Chapter 13
That night, I ended up not being able to sleep until late, so I slept late the next day.
“eww…….”
Even after waking up, I closed my eyes and tossed and turned several times under the covers. I slept long, but my dreams were disturbing, leaving me feeling tired.
Looking at the birds chirping outside the window, I thought the sun must be high in the sky.
I really need to get up now. I half-opened my eyes and sat up.
“oh.”
Then I bumped into something.
what……?
Not long after I woke up, a golden light flashed through my blurry vision and then disappeared.
“Are you awake, Princess?”
A now familiar voice greeted me cheerfully.
“Miriam?”
“Yes, Princess. Good morning. Would you like me to prepare some water for you to wash your hands?”
I looked up and saw Miriam standing right next to the bed. It looked like she’d bumped into something earlier, but there was nothing on the bed and no one else in the room.
“just now…….”
“yes?”
Miriam tilted her head at me. I gestured, and she bent down and brought her face closer.
“Why are you like that?”
I stared intently into Miriam’s eyes. Beneath her neatly cropped blond hair were plain brown eyes.
“No, it’s nothing.”
I guess I wasn’t fully awake. Golden eyes, if that were a characteristic, I would have remembered.
Besides, if those were really eyes, then Miriam was staring at me from right in front of my nose while I was sleeping… … .
“Did you ever keep staring at me while I was sleeping?”
When I asked just in case, Miriam answered bravely.
“Yes! I’ll bring you some wash water as soon as you wake up!”
“Right in front of your face?”
“yes?”
Miriam blinked, her expression bewildered. There was nothing unnatural about her attitude.
I guess I really wasn’t half asleep. I shook my head.
“No, that’s fine. What time is it now?”
“It’s about eleven o’clock.”
It was closer to lunch than morning. I slept for a long time. I sighed.
“Tell them to get ready, I’ll wash up and eat breakfast right away.”
It might seem funny to start talking about food as soon as I wake up, but I was actually being serious.
If I don’t gain weight quickly, Richard might kill our palace cook next time…
Wait, then maybe they’ll send the Ruby Palace chef? I’m worried.
Miriam stormed out, and I tried to suppress my desire for the Ruby Palace cook.
Hoo, ha, hoo, ha. Let’s take a deep breath. No matter what, we must not deviate from the path of humanity.
I looked out the window, trying to clear my mind from the turmoil of the whipped cream cake. Then I noticed an unexpected movement.
Something was coming to the Opal Palace.
Although obscured by trees, the fleeting lines were quite splendid. They were as long as the long line of dishes Richard had ordered his servants to bring yesterday.
Is Richard’s son going to come without contacting me anymore?
“Your Majesty!”
Dudadadadada. Miriam ran towards me at incredible speed and flung the door open.
“I think you should come down and see. The prince sent a gift!”
“also?”
Yesterday, she gave me a bunch of dresses and jewelry, so what did she send me today? Still, judging by the way she said “sent,” it seemed like she hadn’t actually come, so I responded with an annoyed expression.
“Just tell them to leave it alone.”
“But, Your Majesty…….”
Miriam’s eyes sparkled strangely as she called me.
“I heard you also brought a letter from the 5th Prince?”
Wait, who?
“Miriam, who did you say you were?”
“His Royal Highness Prince Rudolf sent me a letter and a gift.”
This is crazy! You should have said that from the beginning!
“Miriam! Bring me the dress!”
I hurried down to the first floor wearing only a few clothes, and a similar yet different scene from yesterday unfolded before me.
There were a lot of presents, but only one person.
The gift box that no one had picked up floated by itself and continued to pile up on the first floor of the Opal Palace.
Standing before countless gift boxes was a single person. A woman with long, flowing brown hair, holding a silver platter.
She saw me coming down and greeted me gently.
“It is a glorious morning, Your Majesty. Countess Rachel Klein meets with Princess Lucilia El Esperusa, the 17th Princess.”
He spoke with the most aristocratic tone of voice I’d ever met. And his name was unfamiliar to me.
I thought he must be a supporting actor or an extra, and greeted him.
“Welcome to the Opal Palace, Viscount.”
I tried to sound as similar as possible, but I probably came off awkwardly. I never received proper etiquette training.
“What brings you here?”
“I brought a gift and a letter from the Fifth Prince.”
The Count held out the silver platter he had been holding. On it lay a letter sealed with wax.
It was all so elegant, so Rudolph-like, that I just couldn’t bear to read it.
Still, I had to check the contents, so I picked up the letter with a stern expression.
When I opened the envelope, there was a card inside. The card read:
“Lucilia, would you like to come to the birthday party with me? I’m sure it’ll be a fun time. I’ll be waiting for your answer.”
I read the card.
At first, I read it because I didn’t understand it, and after understanding everything, I couldn’t accept it, so I read it again. Until I felt I could no longer escape reality.
Birthday… … .
Simply put, it’s the emperor’s birthday party.
Of course, the scale of the event far surpasses that of a simple birthday party.
The entire empire celebrates the day of his birthday and the three days before and after, a week of rest and celebration. Gifts are distributed to the people in the Emperor’s name, and various events take place each year, including special pardons for prisoners.
But it had nothing to do with me.
Originally, the royal descendants were required to participate in the birthday ceremony, but I don’t have to since I’m not even fifteen.
Based on the original work, the main character, Imelda, is fifteen this year, so this birthday is her first social debut.
But this scene doesn’t appear in the original. It’s simply a brief recollection of a party where no one spoke to anyone.
But you want me to go there? And with Rudolph?
What is this situation?
“I am…….”
I opened my mouth slowly.
“I have no intention of going to the birthday party.”
“It’s okay if you go with the prince.”
“No, I don’t want to go.”
“The prince has ordered that you must obtain permission.”
A special trait of the Esperus royal family. They have little interest in the opinions or feelings of others.
I felt like refusing outright wouldn’t work, so I hardened my face and put strength into my voice.
“The only answer you can give, Viscount, is refusal. Whatever orders you receive from your master, you cannot force me to respond.”
Rachel, who had been repeating the same words with a mechanical, expressionless face, stopped for the first time.
“……I never dared to threaten the princess.”
“Then go back.”
“Your Majesty.”
Rachel’s voice trembled slightly.
“If I go back like this, I’ll die.”
yes?
I don’t know what you’re talking about. Are you threatening to kill me if I come out like this?
I was thinking such naive thoughts.
“If I give the Fifth Prince an answer he doesn’t want, I’ll die. And my body will be sent to the Opal Palace. Then someone else will come. If he’s rejected, he too will die.”
I knew very well what kind of person Rudolph was in the original, but I forgot about it for a moment and had such a naive thought.
“This will continue until Your Majesty finally gives permission.”
I closed my eyes tightly.
Why are there so many people in this neighborhood who risk their lives? And why are they all my older brothers?
I looked at the viscount.
It was an unfamiliar face and name. So, it must have been a supporting role or an extra.
Is the life of the supporting actors standing next to the villain this difficult and this precarious?
Just like me.
Do you know what it means to be powerless? It means you have no control over your own life.
I burst out laughing without realizing it.
At times like this, what comes to mind are Richard’s words.
Yes, I’m powerless. So, in the end, I have no choice but to obey Rudolph. No matter how much I refuse, Rudolph won’t give up, and in the end, all that’ll happen is a pile of corpses in front of my palace.
“Please tell them I’m going.”
No, my answer was more one-dimensional than any of those clever calculations.
Even if they are unimportant, even if they are supporting actors or extras, I can’t let them die.
“……Thank you, Princess.”
Rachel answered in a slightly choked voice.
“then…….”
Rachel gestured in the air, and one of the boxes piled high on the first floor came flying down. It was small enough to fit in the palm of your hand.
Rachel knelt down in front of me and opened the box.
“Please give me this ring.”
“……Are you proposing to me, Viscount?”
For the first time since stepping foot into the Opal Palace, Rachel smiled. It only lasted a few seconds, and her expression returned to a blank expression, but the brief glimpse I had of her smiling face was truly beautiful.
“This is a gift from the Fifth Prince. He asked me to include him in his birthday party.”
I looked down at the ring.
It was a thin, white ring. Rudolph wouldn’t have handled anything like silver, so it was probably platinum.
It was a simple yet elegant design with one large diamond in the center and two smaller diamonds on either side.
But the size was too big. Judging by the size alone, it seemed like it would take a long time.
“I don’t think this ring will fit my hand.”
When I pointed that out, Rachel lowered her head.
“If you put it on your finger, it will shrink to fit perfectly.”
You’ve cast a spell. As expected from Rudolph…
For a moment, I felt a chilling premonition. I asked without even touching the ring.
“Your Majesty, what happens if I wear this ring?”
“The moment you put it on, the ring shrinks to fit your finger.”
“What else?”
Rachel looked up at me with a pained look in her eyes.
“If you do not keep your promise to go to the birthday party together or attempt to do so, the finger you are wearing the ring on will be cut off.”
It wasn’t surprising, as it was something Rudolph would do.
“Haha, that’s some amazing magic.”
But I feel dirty. Quite a lot.
Rachel lowered her head without answering.
It’s funny to think like this in my situation, but I also feel sorry for this person.
Yeah, the idea is to save one person, so what’s the big deal about a ring?
I picked up the ring and put it on my finger.
With the greatest possible resistance, on the left middle finger.
The ring slipped onto my finger and immediately shrank to fit my hand perfectly.
I grabbed the ring and applied force, just to test it. It didn’t even budge, let alone fall off.
I took a long, deep sigh.
“It fits very well.”
***
The news spread quickly. Probably.
I rarely went outside the Opal Palace, so I couldn’t hear the rumors outside, but I could guess.
The fact that Richard barged into my palace without warning is proof of that.
“Give me your finger.”
Richard said so as soon as he arrived at my palace.
By the way, I was just about to start eating at that time. Richard came over as soon as I picked up my spoon, and I couldn’t even finish a bite.
Why on earth are rumors spreading so quickly? As far as I know, no one in this palace is moving for Richard.
“Did your brother also send a spy to the Opal Palace?”
When I asked just in case, Richard’s face distorted.
“What the hell are you talking about? Do you think I would do something so shady?!”
“Then how did you know?”
“Does that matter now?”
Richard strode over to me and grabbed my hand. The ring on his middle finger gleamed beautifully.
“Take it out now.”
