Chapter 202: Chapter 101 (2) – Sincerity Within the Truth

Soon, a junior maid brought Patrizia a glass of lukewarm water. Only after Patrizia had emptied the glass of water halfway did she ask Mirya, “His Majesty the Emperor came by here and left. Did you know about that?”

“Ah…” Mirya looked a little surprised at her question. She said, “I apologize, Your Majesty. If you were uncomfortable…”

“…”

“His Majesty stayed here for quite a long time before he left.”

“Around how long did he stay for?”

“About three hours.”

“…”

He had a rather resilient side to him. Patrizia made a cynical face.

-But that cynicism on her face is not all that cold,- Mirya thought. She continued. “His Majesty was nursing Your Majesty with extreme sincerity.”

“What is your reason for saying all this?”

“It is just to relay the truth to Your Majesty, nothing more, and nothing less.” Mirya pretended to be calm and collected as she said this, but Patrizia knew better than anyone that she was attempting to improve the relationship between Patrizia and Lucio behind the scenes.

Patrizia sighed as she responded sarcastically, “He must have suffered through a lot taking care of me.” -In front of a patient that might as well have been lying dead.-

Mirya added on to Patrizia’s statement, “But he seemed a little nervous. Even though I had let His Majesty know that it was not worrisome to that extent, and even the Imperial court physician said Your Majesty was not in such a serious condition.”

“…”

-It must have been the trauma,- Patrizia thought. That man was particularly vulnerable to this kind of thing. Patrizia asked Mirya with a sigh, “So His Majesty has returned to his palace?”

“It is said that His Majesty has just arrived back at the Central Palace.”

“I see,” Patrizia replied casually.

Mirya watched her and then discreetly changed the subject. “Rather, how is the current state of your health, Your Majesty?”

“Well.” Patrizia provided her answer with a lack of sincerity. “It does not seem to be that good right now. I wonder if I will be able to get better by tomorrow.”

“Please do not rush your recovery. With illnesses, the more one tries, the harder it gets to heal.”

“That may be the case.”

Patrizia requested of Mirya, with an expression showing her pain was getting worse, “I want to sleep more. If it can be helped, please do not wake me up until it is dinnertime.”

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Patrizia actually got up was around 9 o’clock in the evening. -I have slept for so long,- she thought. -Since when was the last time I slept in without waking up for such a long time?- Patrizia pondered about that as she called for Mirya.

Mirya managed to hear her barely audible voice and rushed over to her side. “Your Majesty, have you called for me?”

“Hmm…” Patrizia made a small noise as she asked Mirya for a glass of water, then slowly stood up from the bed. It seemed to her that the illness had weakened its hold on her, as she could feel some of her strength returning.

Mirya watched her move and asked, “Is your body alright?”

“I think it is better than before.”

Mirya’s expression brightened at the positive response and proceeded to deliver some news, “Actually I had just received communication from the Central Palace two hours ago. It was a message asking if Your Majesty was alright.”

“How diligent he is.”

“Shall I send an answer?”

“… If you would like to.” Patrizia responded in an insincere manner and tried to move around.

Mirya asked with a puzzled expression, “Where are you trying to go, Your Majesty? You are still not fully recovered.”

“Your words are not wrong, but I have been lying down for way too long. Excessive rest for a patient can be poisonous at times.” Nevertheless, her voice betrayed a little weakness from the illness. Mirya was still worried, but Patrizia seemed to have already made up her mind. Patrizia continued while putting on the shawl that had been hanging on a hook, “I will only be out there for about ten minutes. I do not intend to stay long.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. If it is that amount of time… I do not think it would be too harmful.” As Mirya briefly agreed and picked up her shawl, Patrizia stopped her.

“I can go alone. It is troublesome for you to go, too.”

“I do not know what horrible things I would hear from His Majesty the Emperor after sending Your Majesty off alone. It is absolutely impossible for you to go alone,” Mirya replied firmly. “Since the last assassination attempt, the Emperor has been doing everything possible to ensure Your Majesty’s safety, which is well known. Not only with the knights, but also with the maids.”

“It is too complicated.” Patrizia shook her head in disgust, but Mirya was clearly determined and resolute this time.

“Still, no way, Your Majesty. If you do not like it, you will have no choice but to give up on going out.”

“There is no one in the palace who will try to hurt me now,” Patrizia laughed self-consciously, but Mirya did not join in the laughter.

She answered, “There is always the possibility of something possibly happening anyway… It is also an Imperial edict, Your Majesty.”

“Fine, I understand. If you are going to act out this much, then it seems I have no choice in the matter,” Patrizia sighed and nodded. Only then did Mirya’s face brighten, and she draped an additional thick shawl around Patrizia’s shoulders.

“If your cold becomes worse because of a careless mistake, there will be even more losses on your part, Your Majesty.”

“Indeed.” Patrizia quietly obeyed, and soon left the palace with several knights and about five or six maids. It was chillier than expected, but, fortunately, Patrizia could not feel the cold thanks to the thick shawls on her. She told Mirya, “Let us go to the Central Palace.”

Mirya was surprised by these unexpected words, and asked to be sure, “Are you serious, Your Majesty?”

“You say that as if I am trying to go to a place that I cannot visit.”

“No that is not it, but… If it has anything to do with His Majesty the Emperor, Your Majesty hates it so much.”

“Refrain from speaking carelessly.”

Of course, her words were true. Mirya was not a person who dared to utter such an indecent phrase without reason. -It must have been quite surprising for her, after all!- Patrizia mused to herself.

“I have to return His Majesty’s coat. I kept thinking about how I should give it back, but I could not put that thought into action.”

“…” At Patrizia’s words, Mirya made a strange face. -Does she really need to go there when she is feeling so sick?- However, her question was kept to herself, and Mirya only responded to Patrizia accordingly, “I will escort you there!”

Perhaps Her Majesty was confused right now, between the promised commitment of the past and the expressed sincerity of the present?…

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Translated by Haeli

Edited by RED