Chapter 177

I caught my breath, barely controlling my surging anger. As I was dumbfounded by their provocative actions, I couldn’t even speak easily.

“Why don’t you apologize to her right now?”

“Oh, okay. Sorry, Lady Monique.”

“… That’s fine. As you were surprised, why don’t you take a break?”

“Please do, Lya. Come with me to the lounge. I can’t stay with you for long because the crown prince will be waiting for me, but he will understand my brief absence, I guess.”

“Oh no, Lady Jena. How can I keep the crown prince waiting for you? I’m fine. So, please go and join him.”

“That’s fine. He is not such a narrow-minded man. Come on. Lady Monique, see you next time.”

I stared briefly at Jiun, who was disappearing, supporting the other woman. Then I told a servant and a maid, who came to me hesitantly, to clean up the messy floor and change the tablecloth.

I also had them bring food and drinks again.

When I took a few steps after coping with the situation, this time an old man with gray hair stopped me.

Dang it! Why are they all annoying me like this?

“… Hello, Duke Jena. ”

“What a noisy banquet!”

“… ”

“Why can’t you control this kind of trifling stuff?”

When Duke Jenna clicked his tongue, several members of the noble faction laughed aloud.

Putting up with a swift surge of anger deep down, I left the place after bowing to them slightly.

I thought they were going to make a mockery of me for some time, but they let me go without bothering me. I felt a bit suspicious about it, but I couldn’t figure out their motivation.

I wanted to get some fresh air outside, but I couldn’t because I was the host today.

While I was thinking about going to the balcony instead, a servant came to me carefully and bowed, giving me a glass.

“What is this?”

“It was sent by the crown prince.”

“Really?”

When I looked at the place where the servant kept looking, I noticed the crown prince talking to several nobles suddenly turning toward me. Watching me for a while, he nodded.

‘Oh, I see. This is from the crown prince.’

“Go tell him I’m very grateful for it.”

“Yes, my lady.”

Was it mixed with honey? When I drank a cool drink with a sweet taste, I felt a little better.

But I still felt blue with my spirits sagging.

Why is the banquet so long today? Before my return, I hosted a lot of banquets, but I had never felt stressed out as much as today.

I was literally absent-minded, dealing with the young ladies of the noble faction trying to get on my nerves, checking if the banquet was going on well and trying to appease the young ladies of the pro-emperor faction who seemed to fly off the handle at the very slightest thing.

“Tia, you are here. I’ve been looking for you for a while. ”

“Hi, Sein!”

As I was so tired, even Carsein looked blurred in my vision.

I blinked blankly. I didn’t think my condition was so bad like this, even though I knew I was exhausted from overwork.

When I was trying to stand erect, pulling myself together, Caresein asked seriously, “Ugh? What’s wrong with you?”

“Your face seems to be drained of color. What happened?”

“Well, I’ve been working too hard today. Nothing new to you.”

He suddenly stopped while trying to reach out to my forehead. Conscious of others around him, he went back to his role as my partner and reached out to me.

As soon as he lightly put his hand on mine, he said, surprised, “Why are your hands so cold? I think you have overworked yourself until now. You must be sick, right?”

“Well… You know, Sein. ”

“Yes, tell me.”

“In fact, I’m having a hard time right now. I’ve managed to endure it up to now, but I can’t.

I don’t know what’s wrong. Maybe it’s because I have felt laid back as the banquet is about to end.”

His face hardened when he noticed me trying to keep my balance. He said firmly, “You better go back home and call a doctor. You can’t keep your body under control like this.”

“No, I can’t.”

“Why not? Do you know you are breaking out in a cold sweat right now? And your face looks so pale.”

“Well, I really can’t. I am the host of today’s banquet. As I was absent from yesterday’s banquet, my acquaintances and supporters here seem to be in a difficult position.”

“Hey, are you kidding? You can’t afford to be worried about them!”

I’ve never seen Carsein getting angry with me. Trying to catch my breath, I said with a croaky voice, “Don’t be mad, Sein. Just help me.”

“How stubborn you are…”

“Please, Sein. There’s less than an hour left before the banquet ends. ”

“… ”

Carsein, who didn’t reply for some time, nodded with a deep sigh.

“Okay. Okay, go home as soon as it’s over. Let me ask my sister-in-law to clean up. ”

“But… ”

“If you refuse this, I’m going to carry you to the wagon and send you home. Got it?”

“…Okay, let me listen to you, Sein. Thanks. ”

“Anyway, I’ve never seen a woman as stubborn as you.”

“Sorry.”

An hour seemed longer than a day to me. Carsein stood by me and supported me all along. He not only stopped young men from the noble faction from trying to find fault with me, but also dissuaded the pro-emperor faction members from approaching me senselessly.

And finally an hour passed.

When I heard the attendant announcing the end of the banquet, I felt so good with a great relaxation. I asked Frincia to take care of the cleanup with a feeble voice and went home with Carsein’s help. As soon as I went into my room, I threw myself on the bed and fell asleep right away.

“My lady, would it be okay if I don’t tell your father about your condition?”

“You don’t have to. I’m pretty sure he will be worried about me if you do.”

Was it because my fatigue from a heavy workload had accumulated or was it because I felt relaxed as the banquet was over finally? The next morning I could hardly move on the bed even though I was awake until Lina came in to wake me up. I couldn’t get up because I was so weak and felt dizzy.

I barely persuaded Lina not to when she told me she would report to my father about my condition right away. I didn’t have to keep him worrying about me when I couldn’t take a break comfortably. Today, I was supposed to attend the banquet as the crown prince’s partner, so I could not avoid it just because I am sick.

While lying in bed, I was lost in thought.

No matter how much I worked, I thought there was something wrong. I felt dizzy or nauseated sometimes, but my physical condition at the banquet yesterday was certainly not normal. Even now I didn’t feel okay.

I thought about it a few days ago, but somehow I thought I should call a member after the banquet today, so I pulled the string and called Lina.

“Lina, can you bring me some hot stones? Bring a cup of tea, too.”

“Got it, my lady. Even if you can’t call the doctor today, you should tomorrow. If you don’t, I’ll report to your father right away.”

“Sure. I will do that. ”

“You promised me, okay?”

“Okidoki.”

After hugging a hot stone, I lay on the bed until late in the afternoon.

When it was time to attend the banquet, I barely got up from the bed. My face reflected in the mirror was very pale and looked gloomy, so I made my makeup a little darker than usual, then headed for the palace with a heavy heart.

“… It looks like you were hard on yourself yesterday. ”

“Pardon, Your Majesty?”

“Well, I don’t think you can hide your condition by making your makeup darker like that.”

“Ah, it’s because I’m a little tired.”

“Hmm, if you’re really tired, please let me know right away. As you are weak, I hope you won’t get exhausted.”

When I lowered my head a bit, embarrassed that he already noticed my condition, he said after remaining silent for a moment, “I really liked the banquet yesterday.”

“I’m flattered, Your Majesty.”

“Several people seemed to have forgotten the purpose of the banket as they were preoccupied with the competition, but you coped with the situation very well. You did very good.”

“I’m so grateful if you feel that way. By the way, yesterday…”