Chapter 337 [Bonus Chapter] Getting Better
From Blue's Perspective)
After ten days, I finally got better. The doctor, Dem, the cook, and the maids tried their hardest to get me better. I had also gotten notes of well-wishes from Reece, Flint, Mom, Dad, Luc, Ruby, Perita, Calix, Knight Abel, Iris, and Athena. All my other knights also sent me gifts. Most people outside the palace did not know that I had been sick in the first place.
The news had been kept hidden for reasons. Though rumors circulated all around the kingdom, no one was there to confirm it. So, those rumors did not live long.
"Congratulations on getting better, Your Highness," Reece said.
"Yeah, it's been an eternity since I have seen Your Highness," Flint said.
"Thank you, everyone," I smiled. "I am so grateful to you all."
"We have done nothing, Your Highness," Reece said.
"No, you all did all the work in my absence along with Dem. So, thank you for everything," I said.
"I will accept Your Highness's thanks since you are insisting so much," Flint said. "But, please do not get sick again, Your Highness."
"It's not like Her Highness got sick because she wanted to," Perita snapped. "Really, Flint? Is your brain working well?"
"My brain is the best asset I have, unlike you who have a muddy lump in the place of a brain," Flint snapped back.
"Oh, please, calm down, gosh," I sighed. "I want peace, okay? My head hurts hearing all these…"
"I'm sorry, Your Highness," Flint said. "But she needs to keep her mouth shut."
"I have said nothing wrong though!"
"If you two don't leave, I will be leaving," I said.
"But I need to guard Your Highness," Perita said.
"I will just call Calix. Now get out, both of you. Reece, sort the documents and letters," I said. "And take these two out, will you?"
"Yes, Your Highness," Reece said while leading both Flint and Perita out. "Tsk, you two are hopeless, aren't you?"
"Haa, finally, some peace…"
Dem showed me everything so I would understand what was going on with work. He was still reluctant to let me work even though I got better completely. I forced him to let me work actually.
Experience more on empire
The duke had gotten better within three days. His condition was not that bad at all. Iris mentioned in her letter that he only had a fever and slight headaches. Aside from that, he could eat his food well without throwing up and did not have any red dots on his body. Those red dots that appeared on my body did not disappear completely, rather there were still lots of them.
They did not even go away from my face. The maids covered the dots on my face with makeup. I wore a dress that covered my whole body from neck to toe, so no one knew about the existence of the red dots.
Mom would come to visit me today since she found out I got better. She would join me for lunch. Dem would go out today, He would come back at night.
I was planning on giving him a surprise tonight. Since I was sick, we could not get intimate at all. Some people get aroused when they had a fever, but I just could not understand how. I could not even bear the thought of kissing when I was sick. Everything felt awful during a sickness.
I worked until it was lunchtime. Mom had arrived as well. She was led to the lunch hall. I also changed and went there.
"Oh my baby, how have you been?" Mom asked and ran to hug me as soon as I entered the dining hall.
Pure affection was oozing out of her voice. But it did not reach my heart completely. Was it because she was not my real mother that I did not understand this? Or, was it because I was too reluctant to accept the pure sign?
Either way, I did not hate it.
"I am okay now," I said. "You don't have to worry anymore."
"How can I not worry? Your dad and I have been worried dead about you. His Majesty has been replying to our letters, but we still could not stop worrying," she said. "Your dad wanted to come too, but he could not. He needed to go inspect our territory. You see, robbery has increased during the fever."
"Yeah, I heard that from Dem. I could not work for nine days during my sickness. He took care of my side of work too," I said.
"That's right! Why would you work when you are sick?"
"… I did not…"
"I bet His Majesty just forced you not to work. You are too much of a workaholic, Ruby said so," she said.
"I am not a workaholic. I work because I don't want to burden Dem with everything. If I can help him, it's good, right?" I smiled. "Come now, let's sit down."
"After some days, come to the march residence," she said. "Your dad will take care of the robbery incidents at the border in the meantime."
Marquis and Marchioness's territory was near one of the borders. People with this title mostly owned the territories near the borders. Two borders were owned by the duke and the duchess. The dukedom was pretty vast after all.
"Alright, I will," I nodded and looked at the maids. "Serve us the food. And serve Ceauntulas Rouge today."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"That's my favorite wine. The taste is really amazing. It is not too strong, just enough, I think," I said.
"Oh, is that so? I am looking forward to it, then. I am rather good with alcohol, your dad too. But I don't understand how our son is so terrible with it," she muttered. "He got his mana from me, but who did he get this from?"
"Haha, I am not good with alcohol too. Luc and I are quite the same when it comes to these kinds of things," I said.
"Both of our children are so bad with alcohol. We can't even have a drinking party together. It's just your dad and me," she sulked.
"Dem and Ruby can join you two, you know. They are heavy drinkers," I said. "When we drank together, these two did not get drunk much. Ruby was just barely drunk, and Dem was perfectly fine."
"His Majesty is an Alpha. Most Alphas can hold their alcohol rather well. But Ruby never told me about it. I guess she is still shy. If she can drink well, that's impressive. I will invite her to drink with us some time."
"Yeah, Ruby is not good with people. She always was very chatty with me and mature too. I did not think that she was good with me only since we spent so much time together," I said. "Now, it seems, she is worse than me when it comes to getting closer to people. She wants to, but she doesn't know how to do it. If Mom can help her, that would be great."
"Of course! She is my daughter-in-law! I will gladly help her!" she exclaimed. "I will invite her to meet up with noble ladies. She can also spend time with me, going shopping and trying new recipes."
"I don't think it's a good idea to introduce her to other noble ladies. It's hard to change their views quickly. Remember, Ruby's past affects her reputation and other views about her. We should not view anyone just based on their previous position or present position in society. But not all people think the way we do.
You and Dad accepted Ruby just how you would accept someone from a very high position, which is very admirable and the right thing to do. But most people believe she doesn't deserve her position. Though Dem and I supported their marriage publicly, there are still a lot of people who look down on her. If you introduce her to noble ladies, they might insult her.
Ruby is not confident about her position as of yet, so it's better if she avoids social events like I do."
"I understand what you mean. But she needs support too. The best way to gain support is to join social events, like tea parties."
"Yes, she does need support and social events are a very good way to gain support. But for her, it is different. I believe the opposite will happen in her case. For now, she has got my support. As long as I am present, I can make sure she has as much support as possible since most nobles are on my side. I personally want her to learn to work side by side with Luc.
She is not a mage, so she cannot use magic. But she can sort the documents at least, and work as the medium between Luc and the people he works with."