Chapter 24
“I am well aware that Your Highness is considering breaking off your engagement with Lady April…”
Though she hadn’t completed her sentence, it was clear to her what words would naturally follow.
Knowing full well that what she was about to say would not be well received, Lerbian lowered her head and continued.
“Must you really annul your engagement with the Lady?”
“Sir Lerbian.”
“If there is someone else in your heart, couldn’t you take her as your second consort later? The nobles would not oppose if that were your decision.”
They would likely think it better than following the late king’s example of keeping a male concubine.
“Right now, it is more crucial to borrow the power of the Duke’s house to keep Rozian in check.”
It was not the time to insist on placing the one he loved on the throne.
“Your Highness.”
Seeing the look that seemed to plead with him to reconsider, Perphone bit the inside of his cheek.
“If you tell me what you are thinking, I will assist you in any way I can.”
Would that truly be the case?
“I understand your intentions and feelings, Sir Lerbian. However…”
Not only was this something beyond Lerbian’s ability to help with, but it was also not something he could reveal the truth about.
If he told Lerbian that the April currently residing at the Duke’s house was not the real Lady April, would he believe it?
If he said that no matter how much he thought about it, it seemed she had been switched, how would he react?
If they could only find the ‘real’ Lady April, perhaps things would turn out as Lerbian hoped.
Because the April who had changed three years ago was, no matter how he looked at it, not the April Hill Rise he once knew.
“Can’t you at least tell me who it is that Your Highness has feelings for?”
The question was laced with frustration.
He needed to know at least the rank of the noblewoman, so he could prepare in advance as his lord’s right hand. But Lerbian knew nothing—not her gender, not her age, not her name, nor her family’s standing.
“I will tell you when I find her, so please, do not press too much.”
Unlike the anxious Lerbian, Perphone was calm, and this contrast made Lerbian sigh softly.
As Alan watched April practice walking, he frowned.
Though she seemed fine on the outside, Alan had already seen her wounds.
“Ah!”
April, who had been practicing walking without crutches, finally stumbled and fell sideways, and Alan quickly moved to her side.
Having seen her injuries firsthand, Alan did not wish to stay by April’s side.
Every time he saw another’s wounds, it brought back memories of his own pain.
And yet, the reason he remained by April’s side was singular.
“Irina hopes you’ll become close to her.”
Because Irina wished it so.
“Are you alright?”
Alan picked up the fallen crutch and extended his hand to April.
“Take my hand and stand up.”
She grabbed his outstretched hand and stood, wobbling.
Each time April showed her unguarded side, Alan found it curious.
Nobles would normally take it as an insult if someone of a lower rank touched them.
But April was different. For a brief moment, Alan wondered if it was because she considered herself an employee of Bernice, who had healed her.
“Does it still hurt?”
“It still aches…”
“I’m sure you’ve taken all your medicine. I’ll make more painkillers and bring them tomorrow.”
“When is he coming?”
“Bernice, you mean?”
“Yes, Bernice.”
“…”
“You’re the only one he seems to communicate with. Ask him when he’ll come here again, quickly.”
“…”
“And ask him how long I have to keep practicing walking.”
Alan nodded slightly at her urging.
She seemed to think he was directly in touch with Bernice, but in truth, Alan could only contact Bernice through Alicia as well.
“Understood. I’ll get in touch with him, but please continue your practice.”
April irritably knocked aside the crutch that Alan offered.
Human desire is indeed fickle. At first, she had only wished for her twisted bones to be set right, but now that they were, she wanted to walk on her own two feet, without crutches.
Unlike in the past, when her legs wouldn’t move as she willed, April roughly tousled her hair and lifted her head sharply.
“Can’t it really be healed with divine power?”
Her voice was tinged with desperation.
Tears began to well up in her blue-grey eyes. Her worry and doubt about when her injured leg would finally heal seemed hard to dispel.
Well, it was only natural that she’d be anxious, having spent over a month without healing.
Moreover, as the precious daughter of the Duke of Rise, baseless rumors about her were likely already spreading like wildfire in the capital.
“Didn’t Bernice already explain that?”
“No, how can…!”
Why on earth couldn’t it be healed with divine power?
Her shrill voice echoed through the empty villa garden.
The villa was deserted, save for the minimal staff attending to April.
And Alan was the only outsider in this secluded place.
“Didn’t they say there’s nothing divine power can’t heal?”
Indeed, that was what people commonly believed. The temple had spread the word that “divine power can cure anything,” making it even more so.
The problem was that the temple’s priests were nothing more than frauds.
“The range of what divine power can heal depends on the amount of power one has.”
The priests claim that even with a small amount of divine power, anything can be healed, but that’s not true.
The extent of healing depends on the magnitude of the divine power one possesses.
“Divine power can’t solve everything.”
No matter how much divine power one has, it can’t bring the dead back to life.
Because of the temple’s propaganda, the people of the empire seemed to believe that divine power was a force capable of reviving the dead.
“This is so frustrating…”
Alan shrugged at her exasperated words. It couldn’t be helped, frustrating as it was.
“Bernice is.”
“Yes.”
Though not fully healed, she was still grateful to Bernice.
If not for that woman, she would have remained with her twisted bones.
“What is she, really?”
And besides her gratitude, she was curious.
“What kind of person has divine power?”
It was strange that someone who didn’t seem to be affiliated with the temple had such power.
The temple claimed that only men could possess divine power, making it even stranger.
Alan could not answer, so he kept silent.
He didn’t know much about Bernice, either.
Despite having spent nearly two years by her side, the fact that he knew so little about her struck him deeply.
“You’ve been with her for a long time, haven’t you?”
“It’s hard to say it’s been a long time. It hasn’t even been two years.”
“Is that so?”
April replied with curiosity as she walked with her crutch.
At least the pain had diminished, and she was far less agitated and excited than when he had first seen her.
Taking a seat at a tea table in the villa’s garden, she leaned back comfortably in her chair and let out a long sigh.
It must be summer—the sound of insects buzzing filled the background like a symphony.
“How did you meet her?”
April asked, her face uncharacteristically full of curiosity.
Alan, slightly taken aback by the unexpected question, froze for a moment. Sensing his discomfort, she tilted her head cautiously, watching his reaction.
During her time at the villa, her only conversation partner had been her brother. The servants had no reason to engage with her, so Alan was a welcome distraction from her boredom.
“Am I not allowed to ask?”
As the noble Lady of the Duke’s house, April expected a response, but Alan remained silent, which caused her lips to curl into a slightly mocking smile.
The man before her, with his silver hair and crimson eyes, was as uninteresting as he was good-looking.
Does he perhaps have feelings for that woman? April silently pictured Bernice’s face.
Her sunset-colored eyes shone brightly even in the dark, reminding her of her second brother, Barak, but…
Objectively speaking, she wasn’t all that beautiful.
If the temple learned about a woman with divine power and a man assisting her in healing, they wouldn’t stand idly by.
Despite claiming to have known her for less than two years, Alan remained by her side, something April found both fascinating and incomprehensible.
Given his appearance, it seemed a bit of a waste.
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