Chapter 57

Inside the box was a ribbon.

There was no letter or card.

Perhaps it was a gift that needed no explanation.

I let out a small scoff without realizing it.

‘As expected, he doesn’t consider my taste at all.’

A red ribbon for someone with red hair like mine.

Even if I used it to braid my hair, it clearly wouldn’t show well.

I lost interest and put the box down. This much wouldn’t provoke that strange inferiority complex of Riorem’s.

Just then, I heard the sound of a door opening behind me.

I slowly turned my body.

The maid standing beside me bowed her head deeply.

It seemed she had hidden the fact that there would be a visitor.

Through the open door came a woman with neatly braided brown hair.

I tried to offer a warm smile.

“So Riorem didn’t go to the royal palace today, did he? Since you’re here.”

“He did go to the palace. It just wasn’t an occasion that required me. He had a lunch appointment with the crown prince.”

Her tone was still rather impudent compared to how she spoke to Riorem.

Oddly enough, though, Teumesia didn’t seem angry with me.

That was surprising. If it were Teumesia, she would’ve surely realized that I truly pitied her.

Given that she knew her own position yet still betrayed it, I expected her to be more upset—perhaps even disgusted with me.

But there was no need to voice that thought aloud.

Still smiling, I asked,

“Is this something you can say here, or should I ask her to bring tea to the room?”

“We’re not exactly the kind to sit and drink tea together, are we?”

A curt reply.

Smiling, I sat down on the sofa in the room.

“Well then, I’ll go along with your wishes for today. But next time, instruct that girl to prepare tea in advance. The sofa inside the bedroom is more comfortable, after all.”

Somehow, it felt like we had made peace—even though we had never fought.

Teumesia must have felt the same.

Despite her words, she quietly took a seat on the sofa across from me.

“They said you couldn’t get out of bed for days, but you seem perfectly fine now.”

“Yes. Whether I’m a scribe, a maid, or just a slave meant to serve her master, I’m well enough to go to the palace now.”

“Don’t go.”

Teumesia said it bluntly.

“It’s not just the palace. Don’t leave the estate at all. I’ve been checking the entry logs of Dynamis, but you never know.”

I ran my fingertips over my lips.

“…Is someone looking for me?”

“There are a few surviving nobles from the principality—Count Valkoba and the second son of Marquis Piedra. They’re making a fuss, saying they’ll rebuild the principality with you.”

“Oh… that’s troublesome.”

I clicked my tongue unconsciously.

Count Valkoba had been a long-time associate of my father.

The Piedra family had once seduced my older brother with their influence.

If they truly joined forces to restore the principality, things could get messy.

But they were absolutely not the kind of people who would cooperate.

Which made it all the more troublesome.

“As you probably guessed, they each lead their own factions. Right now their forces are about equal, but…”

“If either one gets their hands on me, the balance will tip. That side will become the center of the restoration movement.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at that point.

“Do you think they’ll both try to marry me? The Count is twenty years older than me, and the Piedra heir goes around saying ‘a woman who’s not a virgin has a rotten c—k’ and only chases after children.”

“Ah, I ended up telling you something vulgar. Forgive me. I truly despise those men.”

Teumesia cleared her throat at my words.

It seemed that this was where the real conversation began.

“One of them bribed a guard to go around asking about you. He was discovered not long ago.”

“Oh, I didn’t expect them to have such initiative.”

As I said that, something struck me as odd.

‘One of them’?

If they interrogated the man, shouldn’t they have figured out who was behind it? Especially with such excellent intelligence that they could grasp the power dynamics of the restoration movement.

As if she had read my thoughts, Teumesia’s lips twitched.

“Prince Alpheus beat that guard to death. He said it irritated him that someone was sniffing around the woman who would be his future princess.”

I was at a loss for words.

But Teumesia wasn’t finished.

“And…”

“There’s more?”

“Prince Alpheus was striking someone while mentioning your name. Do you think the general would just stand by and watch that?”

“Ahaha!”

I burst into laughter.

No wonder I hadn’t received any letters from him for days.

That’s why Alpheus only sent a gift.

His hand must have been smashed.

But it wasn’t a matter I could simply laugh off.

Alpheus was royalty, and Riorem didn’t even have a backing noble family.

With some concern, I asked,

“So? Is that why the crown prince summoned Riorem to the palace?”

Teumesia gave me a strange look in response.

“Are you worried right now?”

I couldn’t understand what she meant, so I asked again.

“Is that such a surprise? If Riorem took care of something the Crown Prince was supposed to handle, it’s natural to be worried, isn’t it?”

Teumesia’s lips moved slightly.

“Just out of curiosity… what if I had gotten into a fight with Prince Alpheios and been summoned by the king? What then?”

“I’d have to find a way to cover it up, at the very least, out of respect for your effort. After all, you did it for Riorem.”

“And worry? Would you have been worried?”

“Hm?”

“I’m asking if you would have worried about me.”

I couldn’t figure out what Teumesia was trying to say.

I glanced at her, wondering if she was hurt or disappointed, but there was no sign of that on her face.

She simply looked at me with a complicated expression.

Then she spoke again.

“What is the general to you?”

It was an even more incomprehensible question.

“He’s my master, of course.”

“What kind of slave toys with their master like that?”

Teumesia’s face twisted with frustration.

I tilted my chin.

“Even so, it’s not something for you to be upset about. Especially not now, while we’re talking about Riorem and Alpheios.”

“No. I think this is exactly the right time to bring it up.”

Teumesia replied firmly.

“I always found it strange. You seem like someone with no shred of humanity—like you could slap someone on the back of the head without blinking. But you always think about the general.”

Her words gave me a strange sense of déjà vu.

‘Alpheios said something similar once…’

He had asked why I treated Riorem differently, hadn’t he?

Resting my chin in my hand, I asked Teumesia,

“So you’re saying I treat Riorem differently from everyone else?”

“Yes. It’s honestly shocking that you haven’t realized it.”

Teumesia let out a sigh as she said that.

“It’s true that Prince Alpheios and the general had a confrontation, but he didn’t physically touch him. So it’s not going to get that complicated. He just… said some incredibly nasty things and made some threats.”

“So a punitive order will be issued, and that’ll be the end of it.”

“Yes.”

As if she had said everything she needed to, Teumesia stood up.

Then she turned to me.

“That conversation we just had—try having it with the general too.”

“Oh my, are you giving me relationship advice now? You?”

“…Yes. I might have just been a bait to lure you in, but… you were the only one who understood my pain. That much hasn’t changed.”

With that, Teumesia left.

Riorem didn’t return even as the afternoon wore on.

That gave me plenty of time to think over what Teumesia had said.

It’s laughable, really—I never realized until now that I had been treating Riorem specially.

Because of that, I’d made countless irrational decisions, and yet I never thought anything of it.

Riorem was the same.

He also acted unreasonably whenever it came to me.

Having a comparison made it all the more clear.

Just as Teumesia said, I’d really been acting… unlike myself.

And it hadn’t even started recently.

It began a long time ago—ever since Riorem became my foot-washing slave, I’d been… strange.

With other slaves, even the slightest annoyance would be enough for me to dispose of them.

But Riorem—I kept him close until he reached adulthood.

Even when I found out he had used my towel to pleasure himself, I didn’t punish him.

When he refused my command to come to bed, I didn’t get angry.

Even when I found out he’d left my palace and gone to another country—rather than order him hunted down and killed, I dug around for news through my fiancés.

Looking back, it’s all completely absurd.

While I was lost in those thoughts—

Riorem returned.