🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter: 12
“Ah… Y-Yes! Of course!”
Among the frozen attendants, one senior court lady who seemed quicker on the uptake hurriedly nodded.
“As you can see, my maid has already helped me get ready. I’m prepared, so we can leave immediately.”
“Y-Your Highness…?”
“His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is still asleep, so don’t wake him. He must be tired. Besides, it’s fine if I pay my respects alone, isn’t it?”
“Ah, understood.”
The quick-witted senior court lady shot a meaningful glance at another palace maid behind her. Snapping out of her daze, the maid hurried off, no doubt to deliver an urgent report.
She’s probably going to inform the king.
That was better than barging in unannounced. It would give the king some time to prepare. They probably hadn’t even set out the breakfast that was usually served during the morning greeting.
Breakfast… I wonder what they’ll serve?
Thinking back to the shock of last night’s meal naturally filled me with anticipation. Even the cold leftovers had tasted incredible. This time I’d get freshly made, hot dishes.
Let’s stall for a little while.
I swallowed the saliva gathering in my mouth and tilted my head innocently.
“By the way, where’s my palanquin?”
“Y-Your palanquin?”
“Why do you look so surprised? Surely you’re not expecting me to walk?”
“……”
“Bring my palanquin at once.”
“Y-Yes! P-Please wait just a moment, Your Highness.”
The senior court lady gestured toward a eunuch this time. He immediately ran off in a different direction from the first court lady, probably to fetch the palanquin.
I frowned at the court lady who had answered me.
“I’m not a young lady anymore.”
“Pardon?”
“Do they still call the Crown Princess ‘young lady’ even after she’s married in the Palace of Unguk?”
“Ah.”
The senior court lady’s eyes widened before she hastily bowed.
“Your Highness, Crown Princess.”
“That’s better.”
I gave her a bright smile, and her expression turned strange for a moment before gradually calming.
“…I should have come earlier to assist with your preparations. I sincerely apologize for arriving late, Your Highness.”
Unlike her initial panic, she now spoke with respect and composure. It seemed she had decided how she ought to treat me after my correction.
She’s been pretty sharp from the start. I like that.
“What’s your name?”
“Kim Sukhyang.”
“And your position?”
“I am the Senior Court Lady of the Bathing Office.”
The Bathing Office? So that was probably where they handled bathing and grooming. In any case, since she’d been sent to clean up the corpse, she probably wasn’t among the highest-ranking court ladies. Still, anyone entrusted with such work would know how to keep their mouth shut.
“Hmm. Is there… perhaps a chief senior court lady assigned to the Crown Princess?”
There probably wasn’t. They likely hadn’t even finished organizing the Crown Princess’s household.
“Do you mean the Chief Inner Chamber Court Lady? B-Because Your Highness’s household preparations have not yet been completed… I believe no one has been appointed yet.”
Just as I expected.
Still, if no one had been assigned yet, that meant I could organize everything exactly the way I wanted from the beginning. That wasn’t bad news at all.
“I see. I’d like Lady Kim to become my Chief Inner Chamber Court Lady. Would I simply ask Her Majesty the Queen?”
At my casual suggestion, Lady Kim’s gaze immediately changed.
“…I am deeply honored that Your Highness thinks so highly of me. If it is Your Highness’s wish, the Chief Supervising Court Lady will arrange it immediately.”
Just as I thought. This woman really is quick.
The details differed from country to country, but palace hierarchies generally followed the same framework. If the queen was in a coma, then the person managing the Inner Court would naturally be the head of the palace women, like the chief fairy of Sangra Palace or the palace administrator of Jami Palace.
So here they call that position the Chief Supervising Court Lady.
But once there was a Crown Princess, she naturally became the superior of the Chief Supervising Court Lady and would oversee the Inner Court herself.
The moment I spoke, Lady Kim must have been judging whether I was capable of acting as a proper Crown Princess.
And then she decided to side with me. The chance of being promoted straight into upper management was probably a major factor.
“So should I tell her personally, or would you pass along my wishes?”
“I shall convey Your Highness’s orders myself. It will be handled immediately, so please do not worry.”
If I, the superior, personally went to request something from the Chief Supervising Court Lady, it would undermine my authority. Of course, I wasn’t yet recognized as a proper Crown Princess, so if necessary I would have had to go myself and establish discipline.
But if she can handle it herself…
Whether she could truly be trusted was another matter, but she seemed useful enough.
I then pointed toward the palace maid standing off to one side—the same one from yesterday.
“I’d also like that maid to serve in my palace. Would that be possible?”
“Your Highness may choose whichever maid you desire. It shall be done.”
“Thank you. Lady Kim really is easy to work with.”
At my words, Lady Kim looked at me strangely.
“…Your Highness, did you sleep well last night?”
“Yes. Very well.”
Come to think of it, I really had slept deeply and woken feeling refreshed. The painkillers hadn’t worn off and awakened me halfway through the night. I hadn’t found myself back in the afterlife either. I wasn’t exhausted or dizzy as if I hadn’t slept at all.
No headache. No nosebleeds. Breathing is easy. I don’t have to drink bitter medicine anymore.
Having a healthy body really was this wonderful.
Well, I’d always known it should be wonderful, but knowing something and actually experiencing it were completely different. Every tiny little thing felt astonishing and joyful. My body felt so light that my mood soared with it.
I keep wanting to smile.
No, I had to act dignified. Like an adult.
As I struggled to suppress the grin threatening to spread across my face, Lady Kim hesitated before speaking.
“Your Highness… you truly seem to be someone extraordinary.”
“Yes. I am rather extraordinary.”
I quickly composed my expression and answered with dignified confidence before beckoning her closer.
Lady Kim bent down with a puzzled expression.
Leaning toward her ear, I whispered softly.
“So you’ve chosen the right person to follow. I’ll treat you well from now on, so you should treat me well too.”
“…Yes, Your Highness.”
As Lady Kim straightened up, the corners of her lips twitched upward.
The fairies of Sangra Palace often made that expression.
Usually it was when they found me unbearably adorable but had to hold themselves back from showing it.
But I wasn’t even acting cute just now. I was trying to sound intimidating, like Mom or Dad did while working.
I’m supposed to make people nervous, not make them think I’m adorable. Is Lu Hua’s face just too gentle to look imposing?
I was seriously wondering if I needed to practice looking more dignified when the palanquin arrived.
Lady Kim stepped forward to help me aboard, but Anshi hurried over and squeezed between us.
“P-Prin…! Your Highness, Crown Princess! Allow this Anshi to assist you!”
Pushed aside unexpectedly, Lady Kim quietly observed Anshi before asking me,
“Is that child the personal maid who came with Your Highness from your homeland?”
“If you mean whether she’s the maid who came with me from the Empire, then yes.”
“Then I shall also register her among Your Highness’s Inner Chamber attendants.”
She’s already taking care of things on her own.
I smiled in satisfaction and nodded.
Anshi pouted before whining in the divine language.
[Princess, isn’t this Anshi much better at serving Your Highness than that human? Please say Anshi is number one.]
[Anshi, you’re a phoenix. Why are you comparing yourself to humans?]
[Hiiing…]
[…Of course you’re the best. That’s exactly why you shouldn’t compare yourself to them.]
[Hehe. Heehee.]
Our Anshi really was sweet and adorable…
Though I had no idea when she’d finally grow up.
The king received my morning greeting not in his private chambers, but in the Queen’s Palace.
Sekran said he had loved the queen dearly… and that after the Black Curse he lost his sanity.
The information had been accurate.
The king sat before the curtain, looking half insane. His bloodshot eyes never left the queen lying beyond the screen.
When he was healthy, he must have had the bearing of a sage. Now I can see where the Crown Prince got his face from.
Now, however, he looked like nothing more than a madman.
He barely acknowledged my greeting before waving me away.
“Leave. We are busy.”
He didn’t even look at my face.
Then again, even sages went mad when caught by the Dark One. The fact that this frail human had survived with only this much damage was remarkable.
He must originally have been a man with tremendous resolve.
More importantly, I needed to see the queen’s face so I could retrieve her from the afterlife, but the king clearly had no intention of allowing that.
He didn’t even seem interested that the Crown Princess—who should have died—was still alive.
Naturally, breakfast was out of the question.
That made me a little depressed.
I’m hungry…
Does this king even know I’m his daughter-in-law?
Honestly, I didn’t think he did.
More accurately, he seemed completely indifferent to whoever came or whatever they said.
After thinking for a moment, I asked innocently,
“Is Her Majesty the Queen still asleep?”
“…I told you to leave.”
“But I haven’t paid my respects to Her Majesty yet.”
“We said leave!”
The king suddenly raised his voice and finally turned toward me.
Murderous intent blazed within his wild eyes.
“Y-Your Highness, Crown Princess… it would be best if you stood.”
The Chief Inner Chamber Court Lady of the Queen’s Palace, who had been anxiously watching, approached to help me up.
This won’t work.
With no other choice, I simply dropped the bomb immediately.
“Is Her Majesty still asleep because of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince’s darkness?”
“…!”
Every eunuch and senior court lady nearby froze.
The king’s face instantly flushed crimson with rage.
“Who… dared… speak… of that?”
He rose to his feet, spitting out each word.
His fury seemed to surge higher as he stood.
“Who dared speak of it? We expressly forbade anyone from mentioning that matter!”
Before the king completely exploded, I hurriedly got to the point.
“If that’s why Her Majesty has remained asleep all this time, then I can wake her!”
“Nonsense!”
The king let out a cold laugh, and his killing intent thickened.
It looked as though he might snap the neck of whoever stood before him.
“And how exactly do you intend to wake the Queen? The Queen whom no one has been able to awaken until now?”
As the king strode toward me, the eunuchs and court ladies tremblingly rushed to block his path.
“Y-Your Majesty! She is the Crown Princess from the Great Pyeong Empire!”
“She is still very young! She simply doesn’t understand what she is saying! Please forgive her…!”
Regardless of how I was treated, I was still an imperial princess of Great Pyeong.
If I died, Great Pyeong couldn’t simply ignore it without losing face.
If the Crown Prince killed me, executing him would settle the matter.
But if the king himself killed me…
That would become a far more serious problem.
After all, no one could punish the king.
Not unless they staged a coup or rebellion and replaced him.
Wait… Then perhaps the reason Lu Hua was assassinated before the wedding was to target the king?
While my thoughts wandered to that possibility, the burly king shoved aside everyone blocking his way as though they were made of straw.
“Out of my way!”
One senior court lady was sent sprawling, while a eunuch crashed to the floor.
Like an enraged tiger, the king stormed right up to me.
Even so, he was only an ordinary human.
The fairies who used to crush insects that wandered into Sangra Palace had possessed far fiercer killing intent than this.
Completely unfazed, I continued,
“If I use the Snow Tribe’s power, I can wake Her Majesty the Queen.”
“…What did you say?”
