He would die a horrible death!
There was no way that cold-blooded Emperor, devoid of even a shred of mercy, would give a concubine who had run away—especially one who had escaped in a conspicuous uproar—a clean death.
Jedrier shuddered as gruesome images forced their way into his mind.
He had been planning to slip out of the imperial palace without anyone noticing.
But with an attendant this conspicuous beside him—an attendant who had clearly been sent here ‘only briefly’ after falling out of favor with someone higher up—his plan was bound to fail.
All he could do was hope Henry got promoted back up as soon as possible!
“Let’s get along well!”
So there was no need to rush.
Jedrier raised the corners of his mouth and made an innocent smile, as though he knew absolutely nothing.
“Where does Henry sleep?”
“I was told there is a room on the lower floor where the servants stay.”
“Oh, there?”
The first thing Jedrier had done after realizing that he had possessed someone in a vicious novel where his death was already scheduled had been to search every corner of the palace.
Who knew?
Maybe he could find a dog hole somewhere, or an incredible hiding place where he could conceal himself in an emergency.
Or perhaps he might discover some jewelry he could take outside the palace and sell.
But....
‘Nothing.’
‘There’s absolutely nothing.’
‘How can there be this much nothing?’
All he had found was dust, dust, and more dust.
It had merely confirmed all over again that this was an abandoned palace.
Jedrier remembered the rooms on the first floor that practically radiated cold air.
He couldn’t tell which of them Henry was talking about, but one thing was certain.
It was unbelievably cold down there.
There were no blankets worth covering oneself with, and no curtains to block the wind.
‘He’ll catch a cold, won’t he?’
Henry had already been sent here because someone higher up disliked him, so Jedrier needed to treat him well.
He might be wearing an indifferent expression, but deep down he could actually be depressed.
If he got sick immediately after being demoted, his heart would probably hurt even more.
Jedrier nodded to himself.
‘I have no choice but to take care of him.’
He was, after all, sort of Henry’s superior.
“It’s too cold down there. Sleep here with me.”
“Did you just say we should sleep together?”
Yeah. Obviously?
You’ll freeze to death if you sleep down there.
Once someone died, status and everything else became completely useless.
Looking at Henry, who was clearly flustered, Jedrier continued speaking in a calm, gentle voice.
“Mhm. At night, cold air keeps coming out of the walls, and it’s seriously freezing. This room is still the warmest one. If you sleep in another room, you’ll freeze to death.”
“…I will sleep with the other servants. If I alone sleep here, there may be suspicions that I am receiving special treatment.”
“There aren’t any other servants, though?”
“Did you not bring servants with you?”
...How was he supposed to explain this?
The expression that appeared on Henry’s face was unmistakably one of doubt.
Right.
It was obviously strange for a family like the Olsons to push one of their own into the palace as a concubine without sending even a single servant along.
Jedrier regretted not simply lying and saying that there were servants, but he couldn’t tell a lie that would be exposed almost immediately.
‘Hurry up and think of some reasonable excuse Henry will accept!’
Should he say that although he was a member of House Olson, he had been treated like a half-wit who wasn’t really part of the family?
He couldn’t exactly tell Henry the truth—that his family hated him and wanted him to die in the imperial palace, so they hadn’t sent a servant.
No matter who the other person was, it was always advantageous not to reveal anything that could become a weakness.
“I-I’m not really an ‘Olson’ anymore, right? Since I’ve entered the imperial palace and become part of this place, I thought it would be better to build connections here instead. My entire environment has changed, so I need to adjust, and I thought I wouldn’t be able to do that if I brought servants from my family.”
For something he had blurted out on the spot, it wasn’t too bad.
Of course, if Henry dug even a little deeper, he would immediately realize it was a lie.
But there was nothing Jedrier could do about that.
“Haha.”
Jedrier forced the corners of his mouth upward.
Henry’s expression as he faced him was subtle.
Jedrier couldn’t even begin to guess what he was thinking, and his heart started pounding.
I thought that sounded pretty convincing.
Was it not?
“Lord Jeri.”
It was only Henry calling his name, but goosebumps rose along the back of Jedrier’s neck.
“Is it very cold at night?”
“Mhm, a little?”
In truth, it was extremely cold.
Cold enough that his upper and lower teeth would naturally knock together with a ‘clack, clack.’
Every night, he often found himself wondering, ‘I’m not actually going to freeze to death like this, am I?’
Fortunately, he had still managed to open his eyes safely every morning.
“Couldn’t you simply use firewood?”
“Firewood?”
Henry gestured toward the fireplace with his chin.
Jedrier’s gaze naturally followed.
There sat a fireplace covered in a thick layer of dust.
“Why haven’t you used it? If you lit a fire, the cold would go away.”
“Um, you see, Henry.”
Jedrier’s eyes rolled around.
Is he seriously asking because he doesn’t know?
He must not know.
Obviously.
Jedrier hadn’t known Henry for long, but he kept feeling an odd sense of kinship with him.
How can he know even less than me, when I haven’t even been in this world for very long?
“Because there’s no firewood.”
“Isn’t everything outside covered in trees?”
“Th-those belong to His Majesty.”
“…….”
It seemed Jedrier would have to guide Henry properly while he remained here.
How could someone be this oblivious?
It was almost as though Henry had lived his entire life without ever having to watch anyone’s mood.
Even though that made no sense for someone who had lived as an attendant.
“Henry.”
Jedrier took Henry’s hand.
Henry flinched slightly, but fortunately, he neither pulled his hand away nor pushed Jedrier off.
“Everything inside the imperial palace belongs to His Majesty. Every single rock, every single grain of dirt. If I cut down a tree without permission? I’ll be in huge trouble....”
I’ll die.
I’ll die horribly.
You don’t know how terrifying the Emperor is, do you?
If something irritates him, he swings his sword around!
Do you know I literally died because I got hit by that blindly swinging sword?
Well, it ‘hasn’t’ happened yet, but still.
You have to be careful.
People in high positions change their minds faster than boiling porridge!
People like us at the bottom just need to flatten ourselves to the ground and hold our breath!
“…He wouldn’t know.”
Right.
Of course he wouldn’t know.
But what if someone saw?
What if someone saw and reported it?
Jedrier had no trouble imagining himself being dragged out in the middle of the night, a black silhouette whispering, ‘You know what your crime is, don’t you?’ before swinging a sword.
His body trembled.
“Shh-!”
Jedrier thought it was a miracle Henry had survived this long.
“You have to watch what you say inside the palace. Even the walls have ears.”
“…….”
“So you have to be careful, and then be even more careful. Got it, Henry?”
Jedrier decided that until the day Henry left this place, he would do his best.
So that Henry could survive this dangerous imperial palace even without him!
“…Yes.”
Henry answered reluctantly.
Anyone could tell from his attitude that he was basically saying, ‘If that’s what you say, then let’s just go with that.’
Jedrier wanted to lecture Henry for not taking his precious, life-saving advice seriously, but held himself back.
Henry was only a little oblivious.
He was still such a good, kind person.
Jedrier could tell even though they had only just met.
So if he kept talking to him, Henry would probably listen eventually.
“Are you hungry?”
Fortunately, there were still a few ingredients left in the kitchen.
They were all dried out and shriveled, but even that was something to be grateful for.
If there hadn’t even been that much, Jedrier probably would have starved to death right after opening his eyes.
Jedrier went downstairs with Henry.
The air became noticeably colder.
“Now-.”
He rolled his sleeves up to his forearms and energetically opened the kitchen door.
Dust was still piled thickly in the corners that were hard to see.
Cobwebs stretched across various places as well.
Jedrier wanted to cook in a clean environment, but he decided to simply pretend not to see any of it.
Cleaning even this much had already drained most of his strength.
There was barely any food to eat, so he couldn’t afford to waste even more energy.
Desperately hoping Henry hadn’t noticed the dust, Jedrier spoke in a bright voice.
“The only thing I know how to make is salad. Is that okay?”
“…Have you been preparing your own food this whole time too?”
“Yeah.”
Who else would do it?
I told you, it’s just you and me here.
After answering confidently, Jedrier opened the storeroom where the ingredients were kept.
He saw a shriveled carrot, wilted spinach, and a cabbage whose outer leaves had begun to discolor.
Since they had a new member of the household today, it seemed like a good idea to use about half of the carrot he had been saving.
‘This much should last about a week, shouldn’t it?’
...Huh?
Wait.
Jedrier glanced sideways at Henry’s sturdy build.
Would someone with a body like that really be satisfied with nothing but a vegetable salad without even a single piece of meat?
‘...Probably not.’
Let’s assume he eats two bowls.
No, three.
Jedrier’s hand began trembling ominously.
‘Then this won’t even last a week.’
Should I tell him to eat less?
Jedrier’s Adam’s apple bobbed heavily.
But wouldn’t telling someone to eat less make him look incredibly stingy?
They said the pettiest thing in the world was criticizing someone over food....
Yeah.
It was probably better not to say that.
‘I’ll just... eat less myself.’
It was a rather carefree conclusion, but thinking about it more wouldn’t change anything.
Worrying wasn’t going to make ingredients that didn’t exist suddenly appear with a ‘pop.’
“Sit down, Henry.”
Jedrier beckoned to Henry, who was standing there blankly with a doubtful expression.
“Sit here and wait. I’ll make it quickly.”
“…Yes.”
Jedrier rolled up his sleeves.