Chapter 21 – Daily Routine (2)
When morning ca, he rose and departed before , leaving behind only the faintest traces of his presence. It was the sa every day.
I want to sneak into his office.
When I rang the bell by the bed, a maid ca to my chambers. After I finished getting myself dressed, I left the room to begin my day. So days, I went to see the knights. Other days, I made sure to get along well with the maids, because there could certainly be no harm in building amicable relations with the people of the mansion. Of course, I also took good care of Marina along the way.
The person who I ended up becoming closest to was Jean. We were often friendliest during altis.
“Your Highness, what on earth did you do?”
At breakfast, Jean started making a big fuss. I was a little nervous since Jean was usually the kind of person who would easily complint people over nothing for hours on end.
Just like when he praised after finding out I excelled in math.
Today, however, he suddenly asked a confrontational question out of nowhere.
“Yes?” I blinked, trying to hide the slight anxiousness in my tone. “What are you talking about?”
“It’s about Sejan.”
“What’s wrong with Sejan?” I asked while spreading butter onto a freshly baked piece of bread.
“There’s a rumor going around saying that, because of you, he’s no longer slacking off. Nowadays, he always attends practice.”
“Really?”
“Yes! I heard that he even started training the other knights without soone having to order him to do so. How did you manage to change his behavior?”
Sejan seed to be executing what I had suggested to him before.
I really don’t understand what’s going through his mind. Why is he doing this all of a sudden?
I laughed awkwardly at Jean’s report.
“It’s a misunderstanding. I didn’t do anything. Maybe he’s just doing these things because he wants to. Ah, by the way, may I know what’s on the Archduke’s agenda for the next week?”
As we were conversing about Sejan, I stealthily snuck my request into the conversation. I thought that, since we had beco close, it would be fine for to ask such a question. The reason I needed to know his schedule in advance was so I could know when I could comfortably move forward with my plans.
“Huh? You an the master’s schedule?”
Jean looked at in surprise.
What is it? Does he think my request is weird?
As I grew tense with nervousness, the silence of each passing second suddenly felt too heavy.
Is it too early for to ask that?
While I thought about how to explain myself and redy the awkward atmosphere between us, Jean, who had been as stiff as a statue before, laughed with crinkled eyes.
“I appreciate your interest in the Archduke.”
Fortunately, Jean finally answered with a gentle tone and gave the details of Kyle’s upcoming schedule without any hesitation. As I attentively looked over his agenda, I pointed to one of the entries on the calendar.
“eting?” I quirked a brow in interest.
“Yes, when the aide in the capital returns, His Highness will go straight to Pere and have a eting with the other Northern lords.”
Unconsciously, my heart started pounding at his explanation. I continued to press him with questions.
“Will I also be coming with him?”
“I’m sorry, but Your Highness should stay behind.”
Did he read my flat expression as a look of disappointnt? Jean hurriedly explained his answer.
“… Do not be upset, madam. I was just afraid that the trip would burden your schedule.”
Halfway through Jean’s explanation, I found it too hard to concentrate on his words because my heart was beating faster than before. I tried hard to maintain my composure as I asked my last question.
“It’s fine. I’m not upset, so don’t worry. So, for how long will the archduke be away from the mansion?”
Jean seed to ponder my inquiry for a while, and the ti it took for him to give an answer felt like an eternity. Finally, he slowly responded to my question.
“He will be away from the mansion for a day.”
My heart dropped. This was it—the opportunity for to go up to the fifth floor.
****
I hurried back to my room under the pretext of ill health, but I couldn’t calm down. My heart was still beating so hard and I couldn’t figure out why. As I unconsciously touched a hand to my cheeks, I found that they were burning hot. Maybe I was reacting to the expectation that I was possibly finally going to find a way back to my world.
Perhaps it was due to all the tension in my body, but I felt extrely tired. Though it was still early in the day, I decided to take a nap. I lay in bed and closed my eyes.
Knock, knock.
My eyes fluttered open in surprise because I was startled by a sound outside the door.
“Who is it?” I called.
“It’s Marina, Your Highness,” a gentle voice replied from the other side. “The butler told to send a doctor for you.”
I had told Jean that he didn’t have to call the doctor, but he obviously must have ignored and sent for him anyway.
“Co in.”
When I permitted them, the doctor ca into the room and asked about my symptoms. I was too embarrassed to say anything because I had lied about needing to go back to my room in the first place. After the doctor checked , he prescribed a treatnt plan and so dicine.
“You seem to have caught a cold, so take this and rest well.”
Huh? Am I really sick? Now that he ntioned it, I realized my throat did seem to be a little sore. I saw Marina fidgeting nervously beside . After the doctor finished checking for any last-minute issues, I gulped down the dicine that he had left for .
Ugh, it’s so bitter.
I didn’t realize it at first, but Marina flinched at the sight of my disgusted frown. I was only reacting to the taste of the dicine.
“Don’t worry, Marina,” I soothed her. “It’s just that the dicine feels bitter in my mouth. I’ll feel better when I wake up, okay?”
When I smiled brightly to show her that I was fine, Marina reluctantly shook her head.
I had said before that I was just going to take a nap, but it seed like it would beco a deep sleep instead. However, I didn’t mind too much since it was important to maintain my health. I was the only one who would be at a loss if I were to get sick, especially in this foreign world. There was no one who cared about here.
Let’s just sleep and think about complicated things later.
Only
I closed my eyes and allowed my mind to drift. As a haze of drowsiness set in, I was sure that it was one of the effects of the dicine. Then, I dazedly fell into a deep sleep.
****
“Suyeon, co on! Get up! Co eat breakfast and get ready for work.”
I was awakened by a voice I had dearly missed. My mother was calling for from the kitchen. Still groggy, I looked around with half-lidded eyes, and a familiar scene slowly ca into view. It was my room. My original room.
Then, I realized that all the strange events I had experienced over the past few weeks were all just a dream. I had dread about that novel I wrote a long ti ago. What kind of dream feels that long?
“Han Suyeon! You haven’t woken up yet?”
My mother’s voice grew louder as I stretched my stiff body. It was no surprise she was raising her voice since I still hadn’t left my room.
“Okay, Mom! I’ll be right there!”
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