talking, she might have given a perfectly normal answer.
“Correction—what gift would make a woman instantly accept a marriage proposal?”
Eva stared at him.
Her eyes said, Is this man insane?
Maximilian didn’t seem to notice.
If he had, he wouldn’t have been so unresponsive to being so openly regarded as a madman.
Eva picked up her teacup and took a sip.
It had been sitting untouched for so long that it was already cold, and she couldn’t even taste it—but that didn’t matter.
She was drinking it just to calm herself.
“But I don’t want it to look like I’m desperate just because I sent a gift.”
“Pfft—!”
Eva nearly spat her tea out.
It was a close call.
“Why are you even asking me such a pointless question?”
“Because you’re a woman.”
She should’ve been born a man.
Then she wouldn’t have to deal with such ridiculous questions.
Her gaze now mixed annoyance with resentment.
Unaware that she’d almost sprayed tea in his face, Maximilian leaned his head to the side, chin in hand.
With his looks—so fine that even Eva had to admit it—he appeared refined and serious, like he was pondering the great affairs of the empire as Crown Prince.
In reality, he was worrying about the most trivial thing in the world.
“Usually, flowers, dresses, or shoes are good choices.”
“How obvious.”
“They’re obvious because they work—no disappointment that way.”
“But she said she didn’t like a similar gift before.”
“Then it wasn’t her taste. Even with jewelry—if someone loves diamonds, they won’t be thrilled to get emeralds.”
Perhaps convinced, Maximilian nodded.
“If you’re planning to propose, a ring is a must.”
“How old-fashioned.”
“Then give her a crown, for all I care.”
When he kept acting unimpressed, she finally gave a snappier answer.
Then suddenly, Eva felt something off.
As far as she knew, Maximilian wasn’t officially courting any young lady at present.
There had been recent talk of marriage, but that wasn’t something that involved picking out personal gifts.
So, could it be…?
“Don’t tell me—it’s Lady Obel?”
Eva recalled seeing Maximilian dance with the Lady of Obel at a recent ball.
It had been such an unexpected pairing that it was quite a shock—though the memory had been overshadowed by the explosion incident.
“Something like that.”
“I saw it too. Her dancing was a mess.”
Eva thought Lady Obel had stepped on his foot on purpose, but she didn’t say it aloud.
“She’s a bit lacking for someone of such fine lineage, but I suppose that can be overlooked. Dancing can be learned over time.”
“…She looked rather delicate to me. I guess that’s why your foot didn’t hurt.”
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have made such a… slappable remark.
“What?”
“Nothing. Forget it.”
Maximilian seemed to take it as her simply commenting on Linaria’s thinness.
Since it wasn’t technically wrong, the conversation moved on without issue.
Eva, however, laughed at him in her mind for being such a fool.
