Soon, I heard the sound of relieved breathing from Cassian.
I carefully dried his wet hair so as not to wake him, and searched inside the hut to find a bowl and firewood
I boiled water in it to maintain the humidity, and placed a hot pot under the blanket to help prevent his body temperature from dropping.
'It really reminds me of the old days.'
At that time he was really on the verge of death, so is it better now?
I still have fond memories of shaking and pushing myf because I felt like he was going to die at any moment.
'I think I was crying and saying I have to do this, I have to do that.'
Compared to that time when I was pretending to have a cold, I'm in much better shape now.
I called the butler and told him, who was worried, that I was going to be late because I was watching the night scene with Cassian on Ilium, then I put my hand on the cube...
It was similar to the cube made by the wizards exploited in the Winter Palace, but it was a bit different in some ways, so I began to unravel it carefully..
'Perhaps Cassian guessed the location of the deal, and was threatened by the mages in the process.'
I think he jumped into the river because he felt it was getting too dangerous, so he ended up in this situation.
So this should have been an item that could be used as evidence.
'But did they make the deal on a cruise ship this time too?'
Why did he run away so wet?
Compared with the previous lake, the river here is not very wide, so large cruise ships cannot be launched.
Even if we increase the ship's capacity from 100 people to 200, the maximum is 200.
'If there were that few people, he wouldn't be able to hide.'
Illegal trade..
So is the cruise ship itf just a gimmick?
Maybe closer to that.
As my mind became more organized, my hands became quicker to touch the cube, and soon all sides became the same color.
In the next moment, with a faint flash of light, a group of folded documents fell to the ground.
The next moment, my eyes widened at the content of the document I saw.
After watching Cassian until it was getting late, I decided to stop by the Duchy of Lopez's villa first.
Just in case, I didn't forget to change the water in the hot pot and set up magical tools around the house so people wouldn't recognize him..
Because of this, I came home late, but the old butler of the villa seemed very relieved..
“I have prepared some bath water for you.
Lady Wilhelmina has entrusted me to see to it that there is no shortage of service.”
My conscience pricked me a little as he guided me with a gentle smile, as if he were looking at his granddaughter, but I felt there was nothing I could do about it.
“Thank you, I think I should stay here tonight and leave early tomorrow morning.”
“Is something wrong?”
“I am the assistant to His Highness the Second Prince.
His Highness said that the dawn in Ilium is beautiful and asked me to prepare early.”
“…Why did he keep you up so late?”
“When he wants to show me something I might like, he tends to act a little blind.”
The butler's eyes narrowed as if he felt sorry for me for my words.
For a moment, I felt like my boss's image had been tarnished, but I decided not to care.
Anyway, I immersed my shocked body in warm bath water to relax and get a good, short night's sleep..
It is clear that the remaining schedule at Ilium will be very busy and challenging.
I woke up early in the morning, took a quick look at the kitchen and the chef, and got some ingredients for the soup..
Since his body temperature was so high yesterday, I needed to warm him up a bit when he woke up..
Before leaving the villa, I said that I would return to the capital with His Highness after spending the itinerary in Ilium, and requested that the remaining luggage that I had not packed be sent to the capital.
After that, I didn't forget to ask the butler some questions.
“Now that I think about it, I heard it from Velma.”
"Yes?"
“I heard that one of the cruise ships that travel to and from Ilium is owned by Lady Velma.”
“That's true.
The young lady received it as a present for her eighth birthday from the Duke.
But it's still wonderful.”
"Yes?"
“Most likely, she didn't mention it because the lady's grandmother collapsed while on the cruise ship and couldn't get out of bed because she was sick.”
“Has she been here before?”
“Of course, since you can go to Ilium by car.”
After saying that, the butler asked with a questioning look.
“Did I agree to loan you that cruise ship to have a good time with His Royal Highness?”
“No, I was just curious about the sound the ship made as it passed, so I asked.”
“Aha, I see.
If you need anything, please let me know and I will contact the operating agent in advance.”
I expressed my gratitude for his kindness and left the villa.
Thanks to him, it became clearer.
The wickedness of this world and Her Majesty the Empress.
Once I arrived at the hut, I took out a large pot and started boiling the soup using the ingredients I had brought.
I mashed the tomatoes, cut the vegetables into small pieces, then added the spices and broth that the villa chef had carefully prepared for me, and soon a pleasant aroma spread through the air.
Finally, I was staring at the soup as it boiled, thinking that all I had to do was season it with salt.
“…It smells good.”
I felt the warm body temperature behind my back.
"Do you feel OK?"
“…huh”
Hearing his voice, which was clearly half awake, I allowed him to wrap his arms around my waist and cling to me as if he was confused.
It is natural to show compassion to patients.
“Can you eat it?”
"naturally."
Cassian rubbed his forehead lightly on my shoulder, acting in such a way that I couldn't tell if he was trying to shake off sleepiness or just checking for temperature.
I waited for him to do what he wanted for a while, then I patted his hand around my waist and spoke softly.
“Then wash and come back.
I won’t give you food if you don’t open your eyes.”
“Because I'm not pretty?”
When he asked this question, he smiled a little.
The sleepiness in his voice seemed to have almost disappeared, and he slowly moved away from my body.
“You shouldn't hate me, Rose.”
Unlike what happened when he approached, he headed towards the bathroom with his slippers on, which resulted in a scraping sound on the floor.
While I was listening to the sound of water running from the bathroom, I placed the bread I had brought in the oven to warm it for a moment.
When he got out of the bathroom, steam from the finished soup was rising on the table.
She took some butter and jam and put them on the table and sat down.
“A dish made by Rose.”
These words reminded me of the past without knowing it.
“There was a time when I used to eat a messy meal when I was young...”
Overcooked eggs that were fried clumsily, bread that was half-burnt, soup that she had secretly brought from the cook and reheated, but the heat had been set incorrectly and had become dry...
“Are you afraid to eat it?”
“This cannot be possible.”
When I asked him a polite question while reminiscing about the past, Cassian shook his head with a soft smile.
“I feel like I gained a precious memory.”
When he said that, he cut the good bread, put some jam and butter on it, and put it in his mouth.
Without any hesitation.
'I think even when he was young, he wasn't alert and ate the dishes I brought in a mess.'
Just like now..
Even though he was a prince, Cassian Artiz was not picky about food.
If he had been picky about this, he would not have been able to survive.
He ate the thick soup without saying anything.
Even though I asked him to spit it out if he felt it was salty, I couldn't help but see Cassian's little face, overlapping with Cassian in front of me.
‘…At that time, his face was that of someone eating something tasteless.’
I just think his emotions weren't showing on his face...
When I looked at his face as he took a big bite of the delicious tomato stew, I realized that he just wanted to fill his stomach.
“Thank you, Rose.”
As a courtesy, he did not forget to say that it was delicious and to thank me for preparing the meal.
Really.
[Thank you, little lady.]
It brought back memories from my childhood that I tried to forget because I wanted to escape my fate in this world.
“I have finished analyzing the documents that came out of the cube.”
“Yes, the date and place where the actual transaction will take place, and even what to do if the situation worsens,” are noted.
Since Cassian insisted on this, I left the cleaning task to him and informed him of what he had entrusted me with yesterday..
I felt a strange sensation as I stared at his back as he skillfully washed the dishes.
'Even though he's a prince, why does he seem so used to things like this?'
No matter how hard you fought on the battlefield, did you even wash the dishes yourf?
Of course, unlike my mind, which was thinking about something else, my mouth continued to report steadily...
“The owner of the cruise ship is Princess Wilhelmina...”
After hearing part of my report, Cassian put the well-washed dishes aside, shook his wet hands, and lost himf in thought.
When she calmly looked at Cassian's back, she realized a feeling of discomfort.
'His posture is a little more awkward than usual..?'
He was always showing off his perfect core muscles without any humanity, which made everyone who saw him envious..
Especially today-
“…Your Highness.”
“What, Rose?”
I should have noticed this sooner.
The image of yesterday when he took off his shirt, or this hut that has no meaning in life..
“How serious is the situation now?”