Chapter 56: A Chance Encounter and Unexpected Concerns

I returned to my room, trying to sort out the events that had just happened, but my mind couldn’t process anything.

Things had progressed at such a fast pace that it was hard to keep up.

“May I go for a short walk?”

I asked the maid who had been assigned to me when the rooms were allocated. I thought that maybe a walk would help clear my dizzying mind.

“You don’t need to ask me for permission. Please feel free to speak as you wish.”

The maid said this and stood up, following me as I headed toward the door.

She had been assigned to me, but it seemed like she was planning to follow me wherever I went.

“You don’t have to follow me. I’ll just take a short walk around here. Unless, of course, I’m not allowed to go out alone?”

“No, that’s not the case. There are soldiers guarding the restricted areas of the palace, so there’s no problem… but… are you sure it’s alright? The palace is so vast that first-time visitors often get lost…”

“It’s fine. I’m not going far. I’ll just walk around here for a bit. While I’m out, you can rest as well.”

“…Understood.”

The maid bowed and, as I stepped out of the room, she followed behind me.

It’s nice that she’s concerned for the guest, but I thought her level of concern might be a little too much. Even though it’s the imperial palace and the paths may be complicated, it’s just a building. Surely, no one would get lost.

“…Where am I?”

Yes, it turns out that I was the one who got lost!

No, I’m not joking. As the maid had said, the structure of the place is so complicated that it almost feels like a maze.

The hallways all look the same, so I couldn’t even tell if I was walking through a hallway I had passed through before.

Moreover, the place was so vast that, without thinking, I had walked for a long time, and now I couldn’t even figure out where I was standing.

There were doors here and there, but I wasn’t sure who might be inside, so I was hesitant to just open any door and check.

It would have been nice to meet someone who could guide me, but strangely, I couldn’t see any of the servants who had been frequently passing by.

While standing still, trying to figure out what to do, I noticed something moving at the far end of my vision.

Finally, I thought I had found someone to ask for directions, so I quickly turned my head, but what I saw was a small, four-legged animal leisurely walking, which seemed too small to be a person.

“A cat?”

It was far enough that I couldn’t see it clearly, but I could tell it was a black cat.

Maybe because it was a black cat, it looked very similar to the cat I had played with at the academy, and without realizing it, I called out to it by saying “Yao-yi” in a playful tone.

Since the corridor was so quiet, the cat must have heard my voice. I could see it twitching its ears from a distance and turning its head toward me.

As I took a step closer to get a better look at the cat, it suddenly seemed startled and began to run away quickly with swift steps.

Seeing the cat running away in front of me, I found myself instinctively chasing after it without thinking.

Well, you know… sometimes when something runs away from you for no reason, you just feel like you want to chase after it, right? It’s not to hurt it…

Anyway, after turning a corner, the cat hid its body, and I, a little late, turned the corner and chased after it.

However, when I turned the corner, the cat had already escaped so quickly that I couldn’t see it anymore.

“….”

Instead of the cat, a girl who had been breathing heavily a few steps ahead of me was standing.

“Eh? Boss?”

“Meow! Ah, no, I mean… uh… Elysia?”

I was completely surprised to see someone I didn’t expect.

I never imagined that I would meet Presia here.

But after thinking about it for a moment, I recalled that right before the break began, she had mentioned visiting the imperial palace due to the emperor’s summons.

I hadn’t asked the exact timing, so I hadn’t remembered.

“Wow! I didn’t expect to run into you here. It’s been a month since I last saw you, and maybe that’s why I’m so happy to meet you by chance.”

“Hah… hah… I’m happy to see you too.”

…

After catching her breath, Presia finally responded. As I looked at her, I noticed a small drop of sweat on her forehead.

“Ah, Boss, did you see a black cat pass by here? A black cat?”

“Well, I’m not sure… why a cat, all of a sudden?”

“It’s nothing much. I couldn’t see it clearly because it was far away, but I thought I saw a cat that looked like the one I used to play with at the academy.”

“Could it be? How could a cat from the academy be here in the imperial palace? The distance from Ferrent to here is quite far. You must have been mistaken.”

“Yeah, I guess so?”

After all, it would be impossible for the cat from the academy to suddenly be in the imperial palace.

It’s such an obvious thing, but… why does the black cat I saw earlier feel so much like that cat?

Has it really been so long that I already miss Yao-yi after not seeing it for a month?

“Hmm… no matter how I think about it, it really looks too much like Yao-yi.”

“Meow!”

“Are you okay?”

Presia suddenly hiccupped loudly.

Seeing her out of breath earlier and sweating, I couldn’t help but worry if something was wrong.

“I-I’m fine. It’s nothing.”

However, despite her saying she was fine, I could see another drop of sweat rolling down her neck.

She kept insisting that it was nothing, but I couldn’t help but still be concerned about her.

“I don’t know why you’re pushing yourself, but it’s better to return to your room and rest.”

So, I took her hand and half-forced her to walk back to her room, leading her along.

“Eh, Elysia?”

“You say you’re fine, but that’s not enough. If it’s not the emperor’s summons, you need to go back to your room and rest.”

“Wait…!”

Presia tried to pull away, attempting to resist my efforts to take her back to her room, but I wasn’t going to stop.

This time, I couldn’t give in.

Presia already lacked strength, and it was better to take care of her health while she could.

It would be better to be a bit disliked than to regret not taking action once she collapses.

“No, I think walking might be too much for you after what you went through earlier, so just let me carry you.”

I easily lifted Presia , who was standing still, and carried her on my back.

Thankfully, once Presia was on my back, she stopped struggling and wrapped her small arms around my neck, becoming quiet.

However, it seemed she still had something to say, as she leaned her head close to my ear and spoke.

“Um… Elysia?”

“Hehe… Y-Yes?”

As Presia spoke, her voice and the breeze tickled my ear, causing me to unintentionally make a strange sound.

Fortunately, Presia didn’t seem to mind that I had made an odd noise.

“My room is the opposite side, though?”

Ah, I was lost.

“Yes, it’s this way.”

Following Presia’s guidance as she pointed over her shoulder, I was able to reach her room.

When I crouched down to lower my body, it was no longer my hands supporting Presia’s thighs, but she reached out and grabbed the doorknob to open the door herself.

The door opened smoothly without a sound, as if it had been well-oiled, and we entered the room, where I could see a maid.

She seemed to be another maid assigned to Presia by the royal family, just like me.

“Oh my!”

“Hello.”

Since I was carrying Presia, I only nodded my head to greet her.

Now that I was a count, I could have easily skipped the greeting with a maid, but after over ten years of living as a commoner, it was difficult to throw away that habit overnight.

Other nobles might criticize me for greeting a maid, but in this place, aside from Presia, there were no other nobles, and even if there were, I didn’t care about such looks.

“Lady Presia, what’s going on? Are you unwell?”

“We happened to run into each other in the hallway, and it seemed like Lady Presia wasn’t feeling well, so could you bring a glass of warm water to her bedroom?”

“Oh my, you seemed fine when you left the room earlier. What happened… Please wait a moment. I’ll bring it right away.”

With a slightly flustered voice, she hurried off to get the water.

In the meantime, I carried Presia to the bedroom.

“One, two…!”

I carefully laid Presia down on the bed, and she slowly lowered her hands from my neck and shoulders.

I placed my hand on her forehead to check if she had a fever, but it was hard to tell whether she was warm or not.

It would be better to be certain.

If it was difficult to confirm by touch, I could compare it with my own forehead.

I gently pushed her bangs up with one hand and slowly brought my face closer.

“Wait…! I’m not ready yet…”

When I brought my forehead closer, for some reason, Presia began to flail her hands around in a flustered manner.

Despite this, she didn’t push me away, so I was able to gently press my forehead against hers.

However, even with that brief contact, it was still difficult to determine if she had a fever.

In the novels I read, scenes like this were depicted, but maybe it was just fiction after all.

Reluctantly, I raised my head and reached out again to place my hand on her forehead.

“Ah.”

This time, I could definitely feel that she had a fever.

Now that I looked closely, I noticed her face had become red, which clearly indicated she wasn’t feeling well.

“Looks like you have a fever. You should stay in bed and rest today.”

Normally, Presia was a bit quiet, but she always answered when spoken to. However, today, she didn’t respond.

Instead, she had a pouty expression on her face, as if she was unhappy about being forced to come back after leaving the room.

Next time, I should bring some snacks that Presia would like to cheer her up.

But still, everything I’m doing is for her, so I hope she won’t be too mad at me.