Ilyin's fever eventually went away, but she still felt muscle pain.
This she had to bear alone, as the doctor who came running from outside the castle walls, emphasized that those from the Empire had to take medicine from there.
Then she heard the Delroses' resident doctor shout angrily to the maids outside the thick doors:
“How would herbs, grown in the cold and shade, heal someone from outside?!”
“Should I tell him to go somewhere else?” one of the maids asked softly.
They were much more reserved than the Blue North maids and Ilyin looked at their shiny red bracelets.
Ilyin fell asleep after Den left, when she finally fully woke up, all the maids were replaced by the Red Delroses.
The ones being expelled were from the Blue North.
Ilyin sighed.
I felt sorry for them as I looked at the Delrose maids, who were all leaning against the wall like statues.
"Madam."
She heard a knock on the door and the maids instantly opened it, unlike the Blue North maids who would have taken their time.
Ilyin wondered who would refer to her like that after she got married, and then saw that it was Milo of Ecid, when the door was opened for him.
"Greetings, ma'am.
I hear you're not well."
“That's true, Milo.”
He straightened his posture at the door.
Ilyin smiled, seeing him bow and hand something to the maid.
"This is a medicine widely used in the capital, so it won't hurt you.
However, if you feel an itch...", Milo was speaking loudly to be heard from the door, and his explanation was dragging on.
Ilyin waved at him, beckoning him into the room.
“Come in and talk.”
She thought Milo was following the Empire's rules by being so loud, because he worked for them and felt grateful for his position.
However, Milo blinked at his words in confusion.
“Pardon?” He looked perplexed.
"And me?" Ilyin also blinked when Milo stuttered.
"Yes."
Milo's face turned pale at his words.
“Are you asking me to enter the Duchess’s room in front of the Delrose maids?” Milo seemed paralyzed as he said that this would be like asking to be beheaded by the Duke.
“What the hell do you mean?” Ilyin remembered Den's words and the awkward atmosphere from before.
Didn't he say it was acceptable for a man to enter her room here?
***
Idith had good hearing and couldn't help but overhear the maids talking as she took care of the overdue work on the property since Aden couldn't.
“Did Your Highness spend the night?” A Mille maid was gossiping and it was Idith's job to inform Aden of the rumors that were troubling him.
“Yes,” the other maid replied confidently.
“Is that because she’s from the sunny lands?”
“Maybe, do you think so too?”
While the words were spoken quickly, Idith still couldn't understand what they were whispering.
“Lady Elena was also from outside,” The Blue North maid said and Idith narrowed her eyes when she saw the unruly state of the estate, her whispers were foolish even though the estate owner went out often.
Aden was furious with Blue North, to the extent that being expelled would be a light punishment for them and while the Delroses had been Blue North's enemies for a long time, Aden's response was strangely passionate.
Idith thought that getting the Blue North maids off Ilyin's side had been a good idea, but Lidan almost fled the room after complaining about it.
Blue North's actions, from when the bride's carriage arrived, were punishable.
Still, his master was waiting patiently.
Aden of Biflten's rule was to attack at the critical moment.
However, things were different this time as the decision to remove the Blue North maids was very light and hasty.
Aden would have chased the Blue North maids in the cold with only thin clothes and they would have frozen there for all to see.
"Greetings, ma'am.
I hear you're not well." Idith heard Milo say.