But her body was shaking, so she couldnât tell whether someone actually held her or it just felt that way.
Suddenly, it felt like she could hear murmurs in her dream.
âIs it not the duty of the head maid to take care of these matters?â
âI apologize, Your Highness.â
âIs this called being managed?â
âIâm very ashamed of my carelessness.â
âItâll be enough if you stay alert.â
âI beg for your forgiveness, Your Highness.â
âAnd isnât it the duty of the medical officer to treat people?â
ââŚâŚ.Please forgive me, Your Highness. Iâm very confused as to why my healing spells are not having any effect on her body. But, from what I heard from the othersâŚ..I think this is a special condition.â
âYou must remember that youâre being paid, so prepare to justify your incompetence.â
âYes, Your Highness. Please allow me to make a couple of health supplements for the Miss.â
âYeah. I hope you will not give any more excuses this time.â
Van murmured, a glint of anger hidden in his voice. Celestia felt like she was having a nightmare. It felt so real, but it couldnât have been. The Emperor was on a business trip, and even if he had returned, he would have called for her instead of visiting her, she thought.
She kept on losing and gaining her consciousness again and again. After a few minutes, she felt a warm hand touching her forehead.
Then, she slipped into another dream in which the voice of the Duke of Thiaheb, who was the friend of the Emperor, floated in. It was set with the voice of the Emperor. The Emperorâs attractive face and the Dukeâs hard-to-remember face were in her mind to match their voices.
âIs it the Lady from before? I wonder why she is so obsessed over her Academic results.â
âWellâŚ.â
âIs she that competent? Why does she need to study in that Academy? Wasnât she already attractive enough to everyone?â
âI had to solve the problem that the Empress Dowager has created. I canât live when the aristocrats of the kingdom have such views about their king.â
The Duke snickered.
âDonât let anyone hear that. When did you ever say that you were alive?â
âSounds funny to you, doesnât it?â
âYawnâŚSo, do you want me to interfere with the Academy? Wouldnât it be faster to just mark her passed in all her examinations?â
âI had the same thoughts as well, but this talented girl also has dreams.â
ââŚâŚHow did you even think about that? Are you a fake?â
âIf youâre going to spat any more nonsense, please be my guest to leave this room.â
âHmm, there must be something in her you really like. Ah, if you really have that ability.â
âThatâs right. Sheâs very proficient.â
âHmmâŚ..If sheâs that good, why donât you reward her? Isnât she worthy of that?â
The Emperor groaned as he knew the Duke was going to continue.
âRather, itâll be the best way to honor her when she earns her title the honest way.â
âI donât know who developed those methods, but it takes a long time. Besides, itâs very annoying.â
âThatâs what she wanted.â
The Emperor sighed.
âIâve never had a proper rest since I inherited the throne.â
âCome on, youâve got the whole world in your hands. You will be dead if something happens to it.â
âWhere is it?â
âHere, right before your eyes. Your most valuable servant.â
ââŚâŚIs that so?â
And she lost her consciousness again.
Time passed as she began to recover from her fever. The bed she was lying on felt so relaxing that she thought she was floating on a soft cloud. Her headache was also getting better.
But something felt wrong as she slowly gazed at the ceiling of her room.
âWhatâŚ.?â
Confused, she raised herself.
Removing her blanket, she looked down at herself and found out she was soaking wet. Her eyes roamed around the room. The straw bed was nowhere to be found, and instead, there was a small but soft, luxurious wooden bed.
And the blanket she was covered in? It was not of inferior quality compared to the blankets in the rooms of the imperial palace or the quilt she had seen in the Emperorâs room.
âEh? Why am I lying hereâŚâŚ? But I sleptââ
Knock, Knock, Knock
Rearranging her dress, she answered.
âCome in.â
It was Luana who appeared behind the door. There was a warm porridge in her hand.
âYouâre awake? How are you feeling?â
âUhâŚ..I feel like Iâm dreaming?â
âOh dear. Everyone was so worried because you were sick. Even Miss Serena visited you and took care of your fever.â
âMiss Serena?â
âYes, she did. It was surprising to hear that the healerâs spells were notâŚâŚeffective on you.â
Luana nodded as Celestiaâs eyes grew wider.
âYou canât believe it either, do you? Anyway, to be honest, I was moved by their meticulous behavior into healing you. I never thought theyâd care so much about you.â
âI seeâŚâŚ Do you know how this bed came into existence?â
Luanaâs eyes glistened.
âWait, is this a wooden bed?â
Celestia nodded, smiling at her sparkly eyes admiring the bedâs structure.
âOh my, where did this come from? Itâs so much more comfortable than it was before.â
Luana grinned, covering her mouth with her palm as if Celestia was making a funny joke.
She wanted to laugh along with her, but she couldnât.
âJust how much are you earning? It must beââ
ââŚ..Do I even have the authority to buy such a bed in the imperial palace?â
Luana burst out laughing again.
âIf Luana doesnât know itâŚâŚis it theâŚ..Emperor?â
However, the question was not resolved, and from what Luana had said, she recovered with herbal tonics.
As time passed, she was attending the academy again. Whenever she was alone, she kept thinking about this phenomenon. She wanted to ask the Emperor, but he did not call her even though she heard he had already returned to the Imperial city.
âCome to think of it, Iâve never asked about the law of the Emperor.â
She felt frustrated when she did not get a single call from him for a few days. She even thought of asking for him to meet her, but it seemed a little strange to do so.
âHah! Why would he meet me? Iâm not yet his secretary, and to put it simply, Iâm just a level 1 servant, arenât I ?â
âHeâd call me anyway. I guess heâs just busy.â
Meanwhile, time flowed like an arrow. Surprisingly, the call from the Emperor was not yet made.
Luana stopped by her room to chat with her covered in a light, fluffy and warm blanket.
âDid you get the test results yet? Youâve studied really hard.â
âI guess theyâre still checking the papers. It takes a long time for the instructors to grade according to the results. But I think itâd be out sometime later this week.â
âOh, really?â
âHuh?â
âDid you not hear about the coalition with a distant country? I heard the Emperor has scouted some of the magic officers from that country. Didnât your instructors inform you?â
Celestia tilted her head.
âScouting a magic officerâŚâŚ.?â
âHe is bringing in magic officers from that country?â
âYes. I heard one of them used to be a commoner. Heâs already popular among the ladies because of his handsome face.â
Celestia wasnât very interested in this matter, but Luanaâs shining eyes forced her to be.
âIs he that handsome?â
âWell, I donât know. Iâve only heard the rumors. I heard theyâll be appearing in the banquet that will be held in the celebration of the coalition. I hope I can at least see Mr. Seranguebanâs divine face.â
Her eyes rose at the name that escaped from Luanaâs lips.
âThereâs another magic officer with theâŚ.same name, right?â
âWhichâŚ..country was it again?â
âOh, it was, GoleâŚ.no, GoâŚ.uh, I donât remember. Oh, but it was a magical kingdom.â
âWas itâŚâŚâŚGoldina?â
âAh, yes! Thatâs right! It was Goldina!â
Serangueban, a magic officer from Goldina.
Her head was all hazy.
âIs it because of my bad luck? Why is it him again?â
After bidding Luana goodbye, she paced in her small room several times before lying down on her bed.
âSerangueban? Serek? That jerk?â
She had once decided to give him a good slap if she ever had the opportunity to meet him again. Moreover, she could make him feel jealous by becoming a person of a higher rank than him, but she never expected to hear his name again.
A lot seemed to have happened since she had started joining the Academy. It was now clear that the Empireâs coalition was a success, and itâs target included her home country, Goldina.
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If she had asked the Emperor about his journey, she wouldnât have been so clueless. But even if she knew, she couldnât have done anything about it.
Goldina was now the suzerain of the Burg Empire. However, the Goldinian Queen, who was recently in debt due to a riot caused by the discrimination in the country and a series of bad harvests, seemed to have finally given up her sovereignty.
It might now be possible to prevent the selling of the poor into slavery. The financial crisis seemed to have finally opened her eyes.
Well, the problem was that she was so proud of herself for ruling a magical kingdom that she spent all her riches in debt. Since the Burg Empire had lost its hegemony in the recent years, the wars between small countries had been slow and the demands of magic had continued to rise. However, the biggest source of revenue had disappeared.