632 Sick Martha
Drayce returned to the tower and found Seren walking in the garden, observing the beautiful winter flowers in full bloom.
“Dray, you’re back! What did you and King Armen talk about?” Seren asked the moment she saw him, betraying the fact that she had been impatiently waiting for him to return all along.
“About your coming birthday.”
Seren’s forehead creased. “What about it?”
Drayce explained everything to her as there was no point in hiding the truth from her.
“The day of my birth…” she spoke, seemingly unhappy about her situation. “I hope the day of my birth won’t cause any troubles if it is that important.”
Seeing her look downcast, Drayce attempted to change her mood. “There is another thing. I also got to know where your nanny is.”
“You did? Where is she? I want to meet her,” Seren said immediately, her purple eyes shining.
“Want to go right away?” Drayce asked with a grin.
“Yes. Please take me to her.”
Without further ado, Drayce pulled her into his arms as she felt everything around them froze. The palace servants of Abetha were around and Drayce didn’t want to shock them by disappearing into thin air.
The moment Seren regained her senses, both she and Drayce appeared in front of a simple-looking thatched house in the middle of a forest.
Seren was now used to being teleported so it didn’t affect her as much as it first did. She immediately got hold of herself and her eyes immediately started looking around for her nanny.
She turned towards her husband, and seeing him nod, she walked towards the thatched house.
A young man gathering firewood from the piles of logs was the first to notice her approach. He was dressed in simple neat physician robes, his appearance indicating he was still an apprentice, and he was about to turn away the female stranger when he happened to see who was behind her.
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‘Then this veiled woman must be a rumored Third Princess of Abetha who married the King of Megaris a few months ago, the lady raised by my master’s friend, Miss Celia.’
He immediately put aside the wood in his hand and bowed towards the approaching guests. Just as he was about to speak, an irritated voice of an old man came from behind the other side of the house.
“What the—how long does it take you to fetch wood? Are you a snail?! You know that the temperature has to be kept consistently—”
It happened that an old man with a grumpy expression came walking around towards the young man. A strong stench made of various herbs came from his body, and he seemed to be preparing some kind of medicinal paste when he too realized the presence of newcomers.
Recognition flashed in his eyes, and his cranky mood somewhat disappeared.
The old man was precisely Erich Winfield, the physician who once saved Slayer’s life. He was startled but not surprised to see these guests at his doorstep.
Though he was not interested in others, it was impossible for him not to hear about the Second Princess’s incoming wedding when it was all the rage in the capital, the topic of idle talk be it the apothecaries he deal with, the patients he saved or the herbalists and merchants he trade medicine with.
To think this couple will return to Abetha in order to attend some wedding…
Seeing the old man stare at her without saying a single word, Seren remained standing in front of the small wooden gate, at a loss if her arrival was welcomed or not. She didn’t know if it would be proper to enter inside another person’s home despite being stared—no, glared at like that.
In fact, Erich Winfield was not glaring. He just had that kind of face that looked perpetually unhappy, not to mention he was someone who never bothered with what other people thought of him.
‘But these two young people are different.’
The old physician walked towards them, and to his apprentice’s surprise, he lowered his head in a show of courtesy.
“Greetings, Your Majesty Queen Seren, King Drayce.”
He opened that small gate to allow them to enter.
Drayce stood by his wife’s side as both accepted the greetings.
“My wife wishes to see her nanny, the woman you call Celia Voss,” Drayce informed.
Erich looked at Seren, causing her to flinch. There was no animosity or disgust in his eyes—the scales on her skin didn’t bother him—but the way he gazed at her made her somewhat nervous.
‘Who is this man? Why is my nanny living with him?’
Meanwhile, Erich found himself recalling some dust-laden memory from a long time ago. This was not the first time the physician had met Seren, and he had seen her briefly during her wedding, but this was the first time he could see her appearance up close.
Though only her eyes were visible because of the veil on her face, Erich had a vivid memory about the woman who gave off a similar aura as her, Seren’s mother who had met in the past.
‘This is the little girl Celia spent seventeen years taking care of. Alas, she’s like a daughter to her.’ Due to his considerations, he spoke politely to the young woman. “Please come inside, Your Majesty.”
Seren was grateful and followed behind him. “Thank you so much, Mister…?”
“You can call me Erich,” he said.
“Mister Erich, I wish to see my nanny, Martha. Is she inside?”
Before Erich could answer her, someone appeared at the door of the thatched house. The old man almost jumped in fright and hurried to her side. “Celia! Why did you leave bed? How did you—”
A middle-aged woman in ordinary commoner clothes was weakly standing, supporting her body by e leaning against the doorframe.
Though her hair had more silver in them and her body was so thin, she seemed to have lost half of her weight, it didn’t take time for Seren to recognise her nanny.