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CHAPTER 16
“What in the world…?”
It was already shocking that the Emperor rewarded the Marquis couple for aiding the First Princess—but to hear it was all at the First Princess’s request?
The banquet hall fell ice-cold in an instant.
After the Marquis and Marchioness Iollin left, Duchess Rinava Calypso bit her lip hard.
‘What is going on?’
Even the street rats in the alley knew that the Emperor barely acknowledged Princess Lirien as his daughter.
After all, Empress Ayla had been chosen by the Empress Dowager herself to control the Emperor—it made sense he would show no affection.
That was precisely why the Second Princess, Evgeni de Caliburg, wielded such tremendous power—to the point people wondered if she was his only child.
“Father…?”
Evgeni muttered to herself, clearly shocked. The Duchess Rinava Calypso observed her keenly.
‘This might change everything…’
As though a tilted playing field had been suddenly leveled into a balanced scale.
The Next Day
The First Princess’s palace was more chaotic than usual. It was so noisy, in fact, that I woke up a whole hour earlier than normal.
Rubbing my unfocused eyes, I checked the wall clock. Judging by the second hand’s position, it was just past 6 a.m.
“It’s so noisy I can’t sleep…”
What the hell is going on out there?
I was about to crawl out of bed when my door suddenly burst open with a bang.
“Princess—!”
Ilia came running in at full speed and dove onto my bed. She dropped to her knees and clung to me, wailing.
“Are we getting fired—?!”
“What?”
I grabbed her shoulders, silently demanding an explanation. She rattled off everything in a rush.
“Waaah! Just now! I mean, exactly 11 minutes and 12.01 seconds before you woke up, Sir Reynold Bishop, His Majesty’s aide, came to see us!”
“Okay.”
“And then…! H-he said the maids in the palace are being reassigned… so we were wondering if it was true… if it meant something bad for us…!”
“Reassigned…? I never heard anything like— …wait…”
I suddenly remembered the Emperor visiting my palace yesterday.
Hastily fixing my bedhead, I rushed out toward the imperial palace lobby, where Reynold would be waiting.
Scene Change – Imperial Palace Lobby
“I told you, I don’t need them.”
“Even so, Your Highness. It’s His Majesty’s arrangement. I don’t have a say in it either.”
I snapped at Sir Reynold coldly. He looked annoyingly unbothered, just slightly curling his eyes in a half-smile.
Behind him stood dozens of servants, all standing upright with blank expressions.
From the way they bowed in perfect unison, it was clear they’d been meticulously selected and trained.
Reynold glanced past me, casting a sharp look at the anxious maids hiding behind my back. Then he knelt before me, meeting my eyes.
“Please accept them. This is a gift from His Majesty to the princess who gave him such precise, beneficial advice.”
“…And if I refuse?”
“Well, what can be done? You’d still be summoned to explain every reason for your refusal. Maybe even forced to list a hundred excuses under a pseudo-interrogation.”
He’s mad.
I frowned deeply. The maids behind me fidgeted, whispering “Y-Your Highness…” anxiously.
I clicked my tongue.
“Sir Reynold, could you step outside for a moment? I need to speak with them.”
“As Your Highness commands. Will five minutes suffice?”
“Let’s make it quicker—five minutes, not ten.”
He nodded and backed out of the room.
Silence fell over the lobby.
Naturally.
The Emperor, who had shown me less affection than a speck of dust, was suddenly sending elite staff?
Of course they were scared.
‘You should’ve behaved better sooner.’
I noticed Mullin trembling more than the rest, pale-faced and biting her nails, her eyes darting nervously.
Arms crossed, I said coldly:
“You’ve all cared for me in this palace since I was born.”
“Y-Yes! We’ve always observed and assisted Your Highness with your needs…!”
“I made your dresses…!”
“I got fabric from Princess Evgeni’s maid…!”
“My father sent you jewelry as a token of goodwill…!”
One by one, they raised their hands, desperate to remind me of their good deeds.
The same people who had also stolen from my palace.
“How very… loyal of you.”
“S-So we’re safe, then…?”
“Hold on. You—didn’t you say you made my dress because I couldn’t afford a designer?”
“Y-Yes, that’s right!”
“How much did you sell those accessories for? Did you at least get a fair price?”
“…Pardon?”
“And you—how much did Evgeni pay you for the fabric you snuck over? 5,000 lerangs maybe? You come from a poor family, don’t you?”
“I-I never…!”
“And you’re from Count Glen’s family, yes? You said your father sent me jewelry. How many of those ended up with Evgeni?”
“…!”
The temperature in the room plummeted. The guilty began to sweat.
‘Let’s see… what else went missing?’
I started counting on my fingers.
“Out of 45 guest rooms, several were missing ornaments.”
Gold candlesticks, jeweled chandeliers…
“And the porcelain vase from the east corridor—where did that go? Do you know?”
Those items were gifted to me out of formal courtesy by nobles. They disappeared once they were forgotten.
“Even the thread from Vernosa vanished. You all know how valuable that painting was.”
They must’ve sold it together, thinking I wouldn’t notice.
The head maid likely fabricated the budget records and claimed I sold the items to make ends meet.
The more I spoke, the darker her face became. The rest turned pale, nervously picking at their fingers.
‘Time for the finale.’
I smiled sweetly, like a benevolent goddess.
“I’m angry, yes—but I understand. You all had your reasons.”
I looked down at the stunned crowd with a soft, almost maternal voice.
“You were scared, weren’t you? You thought I’d been abandoned by His Majesty, and you dried up bit by bit beside a dying master. I understand. I’ve been sorry about that too.”
“…”
“No matter my royal status, I lacked power—unlike Evgeni. I know you were treated poorly because of me.”
“…”
“So just this once, I’ll forgive you. The time for scolding will come when I’ve truly been betrayed.”
I turned my back on them.
“I’ll accept the new staff. We were short-handed anyway… But…”
I paused and looked back.
“If you want to leave, leave. If you want to stay, stay. Do as you wish.”
After Reynold left, the atmosphere changed—now frantic in a different way.
“You’ll go to the kitchen… you, to laundry…”
The head maid, grateful to still have her neck, worked with unusual diligence.
“P-Princess Lirien… about this—uh, the blanket. It smells like sunshine because I dried it in the sun….”
The same woman who once looked at me like I was lower than a mutt was now acting all sweet and submissive.
I looked at them, annoyed.
“You can act normal, you know…”
They all shook their heads.
“We can’t! You’re our princess!”
“I thought an angel had descended in that lobby! Such grace… such nobility…!”
“Your golden eyes reminded me of His Majesty—so majestic! So kind! You’re the best, Princess!”
“Princess Lirien Sha Caliburg, you’re the best!”
…This isn’t what I wanted.
I shook my head.
They looked like a cult, kneeling in worship, eyes gleaming.
All except for one: Mullin.
Her fingertips were bleeding now from excessive biting.
One maid, seemingly their leader, sneered at her.
“Mullin, what are you doing?”
“Huh…?”
“You didn’t chime in. Aren’t you grateful too? Shouldn’t you behave accordingly? A noble lady, chewing her nails—how vulgar.”
“W-What…!”
“Ungrateful brat. Princess! You usually walk around this time, don’t you? We received many gifts today, including a parasol! Let’s take a stroll!”
I glanced at the pink parasol the maid offered, then at Mullin’s flushed face.
‘Not worth defending.’
“Let’s go.”
I turned coldly and walked away with them.
But I quickly regretted it.
“Lirien!”
Waiting at the palace gate, parasol in hand, was Evgeni.
My face twisted.
Behind her were familiar noblewomen. One of them, noticing the similar parasols, chirped cheerfully:
“Oh my, how adorable! Did you coordinate parasols?”
“Hehe, actually, a count I know sent me one as a gift. I asked him to send my sister the same one in a different color!”
“How thoughtful!”
“P-Princess… I just picked this because it blocked the sun best from the gifts…”
The maid muttered, trembling. Judging by her expression, she truly didn’t know. She bit her lip in shame.
I smiled gently and patted her arm.
“It’s okay. Don’t bite your lip—it’ll bleed. I’ll carry the parasol.”
She handed it over, stunned.
‘Well, it was a gift from my sister. I might as well use it once.’
As I opened the parasol, its intricate design shimmered in the sunlight.
Evgeni smiled.
“Suits you well, sister.”
“Well, it was your gift.”
“My white parasol has a classic feel, but that pink one… it looks like it finally found its rightful owner!”
What a poetic way to call me tacky.
The noblewomen stifled their laughter behind fans, then added:
“Yes, the parasol looks truly happy with its new owner.”
“When Princess Evgeni carried it, she looked like a sweet girl fresh from the capital. But in your hands, Princess Lirien, it feels like an heirloom passed from the Empress.”
Basically, Evgeni looks adorable with anything, while I look like a girl playing dress-up in her mother’s clothes.
‘If I didn’t know better, I’d think they were complimenting me.’
Too bad such shallow taunts can’t provoke me anymore.
“I must tell His Majesty. The parasol won me the favor of noble ladies.”
They flinched. Embarrassed, they fanned themselves more.
“W-Well, Princess, if you have no other plans, shall we have tea together?”
“With me?”
“Yes. Actually, we came here because Princess Evgeni said she dearly wanted tea with you.”
I couldn’t help but laugh.
‘The Emperor’s attention creates such ripples…’
These were the same women who’d sneer at the idea of sharing tea with me.
Now they’re scrambling to change sides.
‘Disgusting.’
“You should’ve sent word. Even sisters need to make appointments. What if I hadn’t gone on my walk?”
“That’s impossible.”
Evgeni pouted.
“You always go for walks at this time. I know because I like you.”
Her sincere affection made the noblewomen beam at her fondly.
I smiled, masking my sour expression.
As I stopped twirling my parasol and looked into her bright red eyes, I nodded.
“All right, let’s go. Time to greet the ladies.”
“I’m so happy, sister.”
Evgeni turned, the noblewomen following behind her.
I trailed them at a distance, flanked by maids.
‘How can she be so careless?’
Just as she knows me, I know her.
And around this time… I remember clearly…
How stupid she can be.
How she used me so slyly to hide that stupidity.
Above all—Evgeni…
“You only ever act like a wild pony around me.”
I wonder what chaos you’ll bring to this tea party.
The thought made me laugh out loud. Twirling my parasol again, I followed.
Just then—
“Fairy lady!”
With an unfamiliar nickname and shining eyes, a familiar girl came running toward me.
It was Dina.
Before I could even respond, she grabbed my hand.
With a big grin, Dina asked,
“Where are you going, fairy lady?”
And in that same instant—
a crack formed on Evgeni’s perfectly composed face.
