“Prince Claudio, how are you feeling this morning?” Rosemarie asked her husband in a concerned tone as he entered the room to say good morning.
A few days had passed since she reconciled with Claudio. Due to him having more opportunities to come into contact with Rosemarie, his pale complexion had improved by a few degrees. Nonetheless, it was still worrying.
“Thanks, much better. No need to worry so much. You were in the middle of breakfast, right? Keep eating; don’t mind me.” Claudio curled his lips into a soft smile. Rosemarie had come to call Claudio by his name as a rule. For whatever reason, he seemed to enjoy that more than she did.
That smile was throwing her off since she had never seen it until just a few days ago, so she averted her eyes.
“My apologies. I’ll be finishing up soon.” She shoveled the rest of her mostly-eaten breakfast into her mouth.
“I know that you aren’t able to partake in meals, so I am very sorry, as always.” Upon finishing her meal, Heidi, who had been serving her breakfast this entire time, brought out her after-meal tea. Rosemarie’s shoulders sank under her guilty conscience.
It wasn’t until Claudio had started making his morning visits that she learned he was unable to take in any food other than liquids. This was most likely the effects of the Seed of Mana-Sealing. Apparently, with solid food, even if he took in the moisture, he wouldn’t be able to digest the rest and would quickly throw it back up. According to him, the most he could handle was soup.
Now, knowing she’d even stolen the simple joy of eating from him, she couldn’t bring herself to look him in the face.
“Don’t apologize for that. I’ve come to grips with that already. It’s nothing you should concern yourself with.” When Claudio began showing his softer side to Rosemarie, his speech and manner both lost their biting edge, as though he’d been exorcised of a dark spirit. While she was relieved at that, she also found herself at a loss sometimes as to how she should behave in turn.
“That aside, give me your hand.” Claudio held out his hand from the other side of the table. Rosemarie put her hand atop his without a moment’s hesitation.
They had held hands constantly in the royal office to stabilize Claudio’s health in the days leading up to the Imperial Bout. Now, though, they split it up across the day—morning, noon, and night. Claudio purposely made the trek to Rosemarie’s room. He was being too thoughtful, and it made her sort of antsy.
(If you think about it, it’s like I’m Claudio’s meal. Or, at the least, his medicine...)
Even though he just gave her hand a light squeeze, it made her heart almost jump out of her chest. Maybe it was a result of Claudio mellowing out, but for the past few days, small gestures like this were enough to almost send her over the edge.
“S-So, what is on the agenda for today?”
“Today, I’m going to be inspecting the irrigation work on the land under direct jurisdiction of the royal family. I’ll probably make my return sometime late tonight. Hence why my only intake for today is going to be what I get this morning.”
“Only morning and nothing else... In that case, would you like to rest your head on my lap?”
“I’ll pass. You’re starting to worry me with your zeal for heads on laps...” Claudio unenthusiastically covered his face with his other hand. Rosemarie opened her mouth, seeing her chance.
“Well, I thought that if it helps you sleep so well you drift off without noticing, then it must also help you recover a great deal physically... So, would you?”
“I just told you that I’m not, didn’t I? That’s far from proper morning conduct.”
“In that case, all you gotta do is wait till nighttime, right?”
“You shut up and wait right there, Fritz.”
The abrupt interruption in the conversation startled Rosemarie and made her turn to the door. There, she saw the clergyman with the mole poking his head through. Unlike Rosemarie, Claudio was not startled in the least and gave him a dirty look, signaling for him to butt out.
“Hate to interrupt a tender moment, Your Royal Wifeness, but mind if I borrow His Highness for a second?”
She nodded, albeit still in shock, as the ever-elusive clergyman flashed her a charming smile. She tried to take her hand away from Claudio, but he seized it and clasped it instead.
“Listen, I’m going to be running late today. Don’t stay awake waiting for me like you did the day before yesterday. I’d be in a tough position if your health started to suffer.”
“Okay, I won’t.”
His words were spoken firmly, but only to put emphasis on them. As Claudio looked at her with a tensed brow and a wry smile, Rosemarie squeezed his hand back in confirmation.