Chapter 110 …
The cloak covered the neck completely and even had a hood—perfect!
I proudly held out the clothes, but after briefly studying my face, Verdandi lightly shook her head.
“I cannot dare to borrow the princess’s clothes. Besides, I don’t get cold.”
“Still, please wear it. People who don’t know you well might just see the choker and think you’re a scary dragon.”
“What other people think…”
She tilted her head as if it had nothing to do with her, but when her green eyes met my worried expression, a strange light flickered in them.
“Understood. If Lady Lira dislikes it, then I dislike it too.”
Murmuring as if it were an important law of nature, Verdandi leaned her upper body toward me.
“Could you help me put it on? I’ve never wrapped something like a bundle of fur around my body before.”
…A bundle of fur.
After explaining that this was not a bundle of fur but a hooded cloak, I awkwardly helped her put it on.
Verdandi softly repeated, “Cloak,” and patiently stayed still until I told her I was done.
The problem was that, because I was so focused on covering the choker, I only noticed the long rabbit ears attached to the hood after Verdandi had already disappeared.
‘…Oops. All my clothes were like that.’
Every outfit Zeuscia prepared for me had animal ears, cute decorations, or at the very least a big ribbon.
As if my clothes weren’t qualified without some kind of adorable point.
‘Well, it suits Verdandi too, so it’s fine.’
Just imagining Verdandi appearing with white lop ears while holding the gift made me smile without realizing it.
‘Huh? It’s not scary anymore.’
Come to think of it, the suspicious noises outside the door had stopped too.
Was I just imagining things earlier?
Phew—just as I let out a relieved sigh, a very clever thought popped into my head.
‘If I finish getting ready in advance, Verdandi will be happy when she comes back, right?’
After washing my face, brushing my teeth, undoing the ribbon Uncle Jikil had tied under my pigtails and carefully brushing my hair, I proudly headed toward the bed.
Knock knock.
But just before I could dive into the soft bed, someone knocked on the bedroom door.
‘Could it be Chichi?’
I had been worried about Chichi all day.
Honestly, I had wanted to go to the investigation room myself and demand they release her.
“I know it’s frustrating, but it wouldn’t be good for Chichi if Your Highness interferes in the investigation. People might say she was released because of her connection to you. Let’s wait a little longer. The investigators will prove she was falsely accused.”
I was holding myself back after hearing Uld’s advice.
He had even explained that Duke Lipchik was helping, so Chichi would clear her name soon.
But it had already been a full day since the investigation started. Shouldn’t she be released by now?
‘Please let it be Chichi!’
Vowing to imitate her favorite lion act all day long, I toddled quickly toward the large door.
“Chichi unni!”
But when I opened the door—no one was there.
Only the ceiling lights in the hallway were faintly on; everything else was pitch black.
I even stepped outside and looked around, but there wasn’t a single person in sight—let alone Chichi.
However…
I felt a strange presence near my feet. Something like a low growl… or maybe breathing.
“Huh?”
I absentmindedly lowered my gaze toward where I felt it—and froze.
Thanks to my eyes adjusting to the dim darkness, I could easily recognize what was catching its breath beside me.
‘A puppy…!’
I had no idea where the dog suddenly came from, but thankfully, it was a small one.
‘…C-calm down, Lira. It’s not scary. I’m much bigger than it. Just carefully open the door, step backward, and go back inside. Then when Verdandi returns, I’ll ask her to stay with me until I fall asleep.’
Barely holding myself together, I steadied my spinning vision.
‘A kid who even eats carrots can’t be scared of just one puppy, right? Okay! You can do this, Lira!’
I swallowed dryly and was just about to move my frozen feet back into the bedroom—
“Bark bark!”
“Woof woof woof!”
Suddenly, a variety of barks rang out. My dark-adjusted vision finally reached farther into the distance…
…and I was met with an unbelievable sight.
‘It wasn’t one puppy—it was puppies…!’
Behind the small dog I first spotted were five—no, at least ten more dogs, all panting at me with their tongues out.
“Woof!”
Only then did the seriousness of the situation hit me. As I tried to step back, the small dog yapped sharply and charged at me—
“H-hic!”
At the same time, the calm plan I had carefully made completely fell apart.
I instinctively ran in the opposite direction from the swarm of puppies.
The dogs, now even more excited, chased after me.
“S-someone, help—!”
Just as I was about to scream, a distant fragment of the past clung to me.
“Teacher, Director! Aengdu keeps chasing me! P-please… help me!”
“Aengdu doesn’t bite!”
“Why are you so scared? Aengdu just wants to play with you.”
That day, in my previous life, Aengdu—the dog who supposedly didn’t bite people—bit my wrist, and I needed five stitches.
And I got scolded badly. They said it was because I got scared and ran away that Aengdu became excited.
I felt scared, wronged, and sad—but I didn’t cry.
Because I knew the teachers didn’t like it when you cried while being scolded.
Looking at me like that, the director and teachers clicked their tongues, saying I wasn’t childlike enough—too cold.
Even now, after so much time has passed, I still don’t know how I should have acted to satisfy them.
‘I just… didn’t want to be abandoned.’
Like the father—real or imagined—who once whispered to me, I just wanted to hear the words “I love you.”
At some point, I forgot what I was even running from and just kept sprinting blindly forward.
Just as my breath reached my throat and my vision began to blur—
The view suddenly brightened.
There, elegantly dressed noblewomen stood in small groups, each holding something like a lantern in one hand.
“Oh my, could that child be…?”
As if they had known I would come, the center space was left open.
I was too busy running frantically to take in each face, but it was easy to tell the women wore blatant sneers.
“Even if it’s late at night, to be running around the palace in such attire… It seems the rumors that the princess hasn’t received proper education are true.”
“And she’s even running. Even commoners know that running inside the imperial palace is against etiquette.”
“Well, His Majesty isn’t exactly well-versed in etiquette either, so I suppose it’s understandable the princess turned out like that.”
“Still, coming out barefoot with her hair completely undone—quite shocking.”
“It’s the complete opposite of Young Duke Lipchik, the very model of etiquette.”
Even at a glance, I could tell.
These were noblewomen who supported the Lipchik family. So of course, I knew they wouldn’t be friendly toward me.
But to simply stand there and mock a frightened child running away…
That, honestly, I hadn’t expected.
From the noblewomen to those who seemed to be their attendants, every unfamiliar face watched me with amused ridicule.
“Ah!”
Trying to avoid their gazes, I squeezed my eyes shut and ran at full speed—
—and within seconds, I slammed into something and fell flat on my back.
“Ugh,” I groaned, clutching my nose—which hurt more than my bottom—and slowly opened my tightly shut eyes.
The first thing I saw was black hair tightly tied together, swaying at waist level.
A pale face, sharp brows, a high nose bridge that looked fit for mountain climbing, deep purple eyes darker than mine, and lips as red as if stained with blood.
That unforgettable beauty—
I knew her very well.
My mom… Zeuscia Kishutban.
Except now—
she was wearing an extremely frightening expression.
