Chapter 26
“Tia, you like sweets, don’t you?”
“Here! A gift!”
While watching the sleeping puppy in the makeshift doghouse, the twins suddenly shoved something big into Kartia’s arms.
“Why are you giving me a gift only now?”
Kartia pouted, struggling with the enormous box that blocked her view. Fabia quickly took it from her and placed it beside her.
“I forgot.”
That was a lie. With their innocent smiles, anyone else might’ve been fooled, but Kartia knew better. Leaving the puppy in the garden and giving the gift late—it was clear the twins had their own way of doing things. If they didn’t like Kartia, they probably had no intention of giving her a gift at all.
“It’s fine. Whatever.”
With Fabia’s help, Kartia opened the box and found a large house made entirely of sweets.
“What do you think? It’s a candy house.”
“We made the chimney from chocolate and the roof from marshmallows. Just like Tia, right?”
Their casual explanation left her speechless.
“How is that like me?”
“Because it looks sweet.”
She shouldn’t have asked.
While Fabia looked horrified by the sheer sugar overload, Kartia was overwhelmed just thinking about how she was going to eat it all.
“We’ll make an even bigger one next time.”
Please don’t.
But of course, there was no point in hoping—the twins never listened. Kartia needed to come up with a way to avoid being tormented by them in this life too.
“You two, come sit down.”
Kartia tried to sit on the sofa with a stern expression, but Nathan seemed to think she couldn’t manage even that and lifted her up, even placing a cushion before setting her down.
“How is it? Comfy?”
Kartia had grown a little slower than others, but still—how were these twins so strong that they could lift her so easily?
“Nathan. Rudan. Both of you, sit down.”
“No way. We’re older than you, so you have to call us ‘oppa’!”
“Yeah! You can’t just call your oppas by name!”
Do they even understand the concept of a princess?
At this point, Kartia was actually mad at Enche. She was supposed to be their etiquette teacher—how could her sons have turned out like this?
“Nathan, Rudan. I’m going to say something very important.”
“Hey. We told you not to call your oppas by name.”
Kartia clenched her fists, but she couldn’t let herself be dragged into this.
“First of all, I’m a princess. That means I’m a direct descendant of the emperor. I don’t have any siblings, which means there’s no one I should be calling ‘oppa.’”
“Hey, we said call us oppa.”
Her clenched fists trembled.
In all her lifetimes, the only person Kartia had ever called ‘oppa’ was Kayan. There was no way she’d ever call these wild twins that.
“As royalty, we must never lower ourselves to others. We must maintain dignity appropriate to our status. That’s what your mother Enche first taught me.”
“Hmm. It might be fun to follow Tia’s orders, but what’s dignity?”
“Does Tia even have any dignity? She’s just cute and pretty.”
Even bringing up Enche didn’t work. Probably because everyone had tried and failed to control the twins by invoking their mother.
“You both know our father is a very scary emperor. If something annoys him, he’ll just get rid of it. What do you think he’d say if he saw you two acting like this?”
The twins’ eyes darted around.
There. That was probably the first time anyone tried threatening them by mentioning the emperor.
Kartia smirked triumphantly, but the feeling didn’t last.
“Then we just won’t let His Majesty find out.”
“Yeah, you wouldn’t tell him, would you? If you do, his precious sons might get, y’know, ‘removed’?”
She was caught off guard. She had forgotten just how cunning these twins were.
They could instantly sense who was soft toward them—and what their opponent cared about or was vulnerable to.
Only one option remained.
“Fabia. Call Enche.”
The twins’ faces stiffened.
“Tell her the Count of Silon’s sons had enough fun today and it’s time to go home.”
Fabia beamed and dashed out of the room in a flash.
The twins would be back another day, but for now, this was the end.
Kartia felt so drained she could collapse any second.
“Hmm. Can’t be helped. We’ll come play again, Tia.”
“We’ll probably start missing you soon.”
Before she could stop him, Nathan leaned over and kissed Kartia on the cheek.
“Don’t hate us too much. I really like you, Tia.”
“We just wanted to play. Sorry if it was too much.”
Rudan kissed her other cheek, and just then Enche came in, smiling brightly.
“Did everyone have fun?”
Fabia and the maids, who had suffered under the twins, looked at Kartia with shining eyes—probably hoping she’d tattle.
“Did you get along well?”
Enche asked sweetly, while the twins waved goodbye cheerfully.
The maids stared at her as if begging her to rat out the devilish twins.
Kartia forced a bitter smile and nodded.
“Yeah. Come play again sometime.”
The maids were plunged into despair, while Enche and the twins said their final goodbyes and left.
Barely able to avoid the maids’ pleading gazes, Kartia collapsed onto the sofa, exhausted.
It really had been a soul-draining day.
*
Rustle, rustle.
In the quiet office, the only sound was the pen gliding over paper.
That was normal. Even the aides who occasionally stood guard rarely made a sound, not even breathing loudly, when the emperor was working.
Three steps to the right of the large black desk where the emperor sat—that was always where Zervan stood.
Zervan rarely felt discomfort from standing still, as his role was to guard the emperor, but lately, he kept glancing toward the door.
The emperor, sensitive to even the slightest change, turned toward Zervan.
“…I apologize.”
Zervan quickly bowed, realizing his behavior was inappropriate. The emperor, perhaps intending to take a break, put down his pen.
“Something on your mind?”
Zervan knew exactly what he meant.
“I thought she would come as soon as the restriction was lifted.”
“I didn’t expect you to care this much.”
“She’s a lovely person.”
“I didn’t expect you to say that so easily either.”
Zervan had always been known as cold—no, downright emotionless. His entire life revolved around protecting the emperor, Chercell, though he did show some devotion to his family.
That such feelings would be directed at the princess, Kartia, was unexpected.
“What I feel is what many others feel too. It’s not because I’m unusual—it’s because Her Highness is special.”
The emperor had never had such a conversation with Zervan before. It felt more than awkward—almost eerie.
No one had ever spoken to him that way, and certainly not so bluntly.
“The Duke of Ivia once told me he’d rather take her into his household.”
“If Her Highness is a burden, we can still consider that option. I’m sure my father’s offer still stands.”
Sending Kartia to the Duke of Ivia’s household.
The emperor looked past the office window toward the princess’s palace, which seemed oddly lively today.
Actually, it had been lively ever since Kartia left the tower. The previously quiet palace had been in a constant stir.
Just what was packed into that small body of hers?
“Tell them to prepare dinner in the main palace.”
There was no need to ask who “them” referred to.
Zervan’s face lit up slightly as he bowed and stepped out of the office.
*
“Your Highness…”
Fabia dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief again, unable to hide her distress upon seeing Kartia’s face.
Kartia instinctively reached for her face, then lowered her hand quickly.
“I’m fine.”
“You should have just told Lady Silon about how they treated you!”
“Nathan and Rudan didn’t mean any harm…”
“Your Highness! I told you, you can’t trust boys just because they’re handsome!”
Looking pale and drained, Kartia picked up a hand mirror. The cotton stuffed in her nose to stop the bleeding was slightly tinged red.
The twins, who had said they’d come again, had started joining her etiquette lessons, and the maids now trembled in fear every time there was one.
Kartia, feeling sorry for them, asked Enche to limit the twins’ visits to once a week, saying she wanted time to get used to them.
And today was that day.
The twins had decided Kartia was too weak and dragged her out to teach her martial arts.
This was the result.
Squeak.
Hearing a sound from somewhere, Kartia put down the mirror and picked up the puppy.
At first, the dog had been scared of everything and wouldn’t let anyone but Kartia touch it. Now, it roamed her room comfortably.
“By the way, haven’t you named the puppy yet?”
“No. When it gets a little bigger, I’ll find it a good owner.”
Fabia bit her lip, sensing the reason Kartia wouldn’t even give it a name.
Kartia had made up her mind, but when holding that small, warm body, her heart always softened.
Just then—knock knock—Zervan’s voice came from outside.
“Your Highness. I’m coming in.”
The door opened, and as he walked in, Zervan froze like a statue at the sight of Kartia’s condition.
“…What on earth…”
