Chapter 03
“Your Highness, the First Princess.”
“Count Blent, explain what’s going on here.”
“Your Highness, it’s just that the boy suddenly ran into the carriage—”
“So? Is that why you, a mere count, blocked the path of the First Princess?”
The count gritted his teeth inwardly at being insulted by the princess.
Count Blent, a supporter of the First Prince, did not have a good relationship with Mernelia.
Still, he was not foolish enough to openly defy royalty, so he kept his mouth shut.
At that moment, Count Blent’s nose twitched in dissatisfaction.
Erkina had rushed to the boy who had collapsed, bleeding from his leg.
“Mother, the child is hurt.”
Erkina’s eyes trembled with worry.
“Is that so?”
“Mother, let’s take him to a doctor. He must be in pain.”
“Very well. Count, you should hope the boy survives. If an innocent child dies, I will immediately report this to His Majesty the Emperor and see that punishment is delivered.”
“It wasn’t me who hit the commoner boy—it was the coachman. The poor man will take the blame.”
The count dismissed this with a tone of disbelief.
Then Erkina, standing beside her mother, asked innocently,
“Mom, between the person who hit him with the carriage and the person who did nothing even after seeing him hurt, who’s the worse villain?”
“The one behind is worse because the first was just an accident, but the latter acted with ill intent.”
“Oh, then this man is the villain.”
“Well…!”
Seeing Count Blent’s face flush red, Erkina added in a cold, sharp voice,
“If my family finds out, they’ll take revenge on the villain.”
Just like “that person” had told Mernelia before.
The count glared threateningly at Erkina and stepped closer.
Erkina, acting like a frightened child, hid behind Mernelia. Immediately, her protector stepped forward.
“Harming royalty is an even graver crime.”
No matter how influential a noble, one could not ignore the blood of royalty.
Though no one knew who Erkina’s father was, she remained the Emperor’s granddaughter.
The count could only glare at Erkina hiding behind Mernelia, unable to argue further.
Feeling reassured, Erkina tugged lightly on her mother’s dress.
“Mother, hurry! What if the child never walks again?”
“Yes, Erkina. Come on, get the boy into the carriage quickly.”
Following Mernelia’s orders, the knights accompanying mother and daughter placed the boy into the carriage immediately.
“Count, move your carriage to the side. Royalty must pass. If you refuse, I’ll have the knights move it for you.”
Mernelia spoke haughtily, grabbing Erkina’s hand as she headed toward her carriage.
Erkina glanced back as she walked to the carriage.
The count, with an irritated expression, strode toward the coachman as if to vent his anger, only to earn the mocking laughter of bystanders.
“Hahaha!”
Even without anyone around, stumbling and falling backward looked comical.
Erkina hid a finger behind her sleeve, suppressing a satisfied laugh as she got into the carriage.
After taking the boy to a doctor and paying for his treatment, the carriage resumed its journey.
Inside the moving carriage, Erkina replayed the events in her mind.
Before the reincarnation, the carriage she rode in had struck a boy who sneaked out to explore the city without his guardian.
Her mother had acted poorly in the past, tossing a purse at the injured boy with instructions to see a doctor and leaving immediately, even though their carriage was also headed to the hospital.
The boy, who had dreamed of becoming a knight, abandoned his dream because of this incident, and the resentment built up into something greater.
“Fortunately, he isn’t seriously hurt this time.”
Even though they had moved aside, she hadn’t expected another carriage to hit him.
Had she known, she would have stayed there to protect him.
Though it should have eased her guilt from that day, it hadn’t—it still left a heavy feeling in her stomach.
“Erkina, what are you thinking about so seriously?”
Hearing Mernelia call, Erkina smiled brightly.
“Thank you for letting me do as I wished.”
“Well…”
Mernelia, slightly embarrassed by her daughter’s playful tone, still seemed genuinely happy.
Erkina stared endlessly at her beloved mother, as if making up for all the times she couldn’t.
Soon, they reached their destination, and as the carriage door opened, Mernelia extended her hand to her daughter.
“Shall we go see your grandmother?”
Erkina reached out her soft, delicate hand, glancing slightly at her mother’s back.
The straight path leading to the imperial palace was crowded with people.
Among them, one figure caught Erkina’s attention.
A tall, slender man with silver hair peeking from a blue robe, radiating a crisp, refreshing aura.
Erkina’s heart leapt with excitement.
“Could it be…!”
Without hesitation, she leapt out of the carriage, leaving her mother behind, and ran across the garden as if in a trance.
The people greeted the beloved heir with warm smiles, but those smiles froze at the innocent girl’s shout.
“Wait! Father!”
Even from behind, Erkina could tell who he was.
They had been family for ten years—there was no way she wouldn’t recognize him.
She wanted to run, embrace him, and shout how glad she was that he was alive, how happy she was to see him again.
But he didn’t hear the young Erkina calling and didn’t turn around.
It was frustrating…
“Father…”
Her voice trembled slightly as she called him again.
Everyone in the garden, except him, turned to look at her.
Realizing what she had shouted, Erkina froze, covering her mouth with both hands.
Her tears disappeared, but her face turned red as molten metal.
Even though part of her did it intentionally, she felt embarrassed.
Shouting “Father” in front of everyone.
“Erkina! What’s happening?”
Mernelia arrived running, but unfortunately, she didn’t hear what her daughter had said.
However, the others heard Erkina clearly.
“Did you hear that?”
“She just said… ‘Father’…”
“My goodness… could it be?”
Mernelia’s eyes turned icy in an instant.
Her sharp aura was not directed at those who heard her daughter’s words.
“Why are you here?”
She spoke to the man who slowly turned toward Erkina, lowering his robe.
With silver hair and blue eyes, Jertemion met Mernelia’s gaze and stared at her.
“….”
“You’re still as rude as ever.”
“…It’s been a while, First Princess.”
The old contempt was not one-sided from Mernelia.
His harsh voice toward her was filled with disgust.
He lowered the corners of his mouth and turned to look at Erkina.
“And…”
Erkina met the gaze of the icy, mountain-like wizard.
To be honest, she was slightly disappointed.
When she had lived with him, Jertemion had always been neat and proper.
Now, he looked like a ghost in a haunted castle.
A gloomy aura emanated from him, the kind you’d want to avoid if you could.
She understood why her mother had rejected him.
“Not a matter of status… right? And that beard…”
This kind of father was a bit troublesome.
The noble First Princess preferred handsome, neat men.
“Will you follow me?”
“If you shave that messy beard. Mother said not to play with messy people.”
“Such a cheeky child.”
Thinking back, perhaps his neat appearance was thanks to Erkina’s nagging…
“Little lady…”
Lost in thought, Erkina instinctively grabbed her skirt at Jertemion’s voice.
“Hello, I’m Erkina, daughter of Mernelia Invern.”
