The Great Wish - Chapter 11.6

Vol.2 Chapter 11 Part 6 

When Sienna returned to the Palace, she received some good news. 

"The countess?" 

"Yes, Your Highness." 

Sienna was told that the countess had entered the Palace and was waiting for her in the sitting room. 

She hadn't looked at the specifics of whether Patricia was handling things properly on her end. Levan told her that 'things were turning for the better', so she decided to wait. Once things had settled down and her shocked heart had calmed, Sienna believed that the countess would enter the Palace. 

Sienna's pace quickened. She hurried into the sitting room. Once she was inside, she quickly looked around. When she saw Beth, her face brightened. 

However, her eyes soon trembled in confusion. 

"Countess..." 

Sienna murmured in shock. 

The countess was sitting in a wheelchair, and Emma pushed it towards Sienna as they approached her. 

"Your Highness, have you been well?" 

Beth smiled as she always did in the past. 

"Are you hurt?" 

"I currently don't feel very comfortable walking." 

"Emma!" 

Emma flinched as she held onto the wheelchair. 

"Where is the countess feeling discomfort?" 

"The countess cannot walk." 

"Why not?" 

"Once she awoke, she was discovered to have been paralyzed. At first, she couldn't even speak properly. However, it seems that the paralysis in her legs isn't going away, so..." 

"What did the doctor say?" 

"He said that she will likely not walk again." 

Sienna looked Beth up and down in disbelief. The future she had seen in her dreams wasn't like this. She had been slow to walk due to her old age, but the countess could still walk with her own two legs. 

The future had changed. 

'Why? Where did it all go wrong? Where did things start to change?" 

Was taking that inspection trip the wrong thing to do? Would that have prevented the Red King from making Countess Pope her target? Why had the countess caught Patricia's eye? It seemed that the future hadn't changed for the better in every case. 

"Your Highness." 

Sienna flinched. Beth had come closer while Sienna was deep in thought. She wrapped Sienna's hand with her own. 

"I'm fine." 

"..." 

"Thank you. I heard that you worked very hard for my sake." 

"If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have suffered, Countess. Why are you thanking me?" 

Sienna murmured with a devastated expression on her face. 

"Your Highness, you've changed a lot recently." 

"Changed...?" 

"Yes. You've started showing more emotion in your expressions. I was happy to see this change in you, Your Highness. It's a shame that I won't be able to see you continue to grow by your side." 

"What do you mean? Why can't you see it?" 

"Due to my legs being in this condition..." 

Beth laughed bitterly. 

"It will be difficult for me to take charge of the ladies-in-waiting like this. As a lady-in-waiting who attends to you, I can't do my job properly. I cannot do anything on my own anymore." 

"Don't say that." 

Sienna knelt down and lowered her body. She grabbed Beth's hand and looked up at her. 

"Your Highness, you mustn't do this. Please get up." 

"I never considered you a lady-in-waiting who attended to me, Countess. I have many ladies-in-waiting who attend to me. I'll command them to make sure that you are not uncomfortable while you are in the Palace. Please stay by my side." 

"Your Highness." 

"Aren't you my nanny? I heard that in some noble families, the nannies even follow their charges when they get married off." 

Life at the Palace without the countess by her side seemed desolate. Sienna didn't want to be alone anymore. 

"...Yes, Your Highness. Of course. I was your nanny. I watched you grow into such a lovely young woman. Therefore I should continue to stay by your side and witness your marriage. Perhaps even the birth of your beautiful child." 

Beth's eyes filled with tears. 

Sienna watched Beth weep before lowering her head onto her lap. Beth's hand cautiously lifted. Then she began to softly sweep it through Sienna's hair. 

Sienna closed her burning eyes. 

* * * 

The Emperor declared a time of mourning after Duke Rimone's passing. 

Because the spilling of blood was considered inauspicious during the mourning period, the deer hunting tournament was postponed for a month. 

The ladies-in-waiting helped Sienna prepare for the outing. It was going to take place outside, so they avoided dressing her in bright colors. They didn't spray any perfume in fear of attracting any bees. 

"Don't be like that and come with me." 

Sienna pleaded one more time. 

Beth grinned. She sat in her wheelchair and watched the ladies-in-waiting assist Sienna. 

"If I go, I'll only be a bother." 

"I told you that's not true. Is it because you don't want others to see you?" 

"No, that's not why." 

Beth proudly moved around the Palace in her wheelchair. Most of the people in the Silver King's palace saw Beth. There was no shadow cast over Beth's face. At first, everyone's eyes held pity for her, but with time, they paid no mind to her disability. 

"I'm only worried that I'll inconvenience you, Your Highness. I know everyone will pretend that isn't the case, and I don't mind it, but..." 

"If you're fine, then it doesn't bother me. Let's go together and enjoy the fresh air. Don't you want to see who will bring the biggest deer?" 

Beth laughed and eventually agreed. The Princess was pleading with her like a young child. She couldn't say no. 

"Who do you think will win, Your Highness?" 

"I'm not sure..." 

"Everyone is talking about the bet between the two of them." 

The deer hunting tournament wasn't a popular event. However, it was different this year. 

News of the bet between Joseph and the Iron King had spread. The fact that the Silver King would be the judge in the case that it was too close to call made all the other nobles very excited. 

Attention grew as the day of the tournament drew closer. There were slightly heated signs of discord among the nobles. The number of noble attendees were the greatest in the tournament's history. 

"Who wins is none of my business." 

"Are you uninterested?" 

"I cannot understand the childish competitiveness of men." 

"Then why did you agree to be the judge?" 

"That's..." 

She hadn't been interested in the hunting tournament at all. It was merely an excuse to meet Kuhn. 

That's what she had in mind when she agreed to be the judge, but she wasn't so sure about it now. Her heart was now prickly. Three months had passed, and she still hadn't received any word from him. 

'He appears suddenly whenever he feels like it. I better not see him today. If I do, I'm going to make him walk the plank.' 

Her resolute heart and her inner thoughts were different. She felt that she would really get angry if she didn't see him today. 

"I'm finished, so let's go." 

"Yes, Your Highness." 

Beth tilted her head. She found it strange that the normally articulate Princess was beating around the bush. 

Once Sienna and Beth were seating inside the carriage, it took off. 

"Why did you tell Lord Luke not to come?" 

Joseph offered to escort Sienna to the tournament, but she refused. 

"It was too troublesome." 

"I've heard that the young lord and Your Highness will soon be engaged to marry." 

"That's probably true." 

Sienna spoke as if she were talking about someone else. 

"Your Highness, didn't you say you were curious about this before? You wondered what to do when the person you marry and the person your heart belongs to are different. Is Lord Luke the man you must marry out of necessity?" 

The only person who could ask Sienna a question like this was Beth. Instead of answering her question, Sienna merely sighed. 

Beth didn't press her any further. While she did hold the Princess's confidence, she didn't cross the line.