Chapter 8
“Your Highness, please wake up.”
I heard the sound of curtains being pulled aside, and a gentle breeze drifted in. Sunlight pricked at my closed eyes.
“Ugh…”
I grimaced and turned to the other side.
The soft pillow and blanket pressed against my cheek. The fluffy blanket smelled of sunlight—it was amazing…
“…Huh?”
A soft pillow? A fluffy blanket? Why were these in my room?
I snapped my eyes open.
“Ahh!”
Perhaps startled by my sudden movement, Miriam, who was near the bed, jumped in surprise. She lost her balance and fell onto her butt.
“Ouch…”
What is going on? Why do I have to watch her slapstick from the morning?
I sat on the floor, watching Miriam sulk, and suddenly noticed something odd.
“Miriam?”
“Yes, Your Highness…”
Miriam staggered to her feet. I asked her in a bewildered tone:
“Where is this?”
I had clearly fallen asleep in my room, but now I woke up somewhere unfamiliar.
It was a bright, cheerful room. The cream-colored wallpaper looked freshly done, and the wooden floor gleamed.
And the pillows and bed were soft. I was used to sleeping on hard beds with flattened pillows…
“This is the guest room! Isaac moved you here when you fell asleep last night!”
Miriam answered.
“Guest room?”
Opal Palace had something like that?
“When a distinguished guest comes, we need a proper place to host them. So at least one room is always furnished to the highest standard.”
Miriam smiled brightly as she said this. I stared at her foolishly.
Why are you smiling while saying this…? Do you even realize what you’re saying?
It seemed the palace staff had some concern for appearances. That alone wasn’t bad.
But if the guest room was hundreds of times nicer than my own room, that was another matter!
I was the owner of the palace! My room was a mess! And over there, they had a room like this for guests?
“What the—!”
As I was about to voice my anger, there was a knock at the door.
“Your Highness, it’s Matilda.”
Then there was a moment of silence.
“Your Highness?”
Miriam tilted her head. A few seconds later, she realized she needed to respond.
“C-come in.”
Even saying that word felt strange. As far as I remembered, this was the first time I’d given someone permission to enter my room here.
The door opened, and Matilda entered.
Matilda was the most experienced servant after the deceased chief steward. She oversaw the practical daily operations of Opal Palace.
“I’ve brought breakfast…”
I wasn’t sure why someone like her was serving me breakfast personally.
Matilda glanced at a corner of the room. I followed her gaze.
A very unfamiliar object sat next to the bed. It looked exactly like a washbasin.
“I didn’t realize you hadn’t had a chance to wash yet.”
A real washbasin?
“I’ll come back later.”
“Oh, no.”
I quickly stopped her.
I hadn’t noticed everything else happening because of the chaos, but the word “breakfast” made my body react first.
I hadn’t eaten dinner yesterday, so it made sense.
“I’ll wash quickly. Bring it now.”
I said this and tried to get out of bed. But Miriam quickly pushed a tray with the basin toward me.
“You must be hungry, so I’ll help you quickly.”
…Do what?
Before I could ask, something warm touched my face. The scent of flowers filled the air.
Miriam was washing my face.
I let her do it, feeling completely confused.
This was also the first time something like this had happened here.
Until now, whenever I woke up, I would go outside and fetch water from the well myself.
But now, I was washing with warm water, petals floating in it, without lifting a finger?
When I finished washing, Miriam took the basin away. Meanwhile, Matilda set breakfast on the bed.
Breakfast… on the bed?
As someone used to Korean customs, I was about to comment, but when I saw the food, I shut my mouth.
Hot pancakes piled with red and blue berries. The bright colors shocked me.
On another plate, there were eggs and salad. The salad looked fresh, like it had just been picked.
Finally, a steaming cup of milk.
It was… laughably fitting.
A “princess breakfast” straight out of a fairy tale was laid out in front of me.
“Matilda?”
She had finished setting the meal and stood in the corner with her hands clasped, as if waiting for my orders.
“Am I going to die today?”
I asked her half-jokingly, half-seriously.
A lot had happened between us yesterday. I knew that.
But since it was right after such a terrifying event, I didn’t expect the state to last long.
Specifically, I thought after a night’s sleep, my mind would gradually return to normal.
Maybe this lavish breakfast was a result of my returning reason. Or maybe someone decided to eliminate me before Richard became more upset…
As I wondered whether I should eat this, Matilda spoke.
“It’s natural that you don’t trust us, Your Highness.”
There was no hint of resentment in her voice. She genuinely seemed repentant. At least outwardly.
“This room… must have surprised you as well.”
Ah, right. I had forgotten to mention it after being shocked by the breakfast.
“I won’t make excuses. We’ve done terrible things to you, Your Highness. We’ve never properly served our master and only cared about our pockets.”
She bit her lip while looking at me.
“And yet you’re still so young…”
Suddenly, the room felt like a confessional. I looked at Matilda with a strange expression.
Opal Palace had ten servants. Each treated me differently.
Matilda had tended to avoid me.
I had barely seen her in the palace. Now it seemed she had been avoiding me.
Had she felt guilt even back then when seeing me?
It didn’t excuse what she did, but it felt odd.
“I won’t dare ask for forgiveness. But we have learned much from this incident. If you watch over us…”
Was she promising to do better? I nodded and picked up the cup of milk. From the look of it, she wasn’t planning anything malicious.
“We will serve only Your Highness and remain loyal.”
gulp
“You don’t have to do that.”
“Huh?”
Matilda looked flustered.
“No, I don’t mean we should go back to the old way.”
I cut a piece of pancake and put it in my mouth.
Mmm, it’s delicious. So sweet, soft, fluffy, and warm.
The taste nearly erased all reason. I almost ate the entire pancake, forgetting to speak.
“Your Highness?”
“…What I want to say is…”
I focused. This was important.
“I like being treated well. I want this to continue. But don’t swear loyalty to me.”
nom nom I kept eating while speaking.
“Please, continue your spy work. You…”
I realized I didn’t know who Matilda truly served. She had always avoided me, so this was our first real conversation.
“Who do you serve?”
Matilda answered immediately.
“The Nineteenth Prince.”
Benjamin…? He must be nine this year. Why are these kids all so precocious?
“Right… Anyway, continue your work. Report that I live quietly and without desire. Understood?”
“But Your Highness…”
“That’s my survival strategy. Don’t you understand?”
Matilda thought deeply for a moment, then shook her head.
“No, Your Highness. I understand your great intent clearly.”
Good, she seems quicker-witted than most.
As I poked at the eggs, I decided Matilda should take the deceased steward’s place.
Then—
“Your Highness!”
A maid pounded on my door. I gave a reluctant glance, and Matilda opened it herself.
“What’s all the commotion…”
“Someone has arrived at Ruby Palace!”
Matilda’s scolding was drowned out by the maid’s scream.
“The Twelfth Prince will be coming to Opal Palace for lunch today!”
Where did it go wrong?
I tried to think of an answer. No matter how I considered it, the answer was clear.
It started the day I entered the forest, so hungry I couldn’t survive otherwise.
Since that day, ignoring the promised happy ending, I had messed up my own fate.
But what could I do? I was starving! I only wanted to pick some fruit—who knew it would lead to all this?
I sighed deeply.
“Ah, don’t move, Your Highness.”
Miriam said as she braided my hair.
I was preparing to meet Richard.
The thought of seeing him again after just one day made me want to run, but there was no choice.
After receiving Richard’s sudden visit notice, Opal Palace had been in upheaval since morning. The servants, still shaken from yesterday, trembled, thinking they might die today.
I didn’t want to see Richard either. I told the maid from Ruby Palace to refuse on my behalf, saying I wasn’t feeling well and would have lunch another time.
I wondered if Richard would hear my message. The reply that came soon after exceeded all expectations:
“Our Prince said that servants who can’t even take care of the Seventeenth Princess properly are unnecessary and he will come personally to deal with them.”
Hearing this, I had to throw off the blanket I had wrapped myself in while pretending to be ill and recite an obvious lie that I suddenly felt much better.
I had to say how grateful I was, that thanks to my older brother I had recovered, and how honored I would be to have lunch together. Naturally, the servants’ eyes got even wetter.
“Really, don’t move, Your Highness. You have so much hair, it’s hard.”
Miriam chattered. I pouted.
“Just tie it roughly. Why all this fuss?”
“How can you say that! If the Princess looks like a beggar again today, we’ll all really die!”
I stared at Miriam through the mirror.
It was about time to drop the idea that she had been sent by someone. She was far too foolish to work as a spy.
She couldn’t do her job, but she talked a lot. The worst combination for a servant. I heard she had served in several palaces before ending up here. Makes sense.
I couldn’t believe I had rushed in front of Richard to save someone like her.
“All done. Isn’t it beautiful?”
Miriam finished styling my hair. I looked in the mirror.
I didn’t know if it was beautiful, but I looked less pitiful than yesterday. My blonde hair, left messy like a ghost, was now half-tied neatly with a small ribbon at the back. Unlike yesterday, I wore a proper reception dress.
The dress was huge, so I tied the waist with a ribbon like crazy. On top of that, I pinned an enormous hairpiece on my back. My back looked quite funny compared to the front.
“You only need to show your front to the Prince!”
Miriam said confidently. Not sure if that would work, but there was no other option.
A delicious smell came from downstairs. The kitchen was bustling with breakfast preparation. Maybe they were spending an entire month’s budget.
What a disaster. I just hoped today would pass without incident.
