Episode 18
Yesterday, taking Rosie out for a stroll had been to create a situation like the present one. Bringing her along deliberately had been to avoid the suspicion of the mansion’s people.
One cannot defy the Emperor’s command. No one can avoid the command of the Emperor, the supreme authority of the Empire. If one disobeys his command, only a gruesome end awaits.
Yesterday, Lucas had not commanded as an Emperor. He had revealed his heart as one person. But there was no guarantee Lucas would remain that way forever. Should Lucas command a royal marriage as the Emperor, Helen would have only two choices.
Marry him, or drag her house into the darkness as well.
Thus, she could only hope that Lucas would withdraw on his own. However, since he would not step back by himself no matter what was said, she must not face him until he gave up his feelings.
Helen chose to make herself ill. During the long winter, there had been little to do in Heksilov, and for her, books were the best friend. She did not discriminate by subject—history, politics, mathematics, and so on. She had once read a book on medicinal herbs, and she quite liked the charm of something that could save a person’s life or take it away.
She had memorized a few of the herbs from that book. Because there might come a day when she would need them. Though she hadn’t particularly intended to use them at a time like this.
Repollier is a bright yellow flower that grows mainly in the warm southern regions. With only ten small, slender petals the length of eyelashes, Repollier is not beautiful enough to decorate a house. But it possesses a special power. If eaten raw, it is harmless, but if steeped in hot water for ten minutes and drunk, it causes the entire body to burn with heat.
She had worried whether Repollier could be found in the capital, but fortunately, she had obtained it at an apothecary. If one develops a fever due to Repollier, one simply eats the flower raw.
Ten minutes after eating the flower, her body began to heat up. After an hour, the fever raged so fiercely she could not even stand.
She had lied to Rosie that the flower had the effect of lowering body heat, but Helen did not regret it. If she had revealed the truth to Rosie, she would have opposed obtaining the Repollier. And yet, had Helen still eaten the flower in the end, Rosie would have suffered from guilt.
Fortunately, Rosie did not seem to believe that the Repollier flower would have the effect of lowering body heat. She probably just thought it was a mere small flower.
Helen planned not to reveal that she had hidden several Repollier flowers from Rosie. She felt sorry toward Rosie, but this was also for Rosie’s sake.
Helen took Rosie’s hand. Perhaps because she was ill, simply holding her younger sister’s hand took all her strength.
“Rosie, so will you make the best choice again this time?”
Just as Rosie was about to ask what choice she meant, the outside suddenly grew noisy, and the gazes of the two people in the room turned toward the window simultaneously.
The murmuring of people, the sound of horse hooves, and the hour when the day began to wane. Helen could guess what all these things pointed to.
As Rosie approached the window to check the situation outside, Helen grabbed her.
“Rosie, listen carefully to what I’m about to say.”
This is something only you can do, and only you can accomplish.
* Sibello
The mansion’s butler came running frantically upon hearing the news that an imperial carriage had arrived near the mansion. The place the butler headed was where the Countess, the current master of the mansion in Count Platini’s absence on a business trip, was.
Hearing from the butler that the Emperor had arrived, the Countess hurried toward him. She had known he would come soon, but upon actually hearing it, she broke out in a cold sweat. The Emperor had come all this way because of Helen, yet the girl was lying ill; she was filled with nothing but worry over how to deliver this fact.
The Countess’s shadow drew closer to the main gate.
What should she say to the Emperor? Should she tell the truth—that Helen Platini had come down with a violent fever and could not even move her body? Would the Emperor truly accept this fact at face value and return to the palace?
The Countess shook her head and continued forward. She was rather eloquent, but not quick-witted. If only the Count were by her side now.
About five steps remained to the main gate. The closer she got, the more the broad daylight assailed her face. It was the very moment the Countess tried to shield her eyes with her palm from the light that made her squint.
“Mother!”
The daughter she cherished and loved most in the world was coming down the stairs. A bright smile spread across the Countess’s face as if a reliable ally had appeared.
But the smile stayed only briefly before fading. A cold glint in Rosie’s eyes that she had never seen before, and had never imagined she would encounter even for an instant, came to mind.
“I’ll protect my sister. I’ll stay by my sister’s side, whom no one protects.”
The daughter she had believed would remain forever lovable was now a stranger. If Rosie knew how much her mother cherished her, she should not have uttered such cold words.
Whose child was Helen? Was she not the blood of the only woman Count Platini had truly loved in his life? To think she considered Helen, born with vulgar red hair exactly like her mother’s, a real sister!
It was fortunate that Helen was an eyesore to the Count; if the woman the Count had truly loved had not died then, Rosie would not exist in this world now. No, even if she did exist, she would have had her place stolen by that woman’s daughter!
The Countess calmly suppressed the surge of emotion boiling up from deep within and once again placed a smile on her lips.
“Yes, Rosie. Is your sister a bit better?”
“No. There are no signs of her waking up. Her fever is raging fiercely, so I think it’s best not to wake her today.”
“Oh dear. That is a serious problem. An imperial carriage has arrived, so what shall we do?”
The Countess organized her thoughts once more and tidied her hair. Rosie was not a child to lie, and judging by her earlier actions, she truly cherished Helen. Therefore, Helen truly was in a sick state, and as the physician James had said, it was best the Emperor did not meet Helen. For the Emperor, and for House Platini.
“Rosie, go back upstairs. I shall speak well to His Majesty.”
The Countess flashed a bright smile at her daughter and finally grasped the handle of the main gate. She need only open this door and walk calmly to where the imperial carriage was. What came next was a problem to think about after getting there.
But the Countess did not get to open the door.
“I will go.”
“Rosie?”
“His Majesty has come, has he not? His Majesty came to meet Father’s daughter. And Father’s daughter is not only my sister. Don’t you and I know that fact better than anyone?”
Isn’t that right, Mother? Adding those words, Rosie took the Countess’s hand.
“That’s right. No one can deny that my daughter is a member of House Platini.”
The back of her hand grew warm. No, not the back of her hand. What was growing hot, almost bursting, was not her hand but her pounding heart.
“Rosie, if that is your wish, there is no time to waste like this. I shall escort His Majesty to the drawing room, so you go and dress.”
“Yes, I will.”
The Countess stroked her beloved daughter’s hand as Rosie smiled amiably.
In truth, Rosie, like the other young ladies her age, had wanted to see the Emperor up close.
The supreme ruler of the Empire, the largest nation on the continent, Lucas was a very young man. The Emperor’s dazzling blond hair was bright enough to be considered platinum under the midday sun. His blue eyes were as clear as if they gently held the sea under broad daylight.
The young ladies who had seen the Emperor up close said that the harmony of his features was so splendid it was difficult to breathe for several seconds.
Rosie had not believed their words. However outstanding a person’s beauty might be, it could not compare to a god. Moreover, he was the Emperor. The supreme authority of the Empire could not possibly possess beauty as well.
She had thought such a thing absolutely impossible, yet Rosie could not breathe for exactly three seconds. It was when the Emperor appeared in the drawing room opened by someone else, and when his foot had just stepped inside.
“……!”
Their words had been right.
Had the Emperor not frowned, Rosie would have sat there blankly, unable to say anything, any words at all.
“Who are you?”
“Ah… I greet Your Majesty, the Emperor. I am Rosie Platini.”
“Ah, so you are the Count’s daughter. But you are not the one I came to find.”
It was a tone blunt enough to be considered terribly rude, had Lucas not been the Emperor. But it was understandable, for he had hinted before leaving the Platini mansion yesterday that he would return today to meet Helen.
Moreover, the Countess had not mentioned Helen at all until they reached the drawing room. That point had bothered him somewhat, but he had not expected it to turn out this way.
Lucas let out a sneer and plopped down on the sofa opposite Rosie. He wanted to leave the drawing room immediately, rebuke the Countess, and find Helen. But such actions would not win Helen’s heart.
Apparently, it seemed Helen was not very loved by the Countess.
“Interesting.”
“What do you mean?”
Rosie’s eyes shone brightly. Within them was reflected Lucas’s gaze, observing her as he touched his chin with his fingertips.