Welcome To The Imperial Palace (1)

“Alicia.”

A deep voice called to Alicia, who was lost in thought.

“Try this.”

Snapping out of her thoughts, Alicia held a small cookie to Reichardt’s lips.

After a moment’s hesitation, Reichardt parted his lips.

Alicia stared at him as he ate the cookie.

“It’s been 24 years.”

Reichardt said awkwardly.

“Pardon?”

Alicia blinked.

“This is the first time someone has fed me anything since I was five.”

Reichardt gave a dry chuckle.

Alicia took a sip of tea and set her teacup down.

Then she picked up another cookie and held it to the lips that had gone without food for three days.

“Have one more.”

Reichardt quietly accepted the cookie.

As he chewed, he spoke offhandedly.

“But why do you look at me like that?”

“Because I pity you.”

Alicia said more firmly than ever.

Her purple eyes were filled with thought as she looked at Reichardt.

In hell, Alicia hadn’t felt hunger.

It took her nearly a year to realize it.

And the moment she did, she finally accepted that she had truly died.

But she couldn’t let go of her attachment and tried to swallow dry tree bark and dirt.

There was no reaction.

It wasn’t digested, nor did it make her gag.

After returning to this world, she tried eating dirt again, but the moment it entered her mouth, she retched and gave up.

Seeing Reichardt writhing in pain reminded her of that time.

From the next meal onward, a portion was also prepared for Reichardt.

Alicia naturally ate her own meal while tending to his.

Another three days passed.

The two found the optimal position for eating while holding hands.

They grew used to eating, drinking tea, and enjoying desserts like that.

Then another three hectic days passed.

Though Reichardt’s pain hadn’t fully disappeared, it had gradually lessened by morning.

A sudden message arrived from the imperial capital, Baden.

The Emperor was planning to have a woman—who was neither an empress nor a concubine—give birth within the imperial palace.

The pregnant woman was Lady Maude, the chancellor’s daughter.

Lady Maude’s father, Marquis Maynard, was the Emperor’s and the Grand Duke of Tessen’s greatest political rival.

It was time for Alicia to deliver her third prophecy to Reichardt.

Whenever a critical message came from the royal court, Reichardt would usually leave Tessen the same day.

He would take only the bare minimum escort.

But after a Rua cycle, he usually refrained from travel for three to four days due to aftereffects.

The Emperor typically didn’t summon Tessen unless war was looming during a Rua cycle.

Thus, calling Reichardt now meant his presence was politically necessary.

It was clear from the pacing of the summons and the timing for Reichardt to prepare that the court was trying to account for his travel time.

One could infer that the palace was in chaos.

The all-powerful Emperor delaying his decision was proof enough.

The Emperor and Empress.

The Empress’s family, the Duchy of Ischtern.

The Empress’s position within the concubines’ quarters.

The concubines from other nations who had entered the palace for political marriages.

The nobles backing or aligning themselves with these women.

The issue of succession had the entire imperial capital buzzing—and even distant Tessen could feel the tremors.

But there was nothing they could do right away.

Physical distance wasn’t so easily bridged.

Even at full gallop, it took five days to ride from Tessen to Baden.

As usual, Reichardt couldn’t depart immediately.

With the message spreading, tension rippled through Tessen Castle.

Henrik and Connie argued loudly that preparing for the journey would take at least three to four days.

Reichardt stated that now that the Rua cycle had ended, he would leave tomorrow.

The Emperor’s envoy said that if given a day to rest, he would return to the capital with the Grand Duke.

With Reichardt’s permission, the envoy sent a courier ahead with word to the Emperor that the Grand Duke would depart tomorrow.

Henrik and Connie, who strictly enforced the Grand Duke’s “no contact” period, spent the day bickering outside his room.

Henrik, who had to accompany him to the capital, kept checking in to ask if he was feeling unwell.

Connie repeatedly cried, asking how the Emperor could be so heartless when His Grace was still sick.

Eventually, she just sobbed silently like a grieving child.

Jamie, conspicuously absent during this period, showed up regularly outside the door to report on the Baron and Baroness of Rens.

He said his father, Henrik, had packed only socks in a bag and forgotten his pants.

That his mother had burned all the jam while baking cookies.

And that they’d created a flood on the tea table by pouring tea into overturned cups.

On the second night of the second moon, when Rua no longer appeared, Reichardt’s agonizing pain finally stopped.

However, due to lingering aftereffects, the buzzing in his head was louder than usual.

This sound, which typically wore on his nerves, would grow even worse once he left Tessen and was sometimes accompanied by pain.

That was the reason Reichardt, for the first time, delayed departure by a day even after receiving the imperial order.

He informed Alicia that he would spend the night alone.

He expressed his gratitude for her help and promised to repay the favor according to their deal.

That night, Reichardt and his people bickered endlessly.

The night passed swiftly.

And morning came.

Alicia stood in front of the Grand Duke’s chamber.

Waiting for an audience outside the room she had stayed in for days felt strange.

Alicia found it amusing how she had come to think of it as her room in such a short time.

“Go ahead.”

Henrik opened the door and gestured.

His face showed a hint of lingering attachment as he looked at Alicia.

“Thank you.”

Alicia gave a light nod and stepped inside.

Henrik watched her with a wistful gaze until the door closed.

Unlike the chaos of the night, the morning was quiet.

When Alicia had left the previous evening, Reichardt had looked unwell, but now his face was far more at ease.

“Your Grace.”

“No need for formalities. Are you ready?”

Reichardt said as Alicia began to bow.

“Yes.”

Reichardt invited Alicia to accompany him to Baden.

Even if he hadn’t said it, she had planned to go.

Alicia already knew what was coming.

No one else expected it, but Maude Maynard’s childbirth was imminent.

Though the Emperor and the Maynard family claimed she was eight months pregnant, the baby would be born before spring.

Alicia looked up at Reichardt, who hadn’t yet donned his coat.

“Why do you keep looking at me like that?”

Though his sickly pallor was gone, his smile now felt familiar.

“Because I pity you.”

“That’s not why I’m asking you to come.”

Reichardt chuckled at Alicia’s bluntness, then added,

“Your Grace.”

“Yes?”

Reichardt was choosing a pair of leather gloves.

Until now, she had assumed they were all the same—but they weren’t.

Dozens of nearly identical monochrome leather gloves were laid out in rows.

Alicia approached Reichardt as he examined the gloves.

“I’ve been thinking.”

“About what?”

“About how Your Grace experiences pain at specific times. And how you suffer more when you leave Tessen. You said it improves when you hold my hand or when I touch the area in pain. You also said it works best with direct skin contact, works moderately through fabric, but doesn’t work at all through leather, right?”

Her purple eyes, gazing at the various gloves, were steady and calm.

“It’s fine.”

Reichardt selected three pairs of nearly identical black leather gloves.

The slight tilt of his head seemed like a subtle attempt to stop Alicia from placing her hand on his forehead.

If things got dicey, he looked ready to put on the gloves and climb somewhere high.

“It’s not fine.”

Just as Reichardt finished picking his gloves and turned to leave,

Alicia quickly stepped in front of him.

“Alicia.”

“Excuse me for a moment.”

Reichardt had been about to insist he was really fine.

Though it wasn’t common, the buzzing in his head still occasionally occurred within Tessen.

The aftereffects were diminishing with time.

By the time they departed, it would be better.

But before he could speak, a soft body leaned into his unguarded chest.

Compared to Reichardt, Alicia was small.

She wasn’t short for her age, but she wasn’t tall either.

“…!”

Reichardt froze.

He just stood there, watching as Alicia leaned into him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

The moment her soft voice whispered near his jawline, all movement ceased.

Alicia clung to him as she tried to wrap her arms around his much larger shoulders.

His reaction—stiffening and staying perfectly still—was amusing.

Standing motionless, Reichardt neither pushed Alicia away nor embraced her in return.

“How is it?”

Her gentle breath brushed his ear.

“What is?”

He answered automatically, the words coming out in fragments.

The warm hands that had been wrapped around his shoulders slowly withdrew.

The soft warmth leaning against him faded away.

“The sound in your head.”

Alicia looked up at Reichardt with an expression that clearly expected an answer.

His face, frozen in panic, slowly returned to awareness.

Only then did he realize—the annoying prickling sound in his head had vanished completely.

“…It’s fine.”

“Right? I figured a larger contact area might be more effective. In emergencies, we could try something like this.”

Alicia said brightly, as if stating the obvious.

Reichardt immediately reacted.

“No need for that.”

He was still gloveless and had been about to put them on, but under her gaze, he tucked the gloves into his back pocket.

“Your Grace.”

Alicia stepped aside at the sound from outside.

It was time for both of them to leave.

“Speak.”

Alicia made a formal bow as she stepped back.

Just as Reichardt moved to respond with proper form,

Alicia, now a step further away, said,

“Ride in my carriage.”

Her tone was not just forward—it was borderline imperious.

“Why would I?”

Reichardt had spent the previous night fending off Henrik and Connie’s relentless badgering about riding with Alicia, even if not speaking to her.

He had refused firmly.

And now, if he shared a carriage with his fiancée the next day, it would make him look ridiculous.

“I just hugged you, didn’t I?”

Alicia said something that, if overheard, could be wildly misunderstood.

Reichardt quickly responded.

“Alicia—”

“It was far more effective than holding hands, wasn’t it? We made a deal, didn’t we? You agreed to do anything I asked for each time we held hands. I’ll take my leave.”

Having said her piece, Alicia walked out of the room.

Reichardt remained, momentarily dazed.

“Not anything…”

He muttered, pouting, though no one was around to hear it.