Chapter 14

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 14

Chapter Title: Lily Palace's Troublesome Possession (6)

-----------------------------------------------------------------

The moment Roxiana thought of the steadfast guard who had stayed by her side even before she had come of age, she could no longer hold back her tears.

"Robert!"

Crushed by the grief of losing her family, she hadn't even thought of the absence of others. She hadn't mourned the deaths of those who had protected her or the souls loyal to the Franche royal family.

How selfish a princess she was.

How many people had died just for being loyal? How many had lost their families?

Faces of the servants and knights who had smiled every time they met her in the Ider Palace flashed one by one in her mind. Robert's futile death and the sight of Rasha being dragged away clawed at Roxiana's heart anew.

The water in the bathtub rippled with Roxiana's sobs, but she didn't notice, weeping for a long while.

"Lady Roxiana. Are you all right?"

When Roxiana didn't emerge no matter how long she waited, a worried Petria knocked on the bathroom door. Roxiana, who had been burying her face in her hands and wailing, hurriedly splashed water on her face.

"I'm fine. I'll be out soon."

Roxiana sank deep into the tub, then stood and dried herself with a towel. She donned the fresh clothes Petria had prepared and stepped out of the bathroom. Petria was waiting by the vanity, comb in hand.

"Let me brush your hair, Lady Roxiana."

"It's okay. I can do it myself."

Seeing Petria's troubled expression, Roxiana added,

"Petria, I'm not really a princess. His Highness the Grand Duke just calls me that on a whim, so you don't have to treat me so well. I'll tell him you're doing a great job."

"But Lady Roxiana."

"Every time you treat me kindly, it makes me feel like a princess again. And that's really hard to bear."

Roxiana gently took the comb from Petria's hand.

"So, Petria, you can treat me casually."

Petria looked awkward and didn't reply, leaving Roxiana feeling sorry for her.

She must have dreamed of serving nobles when she became a maid in the Grand Duke's palace, but now she was stuck caring for a slave. And yet she was always so polite and kind—it made Roxiana uncomfortable.

Roxiana didn't want to look at her reflection in the vanity mirror, so she picked up the comb and headed to the window in the parlor. From the parlor window, she could see the Lily Palace garden.

The Lily Palace garden was beautifully landscaped, as befitted a place for hosting distinguished guests. There was a fairly large pond, and in its center, an artificial island with a pagoda large enough for two people. The white-roofed pagoda was draped with thin lace cloth along the edges.

A white-painted bridge connected the central island to the pond's edge, and two children were standing on it.

Roxiana stopped brushing and stared at the children.

The children were hanging on the bridge railing, tossing stones into the pond and playing. The sight pulled Roxiana back into the past.

'My nieces and nephews...'

Roxiana flung the comb aside and turned away.

'Those are my nieces and nephews.'

Ignoring Petria's calls, Roxiana ran out of the room and down the corridor. Though she hadn't fully recovered, she didn't know where the strength came from—she raced down the stairs and across the garden without stopping once.

She ran through the vast garden, between long flowerbeds. As the pond drew nearer, the children's figures grew clearer.

"Lady Roxiana!"

Petria called after her, but she didn't hear. All of Roxiana's attention was on the children on the bridge.

A boy teasing his younger-looking sister.

My young, adorable nieces and nephews.

"Freesin! Winiel!"

The two children turned at Roxiana's cry from the foot of the bridge. The moment she saw their startled faces, harsh reality slapped her.

The nostalgic scene surrounding Roxiana scattered, replaced by a sight utterly unlike the Ider Palace etched into her eyes.

They weren't Freesin and Winiel. The pond children looked a bit older than her nieces and nephews. They were taller and had different features.

Only then did Roxiana truly feel the absence of her nieces and nephews.

'Ah, my nieces and nephews are dead. Slaughtered by cruel blades and dumped in a well. They fell into that dark, damp place without knowing a thing.'

The realization hit, and Roxiana crumpled. Petria rushed over to support her as she collapsed. The children from the bridge ran down and grabbed her other arm.

Roxiana looked down at the children struggling to hold her up.

Petria said,

"Lady Roxiana, are you okay? You shouldn't run around when you're still unwell."

The children stared up at Roxiana wide-eyed. Their gazes held worry for her and anxiety at being caught playing here.

Looking at them up close like this, Roxiana couldn't understand how she'd mistaken them. Their features were nothing like her nieces and nephews'. Her relatives had porcelain-pale skin, but these children had sun-tanned bronze complexions.

"I'm sorry..."

Then the boy spoke.

"We're sorry for sneaking in here."

Misunderstanding why she stared, Roxiana quickly replied,

"It's fine. You can keep playing."

"Really? Dad said we shouldn't come in here."

"It's okay. I'm staying here now."

She wasn't curious who their dad was. Seeing them grin at each other now that permission was granted eased something in her chest for the first time in ages.

After the children returned to the pond, Roxiana sat on a bench a short distance away. The stone bench was cold.

"Lady Roxiana, the wind is chilly. You should go inside."

Petria fidgeted anxiously, but Roxiana kept her eyes on the children and replied,

"Just a little longer. Let me stay here a bit."

"Then I'll get a blanket to wrap around you. You might catch a cold."

Even after Petria left, Roxiana couldn't tear her gaze from the children. Watching them throw stones in the pond, pick flowers, and bicker brought her nieces and nephews to mind.

Siblings that age were all similar—playing well one moment, squabbling the next. In every scene, she recalled her own childhood brothers and herself.

Petria draped the blanket over Roxiana's shoulders. Roxiana clutched the ends and said to her,

"Petria, sit comfortably too."

Petria couldn't imagine sitting beside a princess, but refusing might upset Roxiana, so she meekly sat next to her.

It was the first time Roxiana, who had been like a soulless doll, had moved on her own. Unsure if this was good or bad, Petria kept glancing at her.

The elderly maid Jilroa, whom she'd met yesterday evening, had nodded repeatedly upon hearing Roxiana had started eating and said,

-"That's a relief, truly a relief. As her health improves bit by bit, other things will start catching her eye. At first, she'll only see what's lost, but soon she'll take interest in other things too."

Though filled with sorrow now, new things would gradually push out the painful memories, shortening the time spent in agony, she'd said.

Hearing that, Petria recalled when the man she'd once loved unrequitedly got together with her friend. Back then, she'd wailed as if the sky had fallen, her mind full of him, convinced her heart would shatter and she'd die.

But between meals with family, tending to pesky siblings, running errands, and festival street food and clowns, one day she stopped thinking of him altogether.

'What the princess went through is incomparable to my heartbreak...'

Still, she hoped Roxiana could escape her grief little by little, like she had.

"I had nieces and nephews. A bit younger than those kids."

Then Roxiana murmured in a thin voice. Delighted that she spoke first, Petria quickly asked,

"Where are those nieces and nephews now...?"

She stopped there. She had heard what happened to Roxiana's family.

Roxiana neither cried nor smiled, nor answered. She just quietly watched the children.

Petria berated her foolishness, wondering how to recover from the awful blunder.

Then the children, who had been peeking from the flowerbed, jumped up and ran over. The younger girl held a bouquet of wildflowers tied with grass stems.

The girl flushed her chubby cheeks pink and offered the bouquet.

"Fairy lady."

Roxiana's eyes widened at the child's words.

"It's a gift."

Her gaze, wandering lost in another time even as she looked at the children before her, finally settled on the bouquet. Emerald eyes rimmed in gold wavered.

Roxiana raised both hands. Her gaunt fingers trembled faintly. The hands hesitated before grasping the small, sparse, yet utterly endearing gift.

Warmth flowed in through the broken flower stems.

Roxiana buried her face in the bouquet and shed silent tears.