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Chapter 15
Mom Is Alive?
I stared blankly at the food, and when I looked at the meat dish, my mouth watered uncontrollably.
At that moment, it felt as if I had lived just to eat that meat today, and I wanted to eat it as quickly as possible. The effect of meat was truly remarkable.
“The weather is cold. Go and bring a blanket.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Meanwhile, as the sky darkened and the temperature dropped, Jeff warned that I might catch a cold and that I should stay warm. He then gave various instructions to the maid.
He didn’t put me down in the chair immediately but held me while pacing around. Even so, I kept my eyes fixed on the meat on the table.
“Your Majesty, as you instructed, I have brought something to keep the princess warm.”
Soon after, the maid quickly found something to cover me and, in front of Jeff, wrapped a blanket around me. To prevent it from slipping while I ate, she even secured it with a cute yellow ribbon pin at my neck, making it look like it matched my dress perfectly.
“Eat slowly. You don’t want an upset stomach.”
“Yes!”
I had been thinking about eating meat for a long time, so once the meal started, I devoured it eagerly. Of course, with so many eyes watching and having been an emperor in my past life, I didn’t eat ravenously.
Still, my voracious appetite was apparent because I was so hungry. But being only three years old and looking cute, it didn’t seem too bad to others.
Jeff watched me eat neatly, concerned I might get a stomachache.
“Do you want to try these honey-coated potatoes too? They’re really sweet and tasty.”
Hoping I’d eat a variety of foods, Jeff suggested I try the potato dish. His eyes glimmered with a look that begged me to try it.
I reluctantly moved my gaze but wasn’t interested in the potatoes.
‘You silly potato-lover,’ I thought.
Since I didn’t like them enough to eat immediately, I gently pressed my lips with the fork to refuse.
Swoosh—
But at that moment, while I hesitated, Poppy, who had been quiet until now, reached for the potatoes.
“Thump!”
“No! You’re a doll, you can’t eat that.”
Hey, I said I didn’t want to eat them, not that I’d give them to someone else. I quickly reached out and stopped Poppy.
“Squawk…”
Poppy flailed, making strange sounds, then looked up at me with desperate, sorrowful eyes, as if to say, Are you really not going to give me any?
‘Why are you making me feel guilty?’
I tensed up, slightly panicking.
“Here, eat it. If something happens to you later, it’s not my responsibility.”
Grumbling that I wasn’t taking responsibility, I stabbed the smallest roasted potato with my fork and handed it to Poppy.
“Squawk!”
‘From now on, potatoes are all yours, Poppy.’
If nothing happened to Poppy today, from now on, every time Jeff ate, the potatoes would be for him.
Plop!
I then decided to fill my own stomach, picking up a nicely cut piece of meat with my fork.
“Daddy says the happiest time is when he sees his daughter eating.”
Jeff rested his chin on one hand, smiling contentedly.
“Especially when you eat meat with that expression, like you’ve conquered the world—it reminds me of your mother.”
“Mom?”
“Yes. Your mother loved eating meat while watching the stars.”
I tilted my head in confusion. I had assumed my mother had died since I had never seen her, so hearing this at the table felt strange.
“Wasn’t mom dead? Is she… alive?”
“She’s alive. I was going to tell you when you were a little older.”
Jeff suddenly went silent, froze for a moment, and then shed tears. I was stunned by this unexpected revelation.
‘For the past three years, I haven’t even seen the empress or the attendants serving her.’
So of course, I had assumed she was dead.
‘But if Jeff is right and the empress is alive, she’s probably somewhere other than the imperial palace.’
Still, it was odd that she hadn’t shown her face even once.
‘Could it… be that she ran away?’
I couldn’t think of any plausible reason, so I considered the worst-case scenario.
“Soon… you’ll be able to meet your mother, so wait.”
At that moment, Jeff moved his lips after staring wistfully, eyes filled with longing.
“It won’t take too long. It’s already been three years.”
From what he said, it didn’t seem like she had run away. I considered other possibilities.
‘She’s the empress of the empire, so it’s unlikely she was kidnapped.’
Well, I’d find out soon enough.
‘Even without the empress, I can still live just fine.’
I decided there was no need to know everything, and my mind felt clear as I watched sauce drip from the tip of my fork.
“The weather is cold. Let’s head back now.”
Soon, after most of the plates were emptied and I was full, Jeff announced the end of the meal.
“Our darling Darling~ Tonight, Daddy will read you a bedtime story!”
I was about to get down from the chair when Jeff suddenly lifted me up, hugging me tightly with a bright smile.
“Ugh, no!”
I scowled and gripped Poppy tightly.
“Squawk…”
I ended up holding Poppy’s head precariously with one hand, and he seemed to feel the pain, looking distressed the whole time we moved.
Three days later.
“So boring.”
I lay on the bed with Poppy and stared at the ceiling.
“The young princess has nothing to do. At least in my past life, I handled affairs of state.”
I recalled how boring it felt. I remembered the time I was startled by a mosquito and Poppy, seeing it as a target, fired a beam.
‘Even though he knew Poppy’s power, Jeff spent a lot of money in just three days installing mosquito-repelling devices across the empire.’
I remembered that moment, shivering slightly, and how quickly Jeff had pressured the alchemists to make the devices, paying enormous amounts without hesitation. I still remembered his stern face in his office, demanding the devices be made quickly.
It was just a single mosquito, not a swarm. I couldn’t understand why he made such a fuss.
Ding-dong!
Just then, a small ringing sound caught my attention.
“Squawk!”
At the end of it, Poppy held a little bell with a call function, though I had no idea when he had gotten it.
“Did you bring this for me?”
I looked at him questioningly, and Poppy shook the bell back and forth as if urging me to take it.
“Squawk!”
Confirming that yes, it was for me, Poppy then stopped moving and stayed still.
“How clever.”
After praising him once, I admired how useful Poppy was, acting smart.
‘This little guy isn’t just for defense—he can be my errand-runner too.’
I took the bell from Poppy’s mouth and looked around.
“Come to think of it, I’ve never used this before.”
Even as I stared, Poppy suddenly hummed cheerfully, smiling.
‘Did Poppy know that shaking this would make a maid come running?’
I watched Poppy make happy little sounds, then looked back up.
“Life here is comfortable, but it’s too boring.”
Poppy, unaware of my lament, happily ran in circles.
“I should go draw something.”
To get him to calm down, I grabbed Poppy with one hand and shook the bell with the other.
Ding, ding.
Soon, the maids arrived, knocking at the door.
“Come in.”
I immediately allowed them entry, and the maids greeted me politely.
“Your Highness, do you need anything?”
I shook my head. They came to check on me, not to fetch anything.
“You don’t look well. Did you have a bad dream last night?”
“No, it’s not that. What’s on my schedule today?”
Thinking that today might be boring too, I held down Poppy with both hands, waiting for an answer.
“Today, Marquis Fleur will visit the palace. He plans to bring lots of toys made from trees grown in the northern regions.”
Her gentle tone gave me a headache—not because the maid did anything wrong, but because I reflexively reacted to the word ‘Fleur’.
‘Damn it.’
Because if Marquis Fleur is coming, that means all sorts of people will come along too.
‘I’ll be troubled again.’
I internally screamed, tugging my hair in frustration. After the maids calmed me down, I prepared to greet the guests.
When I met the children in the familiar playroom, nothing had changed.
“Your Majesty~ Long time no see!”
“Oh, yeah.”
No sooner had I awkwardly smiled than Ronowe and Beris sat on either side of me, making a storm cloud form in my head.
“Princess, have you fully recovered? I heard you were bedridden.”
For a moment, I felt annoyed, but Carlisle, sitting across from me, asked politely.
“As you can see, I’m fine.”
It seemed Jeff had rushed to install the mosquito-repelling devices using strange reasoning.
‘I’d better play along.’
I grumbled internally.
“Since the devices were installed across the territories, fewer people have been getting stomachaches,” Carlisle reported, surprising me.
‘Did the devices improve the water supply too?’
Jeff’s frantic actions unexpectedly yielded results.
“Your Highness~”
Meanwhile, Ronowe, looking dissatisfied, flailed his arms and legs.
“Play with us too!”
“Only talking to big brother is unfair!”
Beris joined in, creating chaos. I felt like I was dying in the middle.
Pat-pat.
At that moment, Poppy quietly reappeared and wandered across the carpet.
“The white bread is moving!”
Beris was the first to notice.
“Where?”
Ronowe also reacted immediately, eyes sparkling.
“Squawk?”
Confused, Poppy stopped, and the Fleur siblings were fascinated, crawling on the floor to see him, as innocent as a baby seeing snow for the first time.
“Princess, can I bite this?”
“That’s not food. Daddy gave it to me as a gift.”
I hurriedly explained, and the siblings let go of Poppy’s body.
“But he eats potatoes too.”
“Wow~”
“Amazing~”
Eventually, Ronowe and Beris started tossing Poppy around like a ball.
‘Those idiots. If they knew he could shoot beams from his mouth, they’d definitely demand to see it.’
I decided not to tell them. Watching the siblings happily play with Poppy, I resolved to keep that one fact secret.
Wow—
Waa- waaahh—
A little while later, while enjoying a quiet moment, we heard shouts from outside, drawing everyone’s attention to the window.
“What’s all the shouting about?”
Was something happening outside? I turned to check for myself.
