Chapter 4:
Return (4)
I brushed off my rear and stood up with dignity, walking ahead of the guards. From the next room, I heard a voice, heavily deflated.
“What… Already leaving?”
Of course, why would the legitimate heir of the royal family stay here for days? Did you think this was a prison cell? It seems you are even lower than that.
“Wait. And hold onto hope.”
Thinking of the bond we formed by criticizing the Emperor together, I’ll try to find a way to get you released.
Although my tongue was tied and I couldn’t fully express my intentions, I succeeded in keeping my words brief and left the prison, walking slowly. Somehow, I felt bad, as if I had just ordered a dog to stay and left it behind.
I really am too kind-hearted.
Feeling pity for a criminal just because they act a little pitiful—what’s wrong with me?
The place I was led to by the guards was not the Emperor’s audience chamber. It wasn’t his bedroom, nor was it a private room or a reception room. In any case, it wasn’t a place where that blockhead should have been.
This was the Empress’s Palace, a place that should be unoccupied.
Our country has always upheld monogamy, and the position of Empress was currently vacant. There had been moves to bring in a new Empress, but I heard it was abandoned due to the Emperor’s severe trauma.
But the fact that the Emperor was here probably meant that he had hastily assigned the Empress’s Palace to a new woman.
It was a situation that defied both law and common sense, something that would make the ancestors of the 500-year imperial dynasty weep.
Though, my mother was a bit… well…
Honestly, from what I heard, the situation was traumatic enough.
Anyway, how can an Emperor be too scared of his late wife to take a new Empress? What an embarrassing situation.
No wonder he’s earned the reputation of being a tyrant of the highest order.
“Her Highness the Princess has arrived.”
But that idiot, after summoning me, didn’t even call for me to enter.
Hmm… It’s likely one of two things: he either plans to punish me or he’s in the middle of doing “that.”
Since that blockhead isn’t smart enough to be scheming, it’s probably the latter. Just as I was thinking this, I heard him call me in sooner than expected.
What? So it wasn’t the latter?
“Visha.”
“Yes.”
“Where are your manners?”
“Goodbye.”
“…….”
“…….”
Since I had already decided to be reckless, I recklessly responded, and the blockhead made a maid force me to kneel.
On the bed, a woman who seemed to be his lover was staring at me, swinging her legs, while this blockhead approached me shirtless, completely devoid of shame.
“Visha, I heard you hit Trimuti?”
So that’s the name of that little brat.
But since he’ll soon disappear from the palace, I decided not to remember it.
“Apologize to my mother and brother.”
“Didn’t your mother burn to death?”
It hadn’t even been a year yet.
My mother, the last Empress of the Kingdom of Kisolmalos and the proud eldest daughter of the Lorowi family, had chosen to commit suicide by self-immolation out of fury towards the blockhead.
She actually intended to die together with him, but thanks to the overly diligent guards, she failed.
The Emperor sustained burns on half of his body due to my mother, and for the next six months, he couldn’t eat meat because the smell of her burning lingered in his nose.
Smack!
As I chuckled at the thought of how pathetic this so-called Emperor was, my head snapped to the side. It had only been a day since I decided to live recklessly, yet I had already been hit so many times.
“Don’t you dare mention that woman! I’ll forgive you if you apologize to my mother and brother.”
“Did your burnt mother come to apologize?”
Smack!
After slapping me twice, the blockhead seemed intent on dragging me to his lover and forcing me to bow my head.
How could this be? No matter how much he’s infatuated with that woman, how can he demand that the only legitimate heir bow to such a woman?
As I loathed this idea more than being torn apart by a horse, I grabbed the nearby lamp that was only used for setting the mood, smashed it on the floor, and the oil quickly soaked into the carpet, causing the fire to spread easily.
“Hey! This is for my mother!”
Did you think I wouldn’t be able to do what my mother did?
I stepped onto the flames, crushing the glass underfoot, and hugged the Emperor tightly. Startled, the blockhead threw me off and screamed.
“She’s gone mad! Lock her up in the dungeon immediately!”
Hey, you blockhead! If I had been a bit stronger, you and I would both be on our way to the afterlife together today.
Consider yourself lucky!
At the Emperor’s command, the servants hurriedly put out the flames on my skirt and lifted me up to carry me out of the room.
Before I left this place, I raised my voice once again.
“Hey, you better live right!”
Didn’t I just speak pretty clearly? Maybe it was because I was so furious, but it felt like the blood was circulating well, and my tongue was moving smoothly.
I cheered inwardly, but as soon as I saw the prison again, my mood became gloomy once more.
Contrary to my miserable state of mind, I heard a very cheerful voice coming from the next room.
“Your Highness the Princess, have you already returned?”
Yes, convict. Be happy. It seems we won’t be apart for a while.
I was hot from all the anger. As I fanned myself with my hand, I heard a ripping sound from the next room, and a few pieces of paper were thrown over.
For a convict, he’s pretty quick-witted. Grateful for what he offered, I spread the paper on the floor and started making a fan.
As I read the words on the pages, they seemed oddly familiar. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was an analysis of a republic.
*The Great Debate of Martin on Republics*
Isn’t this a banned book in the Empire?
“You fool! No wonder you’re locked up!”
“Oh, you recognize this book?”
“Martin’s Great Debate on Republics! You crazy idiot! Crazy convict!”
“Hahaha!”
What’s so funny? You’re someone who should be punished by the gods.
This thing isn’t just any item; it must’ve come from the heavens.
The god of this convict’s family must be truly extraordinary to acquire something so valuable.
Our world consists of a single continent and a single ocean, but the gods of the heavens have connections with other universes, so they occasionally send down fascinating items during rituals.
This book, *The Great Debate on Republics* by Martin, was one of those gifts bestowed upon the royal family by Kisolmalos long ago. Since it’s a book that denies the concept of an absolute monarchy, it was sealed away as a banned book in the royal library, but I managed to glance at it before my death.
At the time, I was desperate to dethrone that blockhead. I was even mad enough to consider holding a national referendum to replace the Emperor.
Unfortunately, my position within the royal family was too weak, so it was a fruitless endeavor, and it remained nothing more than a thought.
Even if I had wanted to stir up the people, my image was so tarnished among the citizens that I couldn’t even step outside the palace.
The reason for my bad reputation among the citizens was due to the luxury goods and real estate purchased by the blockhead’s lovers. I had often invited high-end boutique owners and officials to the Princess’s Palace to get refunds, leading to rumors among the people that I was the one responsible for the royal family’s extravagance.
At the time, I had neither the means nor the power to suppress these rumors, and I thought that once I ascended to the throne, the gossip would naturally disappear… but in the end, my body was torn into five pieces.
It was an incredibly unfair incident.
“Do you know how to fold paper?”
“Of course! What do you take me for?”
I can’t do anything too difficult, but at least I know how to fold a fan!
I meticulously folded the paper into a fan shape, and after finishing it, I folded it in half and started fanning myself.
Ah, now I can breathe a little. I thought I was going to die from the heat.
Was it worse because I was injured?
“Hey, guard!”
These wicked people, just because they locked me up doesn’t mean they shouldn’t treat my injuries!
Frustrated, I smacked the bars with the fan and demanded treatment. A guard quickly rushed over. Hearing my angry orders, he said he would check with his superior and asked me to wait for a moment, bowing his head.
“Are you hurt?”
“Ugh, that blockhead!”
Wow! I guess I can speak properly when I’m really angry.
Seizing the moment when my tongue was well-lubricated, I vented to the convict about how that blockhead slapped me and how my skirt caught on fire.
Then, right beside me—
Crack!
The sound of two prison bars snapping echoed, and before my eyes appeared someone who looked like a bear.
“…Is that you, Bear Convict?”
“Tsk.”
Why is this guy clicking his tongue when he sees me instead of greeting me?
With a bushy beard and hair, it was hard to tell if his eyes were open or not. He wore a dark fur cloak that made it look like he was draped in bear skin. In short, he looked just like a bear.
The burly convict, seeming to forget that he was a prisoner, walked out casually, and the passing guards saluted him, saying, “Have a safe trip, sir!”
I wondered if it was okay for a criminal to roam so freely, but no one besides me seemed to find it strange.
Uh… Who exactly is this convict?
