厨房从后面挺进李婷

— And where else would I be if not in my room.

— Yours?!

Leriana, barely waking up, looked around sharply, and made sure that she was really in Maxie\'s room. Moreover, he sleeps right in her bed!

It came as a shock to her.

After that, the girl checked whether she was still in her clothes. And after making sure that everything was in place, she pulled the blanket up to her chin and glared at her angrily.

— Why are you so scared? — Maxie let out a laugh, — I didn\'t do anything to you.

— Y-you…! — Leriana stammered, pointing at her with her finger, — How did I get here?!

Instead of answering, she held out a glass of water.

— Are you thirsty?

Leriana was indignant.

— I asked a question!

Maxie sighed when she realized that this was the only thing that bothered her at the moment. I put the glass aside and looked at her.

«Don\'t you remember anything?»

Leriana lost her way when she thought about this question. After she ran off into the woods, her head was a mess. She didn\'t even remember exactly how she lost consciousness.

She told Maxie all this, summing up what she wants about what happened.

But the girl herself did not answer her for a long time. She didn\'t know how Leriana would react if she found out that she had fallen into the gorge and remained almost unharmed. Will she guess her own capabilities? Or will it also be a discovery for her?

In the end, Maxie decided to tell her the same thing as the healer.

— You just tripped.

— Tripped? — she was surprised, — But how?

«I met you by chance in the woods. You ran away from the camp because of the Crown Prince, right?»

— Mm, yes… — the girl vaguely remembered it.

— Well, apparently, you were in such a hurry that you didn\'t look at your feet. So I came across a cobblestone.

Leriana thought about it. If you look at it that way, then everything worked out logically. She herself knew about her clumsiness, and that she could easily crash even into a wall when she was distracted. Therefore, such an accident may well have taken place. Moreover, Maxie herself did not look suspicious at all.

When the girl compared these facts in her head, she felt guilty.

— I\'m sorry… — she said awkwardly, — I guess I ruined everything?

— Nothing, — Maxie grinned, — It was boring there anyway. It\'s a good thing we left early.

Leriana was silent for a while, after which an important question hit her head.

— And Philip? «What\'s wrong with him?» she asked. Did he find out I was at the camp? Or…

— If you\'re still here, of course he didn\'t find out anything.

— But…! — Leriana faltered, — Then what…

— When we left, this guy was still in the woods, so no one noticed anything. And as far as I understood, he still didn\'t believe Griselda.

Remembering that it was this maid who turned her in, Leriana was terribly indignant. She hadn\'t taught her a lesson.

— This is too much! — the girl was so angry that she was even going to get out of bed as soon as possible, — I have to deal with her immediately!

But Maxie, despite the resistance, firmly laid her back.

«It\'s not worth it,» Maxie interrupted, «there\'s nothing you can do anyway.»

— Why…?!

The girl sighed heavily.

— Because… She\'s already dead.

Leriana stopped twitching and froze abruptly. Died…? At that moment, all her anger had dried up somewhere. Even with a strong dislike, the girl would never wish her death.

— H-how is that? What happened…?!

— I do not know, — Maxie rubbed her temples tiredly, — Her body was found near the camp. Apparently, it was murder.

Leriana was speechless.

Murder?! But why all of a sudden? Who would want an ordinary maid like her? Moreover, very close to the camp with the king\'s men.

Leriana had a lot of questions about this, but she restrained herself from asking them all at once. Probably, this will only make Maxi even harder.

«I\'m sorry…» was all she could say.

After all, Maxie grew up with this maid, and they could even be called childhood friends. Despite her previous actions, Leriana had never wished her a similar fate.

— I\'m fine. Don\'t worry.

Obviously, she lied. Despite the relaxed expression on her face, Leriana found her smile strained. After all, she still had some kind of stone on her soul.

They were silent for a while, after which Leriana finally decided to ask:

— Do you know… why this happened?

— Most likely because of your suspension.

— Pendants…?

Maxie nodded grimly.

— This fool managed to steal it from her father\'s office and carry it into the camp. It was probably with this that she forced the Crown Prince to turn everything around,» she said slowly, «Obviously, the killer was a pickpocket. After all, this pendant was very expensive. This was the reason for the murder.»

After Maxie\'s words, the girl felt even more guilty. There was an attempt because of her stuff… No matter how valuable it was, and the fact that Griselda used it for unclean purposes. Leriana still felt remorse.

— Father immediately sent people to find him. But… due to the fact that no one else has seen this person, it\'s almost impossible. I\'m afraid you won\'t be able to return the pendant.

Leriana sighed.

— Nothing… Even if I got it from my mother, I rarely wore it anyway.

— But… — Maxie hesitated, — It\'s still a family heirloom. Would your father mind?

— Maybe Dad will be upset, but he definitely won\'t be angry for a long time. After all, he loves me more.

Maxie chuckled to herself. What then, what now — Leriana never doubted her father\'s love for her. And even now she spoke about it directly. However, for a daughter spoiled by attention, this was not surprising.

After the topic with Griselda subsided a little, Maxie decided to move on to the main issue.

— Have you been feeling okay lately?

— what? — Leriana was surprised by such a sudden question.

— Um… when you lost consciousness, a doctor came to us. He said to ask about it when you wake up.

— Ah… — she nodded understandingly, — Okay then.

Leriana thought for a moment.

«Well… my condition is really a little different. It\'s like I\'ve become stronger. And sometimes there are outbursts of anger…» she faltered, «And what is it? Something serious?»

Maxie didn\'t immediately find what to say to her. The symptoms described by the girl coincided with those that her father had told her earlier. However, it was clear without words. It is enough to see a mark that at first glance looked like a beautiful tattoo. But in fact, it was because of her that all these changes took place in Leriana\'s body.

But Maxie caught herself thinking that she couldn\'t admit it to her honestly. According to his father, Cassia did not leave marks on anyone, but only on those whom they valued more than their own lives. That is why such contracts were concluded extremely rarely, because Cassia almost never attached to anyone.

Judging by Leriana\'s reaction, she didn\'t know anything about it. And probably didn\'t even guess. And it was extremely difficult to report it. Deep down, Maxie didn\'t want the girl to find out what Cassius meant to Rachel.

It was stupid. Very stupid. Especially for Maxie, who has always considered herself rational and above such things. But… deep down, I believed in fate. The two of them met by chance many years ago, and the second meeting also happened under unexpected circumstances. It couldn\'t just be a coincidence…?

Maxie had no idea why she was so attached to a girl she had seen only once as a child. But after that, she couldn\'t look at the others. And now, having met as adults, she was convinced that she did not consider her just an old acquaintance. It was more than that.

This girl was the complete opposite of Maxi, like a flower that needs to be protected from external threats. Maxie wanted to protect her all her life.

For this reason, she did not dare to tell Leriana about the true origin of this mark. To some extent, the girl was even jealous. She wanted to be the only one in Leriana\'s eyes who cared about her.

So she had to lie.

Seeing the worried expression on that one\'s face, Maxie said:

— The doctor conducted an examination and said that you have an old disease.

— What?!

— Apparently, it\'s something hereditary.

— But…! — Leriana faltered, — Why didn\'t I know anything about her?!

— Um… for a long time, the disease was in remission, and therefore there were no symptoms. But because of the stress you experienced, you became active again, which is why you feel strange.

Leriana was seriously worried, because she had a special point about her own health. She couldn\'t believe that she was sick again in this life.

— Is this serious?! — I immediately asked again.

— If you take measures in time, you will quickly get better, — Maxie reassured her, — If not, then… over time, the symptoms will worsen.

Leriana was speechless.

«So I can die?»

In fact, it wasn\'t. Even if the Blood Camellia completely completes flowering, the girl will not die. According to her father, something completely different will happen to her… Something that Maxie didn\'t know about. And I didn\'t really want to know.

But since I started this performance, I had to finish it to the end.

— If nothing is done, then… the consequences can be lethal.

This caused Leriana to finally go into shock. She clutched at her hair, not knowing what to do next.

— And what to do? There must be some solution…?!

— It is.

The girl looked up in surprise and grabbed Maxie by the shoulders.

— What is it?

— Elder Ileas. He is from a clan of healers, and can defeat a disease that ordinary doctors cannot cope with.

This was a ray of hope for Leriana.

— Really? And where is he? — she asked hopefully, — Please tell me!

— He… lives on the outskirts of Oberon. It is not easy to get there even for an experienced traveler.

Hearing about this, Leriana\'s enthusiasm instantly dried up. There\'s no way the Windsors would let her go that far. Because she was still their hostage.

Catching the disappointment and fear for her own future on her face, Maxie hastened to assure:

— Don\'t be afraid. I\'ll go there with you.

Leriana was taken aback.

— what? — she was amazed, not believing her ears.

«I said I\'d take you to him,» Maxie grinned, «so happy that you can\'t even say a word?»

— B-but… Why?

— Stupid question. Does my father need a dead hostage? After you\'re cured, we\'ll come back.

«Are you really coming with me?» Leriana still didn\'t fully believe it.

The girl could not understand why the Marquis was so kind that he even agreed to let her go to this place. After all, during this time, she could have tried to escape… wouldn\'t it be easier to just leave her to die?

«You\'re the Archduke\'s daughter after all. It would be very undesirable for my father to lose such a valuable pawn,» Maxie explained most logically.

In fact, the reason was a little different. The Marquis simply wanted to avoid retribution from the Cassians, which could come at any moment. After all, the war with them right now was extremely unprofitable. For the sake of this, at first he even wanted to kill Leriana so that they would lose track of her.

But Maxie managed to persuade her father to change his mind, and let the two of them go to remove this damned mark from the girl. Maxie really wanted to get rid of this joke. After all, it was she who connected her and Rachel Cassius.

Apparently, Leriana believed in this explanation, and calmed down a little. If she had a chance to recover, she didn\'t care if she had to return to the Windsor Mansion again after that.

In the end, sooner or later she will get out of there herself, or she will be rescued. And saving a life required no delay.

Therefore, the girl nodded.

— Good… Then when can we go there?

— Soon. To begin with, I will prepare everything necessary. For now, just gain strength.

At this time, there was an insistent knock on the door, and Maxie grinned.

— This guy has been waiting since morning. And how hasn\'t he had enough yet?

Leriana was surprised.

— Razor…?

«Who else?» — she chuckled, — Besides him, you don\'t have any friends here anymore.

Leriana faltered and asked uncertainly:

«Can you let him in?»

Maxie sighed angrily, getting up from her chair.

«It\'s like if I don\'t do it, he\'ll leave me alone.»

With these words, the girl finally opened the door, and the second prince came into the room, who had been very worried about me over the past night. He immediately went to the bed, while Maxie snorted with displeasure, leaving us alone.