The Princess' Bedroom Doll

Chapter 53

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Raha quietly opened her mouth. Unlike earlier when the cold ice was pouring down, this time the medicine mixed with lukewarm water came in. 

Shed frowned lightly and gently rubbed Raha’s lips softly. So this was the problem. 

Constantly, constantly, tirelessly. It was this warmth that made people numb. The fact that that was a problem to the extent that it was heartbreaking for Raha. Did this slave really do not know? Or was he not interested?

At one moment, she found herself surrounded by the desire to cry. Her eyes were not wet. There were countless times she wanted to cry, but it was a natural predisposition as an imperial princess who could not cry easily.

Just …………..

The problem was that Shed’s eyes were fixed on her cloudy face.

What in the world was he staring at with such a pale complexion? This was the moment when Raha turned her head to feign a blank look.

Shed hugged Raha deeply.

“……I’m sorry.”

“……..”

In an instant, Raha was completely speechless. His apology choked her. Who the hell was this slave to her, who has been hacked to pieces and put a dagger in her heart like that?

Why…

His warmth was terribly sweet. If she could, she just wanted to stick to him like moss.

He was the one person in this non-normal life that was just too normal and even that was not right. Her eyes were burning before she could stop herself. Her dark blue eyes filled with tears.

Tears that flowed soundlessly along her cheeks.

How long had she cried? Shed kept hugging Raha, who was dribbling tears like a doll in his embrace, without saying a word.

He thought of the image of the imperial princess who one day saw the dead bodies of the slaves, slapped him on the cheek, and left like a broken doll.

Just like that time, Raha was only shedding tears.

“He won’t allow me to treat her.”

Oliver’s barely brooding confession.

Raha buried her face in Shed’s chest and was still for a long time like a malfunctioning doll. Knowing that his body temperature was slowly cooling, Shed hugged Raha’s back.

How much time had passed? Raha realized the existence of a blanket over her shoulders. Shed, who sat with his upper body leaning on the bed head, covered Raha’s body with a blanket. The cloud-like touch wrapped around her body, and the eyes, which constantly shed tears, were tired.

At one moment, Raha began to doze off. After a while, she fell completely asleep in Shed’s arms. Shed looked down at the sleeping Princess.

He slowly brushed Raha’s hair back behind her ear. The Princess did not wake up and Shed could not sleep.

“…….”

After looking down at the imperial Princess for a while, Shed carefully placed her on the bed. After covering the blanket up to her neck, Shed got off the bed.

Raha came today carrying a large bouquet of flowers. Shed noticed without difficulty that it made Raha feel a little better.

Raha liked live flowers.

The look on her face when she saw the wilted bouquet was horrendous, though.

The maids of Raha’s Palace hoped that Shed would continue to please their master. Thanks to this, the bedrooms of this inner palace were filled with unfinished items here and there that would become “finished” when Shed touched it.

Take, for example, this empty vase.

A white porcelain vase with a gold rim was only half full of water with melted snow in it. All they had to do was put flowers in that vase, but they left that part for Shed. At first he thought it was a skit, but now she was wondering if there was anything in this situation that was not a skit.

He hoped the Princess could laugh a little even if it was a skit.

Shed untied the ribbon holding the bouquet together and placed the flowers in the vase. After a moderate amount of arrangement, he placed them on the side table by the bed.

Next day.

“…….”

Shed did not see what expression Raha had on her face when she saw this vase. She touched the lively, aqueous petals blankly and suddenly came to her senses.

She was unfamiliar with this kind of feeling. She felt her fingers tense up. It made it unbearable to know that the man who made her like this was now a slave who had to leave her soon.

She tried to leave the inner palace bedroom, but in the end, she took out a single flower and held it in her hand as she left. Raha took it back to her bedroom in the outer palace and put it in an empty vase, and for a long time she gazed at that one flower alone.

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05. About love

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Nearly a month had passed since the tears had been shed.

Raha could not hurt Shed with calm words as before. When she opened her mouth, words didn’t come out as if someone had strangled her. It was a force majeure. All she could do was not smile as often as before, that was all.

Even then, the arrogant slave just stared at her. As if Raha’s cold behavior didn’t matter to him. Or as if he had noticed that she acted cold on purpose.

The thought, “I knew I shouldn’t have cried then,” filled Raha’s head, but she couldn’t help it. The tears at that time were not the kind that Raha could control.

While Raha was in the inner palace, things outside progressed slowly.

Jamela prepared for the competition even more diligently, especially on the days when Karzen would not let Raha go until midnight.

This even caused the odd phenomenon of the date being moved up.

“It’s almost spring.”

“Yes. It’s closer to the end of winter.”

Late winter and early spring were close.

It was a little vague, but it didn’t hurt.

“By the way, Princess.”

“Yes.”

Jamela looked at Raha with strange eyes and said.

“I heard that all the additions of the Marquis of Neslien will be sorted out within a week.”

“Yes.”

I hear that the young master, who’ll be the bedroom slave, will be in soon.”

Raha looked at Jamela without reply. Jamela lowered her gaze, staring at Raha for a moment.

“Even if the Nesliens have committed inadequacies, they can raise their tiles in the combat competition because of the significant achievements they have made in the war.”

“Do what you want to do, Young Lady.”

“I understand, Your Royal Highness. I hope I haven’t given you too much trouble.”

Raha blinked.

“It can’t be. We are about to become a family, and this is just a simple chat.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

Jamela smiled shyly. Afterwards, Raha talked with Jameela more about the competition, and heard a new story.

To be precise, it was what Karzen said.

“Since we are going to hold the combat competition grandly this time, we should invite the Priests from the Holy Land?”

“Yes?”

Jamela asked back with a flustered look on her face.

“But ……. Such a precedent…. ….”

“Precedent, you can set one, Young Lady.”

Jamela quickly and politely put her hands together.

“If it is His Majesty’s will, I will gladly obey.”

Karzen seemed bored with this recent situation, which had prevented him from leaving the War of Conquest for more than two seasons. Therefore, he was going to enjoy, if anything, calling in the biggest catch he had harvested in recent times.

Raha hoped that Jamela would not say that she would raise Marquis Neslien’s title. Raha also thought that she would not.

Indeed, as the daughter of a great noble, Jamela had good instincts. She didn’t say a word during the lunch time together or during the tea time afterwards.

“I understand that the combat competition’s qualifying round will be held anonymously?”

“Yes, Your Imperial Highness. His Majesty said it would be good.”

“Masks will sell like hot cakes in the capital for the time being.”

Raha chuckled.

While everything was being prepared smoothly, the Holy Land sent their priests.

No one knew that this was not a good intention, but an insult, because Karzen was alive and well, and so were his soldiers. The Delo Empire was simply like envoys wearing steel all over their bodies, with little to stop them now.

“Hello, High Priest Amar.”

“It has been a long time since I have seen you. Princess Raha.”

Karzen politely entertained the delegation, including the priests from the Holy Land. Even that was probably meant as a taunt, but it did not look bad. Raha, who had selected and assigned the best lodging far from the imperial palace, met and greeted High Priest Amar in person.

“I look forward to your prayer.”

“Yes, Princess.”

What was unexpected was that the captain of the Kingsguard was standing near Raha and the High Priest.

‘Did Karzen send him?’

She didn’t know Karzen was still suspicious.

It would be nice to have words with High Priest Amar, but Raha was a little disappointed that it was not possible.

“Ah, come to think of it. I must give my blessing to His Majesty’s fiancée.”

“Oh my.”

Jamela smiled brightly.

“I am honored, High Priest.”

High Priest Amar congratulated Jamela on her engagement to Karzen. A High priest was still a High Priest, even if he was not the same as before, having been trampled by the Delo Empire. It was also a great honor for the nobles to hear directly from him the blessing to live richly.

Jamela smiled kindly at High Priest Amar and together they went over the matters that would take place the next day at the entrance to the huge temple.

The temple where the altar was set up was very large. Located within the Imperial Palace, the temple was said to be the place where the first emperor established ties with the Holy Land and laid the foundation. It has been enlarged and grown into one of the largest temples in the country.

Despite this immensity, it was somewhat deserted because only a limited number of people were allowed into the Imperial Palace. Priests administered and prayed there on a daily basis, but it was understandably quiet compared to the temples visited by many people in the vibrant capital.