Why is Brother here? (4)
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“We will not carelessly discuss matters regarding our Mistress.”
The faces of the court ladies were impassive and they spoke firmly to Asena.
“I work for the Princess Consort too. I am not trying to dig up anything like a spy, I merely want to ask you a few questions about their Highnesses, okay?”
“No matter the question, I cannot answer anything.”
Despite Asena’s persistence, the attitude of the court ladies remained the same.
This had already gone on for 10-minutes.
Finally, Asena exploded.
“Come on, you cooperated so well with the newspaper reporters!”
“Well, that was simply the public relations department of the royal family…”
“Public relations, my foot! You’re telling me that Public Relations supervised that photoshoot of the wrecked bed after the first night? You accommodated them so nicely so why is it me that’s…!”
The rigid expressions of the court ladies changed at those words.
“Oh my, you were talking about that?”
“We thought it was something else…”
“I can provide any amount of information regarding that, just ask away.”
Asena huffed in disbelief when she saw the court ladies smiling and changing their attitudes in an instant.
Despite her reaction, the court ladies were still beaming with smiles. Any positive rumors about the couple’s conjugal harmony were a good thing.
‘That said.’
The eyes of the court ladies flashed sharply. “But we will need something in exchange for the information.”
Hearing that, Asena nodded her head.
She didn’t think they were going to talk for free either. However, she didn’t bring any money.
That said, her magic was considered more valuable than money.
“What do you want? It is rare for I, the genius magician Asena, to take a request, so think carefully before making your request…”
“No, forget that.”
The court ladies waved that aside with a serious look on their face.
“We simply need you to explain what happened between His Highness Tarkan and the Princess Consort in the demonic beast plains.”
“As detailed and as precisely as possible. Since you’re a magician, you must have a good memory, right?”
Asena’s mouth fell open.
She was on an intellectual quest to study the limits of human beings, so she had a reason for being on this path, but why were the court ladies like this?
But soon enough, she got a hold of herself and reached into her bosom. And a moment later, her hand reappeared with a bunch of photos.
‘I was initially going to use this as reference material when asking questions, but…’
“If you are offering this, it should be enough for an exchange.”
The court ladies turned to the photos with indifferent eyes.
However, the moment they saw the contents, their expressions drastically changed.
“This, this is…!”
A wide-view photo of the barrack with one side collapsed and detailed photos of the tent interior, the tent bed, the tilted pillar, taken from various angles.
“Ask anything.”
“We will kindly explain.”
The court ladies smiled at Asena.
Asena smiled back and asked her questions.
As the conversation progressed, the court ladies realized something.
‘She disguised it as an intellectual quest, but this magician is the same as us.’
The fact that her lips kept rising throughout the story was proof of that.
‘Should we give the request for the next bed to Ms. Asena?’
She seemed like she would do a very good job. Just when they were getting very friendly—.
“This is bad!”
The door flew open, and another court lady spoke in an urgent tone.
“What’s wrong?”
“The Princess Consort is…!”
The moment they realized something was wrong with Aristine, the faces of the court ladies and Asena changed.
They hurriedly sprang to their feet and dashed out.
“What happened to Her Highness?”
“She fainted. His Highness Hamill brought her back.”
“What about a royal doctor?”
“I’ve called for Dame Umiru. Since His Highness Tarkan isn’t around, you never know…”
“All right.”
As they were rushing out, they saw people approaching. They were court ladies belonging to the king’s palace.
They walked up to Aristine’s court ladies and said:
“A guest is here for Her Highness the Princess Consort.”
Of all the times for this to happen.
The faces of court ladies flashed with despair.
“Is it His Majesty?”
Seeing as they said a guest, it was likely not the king but confirmation was necessary.
“No. Someone else—.”
“I am sorry but Her Highness has just collapsed. I am afraid she cannot receive any guests in this situation.”
Since Hamill knew about it, Aristine’s state of health could not be a secret.
Hearing that, the king’s court ladies looked surprised and nodded.
“Understood.”
They quickly withdrew without stopping Aristine’s court ladies any further.
Thanks to that, the court ladies quickly arrived at the room where Aristine was laying down.
There was only one reason why it was somewhere else instead of her bedroom.
The court ladies bowed their heads when they saw Hamill, who was standing next to Aristine.
“Thank you for bringing the Princess Consort, Your Highness Hamill. We can take care of things from here on.”
At those words, Hamill turned to the court ladies.
Unlike usual, his blue eyes were filled with sharpness. Something was wrong with Aristine, and his nerves were on edge.
“A mere court lady dares to send me away. I must appear too soft for you to look down on me.”
“How could I dare? It is our duty to assist the Princess, and I simply refer to that aspect.”
The court ladies hurriedly lowered their heads.
Hamill clicked his tongue and turned away. His gaze slowly swept over Aristine’s face.
“As I am worried about Aristine too, I must know what is going on. I brought her all this way, so I have that right, at least.”
The eyes of the court ladies shook for a moment, but their hands were tied.
After a while, Umiru arrived.
“Princess Consort!”
She moved to Aristine’s side, looking like the world had abandoned her.
To Umiru, Aristine falling ill was like light fading from the world.
“Why do you keep getting sick…”
This was already the second time that Aristine had already collapsed.
Umiru anxiously checked her Aristine’s condition.
However, perhaps she found something serious because she frowned and checked a second time.
Even after doing that, she didn’t say anything.
“How is she?”
In the end, Hamill’s patience ran out and he asked first.
Umiru remained silent for a moment, then she opened her mouth.
“Her Highness will awaken soon. For her physical condition…I think I’ll need to take a closer look.”
Hearing that, the faces of Asena, the court ladies, as well as Hamill, were filled with shock.
“What do you…”
Just as he was about to inquire more, Aristine gave a groan.
“Princess Consort!”
“Are you awake?”
Aristine’s eyelids fluttered, and soon, her pupils were revealed. Her purple eyes moved back and forth, then she asked.
“Why am I…”
“You fainted. Do you remember?”
Aristine tried to sit up, and the court ladies came to her aid.
Umiru brought lukewarm water to Aristine’s lips.
Aristine’s eyes turned to Umiru.
Seeing Aristine’s eyes asking for an explanation, Umiru sighed softly.
“Right now, I can’t do a blood test because I don’t have medical equipment. Dame Asena should be able to see better than me.”
“Me? Ah…!”
Asena seemed to realize something and nodded her head.
“Excuse me for a moment, Your Highness.”
She walked up to Aristine and gently took Aristine’s hand.
A gentle wave of mana swept through Aristine’s body.
Asena’s eyes widened and began to sparkle.
Right at that moment.
“Congratulations on your pregnancy, Princess Consort.”
“What do you mean my sister collapsed?!”
Just as Asena was bowing her head with a smile on her face, the door opened along with a loud voice
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