CH 11

“May Goddess Resina’s blessing reach you, little Duchess.”

“Young Master, please be careful.”

Charelize was seen off by the servants within the Duchy. She got on the carriage to the Eralpier Academy. Martin had been away for a few days to her hometown to visit Viscountess Rael. Lari also couldn’t go with her due to her high fever, so she was left at the mansion.

“I saw Lari was out again and was cleaning the window… Her fever only worsens, and I’m worried about her.”

“Even if I tell her to take a break from work, she insists on continuing… Her whole body is hot like a ball of fire, and no matter how much I say it to her, it is useless.”

Hailey sighed in response. Around this time of year, Lari’s body had a fever, as if she had caught a cold, but she didn’t suffer from any chronic disease. There was a time when she lost consciousness and collapsed while working because of her fever.

“Overall, she’s showing the symptoms of a cold, but it is difficult to make a diagnosis.”

“Is it life-threatening? Around this time, she usually got sick, but this was the first time she even collapsed.”

“It’s not life-threatening. It is a high possibility that it is hereditary or heart disease inherited from her parents, and it would be better for her to receive appropriate treatment as soon as possible.”

“Heart disease?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Even when Charelize called reputable doctors from the capital to examine her, an accurate diagnosis couldn’t be made. Everyone just said the vague symptoms, but they couldn’t find any specific name for Lari’s disease.

“I told you to rest in your room for a while, but why are you out here?”

“I already got a good night’s rest, and I’m all right. I’m all better, Your Highness.”

“Lari.”

“I think it’s more frustrating to just lie in bed.”

Even if Charelize told her to rest strictly, Lari was still secretly doing her work.

“According to the doctor’s words, it’s a hereditary or a heart disease that inherited from her parents.”

“Lari is an orphan from birth, so she probably doesn’t even know her illness is hereditary.”

“Do you have any idea who is named Lauren?”

“…I don’t know. Did anything happen?”

“I don’t know the details, but the last time I took care of Lari, she called for Lauren. Maybe Lauren knows something about her illness.”

Charelize seemed to feel stuffy inside the moving carriage, so she opened the window slightly. The quiet clouds were passing by.

“By the way…”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Charelize stretched out her hand towards the sky, stirring the formless air.

“Do you have any special schedules after this?”

“Not really. Why are you asking, Your Highness?”

“I think I will have to stay at the academy for a while. In addition to the scholarships business, there are other people I need to meet.”

A small piece of pink petals flew in from somewhere and gently fell into Charelize’s hand.

“What happened to Prince Arensis, whom I asked you to find out last time?”

“Ah, I was going to report it to you. His Highness Arensis Cabel Yuan ron Peschte, the second prince of the Peschte Empire.”

“Of the four royal highnesses of the Peschte Empire, didn’t you say he was the only that born from the Empress Sione?”

“That’s right, Your Highness.”

“You mean he’s the illegitimate son of Akan I?”

“Not much is known about his birth mother. But they only knew she had died when the prince was young, and she was the Empress’s palace’s maid.”

Lillian came to her mind when she heard that he was not the son of Empress Sione. The two had something in common, being illegitimate children.

Come to think of it, Charelize finds a few suspicious things about Lillian’s birth date. Although they were born the same year, Charelize was born in April, when the petals were in full bloom. On the other hand, Lillian was born in December, when the white snow piled up. Even though Lillian was born preterm birth, it was somewhat unclear compared to when Lady Luxen disappeared.  

“Looking only at her appearance, Lillian is definitely the Duke’s daughter. Her blue eyes resemble the Duke… Even she has silver hair that I don’t even have.”

“Your Highness…”

“…Don’t look at me with those eyes.”

Hailey knew well what Charelize fell for Duke Marsetta. She sympathized with Charelize, who had a bitter expression on her face.

“When I was young, I hated these so much that I wanted to rip them off… but now I don’t.”

She held a handful of her hair in her hand, which was shimmering in the sunlight. The dark blonde hair, the symbol of the Elioter’s royal blood, was inherited from her mother.

Charelize got more benefits from the hair color she had. She was named Roxana as her second surname and even had the right to inherit the throne. Not only was she treated as a semi-royal, but she was also praised for her perfect lineage. Rather, she was lucky enough to be born with blonde hair.

It was very rare for the children of members of the Imperial family of Elitoer to be recognized as an Imperial family when they got married. However, it was not long after the bloody tragedy occurred.

“The carriage in which Grand Duke Inovestine and Grand Duchess Penelope were riding was attacked, and both of them died.”

“It is said that the Marchioness Opert collapsed from a heart attack, and she eventually couldn’t wake up.”

“Last night, Marquis Ridewel, the grandson of Her Majesty Queen Arche, went to the arms of the goddess.”

As if in turn, the remaining distant relatives of the Imperial family were dead, so the number decreased significantly.

The previous emperor enacted a new law so that only those born with the symbol of the Imperial family could be treated as semi-royal.

Harbert IV didn’t receive the emperor’s seal. Moreover, he even framed absurd accusations against his half-sister, Crown Princess Elizabeth, who was the successor to the throne. He committed the bloody tragedy, the cruel thing that would be written in the history books.

Noble children the same age as Charelize were reluctant to associate with her because their parents feared Harbert IV. Furthermore, she is also hated by her own father, Duke Marsetta. As a child, Charelize thought the reason she was hated for was because she had blonde hair.

“I didn’t mean to marry you.”

“Suddenly, what—”

“The blonde hair that is only given to the Imperial bloodline. I’m really sick of it. How far will you bind me in the name of imperial blood?”

“Charel is watching. Let’s talk about it next time.”

“Yekaterina!”

They always talk like that. Even as time passed, their conversation kept decreasing, and they distanced themselves from each other.

Charelize was too young to know about the bloody tragedy and had no idea how her parents got married. As usual, she only thought they married for political reasons.

“Why don’t you have any color that resembles me?”

“I’m sorry, Father.”

“I don’t want to see you, so stay out of my sight for a while!”

Charelize was mistaken that her relationship with her father went bad because she inherited her mother’s hair color. She thought that was the reason her father didn’t recognize her as his daughter and didn’t give his love to her.

“The reason why father doesn’t love me… It’s because I’m Mother’s daughter.”

“…”

“If you’re going to make me listen to things like this, why did you give birth to me?”

She mercilessly thrust her mother’s cheat with her words and turned around and left. During that brief time, Charelize had many thoughts, and she immediately regretted it. When she returned to visit her mother, her mother had already disappeared. Since that day, she never heard her mother call her by her name again.