Chapter 33

“If you don’t leave right now, I’ll request a visitation ban.”

“See you later, Bri.”

Callisten quickly disappeared when she spoke as if angry.

Briseyes sighed and frowned, then suddenly looked in the mirror. Looking at the mirror, she saw that much of the swelling had subsided.

Perhaps because of this, she felt her anger subsiding a bit.

She then picked up her pen after opening the books and notes she had stacked to study even in the hospital room.

⁕⁕⁕

“The investigation of the Endar ruby mine is complete. It’s estimated that we can mine for about another year.”

“That’s longer than expected.”

“Yes, it is. And this information has been classified as confidential, so only you, Your Highness, and the head of Ferandis Trading Company know about it.”

“Good work.”

Briseyes also had to meet with the aide who came to her on business matters. The aide tried to resolve most issues alone, but couldn’t avoid coming for matters that absolutely required Briseyes.

“Have some fruit while you’re here.”

“If I had known, I would have brought something other than fruit.”

The aide said this because he had also brought a basket of fruit for Briseyes. Her private room was already filled with all kinds of fruit baskets.

About half of them were brought by Saturn and Evusi.

“Were the flowers brought by the Grand Duke?”

“Those are from Callisten.”

“Ah, His Highness the Crown Prince……”

Briseyes suddenly realized that she hadn’t seen Demian since she first regained consciousness after being hospitalized.

“What has Demian been doing?”

“That…… Well……”

The aide frequently traveled to and from the Mays Grand Duke’s residence, so he had heard a lot about Demian. He also knew where Demian was.

“Is it difficult to say?”

“I’ll tell you.”

Aide Memphis suddenly remembered what her close maid Ella had said.

‘Memphis is on my side, right?’

‘Yes.’

‘Then you need to record everything the Grand Duke does. Please.’

“Ella was curious about that too.”

“Ah, right. Please cooperate well with Ella.”

Aide Memphis nodded. He also trusted Ella, whom Briseyes trusted.

“Ella can be a bit clumsy, so please take good care of her, Aide Memphis.”

“What? Yes.”

Briseyes smiled when she saw Aide Memphis’s face redden at the mention of Ella. Their subtle relationship was something everyone knew about except the two of them.

She was taking a step back and watching.

“The Grand Duke is staying at the Feril Hotel with Miss Delilah.”

“Feril would be favorable when asked to pass on information about guests.”

“Yes, I’ve already received it.”

“Is he attending the Academy well?”

“Yes.”

“I see.”

Briseyes felt strange that the two were staying at a hotel but not coming to see her. She knew they would get along well, but it was odd that they hadn’t visited her even once while she was in the hospital.

It was even more ridiculous that former Grand Duchess Abenr had stopped by, though not for a hospital visit.

“Please keep recording their activities consistently as Ella said. I would also appreciate it if you could collect evidence.”

“Yes, I understand. And I will definitely keep the secret.”

“Thank you. And would you leak to my mother that I’m planning to put the mining rights for the Endar ruby mine up for auction?”

“Yes.”

Briseyes smiled at Aide Memphis’s straightforward answer and replied:

“Thank you. You always work so hard, Aide Memphis.”

He smiled awkwardly at those words but looked pleased.

After exchanging many reports and discussions about business, Aide Memphis left.

⁕⁕⁕

“Why is she running a fever?”

Viscount Melvia was making his rounds when he noticed Briseyes had a fever and was dealing with it by calling the nurses.

“We’ve prescribed medication, so you just need to wait a little while.”

“Did I ask about that? I’m asking why she suddenly has a fever. Wasn’t she recovering?”

When Callisten asked angrily, Viscount Melvia couldn’t raise his head out of fear. The other nurses were the same.

“Cal.”

“Bri!”

Briseyes, who had been unable to open her eyes for a long time due to the high fever, finally opened them.

“Leave. You’re too noisy.”

At her words, Callisten smiled with relief.

“Are you really okay?”

“……I think I’ll be fine if you leave. Go. My head hurts.”

Callisten, who had been smiling absently at her words, went to her side and held her hand.

“I want to stay until you get better.”

“I think I’ll get sicker because of you.”

Ignoring her words, he sat down beside her.

“If her fever rises or there’s a problem, please pull the cord on the side.”

The doctor said this and left with the nurses. Callisten had arrived just as the prescription was finished and the treatment was almost complete.

After they left, Callisten could be alone with Briseyes in the hospital room.

“Where are the others?”

“Saturn, Evusi, and Casius came to see you during the day and left. You were just sleeping then.”

“Really? They should have woken me up.”

“They all left without waking you on purpose.”

Callisten felt very strange when he saw Briseyes’s eyes, moist from the fever.

“Why did you come again?”

Briseyes suddenly looked at the time.

“To see you.”

“Did you climb over the palace wall again?”

The time was 11:30.

“Yes.”

Briseyes sighed at his simple answer. Yet she couldn’t help but smile slightly, finding it amusing.

“Go now. I think the medicine is starting to work.”

“Think I’ll go? I absolutely won’t leave today.”

“Don’t you have work to do?”

“I finished everything before coming.”

Briseyes somehow had no energy at all, making it difficult to respond to whatever he said. He was already a challenging person to deal with normally, but feeling sick and without energy made it even more difficult.

“Is the fever really going down?”

He took off his gloves and touched Briseyes’s forehead.

“Hmm, I can’t tell.”

Perhaps because his hands were naturally warm, he didn’t seem to notice how hot her forehead was.

“I’m tired…… And I’m in pain. It’s too hard to deal with you too.”

She felt drowsy from the fever and everything was exhausting. She was also sweating due to her physical condition, and her throat hurt with every breath. Her vision was blurry, perhaps because her eyes were swollen.

Everything felt unreal, as if she were in a state just before falling asleep—hazy and detached from reality.

The sharp sensations that suddenly led from haziness to pain were also overwhelming. She just wanted to remain in that hazy state. But even in that haziness, the momentary sharp pains made even breathing difficult.

“Have you bathed?”

“……No.”

He nodded at her answer.

Then he went outside.

Briseyes closed her eyes, thinking he had finally left.

She lay there in a hazy state that was neither fully asleep nor awake, in a condition where she couldn’t distinguish whether it was reality or not.

She couldn’t tell whether the medicine was working or if she was like this because the medicine wasn’t working well.

She just felt as if she were floating, as if in a dream.

It was just as she was falling deeper between consciousness and unconsciousness, with a ringing ‘beep’ in her ears.

— Clatter.

The door opened, and Callisten entered.

He was carrying a white basin with steam rising from it. Several clean white towels were draped over his other shoulder.

“If you hate it, say you hate it. Then I won’t do it. But if you don’t answer, I’ll wash you.”

“Okay.”

She thought this was a dream, so she answered carelessly.

Whether it was a dream or not, Callisten was wearing a chastity belt anyway. The more he touched her, the more painful it would be for him.

She didn’t find him very threatening, even while thinking this was a dream.

“I’m happy. Thank you for allowing me.”

He approached her with a genuinely happy smile. He put the basin down on the side table and soaked a towel. The sound of water dripping filled the room, and that sound made Briseyes drift further into sleep.

She found the warm sensation on her face quite pleasant. The sensation was slowly wiping her eyes, nose, cheeks, forehead, and lips.

— Squeak, squeak.

She thought this noise wasn’t coming from the bed, but that made her feel even more at ease.

Even in her dream, she believed Callisten wouldn’t do anything to her.

“Does it, feel, good?”

“Yes, it feels good.”

His voice was trembling, so she closed her eyes reassuringly. Then she felt the warm sensation of a towel fiddling with her lips.

Soon, a hard hand, not the towel, touched and caressed her lips.

“Your, lips, are cracked.”

He touched her lips while making strange breathing sounds. Briseyes bit at the sensation on her lips because it tickled.

He gently pressed her teeth and pushed his finger inside.

His hand, now touching her flesh, seemed to tremble but carefully pushed in further.

She unconsciously moved as if to swallow the warmth that entered her mouth, and at that movement, he sighed as he stroked the roof of her mouth with his thumb.

“This, isn’t food.”

Despite his words, she was still not in her right mind. Thinking there might be medicine on his hand that had entered her mouth, she gently chewed and moved again as if to swallow.

He slowly withdrew his hand and unconsciously smiled ecstatically.