Beneath the Surviving Princess's Joyful Facade - Chapter 134

Eirik, who had been silently washing her body for some time, finally spoke, his voice filled with regret. “It must have been the cheap tobacco. The scent is quite strong.”

“Huh?”

“On the battlefield, they give tobacco to those who’ve lost a lot of blood. It helps to stop the bleeding. I tried to refrain from smoking, fearing it would become a habit, but sometimes the urge is overwhelming.”

“……”

“It’s so cheap and poor in quality that I usually avoid it. I don’t even enjoy cigars anymore because they make me crave it more.”

“Ah.”

As she nodded in understanding, he looked up, seemingly lost in thought, and then laughed to himself.

“I have another strange habit.”

“…What else could there be?” she asked, curious.

“If you react like that now, I’ll be hurt,” he teased.

“I’m sorry. Go ahead, tell me anything.”

Seeing Miesa’s serious expression, Eirik leaned forward, matching her seriousness, and spoke in a low voice as if confessing a secret. “Sometimes, I feel the urge to put my feet up on a well-set table.”

“My goodness.” Miesa’s eyes widened, her mouth agape. But to her shock, this was not the end of his confession.

“With shoes caked in dirt.”

Though she had done many wild things, the strict dining etiquette she had been taught since childhood meant such a thought had never crossed her mind.

“How… how did you even think of something like that?”

As Miesa blinked in astonishment, he leaned back against the bathroom wall and let out a hearty laugh.

As the dawn light streamed through the bathroom window, his face shone brightly, like that of a carefree boy. Seeing him laugh so freely made Miesa feel a mix of emotions.

Despite witnessing his strange habits, her feelings for Eirik hadn’t diminished in the slightest. In fact, knowing this new side of him made her heart flutter even more.

“I love you,” she said, the words slipping out before she could stop them.

Eirik stopped laughing, startled by her direct confession. It was the first time he had heard such words from her.

He mulled over her words with a bewildered expression before shaking his head playfully. “What should I do? I’m not sure of my feelings.”

“How could you say that? You don’t know your own heart now?”

Miesa splashed water at him, unable to accept that he could so easily withdraw after tormenting her the night before. But Eirik simply chuckled mischievously.

“Since Your Majesty doesn’t know my heart, it’s only natural that I wouldn’t know it either.”

Seeing him smile, a grin slowly spread across Miesa’s face too, and she giggled along with him.

“You seemed to like me a lot last night,” she teased.

“Maybe it’s just your body I’m fond of,” he replied, rubbing his nose.

Miesa couldn’t help but burst into laughter. It was something she would never have imagined him saying, yet it was so typical of him to add a little gesture, like rubbing his nose, to signal he was joking, just in case she took offense.

“You’re such an odd person that only someone like me could handle you.”

Eirik, who had been smiling at her generous comment, suddenly looked exasperated. “I don’t understand. Does everything I’ve done for you so far mean nothing?”

“…No, it means a lot,” Miesa replied, her confidence deflating as she lowered her head. She had expected him to start explaining himself, but for some reason, he remained silent.

When she looked up in surprise, Eirik had a thoughtful expression, as if he had realized something.

“I guess I’ll have to live my life to the fullest, without a care in the world.”

“What?”

“To prove my love for you, Your Majesty. Come to think of it, my mother used to say it often too—if you want to live long, you have to live to the fullest.”

“……”

Miesa was sure the former Margravine Cladnier had said it in a more refined and metaphorical way. But her son’s tone had completely changed because of what had happened last night.

“It wouldn’t do to live a short life with no one left around me because I was too strict with myself.”

Miesa didn’t understand how he had reached this conclusion, but she found herself liking him no matter what he did. However, his mention of an early death reminded her of something she needed to say.

“There’s something I need to tell you,” she began.

“Those are my favorite words. But the water’s getting cold, shall we get out of the bath first?”

Eirik dried Miesa’s wet body meticulously and carried her to the sofa in the bedroom. As he dried her hair, Miesa pondered how to begin.

“When I confess first, you always forgive me,” she said.

“Forgive? How could I dare?” he replied.

No. It wasn’t right to start with the topic of Finime. She bit her lip, reconsidering, when Eirik, who had been drying her hair, seemed to notice something.

He turned her face toward him. “Where did you pick up such a habit?”

“Oh, those ladies yesterday…”

“That won’t do. I’ll check the list and ban them all from the palace,” he said.

Miesa stared at him in surprise. It seemed he truly did love her. He was even willing to banish everyone who might have influenced her small habit.

But why on earth did he do it? Unable to hold back, Miesa asked him.

“Why do you seem unaffected by seeing Tilberg and Cullen?”

“…I was wondering what happened yesterday, and now I understand.”

Eirik clicked his tongue. He had been puzzled by Miesa’s occasional sharp remarks, not understanding why she seemed upset. But now, as he pieced together the scattered clues…

“You’re upset because I didn’t take any action against those who harbored feelings for Your Majesty, yet I took the side of the ladies who coveted me?”

As Eirik neatly summarized the situation, Miesa blushed. “Saying it like that makes me sound foolish.”

“No, I was wrong. I can see why you were upset.”

He grinned as he continued to dry her hair. But, of course, he didn’t forget to add, “That’s why I’ve decided to live my life to the fullest from now on. There’s no point in being dignified if it only leads to misunderstandings with you.”

“For how long?”

Miesa’s question made him pause in thought.

Tilberg and Cullen no longer seemed to harbor feelings for Miesa. In fact, they appeared more fearful of her. There was no need to be overly concerned about them. But should he stop his morning training? No, not all dangers had disappeared. Smoking also dulled the senses, so that was out of the question.

Not inclined to drinking or gambling, Eirik thought for a long time before shaking his head.

“I’m not sure. The way I’ve lived so far is deeply ingrained, so it won’t be easy to change overnight.”

“What is that? You sounded so determined.”

Miesa giggled at seeing this unfamiliar, lighter side of him, but then remembered what she needed to say. Carefully choosing her words, she began.

“You know, Sellas tried to pull something on my mother.”

“What?”

Eirik, who had been laughing, instantly stiffened. Miesa slowly explained what had happened. As she recounted the events, veins started to bulge on his forehead.

“That filthy bastard.”

“And… I met with my grandfather and learned more about what happened,” she continued, explaining the details she had discovered later. His jaw tightened, and he trembled with anger.

“Miesa.”

“And so, I actually tormented him quite a bit. Sellas is now… well, he’s in shambles.”

“You did well.” Eirik rested his forehead against hers, taking a deep breath. He repeated the words again, “You did well.”

“And there’s something else I need to tell you.” Miesa didn’t know why she felt nervous, but she continued cautiously, “Duke Salachez interrogated him…”

“That damn Duke Salachez. So that’s why he said that.”

He muttered something she couldn’t understand. Miesa was curious about its meaning but couldn’t stop herself from continuing.

“Three days before the national wedding, I was given a drug called Finime. So Gella has gone to find out what it is—”

“Finime?” Eirik’s face turned pale in an instant. “Three days before the national wedding… it’s been almost a year, hasn’t it?”

This was the first time she had seen him so visibly shaken. It was clear he knew something about the drug.

“Why… No, wait.”

Eirik quickly gathered his thoughts, his rational mind taking over as it always did in a crisis.

“Is that all you’ve discovered so far?” he asked, rising to his feet.

He then turned to Miesa and said, “I’m going to retract what I said before. From now on, I’ll handle their interrogations myself.”

“Interrogations?” Miesa asked, standing up to follow him. But Eirik’s expression was unusually serious.

“The fact that you had to send Gella away to find out what Finime is means you didn’t get a full confession from them.”

“…That’s right.”

“Finime is a deadly poison that has been passed down through the ruling family of the Principality of Sidate. I learned about it during the war. But that’s not the important part.”

It’s a poison that remains dormant in the body, seemingly harmless, until it begins to rot the body from the inside exactly three years later. The New Year’s festival was coming soon, and the Principality of Sidate would be sending an envoy to celebrate the new queen’s coronation. He could negotiate or threaten them to get the antidote, but that didn’t mean all the problems in Eirik’s mind were resolved.

“I thought Duke Salachez was competent, so I didn’t step in, but now I see his limitations,” he said.

With nothing left to say, Miesa could only nod in agreement.