Chapter 08
“Your Highness, please wake up.”
I heard the sound of curtains being drawn, and a soft breeze flowed into the room. Sunlight pricked at my closed eyelids.
“Mmm…”
I scrunched up my face and turned over to the other side.
A fluffy pillow and warm blanket brushed against my cheek. Soft, sun-scented covers—this was the best…
“…Huh?”
Fluffy pillow? Soft blanket? Why would I have those in my room?
My eyes flew open.
“Kyaaa!”
Miriam, who had been near the bed, jumped in shock as I suddenly sat up. She lost her balance and landed on her bottom with a thud.
“Oww…”
What the heck is going on? Why am I watching a slapstick routine from her first thing in the morning?
I looked at the teary-eyed Miriam sitting on the floor and suddenly realized something strange.
“Miriam?”
“Y-Yes, Your Highness…”
She staggered to her feet, and I asked her, bewildered.
“Where are we?”
I was sure I’d fallen asleep in my room, but I had woken up in an unfamiliar place.
It was a bright and cheerful room. The cream-colored wallpaper looked freshly applied, and the wooden floor gleamed with polish.
Come to think of it, the bed and pillows were incredibly soft. I had been used to sleeping on a hard mattress with flat, worn-out pillows.
“This is the guest room! Isaac moved you here when you fell asleep yesterday!”
Miriam answered.
“The guest room?”
We had something like that in Opal Palace?
“When important guests visit, we need somewhere to host them. So we always keep one room in top shape.”
She said this with a cheerful smile. I stared blankly at her silly expression.
Why are you smiling while saying that…? Do you even realize what you’re saying?
It seemed the staff of Opal Palace cared at least a little about outward appearances. That alone wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
But if the guest room was hundreds of times better than my own, that was a different matter!
I’m the owner of this palace! My room is a wreck, and they’ve got a space like this hidden away?
“This is just…!”
I was about to explode when a knock came from the door.
“Your Highness, it’s Matilda.”
Then silence.
“Your Highness?”
Miriam tilted her head. It took me a few seconds to realize I had to respond.
“C-Come in.”
Even as I said the words, they felt strangely unfamiliar. If my memory served, this was the first time I’d ever given someone permission to enter since coming here.
The door opened, and Matilda entered.
Matilda was the second-most senior servant after the deceased head maid. She was said to oversee the practical day-to-day operations of Opal Palace.
“I’ve brought your meal…”
I had no idea why someone like her was personally delivering my breakfast.
Matilda glanced to the side. I looked too.
There was a basin beside the bed. It looked like a washbasin.
“I didn’t realize you hadn’t washed yet.”
…That really was a washbasin?
“I’ll return later.”
“N-No, it’s fine.”
I hurried to stop her.
So much had happened this morning I hadn’t noticed it before, but the moment she mentioned food, my body responded instinctively.
I had fallen asleep without dinner last night, after all.
“I’ll wash quickly. Just bring it over now.”
I tried to get up from bed, but Miriam quickly pushed over a tray with the basin on it.
“You must be hungry, so I’ll do it quickly.”
…Do what?
Before I could ask, something warm touched my face. It smelled of flowers.
Miriam was washing my face.
Feeling completely out of sorts, I let her do it.
This was another first since I’d arrived here.
Until now, I always fetched water from the well outside and washed my face myself.
But now I was being washed with perfectly warmed water, even with flower petals floating in it? Without lifting a finger?
After she finished, Miriam left with the basin. Meanwhile, Matilda set up breakfast on the bed.
I’m eating… on the bed?
As a proper Korean, I was about to protest, but the sight of the food shut me up.
Warm pancakes were piled high with red and blue berries. The colors were dazzling.
Another plate had eggs and a salad—vibrant greens that looked freshly picked.
Lastly, there was a steaming cup of milk.
I know it sounds ridiculous to say this…
But it was like a “princess’s breakfast” straight out of a fairy tale, laid out before me.
“Matilda?”
She stood at the side of the room with her hands clasped, as if awaiting my command.
“Am I going to die today?”
I asked, half joking and half serious.
We had gone through a lot yesterday—I knew that.
But since it all happened so suddenly and in the wake of something terrifying, I didn’t expect the mood to last.
To be honest, I figured once they’d all had a night to sleep on it, reason would return.
Maybe this grand breakfast was the result of that return to reason—perhaps they decided to eliminate me before upsetting Richard further…
I was still debating whether to eat when Matilda spoke.
“It’s only natural that Your Highness does not trust us.”
Her voice was devoid of bitterness. She sounded sincerely remorseful. At least, on the surface.
“This room… must have surprised you as well.”
Oh, right. I’d been so stunned by the breakfast, I’d forgotten to say anything about that.
“I won’t make excuses. We’ve wronged you terribly. We never served you properly, only cared about lining our own pockets.”
She bit her lip as she looked at me.
“You’re still so young…”
The atmosphere in the room suddenly turned into a confessional. I regarded Matilda with a strange look.
There were ten servants in Opal Palace. Their attitudes toward me varied.
Matilda had been the type to avoid me.
I’d hardly ever seen her around the palace. Now that I thought about it, maybe she had been deliberately avoiding me.
Did she feel guilty all this time?
That didn’t mean I could forgive what they’d done—but it was a strange feeling nonetheless.
“I wouldn’t dare ask for forgiveness. But we’ve realized a lot from this recent incident. If you would just watch us…”
So they’re saying they’ll do better going forward. I nodded and picked up the cup of milk. Judging by the atmosphere, it didn’t seem like poison.
“From now on, we will serve only you, Your Highness, with unwavering loyalty.”
Gulp.
“That’s not necessary.”
“…Pardon?”
Matilda looked taken aback.
“I mean, I’m not saying go back to how things were.”
I cut a piece of pancake and popped it into my mouth.
Whoa, it’s delicious. So sweet, soft, fluffy, and warm.
It was the kind of taste that made you forget everything else. I nearly downed the whole thing without stopping.
“Your Highness?”
“…What I mean is.”
Okay, focus. This is an important conversation.
“I like being treated well. Please keep doing that. But don’t be loyal to me.”
Munch, munch. I kept eating between sentences.
“I’m begging you—keep spying. You…”
Now that I thought about it, I didn’t even know who Matilda’s real master was. We’d never had a proper conversation before since she always avoided me.
“Who do you work for again?”
She answered immediately.
“The 19th Prince.”
Benjamin…? He’s nine years old this year, right? Why are all the kids around here so precocious when it comes to shady business?
“Right… Anyway, keep doing your job. Just report that I’m living quietly, without ambition. Got it?”
“But, Your Highness…”
“That’s how I survive. Don’t you get it?”
Matilda looked thoughtful, then slowly shook her head.
“No, I understand perfectly. Your Highness’s wisdom is great indeed.”
At least she seemed sharper than the others. That was a relief.
Chewing my eggs, I thought I should give her the now-vacant head maid position.
Just then—
“Your Highness!”
A maid banged on the door like she meant to break it down. When I gave a reluctant glance, Matilda went to open it.
“What’s with the noise…”
“Someone from Ruby Palace is here!”
The maid’s shout drowned out Matilda’s scolding.
“The 12th Prince is coming to Opal Palace for lunch today!”
***
Where did it all go wrong?
I tried to think of the answer to that question, but only one thing came to mind.
That day I stepped into the forest, driven by hunger, unable to bear it anymore.
From that moment on, I’d thrown away the script for my happy ending and started messing up my fate.
But what else could I have done? I was starving! I didn’t know trying to pick a few berries would cause all this!
I sighed deeply.
“Ah—don’t move, Your Highness.”
Miriam said as she braided my hair.
I was getting ready to meet Richard.
Just thinking about seeing his face again after only one day made me want to run away, but there was no helping it.
Opal Palace had been in chaos since receiving Richard’s abrupt announcement this morning. The servants, still not recovered from yesterday’s shock, were trembling, wondering if today would be their end.
I didn’t want to see him either. So I had a servant from Ruby Palace deliver my regrets, saying I wasn’t feeling well and would skip lunch.
I wasn’t sure if he’d accept that, but his reply was worse than expected.
“Our prince said if the servants here can’t even manage the 17th Princess’s health properly, then he doesn’t need them. He’ll come deal with them himself.”
After hearing that, I threw off the blankets I had wrapped around myself for the fake illness and made a very obvious show of miraculously regaining energy.
I recited a long speech about how much better I felt thanks to my brother, and how honored I’d be to have lunch with him, all while the servants looked at me with tearful eyes.
“Seriously, stop moving. You’ve got so much hair, it’s a struggle.”
Miriam muttered. I pouted.
“Just tie it up any old way. Why all the effort?”
“What are you saying! If you look like a beggar again today, we’ll really all be dead!”
I stared at her through the mirror.
Maybe it’s time to drop the theory that she was sent here by someone. She was way too dumb to be a spy.
She was talkative and incompetent—a terrible combination for a maid. She’d told me she’d been bounced from one palace to another before landing here, and it made sense now.
To think I risked my life for someone like her yesterday—I must’ve really lost it.
“All done! Doesn’t it look lovely?”
Miriam had finished my hair while I was lost in thought. I looked at my reflection.
Not sure about “lovely,” but I looked less pitiful than yesterday. My tangled blonde hair was now half-tied and neatly braided, with a small ribbon at the back. Today, I was wearing an actual reception dress.
The dress was too big, so I’d had to cinch it with a ribbon like crazy and pin the back like a hedgehog. My front looked fine, but the back was comical.
“Just show the prince your front!”
Miriam said confidently. That probably wouldn’t work, but I had no better option.
Delicious smells drifted up from downstairs. The kitchen was in full swing. They were probably spending the entire month’s budget.
What a mess this all was. Please, just let today go by peacefully.
