Chapter 7 (7화):
The nanny opened her mouth with a resigned expression. Her face was full of worry.
“I heard that His Highness the Prince is under confinement right now.”
“Uh, huh? How do you know that, nanny?”
“Every time the maids gather, all they do is talk about His Highness the Prince and Your Highness the Princess… ahem!”
“Me?”
I blinked.
What is there to talk about me? Aside from attending the state banquet, I’ve been stuck inside the whole time.
“What is it? Nanny, what is it? You know there are three worst things in the world, and one of them is stopping in the middle of a story.”
“Ahem.”
“If you don’t tell me, I’m going to get sick right now! I might even collapse. Aaaah, I feel dizzy!”
“I’ll tell you!”
That was the reaction speed of a nanny who feared nothing more than me being sick.
The nanny sighed, rubbed her lips, clearly regretting her slip.
“Well… everyone’s gossiping about how Your Highness overturned the table at the banquet. They don’t know the details. But the conclusion was that there weren’t any harmful ingredients in the food, remember?”
I nodded.
I already knew that much from the nanny. They had checked everything thoroughly, since if something had gone wrong it could’ve become an international issue.
“So because of that, they’re saying Her Highness the Princess grew up pampered and sensitive because of her illness, or that you’re a spoiled brat, that you act selfishly… they even call you a little villainess.”
A little villainess…? A brat…?
That’s too much. No one knows that I was on the brink of death back then. I pouted my lips.
Wait a second.
A little villainess?
That reminded me of how not too long ago, I suddenly got 10 villainess points at once. Was it because of that incident?
Since then, villainess points had trickled in, and now I had around 15. I only needed 5 more to deduct a death point…!
So that’s what villainess points meant? Being the subject of gossip, being recognized as a villainess by others? I was starting to get the hang of it.
The nanny sighed again, trying to comfort me.
“Sigh. You must feel hurt. I understand, Your Highness. That’s why I’ll scold them harshly—”
“No! Tell them to talk about it more!”
“…Pardon?”
“Tell them to keep saying I’m a villainess! You can even tell them more about how awful I am.”
“…Your Highness?”
“Got it?”
“But where exactly are you villainous…?”
Ha. It’s time to show off my misdeeds. I placed my hands on my hips and shrugged my shoulders.
“First!”
Racking my brain, I listed the bad things I’d done.
“I secretly went to see Roel without telling you!”
“That was very wrong of you!”
The nanny nodded firmly. See? I am terrible!
“And I also secretly threw away some of my medicine!”
“That was very wrong too! Sigh… If you do that again, I’ll call His Highness Crown Prince Lexton here.”
“What? Why!”
Oops, I think I revealed too big a secret. She can’t actually call Lexton over for that! It’s just that the medicine was so disgusting it made me want to puke.
The nanny’s expression turned stern. At least when it came to medicine, she was always strict.
“From now on, you will not leave any medicine behind. Promise me before I really contact His Highness Lexton.”
“…I’ll try.”
“Then, is that all?”
“No!”
I thought hard. Surely I must’ve done something antisocial and selfish before.
“…That time, Mother told me to be kind to Crown Prince Aemon, but I was annoyed and ignored him. That was rude.”
“That was well done.”
“…Huh?”
“Even Her Majesty the Empress would understand if she heard about that.”
“…Well, I suppose so.”
“Then that’s all, isn’t it?”
“…Mm.”
I nodded. What else could there be? I’d been stuck in my room all this time.
Sigh. I guess it’s important to show things in front of people. I’ll have to think about what else I can do.
While I was lost in thought, the nanny called me.
“So, Your Highness. May I ask in detail where you met the confined prince?”
“Hm? Oh, that.”
I explained everything from when the prince first climbed over my balcony, to how I accidentally discovered the secret passage that led to Roel’s room. I even confessed that we shared sandwiches. I could trust my nanny.
“…You went into his room alone?”
“Yeah.”
“Your Highness went to His Highness the Prince’s room?”
“Yeah!”
“…Your Highness…”
The nanny held her head and frowned as if dizzy.
What? What did I do?
“The prince is a boy!”
“He’s a kid. He’s only eight years old.”
What can an eight-year-old do? Sure, if you consider society’s darker aspects, maybe a lot—but normally, eight-year-olds are at the age where they complain about going to cram school while eating food their mom gave them. The age when they prefer friends over family and go out to eat tteokbokki.
What’s the problem?
“You’re also eight years old, Your Highness.”
“Right, but I’m an adult.”
The nanny didn’t know, but inside this eight-year-old body was a weary office worker. Though I admit, since possessing this body, my mindset and behavior had softened to fit the body’s age.
“…From now on, you must not go alone.”
“Why! No, I’ll keep the door open, really.”
“Why are you so insistent?”
“Because Roel will feel uncomfortable. He’s already timid. He’s so skinny from not eating properly. I just want him to be able to eat in peace.”
Honestly, part of the reason Roel quickly lowered his guard with me was probably not just the shocking incident at the banquet, but also because I looked like a child.
With my pale, almost transparent skin and frail impression, I must not have seemed threatening at all.
“…Such, such…”
“I promise nothing will happen. If I sense danger, I’ll come back immediately.”
The nanny let out a deep sigh.
“…Alright.”
See? Nannies are weak to children.
Good. Now I can go see Roel without worries.
After dramatically compromising with the nanny, I resumed packing.
Everything I packed was meant to bring to Roel.
“…Is this what it feels like when a daughter gets married? Pouring out the whole household just to take care of the son-in-law.”
She even muttered something weird.
No, it’s because she hasn’t seen how poor Roel’s living conditions are. If she saw it once, she’d understand why I was doing this.
Anyway, thanks to the nanny’s help, I was smoothly packing when—
A nuisance appeared.
“…Um, Your Highness the Princess.”
“Hm?”
I was happily shoving the last book into my bag. I was wondering how I’d carry it, then thought maybe I’d just call Roel to help.
“His Highness the Crown Prince has come to see you.”
“What? Why?”
I frowned.
To be honest, I’m usually lenient with kids. Because I’m an adult! But for spoiled brats like the Crown Prince, I absolutely couldn’t be lenient.
“He asks you to come out now.”
“And why should I?”
Showing up unannounced and demanding I come out?
“Tell him I’m not going. Say I don’t want to see his face.”
“The thing is…”
The nanny sighed with a troubled look.
“He insists you must come out. If you don’t, he says he’ll barge in and teach you a lesson…”
Teach me a lesson?
Fine. Let’s see who teaches whom.
I rolled up my sleeves. How dare that brat act up with me!
“Your Highness, where are you going! Your Highness!”
“Wait right there! I’m the one who’s going to teach him a lesson!”
I felt energy surge back into me. I ran downstairs.
The Crown Prince was waiting outside the building, bullying the attendant standing beside him with a sulky face.
“Why isn’t she coming out!”
“Well, surely Her Highness heard your message… She’ll come out soon, won’t she?”
“How dare she make me wait? I’ll drag her out myself.”
“Ah, Your Highness! She is the Princess of Respris! This could turn into an international issue!”
I watched the attendant clinging desperately to the Crown Prince and stepped in front of him.
“What’s your problem.”
“W-what?”
“Who do you think you are, ordering me around? If you have business, you should politely send word in advance and ask if I have time!”
As I said that, I remembered how I’d barged in on Roel yesterday and felt a pang of guilt. At least Roel had asked if I had time when he showed up suddenly. Ahem.
But still—what’s mine is mine, and what’s his is his!
At the very least, I didn’t want to be put on the same level as Aemon.
