DVDD 06

Chapter 06

“Head steward?”
“…….”
“Prince’s palace manager?”
“…….”
“Pervert…….”
“Grrr! Woof!”

Pervert?

“Pervert.”
“Grrr! Grrr! Woof!”
“Pervert.”
“Woof woof woof! Woof woof!”

Is he trying to protect me?

El, unable to understand Tofu’s words, tilted her head in confusion, then, after interpreting it in her own way, gave a bright smile. She petted the soft fur, hugged him tightly, and even thanked him.

Even so, Tofu seemed a little resentful. He barked a few more times, then, as if giving up, turned his head and lay down again.

“Tofu, Tofu, my Tofu~”
“…….”
“Let’s sleep together today too, okay?”
“…….”
“I’ll only trust you!”

El, who had no idea what was going on, tried in every way to cheer him up, but it didn’t work very well.

Living with Tofu gradually corrected her previously irregular habits of sleeping carelessly. During the night, he would disappear, only to return early in the morning to wake El, making it impossible to sleep through.

During the day, she ate with Tofu, went for walks, or played. By evening, she would be tired and fall asleep. Since that day, the “pervert” hadn’t appeared again.

“Lari, why hasn’t the head steward come?”

The head steward, who had said he would come for several days, hadn’t shown up. El’s patience had reached its limit.

“He… he’s… busy, apparently……”
“…….”

Anger welled up. Of course, a head steward could be busy, but it was more likely that he was ignoring El. If an emperor or empress had summoned him and he behaved this arrogantly, his head wouldn’t have survived. So clearly, it was acceptable to treat El this way.

“Where is the head steward?”
“Huh?”
“I’ll go myself.”
“Ah…….”
“Why won’t you speak?”
“At this time, he is always in the glass greenhouse.”

Lari closed her eyes tightly as she spoke.

“Glass greenhouse?”
“Yes, for… tea time.”

El thought: she had expected it, but reality exceeded her imagination.

In the end, El went there herself. Having lived in a democratic country, she wasn’t particularly authoritative, so her pride wasn’t hurt. She was just frustrated that the head steward was ignoring his duties and enjoying tea time instead.

The Prince’s palace was huge, with several palaces inside it, and the glass greenhouse was just part of one of its gardens.

However, the greenhouse was clean, well-maintained, and much tidier than the Prince’s palace. It was immediately obvious how different it was from the small palace where El was staying.

When she arrived at the greenhouse, the steward guarding it blocked her way. Only Lari accompanied El, but there had been several stewards and maids along the way.

El’s sharp gaze fell on the steward. Her eyes naturally slanted upwards, and even a slight lift made her intimidating. The steward flinched and stammered:

“You cannot enter now.”
“You seem to know who I am.”
“…….”
“Do you know who I am?”
“……Y-Your Highness, the Princess of the Prince’s Palace…….”

Apparently, the head steward had already expected El to come.

“Open it.”
“But the head steward—!”
“I said open it.”
“…….”

The steward remained rigid in place.

Tofu, who had followed along, barked loudly, and the steward, seemingly irritated, pushed him away forcefully. El’s anger flared instantly. Even if it was just the Princess of the Prince’s Palace, there was no way he could treat her so arrogantly, so picking a fight with a dog was ridiculous.

“What are you doing right now?”
“Huh?”

Smack.

El struck his cheek in a flash of anger.

Having been a normal office worker in Korea, she had never abused her power, but surprisingly, it felt natural. During her brief stay in the Sahad Kingdom, maids had trembled at her glance. Here, too, Lari did everything for her, so she had become somewhat accustomed. Truly, humans are adaptable. Still, she wasn’t usually the type to slap someone suddenly like this.

“Open the door immediately, or I won’t let this slide.”

…Well, it didn’t really matter. Her reputation was already terrible, and worse couldn’t happen. More importantly, Tofu was more precious to her than an unknown steward or head steward.

‘Huh? Precious?’

El flinched, surprised at her own thoughts.

“Woof!”

Looking at Tofu standing loyally by her side, she smiled softly. Wait… did I just smile? When did I start feeling this attached? She wondered, but it didn’t matter now. Lari would probably have gotten angry if the same thing happened to her.

Even in a story world, the characters moved, thought, and spoke. Lari and Tofu didn’t originally appear in the novel.

Having Raela marry into the Renne Empire had already destroyed the original story.

“Woof?”

Though she thought she understood everything, her mind suddenly went blank.

In the midst of this sudden realization and confusion, the head steward finally opened the door. Acting as if he were a noble, he gestured elegantly. Judging by his impressive figure, he had probably taken advantage of living in the Prince’s palace.

He didn’t even greet El and clicked his tongue dismissively. His arrogance seemed limitless.

“I told you I would come myself, Lari.”
“B-but several days have already passed……”
“Are you talking back?”

El scolded Lari in front of her. Lari was effectively her personal maid, and yet the steward was scolding her.

Having endured countless hardships in the novel, El remained calm. But she wouldn’t let such an insolent man ignore her.

“Hey.”
“……Hey?”

Back in the Sahad Kingdom, Raela had been wild, reckless, and violent. The daughter of a duke who couldn’t become a knight in the desert kingdom was predictably insecure.

For El, who had no base in the Renne Empire, the best way to defeat the head steward was to go around him, gathering people to her side and exposing corruption. But that would take too long.

She knew the steward already knew what kind of person she was.

So…

Smash!

She hit him in the face first—an uppercut to the head.

“Argh!”

The head steward grabbed his face and screamed, blood streaming from his nose.

“Shut up.”
“Ah!”

Then El calmly sent him flying away.

Even Lari gaped at her, but El remained confident.

“You think the Princess of the Prince’s Palace will be safe?”
“Y-Yes!”
“Who do you think you are?”
“……Y-You!”
“Just a steward.”

He may have authority among the stewards, but did he think he could intimidate nobles?

El raised her foot toward the fallen head steward. He gulped and closed his eyes; she smiled slightly.

“Who are you going to tell you got hit by me?”
“…….”
“The Emperor? The Empress?”
“…….”
“Or maybe some noble backing you up?”
“…….”

“Well then, I look forward to showing you how unsafe you really are.”

Saying that, El stepped into the greenhouse. Judging by the chaos, the steward seemed to expect she would leave without further action, but El ignored him.

Lari hurriedly followed, and Tofu stayed proudly by her side.

The greenhouse, clearly well maintained, was as neat as it looked. The air was fresh with the fragrance of flowers, and the tall, straight trees seemed to purify the space.

Indeed, a tea set was arranged in the middle of the greenhouse, confirming that tea time was in progress. A maid stood nearby, carefully watching.

El watched her for a moment and then ordered her to bring another teacup. She sat down and specifically pointed at the steward blocking her way:

“Bring him here.”
“……The head steward?”
“If he won’t come on his own, what choice do we have?”
“…….”

“Tofu, do you want to drag him over? Can you do it?”
“Woof woof!”

Tofu wagged his tail and started walking toward the head steward. Both the steward and the head steward turned pale.

“…Kopari-nim.”

The steward, flustered, called the head steward’s name. El burst out laughing.

“Pfft! Kopari? That’s his name?”

It reminded her of the fruit flies swarming food waste in Korea. If nothing else, it was a name suited perfectly to the head steward.

“Eek…!”

Hearing her laugh, the head steward flushed angrily, but he didn’t want to be dragged, so he walked to the table himself.

Meanwhile, the maid fetching the teacup hurried inside, trembling. Seeing her so nervous, El had Lari handle pouring the tea instead.