Chapter 18
Lincia thought for a moment that she was dreaming.
Otherwise, there was no way Anna could be by her side now.
“I told you to leave the palace.”
When it had been decided that she must depart for Cassius Territory, she had given Anna many jewels, worried about leaving her behind alone.
Because Anna had treated Lincia kindly, she had been quietly ostracised in the Imperial Palace.
After Lincia disappeared, there was no way Anna’s life could have been easy.
“Did Julius find you?”
“…No.
I stayed because I wanted to see Your Highness again.
I know you told me for my sake, and I’m sorry.
But I was afraid that if I left, I would never see you again…”
Lincia’s eyes trembled.
She had thought that blind loyalty and affection would vanish the moment she lost her value as a princess.
Yet Anna was still someone who gave only for Lincia’s sake.
“Have you been well?”
“Yes, I’ve been fine.
You know how excellent I am at my work.
They couldn’t beat me since I was a lady-in-waiting of the Imperial Palace, so instead they just piled me with tasks.”
Anna smiled as if it were nothing, but Lincia knew the truth.
She knew how hard it was to live alone, unable to share your heart with anyone.
“…And His Majesty helped me a lot.”
“…What?”
“Since I was the one closest to Your Highness in the palace, I suppose he was concerned.”
Anna spoke shyly, lowering her head.
But unease surged in Lincia’s chest.
“…Did he do anything to you?”
“No, His Majesty helped me.
He made sure I could adapt even without Your Highness in the palace.
And sometimes, he asked me how Your Highness used to live there.”
Lincia could not understand Julius’s intentions.
It was strange enough that he had sent her most cherished lady-in-waiting here, but to have treated her kindly in the palace as well?
Julius was the kind of man who seized every weakness and used it for control.
He would not have sent Anna to her like this.
“What did he ask you about?”
“Little things, like what foods Your Highness liked or disliked, what animals you favoured, or the drawings you made.”
They were details that seemed utterly useless for Julius to know.
“Nothing else?”
“He took a few of the drawings Your Highness had made.”
Why?
Until now, Julius had never once mentioned Anna.
If he had used Anna to threaten her, Lincia would have had no choice but to go to the palace to see him.
That was how much she treasured Anna.
The fact that Julius had kept Anna’s existence hidden for two years unsettled her deeply.
“He also told me to take good care of you, so that Your Highness would not feel uncomfortable.
He said that you had lived for a whole year without even a close maid by your side.
How could they let that happen… to Your Highness…!”
Anna’s voice rose as if her anger could no longer be contained.
Sensing a clue, Lincia grasped her shoulders.
“Did he tell you to gather information about the Grand Duke’s house?”
Was Anna placed as a spy?
Though she was of noble birth, her family was a minor one.
If she were caught spying in the Grand Duke’s household, death was certain.
“…What?
Why would the Imperial family need information about the North?
His Majesty never asked such a thing of me.”
Anna never lied to Lincia.
That much she was sure of.
There was no way Julius would ever do something for her benefit.
Lincia tried to grasp his intentions, but nothing came to mind.
“Oh, he did ask me to do one thing. To write letters about how Your Highness was doing.”
“…He asked how I was doing?”
Lincia’s lashes trembled.
“…Yes, and he said that when Your Highness’s child is born, he would become the godfather and raise the child as his own.
He said Your Highness’s child would be no different from his.”
Was Julius planning to take her child away?
The thought made Lincia’s eyes waver.
Sensing her unease, Anna quickly changed the subject.
“Aren’t you hungry?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“The physician said to call for him if Your Highness coughed.
May I summon him now?”
Oberok and Harvich arrived together in the bedchamber.
Harvich glanced briefly at Anna before speaking to Lincia.
“I was told she was your close lady-in-waiting when you lived in the palace. Is that true?”
“Yes.”
Their conversation, cold and formal for a married couple, ended there as Oberok began examining Lincia.
After listening to her chest and feeling her pulse, he sighed softly.
“Your body has grown very weak.
It may even affect the child. For now, it is best that you do not overexert yourself and rest as much as possible.”
Saying he would prepare medicine beneficial for pregnancy, Oberok departed.
At that moment, Anna, hesitating, cautiously addressed Harvich.
“Your Grace, may I ask something?”
“What is it?”
“Where are the people who used to serve Her Grace?
Since I was apart from her for so long, I’d like to know if there are foods she cannot eat now, or anything else that has changed.”
Harvich did not answer.
His expression looked strained, and Lincia carefully spoke.
“Anna, I’d like to speak with my husband alone.
Would you step outside for a moment?”
“Yes.”
At Lincia’s words, Anna bowed her head and left the chamber.
Watching Harvich’s expression, Lincia opened her mouth.
“I’m sorry.”
“Why would you apologise?”
“Because Anna’s question may have offended you. She didn’t mean any harm. She only asked because she cares deeply for me.”
“You need not apologise.”
Harvich’s voice was clipped.
Lincia bit her lip.
“Please don’t see her with too much dislike. In the palace, there were always ladies-in-waiting to tend to me. It feels unfamiliar now, that’s all…”
“If you had requested a maid, I would have sent one.”
His calm words made Lincia’s eyes waver.
“…What?”
“I did not know you lived without a personal maid. Why did you never ask?”
Lincia caught the suspicion in his gaze.
But she had done nothing to deserve it.
Her hands clenched the sheets tightly.
“You told me not to keep a personal maid.
You said the maid who once served me had been a spy.
That any maid at my side could soon fall into the Imperial family’s hands.
How could I dare to request one after that?”
It was only a few days after their confrontation in the study that her personal maid had disappeared.
Confused, she had gone to seek out Harvich in his office, but on the way she ran into Kaiden.
“From now on, there will be no personal attendants by your side.
If there are, they will all become spies for the Imperial family.”
“What do you mean?”
“It means your maid was a spy.”
Lincia’s face drained of colour.
“I must see my husband.”
“His Grace shares my view.”
