To be honest, yes, I was being selfish. Selfishness for the sake of stress relief.
Ever since I woke up as a pampered princess with no clue as to what the future held, I hadn’t slept well. Every day was stressful.
Last night, I had a strange dream. A white sticky rice cake-like thing was fluttering out of thin air and asked me, ‘Will you sign a contract with me?’ I couldn’t remember what I said in response, but…
Anyway, the visit from Lysianthus was fortunate for me. I got the contract delivered safely, and I saw what I needed to see.
But he also brought some troubles with him.
For the time being, there must be no indication that House Castraine and I had become friendly, contractual, or otherwise connected in any way.
I even warned Raymon, ‘I’ll still be acting like a brain-dead, crazy maniac in front of everyone, so don’t be too surprised.’
But that Lysianthus bastard showed up without any excuse, coming as soon as the Duke sent him…
Was this another test from the Duke, to see if I could keep my reputation in tatters?
We met, and I’m sure it might happen again, but I was supposed to go around saying, ‘Our relationship is terrible?‘ Wasn’t that too harsh of a test for a poor girl with no money, power, or reputation, Duke Castraine?
So I hummed thoughtfully as I looked at the burnt branches, the open garden windows, and Lysianthus.
And then I laughed merrily.
“Let’s make sure everyone doesn’t forget what happens when we meet, shall we?”
Lysianthus’s eyes narrowed. I took his hand, putting the twig we’d only just burned in it.
“Light a fire, will you?”
“Uh, huh?”
Lysianthus took the twig and lit it up. With the branch crackling and sparking, I jumped up and down with excitement. Then I looked around.
The French windows were wide open. A person could walk in and out of the garden without anyone noticing.
I lit the tablecloth first.
Lysianthus was horrified.
“You, you, you, what are you doing!”
“Wahahahaha! It burns! Wahahah! Vandalism is my favorite!”
“You’re going to set fire to the Rose Palace?!”
You couldn’t tell? Was I setting the fire or pouring water over it?
“What does it matter if I set my palace on fire? No, of course, it matters because it will be in your name!”
“What the hell are you talking about?!”
I didn’t know why this guy was acting like he was the good guy when he was the one who started a fire indoors. It was obvious, why would I ask him to start a fire?
Even a hand needed its pair to clap, thus it was always better to have an accomplice. I was proud of myself, even if what happened today got out.
Because!
What caused Princess Titania to go on a rampage when her accidents had always ended in minor vandalism?
The mad dog who came to curse the foolish Princess for making his precious brother come to visit her on the pretense of being sick!
Let’s make a prospective arsonist an early arsonist, shall we?
I grabbed a branch and twirled around.
“It’s revenge for my broken head! Hahahahahaha, you bastard in charge of the Rose Palace budget! You’ve been so happy embezzling from me in cahoots with the head maid, I’ll cut you open and force your guts back out! Hahahahaha!”
“Wait, what?! Embezzling the budget?”
Lysianthus continued to freak out with each word I said. It’s as though everything I say surprises him anew. As if he didn’t already know that Titania was a despised princess.
I continued on my way, ignoring Lysianthus’s reaction.
No one could stop me, I was going to let everything out!
“Better put out the fire, maids, this won’t be the end of it!”
“You, you, you, are you really crazy! What kind of imperial family would set fire to their own palace!”
“Here it is!”
That’s right.
Titania nearly died in her palace, and no one even mentioned the ‘R’ in ‘renovation’.
Well!
Well, then, why not just force them to do the renovations?!
I flung myself through the wide-open window, dodging Lysianthus, who tried to grab me in a panic.
Pow!
I leaped out into the garden. The lush greenery caught my eye… Nothing to see here. Even so, a palace belonging to a princess would have more than a few flowers, but instead of clicking my tongue, I screamed at the top of my lungs.
“Fire, fire, fire!”
Lysianthus’s face paled at the sound of my maddened voice.
Boom, the fire spread to the ankle-length bushes that had been arranged in the garden, creating an acrid smell.
Sorry, gardener!
Sorry, yew tree!
No, wait, I’m not sorry for the gardener! I’m sorry for the rarely visited Rose Palace! I paid for expensive flower seeds and they planted nothing but evergreens and weeds all year round!
Almost 70% of the people in the despised Rose Palace were spies planted by others, and the remaining 30% were people who had no power at all and just ended up here.
However, even though the 30% part of the members of the Rose Palace were initially forced into it by the circumstances, they were gradually corrupted by those around them who were spies.
In other words, together they belittled and disrespected the princess, embezzled money, and contributed to making her behave like a fool.
What a stupid thing they did.
Even though the ones who were sneaked into the palace as spies will be used and discarded by the higher-ups, there is such a thing as a backup.
They didn’t have any of that, nor did they have any background, so I really couldn’t imagine what they were thinking when they disrespected an Imperial Princess.
To summarize, there was not a single person in the Rose Palace who had even secretly cared for the princess!
I was the one who had to suffer!
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?! You’re endangering yourself! Do you underestimate fire or do you want to die?!”
As I had hoped, the Rose Palace building, which had not been properly insulated or prepared for fire since its construction, burned quite briskly.
It wasn’t long before the exterior walls of the parlor, and the entire area that bordered the garden, were transformed into a living hell.
At this point, an alarmed voice came from the distance.
“Fire!”
“My God, didn’t you say that’s where Lord Lysianthus was?!”
“Her Highness, the Princess…!”
Hmm, not long now.
I smirked at Lysianthus, who was still looking at me with eyes I couldn’t figure out, as I calculated the time in my head.
“I don’t mean to slight you.”
“What kind of crazy…”
“It’s crazy, yes, because if the princess fell off the balcony, they wouldn’t fix it, but once the fire is out, it’s life-threatening, and no one will suspect that she started it herself, right?”
I tossed the twig Lysianthus had lit away. Crackle, crackle, the sound of something burning over and over again. I stomped on the branch. The fire went out faster than I expected.
I whispered in Lysianthus’s ear. His head twitched.
“When they’re rebuilding the Rose Palace, sneak a craftsman in there to make a bunch of secret passages.”
“…”
“I’ll pay you back in full. For now, well. As they say, she’s a young princess who could burn to death if someone started a fire for fun.”
Lysianthus’s eyes widened at my words, and his lips curled as if he were about to speak in mockery. It was then.
“Your Highness!”
A maid cried out in alarm.
I immediately shoved Lysianthus away.
Then I literally glared at him, my fingers trembling with rage as I pointed at him.
“That bastard! That madman! He dared to try to burn the Princess! He tried to burn the Princess! With a magic sword!”
“Your Highness!”
“He dared to set fire to the Imperial Palace! He tried to harm the Princess! Hunt down that traitor!”
As I lunged at Lysianthus as if I would chew him to death, panicked maids and servants rushed forward and grabbed me. I locked eyes with Lysianthus.
His eyes froze in surprise for a moment, then lit up with a meaningful glow.
Yes, unless you’re a fool, you should know why I’m doing this.
“Princess! No!”
“There, get someone to put out the fire!”
Lysianthus’s expression changed. It was a condescending, annoyed look that would make anyone want to punch him.
The cherry on top was his words.
“What do you mean?! That crazy X can’t dodge me because she’s weak! She insulted me by calling me a fool who can’t even make fire with his sword!”
Lysianthus, who was grinding his teeth in anger, drew his sword.
Hmph!
As if waiting for it, flames leaped from Lysianthus’s sword.
