The Royal Room
1765 Words
“Your Highness. Thank you for being concerned.”
“…”
She asked him, who still looked as indifferent as ever, a question.
“But is there a reason why you’re concerned?”
His lips twitched.
“What are you saying?”
“That’s…”
Catarina wondered if she should say it and swallowed her words.
-You don’t like me.
Yes, he didn’t like her. She felt that fact in her past life and was pained from it. At the time, she couldn’t endure that pain, and she went to extremes. And she ended up meeting that tragic ending.
Then, he spoke.
“It’s because I’m sorry.”
“Sorry?”
“I was sorry I made you dance without knowing your condition, so I brought you here. There’s not a particular reason, so don’t worry about it.”
“Ah…I see.”
She nodded her head. Something still felt off, but she just skipped over it. He probably didn’t have any other reason for it anyway, and her head hurt so much.
“Aren’t you hungry?”
“A…little bit.”
She had almost nothing today because she had a fever since this morning. She still didn’t have an appetite, but she still felt a bit hungry. ‘Food is too much, but if only there was dessert.’ And he spoke.
“I’ll tell them to bring out the strawberry cake.”
“…!”
Catarina’s eyes widened. It was the thing she wanted to eat most at that moment. If it was strawberry cake, she could eat five pieces!
“Do you not like it?”
“No, I like it!”
“Alright. I’ll let them know, so eat a bit and rest. There’s still time until the speech.”
And he turned around to head back.
“Your Highness.”
“Yes?”
Catarina bowed her head and spoke.
“Thank you for being concerned.”
“It’s nothing. It’s not because of you, so don’t worry.”
Catarina smiled.
“But still, thank you. Have a good time.”
“…!”
At that moment, he paused. He opened his mouth to say something and closed it again.
“…?”
When Catarina made a questioning face, he shook his head.
“It’s nothing. Rest well.”
He disappeared, and she was left alone. She tilted her head. Rest well? She had never heard those words from him when they were a couple. Because he wasn’t someone who cared about those kinds of things. ‘He’s really strange today.’ And she also wondered. ‘I wonder who was chosen to be his fiancee?’
Since it was going to be announced as planned, there was definitely someone chosen. ‘I hope they’re happy whoever it is.’ It had ended badly, but they were once a married couple. She hoped for his happiness in this life
And a moment later. A servant brought something on a platter. It was the strawberry cake that she liked! ‘Wow.’ Catarina momentarily forgot she was sick and swallowed in anticipation. It looked exactly like the strawberry cake from Via Bakery on Pike Street.
She felt joy when she ate a spoonful. ‘It tastes good. As much as Via Bakery.’ The Imperial Palace wasn’t the Imperial Palace for nothing. They were able to create a deep sweet flavor like Via Bakery. It wasn’t just similar, but almost the same. The servant next to her laughed and spoke.
“It tastes good, right?”
“Yes, it’s good.”
“At the request of someone high up, we got a new patissier. I heard he worked at Dahlia Bakery on Pike Street.”
“Ah…”
She nodded her head. No wonder it was the same. The chef from Dahlia Bakery made it? ‘I guess I won’t be able to eat the cake from Dahlia Bakery anymore. That’s a shame. Only the people in the palace can taste this now. Was there someone who liked cakes from Dahlia Bakery amongst the Imperial Family? Now they’ll be able to eat to their heart’s delight.’
She was jealous of whoever it was.
How long had passed since she was asleep? Someone lightly shook her to wake her up.
“Lady, lady.”
“…”
“Lady?”
“…!”
Catarina shot her eyes open from being shaken. ‘Ah…I fell asleep.’ She had fallen asleep right on the sofa where she had been eating strawberry cake. ‘So dizzy.’ Holding her throbbing head, she saw a middle-aged woman looking kindly down at her.
“Are you awake? Sorry to wake you, but the Emperor will be reading his speech now.”
“Ah…yes. Thank you.”
And she thought. ‘Who is this? She’s familiar.’ This was the lounge for just the imperial family. She was definitely part of the family or someone who knew them well. Catarina was able to remember her name. ‘Ah! It’s her!’ She quickly bowed.
“Greetings to Duchess Harver. I’m Catarina, of the Eisenberg family.”
“It’s fine. It seems like you’re not feeling too well anyway, please be more relaxed.”
“No, it’s okay, Duchess.”
Duchess Harver! She was the lady of the high noble family and she was a relative of the imperial family!
“Sorry, but could you help me walk?”
“Ah, yes.”
Because she had the blood of the imperial family, her eyes were a golden color. It was faint. The stronger the supernatural power, the darker gold their eyes became. Emperor Winchester, who was called the Brain Emperor, had extremely dark golden eyes, and the Crown Prince’s were even darker.
‘The Crown Prince has the greatest supernatural powers of all time.’ She was able to watch him defeat the 3rd Prince in the political fight for the crown and rule the empire with wisdom deeper than Emperor Winchester.
Because she was sentenced to death, she couldn’t observe what happened, but she couldn’t even imagine how much he changed the Granzreich Empire. ‘If there was a flaw it would be the bloody battle with the 3rd Prince’s party.’ At the time, a lot of blood had been spilled. Enough for the civilians to call it the Tragedy of Berlun.
He hadn’t shared his feelings with her then, but she could see that he was struggling back then. ‘And another flaw was the empress, me.’ She bitterly reminisced. Nothing good would come of her becoming the empress again.
“Should I support you like this, Duchess?”
“Yes, thank you. My legs are a bit shaky.”
Catarina observed the Duchess. Every time she moved, her legs faintly shook. She saw the freezing of her gait. A diagnosis popped up in her head. ‘Parkinson’s.’
She didn’t know the Duchess that well. That was because she had died before Catarina married the Crown Prince. The cause of death was suffocation. ‘Parkinson’s is a disease that lessens the functions of the nerve cells. When she was eating, the food must’ve been caught in her throat because she wasn’t able to swallow it.’ She thought to herself. ‘She looks pretty healthy. Isn’t there a way to help her?’
But even she couldn’t do anything to treat Parkinson’s. ‘Parkinson’s wasn’t able to be treated, just delayed, back on Earth. And in the case of suffocation, I can’t help her unless I’m right next to her.’ If food got caught in her throat, it had to be dealt with in 1 to 2 minutes. Unless a doctor skilled in emergency treatment was next to her, the chances of her survival were low.
‘Isn’t there a way? Let’s see.’ From her memory, she remembered that it was around this time. But the time probably won’t be at exactly the same time as last time. Because the case of food being caught in the throat depended on chance. ‘I hope it’s not too bad.’ Thinking those thoughts, she entered the ballroom.
“Thank you, lady. I’ll see you next time if opportunity allows us.”
“Yes, Duchess.”
She could see noble families waiting in their spots for the Emperor to read his celebratory speech. She moved to where the Eisenberg family was.
“Cathy, where have you been? I looked for you.”
“Oh…I was resting a bit. Sorry.”
“Are you feeling better?”
“Yes, a bit.”
She told her worried family that she had been resting a bit.
“The Emperor will read it soon, so just wait.”
“Yes, father.”
Catarina breathed a sigh of relief thinking that she would be able to go right home after this. Today, she wasn’t going to study and just rest.
“His Majesty the Emperor is entering!”
With the sound of trumpets, all the nobles in their positions bowed in respect. And the Emperor stepped on the podium with a bible in hand.
“May all those who are here be blessed by God. And with thanks to the Christ who died for us, I’ll read this prayer.”
It was a tradition of over 500 years reading a prayer during an anniversary ball. The Emperor looked at the large cross in front of him. On the cross, there was a crown of thorns. And he kneeled to read the prayer.
After he read the prayer, he read his speech. It was similar to last year. Blessing all the citizens of the empire. ‘Now it’s almost over. Let’s just endure a bit more, Catarina.’
- Writer
