“You like him? Who likes whom?”
Tanya answered Akella’s question softly.
“The Royal Princess likes the Teacher.”
“What do you mean? I don’t like him.”
“You’re the only one who doesn’t know.”
“No… ha, but…”
Akella stuttered her words. It was such an unusual scene that the Head Maid and the Knights waiting behind them were startled (gasp).
“If we have to choose between liking or disliking, I like Max too.”
Akella desperately denied Tanya’s opinion.
“I also like Lucy. Tanya, I think I have some affection for you as well.”
“Your Highness, this is a grave matter.”
“But I don’t like the Prince!”
“I must have expressed myself poorly.”
Tanya corrected herself while sipping tea.
“The Royal Princess loves the Teacher…”
“Enough!”
Akella thumped the table (bang).
“This is a mistake in judgment on Tanya’s part.”
“If Your Highness says so…”
Akella crossed her arms and turned away. After a brief silence, she countered.
“That can’t be true. The kind of affection Tanya’s talking about is, like, romantic feelings between the sexes, right?”
“Exactly.”
“I’ve never felt such feelings for a man until now.”
“Then it’s your first love.”
“What?!”
Tanya calmly explained to the flabbergasted Akella.
“When we talk about affection, it mostly describes the ‘anomalies’ you mentioned. You said you didn’t like being termed as a political fiancé with the Teacher, right?”
“Yeah.”
“You want to be a real fiancé based on love with the Teacher, and that word keeps bothering you.”
“Ha, it’s the opposite. I just hate the relationship of being a fiancé with someone that annoying.”
“Do you really hate it?”
“No…”
Akella was about to answer directly when her words got stuck for some reason.
It felt somehow like she shouldn’t say it out loud.
“It’s just that the Prince keeps doing things I don’t like! He’s been breaking my orders and running around here and there. He almost got killed, you know?”
“It’s because your expectations have risen as much as you like him, so you’re paying more attention to it.”
“Then what about when I sleep? Until now, I’ve been able to sleep comfortably, but suddenly it got uncomfortable. Isn’t it because I hate the Prince?”
“You’re just becoming more aware of it. You said your heart races and you feel anxious, right? It’s normal for a man and a woman who have feelings for each other to feel that way when they sleep in the same bed.”
“Is that so?”
Shocked, Akella rolled her eyes (＊roll＊) again.
“How do you know so well, Tanya?”
“I’ve always given relationship advice to my subordinates. Managing the morale of the Knights is also a commander’s duty. Rugged men wouldn’t understand a woman’s heart.”
“If what Tanya says is true, then I also didn’t know. Are my feelings on the same level as theirs?”
Akella pointed her finger at the Knight standing behind her.
“If it’s Wendel, he’s a man who’s been with five girls at once. He’s probably better than you, Your Highness.”
“What?!”
Akella glared at her own Knight.
Wendel, the knight with that name, trembled and looked away. He was trying to signal for help.
“Ha.”
A headache hit Akella as she rubbed her forehead and leaned back against her chair.
So much information at once was too much for her. It was a truth she didn’t want to accept.
“Do they all speak so directly in the North? Can’t they express it a bit more tactfully?”
“It tends to be straightforward. We say the foul-smelling person smells foul.”
“No…”
“A confession of love is the same. If someone’s appealing, whether it’s a man or a woman, they just pick them up by the waist and shout to get married.”
“…Is it really like that?”
“No. Only the knights and adventurers do that.”
“Phew.”
Akella felt uneasy, wondering if Lars would lift her up just like that, and she patted her chest to calm her heart.
‘…I don’t think it would be that bad.’
What in the world am I thinking?
My way of thinking has definitely become strange lately. Grabbing her head, Akella berated herself.
Do I love him?
Lars?
That silly, frivolous man?
Me, who’s supposed to be the future Emperor of the Empire, ruling everyone coldly?
‘…I wonder if I might have some feelings for him,’
Akella bit her lip.
If she thought about it carefully, Tanya’s words weren’t wrong at all.
‘…I see.’
Akella decided to acknowledge it to some extent.
Maybe she has feelings for Lars.
A competent leader shouldn’t deny the advice of their subordinates.
And whether Tanya was right or wrong, her feelings didn’t matter much in the current situation.
‘…Lars belongs to me.’
Whether he becomes a loyal servant, a nominal husband, or just a cherished puppet,
Lars is already completely in her grasp from head to toe.
There’s no way out for him.
If her emotions were in turmoil and she didn’t know how to treat him, she could just lock him up and think slowly.
Having reached a conclusion, Akella returned to her usual calm demeanor.
“Tanya.”
“Yes.”
“I will lock you up for three days for obstructing the Royal House’s spirit.”
“Understood. I had been wanting to be punished for not being able to protect the Teacher.”
“Right, that’s included too.”
“Thank you.”
“Take her away.”
Akella waved her hand.
Tanya stuffed the remaining cake into her mouth and got up from her seat casually.
“I will escort you.”
Two knights flanked her and took her to the underground prison.
One of them was Wendel, who had just been pointed out earlier by Akella.
He whispered softly to Tanya.
“Thank you for standing up for us. Honestly, I was frustrated watching.”
The knight on the other side nodded as well.
The loyal advice for their lord doesn’t have a time limit. Tanya shrugged her shoulders.
*
“Teacher, the medications for Mokhwi Palace have been all produced. Please go over them.”
“Ah, regarding the teaching materials for the new healers… This needs more detailed content…”
“Gothberg Teacher, next month is the public treatment rotation. I’ll need your approval.”
“Can’t you tell me a story about the barbarian extermination? I heard something was going on with the Royal Princess. I wanted to be there too!”
The last one received a flick upside the head.
I’m busy as hell, and what’s this about storytelling?
The Inner Palace is bustling again today. After stamping the documents waiting for my approval, I grabbed my gown and stood up from my seat.
“Let’s head down for treatment. Now, are we on Falkenhayn’s turn today?”
“That’s right. We’re ready. I’ll follow.”
Falkenhayn had already lined up the healers. It helps that he’s organized through long experience.
Even when I had to be absent for the extermination, the Inner Palace staff handled my duties well.
Usually, the attending physician doesn’t come out for public treatment, but I regularly go out to raise my skill rank.
When I have some free time, I also go volunteer.
Now that there are over thirty healers at the Moonlight Palace, we rotate them into four divisions and divide the work.
As I start walking, my subordinate healers holding charts follow me in a swarm.
“Ah, we’re passing by the Moonlight Palace!”
“Seems like the barbarian extermination is done and they’ve returned.”
“I heard the Majesty is also awarding medals.”
“They’ve been really popular lately.”
“All thanks to our attending physician.”
“Compared to us, our faction… so envious.”
The Moonlight Palace faction is easily distinguishable from the others since they all wear white gowns.
“What special patients do we have today?”
“Here we go. It’s the eldest son of Baron Alberta. He was bitten by a Basilisk tail. He rushed here last night, and we’ve only done emergency treatment.”
“Baron Alberta’s territory is quite far.”
“It took him three days to come for treatment.”
“Let’s see him first.”
We walk through the corridor and transition to the general treatment area.
Various factions are busy healing the patients who have gathered today.
“Ugh, Gothberg!”
Alberich gnashed his teeth at me as soon as he saw me.
He was seeing patients with his faction healers.
“What are you doing here?”
“They said our faction benchmarked you. If the attending physician directly treats the public, it’ll act as advertising for our lord, right?”
Falkenhayn explained to me. It seems this wasn’t ordered by Heike, but he was so pressed for time that he came down personally.
Since there are patients waiting, Alberich ignored me and went right into treatment.
“The Basilisk has toxins that coagulate body tissue. Three days have passed, so necrosis has begun. Fortunately, since this patient is somewhat healthy, we should be able to save the affected area with prompt treatment.”
I extract the clotted blood and administer an antidote, checking for any other issues with the nerves.
Although the patient was in quite a bit of pain, the treatment was a success.
“Ugh, thank you. I thought I was going to lose my leg.”
“The Basilisk can’t penetrate even steel boots, so be careful when walking through swamps. Let’s check up on you in three days.”
After the prescription, I move on to general treatment.
If only I had had the antidote, I could have treated him quickly. It was a case that worsened because it took three days to get here.
If the local healers lack skill, patients can only seek treatment in the Inner Palace.
It’s also true that there aren’t adequate transportation means for ordinary subjects.
Often, extremely critical patients can’t even make it to the Inner Palace.
‘It would be great if we had an ambulance.’
It would be nice to establish a system that could at least operate around the Empire’s perimeter.
The Imperial Palace is quite expansive, so if someone gets injured in a location far from the Inner Palace, hauling them back takes a good 30 to 40 minutes.
‘Let’s get emergency transport carriages for urgent patients.’
I thought I’ll submit a project proposal to Akella later for approval.
Having wrapped up my duties and starting to head for the afternoon’s examination, guess what.
“Prince.”
Before I knew it, Akella was standing in the hallway with her guards.
Is she here for inspection or something? My faction healers and I all bowed our heads in unison to show our respect.
“Your Highness.”
“Are you working?”
“No, I’m just here wandering and showing off our newly tailored gowns along with my subordinates.”
Of course, why would I be working in a place like this?
“Thanks to Your Highness’s grace, our healers are focused on their tasks again today, spreading the name of the Moonlight Palace far and wide.”
I slowly raised my head.
“What brings you to the Inner Palace?”
“Prince.”
Akella spoke clearly in my direction.
“Two months later, on your coming-of-age ceremony day, let’s officially hold our engagement ceremony.”
“Wha-what?!”
What the heck is she suddenly talking about?
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