“Her Royal Highness, the Second Princess of the Kingdom of Lamore, has arrived.”
The answer is simple. All I need to do is catch the eye of the person with the most power, in this case the emperor. I don’t even need to be favored. I just need to catch the emperor’s eye enough to pique his curiosity.
That much alone will allow me to make the other children in the same hostage situation fear me.
And attracting the attention of the powerful is all too easy for me.
I bowed my head slowly, following the chamberlain’s introduction. Children’s bodies are not in proportion to adults’, so even a greeting had to be done carefully to avoid falling over.
I could feel the emperor’s gaze lingering on me, perhaps drawn by my respectful demeanor that belied my small stature. Just as I had expected.
“What is this? Just a lump of flesh?”
But this remark was unexpected. I was so taken aback by the undignified tone of voice I had never heard in the main hall that I almost looked up.
“Your Majesty, this is the main hall.”
I couldn’t help but think that someone had just spoken my mind before I did.
Judging by the direction of the voice, it must have been the empress. Well, at least one of them must be in their right mind. I thought this while keeping my head bowed.
In my own country, there would already be five memorials written, saying, “Your Majesty, it is said that words are the windows of the heart. Always maintain proper speech and so on and so forth.” But in another country, who cares if anyone is in their right mind as long as the diplomacy works?
“Oh, alright, Empress. I’ll be careful.”
There seems to be no point in worrying any further, as the emperor seems to be willing to listen to the empress’s opinion. While I was idly thinking about this, the order to leave was given.
“Princess Blanche. The Emerald Palace has been prepared for you, so you may withdraw.”
This is when I need to open my mouth. I opened my mouth and, with great care in each pronunciation, managed to utter a single word.
“Thank you for your consideration.”
In a way that doesn’t show my clumsy pronunciation, and using a word that ordinary children wouldn’t use.
In a normal situation, this much alone would never be enough to attract attention. But right now, everyone in the main hall was watching me. And I’m 3 years old.
Because of this, everyone here will have looked at me once more. And they might even have a word or two to say to each other. They might say that Princess Blanche from the Kingdom of Lamore is clever.
Unless there is some major upset, that will probably be the end of it. There won’t be anyone among the envoys who will be particularly interested in me.
But that’s all I need. If there is just that much reaction, I can give the impression to the imperial officials who will share the Emerald Palace with me that the imperial dignitaries are looking forward to my future.
I can make them think that it is better to be friendly to me than to bully me, even if it’s just to save the empire’s face.
That’s all I need.
I felt the gazes fixed on me take on different colors as I left the main hall with satisfaction. My first step on the day I arrived in the Retail Empire was more than enough.
* * *
Yi Baek-ryeon, or Blanche, is not the type to underestimate herself. Blanche was very aware of her own talents.
However, Blanche overestimated what a three-year-old child could do.
An ordinary three-year-old would never stay calm and quiet after being dragged to the main hall following a month-long journey without rest.
An ordinary three-year-old wouldn’t know the word “gratitude,” let alone use it correctly in an appropriate context.
An ordinary three-year-old wouldn’t be able to stand with their back straight and shoulders squared like that.
By doing everything that an ordinary three-year-old couldn’t, Blanche left a deeper impression than she had intended.
“Interesting, that one.”
The Emperor, who had been waiting for Blanche to leave, gave his assessment. At his tone, the Empress sitting beside him narrowed her eyes.
“Your Majesty, there are some things you shouldn’t say to people.”
“Ah, yes. That’s right.”
The man, who had ascended to the throne of the Empire at the mere age of 22, smiled brilliantly.
“Then how does the Empress assess Princess Blanche?”
One who can hide her fatigue after a month-long journey. One who can freely use words like ‘consideration’ and ‘gratitude.’ Yet, one who isn’t overly talkative.
“She seemed cute and well-behaved… Still, sending a three-year-old, Lamore has gone too far.”
“Yes, I expected the Empress to say as much.”
“Pardon? What do you mean by that—”
“Now, summon the next in line for the report.”
The Emperor had thought of a child upon seeing Blanche. His younger brother.
Grand Duke Melchizedek George Pendleton, the current first in line for the throne, who was 17 years his junior. He was awarded the title of Grand Duke at the age of five and would eventually ascend to the throne.
Like Blanche, he was precocious for his age, never revealing his true state, concealing his weaknesses, and understanding not to flaunt his abilities everywhere.
‘She’s worth checking out.’
Birds of a feather flock together. Talented individuals need friends who match their abilities. And the Emperor had never seen anyone who suited his brother.
If Blanche was indeed such a talent, her status as a princess from a minor country wouldn’t matter at all. What mattered most was his brother’s happiness.
Thus, the Emperor decided to meet Blanche once more. This outcome exceeded what Blanche had intended.
* * *
How fragile a three-year-old’s body is. I collapsed as soon as I arrived in the room assigned to me in the Emerald Palace.
The last thing I remember was Tula’s scream fading into the distance beyond my fading consciousness.
After that, I regained consciousness a few more times, but I would soon lose it again after, Tula, who was by my side, fed me soup or water.
“……consciousness……”
“……dare to……”
I regained consciousness because of the voices I heard outside. No, it wasn’t because it was noisy. In the first place, the voices were so loud that I couldn’t understand more than half of them.
What woke me up was the emotion mixed in with those voices.
I heard that voice the last time I met His Majesty. In other words, it means that it is the voice that comes out when the ruler is extremely displeased.
Triggered by trauma, I rolled out of bed. The bed was a little high for my three-year-old body, so it was almost a fall, but I didn’t feel any pain.
“You seem to be quite free with your mouth. Shall I make you even freer?”
Fortunately, Tula’s neck was still intact by the time I opened the door. Before it was too late, I almost threw myself in front of the Emperor. The skin that was rubbed against the floor was burning hot.
“I kreet you, Your Mashtey. (I greet you, Your Majesty.)”
After becoming this body, I didn’t like the way I sounded, so I tried not to talk as much as possible in front of others. When I had to speak, I chose words that would not sound muffled.
But now was not the time to play with my words.
“Ah, here you are. Finally, I get to see your expensive face.”
With that one sentence, I could guess what had happened before I woke up.
The Emperor must have come to see me suddenly, and Tula, in a panic, told him that I was bedridden. The Emperor wouldn’t have cared.
“It all my folt. (It’s all my fault.)”
This is true. Tula is not at fault.
Both the Kingdom of Lamore and the Empire of Retail are monarchies, but the strictness of the class system varies from country to country.
I guess the Kingdom of Lamore has a more relaxed class system and the Empire of Retail has a stricter one.
So Tula must have been terrified when she was told to bring a three-year-old who was sick in bed to the Emperor, no matter who he was, and the Emperor must have been angry at the mere word of a maid who dared to contradict the Emperor.
But even I, as an intermediary, can see that Tula is not at fault. It’s the Kingdom of Lamore’s fault.
No, if you’re going to send someone to a powerful country with a clear class system, shouldn’t you send them after training them? After all, if Tula causes trouble here, it will backfire on them, won’t it? Well, I guess that’s why they’re a small country.
And the next one at fault is me. Even though I look like a three-year-old on the outside, I’m a 65-year-old chancellor on the inside, so I should have expected this.
I should have warned Tula that if a high-ranking person from the Empire comes to see me, she should wake me up even if she has to throw cold water on me.
Since these people in the Kingdom of Lamore haven’t been properly educated, it means that I’m the one who should be taking responsibility for this now.
“Cat of my tonk and punich me for my mistaces. (Cut off my tongue and punish me for my mistakes.)”
So I prostrated myself and begged for mercy.
My pronunciation was muffled, even to the point of wondering if I should choose my words a little more carefully. But whether he understood the atmosphere or actually understood, the Emperor did not ask again.
“Is that your fault? Ah. So, does that mean you fell asleep on purpose after telling her not to wake you up if the Emperor ever came?”
I was as astonished as he was, I couldn’t help but think that this Emperor was really something else. Is that how he talks to a three-year-old? The Kingdom of Lamore should have thanked me a hundred times for my existence.
If I didn’t have any memories of my previous life, no matter how smart I was, I would have cried at this point. No, I wouldn’t have been able to wake up and run out right away, so when I came out, all I would have seen was my dead maid.
“Its dhe foult of dhe soperior four dhe mistaces of dhe sabordinate. Its my foult for not manjing my sabordinate well, so pwease punich me. (It’s the fault of the superior for the mistakes of the sabordinate. It’s my fault for not managing my subordinate well, so please punish me.)”
A moment of what seemed like an eternity passed, and a clear laugh was heard from above my head.
“Haha. It seems my joke went a bit too far. Get up, Princess Blanche. It was just a prank, I’m not mad.”
It was an unbelievable statement, but I was relieved that he didn’t seem like he was going to cut my throat and Tula’s right now.
“Your Mashestys gwace covers dhe wolld. (Your Majesty’s grace covers the world.)”
My body is still filled with fatigue, and my whole body aches because the tension has been released. But I couldn’t just pass out like this, so I held back a sigh of relief and raised my head.
When I raised my head, I saw a handsome man with a gentle smile on his face, as if he had never been angry.
* * * *
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