TPOP 74

Chapter 74

***

The problem wasn’t that the wound on her foot was festering; it's that if it became infected or started to rot, it would be a disaster. It's summer, so they must be especially diligent about disinfection, yet already pus was visible…

Time passed without any improvement. The Crown Prince's gaze, who had ordered the maid to be treated, grew harsher day by day.

This was not a good sign in many ways. Gerard, once the Empress's personal physician, was one of the very few confidants who knew the Crown Prince's true nature. He was also the first to diagnose his character flaws. He knew well how the Crown Prince had expressed his anger toward those who displeased him since childhood.

"Miss Diana. This kind of defiance is not a wise approach. If you had served His Highness closely, you would have guessed as much. That he is not like ordinary people..."

Though he offered these words, the maid's condition was far from good. It wasn't just her injured foot; she seemed mentally pushed to extremes, struggling with rational thought.

He had heard the details from Emile, the head lady-in-waiting of the main palace. The woman had lost her mind since the day the forest burned.

The physician's troubled gaze drifted toward the hunting grounds outside the window.

The hunting grounds had shrunk by half overnight. One evening, a fire broke out in the forest, but neither the forest keepers nor the hunting ground keepers made much effort to suppress it.

The fire spread along the riverbank, consuming all the grass and trees near the water's edge, finally dying down around dawn. Though the fire didn't cross the river due to its proximity to the water, the damage was severe.

Trees charred and snapped at the waist, along with acrid ash, sank into the river. The water, thick with burnt debris, lost its original clear blue hue and turned murky and dark.

That forest had been the Empress's favorite place in life, and the Crown Prince, inheriting her disposition, also frequented it so often he took a walk there at least once a day.

Yet no one knew why the Crown Prince suddenly ordered the forest burned.

Only the physician, judging by the maid's reaction, speculated it might be related to her.

And one more thing. The current situation following the forest's burning was unlikely part of Crown Prince Felix's plan. After the maid's feet were horribly mangled, the daily routines of those serving the Crown Prince also came to a halt.

Three days ago, all the servants of the main palace received a harsh reprimand from the Crown Prince. The reason was to find out who had told the maid, Diana, about the forest.

"We do not speak to Miss Diana without permission, Your Highness. Only Head Maid Emile ever converses with her. Please forgive us…!"

"It seems she caught the scent from an open window. The distance is considerable, but if not that, then there's no explanation…."

Had Duke Hugo Christen not been present that day, a bloodbath would undoubtedly have ensued. Fortunately, no swords were drawn, but instead, a chilling warning was issued: anyone who dared to offer Diana a helping hand or allow her to take even a single step outside the room would have their head severed.

It was only natural that the palace servants were gripped by terror. The maids, who had been excitedly preparing to serve the gentle Crown Prince, now felt their hearts shrink with fear. No one, not even the head maid Emile, dared speak to Diana anymore.

Only the elderly physician occasionally addressed her, but the woman remained silent, as if struck dumb.

The blind maid leaning her head against the armchair slowly closed her eyes. Once she closed them like that, she rarely woke. It had already been several days since she had eaten properly. Day by day, the woman grew thinner, curled up like a small pebble in the armchair or on the sofa all day long.

Only when everyone watching her had left the room did she move.

If only it were the opposite.

Dragging her injured foot, she searched so desperately for a way out of the bedroom and the secret chamber that tiny bloodstains dotted the floor everywhere.

The maids wiped away the dried blood with damp cloths, but there was a limit. Footprints were even left on the table and the side table. The woman was desperately seeking a way out of this place.

At first, those who grumbled about the maid's antics increasing their workload gradually fell silent as time passed. Each time the servants grabbed her arms and dragged her back to the bed, the woman's entire face became drenched in tears. The tears streaming from her unfocused eyes tore at the hearts of those who saw her.

Being blind, she couldn't put up much resistance against those forcing her. Moreover, even the slightest misstep carried twice the risk of injury compared to an ordinary person. Bumping some part of her body against the bed's edge or stumbling over an obstacle without seeing it were daily occurrences. Each time, the stitched wounds on her feet would tear open. How could they ever heal?

The real trouble began after the Crown Prince discovered the commotion. For the first few days, he patiently soothed and embraced the maid, but his patience quickly wore thin. So lately, the royal physician walked on thin ice every single day.

"Just a glass of water, please."

Then, the maid's dry lips moved. The royal physician's expression, which had briefly brightened, darkened again.

"I'm so thirsty..."

"You can drink when His Highness arrives."

"Not now? Not now? Any water would do."

"You know it's forbidden. His Highness has strictly prohibited it. He'll be here soon, so bear with it a little longer."

"......"

"If you wish to drink water freely, cease this futile resistance. Not only is harming yourself a problem, but this only serves to provoke His Highness’s anger. If he learns of this again today, imagine the scolding you'll receive...."

"What have I done wrong? I merely moved my body of my own volition."

Her tone was barren, yet her voice lacked strength, perhaps from exhaustion. The royal physician struggled to defend the Crown Prince.

"His Highness cares deeply for you. He has no other way..."

Diana laughed silently. Even the physician who spoke grew solemn.

"Of course, that doesn't mean his methods are right. But you are also a citizen of Karman. At the very least, try to understand His Highness..."

Behind the physician, who was doing his utmost to placate her, the door opened. The physician composed his sorrowful gaze and quickly stepped back. The Crown Prince had returned.

Felix checked on Diana, huddled in the armchair, the moment he opened the door. He then scanned the table and sofa, where a bloodstained bandage the physician hadn't managed to clear away remained on the table.

"The wound must have burst open again?"

"It is not so severe today, Your Highness."

"I should hope not. Leave."

The physician's worried gaze lingered on her until he had completely exited the room.

Diana must have known Felix had entered, yet she kept her eyes closed. She didn't spring up to offer the proper greeting, nor did she even lift her head toward the Crown Prince. It was a treatment worse than that given to a commoner on the street.

At first, he thought she was simply exhausted and asleep, but this wasn't sleep either. The moment he left her side, she would bolt upright, wander around the room, and end up reopening the wounds on her feet.

Felix leaned toward her, gripping both armrests of the armchair. As he approached, Diana's breathing wavered slightly.

Look. She was fully conscious yet deliberately ignoring him. It was more than defiance; it was a protest. Felix's voice carried a hint of anger.

"If you keep acting like this, I'll tie you to this chair until you're fully healed. "

His patience was wearing thin. This pointless standoff had already dragged on for seven days.

Three days prior, Diana had finally resorted to using her elemental power.

The trouble began when he placed the kettle and water cup on the side table to administer anti-inflammatory medicine, forgetting to clear them away. By the time Felix returned, the side table was half-shattered. The teapot and water glass were, of course, shattered to pieces.

According to the maid who was with Diana at the time, the perfectly intact water glass had suddenly exploded.

That very night, Felix even found what was clearly a shard of broken glass—a piece of the shattered water glass—between the cushions of the sofa where Diana often received treatment. Unaware he had taken the shard, Diana repeatedly felt around that spot with her hand. When she realized the piece was gone, she clenched her lips in frustration. 

Hiding something that could be used as a weapon in the Crown Prince's private quarters? That alone was grounds to be dragged out and hanged immediately, yet she failed to grasp how leniently she was being treated. No, she didn't even care.

After that, Felix forbade anyone from placing any kind of liquid near her. He wouldn't allow even a glass of water to be given to her when he wasn't watching, and he locked the bathroom door. He only opened it briefly to let her out to relieve herself, instructing that she be brought back immediately, not a single drop of moisture touching her.

Diana never needed the bathroom to begin with. Even without bathing, she always smelled of fresh wildflowers and was spotless from head to toe.

The thought that even this might stem from her unknown power sent Felix's mood plummeting to rock bottom.