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Chapter 8
Why is it that all of them can only think of such simple ways of bullying?
There’s no elegance. No sophistication at all.
Do they really think dominating someone means attacking their most basic needs?
Useless people never improve—no, that’s not it.
Maybe I should blame not the medieval people, but my stepmother from my past life, who thought at the same primitive level.
Even if the world I lived in had advanced in science and technology, people were still at a similar level.
So of course, they would behave no differently from people in a world without science.
The first thing my stepmother did when she entered our house was something similar.
Well, back then she didn’t even feed me at all.
She would give me half-rotten food and call it “discipline” because I was “picky and didn’t appreciate food.”
One day. Two days. Four days. I survived on nothing but water.
I endured out of pride until hunger won, and when I finally begged for forgiveness, I was punished for admitting fault.
So I had to starve longer for the time it took me to apologize properly.
I once went an entire week without eating.
I was only five years old then.
“Rather than vegetables grown carelessly in the wild like commoners eat, these are carefully cultivated, precious vegetables, so they’re much fresher and more nutritious…”
Lena’s voice gradually faded.
Even she seemed to realize how weak her excuse sounded, squeezing her eyes shut.
A faint laugh escaped me at her desperate attempt.
Why is she shaking like a leaf when it’s not even her fault?
Lena’s hands, clasped in front of me, were trembling like an earthquake had hit them.
Creeeak.
I stood up, and the chair scraped against the marble floor.
It might not be proper palace etiquette, but I didn’t care.
I turned my gaze away from Lena and looked around.
“Where is the kitchen?”
“The k-kitchen? Why are you asking that…?”
“Lena.”
When I called her in a low voice, she snapped upright and quickly guided me.
“This way, Your Highness.”
If there’s wrongdoing, you ask the person involved.
They always know best.
After guiding me, Lena stood stiffly by the door.
“…Your Highness?”
The busy kitchen fell silent the moment I entered.
The first thing I noticed was the worn clothing of the kitchen staff.
At first glance it looked clean and white, but up close there were obvious signs of heavy wear.
It didn’t look like uniforms they were properly replacing.
‘Does the palace only issue one set of uniforms?’
Before my doubt could settle, I noticed the kitchen equipment next.
It wasn’t dirty, but although it was well organized, the wear from long use was obvious everywhere.
It felt less like a royal kitchen and more like the worn-out kitchen of a once-grand restaurant.
“Oh my—Princess Grenita?”
A staff member washing dishes spotted me and gasped.
“What?”
“Oh my, Your Highness!”
The entire kitchen turned toward the entrance.
“Greetings, Your Highness.”
“Please wait a moment. We’ll bring the head chef immediately.”
“Hey! Everyone in the back, come out! The Princess is here!”
“The Princess?!”
One staff member ran inside in a panic, and soon the head chef rushed out.
I looked at the kitchen staff gathering like dwarf fairies from a fairy tale.
‘What is with this shabby atmosphere?’
It felt like a poor household barely keeping itself together.
Why does this feel like some struggling “Heungbu” household in my own palace kitchen?
“Princess Grenita!”
The head chef, already teary-eyed as he ran out, was now sniffling.
Behind him, three staff members lowered their heads.
Ignoring Lena, who was flustered near a cutting table, I spoke.
“I think you all already have an idea why I came here.”
Just one sentence.
“Forgive us.”
The head chef dropped to his knees as if he had been expecting this day.
“The fact that Your Highness’s meals have become so poor… there is truly no excuse.”
His voice trembled with guilt.
“Waaah, Chef…!”
The staff clung to him and collapsed into full prostration like crying mice.
“N-no, please stop! Your Highness!”
Even Lena, panicking, suddenly knelt behind me.
“Lena?”
“It’s not that the kitchen staff did this on purpose! I-I’m not saying this because I have a friend here—no, I mean I really don’t! It’s true!”
She was trembling so much she couldn’t even look at me.
“Among palace servants, they’re known for being… no, not idiots—very devoted to Your Highness!”
“Lena, be quiet!”
A young staff member snapped at her.
“Sonetti, you stay quiet too! You don’t even know how terrifying the Princess is…!”
“Don’t dump blame on Her Highness! Do you think she’s a scary person?”
“If she’s angry, it means YOU did something wrong!”
At Sonetti’s confident words, the head chef and staff nodded in agreement.
I narrowed my eyes.
There was no one here who could be considered “on Melissa’s side.”
Yet they didn’t seem to be lying either.
‘Were they just low-level servants who got swept away without notice?’
The princess’s funeral had no mourners.
That detail still lingered in my memory.
Well… common kitchen staff probably wouldn’t even be allowed at a royal funeral.
That explanation made enough sense.
“Give us a week, and we’ll restore your meals to normal. I’m truly sorry, Your Highness…”
“You’re apologizing too? Honestly, you idiots…”
“L-Lena, don’t say that…”
Even I, watching this mess, felt like I was watching two idiots stuffing themselves with raw sweet potatoes.
Lena looked between them helplessly, then urged Sonetti again.
“You should at least explain the food supply issue before things get worse!”
“It’s nothing that requires concern from a young princess!”
“Chef, if you don’t tell her, we’re all going to die!”
One side insisted everything was fine, the other demanded honesty.
“Haah…”
A wave of irritation rose in me.
It was clearly about me, yet I felt completely excluded from it.
Without saying a word, I grabbed the handle of a kitchen knife.
KWAANG!
I slammed the knife upside down into the cutting board.
The blade vibrated violently with a sharp sound.
The staff and Lena stared at it, then slowly turned to me.
“Tell me everything. All of it.”
Later
The head chef explained everything.
About two years ago, the monthly budget allocated to the 별성 (Star Palace) began decreasing sharply.
And six months ago—it stopped completely.
“So you’re saying you can’t even afford to feed people?”
The chef hesitated, then nodded miserably.
“Yes.”
“For six months, you’ve been running things by pooling 30% of your salaries, and last month even those salaries stopped?”
“Yes, Your Highness. But please don’t worry! With just four staff members, surely we can support one princess—”
That claim didn’t sound convincing at all.
If the palace funding had been cut, this probably wasn’t just a kitchen issue.
I turned to Lena.
“Lena, what about the maids’ salaries? Are they being paid properly?”
“They’ve been slightly reduced compared to last year.”
As expected.
Unannounced cuts had caused massive complaints among the maids.
So that’s how it is.
If funding had stopped six months ago and even salaries weren’t being paid, this was likely intentional.
Either the funds were being withheld deliberately… or someone was diverting them.
“Lena, lead the way.”
“Y-yes?”
“There’s a palace treasury office, right?”
“The internal treasury, you mean?”
“Yes, that one.”
As Lena moved to lead, the head chef spoke anxiously.
“I already sent a request to the chief steward. This will be resolved soon…”
I clicked my tongue.
“I-I’ll go again myself. I’m sorry for troubling you with matters like this…”
It felt like they were talking to a ten-year-old child.
I let out a faint laugh.
“How old am I this year, chef?”
He blinked.
“You are… twenty years old.”
“So I’m an adult. I’m fully capable of handling this.”
Even if I weren’t, I was still a princess.
Melissa or not, I was never allowed to act like a spoiled child anyway.
I scanned the staff—heads bowed, clutching their hats like criminals.
Then I smiled at them.
“So trust me, and wait.”
