MHHC Chapter 65

Permission

He caught her chin, tilting it upward, and closed her parted lips with gentle pressure as he whispered.

Then he looked at her with eyes emptied of all trace of laughter.

Holding her face between both palms, he studied her in silence before pulling her into an embrace with a sigh.

"Please be careful."

Adelheid realized his hands and voice trembled faintly. Like someone drowning in fathomless anxiety.

He released her from his arms. Without looking back, he left the tent.

The magical power Valentin had given her acted like priming water, stimulating her wellspring of magic.

For the first time in ages, Adelheid removed her bracelet and drew up her magic freely.

At first, manifesting even a sphere the size of her smallest fingernail had been difficult, but gradually she managed to expand it to half the size of her fist.

'Is it because Valentin's magic is still abundant? The practice feels easier.'

The summoned magical forms floated around her like small fireflies, drifting lazily through the air.

As if they knew who had called them into being, whenever Adelheid moved, they scattered into smaller clusters of light and trailed after her in a soft rush.

Like small birds or fish following their keeper with devoted constancy.

"Your Grace? Are you inside?"

At the sound of someone approaching the tent, Adelheid hurriedly dispersed the magical forms. At the same moment, the tent flap lifted.

"Your Grace? Oh my... were you overheated?"

Margaret, who had entered carrying a tray of simple refreshments, widened her eyes in surprise.

Having arrived late at dawn after being confined to the carriage the previous night, Margaret had at least rested thoroughly until morning and now brimmed with restored energy.

"All this perspiration... You mentioned planning to visit the commercial district today. You're not coming down with another fever, are you?"

"Nothing like that. I felt stifled, so I did some exercise."

"In here?"

Margaret asked with evident puzzlement, then quickly corrected her expression.

Apparently she'd decided this wasn't something she should be curious about. Instead, she added gentle counsel.

"No matter how beneficial exercise may be for one's constitution, increasing it abruptly is worse than not doing it at all. If you push yourself like this, you'll end up bedridden again."

Adelheid smiled sheepishly as she swept away the hair plastered to her face with sweat.

She'd been so absorbed in practicing magic that she hadn't noticed how much she'd perspired.

Or how exhausting it had been... She felt utterly drained, as listless as someone who'd been thrashing in deep water and barely managed to be pulled out.

Margaret rolled up her sleeves and said, "Stay put. I'll hurry and prepare bathwater."

"But won't that make us late? I said I'd return before the evening banquet..."

"If we start preparing busily now, it'll take about an hour, so even if we depart then, we'll arrive a little past noon. That will be plenty of time for you to conduct your business and return."

"Then let's do that."

Adelheid nodded readily.

Soon Margaret returned with two servants bearing a large wooden bathtub.

Adelheid quickly undressed and scrubbed herself thoroughly, soaping her entire body and hair until she was clean.

After drying herself completely and changing into a fresh dress, Margaret brought back the soup that had cooled, reheated.

"Shall I bring you some fruit as well while the carriage is being prepared?"

"That's kind of you, but this is sufficient. I'm not particularly hungry..."

She couldn't risk filling her sensitive stomach and suffering motion sickness. Adelheid ate a few spoonfuls out of consideration for Margaret's efforts, then pushed the tray aside.

"Rather, I'd like some fresh air."

"Then wear a shawl so you don't catch cold."

With Margaret's meticulous attendance, Adelheid drew back the tent flap and stepped outside.

Immediately, warm sunlight struck her face full on, making her squint. She shielded her eyes with the back of her hand and tilted her head upward.

The weather was gloriously clear, the air crisp and bitterly cold. With each gust of wind, the skeletal tree branches clattered against one another with a dry rustle.

"There's trouble with the carriage wheel, but once that's replaced we can depart. By the way, Sir Donovan volunteered to serve as your escort today... but he's nowhere to be seen."

"We still have time, so there's no need to rush. I'll take a short walk nearby in the meantime."

"Will you?"

Margaret glanced around with conflicted eyes, then spoke with decision.

"I'll go check the knights' quarters again first. I'll return as quickly as possible, so please don't wander too far."

"Understood."

Leaving Margaret's worry behind, Adelheid made her way toward the boundary between forest and clearing.

Despite the tents standing in such profusion, few people moved about outside.

Apart from a handful of servants busy boiling water in large cauldrons and preparing massive bonfires, she could barely sense any human presence at all.

Several noblewomen had apparently relocated to the Emperor's villa, and those who remained had all followed the hunt.

Adelheid walked along the boundary, drinking in the scent of grass and air to her heart's content.

'This feels wonderful.'

She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt such freedom since arriving in the capital.

After she'd fallen ill, Valentin had clearly convinced himself she would collapse at the mere touch of cold wind.

Or else he believed every terrible creature in existence had fixed its sights on her alone.

'Otherwise he wouldn't guard against even trivial outings like this.'

While he'd always been obsessive about her whereabouts, since arriving in the capital his behavior had sometimes felt excessive.

Of course, she understood he did this out of concern for her, but at times it felt unbearably suffocating.

Adelheid exhaled deeply and lowered her gaze, then widened her eyes. A small spring flower bloomed at her feet.

'Oh, flowers already.'

Though the weather had warmed somewhat, patches of ground remained frozen.

The cheerful yellow flower that had courageously bloomed despite such conditions struck her as both endearing and remarkable. She crouched down to examine it more closely when—

"Adelheid?"

At the sudden calling of her name, Adelheid started violently and looked up.

Before she could react, a large shadow fell across her.

"What are you doing here?"

The man wasn't entirely unfamiliar to her.

In fact, to be honest, he was among the men she knew best in the imperial palace.

Crown Prince Mikhail. As Charlotte's fiancé, she'd encountered him several times before her marriage—or rather, quite frequently.

Adelheid scrambled to her feet, nearly headbutting Mikhail's face with her skull in the process.

"Your, Your Highness."

The golden head shot upward and Mikhail agilely jerked his face backward.

Thanks to that, Adelheid barely escaped the charge of inflicting irreparable damage upon the Crown Prince's person.

Mikhail, apparently startled by her excessive reaction, blinked before letting out a hollow laugh.

"Vigorous, for a greeting."

"Are, are you all right? My apologies. I didn't expect you suddenly, I was so startled I—"

"You were looking at the flower."

He cast his gaze toward the spot where Adelheid had been crouching.

Following his line of sight, Adelheid lowered her head and discovered the cheerful yellow petals crushed beyond recognition.

She'd trampled it in her startled flailing.

Upon confirming this, Adelheid's face crumpled into the faintest expression of distress. But she quickly composed herself.

"What brings Your Highness all the way here?"

"Your health? I heard you were ill."

He asked after her welfare unexpectedly. Adelheid lifted her gaze slightly from the ground.

With sunlight at his back, Mikhail's expression was difficult to read.

Was it concern? Or hypocrisy? Either way, the Crown Prince's interest amounted to nothing but uncomfortable meddling, given that she was already married to another.

Adelheid lowered her gaze obediently once more.

"To my shame, I fell ill immediately upon arriving at the palace, causing great inconvenience to both the Grand Duke and His Majesty. It was my own failing for not managing my health properly."

"Look up. You seem to have lost weight."

As he reached out as if to grasp her chin, Adelheid reflexively batted his hand away.

Finding himself rejected by her, Mikhail blinked before offering a bitter smile.

"No need for such wariness. The one I resent is your husband, not you."

"..."

"I'm simply pleased to see your face like this. It's been three years, hasn't it?"

"..."

"We used to encounter each other whenever I visited Count Reichenau's estate. Don't you remember? I thought we were friendly enough for me to show concern."

"...Of course, I'm grateful for your concern."

Adelheid barely swallowed down the discomfort that rose sharp and awkward as a protruding nail.

Mikhail's one-sided favor had always made her uneasy.

He'd even failed to hide his gaze toward her in Charlotte's presence in the past. How should she describe that look in his eyes?

Like someone licking candy wrappers, or gazing at something deeply regrettable...

If she hadn't been married and he hadn't been engaged to Charlotte, she might have understood it to some degree.

Occasionally the highborn did turn their affections toward those far beneath their station, as if sampling exotic fare.

But whatever might have been years ago, now—

"Anyway, it looks like the carriage is being serviced. Do you have somewhere to go?"

At Mikhail's words, Adelheid clenched her fistful of skirt fabric tight with wariness.

"A personal errand."

"Perfect timing. I was just about to return to the palace myself. Ride in my carriage."

"...You're not attending the hunt?"

"Your husband has made things busy. One can hardly sit idle while one's fiancée is stolen in broad daylight."

Stolen in broad daylight? At these incomprehensible words, Adelheid's head snapped up, and Mikhail covered his mouth with a troubled expression.

"Ah, did the Grand Duke not tell you?"