Chapter 95
However, unable to bear it any longer, Carter blamed Cassius Lyssander and stormed out of the room like a child.
Why was he so angry?
But before he could come to a clear answer, Eugenie shifted, making soft noises as if she was about to wake up.
“Ugh…”
It sounded like the groan of someone on the verge of waking. As soon as Carter heard it, concern spread across his face, which had been as clear as ice.
“Eugenie? Can you hear me?”
“Ughhh…”
The woman, who had been unconscious for so long, shifted a few times before finally meeting his gaze. Her amber eyes, dull from exhaustion, locked onto him.
Despite not wanting to assign any more meaning beyond mere “means” to this woman, at that moment, Carter couldn’t stop his heart from softening.
“Carter…”
“Yeah, I’m here.”
Carter gently brushed his hand over her now-thin cheek. For that brief moment, Eugenie Norton felt entirely like his.
“Are you feeling better?”
“Mm…”
Though Eugenie’s eyes were still tinged red, she slowly nodded at Carter’s words. However, as she tried to sit up, he gently placed her back on the bed.
“Lie down properly. I’ll give you some more medicine.”
“Caar….teer…”
“Hmm? Do you have something to say?”
“Th-the… cough, Tristan… and Brother Alfred…”
Carter wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead and responded.
“Wilberforce isn’t locked up in a cell, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
Despite the casual reply, Carter’s mind was filled with hatred. What should be done about Wilberforce later?
‘Damn those Hornigold pirates.’
He had supported them, yet couldn’t even take care of just one thing?
But Eugenie, oblivious to his thoughts, simply coughed lightly.
“Cough, that should be expected… and Tristan? Is he quiet?”
“Hmm. For now, they’ve handled it in a way that’s completely unrelated to this side of things. They’re just saying he’s bedridden in the palace.”
Thanks to avoiding the hunting grounds and retrieving Alfred’s bullet in time, there were no traces left behind. However, even with all the connections he had, it was impossible to find out Tristan’s exact condition.
This difficulty, even with the power of high-ranking families, meant…
“Empress Silvea is deliberately trying to cover up the Crown Prince’s condition.”
“Mm.”
“But that doesn’t mean he’s dead or that anything too strange has happened.”
If it had, rumors would have definitely spread beyond the Crown Prince’s bedroom.
Eugenie, recalling what happened at the hunting grounds, hesitated before speaking.
“Carter… the truth is, I wasn’t able to finish things… I feel like I didn’t give it my all.”
“If you’re going to criticize yourself like that, I won’t stop you, Eugenie.”
“Heh, you’re not denying it though. Anyway, I don’t feel like I really gave it my all until the end…”
“Eugenie, what exactly are you trying to say?”
Eugenie covered her eyes with both hands and fell silent.
And when he spoke again, it was with an uncertain tone that made even the listener worry.
“I… I feel like I might have messed something up when I brought Tristan back…?”
It felt like one of those spine-chilling mistakes you make when you solve all the problems correctly but end up writing your answers in the wrong space on the test paper.
＊ ＊ ＊
The palace had been brightly lit for several days, maintaining a constant state of emergency. The grand parade and the debutante ball that had been planned after the hunting event had long been canceled.
“Ah, Tristan! Tristan, my child…”
Above all, Empress Silvea was wailing with her hair unbound. For those in the palace, the sight itself was more terrifying than anything else.
Was she afraid that the Crown Prince might not wake up?
No. After all, the best doctors were already attending to him, so it was expected he would eventually regain consciousness.
What the people were really afraid of was the state the Crown Prince would wake up in—whether he would return more deformed than before.
And depending on his condition after awakening, how would Empress Silvea direct her fury…
Even the Emperor had fled to the deepest chambers, fearing what the Empress might say.
Tristan, pale and lifeless, sprawled like a corpse. And Empress Silvea, sobbing as she held her son’s hand…
Behind Silvea, only Alokes remained calm, tilting his head with a composed face.
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