After eating breakfast, Ilya personally walked Flora back to her room. “Get some rest.”
Ilya gently tucked Flora in.
Then, she quietly stepped out of the room and closed the door.
That soft click sealed Flora back into a world of stillness.
Flora sat on the bed, clutching the duvet as she sank slightly into the soft mattress.
Her chest still felt tight, and her expression looked a bit dazed.
After all, she had nearly died once the night before. The toxins, the cold, the darkness, the despair before her consciousness fell into the abyss, and the shadow she saw at the very last moment…
‘I don’t want to admit the sense of security it brought at that time,’ she thought. Admiting it meant she truly liked this place, but the memory had indeed stirred something deep within her.
She buried half of her face in the duvet.
She thought about being carried in the hallway today, being seen by the guards, being praised for being cute…
And… the strength and warmth of Ilya’s embrace.
“How shameful…”
Truly, the more Flora thought about it, the more embarrassed she felt.
She buried her face entirely in the duvet and let out a muffled groan. “Ugh…”
After an unknown amount of time, a knock sounded at the door.
Flora was startled and pulled the duvet tighter around herself.
“Your Highness, it is I… Lena.”
‘Lena… who?’
Flora’s heart skipped a beat. After all, she had essentially lied to Lena the night before.
She adjusted her breathing to make herself sound calmer. “Come in.”
The door was pushed open gently.
When Lena walked in, she looked even more nervous than Flora. She was holding a tray, and her fingers were trembling.
Seeing Flora sitting safely on the bed, Lena clearly breathed a sigh of relief, and then her eyes suddenly turned red.
“Your Highness… You really, really are alright…”
Flora froze.
Lena’s concern was so direct, without a hint of disguise.
Her heart stirred slightly.
“I am fine,” Flora said, trying to keep her voice steady. “Just a little tired.”
Lena bit her lip and hesitated for a long time before asking in a low voice, “Your Highness… May I ask you one question?”
Flora’s fingertips tightened.
She knew it was coming.
“Last night… where exactly did you go?”
The room fell into a brief silence.
Lena stood up straight, looking as nervous as a little maid awaiting a sentence, her voice trembling. “It was… it was my fault, wasn’t it?”
Flora was stunned. “…What?”
‘She actually thinks it’s her own problem first?’
Flora had not expected Lena to think she had done something wrong. She thought she would be questioned, but instead, she received self-reproach.
Lena’s tears were already flowing.
“You met me in the garden last night, and you—you asked me to go get your cloak from your room… When I came back, there was no sign of you…”
Flora’s chest tightened. So that was how Lena understood the situation.
Lena continued to sob. “I thought… it was because I took too long that you… you wandered off and got lost… If I hadn’t left at that time… you wouldn’t have…”
She couldn’t go on.
Flora suddenly felt a pang of bitterness in her heart.
Lena had no idea she had tried to run away, nor did she know Flora had been poisoned by the scratches from the plants.
All she knew was that the princess had disappeared, and then Her Majesty had rushed out like a madwoman to search for her. By the time the princess was found, she was on the verge of death.
Anyone in her position would feel like they had harmed Flora.
Flora had originally prepared a list of excuses, but seeing Lena cry so sincerely, she suddenly found them hard to say.
Her heart ached slightly, and she lowered her eyes, not daring to look Lena in the face.
“It wasn’t your fault.”
Lena froze.
Flora exhaled slowly, trying to make her tone sound as natural as possible. “I… haven’t been sleeping well lately. That night… I just wanted to go for a walk.”
She paused, her hand gripping the corner of the duvet tightening. “I was afraid you would worry, so I asked you to go back and get the cloak first.”
Lena looked up, her eyes wet.
Flora continued. “As it turned out… I kept walking farther and farther. The garden was too dark at night, and I thought I could loop back to the main building from the other side… but I went the wrong way.”
She still didn’t mention her original plan to escape.
Although this explanation was full of holes that would be obvious upon closer inspection, it was the only thing she could say right now.
Lena’s breathing suddenly became rapid. “Your Highness… Are you saying that you… wandered into the forest on your own?”
Flora nodded. “Yes.”
Lena’s tears surged again.
She whispered with a sob, “Your Highness… There aren’t even any lights there… There are no guards, and no safe paths… You must have been so scared… being all alone.”
Flora didn’t look up; she only gave a soft hum of affirmation.
Lena’s voice became even more suppressed. “If anything had happened to you… I, I really…”
Suddenly, Flora reached out and gently wiped the tears from the corner of Lena’s eyes. She hadn’t even realized it, but her body had moved on its own.
“Lena, I really didn’t end up like that because of you.”
“Really?”
Lena stared at her as if seeking confirmation. “Your Highness… It really wasn’t because of me?”
“Yes.”
Lena froze for several seconds before suddenly covering her face. She crouched down, her shoulders shaking as she wept.
Those sobs didn’t sound like grievance, but rather like the release of a long-suppressed fear.
Flora’s mind was in a mess from the crying. She reached out to support Lena’s shoulder. “Stop crying… Am I not right here now?”
Lena looked up with red eyes. “Your Highness… I really thought… I thought I had caused your death…”
Flora’s throat felt blocked, and she couldn’t speak.
After a long while, she gently patted Lena’s hand. “I will just be more careful in the future. I… I won’t blame you.”
Lena sniffled and carefully wiped her tears with her sleeve, looking like a little kitten drenched in the rain. “Your Highness… Please do not go out alone again… I beg you.”
Flora was stunned. She wanted to say ‘I won’t run away again,’ but she knew she couldn’t say those words right now.
Instead, she gave a vague but sincere answer. “…I will be more careful.”
Lena lowered her head and nodded, her voice still trembling. “Then, if Your Highness is afraid or needs anything, you can call for me. I don’t even have to sleep…”
“You go to sleep! Get some rest!” Flora suddenly raised her voice.
Lena looked up, startled, and Flora realized she had spoken a bit too loudly.
Flora’s ears turned red as she added, “Sorry, just don’t be so tense.”
Lena froze for two seconds before smiling through her tears.
She stood up and bowed slightly. “Your Highness… Knowing you feel this way, I can put my mind at ease.”
She backed toward the door, unable to resist taking one last look at Flora before murmuring to herself.
“Your Highness… You are truly lucky to have been found.”
With that, she quietly closed the door.
The room returned to silence.
Flora sat there holding the duvet, her heart racing.
Suddenly, she realized something: it wasn’t just Ilya. Even Lena… was sincerely worried about her.
The light from the window shone on her fingers, where there was still a slight ache.
She buried her face in the duvet and let out a soft breath.
‘The escape plan… let’s wait a while. I can’t run away right now anyway.’
But she didn’t want to admit that she had confirmed one thing.
If she ran away again… someone would cry.
She shook her head vigorously, trying to drive the thought away.