Chapter 11
“…I did it.”
The moment I returned to my room, I couldn’t contain my excitement and flopped down onto the bed.
My feet kicked in the air on their own.
I didn’t even know why I felt this happy over something so small.
I felt more thrilled than the time the Emperor had filled my room with rare roses as a gift for my seventh birthday.
‘This is just the beginning.’
When it came to things that helped control demonic energy, there was almost nothing I didn’t know. Food was only a small part of it. From health regimens to medicinal herbs, I had memorized it all.
All of it had been gathered in hopes of being even a little useful to the Emperor—so that I could earn his trust. I had wandered the imperial archives and used every means possible to scrape together information.
‘To think that knowledge would be used like this.’
How strange. Saving the imperial family’s greatest enemy with information I had collected for the Emperor.
‘If I try little by little, six years from now he’ll be much better.’
It probably wouldn’t happen, but even if Carlos were to lose control, if his body could endure it, he would survive.
‘That’s enough.’
For the first time, I truly felt that he might live.
I hugged the pillow and grinned.
‘He said it wasn’t bad.’
Those words kept echoing in my head.
It wasn’t even anything special.
He had only eaten it because it wasn’t poisoned.
So why did it make me this happy?
I happily pulled the blanket over myself and rolled around on the bed—only for a moment.
“Ugh.”
A groan slipped out of me.
A dull ache throbbed from my arm.
When I lifted it, I saw blood seeping through the bandages.
“Guess the bandage wasn’t enough.”
It must have been because I had undone the bandage Mia wrapped for me and reopened the wound to make the red purified stone for Carlos.
Usually, after about a week, it would stop bleeding altogether—but this time, it seemed to be healing more slowly than usual.
‘Is it because this body is thirteen?’
Back when I was a princess, I had grown used to drawing blood. Even if I cut my arm fairly deeply, it would heal quickly.
It seemed this body wasn’t trained to that extent yet.
Enduring pain wasn’t a problem. I could tolerate that much.
But if the blood soaked through my clothes and drew suspicious looks, that would be troublesome.
‘The dispensary was… on the first floor of the annex, I think.’
I recalled something Mia had mentioned in passing a few days ago. There were no staff stationed there anyway, so it would likely be empty by now.
‘Let’s just quietly apply some medicine and come back.’
It didn’t take long to decide.
I brushed myself off and stood up.
The path to the annex was quiet.
‘You’d believe no one lives here.’
Even in the main building, aside from Mia trailing after me constantly, I rarely ran into servants. But along this path, there wasn’t even the faintest sign of life.
‘The road seems well maintained, though….’
I was walking along the neatly paved stone path when I suddenly stopped.
Beyond the archway covered in vines ahead, I could see the annex building.
And something felt strange.
“…This is the annex?”
I had assumed it would be an old, neglected structure.
But contrary to my expectations, the annex was simply smaller and cozier—if anything, it looked neater and cleaner than the main building.
The ivory three-story structure shimmered in the sunlight, and the roof gleamed a vivid red, as though it had been freshly painted. The grass surrounding it was trimmed short, clearly maintained with care.
‘Why is it so well kept?’
Especially when the main building felt so bleak.
I stood there blankly for a moment at the unfamiliar sight, then slowly passed under the vine arch and stepped inside.
“Doesn’t seem like anyone’s here.”
Brilliant afternoon sunlight poured in through the large windows. The scene felt languid and quiet.
Only the light tap of my small shoes echoed softly against the white marble floor.
As I crossed the corridor, I abruptly stopped.
There was a problem.
“…So where exactly is the dispensary?”
Among the many doors lining the first-floor hallway, not a single one had a nameplate.
“Hmm, this is troublesome.”
An unexpected obstacle.
‘Should I just ask Mia for help now?’
I considered it briefly, then shook my head.
Knowing Mia, she would definitely interrogate me about a wound that hadn’t healed.
Why are you hurt? Where did you get injured? Why didn’t you say anything?
I could already hear her voice in my head. In this bleak Grand Duke’s estate, she was the only one responsible for fussing and meddling.
“Well, it can’t be helped.”
If I open them all, I’ll figure it out.
I began opening the nearest doors one by one. Most were empty, and a few seemed to be guest rooms or storage spaces.
Then suddenly, my steps halted.
‘Huh?’
At the very end of the corridor, there was one large door painted a faint sky blue.
“What’s that?”
At that moment, I didn’t even know why I started walking toward it.
By the time I realized it, my hand was already on the doorknob at the end of the hall.
‘It’s probably not the dispensary….’
Of course not.
Who would make a mere dispensary so grand and place it at the very end of the corridor—painting the door a different color, no less?
And yet, instead of turning back, I couldn’t even let go of the knob.
For some reason, I wanted to open it.
Was it because, even though I was merely a guest who had fled from the Emperor, I still hadn’t shaken off the habit of acting as I pleased like I did as a princess?
It didn’t matter.
“You never know.”
Making an excuse that even I found absurd, I slowly turned the handle and opened the door.
The first thing that brushed my nose was the faint scent of fabric. Curtains of light poured in, mingling with drifting dust and obscuring my vision.
Only after blinking a few times could I make out the room.
And in the next moment, my lips parted without me realizing.
‘What… is this place….’
A large window overlooking the garden. A soft rug and chiffon curtains. A hanging mobile. A small pink bed placed in the center of the room.
I had only taken a brief glance, but I understood immediately.
It was the room of the missing Grand Duke’s daughter.
‘Why would they keep this until now?’
It had even been cleaned regularly—there wasn’t a speck of dust in sight.
I stared blankly around the room.
Directly ahead was a tiny bed fit for a two-year-old. The rocking horse by the window was polished enough to gleam, and the room was filled with toys and plush dolls.
‘This could have been my room.’
The thought came to me suddenly.
If I hadn’t been kidnapped by the Emperor.
I might have grown up in this room.
I might have fallen asleep in that bed, ridden that rocking horse, run through the garden outside the window.
Something churned beneath my ribs.
It felt similar to when I had seen the white rose garden while wandering the estate a few days ago.
‘What is this feeling….’
An indescribable emotion rose up to my throat.
Was it sadness? Emptiness? Or something else entirely?
How much time passed?
As if snapping out of a dream, I suddenly stepped back.
It was a reflex.
‘What am I doing?’
There was no reason to drown in sentiment.
It was all in the past. Something that couldn’t be undone.
Just as I hurriedly closed the door and turned to leave the annex—
“What are you doing?”
The sudden voice made my heart plummet.
