Welcome To The Imperial Palace (14)

Alicia spoke humbly, spreading a soft, gentle smile.

From her meek expression, it was hard to detect any trace of violence.

As Alicia looked up at Josephina, round, admiring emotions leaked from her gaze as if she were looking at someone she revered.

There was no personal relationship between the two.

And yet, Alicia’s expression toward Josephina was so moved it seemed she was facing a benefactor.

She might have even given Josephina her carriage if asked.

“Um, would you like to look around the salon?”

Josephina spoke impulsively, pressured by a strange tension.

“It would be an honor.”

Alicia answered with a face full of emotion.

It was such a meek and innocent response that one might worry whether she could survive in the capital’s social circles.

She seemed like the type of person you’d want to warn: just saying “yes, yes” to everything will get you in trouble.

She had a physical altercation in the palace, really?

Members of the Zephyr Clan looked confused, watching her bright, curious expression—as if she was amazed by everything in the Great West and its surroundings.

Alicia had memorized every clan member’s name and even in brief exchanges, she was so kind and warm it made people smile without realizing.

Some even challenged her, half-mockingly, saying if her attitude was all an act, then she was perfectly fit for high society.

But Alicia, as if unaware of their provocations, sincerely said she was from the distant north and had much to learn about life in the capital, asking for their help—which made those watching feel pity for her.

Before the day even ended, praise for Alicia Rain’s angelic disposition was already circulating.

At the same time, there were whispers that her gentle nature made her ill-suited to survive in high society.

Either way, those who truly knew Alicia were left swallowing their doubts.

Alicia only departed the Great West in the evening.

All of her exclamations during the visit were genuine.

She had always been interested but never dared to dream of seeing it up close due to her withdrawn nature.

Everything about it was new and astonishing.

Walking through the legendary Great West herself felt surreal.

She was surrounded all day by people she wouldn’t have dared to make eye contact with before.

Compared to the places Alicia had been—Imperial Palace, Empress’s Palace, the Concubines’ Quarters, Castle of Tessen, Lilizet Villa, Luderne—the Great West was modest.

Yet, for Alicia, it stood out more than any of them.

Perhaps because in her previous life, during her most withdrawn years, she had only heard of it as a radiant place, it remained symbolic in her heart.

Some sharp words from a few people there didn’t matter—Alicia only recalled how she had once never dared to approach them.

She thought she was indulging in very childish sentimentality.

But even so, she relished that childish happiness for quite some time.

As she stepped out of the Great West toward her carriage, Alicia came to a stop.

Those following her stopped in a hurry as well.

At the front gate stood the entourage of the Grand Duke of Tessen.

Summoned to the Imperial Palace at dawn, Reichardt was still speaking seriously with his aide, the business apparently unfinished.

“Your Grace.”

At Roderick’s glance, Reichardt turned to look at Alicia.

He was wearing his formal uniform.

There must have been an event at the palace.

In a crimson jacket, dark trousers, a blue sash, and adorned with numerous medals, he looked as though he had stepped out of a painting.

“……”

That face, like one from a masterpiece, paused as it turned to Alicia.

Alicia stopped admiring his sunset-lit face and moved to bow.

Those around her had already bowed to the Grand Duke.

“Your Grace…”

Reichardt swiftly stepped forward as Alicia bent her knees to bow.

“Did you make many friends?”

His amber eyes swept over the people at Alicia’s side.

Then he placed his hand atop hers, which was holding her dress.

His hand, usually lukewarm and dry, was now unusually hot.

“Yes. These are the people who were kind to me today.”

Alicia clasped his hand firmly, watching his usual composed face.

Except for the dampness of his palm, Reichardt showed no sign of discomfort.

“They must be good people. I’ve come to take you back. Shall we go?”

Alicia and Reichardt exchanged looks as they spoke.

Reichardt brought her to his side.

Among those bowing to him, he reached out and tapped Josephina on the shoulder with his fingertips to acknowledge her.

“……”

Just moments ago, Josephina had bowed elegantly, but now her head tilted at an odd angle.

Her clear aquamarine eyes were locked on the tightly joined hands of Reichardt and Alicia.

Josephina’s expression twisted in discomfort.

Reichardt flicked her oddly scrunched-up hair with his fingers again.

Josephina jerked her crooked head even further.

It wasn’t the proper demeanor of a member of the imperial family.

They looked more like siblings with a large age gap than uncle and niece with just a small one.

Josephina’s pure face now gave a lazy chin nod.

-Let go.

Her twisted lips made strange, wriggling shapes.

It looked like she was swearing.

Then she caught Alicia’s gaze and offered a polite smile.

“If you’re not feeling well, Josephi, go in and rest. Thank you for seeing everyone off. That’s all.”

Reichardt’s low whisper to Josephina sounded unusually childish.

The contrast with his usual tone made it all the more obvious.

“Safe travels, Your Grace.”

Josephina stepped forward and gave her farewell.

She subtly reached out her arm, trying to separate the intertwined hands of Alicia and Reichardt.

Reichardt smoothly repositioned himself and tightened his grip.

Josephina found herself naturally blocked by Reichardt’s body.

“Are you an idiot?”

“I’m telling Mom everything.”

“Go ahead. Red doesn’t suit you. You look like a pheasant.”

“I’m telling Big Uncle everything.”

“Be good, Josephi.”

Their voices were so low that only Josephina, Reichardt, and Alicia could hear.

Reichardt’s childish jabs at Josephina made him seem like a lacking uncle.

To call Josephina—a perfect angel—a pheasant was just plain juvenile.

“……”

Alicia was practically pushed into the carriage.

Even after boarding, the daze didn’t fade.

The childish quarrel continued.

“A man riding in a carriage?”

“His Majesty rides in one too. You’re committing lèse-majesté, punk. Get in.”

“Lè…!”

“Just get in. If you’re jealous, go hold your own fiancée’s hand.”

With his cold, indifferent face, Reichardt blurted out those immature words.

Josephina made a fierce expression, but her threatening aura didn’t follow them into the carriage.

Soon the carriage began to move.

As it did, Reichardt let out a sigh and leaned back against the seat.

Alicia pretended not to notice the childish fight between uncle and niece.

“Did you suddenly feel unwell?”

Alicia overlapped her other hand over the one holding his.

“It’s not the periodic pain I get from Tessen. Just the sound in my head got a little louder. Among them, how many do you think are real friends?”

Reichardt asked, glancing back at where they’d come from.

“I don’t know.”

Alicia shook her head honestly.

There might not have been a single person among them she could call a true friend.

More than that, she noticed cold sweat forming on what seemed like his usual emotionless face and wiped it with a handkerchief.

“I’m fine.”

Reichardt tried to stop Alicia from leaning in closer.

“Has this happened before?”

Ignoring him, Alicia carefully examined his weary face.

Reichardt couldn’t bring himself to push away the proactive handkerchief.

“There were times when the sound suddenly got louder before, but it’s becoming more frequent.”

“And yet you still joke around with your niece… You two seem close.”

There was suspicion in Alicia’s calm gaze.

‘Were you the one who told her to send the Zephyr Clan invitation?’

“She tries to beat me with absurd things.”

Reichardt answered bluntly, expressing his genuine feelings.

His face looked oddly like her brother Harry’s whenever he played silly pranks on her.

“So you are close.”

Alicia decided to pretend ignorance—it was family business among royals.

Instead, she thought of something else.

She hadn’t been able to reflect deeply before, preoccupied with keeping events flowing according to plan.

In the past, the Grand Duke of Tessen had remained unmarried for a long time, then suddenly rushed into marriage.

After his first wedding, he had taken new brides in quick succession.

She began to wonder whether the Grand Duke’s marriages were related to his mysterious pain.

If her hypothesis was correct, then it meant he’d soon marry again after her disappearance in her past life.

Then a humiliating memory she had forgotten resurfaced.

“Don’t marry me, Alicia.”

The memory of being rejected before she had even confessed.

“……”

Alicia subtly pulled away from Reichardt, leaving only their joined hands.

Her mood had dropped sharply.

Sensing the sudden chill, Reichardt cautiously glanced at Alicia wrapped in silence.

Women’s emotions were hard to decipher.

Reichardt pondered what might have gone wrong—but there were too many possibilities.

Teasing her about having no friends.

Leaving so early that he hadn’t even seen her face in the morning.

Getting in Josephina’s way when she seemed to be treating Alicia kindly.

Grabbing her hand out of nowhere.

Reichardt cleared his throat uncomfortably.

“Is it alright if I keep holding your hand?”

“Are you feeling better now?”

Alicia turned from the window and looked at him as she asked.

“Not quite.”

When Reichardt lived in the palace as a child, he couldn’t understand his brother’s dramatics.

The concubines had a lot on their plates.

Unaware of that, his brother would pretend to be sick just to be cuddled by their mothers and sleep in the concubines’ quarters—he thought it was pathetic.

Now, he felt like he could finally understand that desperate pretending.

“Then why are you letting go?”

He relaxed when Alicia gently enclosed his hand with both of hers.

In truth, the moment Alicia held his hand, the noise in his head had vanished as if washed away.

But the moment she let go, it would surely start scratching at his nerves again.

So it was better to keep holding hands for a while.

More than trying to strike up a conversation, pretending to be pitiful seemed to win attention more easily, and that worried him.

He felt like he was turning into one of those brothers who constantly faked being sick.

Of course, he was truly in pain.

But strangely, even the pain he usually endured well became unbearable when Alicia was by his side—and that troubled him.

“This is bad.”

He couldn’t confess how pathetic his current state was to anyone.

“Is it that bad?”

Alicia asked with a voice full of concern.

It was the kind of voice that made him feel like she might embrace him at any moment, like before.

Reichardt softly shook his head.

He let her tenderly caress his hand and didn’t refuse when she reached up to check his forehead.

In the end, he quietly justified to himself that his feigning illness wasn’t entirely a lie.

As spring approached, the evening air brushing his face grew gentler.

It was a warm night.