Chapter 8

"Corinna, why don't you rest for a little bit more?"

"Thank you, but I've already taken my lunch, so I'm fine. There's a place I would like to clean a bit more, so I'll go do that now."

"You're so hardworking as well, huh? Well, everyone is."

When her senior earnestly said that, Corinna smiled. A year has quickly passed after she started working as a court lady of the Royal Palace. She was surprised that time flew by. It wasn't just once or twice when she worried about whether she could do it or not, but more than anything, she's been extremely busy that she doesn't even have time to worry. A year passed, and she's finally able to see that she could be a little useful. Corinna thought, I'm glad that I decided to take this job. It was something she could experience that she couldn't at home, but most of all, she can come into contact and be near the central figures that help influence the country, a lot of which are esteemed.

Corinna has matured and thought, I'd like to someday become a court lady that's respected by my juniors.

Though it seems like people around her think 'You're plenty reliable for your age.' With Corinna's diligence, her helpfulness is greatly received by those around her.

"Well then, let's see."

Leaving the court ladies' room where all of them gather, Corinna took her cleaning tools and quickly walked out. Her quickly walking out is due to the influence of her surroundings. But her gait is graceful. This was an ironclad rule that the etiquette school taught.

Corinna, who started working a year ago, worked a lot of odd jobs such as running errands and cleaning at the beginning, but recently, those around her figured the way she works is careful, so the paperwork jobs have increased. But even so, not wanting to forget her original intention as she's still young, Corinna cleans up places where her hand couldn't reach whenever she found time for it.

Most of all, Corinna loved to clean. Without thinking of anything, it's work where she can innocently clean dirt with a calm heart. People around her knew that she was once nobility, and were surprised, saying, "You don't have to go that far" but after coming to the Royal Palace, Corinna thought, What's the use of a noble rank?

Most of all, His Highness Crown Prince Henry is a person who doesn't fuss over his pedigree. The number one gossip in the Royal Palace is about Henry. Every time she hears that, Corinna would contemplate about social ranks, and would steadily grow pale. She thought, If Henry becomes king, wouldn't this country become more powerful? Wouldn't that make the Balleli unable to survive through that? When Corinna thought of her carefree parents, she became worried, but she positively thought instead that if it comes to that, she'll just have to do her best.

Corinna walked down the corridor, went around the deserted corner, and quietly opened the door to the room. During the first month on the job she was ordered to clean all sorts of various places in order to memorize the layout of the Royal Palace. One of the rooms that she cleaned back then was a room where people never entered and was used as storage for documents. Although she called them documents, they weren't important materials housing the concerns of the country, but were piles of forgotten documents that were thrown away at some point. Because no one really comes in and out of this small room, it's only cleaned once a year.

Let's slowly clean this place while resting. At that pace, it will take nearly an hour to clean.

While thinking that, Corinna entered the room. After a few steps inside, she stopped in her tracks. There's a visitor inside the room. Moreover, this visitor looks like he's sleeping. The couch that was inside the room wasn't that big and that person lay on it in a cramped position. There's also no indication that he noticed Corinna come in.

"…"

Corinna thought, I shouldn't clean since someone's sleeping here. But curiosity got the better of her. Who is this? I've seen him somewhere. His eyes are closed, so he looks different from usual, it's hard to recall who he could be. His clothes belong to a civil officer. Yet, his body is well-proportioned, and his hair is brown.

Just as she was about to give up figuring out the identity of the sleeping man, Corinna remembered who this person was. Unconsciously, she struck the palm of her hand with her fist.

It's Vice Minister Albert Heres!

He's someone who's high up even though he's young. Of course, even though she said he's young, he's 10 years her senior at 31. She heard of an extremely talented young man among the famous vice ministers that they wish to become the next prime minister.

Corinna's job doesn't directly have anything to do with his, but she'll occasionally see him in the corridors or the conference room. She always greets him, but Albert probably outright doesn't recognize her. He's always walking with a stern face either with someone while talking about difficult things, reading documents, or staring blankly at something. He would nod in response to her greetings, but it was obvious that his mind was occupied with work.

However, everyone in the Royal Palace who's occupied with work is like that, so Corinna never thought Albert's behavior was uncalled for. Rather, it's nice of him to still respond to her greetings, even if he does it unconsciously.

Corinna stood agape, feeling troubled. That's because as far as she could remember, Albert always only had on a stern face, which was somewhat strange. Right now, it's exactly the same. Even while sleeping, his expression remained severe. He's either dreaming of something unpleasant or not sleeping peacefully.

And because of that, when she gazed at his face once more, it really does seem like he's sleeping. His expression looks similar to when Nikolaos was younger, when he had his headaches, only finding true rest while she held him.

Corinna approached Albert while trying not to make a sound. And then, with further care, softly touched Albert's forehead with her right hand. Her small palm felt hot and numb. Corinna thought, Ah, so that's why. She took a small breath.

He's really tired. Although it's said that the pain goes away just by putting Corinna's hand on something, she can also somehow feel the affected part. Whenever she touches the affected part, her palm would feel slightly hot, and numb. It's something intuitive so even if she were to tell others and they understood, it's not like they'll accept it, but as for Corinna, she can detect it by saying, "This is where it is".

The hand that touched Albert was hot and numb. She knew that it was rude of her to suddenly just touch a man who she only met for the first time. Moreover, Albert is someone high above the clouds for Corinna. His pedigree is good, and the difference in their positions within the Royal Palace was as different as night and day. It's a big problem if she were to suddenly touch someone like that. Even so, Corinna couldn't pull her hand away from him. If she could have, then she wouldn't have nursed her younger brother for years. It's Corinna's belief to take care of those those who are sick.

When Corinna put her hand on his forehead, Albert's expression slightly softened. Sitting on a nearby chair as she watched over him, her heart warmed. It's been such a long time for her to have put her hand on someone like this. She promised her family long ago to never speak of this to others. Even at her current workplace, she once offered to massage a senior's extremely stiff shoulders, and they said, "Corinna's massages are extremely effective~". She deceived them by making them think it's the power of her massages, rather than the power of her hands.

Nowadays, she never thought to make use of the power of her hands, and instead thought to be helpful to others by trying her very best to work as a court lady. But from her years of using her hands to help her younger brother with his illness for years, and watching over his sleeping face, she knew that helping someone get a peaceful sleep like this left her speechless and euphoric. It's a nostalgic and wonderful emotion. She's also happy to note that the warmth and numbness of her hand disappeared bit by bit.

It's possible that when Corinna lets go, his head may hurt again. But even just at this time, she wants him to be able to sleep peacefully.

She's sure that this person is the busiest out of everybody within the busy Royal Palace. She hears Albert's name everywhere. She also heard the civil officers talking about a sharp-minded excellent vice minister. Imagining that kind of esteemed person finding a spot to sleep in this kind of run-down closet of a room, as if he was quietly hiding by himself, made her heart sting. She lamented that it's difficult being someone high up.

He's a central figure that changes the country. She wants him to do his best.

Softly moving her fingers through Albert's soft, smooth brown hair, she noted that it's different from Nikolaos's blond hair, but she felt it was as soft as his. It's rude to do this to a male senior of hers, but for some reason, he looks like a kid.

That's right, this may be my first time touching a man like this aside from family.

Realizing that, seemingly like a young lady, Corinna slightly became uneasy, and her face flushed with heat. Lycott Kingdom is a country that's uninhibited when it came to gender, but she has yet to even hold hands with a man. Within the Royal Palace, she would occasionally greet men, but then she would politely run away from them.

Speaking of which, isn't Vice Minister Heres married? If he is, this situation would be rude towards his wife. Corinna thought for a bit, trying to recall what the gossip-loving court lady seniors of hers mentioned about Albert.

Albert shouldn't be married. It's been busy, but the women– or rather, the unmarried women working in the Royal Palace — often talk about the notable bachelors in order to find fine partners. One of those should have been Albert.

He may also have a lover, but she thought it'd be best if she could quietly leave before he woke up.

Thinking of that, Corinna looked at Albert's sleeping face with a smile. It's her first time seeing him this close, but she thought that his face was extremely handsome. She's always seen him with a stern expression on his face, so he held this air around him that felt he was difficult to approach, but his calm expression made him look like a young man.

Despite knowing it was rude to stare, Corinna could only unconsciously gaze at this refreshing scene and the person in front of her.