Chapter 4 …..
Once again, instead of nitpicking words, I followed Klein’s lead and smiled.
Both of us knew well enough that Jeusia would never do such a thing.
“…Come on now, no gloomy faces on such a happy day! From this moment, let’s begin our little one’s sixth birthday party!”
Senya’s cheerful voice broke the awkward silence.
It had already been six years since the day I nearly died after being reborn.
In the kitchen that Senya had carefully decorated, we sat together sharing slices of cake that Klein had procured from the imperial chef.
For the birthday party of the sole bloodline of the Eastern Empire’s Emperor, it was incredibly modest—but what mattered was that my heart was still beating.
‘Thank you for letting me survive six whole years.’
Realizing how low my threshold for gratitude had fallen, I took a big bite of the sweet cake.
The two benefactors who had raised me wiped the cream off my mouth from time to time, watching with warm eyes as I nibbled away at the cake like a little squirrel.
“Little one, this is a gift from Senya and me.”
Just as I was finishing the cake, Klein brought out a rather large box.
“Thank you, Klein! And Senya too!”
I kissed each of their cheeks in turn and opened the box with my small hands.
“Woooow!”
I gasped in delight as though I were beholding a treasure trove of gold and jewels. Seeing my reaction, Klein and Senya exchanged troubled looks.
“You like it that much?”
“Yeah! It’s the best!”
“Come now, it’s the same gift every year. If you’d tell us something else you wanted, we’d do our best to get it.”
“No, this is just right for me. I’m really, really grateful every single year!”
At my firm answer, their gazes grew a little darker.
It was the kind of look one gives to a child who’d grown up far too quickly.
‘How can our little one be so good? She’s at the age where she should be demanding what she wants without restraint…’
‘And yet she beams with joy every time over such meager gifts…’
Their expressions weren’t unreasonable.
After all, my presents weren’t lavish feasts, or pretty dresses, or expensive jewelry, or even plush dolls.
My birthday gift was always the same, year after year—
“This time there are more pencils and paper than last year! Wow, even ink and pen nibs too! I’ll study hard with these!”
As I lifted out the writing supplies and paper from the box with a bright smile, tenderhearted Senya finally broke into tears.
I always asked for pencils and paper as birthday gifts for a simple reason.
It wasn’t to build up some image of being a pure and pitiable princess delighted with trivial things. No, it was just that—
‘If I don’t write it down, I’ll forget!’
Human memory is far more fleeting than you’d think.
It was around my first year that I realized I was forgetting bits of the original story every passing moment.
‘If I just grow up doing nothing, I’ll lose my only advantage as someone who transmigrated!’
Nearly killed by my villainess mother as soon as I was born, a father I’d seen only once who was nothing more than a pretty face, locked up nameless in a detached palace to live a miserable life…
Honestly, I hadn’t gained any real benefit from transmigration at all.
‘Unless you count having a mother so beautiful it makes people’s eyes roll back… But the day I see her again will surely be my funeral day.’
With all that injustice already piled up, if I were to lose even the one privilege of remembering the story, wouldn’t that be far too unfair?
‘To remember, recording is the only answer.’
Determined not to lose my one and only advantage, I’d asked for pencils and paper as soon as I could talk.
Since the detached palace’s budget was smaller than a mouse’s tail, even that must have been a burden for Klein and Senya.
Yet, kindhearted as they were, they only felt sorry that they couldn’t give me anything better.
“Little one, next year we’ll somehow wrangle more funds. We’ll buy you some pretty clothes then. Damn those stingy treasurers, why do they keep cutting an already tiny budget—ugh, this is so unfair!”
Senya’s lament still rang in my ears.
Klein didn’t say much, but her eyes were reddened as well.
Seeing them like that left me feeling far from okay too.
Klein had been on the verge of being promoted to head lady-in-waiting at the main palace—a talent far too capable to waste away here.
And Senya, now twenty-three, was no different. Younger than I had been in my past life, she had lost her chance at marriage, tied down here to look after a discarded princess.
As I patted Senya’s back while she sobbed, I reaffirmed the vow I’d made countless times these six years.
‘I’ll make sure the two of them live in comfort, no matter what!’
For that, I had to earn enough money before the original story began so we could leave the palace together.
The moment the tear-soaked party ended, I clutched my precious birthday gifts and scurried up to the attic, locking the door tight behind me.
I had been making money by benchmarking business strategies from the management books I’d read, investing in promising domestic and foreign enterprises, and collecting dividends.
I’d started this large-scale side business about two years ago.
Of course, with the body of a child and the status of a nameless, unofficial princess, directly entering the investment world was impossible.
So, I used both brain and body.
At first, I scattered notes around the palace at night, each signed with an ‘L,’ listing businesses that would soon be in vogue, upcoming natural disasters, or favorable events.
Naturally, I was careful—paper was rare enough that I only got some on my birthday.
At first no one paid much attention, but when all my predictions came true, rumors began to spread. To reinforce the name ‘L,’ I sent out three more prophetic notes.
Soon enough, people eager to work with me appeared, and I quietly hired a select few trustworthy individuals to act as my secret communication network.
Hiding my identity while directing everything was exhausting work, but my efforts paid off as the scale of business grew larger each quarter.
As my reputation spread, the number of notes I exchanged multiplied day by day as well.
For security, I always split up the documents and stored them in a “secret vault.”
Klein and Senya respected my privacy enough not to intrude on the attic, but it never hurt to be extra careful.
‘Though sneaking out at night to stash documents is way more annoying than taking out food scraps…’
I let out a sigh, already thinking I’d have to make another trip tonight.
‘Maybe I should just commission the Magic Tower to make me something like a USB drive.’
Deciding I’d draft up a request next time, I pulled out my new pencils and paper.
‘Since it’s been six years since I transmigrated… well, not exactly a celebration, but since I got new stationery, I should reorganize what I remember of the original characters.’
Only by sorting and reviewing them could I avoid ever getting entangled with them.
Climbing onto the chair by the window, I began quickly scribbling down everything that remained in my head.
First, the heroine: Sinopé Crimson.
The cherished youngest daughter of the Crimson Viscounty on the western empire’s border. Adopted, but raised with plenty of love. Bright and unpretentious in personality. Red hair, green eyes.
‘I’ll never set foot anywhere near the western empire, so the chance of meeting her is practically zero.’
As for the other so-called heroine—my mother, Jeusia—well, I knew her all too well already, so I skipped her.
Male Lead 1: Saffron Lipchik.
Heir to the ducal house of Lipchik, one of the founding families. The archetypal “prince charming,” and practically treated as the main male lead. Blonde hair, blue eyes, and pretty lips.
‘I’ll be locked away here until adulthood, so my odds of running into the noble young master Saffron are slim.’
Male Lead 2: Clove Chest.
The youngest vice-knight commander in the Eastern Empire, second son of the Marquis of Chest. Deep blue hair, black eyes. Cold and taciturn in appearance, yet surprisingly inexperienced—so much so that he constantly mutters about his “heart nearly stopping.”
‘Since he’s written to be stuck in his family estate training until the story begins, I have even less chance of encountering him.’
Male Lead 3: Cinnamon Crimson.
Heroine Sinopé’s stepbrother. Appears kind and gentle, but in truth, he’s a two-faced sociopath. The very fact that he’s a candidate male lead shows just how explicit The Mad Emperor’s Red Bedchamber is. Red hair, green eyes, face flushes easily.
‘Before Cinnamon gets dragged over to my mother, I’ll have left the Eastern Empire behind—so no chance of meeting him either!’
