There are no Bad Transcendents in the World

A few days later.

“Lina of Baron Holt meets Princess Frey.”

“Thank you for coming, Lady Baron Holt.”

“Princess, please feel free to call me by my first name.”

In the center of the cluttered room stood Lina Holt, who was chosen as the maid to follow Frey to the north.

Her voice trembled slightly as she greeted Frey.

Her blue eyes, lowered behind thick glasses, showed how frightened she was.

“Then I will call you by your first name. Lina, are you ready to head north?”

“I packed everything I needed.”

“Are you mentally prepared?”

Lina was slightly agitated, not expecting Frey to ask such a friendly question.

She couldn’t have imagined it.

Until the queen sent someone to the Baron’s residence, Lina had been living a normal life.

Then, the queen’s messenger came and declared.

[“Lady Lina, Her Majesty the Queen is looking for you.”]

A baron’s daughter could not refuse the queen’s order to enter the imperial palace.

Lina quickly finished her preparations and entered the queen’s palace.

And there, she felt humiliation and fear.

[“I thought it would be good to send one of the young ladies to be Princess Frey’s maid. You’re not going to turn down the queen’s order, are you?”]

The ones who were called along with her were young ladies who hid in the depths of the mansion.

People who even the messengers of the cult do not know.

However, Lina wasn’t foolish enough to not know that the queen had selected and gathered only those who would become a burden to the princess.

The queen covered her mouth with a fan and even giggled with her close maid. 

[“I have to make her life difficult, so Frey can’t quickly adapt to the North… Any of them will be fine.”]

[“…..”]

A direct evaluation of ‘useless things’ in a polite tone.

A sense of contempt weighed on the shoulders of the young ladies gathered there.

No human being, regardless of status, could be treated in this way.

I knew they were being pointed at as young girls who couldn’t fit into the social world, but to bring them together like this and humiliate them…

‘This is too much….’

On top of that, the thought that the ragged princess would click her tongue and show contempt towards the young ladies who would only become a burden added to her sense of contempt.

However…

[“I don’t know what to do with your care, Your Majesty.”]

Princess Frey’s voice was filled with sincerity.

It was unexpected.

‘I thought she would break the teacup on the spot like the rumors… Did you put up with it because you’re in front of Her Majesty the Queen?’

Lina, who had a bad prejudice against Frey because of the rumors, couldn’t help but be surprised.

Contrary to rumors, the princess was better than the queen.

‘Lady Reina said that she sent letters and gifts to those who were not chosen as maids thanking them for coming to the imperial palace.’

It seemed to be a little different from the rumors.

Maybe the princess was a better person than she thought.

A small hope rose in Lina’s heart.

Frey looked in the mirror and met Lina’s eyes with a benevolent smile she had practiced hard for.

‘If I had been Lina Holt, the insult would have been unbearable.’

I remembered the look of the queen’s eyes as she was “praising” the ladies who could be made maids.

Frey knew that gaze.

[“I shouldn’t have taken care of you. I don’t think you’ll get a job in a good place…”]

My relatives who raised me in my previous life.

[“Obelir gave birth to a lowly bloodline… She’s a half-princess who can’t be used for marriage.”]

The officials who looked down on herself in this life.

They muttered disparaging words as if she was not worth using and not worth existence.

‘Even when I think back to the words I heard back then, my heart hurts—’

Because of that process, I also realized how to overcome harsh words.

[“You’re going to have an upset stomach. Eat slowly. I heard about your parents. You’ve been really sad, right?”]

[“Teacher…”]

Only one person.

Even if there was only one person who cared about her well-being and understood her sorrow, she could manage to endure the feeling of humiliation.

‘Like in my previous life, I decided to teach children after meeting my teacher.’

Frey smiled softly.

I didn’t have the confidence to be as good a person as the teacher I met in my previous life or my current father.

But it wasn’t hard to understand the insult she must have felt.

‘Because a person with wounds tends to lean towards a person who understands the pain.’

I wouldn’t have known this without the precious people who told me that existence alone was valuable.

Frey spoke in a calm tone.

“Lina, first of all, I’m sorry to have you do unplanned maid work because of me.”

“No, Princess.”

Lina’s face said that it wasn’t.

‘It must be similar to how I felt when the director asked me to go hiking on the weekend.’

Frey held back her apologies and opened her mouth again.

“Why do you think I picked you?”

“I am… As you can see, I am not very good at dressing up.”

Lina said, feeling downcast.

“It’s okay because I can dress up. There must be someone there to help me.”

“I won’t be of any help to you.”

“It’s okay. I chose Lina because I thought she would be the most helpful in achieving my goal among the maid candidates.”

“How so…?”

“It’s my first time in the North, so I think I’ll be relieved if I’m with someone who’s good at gathering information.”

“But I-“

“I want you to take care of those things without worrying about dressing up or changing clothes. Because I can do those things on my own.”

Although the northern land itself was barren, it had considerable cultural capital under the protection of the transcendent Grand Duke Prause.

Meaning that if you act like a clueless palace girl, you would be humiliated.

In that sense, Lina Holt, who was good at using her brain, was a very strong supporter.

“I think each person is good at something and faces difficulties.”

“…”

“I know what Lina is good at. So please help me.”

Lina tightened her trembling lower lip.

A single-minded person who only reads books in the corner of the room.

A girl who was better off not showing up in the social world.

A flawed young lady who was perfect as a burden for the princess.

Did I get used to being treated like that without even knowing it?

It was obviously Frey who was asking for help, but for some reason, her heart was touched. 

Lina managed to calm her unknown emotions and answered from her heart.

“Yes, Princess Frey.”

* * *

Meanwhile, the meeting was in full swing at the detached palace where members of the Prause family were staying.

Many matters needed to be dealt with since the main figures of Prause were in the capital.

“In the future, in the event of a marriage with Princess Frey, Prause, who maintained a moderate tendency, will belong to the imperial faction.”

One of the vassals said, still holding onto the hope that the marriage may not happen.

“…”

Daniel, who was sitting in the high chair with a straight posture like a portrait, inadvertently rested his chin.

Frey.

A glimpse of himself in her future.

Although he had no feelings for her at all, seeing his future self servilely clinging to the princess who was about to leave made him feel bad for some reason.

The future girl was calm and unwavering.

‘Looking at the princess’s eyes, it seems that all the mentions of unrequited love were for the sake of the right of absolute obedience.’

Knowing that fact now would have changed the future.

Daniel hated love, but he also hated trying to make a profit using the feeling of love.

He found out that Frey was doing just that, so there was no reason to stick around.

However…

‘If I’m lucky, I might have a chance to investigate the undead monsters in the North thanks to the contract marriage.’

He recalled the undead monsters in the north that had begun to behave strangely recently.

Although weak, Frey also possessed divine power, so it seemed like she would be useful for research.

“Your Highness the Grand Duke?”

Butler Baron carefully called Daniel’s attention.

Daniel, lost in his thoughts during the meeting, responded.

“Ah… I was thinking about something else for a while. I have something to tell you, but I don’t think it’s very good news.”

“Pray tell, Your Highness.”

“I have decided to accept the marriage with Princess Frey.”

Daniel spoke up and brought the teacup to his lips.

It was an act he did when he had no intention of responding to the refutations of his vassals.

“Your Highness, of course, it’s impossible to go against the absolute right of obedience…”

“The princess won’t even remember what she did wrong to the Prause estate to play extravagantly.”

“How about talking to the Lady of Count Vliette right now? I secretly sent her a letter yesterday too…”

Daniel put down the half-empty teacup.

The expression of Prince Prause, who had the most affectionate and benevolent spirit among the nobles of the Empire, was cold.

“Let’s say I made a deal with Princess Frey with a fixed expiration date.”

“If it’s a deal…”

“She’s not going to do anything useless in the North.”

Daniel’s tone was final.

After the meeting ended.

Luke whistled at Baron with a face that seemed relieved.

“Grandpa, are you still happy? It seems like the Grand Duke negotiated with the princess.”

Luke hated Frey very much.

He was wondering what to do if the lord forced him to be polite, but seeing how cold he was to the princess today, it seemed that she would not bow down servilely.

“…”

Baron sighed at his grandson, who had no idea about Grand Duke Prause.

“Luke, I also hope that this situation turns out to be fortunate.”

“Of course it’s fortunate. What do you mean by that again?”

“It seems that the Divine family has not realized anything even after looking at the origins of the grand duchesses of the past.”

“Yeah… I have never read such a boring book.”

Baron sighed as he affectionately patted his grandson’s forehead.

Contract marriage, contract love.

A woman who used to be a knight who came to assassinate the Grand Duke.

A thief caught trying to rob the Grand Duke.

According to what the butlers of the Divine family had organized, Dukes of Prause had a habit of falling for such women for no reason.

[I hope you don’t forget that Prause is the one who goes to kill and returns after doing only killing service.]

‘But looking at your eyes today, it seems that His Highness the Grand Duke will respond decisively.’

Baron pressed his forehead hard, trying to let go of the records left by his grandmother.

***