DVDD 09

Chapter 09

At first, I didn’t even have the nerve to contact my family, who had married me off to a place like this. All I had was a hollow “villainess” title.
…Honestly, for now, there was nothing to say even if Kopari ignored me.

“Budget.”
“Yes?”
“We agreed to hand over authority, didn’t we?”
“You said you’d reconsider, didn’t you?”
“Until when?”
“Until I feel I can entrust it safely.”

Curses rose in my throat.
My soft little tofu was gone, and I didn’t even know where the prince who could put restrictions on Kopari was. Everything was an obstacle to El’s peaceful life.

“By the way, that bastard didn’t come with you?”
“…You!”
“Why are you like this?”

When El snapped, Kopari smiled with an expression that said, “I don’t know anything~.”

“Planning to throw punches again?”
“…”
“Truly barbaric, as expected from Sahad.”
“…”
“Let me give you a piece of advice: causing such havoc in Renne only tarnishes your image.”
“That’s the same in the kingdom, isn’t it?”
“…My, you’re bold.”
“Yes. That’s why even though someone like you ignores me, I’m still standing here.”
“Hey!!”
“What will you do if I shout? And I’ll give you some advice too.”
“…”
“Try touching my tofu, and it won’t be fun for you.”

Kopari asked what I meant by that, why I was bringing it up, but even if there was a 1% chance that Kopari didn’t have the tofu, it seemed wise to at least give a threat.

“You know about my reputation, right?”
“…”
“I don’t care about the place. Didn’t you see yesterday?”

I had no interest in refined verbal sparring.

Leaving the palace, I scanned the surroundings, but not a trace of the mutt was visible.
It seemed certain Kopari had him. Most likely, he had hidden him somewhere so I couldn’t find him for now.
The attendants and maids serving Kopari were in cahoots; no matter how much I asked, they wouldn’t answer.
Even now, dozens of eyes were on me, perhaps to see if the tofu appeared nearby.

To find my tofu, I’d have to dig into Kopari’s corruption first.

“No matter how little interest the emperor shows in the second prince, the one who issues the budget will probably come check the ledgers regularly.”
“…Probably. But that person must have been bribed too.”
“Exactly.”

The budget that came in was likely pocketed by Kopari personally, so bribery would’ve been easy.

I checked the accounting books related to the second prince just in case.
Even though they said they didn’t know where the prince was, maintenance expenses and food costs were steadily being spent.
These must be decoy ledgers for the administrative supervisor to check; the real ones were likely hidden somewhere.
Even for an abandoned second prince, the budget was astonishingly large.
High-ranking nobles might even be involved. I thought it might be harder than expected.

“I don’t want it to get too complicated…”

Maybe I’d have to compromise with Kopari. With my current situation, dealing with senior officials would be too overwhelming.
Even if there’s nothing for the prince’s wife, it’d be disastrous. If it only affected me, it wouldn’t matter, but for Larie, who’s living her life diligently, it would be a shock.

Perhaps I should go back to Kopari and apologize…

“El-nim! Don’t get discouraged!”
“Huh?”
“Let’s find the second prince together!”

For now, it might be okay to yield a bit, though somehow Larie was fired up.

“Do you think he’ll help us?”
I wondered more if we could even find him.
They said he was cursed as a child and became a monster; if no one has seen him until now, he must be a master of hide-and-seek.

“…H-He will help us.”

I thought that if El found the second prince and received authority, things might work out, but it seemed naive.
I couldn’t even see my husband properly on the wedding day, hidden by a veil, nor had we really spoken.
Perhaps he had a high chance of distrusting humans.
Even if you live ordinarily, human relationships are never easy. Larie herself was passed off as the prince’s personal maid because she didn’t want the role.
It was fortunate Larie thought positively; if it were me, I’d resent the attendants and maids who sent me here.
But would a monster prince help humans without conditions?

And…

“…I feel sorry.”
“Eh? For what?”

Until now, El hadn’t even considered finding the second prince.
We were living our own lives, maybe just exchanging greetings if we met by chance someday. That’s all.
But now, if I purposefully searched and made a sudden request, how shocking would that be?

“…Let’s put the second prince on hold.”
“…But…”
“If it doesn’t work, I’ll contact the duke’s family.”

I wanted to avoid contacting them, but even the duke wouldn’t like it if his daughter was ignored by the head maid, so he’d probably provide minimal help.

Or…

“Shall we go see the emperor?”
“Ehh?!”

Larie gasped.
“It’s been quite a while since you married, and you haven’t properly greeted him, right?”
“W-Well…”
“Sending a letter first isn’t impolite.”
“…”
“I’m not asking you to fire the head maid immediately either.”

It would be better to build social connections, especially since I’d been hiding away. I had avoided networking out of laziness, but I had no choice.
Of course, first I’d have to search for the tofu as much as possible.

“Even a little touch, and it’s over.”

I was about to write a letter to the emperor when someone knocked on the office door of the lily palace, usually deserted.
Could it be someone sent by Kopari? Larie cautiously opened the door and saw someone with a stern expression and dignified presence.

“I am Shudin, head attendant serving His Majesty the Emperor.”
“Ah… E-eh?! His… His Majesty the Emperor?”
“May I greet Laella-nim?”

Larie was startled and looked at the head attendant. Polite and commanding, unlike Kopari, who managed the lily palace.

“Y-Yes.”

Larie hurriedly opened the door and stepped aside. Shudin handed El a letter, saying it was directly from His Majesty.

I was dumbfounded. Did the emperor communicate with me telepathically?
I didn’t feel particularly good about it.

“He wishes to meet Laella-nim.”
“Suddenly?”
“Yes, the details can be explained in person.”
“…Understood.”
“Then, I’ll take my leave.”

The head attendant bowed politely and withdrew.
Though strange, since I was planning to meet anyway, it was fine. Slightly awkward, but we’d know once we met.

I opened the letter Shudin left.
No explanation for why he wanted to meet, just a date, time, and place — extremely terse.
Of course, as emperor, he didn’t need flowery language, but even a nominal princess would get more courtesy.
Even minor nobles wouldn’t get such a curt letter.

“Well, that’s fine.”
I’d ask him to deal with Kopari later. Since he asked to meet first, I didn’t need to be humble.

“What did His Majesty say?”
“He wants to meet.”
“Good heavens! Is he finally curious about El-nim?!”
“Well…”
Probably not, but we’d know after meeting, as the head attendant said.

The next morning, my tofu returned. I screamed in shock.
He was covered in wounds, probably from getting beaten, with sharp scratches all over.

“T-This is…!”

It had to be Kopari’s doing. I hadn’t imagined tofu would escape like this, but for me, it was incredibly fortunate.
Now I didn’t need to bow to Kopari, nor ask the emperor for help.
Of course, Kopari would still be completely punished.

“Your Highness!”

Even though he must be in pain, seeing tofu wag his tail and overjoyed made me tear up.

“Tofuuu!”

I hugged tofu tightly. He calmly leaned into me, licking my cheek, as if telling me not to cry.

Larie returned from fetching food, and upon seeing tofu, cried out and hugged him as well.
The three of us stayed like that for a long time.

Even though it had only been a day, I had been sad trying to figure out how to find tofu. But seeing him back, even battered, gave me strength.
His warm, soft body felt comforting, and imagining that he had run here through harsh treatment just to see me made me feel I had to muster strength I didn’t have.

“Tofu.”
“Your Highness!”
“…Thank you.”
“Your Highness!”
“Thank you too, Tofu!”

Larie cried and echoed after me, trying to kiss him, but tofu recoiled in disgust.
I burst out laughing.

Even when I tried, he had been stiff, but with Larie, he acted like avoiding germs.
I mischievously pressed his cheek and kissed the space between his brows.
Tofu didn’t resist, but froze awkwardly.

“Ahaha—so cute.”

It felt like the first time I laughed out loud since entering this novel world.

There were no animal hospitals.
No ointments for animals existed, and treatment for dogs, in particular, was nonexistent.
I had to use human ointment and carefully checked his body for fractures, but he didn’t complain of pain.
Thank goodness.

“Don’t hurt, Tofu.”
“Your Highness!”

I gently applied medicine, praising him for enduring it, and fed him. He ate ravenously, probably because he hadn’t eaten all day.

Before, he ate cautiously and watched carefully, but now he seemed a bit more at ease. Yet even when eating quickly, there was something graceful about him.