~Chapter 1~
“Princess Josephine, you must finish reading it in three days.”
The priest suddenly handed me a book. It was thick and felt like a brick.
“This thick… in three days?” I asked reluctantly as I took the book with both hands.
“Only if you follow my instructions well will I be able to recommend you for the monastic membership.”
“Three days is too short. I would prefer if you could extend the deadline.”
I smiled and made a polite request. Reading a faith book thicker than the Bible in three days? Even though I was fluent in the Sacred Kingdom language, it was honestly too much.
“You can just read the important parts. And remember, there’s only one person in this palace who can help you leave, and that person is me.”
The priest said this in a kind tone, and at the same time, his wrinkled hand reached out toward my shoulder.
Before it touched me, I quickly stepped back.
He had been a respected elder who had watched over me for a long time, but for some reason, his touch made me uncomfortable.
Reluctantly, I accepted and left the temple, wondering how important this book was.
I immediately returned to my room in Ruby Palace. I opened the window wide and sat at my desk.
The sound of cicadas was sharp through the thick green leaves. The buzzing of insects was like smoke, signaling that summer was reaching its peak.
No sooner had I opened the book than a sparrow flew to the window with a flurry of wings.
The sparrow jumped over the window frame and landed lightly on top of my head. Then it began pecking my crown.
[Another book! Josephine is a bookworm! The most tasteless insect in the world!]
…This troublesome sparrow is bothering me again.
It’s been about three years since I began to understand the language of birds. If this is a special ability, then I suppose it is. It’s such a useless skill that I’ve never mentioned it to anyone.
“Why are you here again, Polka?”
I gave the sparrow a name because it visited so often.
I found Polka about six months ago when it had fallen from its nest and was rolling around in the grass. It was a baby bird that couldn’t even open its eyes. I picked it up, climbed a tree, and put it back in its nest, but within a few days, it fell again. I kept putting it back, and it kept falling.
After many trials, it grew into an adult, but for some reason, Polka didn’t get along with the other sparrows that had grown up with it.
So it kept coming to me.
[Biscuits! Give me biscuits!]
I laughed quietly. This shameless bird.
“I already gave you some! Go out and catch some bugs. A good sparrow catches bugs diligently.”
[Biscuits are tastier! The cicadas are too big! My beak is small! It’s hard to peck them!]
Polka complained as it jumped onto my desk.
The complaints of a baby bird made my heart feel heavy. Animals that are fed by humans rarely put effort into hunting.
“Sorry, but the biscuits I gave you earlier were the last ones. Come back tomorrow.”
I said goodbye to Polka and picked up the book again. I struggled to cram the letters into my head, but the content was difficult right from the start. With a sigh of frustration, I flipped the pages.
Thunk.
A neatly folded piece of paper fell onto the desk. It must have been stuck in the front part of the book.
“What is this?”
Curiously, I unfolded the note.
“Come to the Moonflower Garden at 9 PM tonight. I will be waiting for you until you arrive.”
I tilted my head. I had borrowed many books from the priest, but I had never received a note like this.
Hmm, maybe someone had accidentally slipped it in. Religious books are not the priest’s personal property but belong to the temple.
I decided to conclude that the note wasn’t meant for me.
More importantly, the handwriting was subtly different from the priest’s. And as for the Moonflower Garden in the palace, I had heard of it before…
“Ugh, ah!”
Suddenly, a loud, embarrassing noise echoed through the room.
It was from the woman in the room next to mine.
“Hah, hah.”
Her partner was groaning roughly. The bed creaked loudly, filled with desperate sounds.
I glared resentfully at the wall separating us. Even though this was a palace, it was built so poorly that the soundproofing didn’t work properly.
“Ahh!”
The moaning had a deliberately exaggerated tone.
At the end of the sharp sound, there was a faint sobbing.
For a moment, I wondered if they were really making those sounds out of pleasure, or if it was all part of some act.
…Never mind. Their bedroom matters are none of my business.
I plugged my ears and narrowed my eyes as I continued reading the book with a determined focus. I was ready to digest each word, one by one.
“Mm, make it sound prettier.”
“Hmm!”
Thud.
I buried my forehead in the middle of the book. My concentration had completely faded. Images of that disgusting scene kept flashing in my mind.
[Mating!]
Suddenly, I heard the sparrow’s voice again. I looked up.
It was Polka, still hopping around on my desk.
“Polka? Why haven’t you left yet?”
[Mating! This is human mating sounds! You’ll hear them in the Moonflower Garden!]
This sparrow sure can’t keep a secret. It had only just hatched, not long ago.
My face turned red without warning. As someone who knew the true nature of those sounds…
It felt like I had uncovered the sins of humanity.
I gently held the sparrow in both hands and set it outside on the windowsill. Then I quickly closed the window. Polka, confused, pecked at the glass angrily before flying away.
Once the window was closed, the noises from the next room became even clearer.
“Stop whining and just do it harder, okay?”
“Ah, I’m almost…!”
The woman in the next room was gasping, clearly in distress. I became curious about her destination. Where exactly was she going?
I shook my head and tucked the note into the front of the book as a bookmark.
Then I closed the book.
I couldn’t take it anymore. It was a bit hot, but I decided to head to the lakeside. There was a bench under a willow tree. Maybe reading a book while feeling the breeze would help me concentrate.
I tucked the book under my arm and left the hallway. I tiptoed quietly past the next room, but I froze when I heard a loud noise.
The door handle of the room next to mine had moved.
I took a deep breath in surprise and quickly hid behind a decorative pillar in the hallway.
…Hadn’t it been only about three minutes since then? If I had known it would end this quickly, I would have stayed in my room.
“Tilla, next time bring something new. Make it more enjoyable for me.”
A man in a white uniform, adjusting his pants, came out of the room.
I peeked around the pillar and saw him walking away, looking satisfied and smiling with a flushed face.
That man was Carlos, the crown prince of the Tristum Empire.
I carefully held my skirt to avoid it sticking out from behind the pillar and held my breath. Please, please just keep walking. Don’t look at me. If you do, please pretend you didn’t see me.
Fortunately, Carlos quickly disappeared down the hallway.
I let out a breath of relief and stepped out from behind the pillar.
“Josephine?”
Suddenly, I was called, and I nearly collapsed in shock.
A blonde woman in a flashy outfit, looking disheveled, came out of the next room. It was Tilla, the woman who had been moaning earlier.
“What were you doing, hiding there?”
“……”
I had no words, so I just rolled my eyes.
“No wonder I felt an eerie aura from somewhere. It seems the noble princess of Iote has a hobby of listening in on other people’s affairs?”
Tilla sneered as she hid something behind her back. But I had already seen it. A small velvet box that she was holding tightly.
It was probably jewelry.
I had heard that the crown prince always gave these kinds of things after their affairs. If he gave gold coins, it was too much like a payment, but jewelry looked more like a lover’s gift.
“No. I just couldn’t concentrate on my reading, so I was about to go out.”
I quickly corrected the misunderstanding.
The affair next door wasn’t exactly a secret. Everyone knew that Tilla had recently become the crown prince’s mistress.
Tilla snorted and turned away, walking toward the stairs.
She seemed in a hurry, but her steps were unsteady as she held her waist.
Halfway down the hall, she wobbled and almost lost her balance. Without thinking, I rushed over and helped support her.
Thud.
The velvet box she was holding dropped to the floor, and a few pieces of jewelry scattered out.
“Ugh, what are you doing? Pick it up!”
Tilla shouted as she leaned against the wall. I didn’t like her attitude, but I picked up the jewelry and placed it back into the box before handing it to her.
I knew what she was doing with those precious jewels. She sold them to buy expensive birth control pills because if she got pregnant, the crown prince’s wife would have her poisoned without anyone knowing.
