It was not until Shanil’s call that Terban’s gaze reached her.
“What are you thinking that you don’t answer no matter how many times I call you?”
“It’s nothing.”
The banquet was over and they were on their way back together in the carriage.
Shanil asked why he had been pensive the whole time without saying anything, but he just said no.
But unlike his answer, Terban was thinking about Ellea.
‘She must have thought it’s strange. I asked who she was all of a sudden.’
Meanwhile, Shanil was also thinking about Ella. The reason she went to the garden was because there was a scene she was expecting.
But she never thought Terban would be there at the same time.
‘He didn’t notice anything, did he?’
She asked Terban, deliberately trying to hide her nervousness.
“Was the Princess injured?”
“Other than a little surprise, she’s fine. I’m glad nothing happened to her. If Zenvenica pursues the problem, we’ll be the ones in trouble.”
Shanil was finally relieved when Terban didn’t seem to notice anything about the incident.
“I’m glad she didn’t get hurt.”
As she said this, Shanil turned her gaze out the window with a look of disappointment.
‘Too bad. That wasn’t what I wanted to see.’
What Shanil had been expecting to see was the fear on Ellea’s face, but when Terban appeared, things took a completely unexpected turn.
And while looking at the dark scenery outside the window, she recalled what happened when she came out of the banquet hall earlier. When she accidentally found a drunken man and came up with a good idea, she approached him first.
“Are you okay? You seem to be quite drunk.”
Ah, Lady Shanil. I’m in a good mood today, that’s all.”
“I see.”
The man recognized Shanil’s face at a glance. She pretended to smile and responded to him.
There was only one reason Shanil had approached him.
The man was known for his lust for women, recklessness and violence when drunk.
She thought of Ellea’s visit to the garden earlier, and said to the man in a hushed tone.
“Then how about going out into the garden to get some fresh air to sober you up?”
“I think that’s a good idea.”
Shanil’s words felt like a favor to the man, and he immediately nodded and staggered away toward the garden.
As Shanil watched the man’s back, she smiled in satisfaction.
The man knew who she was, so he treated her with a certain amount of politeness, but Shanil was sure he would show his true colors to Ellea. Just as she intended.
However, the man messed up like a fool. He had plenty of time too. He was pathetic.
Shanil, unaware of the situation where Ellea had completely subdued the man, only blamed him for his stupidity.
‘Well, it doesn’t matter. It has nothing to do with me anyway.’
Shanil’s name would never come out of the man’s mouth. He was drunk, and even if he did, she had just told him to go to the garden.
She remembered the man who had ruined her plans, and it made her angry, but she felt better knowing that it scared Ellea.
‘You must have come to your senses over this. This place is completely different from where you lived.’
But she didn’t know that this was her own big mistake.
****
The banquet, which was bigger than expected, ended successfully, and Ellea returned to her normal peaceful life.
There was no more Terban to see or anyone else to visit the palace, and she felt very much at peace.
Even today, when the weather was nice, she was relaxing in the garden with a warm cup of tea. Jane came up to her and said,
“You look happy, Your Highness.”
“Yes. If it stays like this, I won’t have any wish. After all, a quiet place is better than a banquet hall.”
“But everyone is disappointed that there will be no more dressing up.”
Ellea was in the middle of a friendly conversation with Jane when she spotted the box she was carrying and asked,
“What is it, by the way?”
Jane replied, “It’s a regular medicine used in the palace. We’ve run out so I’m going to the doctor’s office to get some.”
“The Palace doctor….”
At the word “palace doctor”, Ellea remembered someone’s face. She hadn’t been able to go see this or that since returning here.
“Yes, it’s the palace doctor who works at the Imperial Palace. It’s a short distance from here…………”
“I’ll go.”
Ellea said impatiently before Jane could finish, and for a moment Jane thought she’d misheard her.
“Huh?”
“I’ll be back.”
“No, I’ll go, Princess.”
“I have nothing to do and want to walk around a bit. And it’d be nice to get to know the imperial doctor.”
Understanding the situation of the ailing Princess, Jane handed her the box she was carrying.
“It’s not too difficult, so it’s okay, right?”
“Yes….”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be careful.”
And with that, Ellea took the empty box and went outside. Despite Jane’s concerns, she naturally knew exactly where the palace was.
She was thinking about when to meet Wontil, but she couldn’t believe she had such an amazing opportunity.
‘I hope you’re doing well.’
Even though Wontil wouldn’t know who she was, she would be relieved if she could just confirm with her eyes that he was alright.
Because he was the one who only cared about her safety until the end.
Of course, she was also looking forward to seeing his face after a long time.
Ellea’s steps to the building where the doctor office was located were lighter than ever. She arrived safely without getting lost, and she stood exactly in front of the door amongst many doors.
And with a trembling heart, she slowly knocked on the door. But there was no sound from inside.
“Hello?”
She knocked again just to be sure, but it was still the same, no response. Ellea turned the doorknob out of curiosity and the unlocked door opened immediately.
“Excuse me.”
Slowly, she opened the door and entered, immediately the scent of medicinal herbs hit her nose and a familiar room filled her vision.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t see the owner of the room from anywhere, probably because he had been out for a while, contrary to her expectations.
“There’s no one here?”
Ellea decided to wait inside after contemplating and sat down on a chair. As she did so, she looked around the area, and she seemed to be deeply moved by what she saw.
“It doesn’t change, back then and now.”
While she was looking around, the door opened unexpectedly.
Ellea thought it was Wontil but the person who entered was a knight contrary to her expectations. It was also a face that Ellea knew very well, and she got up from her seat.
The knight, on the other hand, didn’t even notice that there were other people inside, and opened the door and said loudly.
“Wontil, please take a look. I was injured during training earlier……”
But it was a while before the knight found her too, and his voice became quieter and quieter, and his eyes met Ellea awkwardly.
He was surprised to see someone unexpected, so he just stood still. It was Ellea who moved first.
“Hello.”
“Oh, isn’t this Wantil’s room?”
“Yes, it is. I was also waiting for the doctor. You can come in.”
At Ellea’s words, the knight squirmed his way inside and sat on the bed in the corner of the room.
Despite the awkward silence, Ellea couldn’t take her eyes off the knight’s face.
It had been a long time since she had seen him.
‘It’s Kenley.’
He was one of the knights who belonged to the Order of which he was the leader.
His short brown hair was impressive, and he was, in a word, the mood maker of the knight Order.
He was cheerful, lively, and approached everyone without hesitation. Of course, his high spirits were sometimes a problem.
‘I can guess a little about why he’s here.’
Kenley sensed Ellea’s gaze on him and, as was his usual personality, he spoke first without hesitation.
“Is there anything you want to say to me?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I was wondering if you were in the same Order as Lord Bandel.”
As soon as the name Bandel came out of Ellea’s mouth, Kenley’s entire stance changed. Even before that, he didn’t seem to notice who it was now. Not even at the banquet.
“Do you know Bandel?”
“Yes. Because he was the knight who came to escort me when I came to Rubain. You have the same uniform as Lord Bandel.”
“I see.”
Kenley quickly put together what Ellea said and only then he knew who it was in front of him.
“Are you the Princess of Zenvenica?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t know.”
When it became clear that she was the Princess, Kenley stood up and bowed his head.
“I’m Kenley, a member of the Emperor’s direct knight Order like Bandel.”
“Sir Kenley. It’s a pleasure to meet you like this. It’s okay, please make yourself comfortable.”
Ellea greeted him as if he were someone she was meeting for the first time today.
Kenley was only surprised for a moment, and he showed no signs of discomfort with her unique bright personality. On the contrary, he looked pleased.
“I was curious about the Princess, but I’m meeting you like this. By the way, what brings you here?”
“I came to see the palace doctor because the palace had run out of medicine. But he’s not here.”
“Wontil is out of the room, but he will be back soon.”
“Then we can wait.”
Kenley’s face was somehow filled with curiosity about the Princess. Because ever since picking up the Princess at the border, Bandel had regained his normal self.
After El’s death, his colleagues were very worried about him, especially because Bandel was fond of her.
However, ever since he came back from a special mission with Terban, he showed a determination in an instant, surprising others.
His fellow knights considered it fortunate, whatever the reason. Of course they were heartbroken, but they also cared about Bandel.
“By the way, why did Sir Kenley come here?”
“I was injured during training.”
‘He must have twisted his wrist or ankle.’
At the mention of him being injured, Ellea didn’t need to see it to know how he got injured.
“I was excited and moved but I hurt my wrist.”
‘I knew it.’
Ellea barely swallowed a laugh when Kenley said the same thing she had expected.
It looked like he was still the same person who had told her to be so careful before.
In fact, she was more relieved to see that he was still the same. I had wanted them to move on and live comfortably after her death.
“I’m going first. I’m still in training.”
“What about the treatment?”
“It’s okay. I’m not seriously injured, I’ll come back later.”
“Wait a moment.”
Ellea quickly prevented Kenley from going on. Right now, it was necessary to check where and how badly he was injured.
She was distressed. She decided to help Kenley this one time. She was trying to stay as still as possible, but he was injured, so she couldn’t help but be concerned.