At that moment, she heard a small voice from behind and quickly approached Stella’s side.

‘Huk!’

Her heart nearly jumped out of her mouth when she saw Stella lying there because she was clearing up the trash earlier.

‘Uwah! She’s so adorable…!’

She had golden hair like the color of honey, cute features and lips as round as cherry. In addition, her soft and smooth skin was like freshly kneaded dough with a rosy blush.

‘It’s crazy. Does this look make sense? She’s so cute.’

Karentina snapped out of her reverie as she looked at Stella, who was breathing lightly.

‘Oh my, what am I doing right now? The child is in pain, and I’m chattering like this.’

Seeing Stella, who was sweating and huddled up, an overwhelming sense of rueing washed over her.

‘She’s five years old this year, which means she’s sixteen years younger than Ignis. My goodness… How painful it must have been to lose a sibling he raised like his daughter.’

Recalling the scene of Ignis holding his sister and crying out, she thought that the original story was too cruel.

‘I have to take good care of her until Ignis returns.’

After making up her mind, she turned her head towards Stella’s maid.

“Has Her Highness been unwell since she arrived in the North?”

The maid, with her purple hair tied in a single braid, spoke in a feeble voice.

“She often suffers from fever and cold, but she was fine until yesterday… Could it be that she’s losing her magic?”

“No, if her magic went haywire, we would all know.”

The maid looked at Karentina with a pitiful expression. She would have never dreamt that such a situation would happen when she was with the princess, who was reputed to be crazy.

“Oh, the introduction is rather belated, but I’m Gemma Butler, a handmaiden to Her Highness the Princess. Joseph is my husband.”

“I’m Karentina Lorraine.”

“Yes, Young Lady Karentina. Please treat me comfortably.”

She gave a grateful look to Gemma, who smiled sweetly.

“Of course. Didn’t the royal physician come along with you?”

Gemma’s pale face changed to one of astonishment.

“Actually, the royal physician is staying in another estate due to a sudden stomach ache. We did send a message to the imperial palace about it urgently, but now that I think about it, it seems like Timothia’s doing.”

‘This is a problem. There won’t be any physicians in the castle either…’

As the atmosphere in the room grew heavy, the maid Sasha stepped forward.

“Young Lady, I’ll bring the physician.”

“Please do. Just in case, it might be a good idea to bring one of the imperial palace knights with you as well.”

Everyone was mobilized for Stella’s sake.

In the meantime, Karentina headed towards the head of the house’s office. As she climbed the spiral staircase, a large black door exuded a menacing presence. The walls of the office were lined with thousands of old books and an old fireplace that looked like it had been around for a long time. The furniture also created an elegant and magnificent atmosphere.

As she looked through the documents on the desk, her expression grew colder. In her eyes, they were all a mess, coming from her previous work.

“They said the butler has all the authority in the castle.”

The thought of such a person holding the reins filled her with anger. She was determined to bring the employees back as soon as possible, even if it meant paying them extra.

‘I also have to post a notice about the butler… and as for the castle’s affairs, I might have to handle them myself for the time being.’

With a small sigh, she gingerly grabbed the handle of the desk and opened it, hoping there were other papers she could refer to.

“….!”

 
_