Chapter 3
I squeezed my eyes shut, then cracked them open just enough to glance around.
People were staring at me with pale, shocked faces…
“…Princess Sienna. What kind of disrespect is this? Is this the education you received in Lespris? That you can scorn the Imperial House of Setrit so brazenly?”
The Emperor’s solemn voice rang out.
Well, I mean… barging into someone else’s palace and flipping their banquet table—it was outrageous. Even I thought it was absurd, so how must it look to them? Oh, Lord…
“To me, this act looks like nothing but open contempt—not just for Setrit, but for me personally.”
Cold sweat ran down my back.
How on earth was I supposed to explain this? How…? The system window that should have helped me in times like these stayed perfectly silent, as though it had already done its job.
I swallowed hard.
“…Every time I ate, my stomach hurt worse. I think I even had a fever. Aah, my head…”
My heart was pounding so hard that acting came naturally. I was already pale by default thanks to this sickly body, so it wasn’t difficult to sell the look.
Now all I had to do was faint.
Sienna, fainting is your specialty. Besides, you just used up energy flinging food and dishes around—no one will suspect. In dramas, people always faint to escape these kinds of situations.
“My head hurts so much…”
But strangely, today my body showed no signs of collapsing on its own.
“Ah… my head, it’s spinning…”
Fine then. I’ll just have to force it.
I staggered dramatically—and then let myself fall.
“P-Princess!”
Thankfully, my eternal ally, the nanny, screamed and rushed to my side. She caught my paper-doll-like body in her arms.
Resting against her embrace, I let out a ragged breath. She swallowed back tears and cried out in a theatrical voice:
“I will make sure everyone in Lespris hears of this! That Princess Sienna collapsed at a banquet prepared by His Majesty, because something was amiss with the food!”
Good job, nanny!! My fists clenched in secret encouragement.
You fight power with power! Show them what it means that I am a Princess of Lespris!
Clatter.
Only then did the other royals realize how grave the situation was. I could feel them rising from their seats, their presence pressing in even with my head buried against the nanny’s chest.
“Surely such a thing cannot be true. I will personally look into this matter.”
“Her Highness the Princess came here for treatment! She came to strengthen the bond of friendship between Lespris and Setrit. Yet we have received none of that! Does the physician who is supposed to heal her even exist?”
Even through tears, the nanny wielded her words like a blade, silencing the Emperor himself.
I cracked my eyes open just enough to see the Empress—her face drained of all color, her gaze fixed on the floor.
Things had escalated far enough now that they would have no choice but to investigate the food.
When I’d swept the dishes off the table, my plate had mixed with Roel’s. The poison would surely be detected. Roel had even stirred his food with his utensils.
As I peeked from the nanny’s arms, my gaze met Roel’s.
He froze. I gave him a sly little smile—then quickly shut my eyes again.
I saved you, so let’s just pretend you didn’t see anything, okay?
***
Later, when the palace maids gathered in the kitchen to gossip, the hot topic was, of course, Princess Sienna.
She had barely arrived and already caused a huge scandal—of course she had everyone’s attention.
“They say she flipped the banquet table on her first night?”
“Who, the Crown Prince?”
The maids asked with disinterest.
Everyone already knew about Aymon’s temper, so it wasn’t surprising. He often flipped tables, kicked desks, broke furniture. Cleaning up shattered pieces from the Crown Prince’s palace was practically routine.
So the maids shook their heads, thinking it was just more of the same from the infamous prince.
But the answer that came back wasn’t what they expected.
The maid lowered her voice.
“No, not the prince. The princess from Lespris. You know—the sickly one. Princess Sienna.”
“The princess flipped the table?”
“Why?”
The maids gasped.
Whatever the reason, coming into another empire’s palace and overturning the banquet table was shocking enough to draw sighs. It spoke volumes about her character—or so they assumed.
The gathered maids leaned closer, eager for details.
“They said there was poison. Or—at least, she complained her stomach hurt when she ate. Claimed she had a fever too.”
“What?”
“So what happened then?”
“She suddenly collapsed. Couldn’t control her temper, clearly.”
“And the poison?”
“…Who knows…?”
Soon the palace was buzzing with rumors: the princess from Lespris had a vile temper, worse than the crown prince; she had overturned the table; she was probably nastier than anyone had thought.
It didn’t even take a single day for the gossip to spread across the Imperial Palace of Setrit.
For the maids, the character of their masters mattered more than anything—it directly shaped their daily lives. Especially when serving those masters face-to-face.
And since they already had to endure the infamous temper of Crown Prince Aymon, their faces grew gloomy at the thought of another nightmare noble to serve.
“…When will she go back to Lespris?”
“No one knows. Haah, honestly, it feels like she’s here to cause trouble.”
The maids sighed deeply, wearing pitiful expressions.
And so the rumors spread like wildfire through the palace.
***
Buried in the bed, I blinked at the ceiling.
All I had done was pretend to faint, but somehow it felt like I’d just been examined by every physician in Setrit.
The Empress had dispatched all her ladies-in-waiting to hold back my nanny, who was ready to drag me back to Lespris this instant. From my bed, I could hear every word of their heated exchanges.
“He will arrive soon. Please wait a little longer. Surely we would not trifle with the princess’s life.”
“His Majesty promised she would be saved. Please, trust Her Majesty the Empress just once, madam.”
“We are already investigating the cause of today’s incident. Please be patient.”
“All you tell us is to wait and trust you! Has Setrit shown us even one thing worthy of trust so far?!”
“This is a promise between nations. Surely it is no lie.”
“Her Majesty will bring him here personally.”
Though the nanny hadn’t withdrawn her threat to inform Lespris, her fiery tone had cooled somewhat.
The only sliver of hope left was “that man”—the physician. Even though I didn’t know his name, he was famous enough in Lespris itself. They said he could even raise the dying.
I rolled my eyes toward the Empress, who was speaking in grave tones with the physicians.
If I were to die, Setrit and Lespris would cross a river of no return. That explained why everyone was so tense.
Imagine—I arrived here and immediately collapsed dead.
No one but me knew that I wasn’t going to die just yet.
◆ Death Points: 96p
If flipping one table could save my life, I’d flip ten more. My nostrils flared involuntarily, and I pulled the blanket up over my face.
At this rate, getting below 30 points should be easy.
Still, I was starting to see the pattern. This system clearly wanted me to act as a helper for the male lead. I got rewards every time I helped Roel. Of course, it depended on what quests it gave me in the future—but still.
I looked again toward the Empress. All the physicians before her were shaking their heads.
They confirmed I was indeed suffering from an incurable, unknown illness—one that had never been treated successfully before. At best, I might live two more years. The fatigue from travel had only worsened my condition.
The Empress pressed her lips together.
“So you are saying it had nothing to do with the food? That her collapse is unrelated?”
“It may or may not be related, Your Majesty. As we have said, the princess suffers from a rare and unusual disease. Nothing can be guaranteed.”
“One last question, then. The princess claims the food served today seemed poisoned. Could that be true?”
Her voice was heavy with tension.
