Chapter 203. Busy (1)

Leah had slept so deeply, it was as if she had swooned after the banquet, and she woke up feeling refreshed. Perhaps it was also because she had managed to eat something without feeling nauseous, but she felt filled with energy. She was even able to get through the lengthy backlog of work she had been forced to postpone.

Countess Melissa didn’t seem to remember anything strange about the night before. When asked, she claimed to have stayed in the lounge with Leah the whole time. Leah couldn’t help wondering how the Kurkans had altered the lady’s memory.

As soon as she had addressed the most urgent tasks, Leah went for a walk in the garden. Whenever she had a little free time, questions invaded her mind. She couldn’t understand how she had known the taste of those dates when she had never had them before, much less why she had craved them so terribly.

She laughed when she realized she was actually entertaining the thought that she had somehow lost memories, as Ishakan claimed. Was she so easily influenced by that man, that she would believe something so absurd?

But for the next few days, she kept thinking about him. The persistent thoughts seemed to continually expand the territory he occupied in her mind, diminishing the affection she felt for Blain.

She wanted to see Ishakan again. She wanted to hear his voice, even if she was flustered every time they met. She thought about him so much, she even caught herself making mistakes in her work.

That was a dangerous level of curiosity. But she couldn’t resist this temptation, even though she knew better than to put her hands into fire. His beauty had mesmerized her, as if he were an exotic species of flower.

That was how her days passed. Though she never had a chance to see him again, she couldn’t stop thinking about that man.

“You look beautiful, Princess!”

“…Thank you.”

The day had come to be fit for her wedding dress, and Estia’s best tailors had worked together on an intricately patterned white gown. The beautiful dress fit her perfectly. But even though the tailors and her ladies were excessive in their praise, her face was expressionless as she looked at herself in the mirror.

There was the strangest sense of déjà vu. Had she worn a white wedding dress in the past? Leah touched the mirror with a lacy, gloved hand, gently rubbing it with her fingers as if it would change the reflection she saw somehow.

“Is anything lacking, Your Highness…?” The tailor asked, and she shook her head.

“No, it’s perfect.” When she gave them a small smile, they all relaxed, looking relieved. But the second their eyes left her, her expressionless face returned.

She was not excited, even though she would soon marry the man she loved. All she felt was intensely nauseous. Maybe it was just because the dress was heavy and uncomfortable, and she did feel a little better once it was off. As soon as the tailors left, she went back to work.

Her tasks increased exponentially due to the number of visitors to the palace. She also had to make preparations for the wedding, so she was so busy, she had very little time for anything else. As she was engrossed in her work, Countess Melissa appeared in the door.

“Lady Miriel has come.”

Leah’s quill stuttered to a halt.

“…I don’t suppose she has requested an audience?”

“Yes. Without invitation or prior notice.”

It was truly arrogant behavior. Leah smiled wryly. Without Blain’s favor, that woman wouldn’t be able to set foot in the princess’s palace. It seemed that her power had gone to her head. But there was a reason for her arrogance. Leah had been weak and pathetic before her. Blain had even slapped her face in front of Lady Mirael the last time they had been together in the room. As Blain’s consort, of course Lady Mirael would despise Leah, who couldn’t even have s3x with him.

Leah didn’t hate Lady Mirael. Blain was mostly to blame. But she wasn’t interested in having a relationship with her, either.

“There’s no reason for us to meet, is there?” Leah said coolly. “Please tell her to come another time.”

She turned her gaze back to her documents, but she couldn’t concentrate. Her thoughts were a tangle. She knew that if she couldn’t make herself have s3x with Blain after they were married, she would be in real danger. The possibility of being set aside as Queen, as her mother had been, had always haunted her.