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Chapter 4
The carriage came to a stop — we must have arrived.
Thankfully, my face didn’t feel as hot as before.
I hurriedly covered my neck with my hair and pulled the sleeves of my dress down to hide my wrists.
Without waiting for an escort, I bolted out.
Decorum didn’t matter — none of that mattered right now.
The moment I entered, I saw my nanny.
“Your Highness, why are you only arriving now—”
“Uuuh, Nanny!”
“Your Highness? Why are you crying all of a sudden— Wait! What is this!?”
Finally, I could relax.
Now that I was physically free from him, I could collapse into Nanny’s arms and cry my heart out.
All the emotions I had been suppressing burst out like a tidal wave.
“Who dared to do this to your body, Your Highness…?”
“Hic… Nanny, I just want to wash up first…”
“Yes… understood. I’ll bring medicine.”
Since my mother passed away, Nanny had been the person I relied on most after Father and my brother.
Mother had loved me deeply, but because she’d been ill even before my brother was born, Nanny was the one who actually raised me.
So when Mother died, Nanny became my emotional pillar.
“Your bath is ready, Your Highness.”
“Okay…”
Soaking in the warm bath helped a little.
I had washed earlier too, but it was uncomfortable — a strange place, a strange situation.
“My dear Princess.”
“…”
“Tell me who did this to you.”
I couldn’t. How could I possibly say it?
This was a secret I had to take to my grave.
“Please don’t tell Father or Brother. They’ll just worry.”
“You say that, and yet look at you! Do you know how worried we were when you came home so late?”
“…I’m sorry.”
“At least you came back safe. You’ve never caused trouble before, but staying out all night— we were so worried!”
“While I was gone… did Father or Brother come by?”
What excuse could I even make? I couldn’t just say, ‘I got drunk and slept over at a friend’s house.’
And I definitely couldn’t tell them, ‘I slept with Duke Siekbert.’
I could practically see Father and Brother fainting from shock. That could never happen.
“Don’t worry. I told them Your Highness drank too much and fell asleep, and that I shouldn’t wake you.”
Ah, as expected of Nanny’s quick wit!
Sometimes I thought I should really learn that from her.
Thank goodness. Truly, thank goodness.
After Mother died, Father and Brother raised me with such care — like I was made of glass.
I couldn’t possibly break their hearts with something like this.
“That wretch who dared touch you…”
“…”
“At least tell me this— was he handsome?”
“…He was handsome.”
I had to admit, that much was true.
If my type was closer to my brother, then the villain— the man from the original novel — was the kind of face that readers fell for.
If the male lead had the beauty of a warm, angelic sun, the villain had the cruel allure of a beautiful demon.
He was terrifyingly handsome — that’s how the book had described him.
“See? Handsome men always cause trouble!”
And ugly ones just make a fool of themselves.
“Oh dear… If His Majesty finds out, you’ll be forbidden from leaving the palace again…”
“…You’ll help me keep it secret, won’t you?”
“Tell me who it is, and I’ll help you.”
“There won’t be any reason to get involved again, Nanny.”
There couldn’t be.
Nothing good could come from being involved with that man again.
My body still ached all over. It felt like traces of him remained burned into my skin.
Why hadn’t I resisted when I could have?
Maybe it was because of that face — and the kind of skill that had never even been described in the original story.
“If he’s a good man…”
“You know, Nanny. I have no intention of marrying anyone.”
“Only His Majesty and the Crown Prince are happy about that, you know.”
“But I want to live with Father, Brother, and you forever… Don’t you think that sounds nice?”
Nanny smiled softly, as if she couldn’t argue with that.
And honestly, the real reason I didn’t want to marry was because I had no intention of changing the story’s original flow any further.
My goal was to live happily, showered in the love of my family.
And maybe — just maybe — that boy from my early childhood might show up again.
He wasn’t even in the novel. Just a vague memory of a boy my age I’d met once — I could barely even remember his face.
“Your Highness… You’re not still waiting for that boy you once met, are you?”
“That’s just an excuse. I just want to stay with my family for a long, long time.”
And that was the truth.
The warmth of family — I loved it too much to let it go.
Maybe it was because I’d had a loving family in my past life too.
That lingering attachment made family ties feel precious in this one as well.
I never even got to say goodbye to them last time — maybe that’s why it hurt so much.
“You know I never planned to marry from the start, Nanny.”
“That’s true… Normally, a princess like you would have had a grand debutante ball by now…”
“Yeah. Probably.”
Father would have spared no expense to make it spectacular.
But I just wanted a quiet life.
No politics, no power struggles — just peace.
Meeting friends once in a while, that was enough.
“But you know better than anyone, Nanny — I’m satisfied with my life now!”
“…It’s just a shame, that’s all.”
Her words made me feel a little guilty.
My body grew heavy with sleepiness.
Even though I’d slept earlier, it wasn’t real rest — my body had been through too much.
After my bath, I changed into my nightclothes.
Unlike usual, this one covered me completely — from neck to wrists to ankles.
It was a bit stifling, but I had no choice.
His marks were still there, all over me.
“Your Highness…”
“I’m tired… I’ll sleep for a while, Nanny. Wake me when Father or Brother come back…”
“…Yes.”
Even without words, I could tell — Nanny was deeply worried about me.
For my sake, and for my family’s, I knew I couldn’t get tangled up with the villain again.
My whole body throbbed.
It felt like every muscle except those in my face were crying out in pain.
sigh… Just my luck.
I heard Nanny leave the room, and finally, I began to drift into sleep.
But the room felt unusually cold.
I pulled the blanket tighter around myself.
I don’t know how long I slept.
“Ugh…!”
Suddenly, my body burned.
No — not just warm. Hot.
Too hot. I couldn’t breathe.
Then… I felt a hand stroke my face.
It felt so cool — instinctively, I grabbed that hand and rubbed my cheek against it.
Finally, relief.
The calloused texture — was it Brother’s?
Or maybe Father, coming to check on me?
It felt like the hand of someone who wielded a sword.
My vision was blurry; I couldn’t see clearly.
And I didn’t have the strength to lift my eyelids.
“…Father?”
Silence.
No reply.
Then maybe… Brother?
They must have been worried sick about me.
At least it was good they didn’t know I’d returned earlier that afternoon.
“Brother… I’m okay…”
Silence again.
“I should’ve listened to Father better… cough cough!”
I started coughing.
Had I caught a cold?
No wonder — my body was weakened enough as it was.
Ah, I could guess why.
I felt guilty thinking about Father.
If it had been any other party, I wouldn’t have gone.
But this one was hosted by the Marquis of Chloe.
Even if I hadn’t made my debut, being the beloved princess gave me a few friends.
And one of them was the heroine of the original story.
Cecile Chloe — the heroine, and my only friend.
It was her coming-of-age birthday party.
As her best friend, of course I had to attend.
And Father and Brother knew that too.
That’s why they couldn’t stop me, even if they’d wanted to.
“…Sometimes, not listening can be a good thing.”
The voice was gentle, like my brother’s — but something about it was slightly different.
Still, the cool touch against my burning skin felt comforting.
The hand on my cheek slid upward, covering my eyes.
“Sleep.”
It didn’t sound like my brother — but in that moment, the heat left my face as if soothed away.
The strangest thing was… I hadn’t heard the door open.
Maybe he’d already been in the room for a while, and I just hadn’t noticed.
Still… something felt strange.
Before I could think any more, I fell back asleep.
