Allen's eyes sparkled upon seeing the food prepared for him in his private sitting room.

It wasn't exactly the feast I expected, but it could rival the breakfast that was served to me earlier in terms of quantity.

Roasted pheasant with berry sauce, onion gratin soup, saffron risotto, a large grilled stuffed fish that looks like the milkfish in my previous life, and a variety of fruit tarts arranged neatly in a display tower. On one side, there's a large pitcher of cold juice that I will surely take some sips of.

He then turned to me to squeeze me tight in his embrace.

"Ah, I'm so glad I'm the first one to get home. Darius will finally froth in the mouth out of jealousy, knowing that I am your most favourite brother."

I meekly chuckled at that as I sat with him, gesturing to the maid to get me some of that juice. I then settled with fondly watching Allen dig into the food before my eyes slowly looked down onto the drink I have in my hand.

I know I only ordered the kitchen staff to prepare these in a rush and they delivered magnificently as expected of a Duke's household employees, but a part of me wished that I did the actual preparation for each dish to show my sincerity.

Then again, if I cooked, I'm sure it'll be terrible and no one would want it.

"Aine."

"Yes?"

"What were the doctor's findings after your check up? Do you feel off in any way, right now?"

I smiled at my brother, shaking my head. "I'm fine. The doctor said I didn't look like someone who got into an accident or even comatose for months, seeing that I'm healthy as a horse."

Allen beamed at me happily as he ate a spoonful of risotto. His expression slowly changed when he noticed the bitter smile I wasn't aware was showing on my lips.

"Was there something else the doctor said?" He immediately asked.

"It's nothing serious." I half-assed reassured him. "Well…maybe a little serious, depending on where you look at it…"

Allen placed his spoon down, frowning at me. Letting out a nervous chuckle, I rubbed the lower tip of my ear.

"The incident that got me into a comatose state must have been so traumatic…that I seemingly lost certain memories from childhood till the recent months. Aha…haha…"

My nervous laugh was seemingly loud in that room where everyone was stunned about my revelations.

☆☆☆

I returned to my quarters with Clarisse still assisting me, and Marie tailing behind us. Allen had quickly finished his lunch to return to his office to have a talk with the doctor that did the check up.

I sighed, plopping down on the couch ungracefully and slouching on it. Clarisse pursed her lips at that, walking around to gently pull me by the shoulders to sit properly.

"Your Grace, you're being childish." She scolded me.

"I'm allowed to be childish. I can't show how much it bothers me that I don't have my memories so I have to have a different outlet…" I mumbled.

Marie clasped her hands tightly in front of her skirt, biting her inner lip as tears clouded her vision. The words the young lady had uttered when she first woke and noticed her and Robbe now finally made sense.

Not knowing what's really going on in Marie's head, I stared at my palms on my lap.

"Clarisse, Marie. Prepare a quick bath right now and a simple outfit that's easy to walk in for me to wear later when I meet with His Highness."

"You're still going to…?" Marie gasped, covering her mouth to prevent any more unsavoury words from coming out.

"I promised Konrad that I will. I'm not one to turn back on my word."

Clarisse frowned at that, noticing the change of tone in my voice. She turned to Marie with an indifferent expression.

"Prepare the bath as Her Grace requested."

With Marie gone to the bathroom, Clarisse walked around to face me, going down on her knees to clasp my hands in hers.

"Your Grace, were you only pretending to give His Royal Highness the cold shoulder because of Lord Allen?"

I turned somber upon hearing her question, unable to shake off the memory of how she had gazed at the prince as if momentarily forgetting that I could see now.

Up close, one could see that she's above average pretty, and I'm sure once she's dressed properly in clothes fitting for a noble lady, no one would think that she's from a commoner background.

"Clarisse, why would you be concerned over such a thing?" I inquired with a low tone, meeting her brown eyes with mine. 

My plans to avoid the main triggers of my death have already gone up into flames as the various scenarios I've written were now all mixed together in this storyline, and now I have to be vigilant of any surprises.

Allen wasn't supposed to come home yet, as he's stationed by the border and fighting off the barbarians of the central plains who were trying to conquer a city or two that belongs to the kingdom, as well as fighting off monsters terrorising nearby villages and cities based on the original draft.

He is the protagonist after all, and he needs something to do to prove that.

As for Darius, he's slated to be a cripple in about a year from now, protecting the family home from assassins.

As for Aine, she was supposed to become the Holy Maiden after saving Darius from the brink of death, as her dormant ether that she tapped into out of desperation, was so pure and limitless that it brought forth a miracle. It was a nice fit to be the Maiden for the kingdom, enhancing its protection and making the land flourish with her very life force without suffering too much.

That originally happened when she was fifteen, not seven years old.

Not to mention, Aine wasn't supposed to regain her eyesight, yet here I am.

Those three things that happened to the siblings in the original draft that I made never happened and I have to accept that this is my reality now, where general knowledge of the world I created is useless.

If I wanted to survive beyond the first day, I shouldn't be too lax about my surroundings.

I know that I wrote about Konrad having a brief physical relationship with a commoner, when he had lost his beloved in one of those half-forgotten scenarios. When he realised what he had done, he quickly dismissed her, accusing her of taking advantage of his grief.

In turn, that commoner defamed Konrad during his coronation, claiming the child she bore was his and demanded that he recognize the child as prince.

There's a big chance that the unnamed commoner was Clarisse.

There's also a big chance of that situation not happening but I'd rather avoid the drama for Allen's sake since he's the one who would clean up that mess afterwards, as there's no affection lost between the royal family and ours even though they lost Aine.

I gazed at my attendant for a while longer, thinking about that snippet, a slow boiling annoyance building up inside me as I couldn't put a finger on that feeling when I imagined her and the prince being together.

The obvious answer was me being jealous, but I already firmed my resolve that I wouldn't fall in love with that damn prince.

However, I passed it off as me being angry at Konrad for making Allen his clean up guy.

Clarisse opened her mouth, her stricken expression saying a lot of things that could be misunderstood.

"Your Grace, I…I didn't mean to pry too much in your relationship. However, I…I worry for your heart. You love so much and so deep, that you're willing to deny that the crown prince has many mistresses he hides from you…"

"Clarisse."

She flinched upon hearing the cold and stern voice, lowering her eyes in humility.

"I may have been visually impaired until recently, but I am no fool." I told her quietly. "Without my eyesight, my other senses were honed. Even with missing memories, I know for a fact that Konrad has never once laid with another."

I freed one hand away from her, putting it over my heart. "As this kingdom's Maiden, I am connected to the very nature within my jurisdiction and I could feel one's heart be true or not by their ether signature. I have kept quiet for all the slander everyone has spoken against him, as everyone has no idea of what he goes through every day."

Well, not like I know the details as I’m only going by what his ether told me earlier; it was one of those sensations that I was feeling earlier that has been bothering me but chose to ignore. It was right after seeing Konrad, annoying it may be that it had to be through him, that things slowly pieced themselves together for me to understand that I could feel certain people’s ether.

He was a weary soul for someone his age, making me wonder how hard it must be to be a stand-in for the King and personally leading some of the sorties at the border.

For what this body possession is worth, even if I have no memories of Aine's childhood or any of the accidents she got into before I came here, the body remembers its latent abilities and duties.

At least I now have the confidence that I am not totally worthless and clueless in this new world, even though the information didn't come sooner to me.

If meeting the prince one more time means that I can regain more of this body’s experience in wielding its abilities, then I will not back down for now, foolish as it may be to the eyes of many.

Information is crucial to survival after all.

Clarisse slid down onto the floor, still holding onto my other hand, trembling at my scolding and my words.

"I am grateful for your service for the past years and I am formally relieving you of your duties. Of course, I'll be generous with your severance pay."

Clarisse looked up at me, grief stricken at my sudden dismissal of her.

"My lady, please don't send me  away—"

"I didn't want to, but if you stay here too long…and if father and Darius finds you…I cannot guarantee your safety."