TGS - Chapter 101
Chapter 101: Temperature
Incense smoke curled through the air in the room.
Katisi was still looking at Alyuin with earnest expectation, waiting for her reaction.
The princess subconsciously slowed her breathing, keeping her expression neutral. "Everyone knows my mother was the sinner who murdered my father, the king," she said faintly. "That crime was decreed by His Majesty Horst himself. It cannot be changed."
"So, what is the point of you saying all this now?"
"Is that what you believe in your heart as well?"
"I don't understand what you mean."
"I just feel sad. When she wasn't having an episode, Selina was a very good person. I don't want her only daughter to also believe her crimes are unforgivable."
Katisi clasped her hands over her chest, holding a lapis lazuli amulet in a posture of prayer.
Alyuin now understood where the Crown Prince got his gentle and magnanimous demeanor. When Katisi wore such an expression, she looked exactly like her son.
Something was wrong, with both the environment and the person. But…
The princess's fingertips, resting at her side, tightened slightly.
Selina was moody and unpredictable, and in the end, she went mad and killed the former king.
This was the common understanding of the former queen's crime.
In Alyuin's view, her mother had indeed been irritable, sensitive, and quick to anger, accompanied by severe headaches. The court physicians could not determine the cause and could only advise her to rest and relax.
Unfortunately, rest was useless. Her mother's symptoms grew more and more frequent until that final period before her death—she had truly gone mad, crying and laughing uncontrollably. But before that, Horst had plunged a pair of scissors into her father's chest right in front of her.
Because of the former queen's background and her pre-existing irritability, outsiders who heard the "truth" of her murdering her husband in a fit of madness were all the more convinced.
Alyuin raised her eyes, looking at Katisi without flinching.
A suspicion she had buried deep in her heart was now clearer than ever.
"My mother was ill, but do you know why she fell ill?"
Katisi shook her head, her expression sorrowful.
"Selina always had a tendency to be fretful. I suspect it was a problem passed down in her family. After all, her family… you know."
Alyuin was aware of this.
The minor noble family her mother came from had met its end because a relative had gone mad and committed a grave crime. Furthermore, for as long as the princess could remember, her mother had been plagued by headaches.
None of it was without precedent. It seemed the former queen had truly been afflicted by illness, which had given Horst the opportunity to frame her.
That was why Alyuin had only ever suspected.
But now, based on Horst's and Katisi's behavior, that suspicion could be elevated to a hypothesis.
For the moment, however, it couldn't be proven. The strangeness of her surroundings was a constant reminder that this was clearly not a good time to press for information.
"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness Katisi, but I'd rather not continue this topic. Seeing as you seem to be in a hurry, you must have other guests after me. I won't take up any more of your time. We can talk again when we have the chance."
The princess gave a simple curtsy and turned to leave.
"Wait! You don't hate Selina, I can see that. Why won't you talk about her with me?"
"—Did your lady-in-waiting say something?"
The latter sentence successfully made Alyuin pause and glance back at the queen.
Katisi pleaded, "No matter what she said, please at least stay and hear me out. You're very clever. You should remember that your mother and I were once friends. After you've listened, you can decide whether to believe me or that lady-in-waiting, alright?"
Alyuin's brow arched in surprise. "Of course, I believe Lorja."
Katisi was speechless.
At least listen to what I have to say first!
The princess did not linger. As she pushed the door open, the fresh air of the summer night rushed in, instantly diluting the scent of incense. Her vision seemed to clear along with it.
Katisi made no further effort, simply shaking her head and sighing as she let her go.
Her lady-in-waiting, however, glanced toward the door, then at the burning white candle on the stand, looking as if she wanted to say something but held her tongue.
The maids waiting outside the chamber saw the princess emerge and exchanged glances. One of them stepped forward, curtsied, and asked, "Your Highness, why are you out so soon?"
Alyuin's expression didn't change. "The Queen has other guests to see, so I won't disturb her any longer."
The maid was confused. Her Highness the Queen doesn't have any other appointments, does she?
Just then, the sound of footsteps approached from nearby. It was Romuer, walking toward them with two attendants.
Seeing a group of people gathered before his mother's chambers, the Crown Prince asked, puzzled, "What are you all doing here?"
He then noticed Alyuin in the crowd, paused for a moment, and greeted her out of habit before asking with some awkwardness, "Did Mother summon you?"
Alyuin's expression slowly darkened.
Without saying much, she gave a slight nod and walked away quickly.
Even after she had gone some distance, she could still hear the maids muttering behind her, "Did the Queen say His Highness the Crown Prince was coming? I don't remember…"
Then came Romuer's mild tone, "Is Mother available now? I've brought something from Father. If this is a bad time, I'll have to trouble you to pass it along for me."
"We'll ask first. Please wait a moment, Your Highness."
With her back to them, Alyuin pressed the tip of her tongue against her teeth, suppressing the indescribable mix of ridicule, contempt, and furious shock that came with understanding.
One person invites her over, and another sends Romuer. If she hadn't left early, what were they expecting to happen?
And Katisi's attempts to make her stay, the incense in the room.
After realizing something was amiss, Alyuin had consciously controlled her breathing. Since she had stayed for only a short time, she hadn't inhaled much of the room's fragrance.
In fact, if she hadn't seen Katisi herself staying in there and trying to delay her, leading her to conclude the threat was not severe, Alyuin would have certainly left the moment she sensed something was wrong, rather than staying for a brief conversation.
Then again, who could have imagined Horst's schemes would be so utterly foul?
Feeling a trace of heat rising within her body, Alyuin's face finally fell completely. She cursed under her breath.
She drew the short knife from her waist, held it in her hand, and quickened her pace.
The Royal Guard driving the carriage sat at the front, idly fiddling with a horse's tail.
"Miss Lorja, why don't you go back and sit in the carriage," the guard said, glancing toward the west gate of the palace. "Her Highness just went in a little while ago. Who knows when she'll be out. Don't tire yourself out standing."
"Alright," Lotus replied.
But she didn't move.
The guard sighed and turned back to fiddling with the horse's tail. Before the two good-tempered horses could kick their hind legs in protest, the sound of approaching footsteps came from the gate.
They were light, and very steady.
The guards at the west gate confirmed it was the princess and let her pass without a word.
Alyuin walked toward the carriage, her expression serene. "We're going back."
As the princess drew near, Lotus first caught a faint, superficial fragrance, as if she had just come from a place with a strong scent. In the light cast by the torch above the gate, she could vaguely see an unnatural flush on her cheeks.
"Lotus."
Alyuin said the name softly, the last syllable rising slightly. Anyone else might have thought she was in a cheerful mood, but only someone standing so close could detect the hint of something amiss.
Lotus discreetly supported her, her fingertips and palm touching an unusual heat and a slight dampness.
The two boarded the carriage. The guard sitting in front didn't sense anything wrong and asked as usual, "Shall we leave now?"
Lotus answered for the princess, "Yes."
As she spoke, she lowered the carriage curtain.
But it didn't do much good—the summer carriage curtains were made of sheer gauze, not thick like the winter ones, so blurry silhouettes were still visible from the outside.
After the carriage had traveled a short distance, Alyuin's straight back slowly relaxed.
"Lotus…" she called out again. Her brilliant golden eyes narrowed like a cat's, and the corners of her eyes were tinged with a barely perceptible red, which was laid bare under the light of the carriage lamp.
Lotus instinctively reached for the lampshade and covered the lamp, plunging the carriage into dimness.
The princess then leaned her head against Lotus's shoulder. She made no other movements, but her breathing was faster than usual.
"What happened?"
"Something Katisi was burning, probably," Alyuin said, pausing. She wanted to say it was fine, that it wasn't serious and would pass if she just endured it for a while. If necessary, she could endure it without showing a single sign.
But for some reason, the princess swallowed those words of reassurance and simply breathed a little heavily.
Lotus didn't know what to say. "You knew she was burning something in there, and you still stayed?"
"I left quickly. The drug must be quite potent to take effect even after a short while."
Lotus took a deep breath and called out, "Can we go back faster?"
The guard in front answered, "No problem!"
Lotus monitored the princess's condition the entire way, barely noticing how the carriage returned to the residence. All she knew was that the temperature of the body pressed against hers was rising higher and higher, almost as if she had a fever.
She had even less memory of how they got out of the carriage or how she helped the princess back to her room.
Lotus closed the door, and at almost the same instant, a force from behind spun her around and pressed her against the door panel.
The force wasn't strong; she could have broken free with a simple struggle. But Alyuin was pressed tightly against her, no longer concealing her abnormal state. She murmured in a low voice, "Lotus, you're so cool."
She was truly cool, like the refreshing sensation of dipping one's hand into the Yilu River in summer. Just pressing against her was enough to soothe the heat.
"Wait, go lie down first, I'll—"
She never got to say "find a way," because as she tried to half-support, half-push the princess toward the bed, they somehow tripped and fell together onto the room's carpet.
As they fell, Lotus reacted quickly, placing a hand behind Alyuin's head to cushion the fall.
Even with the thick, plush carpet, the impact of a sudden fall was not to be ignored. A dull ache spread through her knuckles a moment later, but that wasn't important.
Alyuin lay on the carpet, her golden eyes burning.
Lotus propped herself up with one hand beside the princess's face, looking down at her, unconsciously holding her breath.
"Lotus…" Alyuin drew out the sound.
"Please help me."
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