Anna, with a face now calm as if she had never shed a tear, spoke up.
“Understood, Your Majesty. However, since the children’s emotions have been hurt, may I call Ivnoa and give her a brief warning? I will also have Hugo personally apologize to her.”
Then, Saquar muttered absentmindedly from among the crowd, “As expected, even though the sword wasn’t shoved into his mouth, they managed to shut him up. I should have placed my bet, no matter the outside pressure. Once again, I showed weakness and lost 10 gold coins….”
Of course, Saquar fell silent under the emperor’s sharp glare.
‘He really is a strange person,’
Saquar was always an unpredictable member of the royal family.
Though he currently resided in the palace, he seemed to be a wanderer at heart.
Due to personal circumstances, he had no right to the throne and was not granted any land, so he lived a carefree life like the wind.
‘Well, his end isn’t great, but… that’s far in the future.’
Once Saquar quieted down, Anna gently looked at me and asked again, “Is that all right with you, Princess Ivnoa?”
I nodded in agreement.
The emperor, already turning his attention to some documents, responded, “Make sure that trivial fights like this never disrupt national affairs again. From start to finish, it was extremely irritating and embarrassing. Tch, it would be best to call them in the evening, once they’ve calmed down, to talk it over.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Anna said with a sweet smile, bowing her head.
Her calm demeanor made it hard to believe she had been so enraged just moments before.
“Then we’ll take our leave. Apologies for causing you such trouble.”
I also bowed politely.
The fact that the emperor had declared the incident “Ivnoa’s fault” and would decide on the punishment tomorrow—all of it had gone according to plan.
‘Of course, Anna won’t just sit back.’
Though she had lost her temper at first, she quickly regained her composure.
She was by no means a simple adversary. There was no way she would let this situation slide.
‘But that’s all part of my plan.’
As I pondered this, I failed to notice the emperor’s gaze, which had shifted from the documents and was now fixed on me.
Anna, Hugo, and I left the council room together.
But the moment we stepped out, a group of people rushed toward Hugo and Anna.
“Your Highness, are you all right?”
“Your Majesty, are you okay? Was everything resolved?”
“I saw Lady Bontiferi being dragged away earlier. What happened?”
“Is everything all right with you and His Highness?”
They were Hugo and Anna’s maids, all of whom had been anxiously waiting outside the council room.
But that wasn’t all.
“Your Highness, were you very shocked?”
“My goodness, Your Highness, what on earth happened?”
Several young noblemen, close friends of Hugo, had also gathered around him.
Since my brother had left, Hugo had become the highest-ranking member of the imperial youth social circle.
With Anna’s protection, he naturally had many peers around him.
As the group swarmed around Hugo and Anna, my only companions were the two guards waiting for me.
They yawned and blinked slowly, clearly indifferent.
Naturally, they didn’t bother asking if I was all right.
These guards weren’t really my people; they were Simon’s.
They often slacked off, as they rarely had any real work to do.
Although my brother had asked his close nobles to “take care of Ivnoa,” they all assumed Simon would handle everything, so they didn’t pay much attention to me.
It was no surprise, then, that no one was there for me.
I couldn’t help but glance over at Hugo.
“It’s all right, Hugo,” Anna comforted him, wrapping her arm around his shoulder.
“I had them prepare your favorite milk pudding. That will cheer you up.”
No one openly criticized me.
After all, I was still the legitimate princess under the protection of the Crown Prince.
But no one paid me any attention either. Who would care about a princess who had suddenly caused such a big incident after being locked away in her room all day?
Suddenly, I felt the cold reality that there wasn’t a single person in the world who was on my side.
‘It’s fine. I’m not jealous. I’m not lonely.’
I took a deep breath and began to make my way through the crowd.
‘I may not have my parents, but at least I have friends.’
The reason I caused this whole commotion was to meet Kayan.
There were quite a few complicated steps required to meet him naturally, so I had no choice but to go through with it.
‘If it were Kayan, he’d have been glaring fiercely, ready to follow me all the way to the meeting room.’
And the countless knights from the North who raised me… If we were to meet again, they’d surround me with interest, asking, “What sword did you use? What angle did you strike at? Did you apply enough strength?”
So, even though I felt a bit lonely right now, it was okay.
‘I’ll find my people again and keep them by my side, no matter what.’
I straightened my back and spoke to one of the guards.
“I’m hungry. Go ahead and have a chicken pie prepared quickly.”
“Yes, Princess.”
The guard responded without any courtesy or warmth, then hurried off.
Holding my head high, I walked through the crowd of people who had come to see Hugo and Anna.
As I slowly made my way, I heard a voice behind me, “Wait, wait a moment!” followed by the screech of a door opening.
But I didn’t turn around, assuming it was someone with business with Hugo.
As expected, I didn’t hear anyone calling out, “Princess Ivnoa, are you all right?”
When I returned to the princess’s quarters, a chicken pie had already been placed on the table.
The maids started asking, “Why did you do that?”
but I waved them off, telling them I didn’t want to talk.
Eating the pie alone, it somehow didn’t taste as good.
Still, I had to prepare to be summoned by Anna later for a “talking-to.”
I forced myself to finish the whole pie.
‘Hmph.’
Even after emptying the plate, the sinking feeling in my chest didn’t go away.
So there was no way Hugo would feel better just from eating some milk pudding.
‘I’m not jealous at all.’
I sat quietly for a long time, staring at the empty plate.
Because I was acting so differently from my past life, my mother’s last words came to mind on their own.
“When I die and you go to the imperial palace, don’t have foolish thoughts and just listen to Edwin. Don’t be a burden to Edwin, and live as though you’re dead. You’ll never be able to keep up with Edwin.”
With her face pale from approaching death, my mother had said that to me in a room where only the two of us remained.
“A legitimate child? Second in line for the throne? Don’t get carried away by such nonsense. You’re a completely different, incomplete member of the royal family compared to Edwin.”
Her words were understandable, in a way. I had lived recklessly in the North for 12 years, after all.
“Promise me. Promise that you’ll never be a burden to Edwin. Don’t act like you know anything and pretend you’re really second in line for the throne. Do you understand?”
All I could do was look at her and promise. After my brother left, I really kept to myself. I was afraid of being a burden.
I listened to my brother as my mother instructed, and I obeyed Simon as my brother had told me.
“But Mother,” I quietly murmured, “I’m sorry. I don’t think I can keep your last words anymore.”
The guilt of that realization squeezed my throat.
In my previous life, when I shut myself away in the princess’s quarters, claiming to uphold my mother’s dying wish, I ruined myself.
At some point, I was consumed by helplessness and depression, until I became someone who could truly do nothing.
But Kayan saved me in the end, and that’s when I woke up and regained my will to live.
‘I can’t help betraying my mother and brother’s wishes. But Kayan, if only you were by my side like before…’
Then, in this life, I might not fall apart.
You would praise me for taking charge of my actions, telling me, “Well done.”
So, no matter what, I will get you back.
‘Even if we can’t go back to how things were right away, I won’t give up.’
No matter how much distance Kayan might put between us or how many walls he builds, I’ll make sure to bring him back to my side.
‘Anyway, I’ll definitely go see you tomorrow.’
I missed him so much—the boy I drove away with my own hands a year ago.
And I missed my brother, who had gone far away.
The loneliness of being alone since the day I returned to the past was so overwhelming that I secretly shed a few tears.
At least for this moment, it felt a little lonely knowing that no one was thinking of me.
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