“Can I not go in?”
She felt comfortable being next to her nanny. ‘Why are the princesses who grew up without having to fetch a drop of water with their own hands gathered in this room right now? Why are there no attendants?’ By seeing this, she could already picture her future.
“No, you have to.”
“No, look. There are only princesses here, right?”
“Yes.”
“But what would happen if I, the abandoned princess, went in there?”
“I don’t know.”
“I would obviously become a floor mat!”
“No, you won’t.”
“How about I give you another rice ball?”
“No.”
“How about two? I’m sure my rice balls are more delicious than what you made.”
“No.”
‘No, I don’t want to go in.’
Lugard didn’t even budge. In the end, Luana had to enter the room where the princesses were gathered with the remaining rice balls in her arms.
‘God, save me.’
Before entering the room, Luana placed her ear to the door and overheard the princess talking.
“I’m hungry! Are you not even giving me food?”
“Maybe they want us to starve to death!”
“No way…”
“I don’t want to die! And I want to have a shower. Why aren’t there any maids?! How am I supposed to shower by myself?”
There was a commotion inside. ‘I have to go inside.’ Luana had a dark look and took a deep breath. Then she firmly turned to the doorknob.
Click-
As Luana opened the door and entered, the princess, who had been full of complaints, turned their gaze to Luana.
‘It’s time!’
“I brought some rice! First come, first serve!”
As soon as Luana shouted, half of the princesses moved quickly. The other half missed their opportunity, started complaining, and raised their voice.
Among the princesses, there was Ingrid, who didn’t seem to be stuck up like the other princesses. After all, she is famous for being an angel!
“Me! I’m first!”
She was the princess who just now dared to try to seduce Legion. Now she doesn’t look like she was going to seduce anyone since her appearance now was shabby.
‘But what did I do to deserve to be treated this way? I was just kneeling at the square for a moment. Now suddenly, I got thrown into a dungeon!’ She felt it was unfair.
“Here you go.”
She came first, so Luana placed the rice ball in the princess’ hands.
“Huh? What is this?”
The princess narrowed her eyes and stared at the rice balls. It was not because there were no rice dishes here, but this dish looked unfamiliar to her since the rice is usually served in the form of risotto. ‘Yeah, how would the princess know what the shape of a grain of rice looks like?’
Luana explained the dish with a gracious look.
“This is rice that has been mixed with stir-fried vegetables and shaped into a ball.”
“Is.. is this edible?”
“You can eat it.”
“Hmm.”
“You can give it back if you don’t want to eat it. This might be your last supper.”
“My last supper? What? Is the Duke going to kill us?”
“Is there a good chance that he won’t kill us? So, you are not going to eat?”
“No! I’ll eat!”
The princess returned to where she sat before with her rice ball. She was so stimulated by the word ‘last supper’ that she cherished the rice ball. She sat on one of the sofas, on which another princess was already sitting.
‘Who came up with the idea to put these princesses in one room?’
Luana gave the rice ball to the second princess, who was already standing in line. Luana made four rice balls, and then she gave the third rice ball to the third princess, so there was only one left.
“It’s finished!”
When Luana shouted, the princesses who were standing up poured out complaints.
“I haven’t got my share yet!”
“Yeah, give me more!”
“How can I give more rice balls when there is none left?”
Luana moved quickly and sat beside Ingrid. Then, the princesses shouting here and there hesitated and stopped complaining. Some princesses hated Ingrid, but it was difficult to express their hate openly. Because Ingrid has always been kind and deeply trusted by the King, she was known as a kind princess in the kingdom’s social circle, so if they did something wrong, their reputation would only deteriorate.
Luana sighed and took the last rice ball. ‘How can a person live only with one meal?’ Even though she had her dinner, this one counted as her night snack, which was inevitable in the current situation. However, when she took out the last rice ball, everyone’s eyes turned to her.
“You said there is none left!”
Someone protested, but Luana didn’t budget.
“Because this is my late night snack!”
Then she looked back and found Ingrid’s gaze on the rice ball! ‘I guess you’re also hungry.’ Luana never made any compromise regarding food, but seeing Ingrid look so human for the first time, Luana split the rice ball in half and gave it to Ingrid.
“Eat this.”
Luana gave the other half of the rice ball to Ingrid. ‘Come to think of it, you’re a poor girl. There’ll be a crazy Emperor who would mislead you, then you lose your kingdom and your life would be like a lantern in front of the wind. You might suffer in the future, but I can only do this much to you.’
“Oh my,”
The clear blue eyes that resemble the lake sparked.
“Are you giving this to me?”
“Yes!”
“Thank you.”
Ingrid hesitated for a moment and then took the rice ball. The tip of her ear was red when she took it. She chewed the rice balls slowly.
A grain of rice stuck near her mouth, but she was so focused on eating the rice ball that she didn’t realize it. Luana reached out and removed the rice from her mouth. As her hand approached, she was surprised, and her body stiffened, and her cheeks turned red. To cover up her embarrassment, she rubbed her mouth for no reason.
‘This is why the Emperor has fallen for you! It was this loveliness that made me want to hug and pinch your cheeks!’
The night grew deeper as Luana continued to admire Ingrid.
***
Lugard was patrolling the outside of the King’s Palace. Next to him, Henry was walking on guard from the same knighthood. They were both young knights from the Order of Knights, so they had a good relationship.
He looked around carefully, but he couldn’t see anyone who could be a threat because most of them were already dead or imprisoned.
“But what will be going on?”
“Huh? About what?”
“About the royals, they’re still alive.”
“Yes, they are.”
Initially, if it was Legion, who they usually knew, the royals must’ve already been beheaded, and their heads would’ve been hung in front of the gate. The remaining body would have been dumped in a distant field to feed the wild animals. But this time, they were kept alive exceptionally.
“Are they going to be executed in public?”
“I don’t know.”
Suddenly the foolish-looking abandoned princess flashed in Lugard’s mind. Her bold act was as daring as leaving one’s liver out. She was fearless and had strange confidence because she didn’t know the outside world. That’s why it was memorable.
Most of all, she helped him make this. Lugard touched the rice balls he had. He took it with him on his patrol and was going to eat it during a break.
“It’s clear!”
“Yes, now get some rest.”
After safely switching shifts with the other knights, Henry immediately drank water. Then he munched down the jerky that he took out from his pocket. ‘If I could, I wish I could eat the dishes made by the royal chef, but I couldn’t.’ Even a royal chef is untrusted in the enemy’s country. If he collapsed after eating poisoned food, he would never be able to face Legion.
“Munch. It was said that this jerky was the finest one, but it’s not delicious at all. It’s tough and hard to chew.”
“That’s all they supplied on the battlefield.” said Lugard as he took a bite of the rice ball he had taken out from his arms.
“Oh, wait! That’s not beef jerky! It’s not even bread. What are you eating?”
“Well,”
Lugard took a big bite and explained the situation to Henry.
“What?! Can you eat that?”
“There’s nothing wrong with it.”
“That’s true, but…”
While Henry looked at him worried, Lugard ate the rice ball heartily.
“Is it delicious?”
“Yeah.”
“Hmm, give me some, too.”
“I thought you were worried about the food.”
“Is there anything wrong with worrying about a friend?!”
Lugard gave Henry the leftover rice ball. Henry hesitated and closed his eyes tightly, and pushed the rice ball into his mouth. Then, after that, he focused on eating rice balls without saying anything. A fistful of rice disappeared like magic in an instant.
“What’s this?!”
“Why?”
“It’s delicious!”
Henry exclaimed in admiration.
“Is there any more?”
“None.”
“It’s an interesting taste. It’s very simple, but it suits my taste. I want to eat more. My appetite has rejuvenated.”
Henry grumbled and licked his fingers.
“Is it that delicious?”
“Of course! Were you going to eat this alone?”
Lugard shut his mouth and shook his head as he looked at Henry, who was excited. He pointed behind with his eyes, but he was not quickly aware of it, perhaps because he was too excited. Behind Henry was a tall figure looking down at him.
It was a Legion.
“Yeah, it looks delicious.”
It was only after hearing another voice speak that Henry noticed the situation. He turned around in fright, immediately bowed down, and sat down on one knee.
“Your Grace, you’re here!”
However, without looking at Henry, Legion asked Lugard.
“So where did you get that?”
“The princess gave it to me earlier.”
Lugard confessed frankly.
“Do you think you can just eat any food from outside carelessly?”
“I’m sorry! I’ll take any punishment!”
Legion’s eyebrows rose.
“Then let’s start by putting on your armor and going around the training camp.”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
The two quickly got up and went to wear their armors. From then on, they would have to go around the camp until Legion told them to stop.
“So, that’s what happened.”
Legion’s gaze looking in the dark was cold.
“You’re such a shrewd princess.”
Legion sauntered as if seeping into the darkness. He headed his steps to the room where the princesses were held.
