Chapter 41

A Box of Cookies (7)

I don’t know if anyone really tried to kill Rowena. But I think it’s true that His Highness cares about Rowena now.

So what do you want me to do…?

Rowena used to nag him, but after a big fight and Louis had verbally abused her a few times, they were estranged. Louis thought it couldn’t be helped.

He couldn’t protect himself at all. Who was he to meddle with Rowena and his father?

So be careful. There is no guarantee that just because you’re young, the prince will overlook you.

Who overlooked me?

Louis protested but knew that Rowena or Theo had something to explain to him. When he was young, he thought he was good, but everyone could tell that something was different because his hair grew a little thicker.

“Tch.”

Louis sighed, tweaking the edge of the cake with a fork. He was the only one left in the room.

The servant had said that he would ask, but it seemed to be taking quite a while.

Are you sure she’ll agree to meet me?

Louis glared at the cake plate with a melancholic look. The cake and cookies were delicious, but he didn’t have an appetite.

* * *

A soft vegetable salad with finely ground soup, a thickly boiled meat dish, and a roll of chopped meat. Somehow it was like a diet for the sickly. However, her expression changed as it melted on her tongue. It was the best dish she’d had and the amount was enough.

When Rowena emptied the plate, she asked if she would like more. Rowena felt full for the first time in decades.

“What would you like for dessert?”

Rowena hesitated at what the servant recommended while looking at the tray containing dessert. Cecil burst into laughter at the look.

“Give me everything. My lady must be curious about the taste of them.”

“No, it’s too much!”

“It’s okay. You can just take a bite and leave it.”

What was left was for those who worked at the palace to eat with joy. Rowena knew about it, but she felt sorry.

“Are you going to make me a princess who is greedy because of dessert?”

Empty plates were removed and beautiful colored cakes, ice cream, and pies came up to the table. Rowena hesitated, but she couldn’t stand it as she got closer.

Every time she took a bite with a dessert spoon, a pleasant sweetness spread through her mouth. Cecil watched the joy on her face as she enjoyed the dessert.

It was much better now than before when she used to eat alone at an empty table. It could not be compared.

“Your Highness…”

An approaching servant whispered something to Cecil. His face looked blank for a moment and glanced at Rowena as if he were thinking something.

“Let’s feed him first. It would be nice to show him around the palace and see the knights.”

The point was to hold him all day and see what kind of guy he was.

Cecil had a rough idea of Paul, Earl of Adelia, and Matthias, his eldest son. Theo, not yet.

Louis was also young, so he had not yet decided whether to see him or not.

Hearing that he didn’t seem to be particularly concerned about his sister, he thought that he might be someone he didn’t need to worry about.

Rowena’s choice is probably the most important thing, but I don’t have to urge her to make a choice right now.

Even if such a situation was normal for Rowena, he could not make that choice right after everything that had happened. At first, he wanted to make her focus only on herself.

He was family anyway, and any decision would not be easy.

Rowena will also have something to think about.

It was Rowena who was originally planning to get a license and run away. He didn’t think she would want to cover her family unconditionally.

Even if the roots were rotting and water and nutrients were poured to save them, it would only accelerate the rot.

Cecil looked at Rowena all the while as she ate ice cream.

I wanted to protect you to the best of my power.

It’s the royal duty to protect the nobility or the common people.

Cecil smirked and licked the cream off Rowena’s lips.

* * *

Even though it was an uncomfortable seat, the steak from the royal family was delicious. Louis ate to his heart’s content, thinking it would take a while. When he was full, the servant recommended that he visit the Imperial Palace.

I can’t believe I’m looking at the palace!

All of his friends were only barons or sons of the count’s family, so no one had ever walked through the Imperial Palace. The children of a high aristocrat could follow their father into the palace.

Louis hid his excitement and followed him out of the waiting room.

The Imperial Palace of Isfacia was divided into an outer palace and an inner palace. The only people who could enter the inner palace were Cecil’s servants and the royal family, so the place where Louis was waiting was also the outer palace.