Chapter 103
Editor : Aru
There was one more thing I learned about Suena, except that he looked small.
He was persistent.
“I’m here to pick you up, Princess!”
“…… you’re back again?”
I stared at my opponent, not hiding my wonderful feelings.
“I’m sure I’ve said it. I’m not going back to the kingdom, I like my life here.”
Yes, I was.
Unless there’s some confusion in my memory.
I surely told Count Suina who visited the mansion.
The Count first said that he understood ‘the princess’s meaning, and then he retired.
…….but it turned out to be a setback in the operation!
The count didn’t give up. He continued to visit the mansion every day after that.
I even kicked him out right away, and he visited me three times a day.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner
‘Why the hell did he do it three times a day?’
I had a headache.
Now, when I entered the parlour room, I could almost feel the sight of Count Suena standing up in a chair and jumping up.
What the hell is this, why has this become a regularity?
“Yes, you did. But Princess, would you please give me one more chance?”
“Even if I think again five times, not once, it doesn’t change my mind.”
I’m tired of repeating the same conversation. I stood arm in arm, not sitting on the parlour room couch at all.
“And I told you to stop calling me princess. I’m not a princess here. Well, I’m a princess but not that kind of princess. I’m a Duke’s daughter here.”
I haven’t told the people of the mansion about my origin yet.
This is because it is too embarrassing to reveal the truth.
It feels like I need to gather everyone together and make an official announcement……. that’s not good either.
Well, it was not easy to think that what had been hidden and didn’t known for more than 20 years would be announced at once.
“I’m sure many people here have already heard that you’re a princess.”
“That’s fine. Everyone knows it as the Count’s habit.”
Thanks to this, the image of Count Suena has become somewhat subtle in the mansion, but it is none of my business.
The Count seemed to be slanting in between his eyes but quickly opened it again.
I’ve already seen it, but what?
‘You don’t even know I’m saving his life right now.’
I don’t even know.
Speaking of which, the Count almost died about three times so far.
In whose hands? Of course, Ash’s hand.
How? It’s an accident, so I can’t tell.
‘How can I… stop it….’
I knew Ash would go right away when I said that the Count was a little annoying.
In fact, it never sounded like a joke to me when I answered Ash’s words saying ‘should Ash do something to the Count when he comes again?’
Yeah, I’m not kidding. I certainly wasn’t.
So I put quite a lot of effort into facial expressions to save a precious life. I even lied as if it would be a little fun to have him visit the mansion every day.
That fact is, it’s not fun. It’s annoying and disturbing.
The count was so annoying that I couldn’t even visit the Imperial Palace yet.
‘I wish he could give up quickly while he’s still alive.’
I’d rather give him a sneak peek. If he doesn’t want to die a mysterious death in another country, he’d better give up and go back alone.
Count Suena, who had no way of knowing what I was worried about, opened his mouth to me.
“Do you love being a princess here?”
I looked at Count Suena.
“What if I am”
I thought about which of his words caught me. As the Duke’s daughter.
This part. At first glance, I noticed the count was having some kind of mistakes here.
In the first place, the status of a princess of a kingdom or as a daughter of a duke was not very important to me.
“If I were a little bit silly, the princess would not be able to remain here as a Duke’s daughter anymore.”
Position and authority are the second issue, and what’s really important is who’s in the decision.
But I knew this jerk would think like that. Look at that.
I frowned.
The count spoke without regard.
“I understand that you have a special relationship with the Duke here. Despite knowing the princess’s origin, he didn’t change much, so I think he knew that the princess wasn’t his real brother. But, Princess, you know, there’s no place as closed and pedigree as the aristocracy. If the truth becomes known, the Empire will naturally take the princess as an outsider…….”
“The Count.”
I sighed and cut off his words. He hesitated to answer back.
“You can remove the formality.”
“Yes, Count.”
I decided not to talk long. Your position is not important to me here, your delusions are wrong, and it will only hurt my mouth to recite every single word.
“I don’t care. If you want to expose my origin, do it.”
“…….”
“Well, I’m not a Duke’s daughter and I’m going to be a duchess anyway.”
I borrowed some lines from Ash.
I can’t believe I’m using this here. Mm-hmm, it was cool when I spit it out, but it’s kind of embarrassing.
The Count Suena seemed to be in a quandary. He couldn’t say much and just blinked.
I loosened my arms and waved my hands. It was a sign to have him go out of the mansion.
“Do you get it? If you understand, you can go now. And don’t come back again. It’s a shame Ash was out of the mansion today because if he knew that the Count was trying to intimidate me, he would never have let you go.”
Counts Suena are lucky, too. This is how he survived and stayed alive.
That’s what I was going to say and turn around when suddenly the count knelt on the floor.
Of course, I was surprised.
“……what are you doing?”
I heard the knee bumping against the floor quite loudly. Are his joints okay?
Fortunately, the count seemed to be okay because he was quite young, and then bowed his head without showing no signs of pain.
“I was wrong, Princess. My thoughts were short. Please punish my profanity a little while ago and forgive me.”
“That’s okay. Just get out of here.”
I’m not in a good mood because I remember my ex-boyfriend from a long time ago, who thought it would be all right if he did something wrong and just kneel. Even the peculiarity of such jerks is that they don’t think they’re wrong. Just doing something that will weaken the opponent’s mind to avoid this moment.
“Princess.”
“I’ll be going, so you can keep doing that.”
“Okay, if you don’t want to come back to the kingdom, I won’t force you anymore. But can’t you not come back completely, but take a moment to see and meet the queen?”
Count Suena begged with his forehead almost on the floor.
I could not ignore that remark and just turn around.
Because I had a natural question.
“Meet the queen?”
“Her highness is still a mother who gave birth to you. The affection between parents and children, how can they not see each other even when they know what’s going on? Please. It’s only for once…”
“Then shouldn’t she come to see me?”
Yeah.
“If the Count really wants me and the Queen to meet to the extent that the Count pleases me so much, ask the Queen to come and see me.”
This.
If the Queen is really sorry for abandoning me more than 20 years ago if she thinks it was wrong and tries to correct it. She should have come to pick me up in person. Not by sending a man under her command and saying, ‘Bring back to the princess when you come back’.
If she really thinks of me as her child, she should have done that.
Therefore, I naturally had to cool down when Count Suena said, “The affection between parents and children.”
The Count lowered his prone position even further as if he felt my voice getting colder.
I looked at it and turned around.
If the Queen had come in person, I would never have returned to the kingdom and acted like a princess, but there is still a basic of what and how to do.
I shifted my steps to get out of the parlour room completely.
It was then.
“Her Highness has a chronic disease!”
Count Suena suddenly shouted.
Big and loud enough to ring the whole parlour room, and quite urgently.
The count poured forth his words.
“……her heart condition is not good. So it’s hard to come outside, not even out of the royal castle. Moreover, if she’s travelling this long distance.”
“…….”
“It is a fact that no one knows except for an aide who Her Highness has right next to her like me. The moment it is known to the outside, it will be a good excuse for those who want to take the charge down from the throne. So, I changed the doctor regularly to cover their mouth and hide it thoroughly.”
The count hit his forehead. There was a crash on the floor and a loud noise. He didn’t stop talking.
“Even with that body, Her Highness said that she would move directly. But I stopped it. I begged and objected. It’s all my wrongdoings.”
“…….”
“So let your anger rest on me, and please meet the Queen.”
“…….”
“Please. It’s top-secret but she hasn’t been feeling well lately. In fact, it is partly because of that, the reason I have come to take care of the princess who might not have been able to find her. Right now, her highness pretends to be corrected in the eyes of the surrounding countries and nobles, but I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future.”
The Count’s voice was in a state of desperation. The sound of his forehead pounding was quite loud, so he might have bled. I didn’t turn around and check.
“Please. Think of it as the wish of the poor.”
Count Suena quieted down after saying all that.
I stood in my seat for another hour and soon got out of the parlour room.
***
Ash returned to the mansion by the time the rising sun had tilted to the horizon to a certain extent.
I was waiting in Ash’s office, and when I saw the door open, I said.
“You’re here?”
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