Chapter 79
****
When she awoke, she was by the window where a gentle breeze blew.
Diana blinked her heavy eyelids and sat up. She had been unconscious and ill for several days. It was the first time she had suffered such a severe fever since she had been bedridden for three days at the secondary palace.
While she was out of it, there had been one presence by her bed that hadn't moved an inch, and several pairs of feet that had been constantly shuffling nearby. But now, there was no one.
'No...'
That didn't mean there was no presence at all.
It was certain. A spirit was nearby. A being lighter than wind and clearer than a water droplet beckoned to her from very close by. Diana raised her upper body as if drawn by a magnet.
How could a spirit be here?
‘Ah, come to think of it, I think I heard a voice before I fainted.’
There was a water spirit that had survived the burned forest.
Diana took a step off the bed and realized her feet no longer hurt.
Soft, thickly padded socks were on her feet. She slipped her hand inside and felt a scab over the wound on her sole. Enough time had passed for the injury to heal.
"Can you move, Miss Diana?"
The unfamiliar voice came from somewhere behind her. Diana startled and turned her head.
"It's good to see you up. I've been worrying myself sick these past seven days."
It was a woman's voice, soft as a breeze. She seemed to be the source of the faint scent of medicine lingering in the air. Diana turned back toward where the voice might be coming from.
"Who are you?"
"I'm a royal physician from Ormance. My name is Zoe Aino. You can call me Zoe."
"Why is a physician from Ormance here?"
The name came as a surprise. Ormance. A kingdom in the northeast of the Karman Empire. The former territory of Dortes lay far to the northwest of Karman, making it even more unfamiliar.
“His Royal Highness, the Prince of Ormance, whom I serve, arrived to lead the allied nations’ delegation to His Majesty the Emperor of Karman’s birthday banquet. Just before departure, he caught a mild cold, so I accompanied him. We were about to return home after our stay in Karman when His Royal Highness the Crown Prince summoned me.”
It was a kind explanation, but the reason remained a complete mystery. Where had the imperial physician who had been treating her until she collapsed gone, and why had they brought in a doctor from another country?
Zoe kindly added.
"I am also a disciple of Gerard, the chief physician of the Karman Imperial Court. It's embarrassing to say so myself, but I'm a step above my master. The change in physicians may be sudden, but don't worry. Dr. Gerard will also stop by this afternoon."
"...I see. Thank you."
But Diana still couldn't shake the question: 'Why?' After being ill for days and waking up, now she had to be treated by a physician from another country? Could she have developed a serious illness?
Then, couldn't she use that as an excuse to leave the palace?
"By the way, you woke up at just the right moment. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Karman has just gone up to his study. He was here until ten minutes ago, making it impossible to breathe."
Her approaching footsteps sounded loud. Diana realized Zoe was deliberately making noise to signal her location. It was a thoughtful gesture.
"Here, take this. You mustn't let your body get cold."
Diana cautiously reached out her hand. A warm blanket touched her fingertips.
Even wrapped in the blanket, the chill pierced her body like needles. Only after taking and drinking the beverage the woman placed in her hand did the shivering convulsions cease.
A breeze carrying the heat of summer entered through the open window. The sunlight streaming down was scorching. The season was past the midpoint of summer. There was no smell of smoke.
There was no sign of Felix anywhere. Diana set down the empty cup.
"This is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's bedroom, correct? Are the guard knights stationed outside? How many are there?"
"Hmm, three in front of the bedroom, seven in front of the living room."
Ten in total. Twice as many as before she collapsed. Some of those nearby were surely listening intently to the conversation happening in this room right now.
Zoe tapped the back of her left hand.
"I'd like to check your pulse. Would you hold out your hand?"
Diana hesitantly extended her left hand. A hand of pleasant warmth enveloped hers. For a moment, Zoe’s body heat touched the inside of her wrist as if checking her pulse.
It was the next instant. That’s when Zoe began acting strangely.
A tingling sensation spread across her palm, which was facing upward. Zoe wrote letters on Diana’s palm with her index finger.
<You're a Spirit Summoner, right?>
Diana froze like a block of ice.
<From Dortes?>
Goosebumps rose at the formless letters left on her palm.
"Let go, let go!"
She gritted her teeth, trying to pull her hand away. But Zoe warned her firmly.
"It's okay, Diana. It's just your energy waning. Take a few deep breaths and you'll feel better soon."
"Let go of me!"
The commotion inside drew the sound of knights moving outside the door. Knight Arnold knocked and called out.
"Doctor, is something wrong?"
"Nothing at all. I just accidentally dropped a medicine packet."
Zoe answered calmly. But the words swiftly scrawled across Diana's palm told a different story.
<Don't be alarmed. There are many ears listening.>
<If you need help, please tell me immediately.>
"I will. Thank you."
Diana gripped the woman's hand tightly, as if clutching her own wrist. Her index finger trembled violently as she wrote on Zoe's palm.
<What are you?>
Zoe didn't ask if she was a spirit summoner to test her. She asked with certainty.
Felix was the only one in all of Karman who knew Diana was a woman connected to spirits. It seemed unlikely he would have disclosed that fact to a foreign physician, so how on earth…
<Various phenomena occurred while I was unconscious. A scholar who has studied spirits would recognize them easily.>
Zoe looked at the maid, who had turned pale. Despite not having washed for days, she remained as clean and clear as ever. Her face had grown gaunt due to the miscarriage, but the glistening moisture across her body had only deepened.
The water in the pitcher by the bed swirled, and moisture in the air condensed into droplets that moistened Diana's dry lips. The moment she first witnessed that phenomenon, Zoe nearly fainted. There was still an elemental left!
<I haven't reported it to the Crown Prince of Karman, but I will inform His Highness Prince Ormance, my master.>
Diana clasped her hand and shook her head desperately. If the secret went from one person to two, then two to three, to four, it would spread like wildfire—it was only a matter of time.
<Please don't tell anyone.>
<That's impossible. I am a servant of Ormance.>
As time passed, the situation grew increasingly perilous. Felix, even knowing Diana was a spirit summoner, showed no signs of coveting her power or seeking to exploit her politically. But who knew how a prince of another nation might act?
And if the final secret of her origins were revealed... Even she herself dared not imagine what whirlpool her fate might be swept into.
She could trust no one. She must not trust anyone.
<But if you are imprisoned here, and if you intend to leave this place, I can help you.>
<How?>
<Once you escape Karman, Ormance could become your refuge. That's what I plan to ask His Highness the Prince. You can consider telling you this beforehand my small act of compassion.>
Why me? Diana asked silently with her lips. Zoe smiled, a smile that seemed to linger. Was it the pity a doctor feels for a patient? Or sympathy for a woman who couldn't even imagine what she'd once held and lost? Either one didn't matter.
Zoe wrote the final sentence on the woman's bloodless hand.
<What will you do, Diana?>
***
Zoe stayed another thirty minutes or so before leaving. Having promised her time to think, she gave Diana her medicine, checked her temperature once more, and left the room. As if taking over, Dr. Gerard entered, unwrapped the bandage around Diana's foot, and examined the wound.
Diana lay quietly in bed, offering no resistance. As a final gift, perhaps, Zoe placed a glass of water in her hand before leaving. Diana hid it under the bed.
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