The door was pushed open.
Ilya was wearing a dark robe today, her hair tied back neatly and sharply. She did not look like she was here to scold her, but rather… like she was here to announce something.
She sat by the bedside, her gaze calm and gentle. “Are you feeling any better?”
Flora remained stubborn. “I never said I wasn’t fine.”
“Yes, I know.” Ilya nodded slightly. “Even when you are weak, you still say ‘I’m fine.'”
“I… That was — “
Flora was suddenly at a loss for words. Angrily, she turned her face away. “Stop trying to read into me.”
“It’s not reading into you; it’s understanding you.” Ilya showed a smile so faint it was nearly invisible.
Flora’s face heated up slightly.
She was just about to retort when Ilya suddenly retracted her smile, her tone returning to its usual cool and steady composure. “Flora, your grounding is over.”
“Huh?” Flora looked up, stunned.
“From now on, you are free to move about within the castle.”
‘Freedom?’
Even if it was only within a limited area, it made her heart, which had been tense for two days, skip a beat. But it seemed that Flora didn’t really want to run away anymore.
On the surface, she tried her best to maintain her composure. “You’re suddenly… letting me out?”
“It’s not sudden,” Ilya said calmly. “You have calmed down, and you know the consequences of danger. I believe you won’t impulsively climb over the wall again for the time being.”
Flora bit her lip.
Ilya continued, “However, to prevent what happened last time from recurring, I have a second thing to announce.”
Flora suddenly had a bad feeling. “W-what is it?”
Ilya looked at her, her gaze gentle yet carrying a resolve that allowed no refusal.
“From today onward, Lena will be your personal maid.”
Flora sat up abruptly. “The maid who’s always fussing over me?”
“Le-Lena?! Why would she suddenly… become my personal maid?!”
Her original understanding was that Lena was just a regular maid who would occasionally help tidy her room or deliver things. Not the kind who would follow her everywhere and be with her every single day!
Ilya explained naturally, “She was very frightened after seeing you faint. She has been pleading with me, wanting to take care of you and keep you a bit safer.”
‘Did… did she really request it?’
Ilya’s tone softened a little. “I also need someone by your side. Not to monitor you, but… so that when you are weak or in pain again, someone will see it immediately. Of course, I also think having someone to accompany you constantly will help you adjust to this place better.”
Flora’s breathing hitched slightly.
Ilya paused, then softly added, “I cannot stay by your side all the time, either.”
Flora’s heart felt a gentle prick. She pursed her lips and looked away. “I… I don’t need anyone to take care of me.”
“I know.” Ilya watched her quietly. “But you need someone to stay with you.”
The tips of Flora’s ears felt numb. “D-don’t speak in that tone!”
“I am using my normal tone.”
“Then change it!”
“Regrettably, this is just how I am.”
Stumped, Flora threw her pillow at her.
In the next instant, however, Ilya caught the pillow. She walked over, placed it back at the head of the bed, and then gently placed her hand on Flora’s head, patting it.
Ilya said, “Lena will be here soon. You can get used to it slowly.”
Flora froze. “Why… why do you think I’ll get used to it?!”
Ilya looked at her tenderly, as if looking at a kitten whose fur had just stood on end. “Because she will be very good to you.”
“I — I’m not a child!”
“Yes, I know.”
Flora demanded, “Then what do you mean by this?!”
“It means…” Ilya leaned down and gently pinched a small, tufted bunch of hair on the top of Flora’s head. “You need to be looked after even more than a child does.”
Flora yelled, “You! Get out!!!”
Ilya let out a light chuckle and turned to leave. Just before the door closed, she left behind a gentle sentence: “Wait for Lena. She is truly worried about you.”
The door closed softly.
Quiet returned to the room. Flora clutched her blanket, her face flushed deep red.
Holding the blanket, she rolled half a turn in frustration.
After a while, there was a soft knock on the door, and a timid voice spoke. “Your Highness… it’s Lena. M-may I come in?”
Flora’s ears stiffened. She hadn’t expected Lena to arrive so quickly. Yet, deep in her heart, a tiny sense of relief quietly surfaced.
The door was pushed open just a crack.
Lena peeked in, holding a small pile of neatly folded soft cloths and ribbons. Her timid face clearly broadcasted the message: ‘I’m very nervous, but I must try my best to be professional.’
“Your… Your Highness… is it really okay for me to come in?”
Flora remained wrapped in her blanket, but her eyes flickered with panic. She had intended to use a cold, “stay away” face to intimidate the other girl, but the moment she saw Lena’s startled-fawn expression, her momentum collapsed at a visible rate.
“…Come in.”
Lena immediately looked relieved. She stepped inside lightly, like a kitten afraid to mess up the pattern of the carpet.
“Your Highness, these are the clothes for you to change into today, and…” She looked up to sneak a glance at Flora, her voice growing smaller and smaller. “And I also brought some other items.”
“…What items?”
Lena’s face turned bright red. “Just… in case Your Highness suddenly feels weak again… or needs… help…”
“Stop, stop!!” Flora buried herself entirely in the blanket. “I won’t suddenly get cold!! And I don’t need help!! I’m not going to faint again!!!”
Lena flailed in a panic. “I-I’m sorry! I wasn’t doubting Your Highness!! It’s just, it’s just that Her Majesty said… Your Highness’s constitution isn’t stable yet, and I need to be by your side to keep watch at all times…”
Flora felt like her head was about to explode.
She forced herself to calm down, putting on a bit of her “princess” dignity. “Lena, I was only… weak. I didn’t just faint.”
Lena nodded earnestly. “Yes, but we still need to be prepared for contingencies. It’s better to be over-prepared.”
Flora realized for the first time that a personal maid was much harder to deal with than she had imagined.
Sensing that Flora was about to be scorched by her own rising temper, Lena hurried to change the subject.
“Um… Her Majesty said that if Your Highness wants to leave the room later, I should accompany you within the main building. I can lead the way wherever Your Highness wishes to go.”
Flora glared at her. “You won’t stop me, will you?”
Lena shook her head immediately like a rattle. “No, no!! I would never stop Your Highness! Her Majesty didn’t say anything about ‘prohibiting’ you.”
She paused, adding in a small voice, “She only said… if Your Highness starts running in a strange direction, I should give a reminder.”
The corner of Flora’s mouth twitched into a smile. “I won’t run in a strange direction.”
“But last time, Your Highness was…”
“That time doesn’t count!!!”
Flora exploded again, but she couldn’t direct all her anger at the girl. She could only turn her head away with a flushed face.
Looking at her profile, Lena suddenly said softly, “Your Highness, actually… I’m really happy to be able to take care of you.”
Flora was stunned. “…You’re happy?”
“Because… you were very gentle when you spoke to me in the garden that day,” Lena said quietly.
“You called me by my name, and you even smiled at me. I never thought that one day I could stand by Your Highness’s side and become one of the people Your Highness trusts most.”
Flora fell completely silent.
She suddenly felt a prick. It was the kind of prick caused by an innocent, sincere, and entirely uncalculated bit of kindness entering her heart. It made her heart feel a little warm.
“I’m… not that worthy of your trust.”
“I think you are.” Lena smiled, her eyes bright.
Flora felt flustered by such bluntness and quickly buried her head back into the blanket. “…Whatever.”
Lena gently set down the clothes, her movements as careful as if she were holding a precious treasure.
“Your Highness, when you are ready to change… just call out. I will be waiting for you right outside the room.”
Flora poked half an eye out from the blanket. “You don’t have to stand guard outside my door.”
Lena nodded seriously. “But it is my duty to be by Your Highness’s side at all times.”
Flora watched Lena’s small retreating figure, and an indescribable feeling rose in her heart.
It seemed like all of this wasn’t so bad.
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