Chapter 27 – In a Somber Palace

A week has passed since Levisia visited the main palace. Unlike other days, she was told Elizabeth wasn’t in her office. 

“Please wait in the sitting room.”

She found it strange for someone to be extremely devoted to her duties to be absent from her workplace. She wondered what it could be. As she followed the attendant, she kept glancing at the office door. It seemed like Elizabeth would be on her desk like any other day if she opened the door right now, so bizarre.

“We will bring tea out. Please wait for a moment.” The attendant quickly left the room. Levisia looked around the sitting room she was led to and hesitantly took a seat.

‘Everything looks expensive.’

It was, in great measures, different from the temporary sitting room in her old shabby palace. If the main palace’s sitting room is like this, she wondered how luxurious the sitting room of Elizabeth’s palace would be.

‘Now I see why she was so displeased that day.’

She could almost guess why Elizabeth’s face hardened when she looked around the sitting room the day she came to her palace the first time. ‘She’s only seen sitting rooms like these.’  Levisia scratched her cheeks as she looked down at the tea cup the attendant brought out. ‘I shouldn’t get used to this.’  She felt like if she stayed here too long, she’ll find herself having unreasonably high expectations. ‘I need to go back to my secluded life as soon as I can.’

She already emptied her third cup of tea as she reminisced about her usual, dull days. Levisia stared at the clock realizing the time ruthlessly passing by.

“It’s been two hours already.”

She still didn’t hear anything from Elizabeth.

“I’ll wait just thirty minutes more.”

She passed the time walking around the sitting room and looking down the long window but nothing changed.

“I should go now.”

Perhaps today would be the last day of her visit since she wasn’t told to come back tomorrow again.

‘She’ll call me when she really needs me.’

Levisia didn’t believe Elizabeth was still not feeling well from the incident the other day. It was obvious. She recovered on that same day. But Levisia still came to the main palace every day only because she couldn’t disobey her words.

‘This commoner nature… Who am I to disobey Elizabeth’s wishes? This is not surprising. She left her seat and opened the door. Just as Levisia was about to let the door attendant that she was going to leave, a handmaiden rushed over and grabbed her.

“Fifteenth Princess, Your Highness.” She spoke without catching her breath. “The Second Princess Her Highness asked to escort you to her. Could you come with me right now?”

Elizabeth came herself to see Levisia at her palace but this time she sent a handmaiden to fetch her. ‘I wonder what this could be?’ She stood there as if her feet were tied down. Levisia thought for a moment and eventually nodded. The handmaiden appeared visibly relieved and nodded her head.

“Then please follow me.” She turned around and began to walk without hesitation. Levisia quietly followed behind her. But she was leaving the main palace.

“Are we leaving the palace?”

“Yes. The Second Princess Her Highness is at a different palace.”

She decided to accept that answer. The handmaiden left the main palace and went towards the outskirts of the main buildings.

‘I don’t think Elizabeth’s palace would be in the outskirts…?’ Always having mountains of work every day, Elizabeth had an important duty even amongst the Kraidens. There was no way she would have a palace in a secluded place as she does. Did Elizabeth really call me?

Levisia glanced at the handmaiden, but she didn’t notice as she was too busy walking. As her suspicions grew deeper, a palace overshadowed by another palace appeared. At the entrance, there was Elizabeth.

‘So it was her…’

After momentarily realizing she doubted for no reason, Levisia noticed Elizabeth looked very different from her normal appearance. She nervously paced back and forth, biting her lips, very unlike her normal self.

“Princess, Your Highness?” When Levisia called her from an audible distance, she looked at her. Elizabeth approached Levisia with a look of someone who had found a sliver of hope after falling into despair.

“Help, help me!” Elizabeth urgently grabbed her hands like she did before. Levisia couldn’t rip her hands off and stupidly replied, “I’m sorry?”

Up close, Elizabeth’s face was pale. Seeing her lips trembling Levisia realized this was a serious matter.

“What is the matter?”

“Come… this way!”

Levisia was quickly whisked into the palace. The interior of the palace looked quiet. It appeared like even the palace residents haven’t been coming by for some time. There Elizabeth let go of her composure and ran up the stairs. Holding on to Levisia hand with hers, of course. That is to say, she was following her without intending to.

‘What is going on?’

Elizabeth’s behavior was odd but so was the all too quiet palace. Our footsteps echoed throughout the palace because of the vast emptiness.

‘It almost seems like we’re at a funeral…’

As Levisia rid her mind of the dark thoughts, they arrived at a room on the second floor.

“Wait, Your Highness-” Before she could finish, Elizabeth flung open the door. It was a spacious room. And…

‘Not much for furnishings…’ The emptiness almost reminded her of her own palace. Levisia’s eyes settled on the large bed at the end of the room. Elizabeth, already having let go of her hand, was approaching it.

‘There’s a… person?’

A person lied on the bed, appearing almost dead, without a hint of life.

Elizabeth looked over to Levisia as if beckoning her over to her as she hesitated to approach. She didn’t ponder too long and made her way there. When she came near the bed, she saw that the person was a man. A beautiful man with a hair of silver.

Elizabeth’s hand held the man’s, shaking.

‘This man must be…’

Someone Elizabeth holds dear. One person came to her mind.

‘I didn’t know he’d be in this state.’ Judging by his pale face and dry lips, he seemed to be in a critical condition that caused Elizabeth to rush over. ‘But why call me…?’ Sadly, Levisia didn’t see how she could help her or the man. She was neither a physician nor a pharmacist. She was about to tell her this, but Elizabeth spoke quicker than her.

“Just be near him, please.”

‘Just be near him?’ It was a baffling request. What would change if she was near him? ‘But I can’t say no…’ Elizabeth’s voice sounded so desperate Levisia decided to stay by the bedside. ‘Do I really just stay here? I don’t need to call a physician?’ It seemed like this man would need a physician more than her. She began to think Elizabeth had mistaken her for a human medicine.

Just then, color began to return on the pale man’s face and his eyelids twitched as if they were going to open at any moment.