Chapter 08
I slightly shrank my shoulders without realizing it because I didn’t know what reaction would come next.
Then he laughed.
“Hahahahahaha.”
Very loudly and freely.
“What is so funny?”
“Hahahaha.”
It was the kind of laugh that made me feel like I had to ask a disrespectful question.
He laughed while holding his stomach, even wiping tears from under his eyes with his clean white index finger. Even that movement looked elegant.
“Ah, this is too funny. What kind of way of speaking is that?”
It seemed my attempt to speak politely sounded funny to him. My ears burned red.
I had learned it from a handbook sold in the market. It said this is how you should speak to someone of high rank. Of course, it was a book written 100 years ago.
“Anyone can tell you are Mago Peril’s daughter…”
His laughter faded, and his sharp eyes examined me again. It was the same gaze from when he first rushed toward me.
From experience, I could tell his eyes were full of doubt, not trust.
So I was confused. Why did he suddenly accept me as his daughter when I had no royal traits and no pocket watch?
“You learned how to throw a punch from Mago, right?”
“Yes.”
And why he kept bringing up my mother.
As if being Mago Peril’s daughter automatically meant I was his daughter too.
My mother taught me a bit of self-defense, saying a person should be able to protect themselves. I only half-played at it when I was young because it was fun to move around with her, but later I realized she had been teaching me serious techniques.
How to put strength into a fist, how to aim for the eyes in real combat.
Even how to make the opponent lower their guard and strike once—she taught me that too.
“You did well. You handled him properly. I almost felt a little disappointed thinking you would let it slide.”
I should have hit him when Xabier wasn’t looking.
“But keep in mind that from now on, you may have more choices.”
His face looked firm as he said that.
The strange feeling I already had became even stranger.
Silence followed as he waited for my answer, but I couldn’t respond easily.
When I stubbornly stayed silent, a faint laugh scattered above my head.
“Anyway, we’ll find the pocket watch later. Follow me.”
“Where?”
“To the Rabonne Palace. It’s a guest-used building, but it’s properly maintained, so it should be comfortable enough even if it’s unfamiliar. We’ll prepare your room starting today, so don’t worry.”
A guest palace would surely be far more luxurious than my cold, drafty room.
Too luxurious, probably.
Uncomfortable in a different way, not the way he meant.
Maybe the bed there would be the size of my entire room.
And Rabonne Palace was located in the western part of the imperial palace, where the princes stayed.
That meant there was a high chance I would meet the person I wanted to avoid the most—the First Prince, Declen.
“I don’t think I can go there.”
“Why?”
He sounded genuinely curious.
“How am I supposed to go there?”
“Ah… don’t worry. Right now only the princes live there, but Rabonne is meant for proper imperial descendants. You can stay there too.”
I feel like I’m going crazy every time he says “proper.”
“But only you seem to think I am proper.”
If I walked in saying “I am Xabier’s daughter!”, would people really welcome me like “We’ve been waiting for you”?
Even though Xabier Barlem had a carefree prince image, he still had things he followed properly.
At imperial events, the royal family distributed commemorative items, and they were extremely popular.
The royal family’s beauty alone made them highly sought after. The most popular item was handkerchiefs. Limited editions in gold or rare purple dye often had embroidered royal faces.
Even normal ones were expensive, and the limited colors were twice the price due to magical crafting.
“Nobles from the countryside would even send people just to queue for them.”
Among them, Xabier’s items sold out the fastest.
Even faster than the Emperor’s.
That was how loved he was.
Of course, part of it was because he was believed to carry the purest dragon lineage, and also because he was used to counter Declen, the mixed-blood heir.
But those reasons were only secondary.
The real reason Etharinta adored Xabier was simple—he was unbelievably beautiful.
And his free, wandering personality also played a part.
Declen was also popular in his own way, but Xabier’s popularity was beyond imagination.
“So suddenly an eight-year-old daughter appears. That would be a scandal.”
So I was basically being the most patriotic person in Etharinta right now.
I just wanted to stay out of trouble, but no one was letting me.
“Isn’t it enough that I know?”
The idol of Etharinta had a terrible mindset.
But as a prince, he was technically right.
“Is it because of His Majesty? He’s been wanting an heir from me. He’ll probably be very happy about you. He also wanted a princess, you know.”
“….”
“He might even faint from happiness.”
Do you hear something?
The sound of the Emperor’s mental collapse.
Of course, with grown sons not marrying, he would be desperate for grandchildren. The dragon bloodline was rare, so it made sense.
But still, he would not easily accept a random maid-born granddaughter.
Declen and Xabier had both rejected marriage proposals from foreign princesses.
Declen planned to eventually destroy Etharinta and rebuild the Lienna kingdom, so he avoided foreign ties to prevent diplomatic complications.
And he likely had no interest in marrying Etharinta nobles either.
As for Xabier, Mago Peril was probably the biggest reason he never married. A painful first love that ended just as painfully.
And I also remembered hints that Declen had once deeply loved a woman from Lienna.
At that moment, a horrifying theory flashed through my mind—but I quickly shook it away.
“Alright, is that enough? Shall we go to Rabonne? I’ve actually never been outside in sleepwear this long. I kind of want to die.”
He did look extremely improperly dressed when I first saw him.
After pretending to think, I placed a finger on my chin and tilted my head, then smiled kindly.
“I think it’s better if I don’t go!”
A hint of irritation appeared on his smiling face.
“Why exactly not? I explained everything.”
“I don’t know how to explain it so you’ll understand…”
“I also don’t know what I need to hear to understand you.”
I took a deep breath and lowered my voice as much as possible to sound convincing.
“If I suddenly appear as your daughter, public opinion will be very bad. And I don’t have royal traits…”
“Alright, alright.”
He cut me off, clearly tired of hearing it again.
Xabier waved his hand lazily and turned away.
“Then bring the pocket watch back first, my daughter. That is an order.”
