I Don't Want To Work! - Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

‘I’m worried.’

I blinked as I got out of bed.

Arkin, Prince of Pandelion, no less, has no business being burned.

Candles, stoves, and everything will be lit by the servants. Arkin will be watching from a safe place.

‘Plus, it wasn’t just an ordinary size.’

It meant he got burned by a somewhat large fire, not a small one.

If it’s a scar, you could say it happened during swordsmanship training.

“Hmm.”

I lay on the bed without speaking, lost in thought.

I had regained my memory yesterday, and I desperately needed rest after so much had happened.

My physical condition wasn’t good either.

I even swore to spend this lifetime not working and just resting.

“…Really? You were worried about me?”

Eyes sparkling at the mention of worry, cheeks slightly flushed, and the corners of the mouth turning up mischievously.

Yesterday’s image of Arkin kept coming back to me.

‘If only he were a little bigger, I wouldn’t have worried this much.’

I lay on the bed, blinking up at the ceiling.

To be honest, I wasn’t one to pay much attention to people.

Others are others, and I am me.

Drawing a line was easier. That way, I could immerse myself in herbalism.

Even my family, who should have been cherished, were similar.

It was difficult at first. But, for some reason, drawing lines, drawing lines again and again, hundreds of times, made it easier.

Eventually, I became completely indifferent to separating them.

I drew the line mercilessly, thinking they would eat and live well on their own.

‘But children are an exception.’

They should be protected, cared for, and loved unconditionally.

And I knew how urgent and desperate the need for help for some children was because I was one too.

“…”

So, I helped you.

Your face, disheveled and unrecognizable in the flames, with dust and dirt and blood, and your golden hair that couldn’t find its color among the chaos.

And those blue eyes brimming with hatred as they stared at me.

Even though a millennium had passed, that face still seemed vividly etched inside my eyelids.

‘I wonder if you died well.’

I should have taken care of you to the end, but I suddenly died too.

But I raised you diligently, so you must have lived well on your own.

With your abilities and talents, you must have lived well.

“Lady Lottie.”

It was Betty who blocked my endless thoughts.

Betty, with her golden hair tied up in a fluffy ponytail, overlapped with the image of the boy.

“I brought breakfast!”

Betty beamed with a freckled, youthful face.

“Yesterday, His Highness Arkin provided a lot of ingredients, so breakfast today is generous.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Besides, I wanted to feed Lady Lottie something delicious yesterday, so I’m glad.”

With a deft hand, Betty placed food on the low table in the room.

The table was too low for dining, but there wasn’t any other choice.

This was the only available table.

So, I had my meal here yesterday too.

‘There was a dining room, but the door wouldn’t open.’

No matter how hard I pulled, the door wouldn’t budge as if it were nailed shut.

It clearly showed that many rooms hadn’t been used for a long time.

The few rooms that could be opened were empty, without furniture or curtains.

The only usable rooms were mine, Betty’s room next door, and the kitchen.

It’s a problem here and there.

I sighed deeply and sat on the sofa.

“Betty, I’ll go to Arkin after having my meal.”

“His Highness Arkin?”

Betty, sitting across from me, tilted her head with a smile.

“Yes, I asked him about something yesterday.”

It was a favor I barely managed to get through to Arkin, who was scurrying away. If it’s Arkin, he’ll finish it within a few hours, so going now shouldn’t be a problem.

“And I’ll also take the opportunity to look into something.”

I paused with my spoon halfway to the stew.

‘The portion difference is quite noticeable.’

The difference in portions between my stew and Betty’s was glaringly obvious.

Moreover, her stew seemed diluted, perhaps with added water to increase the quantity.

‘If you eat like that, you’ll be hungry later.’

At 15, she should be at the age to eat well.

“Yes, then I’ll bring clothes after the meal! It’s been a while since we went out!”

Betty nodded understandingly and then fell into thought about which clothes to bring.

“Yes, thank you.”

I smiled and swapped our plates.

This was a sleight of hand I learned from my thieving days.

“Huh?”

By the time Betty finished pondering about the clothes and reached for the stew, it was already too late.

My stew, rich with chunks, lay in front of her.

I had already eaten almost half of the diluted stew!

“Lady Lottie! Th-that’s mine!”

“Is it? I didn’t know.”

I casually continued eating the remaining stew.

“From now on, we’ll share the portions equally. Otherwise, I’ll keep swapping!”

When I sternly glared at Betty, she made a startled sound.

It seemed my threat worked.

“B-but, if we have equal portions, then the ingredients…”

That was the reason indeed.

If we had to exchange ingredients with another palace to keep the portions equal, it meant we didn’t receive many ingredients in the first place.

And the quality wasn’t good either.

Just look at the single stalk of sprouted potato. Isn’t it obvious?

‘They gave us the sprouted ones from the start.’

Otherwise, there was no way Betty would have had to wait until the potatoes sprouted.

‘But there must be a regular income to the palace.’

Usually, the nobles received a monthly maintenance fee.

In other words, someone was embezzling money in the middle.

How dare they touch my money.

“Don’t worry about it.”

I smiled as I placed the emptied stew bowl neatly on the tray.

“I’ll clean up thoroughly today.”

What I asked Arkin for was nothing other than a list of people belonging to my palace.

* * *

“Finally… arrived…”

I gasped for breath.

By carriage, it’s 15 minutes; with a leisurely walk, it’s within an hour.

That’s what Betty said about the distance between Arkin’s palace and mine.

But now, it took me over three hours.

Five minutes walking, then resting for ten minutes; walking for another five, then resting for ten.

Towards the end, I had to walk for five minutes and rest for twenty.

‘Wow, is this even healthy for a person?’

I knew my health and stamina weren’t good, but experiencing it firsthand was different.

Did I say I would die from exhaustion before leaving the capital?

Let me correct that.

I would die before leaving the palace.

Tears threatened to fall.

I bit my lip firmly.

“Are you okay, Lady Lottie?”

While I felt like I could pass out at any moment, Betty was energetic.

Of course.

It took her over three hours because of me, for a distance that wouldn’t even take an hour.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine.”

I got up wearily. Lunchtime would be soon.

It wouldn’t be polite to show up during mealtime, so I needed to quickly go in, attend to my business, and borrow a carriage to leave.

“Princess Lottie.”

Arkin’s servant, whom I’ve seen a few times and now got used to, greeted me with round eyes.

“I came to receive what I requested from Prince Arkin.”

“Oh! That’s what you were looking for.”

There wasn’t any special respect in his tone, but it seemed there was a bit of annoyance. The servant nodded.

“If you could wait in the reception room for a moment, I’ll bring the list. Would you like a refreshing drink?”

“Sure.”

I was ushered into a spacious reception room. A glass of lemonade with ice was placed in front of me. Betty could also have some lemonade.

It’s refreshing and tasty.

When I finished the lemonade and sighed, the servant appeared with the list.

“Here is the list of servants, maids, and users belonging to Princess Lottie’s palace. I also did a bit of investigation on their usage.”

I took the list and chuckled.

It turned out to be two pages long. In other words, there were a lot of humans belonging to my palace.

It’s not that there was no money; there were just many embezzlers.

‘Now, your time of living carefree is over.’

I’ll collect all the money they squandered and use it to buy medicine.

Oops, the precious list might get wrinkled. I smiled broadly, releasing the tension in my grip.

“Thank you for your hard work. I’d also like to extend my gratitude to Prince Arkin.”

The servant replied to my words.

“Prince Arkin is currently attending morning lessons.”

Morning lessons. If they were young nobles, they would often have teachers come in for lessons. So, it’s not strange for Arkin to be attending lessons now. But there’s something fishy about it.

‘Can I know what kind of lesson it is?’

“It’s a lesson on world history.”

Hmm, I tilted my head slightly at the servant’s answer. In my opinion, it didn’t seem like that.

“May I observe? I want to express my gratitude to His Highness, but waiting here alone is boring.”

If it’s a history lesson, there shouldn’t be any problem with me observing.

The servant looked visibly uncomfortable at my request.

“I’m sorry, Viscount Poulton specifically does not allow observers, so it might be difficult.”

“I see.” 

I nodded in understanding.

But my gut feeling was shouting. The reason Arkin got burned was probably because of this lesson. 

Because I’ve been sensing the presence of spirits from that end since earlier.