Chapter 32

This is the second update today.

"Markus, did you bring fruit? Thank you."

"Here, Mother, please try to eat a little."

Queen Berna sat up, leaning against the cushions and looked at the plate that was offered to her.

"It looks delicious."

"Yes, everything should be delicious. Please choose what you like."

On the large plate were several kinds of fruit, cut into bite-sized pieces and peeled for easy eating. There were juicy Pongka, sticky Nectar, large ripe mulberries, tangy Hawthorn, and fragrant green grapes.

Queen Berna said, "Then I'll have the Pongka," and chose a piece from the plate Markus was holding, putting it in her mouth.

"Oh, it's delicious. It feels like I haven't had something this good in a long time."

After a while, the maids behind her sighed in relief.

"What's wrong? Mother, didn't you eat enough?"

"No. After the Queen ate, she... well..."

"She has been vomiting more often."

"Mother..."

"But this doesn't make me feel nauseous at all. Thank you, Markus."

"It's nothing. I'll bring more."

The Queen ate a little of each fruit and leaned back against the cushions, looking satisfied. Seeing this, Prince Markus handed the plate to a maid and dismissed the others, saying, "Please step back a bit."

"Is it something important?"

"Yes. Mother, can you trust me and not ask any questions?"

The Queen nodded with a gentle smile. Seeing this, Markus took a folded white cloth from his jacket's inner pocket and gently wrapped it around the Queen's head twice. The Queen, without asking, touched the cloth on her head with her fingertips.

"It's quite fine silk."

"It's a cloth imbued with wishes for your recovery. A friend of mine gave it to me."

"Oh, you have such a friend?"

The Queen's face lit up with joy.

"You've been involved in state affairs for so long. I thought your only friend was Gil. But Gil isn't a friend... huh? Oh!"

The Queen opened her eyes wide and grabbed Markus's arm tightly.

"What's wrong? Does it hurt somewhere, Mother?"

"It's gone. The headache that had been in my head for so long is gone. It's completely gone! The nausea is gone too. What's going on? Markus, what did you do?"

Prince Markus, who had wrapped the cloth, blinked for a while but then slowly started to laugh.

"Well, well..."

"Markus?"

"Mother, can you keep the secret of this cloth? Not even Father, the maids, or the princes. I promised my friend not to tell anyone. I didn't expect it to work this well."

The Queen cautiously removed the silk cloth from her head and observed for a while.

"The pain and nausea don't seem to be coming back even after removing the cloth. It's a miracle. Markus, can you explain what's happening?"

"I don't know the details either. If the pain doesn't return, I'll leave it off. The maids might get suspicious if you keep it on. If the pain returns, we can try it again."

Markus folded the silk cloth and put it back in his pocket.

"Oh, Markus. It's such a wonderful thing to be free of pain. Once the headache is gone, you realize how much pain you were in before."

"Mother, I'm so glad."

Markus held the Queen's hand and smiled. Her complexion had improved significantly.

"Markus."

"Yes, Mother."

"I'm incredibly hungry. Bring me something to drink and eat. I want to eat a lot. I'm so thirsty I feel like I'm dying."

Markus laughed, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Yes, Mother. I'll have it brought right away. Let's start with something soft so your stomach doesn't get a shock."

His mother, who had become thin and bony, was smiling. It had been so long since he had seen her smile like this. Markus called the maids waiting in the corridor.

"Mother's appetite has returned. Bring a variety of drinks and foods, a little of each. Choose her favorites. No, leave it to the head chef."

"Yes, sir!"

Two maids hurried down the corridor as fast as they could, one probably heading to the kitchen and the other to report to the King.

"Don't trip."

He wiped away the tears that had overflowed from the corners of his eyes.

"Alesia, who are you really?"

The Queen was eating the easily digestible food that had been brought to her, shoveling it in. The King, who had rushed in, watched his wife eat, looking flustered.

"Berna, is it okay to eat so much all of a sudden? Aren't you eating too much? Are you feeling nauseous?"

"Hehe, Your Majesty, I could eat even more. But I have to be patient and stop here for now."

After drinking warm, sweet coconut milk, the Queen said, "I'm sleepy after eating," and fell asleep.

"Markus, what happened?"

"I have no idea. The pain just suddenly disappeared while we were talking."

"Is that even possible?"

"It is. I was surprised too."

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, where all the cleaning was done and the fires were out, the head chef Seneschal, who had been ordered to prepare more food, was bombarding a maid with questions as he looked at the empty plates that had been returned.

"Are you sure the Queen ate it? Not the Prince? All of it? All of it was eaten by the Queen? What? You didn't see? What's going on?"

"The Queen said it was delicious and that she's looking forward to breakfast tomorrow."

"Ah, that's great. That's great, man!"

The Queen, who had been eating less and less every day, was looking forward to her meals. Seneschal laughed with a clear, bright face for the first time in a long while.

The next day, Markus sent a letter to Gil.

The letter read, "I am very grateful. I want to thank you. I will prepare anything you want. And I want to know about that cloth." However, Gil returned, saying that Alesia had politely declined the offer.

"Here, for the Prince." He handed over a letter from Alesia. Markus hurriedly opened it.

"If I could be of service to the Queen, that is enough for me. Please keep the secret of the cloth. That is my only wish."