When the Guide Stopped Playing a Villainess, the Obsession Began - Chapter 8
Rose said nothing as she applied the ointment. After a moment of silence, she suddenly asked,
“…What kind of request do you have, Your Ladyship?”
Lea, who had been lying still with her eyes closed, softly raised the corners of her mouth and lifted her eyelids.
Turning her body to rest on the shoulder that wasn’t injured, she slowly parted her lips.
“I want you to secretly send the items I specify from my palace’s food supplies to the crown prince’s quarters.”
“…Excuse me?”
“That’s all. It shouldn’t be too hard for you.”
There were others who were already tampering with the food provisions sent to the crown prince’s quarters—specifically, among the bureaucrats who managed the palace budget, those who had Espers for children.
They were probably following Bianca’s orders to receive guiding.
As Rose hesitated to answer, Lea drove the point in.
“Your friend works in the crown prince’s palace, doesn’t she? Send it through her. If needed, I’ll pay her hush money too.”
Rose turned pale. She couldn’t defy Lea, who even knew about her childhood friend.
“…Yes, Lady Haisley.”
“Oh, and don’t tell anyone that the food was sent on my orders.”
“Understood.”
The thought that she could finally do something to help him brought a bright smile to Lea’s face—for the first time since she’d opened her eyes.
Rose, seeing the unfamiliar expression, stared at her with a strange look in her eyes, saying nothing.
***
“Your Highness the Crown Prince!”
Calix raised his head mid-sip from a glass of water, startled by the call.
Daisy, entering his private drawing room, nearly burst into tears upon seeing his gaunt form.
He was at an age where he should have been eating well, yet he looked so frail from constant hunger that her throat clenched with emotion.
“P-Please, have some of this!”
Daisy hurried to slice the fruit into bite-sized pieces. Calix, confused, asked,
“What is this?”
“What else? It’s an apple!”
“…Who sent it?”
“Oh, it was from the hometown friend I told you about before.”
Thinking of the Rose who had just visited, Daisy smiled brightly.
“I mentioned it before, didn’t I? We were really close growing up. We didn’t get to see each other often because of family issues, but we stayed in touch through letters, but’s a very dear friend.”
“And why would that person bring me this?”
Even though he was so hungry his stomach felt like it was stuck to his spine, Calix didn’t accept it easily.
He had seen baseless malice often in the palace, but never baseless kindness.
“Ah… I’m sorry, Your Highness. I’d asked her before if she could help out.”
Excited to finally feed the crown prince, Daisy dropped her gaze in guilt as his expression hardened.
“Didn’t you say that friend works in that woman’s palace?”
“…Yes, that’s right.”
“And yet she’s bringing food to me?”
“Yes, and she said this won’t be the last time, but plans to stop by again.”
“Could it be… Lady Haisley sent it?”
“…I don’t think so.”
Calix’s expression flickered with confusion for just a moment before he composed himself again.
The first thing he’d learned in the palace was how to hide his emotions. But Daisy, who had served him for a long time, noticed even that faint trace of emotion and spoke up.
“It’s alright. I’ve already tested everything.”
She had even checked for poison, just in case.
Smiling, she placed the neatly cut apples in front of him.
Unable to hold back his hunger any longer, Calix bit into the apple.
Its sweet-tart flavor filled his mouth with saliva.
“I brought other food too, but for now, please fill up on this. I’ll run back and cook something warm right away!”
Seeing him eat with such appetite, Daisy smiled with pride and quickly left the drawing room.
Only then did Calix eat the apple in peace.
Having gone nearly three days without food, it tasted better than anything else in the world.
Then, the memory of what had happened a week ago surfaced.
She had clearly tried to pour scalding tea on him.
He could tell just by looking at the servant who approached with a sneer on her face.
He could have avoided it, but chose not to.
He thought that if he just endured the injury, she’d be satisfied and leave him alone.
She was so desperate to leave a scar on him in any way she could.
“Sister, huh… Ha.”
He had never imagined, not even in his worst dreams, that Bianca and Lea—who had appeared only five years ago—would come to dominate the palace like this.
His father had hastily brought Bianca into the imperial family and kept her close at his side, as if afraid someone might snatch her away.
Calix didn’t know exactly why Lea, unlike the empress, had never been granted a noble title.
The only reason he’d ever called someone unrelated by blood ‘Sister’ was because of the empress.
The Emperor hadn’t stopped her ridiculous demands.
And so, Calix had no choice but to call a woman with no known background his ‘Sister’.
