Chapter 9
After finally escaping, I couldn’t help but admire the view outside the carriage window.
“Wow…! Mom, the square is so pretty! The streets are sparkling!”
Before Mom could say anything, Hillet chuckled and spoke up.
“The spring festival is coming soon. This must be your first time seeing it, right?”
“Ah!”
“Yeah, time flies, doesn’t it? Can’t believe the spring festival is here already…”
As they said, the Momentarison Empire holds a grand spring festival every four years, but I was born after the last one, so this would be my first. I was already excited.
The festival is held to showcase the empire’s power, and representatives from all over the world gather for it. Normally, high-ranking nobles from each country attend, but sometimes even royalty shows up.
I heard it’s a lot more fun because of that.
‘Sometimes, a troublemaker pops up and makes things interesting… heh heh.’
That info came from Dad. Apparently, when Mom and Dad went together, a prince from a neighboring country caused a scene, complaining about not being able to play with him. He even demanded that those who ignored his noble blood should be locked up.
Dad thought it was hilarious and actually stopped anyone who tried to stop the prince.
But that prince should’ve stopped there.
He thought he was so charming that he immediately kneeled before Mom and shouted,
“I’ll have your child!”
The rest of the story is too much to say. Let’s just say he barely survived that encounter.
But suddenly, something popped into my mind.
Attending the Gwen Kingdom.
Now, the owner of the Gwen Kingdom was me, but I wasn’t actually ruling yet. Since I was only 100 days old, the Duke of Nehiris was temporarily ruling on my behalf until I came of age.
Because of that, the kingdom’s nobles would likely be curious about meeting the new ruler.
‘Ugh… this is so overwhelming…’
I had to prepare for any unexpected situations. If they underestimated me, I’d throw them right in front of Dad.
I stopped thinking and pressed my face against the window. My face got flattened.
“Ugh…”
I blew on the glass to kill time, but then the coachman announced we had arrived.
“We’ve arrived at the Rehme Clothing Shop.”
“Yes!”
“Ligenia, be careful. Don’t hurt yourself.”
“Heh, I’ll carry you. Come on, little one.”
“Thank you!”
Hilet picked me up and carried me out of the carriage. I looked around, feeling the intense stares of the people around.
‘Ugh… my face is burning up.’
Mom and Hilet walked into the clothing shop with no care for the stares, while I nervously followed. The bell rang, and the shop assistant greeted us.
“Welcome to Rehme, where we bring you happiness. How may I help you?”
I thought I’d heard that before. The polite greeting reminded me of my part-time job from a past life, where I had been a greeting machine.
The assistant lifted her head and, seeing us, her eyes grew wide. She clearly recognized us from our status.
I smiled kindly at her.
‘Don’t worry, lady. We’re not bad people, we’re just here to buy some clothes.’
The assistant seemed to be struggling with the realization of who we were. I felt a bit bad for her, since she was probably just trying to do her job. Mom and Hilet didn’t seem to care, though.
They were former royalty—Hilet was the former Emperor, and Mom was the first princess of the Gwen Kingdom, now the Duchess of Nehiris.
Just thinking about their backgrounds made my head ache.
The assistant looked flustered, trying to regain her composure.
“There’s a new fabric in stock. Would you like to see it?”
“Oh! Bring it right over!”
Hilet waved his hand dismissively, and the assistant quickly went to get the fabric. Even I could tell it was incredibly soft and luxurious.
Mom seemed to like it as well, as a smile appeared on her face.
“Is this fabric the first of its kind?”
The assistant nodded eagerly.
“Yes, it is.”
“That’s great,” Mom said, already picturing the dress she’d make with it.
True to form, she quickly asked the assistant to make a dress for me.
“Madam, please make a dress for my daughter.”
And just like that, she had already gotten what she wanted.
Later, Hilet was caught up in dressing me like a doll. He was so excited that it was starting to feel like a game. But I wasn’t enjoying it as much as he was.
‘Oh god, I’m going to die…’
I was trying to play along as the perfect daughter, but my body was sore from all the moving around. I tried tapping my shoulder, but it didn’t help much.
The thought of a massage chair kept coming to mind.
In my past life, I couldn’t afford one, but now, I could easily get one with just a Golden Bunny Doll.
I sighed, then glanced around.
Hilet was messing around in the clothing shop, and Mom was eagerly encouraging him. The assistant, Rehme, was sweating with stress.
I saw this as the perfect opportunity.
I had been waiting for a chance to escape earlier. I had recognized a familiar face outside the shop. He was a character I’d only read about before, but I knew immediately who he was.
The male protagonist from the side story, who would later become the vessel for the second villain, the Demon Lord.
His mental illness could endanger the world, and I needed to help him before that happened.
‘Let’s build a relationship and find a way to cure him. I’ll save him!’
I hid my intentions and kept watching them. They were all busy picking out my dress, so it was the perfect time.
I quietly approached the door and managed to slip out unnoticed.
Once I was outside, I hurriedly looked around. But I couldn’t find him right away.
‘Where the heck is he?’
I worried that he might be somewhere else, but just as I was about to give up, I spotted a narrow alleyway.
It felt like something was pulling me in, like a sweet treat. I hoped he was there, so I started moving towards it.
And luckily, I was right.
As I walked deeper into the alley, I saw a small back of a head, which was perfect.
‘I found him! The male protagonist from the side story!’
I took a deep breath and walked towards him, wondering what to say.
I should probably greet him first… right?
I walked stiffly towards him. When the boy noticed my presence, he slowly lifted his head.
‘…Wow, he’s really handsome.’
I was stunned for a moment by his perfect looks, but quickly snapped out of it. I had to speak before I ran off.
I awkwardly raised my hand and greeted him.
“Hi?”
He seemed a bit confused by my greeting.
I quickly tried to salvage the situation.
“I’m not a weird person, I promise.”
Oh no, I think I made it worse.
