Primrose sat quietly on her bed for a while. She had woken up a few minutes ago and was reluctant to admit that the sleeping potion had actually worked better than expected.
Her whole body felt refreshed the moment she opened her eyes.
She had slept soundly all night without waking up once. Even the awful headache that had been bothering her yesterday was completely gone.
Who in the world was Salem?
If he was that skilled, maybe he should’ve been her personal doctor from the start.
No—on second thought, that man would probably use her as a test subject for his mysterious medicines.
As she sat in bed, still half-lost in thought, she saw the door creaked open a little. Solene’s head peeked through the gap, clearly unsure if she should come in.
"Lady Solene," Primrose called softly as soon as she saw her. "You can come in."
Solene stepped inside, wearing a nervous expression and slightly lowering her head.
"Your Majesty," she said quietly, "I heard you appointed someone as your personal maid ... and that you had her help you change and prepare your medicine last night."
"Why didn’t you call me instead?" Solene asked. She didn’t sound angry, if Primrose had to describe it, she almost sounded like she was sulking.
Primrose kept her voice calm and gentle. "It was already late. I didn’t want to disturb your sleep."
"But the maid you called was sleeping too," Solene replied, still sounding a bit pouty.
How in the world did she know that?
Who had been watching Primrose so closely that they even reported who was asleep and who wasn’t?
She didn’t have to wonder for long because Solene’s thoughts said it all. [The soldiers said Sir Vesper also came to Her Majesty’s room last night ...]
They what?!
Didn’t she clearly ask them not to tell Edmund about it? Oh ... wait. She only told them not to report to him.
She forgot to mention anyone else.
Great. Now the guards were finding loopholes just to gossip.
"It’s not that I didn’t want you to help me," Primrose said gently. "I made someone my personal maid because I didn’t want to burden you with every little thing."
"You’re already helping me with all the important matters, so I thought it’d be better if someone else handled the small, everyday things, like helping me get dressed or freshen up."
Actually, she had already asked another lady-in-waiting with good taste in fashion to join her team.
Unfortunately, that woman had a habit of spending too much time gambling and attending auctions.
Well, maybe she’d come running to the palace once she ran out of money from bidding on something ridiculous.
"Besides," Primrose added softly, "I wanted to help Marielle too."
She lowered her head a bit and brought her hand to her lips, looking like she was trying to hold back tears.
"Her sister is very sick. I wanted to give her a little more income, so she wouldn’t have to worry so much."
Solene gasped.
[Just like I thought ... Our queen really is the kindest person alive. She’s even helping someone she barely knows!]
"I asked Marielle to give you her sister’s prescription later today," Primrose continued. She looked up with glistening eyes and a small, hopeful smile. "Would you help her for me?"
"I’ll make sure her sister gets the medicine she needs, Your Majesty!" Solene said with a determined voice.
"You don’t need to worry about anything. And I’m sorry for ever thinking bad about you, even for a second!"
What bad thoughts?
Primrose hadn’t heard Solene think anything rude or unkind about her at all.
"I’ll count on you, Lady Solene."
Primrose shifted her gaze toward the door. "Where is His Majesty?"
"Ah, His Majesty ..." Solene paused for a moment, looking hesitant to share the information she knew. "His Majesty left the palace earlier this morning due to some urgent matters."
What was that supposed to mean?
He said he’d come see her in the morning, but he left before his wife even woke up?
For some reason, Primrose felt annoyed and decided she’d ignore him for a while once he came back.
"What kind of urgent matter?" she asked, her lips curling slightly in a pout.
[Her Majesty looks upset. Of course she would be. It really is His Majesty’s fault for leaving his wife like this!]
"I’m not entirely sure, Your Majesty," Solene replied. "But from what I heard, there was an incident involving a beast attacking humans, so His Majesty had to personally investigate the situation."
Solene gently pulled an envelope from her pocket and handed it to Primrose. "His Majesty left you a message, Your Majesty."
Primrose took the envelope and opened it slowly. Inside was a note, written in Edmund’s familiar handwriting.
[My Dearest Primrose,
You can think of this doll as me.]
Primrose clenched the letter so tightly that its corners crumpled as soon as she read the short message.
Where was the romantic letter from her desperate husband?!
No—more importantly, why on earth should she think of the doll as Edmund?!
It made no sense at all. She wasn’t even that lonely.
"Where should I place this doll, Your Majesty?" the soldier asked.
Primrose huffed. "Anywhere is fine. I don’t really care."
At least, that’s what she said at first.
By noon, she met with Sevrin again to continue their lesson. Actually, Edmund had specifically asked Sevrin to let Primrose rest for the day and even told the soldiers not to let anyone disturb her.
But Primrose had insisted on continuing her lessons. In the end, Sevrin agreed and came to her room instead, since the king had made it clear she wasn’t allowed to leave for a day.
That man was seriously overprotective.
Actually, even if Primrose had stepped out of her room, Edmund wouldn’t have done anything harsh to her, especially not something as ridiculous as punishment.
If anything, he’d probably just feel guilty for making his wife feel lonely.
Still, since Primrose was already in a lazy mood, she figured she might as well go along with his wishes this time.
[What’s with that doll?]
The poor bunny doll, which had been completely ignored by Primrose at first, ended up sitting on the chair beside her. Its round black eyes were now staring directly at Sevrin, as if it wanted to drill a hole through his head.
"I admire your determination to keep learning, Your Majesty," Sevrin finally started the conversation. "But I’d rather not have you faint in the middle of our lesson."
Primrose waved her hand. "You worry too much, Sir Dorne. Nothing bad will happen to me." She smiled. "My doctor gave me an incredible medicine last night, so I’m completely refreshed now."
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