Chapter 44
Elisha looked at the stack of social party invitations piled up in front of her.
They were the usual parties—sent by the same people as always, the kind that didn’t really matter whether she attended or not.
They wanted Elisha to show up and elevate their gatherings.
After all, when Princess Elisha attended, the number of people willing to come to a social party changed entirely.
With an indifferent expression, Elisha glanced over the invitations, then gathered them together.
She tossed them all into the fireplace.
As she watched the invitations catch fire and burn away, Elisha slowly clenched her fist.
She had checked all the invitations that had arrived before as well, but there hadn’t been a single one from Patrick.
‘He invites Lucy but not me?’
Elisha was furious—not at just anyone, but at Patrick—for failing to invite her to his social party.
She had always invited Patrick whenever she hosted a gathering of her own.
Not once had she ever left him out.
Yet Patrick had casually dismissed Elisha and invited Lucy instead.
The nobles, who could hardly be unaware of this, freely gossiped behind her back.
They said that Patrick—the man Elisha had been putting so much effort into—actually favored Lucy more.
Elisha’s pride was deeply wounded.
‘Once or twice… fine. That can happen.’
But lately, strange rumors had begun spreading among the servants of the detached palace.
They said that the most prominent young noblemen of the Empire were lining up to visit Lucy’s residence.
Bartholomew Faraday.
He was not an important figure to Elisha.
She didn’t care whether he came and went from Lucy’s residence.
But hearing that even Logan and Patrick had gone to see Lucy made her angry.
‘Aren’t they all men who were humiliated by Lucy at the social parties I hosted?’
Far from despising Lucy, they had actually defended her.
That was when things started to feel strange.
Cecil, she could understand.
He had treated Lucy personally, so he might have grown attached to her.
But the other two were different.
Patrick had shown interest in Lucy and then committed the outrage of inviting only Lucy while excluding Elisha.
And what about Logan, known for his cold demeanor?
‘He didn’t even seem interested in women.’
Yet he had reportedly visited Lucy’s residence day after day.
Because of that, the rumors took on an even stranger tone.
People said the men were visiting Lucy’s residence to court her.
‘That’s ridiculous.’
Elisha dismissed it as baseless gossip, but hearing it repeatedly made it impossible to ignore.
‘Lucy Adelstein.’
Until not long ago, she had been a nobody.
After falling from the terrace railing and injuring her head, she had started acting strangely, and Elisha had assumed it was just some pathetic act.
Contrary to expectations that Lucy would remain shut away in the temple, she had won the Emperor’s favor at the imperial banquet.
Even then, Elisha had been thoroughly shaken.
Hadn’t Lucy taken Cerberus—whom Elisha had believed would unquestionably be hers?
Elisha needed Cerberus.
If only as insurance, for the worst-case scenario.
As if stealing that wasn’t enough, Lucy was now receiving the attention of renowned young nobles.
Lost in thought, Elisha walked quietly.
After pacing back and forth across the room several times, her eyes gleamed.
No matter how she thought about it, she reached the conclusion that she could no longer let Lucy be.
‘She said she’ll be attending the hunting competition soon, didn’t she?’
Elisha’s lips curved into a crooked smile.
That would be when she taught Lucy a proper lesson.
Bartholomew exited the special management chamber within the temple.
When he moved to the connected medicine room, he found the herbs that had been prepared for his use.
“Cough, cough!”
The frequency of his coughing fits had increased noticeably.
Because of that, he had also been visiting Lucy less often.
Every time he coughed like this, he ended up coughing up blood.
In a panic, Bartholomew pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and covered his mouth.
His throat lurched, and he spat blood.
Gasping roughly for breath, he clenched the handkerchief in his hand.
His vision blurred, then cleared, over and over again.
It took a long while before his sight fully returned.
When his vision finally cleared, Bartholomew discarded the blood-soaked handkerchief.
“Hoo…”
Letting out a long sigh, he picked up the herbs.
As he always did, he began burning them over the lamp set there.
Smoke rose, and the herbs burned away, releasing a bitter scent.
Bartholomew watched the scene with a blank expression.
“That’s not to say you’re still burning your medicine in the fire, is it?”
Bartholomew’s eyes widened slightly.
It was a voice he should no longer be hearing here.
With a sense of disbelief, he turned around.
Lucy was standing there.
“Your Highness?”
“No matter how bad medicine tastes, you have to take it regularly. Why waste it by burning it?”
Even as Lucy scolded him, Bartholomew stood there dazed.
Lucy took the herbs from his hand, preventing him from burning them any further.
“I’ll brew the remaining herbs myself, so make sure you drink them.”
Bartholomew, who had been staring blankly, finally managed to speak.
“Why are you here?”
A faint crease formed between his brows.
“Don’t tell me you’re injured again somewhere?”
Lucy’s eyes widened.
Then she burst into laughter.
“Why are you taking it so seriously? I just came to see you, Bartholomew.”
“…You came to see me?”
This was the first time she had ever come to find him.
“Is it only Bartholomew who’s allowed to come see me? I can come see you too.”
Lucy said it casually, but Bartholomew felt stunned.
The only person who ever came to find him at the temple was an uninvited guest—the Duke of Faraday.
He had never expected Lucy to come visit him.
“Oh. I came alone today, so Cerberus isn’t with me.”
Lucy spoke as she showed him her empty hands.
She knew how fond he was of Cerberus and thought he might be disappointed.
After a brief pause, she continued.
“Thank you for the dessert you gave me last time. I enjoyed it very much.”
She had received the dessert Bartholomew left behind from the servants of the detached palace.
She had felt bad about not being able to receive him properly because she was having a meal with Logan.
That was why she had come to see him in person.
“But it didn’t taste very good when I ate it alone. I guess it was delicious because I ate it with you, Bartholomew.”
“……”
“If you bring dessert again next time, let’s eat it together. Don’t just drop it off and leave—it’s disappointing.”
Bartholomew lowered his gaze.
“You seemed busy, Your Highness, so I didn’t want to disturb you.”
“There’s nothing you could ever do that would disturb me, Bartholomew.”
At Lucy’s calm reply, Bartholomew was left speechless.
Lucy was always like this.
She treated him as if he were someone special.
Because of that, he would let his hopes rise on their own—only to be disappointed again on his own.
He hated how easily he was swayed by Lucy, yet he couldn’t bring himself to reject her.
Is this what friendship is supposed to be like?
Is it normal for one person to be swayed by the other?
Can even “friendship” carry different emotional weights for each person?
Bartholomew found himself thinking that if that were true, then his feelings were far heavier than Lucy’s.
And that was why he was at a disadvantage.
Having reached that conclusion, Bartholomew hardened his voice.
“For what reason did you come to see me?”
“No, Bartholomew. You still don’t know why I came?”
Bartholomew’s eyebrows shot up.
“I don’t.”
“Obviously, I came to hang out.”
Having waited tensely for Lucy’s answer, Bartholomew suddenly felt all the strength drain out of him.
Infected by Lucy’s playful tone, a smile formed at the corner of his lips.
When his expression finally softened, Lucy beamed brightly.
“So, what would you like to do together today?”
Bartholomew asked Lucy.
Lucy grinned.
“Bartholomew, do you like horses?”
At the unexpected question, a crease formed between his brows.
“I learned horseback riding recently.”
“…From Logan Wolffield?”
“How did you know?”
Lucy asked in surprise, but Bartholomew didn’t answer.
“Anyway, I tried horseback riding, and it was really fun.”
As she spoke, Lucy took a step closer to him.
“Bartholomew, do you know how to ride a horse?”
“I don’t.”
Lucy’s eyes shone with anticipation.
“That’s perfect. I’ll teach you how to ride.”
Horseback riding, all of a sudden.
“I mean, we can ride together and run across the plains at the hunting competition. Doesn’t that sound nice?”
Bartholomew had never been particularly interested in horseback riding.
But when he imagined riding side by side with Lucy, it didn’t sound so bad.
“All right.”
As always, Bartholomew accepted Lucy’s proposal.
