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Chapter 22
Sometimes, at moments like this, I realize this man really is my dad in this body. His doting is on another level.
Doting is thicker than blood.
Anyway, Dad kept fussing over me while slowly unwrapping the gift I’d given him. When I asked why he was taking so long, he said he couldn’t carelessly tear wrapping paper that my hands had touched.
“That was wrapped by the shopkeeper.”
“What? You should’ve said so earlier.”
At my words, Dad tore the wrapping with a sharp rip!
“Just kidding. I actually wrapped it myself.”
“Tia!!!”
“No, no, this time I’m joking. Really.”
I grabbed Dad’s hands as he tried to put the wrapping back together, and couldn’t hold back my laughter anymore.
Right—while I can still laugh thoughtlessly like this, I should laugh as much as I want. I’ll put off the thoughts of the original story that creep in between breaths.
Looking a little pouty, Dad finally opened the wrapping and carefully lifted the pocket watch resting inside the box.
“Do you like it?”
“Wow… Tia.”
“Don’t you like it?”
“Of course I like it.”
Dad held the pocket watch with both hands, turning it this way and that to admire every detail. I watched him, noticing how the small locket attached to it swung each time he moved.
“You can put whatever you want inside that locket.”
“Locket? Oh! So this is a locket. I thought it was just decoration. The color reminds me of you, Tia.”
“Yeah. That’s why I chose it. Whether you think of me every time you see it is up to you.”
I didn’t want to be cheeky, but my mouth moved on its own. Why do I get so snippy with Dad—what a horrible daughter. But no matter what I said, his eyes just overflowed with affection.
Maybe it was because this was the first time I’d ever felt such unconditional love from a father that my nose kept twitching.
“Thank you, Tia. I’ll treasure it. It’s even more touching because it’s the first gift you’ve given me.”
“It’s not like it’s something expensive.”
“You still chose it while thinking about me. That’s more than enough for me. Really, Tia.”
The truth was, Killian had actually picked it out. But seeing how happy Dad was, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to keep that to myself for now.
I nodded and helped myself to the desserts Dad had prepared for me. Other than the slight motion sickness I got from him constantly bouncing me on his knee, it was quite an enjoyable time.
The fatigue from our long, twenty-some-day trip was no joke. I sent a letter to Killian and Adele—who, under normal circumstances, would have had to enter the palace every other day—telling them to rest at home for a week.
They both seemed a little disappointed, but when I said I was tired, they agreed right away.
Truthfully, I was disappointed too. A whole week without seeing my favorite people? My eyes were crying blood. But this week without Killian or Adele was also time I desperately needed. I couldn’t waste it.
First of all—let’s deal with the salt I found in Dearc.
Through Liz, I sent someone to the Tolkie Count’s estate. The reply came back sooner than I expected. The count was currently away at the Duchy of Märchen, so the Viscount Tolkie said he’d deliver my letter there.
“Huh? He’s still not back?”
Oh, right. I’d been wondering about that, too—the reason the Duke of Märchen had gone to his territory.
To be honest, even though I’d read the novel twenty-two times straight through, I’d skimmed over the parts with that Noten guy. Why? Because he annoyed me so much.
All of my affection was reserved for the main character, Killian, so even if a scene was important for the plot or the world-building, if I didn’t like it, I skipped it. Of course, I still left comments.
Like—
Killian’s not even here. Should’ve rented instead of buying. There goes my 100 won.
Where’s our male lead? Get rid of this guy and give us Killian, author-nim.
…Stuff like that.
It’s no wonder people called me an obsessed fan. There were even readers who would immediately downvote any comment they saw with my username.
Anyway! If it were something important, the author would’ve mentioned it on their blog or in the setting book, but I didn’t recall seeing anything like that.
Flipping through my “攻略 book” for the original story, I eventually drifted off to sleep.
“Haah…”
“…Are you all right, Your Highness?”
“Of course, Sir Briven. I just feel a little bored.”
Early in the morning, I went to the training grounds for my swordsmanship lesson. But without Killian or Adele, the practice wasn’t nearly as fun. Even Sir Briven’s energy seemed lower than usual.
“When will the young lord and lady return?”
“I told them to rest for the week. Sir Briven, you’re finding it boring without them too, aren’t you?”
“M-me? Absolutely not, Your Highness! If that came across as disrespectful, please punish me.”
“No, that’s not what I meant. I just meant that I miss them too.”
“Well… this is the first time Your Highness has been apart from them for so long.”
Exactly.
I murmured softly to myself.
I’d always been alone—both in my past life and in this one. Practically a native-born loner. So why did not seeing friends I’d only known for a short time for just a week feel so… empty?
“I think training together was more fun.”
Even when we were drenched in sweat and covered in dust, we couldn’t stop giggling. Even Sir Briven, usually so serious, would crack a smile seeing us like that. He nodded knowingly now.
“I can see why you’d feel that way. Sparring together is far more enjoyable than just swinging a sword at a wooden dummy. And Lady Adele’s skills have improved so much—she can hold her own quite well now.”
“Yeah. A Ruewendiff is still a Ruewendiff, I guess. She’s built up a lot more stamina too—it’s great to see. And Killian? Sometimes, even when he’s standing still, the air around him feels sharp, like it’s prickling you.”
“Oh—you’re absolutely right, Your Highness. He’s just started learning to control his aura. At this pace, he might reach the level of Sword Expert by the end of the year. That’s incredible progress.”
A hint of pride shone in Sir Briven’s eyes. He clearly felt proud to have Killian as his student. As expected, I had chosen a great teacher. Watching the satisfied smile on his face, I spoke again. My plan to make Killian a Sword Master was still very much in motion.
“Really? That’s great news. Killian’s a born swordsman. Keep training him well, Sir Briven. And if there’s anything he needs, let me know. I’ll help however I can.”
“Ah… if that’s the case, Your Highness, then perhaps…”
After hesitating, Sir Briven made a few requests. None of them were difficult for me to grant, so I readily agreed.
“Shall we wrap up today’s lesson here, then?”
“Let’s do that. Thank you for today as always, teacher.”
Showing proper respect to my instructor, I spoke formally. Sir Briven bowed politely in return.
“Yes, Your Highness. And should you ever need my assistance, please inform Miss Li—uh, Liz.”
Ohoho? What’s this? What’s going on here?
Were Sir Briven’s ears… turning red?
This walking contradiction—asking me for help and then offering to help me—got a cheerful “Sure” from me.
Liz would have a field day if she heard about this.
Anyway, even without Killian in sight, this world still had plenty to keep me entertained.
“Are you done yet, Liz? Hurry up.”
“Just a moment, Your Highness. Your hair… so thick… ughhh…”
Liz tightly coiled my black hair up into a bun.
“It’s heavy. I feel like my neck’s going to snap.”
“If you want to wear the hood, there’s no other choice.”
“What if I just cut it to my ears? Snip!”
“No way, Your Highness. His Majesty would be devastated.”
“Then he can grow his hair out himself. Why use mine for vicarious satisfaction?”
“His Majesty would look good with long hair, but… anyway!”
Liz massaged my trapezius muscles skillfully. Once I donned a black hooded cape—voilà!
I checked myself in the mirror. This should keep me from being recognized.
Even before Killian returned to the palace, I’d been planning to go out once to prepare something Sir Briven had asked for.
And now that I’d also received a message from Count Tolkie, I decided to combine the errands into one secret outing.
When Dad heard I was going out, he assigned four knights to escort me. That was only after I talked him down from ten. I wanted to move discreetly, but it was no easy task.
Covering my conspicuous black hair was the best I could do—poor Liz had worked all morning brushing out my curls for this.
“Let’s go, Liz.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
I rode with Sir Briven. I’d wanted to seat Liz in front of him on his horse, but she flat-out refused. Liz is fickle like that.
We arrived in the heart of the capital, with its central square and shopping district. Holding Liz’s hand, I headed for a dessert café—my meeting place with Count Tolkie.
“Why are you meeting here instead of summoning him to the palace?”
We were shown to a quiet, reserved table under Liz’s name. Only then did I lower my hood. Liz looked at me curiously.
“Because it’s embarrassing.”
“What? Embarrassing?”
She stopped mid-motion while taking my cape, eyes wide.
Ugh… there she goes again. I told you, I’ve turned over a new leaf.
Truthfully, it wasn’t embarrassment—it was just that I wanted to keep this discreet. But there was no need to explain all that, so I gave a vague excuse, fanning my flushed face.
“I just… don’t like people paying attention to me. I want to live quietly.”
“Our princess, embarrassed? Oh my, the world must be ending.”
Liz clutched her chest dramatically.
“Liz… do you have two lives? Or two bodies? Is that it?”
So if one dies, the other doesn’t matter?
I whispered it quietly, and Liz promptly shut her mouth.
Good. She should’ve done that from the start.
