After hearing the words of the Central Palaceās handmaid, the Star Palaceās head maid grimaced.
She was going to say, āSo youāre not going to open the door only forĀ thatĀ reason?ā However, a strange idea popped up in her mind for a moment.
The head maid stared at the handmaid with a look that directly imparted how frustrated she was that sheās hearing nonsense in the middle of this urgent situation.
But then as the handmaid nodded and bit her lower lip, she seemed to believe that this ridiculous theory was absolutely true.
Still, to the head maid, the emperor and the tutor did not have that kind of relationship. It was so absurd that the head maid was at a loss for wordsāshe could only laugh back.
Conflicted and bewildered, the head maid stared up at the ceiling.
Ah, yeah. There was a ball yesterday, a time when young men and women did things they usually wouldnāt do.
The head maid looked back down from the ceiling and let out a deep sigh. Then, she turned and whispered into the handmaidās ear. It was such a wispy voice that no one else could hear.
āHow long has it been since they entered?ā
āAbout six hours,ā she whispered back.
āAre you sure thatās the case?ā
āHis Majesty changed into comfortable clothes, and he also asked me to prepare a change of clothes for Miss Seraā¦ Iām not one hundred percent sure, but itās justā¦ You know about it, right? Inside the office, thereāsā¦ā
Faced with an unimaginable situation, the head maid shut her eyes tightly. Really, truly. It really might beĀ that.
As far as everyone knew, His Majesty Helios had never had that kind of relationship with anyone else, and they were disinclined to think that heād do something like that. However, the other person here was Miss Sera.
If they really were in that kind of relationship, then it made sense how he always saw her off every time she went back home. Somehow, the unlikely suddenly seemed likely.
Wincing, the head maid sighed. Still though, she couldnāt back down from here.
Emperor Helios was an older brother who cared dearly for his younger siblings. He wouldnāt turn a blind eye after seeing that Prince Ferre was sick.
Besides that, this wasnāt as negligible as a common cold. If His Highness Ferre was in this much pain, then it was all the more reason that His MajestyĀ wouldnātĀ let this pass.
What if the princeās condition would get even worse later? The head maid did not want to imagine that happening.
āReā¦Regardless of the circumstances, His Highness Ferreās is in critical condition. We have come here for an audience with His Majesty. Heā¦ He will understand. So, please open the door.ā
The Star Palaceās head maid insisted.
And when the Central Palaceās handmaid glanced over to Prince Ferre again, he nodded vigorously in agreement.
There was no doubt that the most important thing here was to save His Highness Ferre, even if doing so would cause great disrespect and breach of etiquette towards His Majesty.
But before they could take action, RosĆ© stepped forward first. As she couldnāt hear what the two were whispering about, RosĆ©ās anxiety shot up to the sky.
Unable to wait any longer, RosƩ used her small fists and hurriedly hammered on the office door before anyone else.
To their dismay, the head maid, the handmaid and the knights all looked down at RosƩ.
However, no one thought to stop RosƩ as she banged on the door and called Helios.
Because itās clear that even if RosĆ© had committed a great disrespect in such a situation, His Majesty the Emperor would not reproach her.
At the same time, this was much better than one of them coming forward to ask him to come out. The maids let RosƩ act on her own.
āOPPA! OPEN THE DOOR! ITāS AN EMERGENCY! FERREāS HURT! AĀ LOT!ā
As she stepped into the inner room, she saw that it was furnished with a bed and a sofa. It looked like a mix between a small bedroom and a study.
There were bookshelves lining the walls, and there were several tasteful paintings as well.
Some of these books might be His Majestyās favorites. Seraās curiosity reared its head, but she couldnāt afford to look around any more than this.
Thinking that Helios was waiting outside, she quickly changed clothes and put the new set of shoes on.
It was a simple dress and a pair of low-heeled shoes. She was definitely much more comfortable in these.
As she was about to come back out of the inner room, she caught sight of her face in a mirror by the table opposite her.
āUughā¦ This is bad.ā
Staring at her smudged makeup and her bird nest of an updo, Sera was a mess.
All she could think of was that His Majesty saw her like this. Seraās face burned bright red. She was so embarrassed to have shown herself like this, no less right in front of his nose, too.
She knew she was harboring an unrequited love, but she still wanted to show her prettier side to the person she liked. But look at her now.
āPlease. Just turn me to dust and let me disappear.ā
Covering her face with both hands, Sera murmured to herself. Five seconds passed with her face buried in her hands like that, but she soon looked at her reflection again. She couldnāt just go out looking like this.
Carefully, she pulled out her hairpins and smoothed out her hair a few times.
After brushing her hair using her fingers, she looked much better than a while ago.
With her blue dress and shoes in one arm, Sera grabbed the doorknob so that she could exit the inner room.
She heard someone knocking loudly from outside the office door.
The high-pitched cry was RosĆ©ās.