Chapter 12
I turned my head reflexively and froze in place.
“I asked you a question.”
Damian was standing at the entrance of the annex, staring at me with a hostile expression.
When had he even gotten here?
Cold sweat ran down my back.
I hurriedly turned my body, hiding my bandaged arm behind me.
“It’s nothing.”
“It is something unusual for Her Highness the Princess to be here. Guest rooms are in the main building, not the annex.”
His sharp, hostile tone cut through my ears.
My earlier daydreams vanished, replaced by tense alertness.
I had been trying to avoid meeting him—and yet, here he was.
It was common knowledge in the empire that the sole heir of the Carter Dukes hated the princess.
Even when I had finally forced him outside the empire, Damian had cursed the royal family.
‘I thought I had won back then.’
But in the end, I had lost.
At that moment, Damian’s gaze flicked over my shoulder.
The boy’s face twisted instantly.
“Don’t misunderstand. I only came here because…”
Before I could finish, Damian strode across the hallway and grabbed my arm forcefully.
He caught the bandaged side.
The flesh beneath the bandage was crushed, sending a sharp pain through me.
“Ugh…!”
“Where do you think you’re going? How dare you, and where?”
Damian’s green eyes glinted dangerously.
I tried to pull my arm away, but he didn’t budge.
‘Why is he so strong?!’
I gritted my teeth and twisted my wrist.
It hurt—I felt the wound start to reopen.
Just as I struggled with his grip—
“For Her Highness the noble princess to crawl through the Grand Duke’s residence like a little mouse…”
He spoke mockingly and let go of my arm with a snap.
I quickly grabbed my arm, feeling the sting.
Maybe more blood had come out, but I couldn’t show it.
“That room isn’t a place for someone like you.”
“…I didn’t go in on purpose.”
“I see. Has the noble princess ever done anything unintentionally?”
He sneered, clearly aiming to provoke me.
Calm down. There’s no use arguing here.
If I were still a princess, I would have had dozens of ways to shut him up.
But now, I was just a guest living in the Grand Duke’s house.
“I was only looking for the pharmacy. And I’m a guest your father allowed.”
“Ah, a guest.”
Damian chuckled, lowering his head slightly.
“Since it’s been mentioned, let me make this clear.”
He leaned down to meet my eye level, speaking low, almost murmuring:
“Princess, whatever your intentions, you’d better behave. I won’t be tricked by you the way my father was.”
I kept my lips pressed together, staring into Damian’s gleaming green eyes.
The murderous intent in them was clear—he wanted to strike the princess standing in front of him immediately.
“Do not set foot in my little brother’s room again.”
His words cut into my ears like a sharpened blade.
“It is not a place for someone of your filthy, cunning royal blood. Do you understand?”
I swallowed hard.
My throat felt tight.
Perhaps Damian hated the royal family even more than Carlos did.
‘He said “my little brother’s room.”’
The word “little brother” strangely lodged in my chest.
There must have been a time when I was this boy’s sister.
Now, I was just the daughter of the enemy who took his brother away.
“Leave quickly, before I suspect you further.”
Damian glared and stepped back.
It was a look that clearly meant: get out.
I obeyed, moving away.
‘I shouldn’t run into him for a while.’
My arm, hidden under long sleeves, throbbed.
In the end, I didn’t even manage to apply the medicine.
Since meeting Damian, I had stayed in my room like a mouse.
Not that I was scared—just embarrassed to face him.
Before the reincarnation, every time I faced him, my blood pressure would spike.
He mocked me constantly, and even when silent, he had a way of getting under my skin.
Back then, I saw him purely as an enemy. Now it was different.
I didn’t even know how to respond to his sharp words.
The only time I left my room was to prepare meals.
Every day, I carefully went to the kitchen with Mia and prepared dishes for Carlos.
All of them included ingredients good for detoxifying demonic energy.
At first, I was clumsy, but I had gotten used to it.
Mia did most of the work, though.
Still, I felt relieved that Carlos, despite his subtle expressions, always accepted my dishes.
That alone felt like a small victory.
Today, like any other day, I knocked on the study door.
“I’m coming in.”
As I opened the door, Carlos was looking at documents, as usual.
Even as I set the tray down, he didn’t react—he had gotten used to it.
I placed the tray on one side of the desk.
“Today, it’s a detox juice made with carrot and kale, and a sandwich.”
A detox juice to control demonic energy and a herb sandwich.
It was a recipe chosen with Mia.
No response.
The familiar silence.
I tidied the tray quietly, preparing to step back.
Suddenly, Carlos lifted his head and said:
“Damian will accompany you to the West, Princess.”
“Huh?”
What?
I froze, staring at Carlos.
“What do you mean?”
“Didn’t you request an escort to the West?”
Carlos answered matter-of-factly, as if I were questioning the obvious.
Wait.
I had asked for an escort to the West with transportation.
But Damian? I had asked for a few knights, nothing more.
‘Even if it’s surveillance disguised as an escort, am I supposed to suffocate before even reaching the West?’
My jaw dropped.
“But… isn’t the Grand Prince still a minor?”
“Is that a problem?”
“It’s not that…”
What was I supposed to say?
I couldn’t say I didn’t want Damian.
And agreeing quietly didn’t help—I could already see the journey ahead.
As I tried to find words, the study door opened behind me.
“Did you call, Father?”
It was Damian.
His gaze met mine, ice-cold.
“What are you looking at?”
I realized—this was over.
