“By the way, the young lord sent a morning snack again today. He’s so kind to send these every day, isn’t he? It’s lemon cake.”
Because of their sweet tone and smiles, in my previous life, I thought they genuinely cared for me.
“Your Highness… If you act recklessly, you’ll waste the hard work of Crown Prince Edwin, who is suffering on the battlefield.”
“Your Highness, you mustn’t say you’re frustrated. Any careless actions on your part would only burden the Cerno family, who are doing their best to protect you.”
But looking back now, I realize they had been undermining me all along, right beside me.
If they had simply abused or visibly bullied me, it would have been easier to escape.
But for eight years, they had collectively suffocated me with their fake kindness.
“Your Highness isn’t used to life in the imperial palace, so you don’t know how things are. This is how it’s supposed to be.”
“Your Highness, if you keep acting like this, the Barcklith family, who have served you since childhood, will be blamed. People will say it’s because you have lowly northern blood.”
And with such kind words, they eventually drove me out of the palace on the last day.
“When the young lord calls, you must go. Have a nice walk. Oh, you can leave your sword behind. You have guards with you, after all.”
That’s how I ended up going into the nearby forest, only to face a swarm of assassins.
My brother had warned me not to leave the palace, but I thought it would be fine since Simon had called for me.
Their kindness had masked the truth—they had been pushing me into danger with smiling faces all along.
The thought of it still made my teeth clench with anger.
One of the maids offered the cake again, kindly.
“Come on, have a taste. Isn’t it so pretty?”
But in truth, if there was anyone who could match false kindness with false kindness, it was me.
I smiled warmly at the maids, shaking my head as I responded gracefully.
“Oh dear, I don’t think I can eat it.”
“Huh?”
“I feel a bit nauseous, like I might throw up.”
The maid looked startled and asked, “Is it the lemon scent that’s bothering you?”
I covered my mouth with my small hand and smiled sweetly, swallowing the words that almost slipped out.
‘No, it’s the face of the person who sent it.’
Even the thought of Simon’s face made my stomach churn.
As I continued to smile gently without answering, one of the maids stepped forward, looking concerned.
“Your Highness, are you upset about yesterday? Actually, the young lord was very busy last night. That’s why he couldn’t make time to see you. But he sent this instead this morning.”
What I received was a hairpin studded with multicolored jewels.
“Isn’t it beautiful? He’s such a thoughtful fiancé.”
Without even glancing at the hairpin, I turned my head away.
The maid, surprised, asked, “Why, Your Highness?”
“Well, just looking at it makes me nauseous.”
“Huh? Is it too colorful and making you feel sick?”
Again, I only answered in my head.
‘Of course it makes me sick. His vile intentions, his twisted soul, his rotten character… it’s all so colorful, isn’t it?’
I could forgive betrayal, maybe. But the fact that he crippled me and closed my ears just so he could ‘use’ me more easily—that was unforgivable.
He was also responsible for the deaths of Arthur and my brother.
In some ways, I hated him more than Anna or Hugo.
Still hiding my true feelings, I smiled sweetly and changed the subject.
“I’m supposed to receive a punishment from His Majesty today. Is there any word about it?”
“Oh, right! His Majesty’s aide sent word this morning asking to be informed once you woke up. So we’ve already sent a maid to inform him.”
“I see.”
“She’s been gone for a while now, so we should hear back soon. Oh, and Simon said he’ll be coming to the palace today because of the punishment.”
As I listened to the maid, I opened the newspaper I had been reading again. It had an article titled The Capital is No Longer Safe – The Disappearances of Children Continue. I responded indifferently.
“If His Majesty’s schedule allows, I’ll head over in the evening. Before that, I’m planning to borrow some books from the library.”
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
“It seems the maid has returned. One moment, please.”
The maid smiled as she excused herself from my side.
I quietly clenched my teeth inside.
But in order to deceive Simon, I couldn’t afford to have a falling out with the maids right now.
Besides, my personality wasn’t one to cause a ruckus or lash out violently. Picking fights or scolding the maids didn’t suit me at all.
As a child, I even once confided in Kayan about this part of my personality.
“Kay, why am I like this? I can’t even get angry properly or speak harshly…”
“Don’t worry, Iv.”
At that time, Kayan didn’t offer much of a solution.
“You don’t need to worry about it.”
“Why? Because you’ll protect me no matter what happens? Is that why you’re saying it’s okay?”
“No. Well, it’s definitely not that. If you were good at showing your temper and speaking harshly here, you’d probably grow into a tyrant who’d leave a mark on history. We should all be thankful that your outward demeanor is different from your inner self.”
So, I had to distance myself from the maids in another way.
‘Once the maid informs me of His Majesty’s schedule, I’ll just move according to that.’
I sighed as I continued reading the newspaper.
“H-H-His Majesty the Emperor?”
One of the maids stammered in shock.
Huh? His Majesty?
The voices of the panicking maids and attendants followed.
“We greet the empire’s greatest sun, His Majesty the Emperor!”
I could only gape in surprise.
What? His Majesty is here at the princess’s palace?
● ● ●
When I was a child living in the north, my mother, the former crown princess, spent most of her time confined to bed.
Every morning, I would go to her bedside to greet her.
“It’s such a strange thing…”
Then, after sending everyone away, my mother would mutter similar words every day.
“I wasn’t normally so quick-tempered, but that day, I was furious. I had a sense that Anna would enter the imperial palace, but… when I finally learned for sure, I was so overcome with rage that I didn’t know what to do.”
My mother spent her days lamenting her fate, going from being the most noble lady in the palace to a convict in the north.
“I was always so calm, so why did I act like that?”
My mother’s eyes would gaze intently at me.
“I found out the reason after coming here.”
I would lower my head, fidgeting with my fingers.
“It’s because I was pregnant with you. Pregnancy can make your emotions unstable. That’s why I wasn’t myself.”
“I’m… sorry.”
“If only you hadn’t been born, I wouldn’t have lashed out violently at your father.”
“…I’m really sorry.”
“I wish Edwin would inherit the throne quickly.”
Her eyes gleamed.
“Then, wouldn’t he take me away from this barren north? Hmm?”
My brother couldn’t visit our mother, as she was a convict. But I wasn’t a criminal, so once a year, my brother would come to see me under the pretense of visiting his younger sister in the north.
“You need to stay here. Edwin comes because you’re here.”
My mother was constantly anxious about being forgotten, even by my brother.
“So don’t talk to Edwin about going to the imperial palace. If you go there, do you think His Majesty will like you? You’re the granddaughter he’s never seen, being raised by the daughter-in-law who killed his son.”
My mother always said that the cold, barren north was unbearable.
But not for me. I was doing quite well, surrounded by Kayan, Baron Barklith, and the mercenaries.
Since our interests aligned, I would lie and tell my brother, “I want to stay with Mother,” whenever he suggested that I could go to the imperial palace.
Even so, right before she died, my mother firmly said to me,
“His Majesty won’t even want to see your face. No matter how much you resemble the royal family with your blonde hair and blue eyes, your features look too much like mine.”
I met the emperor for the first time when I entered the palace.
After offering the bare minimum of respect, I quickly disappeared.
‘He must hate me because I resemble the daughter-in-law who killed his son.’
For the same reason, Simon had given me two pieces of advice:
“First, don’t show your face to His Majesty. Second, never use violence. It will remind him immediately of your mother, who killed your father.”
This was one of the reasons I didn’t use my excellent combat skills until just before I died in my previous life.
The shadow of my criminal mother loomed over me that much.
Even my brother didn’t know how well I could fight.
And until yesterday, I hadn’t had a proper conversation with the emperor.
‘On the first day of my return, I broke both of Simon’s rules.’
Especially using a sword against royalty. That was exactly the kind of thing that would make the emperor, who lost his son to my mother, hate me.
‘But I couldn’t afford to worry about His Majesty’s feelings anymore… I had no choice but to act.’
If I hadn’t resolved to live a new life after returning, I probably wouldn’t have even faced the emperor.
But now he was here, at my palace?
It was completely unexpected.
□ ■ □ ■ □
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