Translator and Editor: Effe and Nabi

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Chapter 44 – Coda (2)

Sienna slowly took off her hat, trying not to get nervous.

“Anna. Is Arthur still there?”

“For the time being, the order has been issued to withdraw from the Princess’ designated knight and to keep a low profile…”

“Bring Arthur. As soon as possible.”

“Yes.”

Somehow, her fatigue came suddenly, and Sienna went back to bed and closed her eyes for a moment.

After quite a while, Arthur entered the room. He came to her side with a heavy face.

“The doctor said…”

Arthur spoke in a trembling voice, not knowing what to do with his gaze.

“It was said that the amount was not a lethal dose.”

“….”

“I’m sorry. It’s my fault.”

He knelt down to his knees before he could finish his words.

The poison quickly paralyzed her body, and she lost her consciousness. It wasn’t just because of drowning in the water…

Someone placed a drug in the juice.

“It is said to be a rare plant that is not grown in Stern, and its leaves are medicinal and its roots used as a poison. In the past, it was used as an anesthetic.”

Sienna smiled bitterly as she looked at Arthur, who continued his words in a calm manner.

“Get up, Arthur.”

“….”

“Your face… you’re very hurt.”

“The magic tower guys, how awful they were with their pale face like a sandman.”

Naturally, the first suspect was Arthur, who handed her the juice. He was only released after several days of intense interrogation. That meant that if Arthur had been investigated, Dandelion would have been in a similar situation.

Sienna asked, trying to hide her impatience.

“What happened to Dan—Sir Mont?”

“Th, that’s…”

Arthur hesitated for a moment, then glanced at her and barely answered.

“After being investigated with me, he returned to the estate first.”

“He just went back?”

“Yes. That’s what I heard.”

Sienna couldn’t hide her sadness. However, before she could calm down, she heard someone’s footsteps.

— Master! That’s him.

Knock, knock.

After a while, a knock on the door was heard.

Jad, as always, had an indifferent face. It wasn’t the first time he had been to this room, so it was only natural.

“How’s your body?”

“Huh?”

Nevertheless, it was unfamiliar to start a conversation with a very general greeting. Thanks to that, Sienna responded a beat late.

“It’s bearable. Rather than that, you didn’t bring that flower, do you?”

At Sienna’s almost pretentious words, he hid the bouquet behind him. Even so, he was always empty-handed every time he came to visit her. Jad put the bouquet down as if tossing it on the blanket, wondering if the flowers in the room had made him more awkward.

“Why, what, why not?”“As expected, your temper.”

Sienna asked with a suspicious face as she looked at the flowers that had been thrown away.

“You didn’t pick it up on the way, did you?”

“Do you have to say it!”

“I’m joking. Thank you.”

She then buried her face in the bouquet and took a deep breath. When she died and came back to life, the living things felt even more tender. She gently stroked the petals without saying a word for a moment, when Jad spoke to her.

“I thought you were going to die.”

“Aren’t you, too, not familiar?”

“Yes. It’s unfamiliar.”

“There is no reason to die.”

“That’s true.”

Jad nodded his head as if in agreement, then he asked again.

“Ah, but what’s out there? The hustle and bustle?”

“Escort.”

“Well, it’s natural, though…”

Jad felt a strange sense of incongruity. It was a strange feeling, although it was something he can’t explain. So, he answered without hesitation.

“The Princess must be frustrated.”

“A little. There is something I want to ask you more than that.”

Sienna wanted to know why Eleanor was on board that day. She had drawn roughly what the situation was, but she wanted to hear exactly with his mouth.

“The day the accident happened…”

But before she could finish her question, she heard Shushu’s voice again.

— The King is coming.

— Again?

Sienna thought for a moment.

It was also because she wasn’t very happy with Aden, though most of all, because she hadn’t gotten her thoughts sorted out yet. She tried to change the story, but the most important things happened in the end.

While making a creaking and twisting sound, her fate was heading towards a certain end.

Her will felt like dust in the universe.

“Your Majesty enters.”

At Anna’s voice, Arthur and Jad hurriedly adjusted their posture.

“Greetings, Your Majesty.”

Aden patted Jad’s shoulder with a happy face and sat down next to Sienna.

“Yes, are you okay?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“I’m glad. I’ll be sure to find the culprit who made you like that and punish them. So, don’t worry and focus on your recovery.”

“….”

Sienna, who gazed at the tenderly clenched hand for a long time, raised her head and called out to the King.

“Father.”

The corners of her lips lifted slightly, and an innocent voice leaked from her lips.

“I know the culprit.”

“…What?”

Tuk. The hand that was holding her clasped fell weakly. Aden looked at her with trembling eyes, and then looked at Jad who was standing behind.

“Sienna, later…”

But, before Aden could block, Jad had already intervened. He forgot his manners for a moment and came over excitedly.

“What do you mean? Do you know the culprit?”

Sienna smiled leisurely, glancing at Aden and him alternately. Even if she didn’t have to open her mouth, Aden would take care of this situation.

“Jad. Go back today. Sienna is still recovering, so she needs stability.”

“Your Majesty…!”

“I told you to go away!”

Aden was determined as usual. Because of that, Jad reluctantly took a step back.

“Arthur McKenzie. You should step back.”

He ordered the servants outside the door to move more than ten steps away and tried to shove them around, although Sienna insisted that Arthur remained in the room.

In the quiet space, Aden regained his composure and asked.

“Do you know the culprit?”

“Literally.”

“Everyone on the ship that day was investigated. However, there were no suspicious people.”

“….”

Sienna, who was silently listening to Aden, bit her lip without realizing it.

Are you pretending not to know, or do you want to know?

Aden was treating the time when Sienna’s whereabouts were unknown as if it had never happened. She contemplated the face of her father, Aden, King of Stern, before her eyes. She knew what the other person wanted, but unfortunately, she lacked the talent for patience.

“That’s not it.”

“What?”

“Why don’t you ask?”

“….”

“You should ask about what happened to me before that, not what happened on the ship.”

“….”

“I heard later that a note had been left in my handwriting.”

“….”

“Did you believe it?”

Her rising voice was cold.

Aden stiffened his body, startled by the strange sight of his daughter.

“I ran away. Did the wise Majesty really believe in such nonsensical content?”

“…I wanted to believe it. It’s obvious. What father in the world wants her daughter to be kidnapped.”

“So, you proceeded with the festival as if nothing had happened? You didn’t even come to rescue me.”

Aden, who was stabbed in the painful spot, explained urgently.

“I found you. I kept looking for you!”

“You couldn’t find me in the end.”

“Sienna!”

He grabbed her arms and lowered her voice.

“I am also your father, but I am the king of the country.”

“Yes, of course.”

“It is a disgrace and shame for the royal family to dare to say that a princess is kidnapped from Stern’s castle. It is directly related to Stern’s well-being.”

“….”

“As your father, and as King of Stern, I did the best I could. That’s it.”

Aden calmed his agitation for a moment and continued the conversation calmly.

“Besides, you came back safely like this.”

Sienna narrowed her brow in disbelief.

“I came back safely? Me?”

As her voice grew louder, Aden stroked her hair as if to soothe her.

“Yes. My pretty daughter is in front of me like this. That’s enough for me. If you get married and leave for Valencia estate, everything will be resolved. Don’t worry. Now nothing will happen. Father promised…”

Before he could finish speaking, Sienna clasped the unfamiliar hand and pulled it back away from her.

“You never asked what happened to me or how I got back.”

“….”

“How could you do that?”

It was expected that he would quietly bury this case. However, she had no idea that he would ignore it so completely. Still, she wondered if he would ask her about the circumstances, would he listen to her, at least… She was thinking about whether he could give some comfort or something.

Anyway, he was her father.

Because of various circumstances, she never thought that even if he couldn’t stand up and take her side, he would make it so miserable.

Strength entered her hand, which was holding the blanket.

‘Don’t expect needlessly.’

If you do something that no one has ever done, you will get hurt.

“Sigh.”

Sienna let out a brief sigh.

At his sincerity that he sent her flowers every day, her heart was shaken for a moment at the visit, which he had been wasting many times.

‘…Because when a person is sick, the heart becomes weak.’

She raised the corners of her lips with her cold eyes. What was difficult for him was too easy for her.

It was just to bring one name.

“Emmit Ludwig.”

“Sienna!”

When the name appeared, Aden sharply stopped her as if it were a taboo.

“He ordered to kidnap me.”

“Princess, refrain from talking.”

“Your Majesty seems to know.”

“Sienna, please…”

“Are you okay with me making this public?”

Aden touched his temple as if his hair was throbbing. He looked shabby and weak in an instant, as if he was ten years older. It only weakens his heart, but she nailed it right.

“Can Your Majesty punish Duke Ludwig?”

“….”

“Are you afraid? Maybe, brother Pierre is involved.”

“Pierre… No. Probably not. It’s ridiculous that your brother is trying to harm you. Even if you don’t get along very well, Pierre isn’t that harsh. I know that as a father.”

Aden looked so confused as though he wondered what she was talking about.

Was his son really trying to harm his daughter?

The terrifying suspicion alone would suffocate him. Nonetheless, even if he was weak, the King is a king, as if he was showing off his age, he quickly cleared his breath and regained his composure.

“If this is known, brother Pierre’s succession to the throne will be quite troublesome.”

“Do you have evidence? You are naive to think that Emmett will be easily defeated.”

“In that case, your Majesty’s appearance in this way would be part of Lord Ludwig’s plan.”

“…It’s impossible to catch Emmet without solid evidence. It’s like scraping and crumbling. It could be rough. Now you know how dangerous he is.”

Aden pushed Sienna on with a look of concern for his daughter by anyone who could see it.

He didn’t understand her, so she changed her course without hesitation.

However, he did not realize that there was a contradiction in his words.

It meant he had lost his composure.

“Really?”

She knew it too.

It was impossible to get Emmett to pay a fair price for his crimes right now. Still, she had learned one thing in her life.

To survive, sometimes you have to inflate your body.

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