Reborn After Betrayal: The Frail True Princess Decides to Give Up-Chapter 33 : Such a Busybody

Thinking about Celitia's frail body, possibly collapsed in some unknown corner and facing serious dangers, Sophia felt burning anxiety.
"She fainted once yesterday and just left the hospital today. Her body is extremely weak..."
Shanie opened her eyes wide: "What? Lily told me she just had some old illness, that her body was usually fine, and told me not to worry. How could this happen?"
"I've never seen anyone more stubborn than her," Sophia cursed and made up her mind. "No, I have to go find her!"
Standing abruptly from her seat, Sophia looked down at the messy table and said hurriedly to Shanie: "You continue eating. I'm leaving first!"
"Wait? Your Highness? Wait for me!!"
Sophia moved extremely fast, rushing out the door in the blink of an eye and running out of sight, leaving behind a dumbfounded Shanie.
Staring at the many untouched desserts on the table, Shanie fell into a dilemma: "Her Highness said not to waste anything... but now I need to find Lily..."
After just a moment's hesitation, she waved her hand generously: "Shopkeeper, please pack everything up for me. I'll come back for it later!!"
By now, Sophia had already run quite a distance.
Given Celitia's physical condition, she shouldn't have been able to go very far.
But this shopping district was very busy, and at noon it was especially crowded. Sophia looked around but couldn't find any trace of Celitia.
"Have you seen a girl? Light gray curly hair, about my height..."
Sophia gestured to people around her, asking many passersby until finally someone pointed her in the right direction:
"That girl in the gray linen dress? I just saw her walking toward the harbor, clutching her chest, looking quite unwell."
"That's her! Thank you!!"
Sophia's eyes brightened. She thanked the person for directions and hurried toward the harbor.
Fortunately, she didn't have to search too far before spotting Celitia's figure.
The girl had left the busy main road and was walking alone in a quiet alley.
The further she walked, the more unsteady her steps became, and her pace gradually slowed.
Finally unable to go on, Celitia's body swayed, and she leaned weakly against the alley wall, slowly sliding down along the stone bricks.
"Celitia! What's wrong?!"
Sophia was terrified. She rushed over desperately, reaching Celitia's side in just seconds.
The girl was curled up in a ball, her left arm hugging her knees, her right hand tightly clutching her chest. Her messy long curly hair had fallen over her lowered head, hiding her face that was covered with beads of sweat.
She was breathing rapidly, her chest rising and falling, forcing out a few words:
"None of... your business..."
"If only your body were half as strong as your mouth!"
Sophia blurted out in anger. "Besides, seeing you like this, how can anyone possibly leave you alone?"
Celitia closed her eyes: "Busybody..."
This wasn't the first time Sophia had been called that by her. Though annoyed, she had no intention of backing down: "Well, I'm going to be a busybody about this!"
"..."
Being retorted to so loudly by Sophia, Celitia was truly speechless.
"Are you in a lot of pain?" In her anxiety, Sophia gradually calmed down. "Let me take you to the hospital!"
She calculated that the closest and most reliable hospital would be the school infirmary, where Sister Mahee was stationed.
"After resting a while, I'm already feeling much better."
The hand clutching her chest slowly loosened as Celitia took a deep breath, trying to steady her breathing.
"Just let me sit here alone... after a while, I'll recover and have enough strength to walk back."
Celitia was telling the truth.
Her body was more fragile than glass. Just now she had gotten a bit emotional, and the feeling of heartache had triggered actual angina.
However, based on her constitution, she just needed to rest briefly, endure the pain for a while, and she would be fine.
"You must be joking!" Sophia refused without even thinking.
She untied the elegant cloak from her body and, disregarding the dirty ground and wall, wrapped it securely around Celitia.
Sliding her arms under the girl's knees and back, Sophia once again lifted her up in her arms.
Celitia felt her body lighten, and when she came to her senses, she found herself once again being carried in Sophia's arms like a princess. Her face immediately flushed red:
"What are you doing now? Put me down quickly!"
"Do you even need to ask? I'm taking you to the hospital, of course." Sophia answered straightforwardly, adding a taunt: "If you used the energy you spend on protesting to exercise instead, maybe you could improve your health."
"It's none of your concern—"
"When you collapse in front of me, it becomes my concern!"
Realizing that in this situation she couldn't win an argument with Sophia, Celitia could only swallow her protests reluctantly.
Celitia gave up struggling and almost resignedly allowed Sophia to carry her back.
Her cheek pressed against Sophia's chest, feeling the soft touch and even hearing her heartbeat, steady and strong, one beat after another.
A faint lavender scent enveloped her entire body—sweet, clean, and warm. Involuntarily, Celitia gradually closed her eyes.
"Sophia." Celitia suddenly spoke.
"What is it?" Sophia's heart skipped a beat, feeling inexplicably nervous.
Celitia had always addressed her distantly and politely as "Princess Sophia" or "Your Highness." This was the first time she had called Sophia directly by name.
"Didn't I tell you," Celitia's voice was somewhat muffled, carrying a slight sigh, "not to get close to me?"
It will... bring you disaster.
These last words she kept to herself, never actually saying them.
"Don't mention it. For someone as arrogant, disagreeable, and disrespectful as you, the fact that I haven't thrown you in prison already shows how magnanimous I am."
Sophia instinctively retorted at Celitia, but by the end, her voice also carried a hint of resignation.
"I guess... seeing you like this, I just can't leave you alone."
Celitia sighed, feeling her eyelids growing heavier.
In Sophia's embrace, she actually felt sleepy.
Having spent too much energy adjusting magical formulas earlier, now in this reassuring lavender scent, she slowly found it difficult to keep her eyes open.
"...such a... busybody..."
This complaint, tinged with a sigh, was too indistinct to hear clearly.
A faint smile that she herself didn't notice appeared on Celitia's lips. Her breathing gradually became steady and deep as she drifted into dreamland.
"Celitia!"
Sophia called out anxiously, but hearing the slow breathing from the girl in her arms, she realized that she had fallen asleep.
"Don't scare people like that..."
Sophia looked down and saw the girl's slightly upturned lips, as if she were having a pleasant dream.
Her expression gradually relaxed, showing both irritation and helplessness.
"You call me a busybody, but from what I can see, you're no better yourself..."