Chapter 10
“It seems you’ve put on more weight since I last saw you. Life in the palace must be treating you well.”
Even after some time had passed, Claude and I remained the same. It had only been five days since we last met – there’s no way I could have gained enough weight to be noticeable to the naked eye!
“Hehe, Papa is pretty too!”
In the meantime, Claude and I had met two more times, spending those vicious father-daughter moments together. Through those encounters, I realized something: even when I acted brazen and impertinent, he didn’t try to kill me.
On the contrary, the more I acted like a frightened child or gave cliché, predictable answers, the more expressionless his face became.
I found Claude’s bored gaze at me the most terrifying. It might have been a delusion, but it made me think that the only reason he kept me alive was for his momentary amusement.
So, to be honest, I was still so scared I felt like I might faint. I could feel Lily staring at me in shock from the side after hearing my coy remark. But as expected, Claude didn’t kill me this time either. This bastard really does like being confronted head-on!
“Follow me.”
He narrowed his eyes, looked down at me for a moment, then turned away first. Only then did Lily and Felix seem to let out the shallow breaths they’d been holding. The days seem to be making my lifeline thinner and thinner – it’s enough to make me cry bloody tears.
“I was just about to go boating, so prepare yourself.”
Prepare myself for what? And ‘just about to go boating,’ my foot. He deliberately calls me at this exact time and pretends it’s a coincidence! If there was anything I needed to prepare separately, he would have instructed me beforehand, so those words definitely meant ‘shut up and follow me.’
“Your Majesty, I apologize for the impertinence, but Her Highness has not yet learned to swim –”
“What is there to worry about when she is with me?”
That’s precisely the problem, you bastard! Lily, who had mustered the courage to speak first to Claude, began looking at me with anxious eyes. Unauthorized persons couldn’t join the imperial family’s boating trip, so she was clearly worried that she wouldn’t be able to save me from the Emperor if something went wrong. But please don’t, sister Lily. What if that bastard suddenly turns on you and does something terrible?
But honestly, I didn’t want to go on a boat with Claude either. “Suddenly this isn’t fun anymore. Die.” Who knows if he might just plop me into the lake? But then this damn man stopped in his tracks and deliberately asked me:
“Do you not wish to accompany me?”
“U-uh, Atty wants to go with Papa too.”
I plastered a harmless smile all over my face again as I spoke. Lily’s face turned pale once more at my words, but I couldn’t help it.
So, in the end, I ended up having a cozy boat ride with Claude, feeling like I was being dragged to the slaughterhouse.
Just how vast is the Imperial Palace that it even has a lake for boating? With a pale face, I sat across from Claude and floated on the water.
Claude had personally picked me up and placed me on the boat. I had to tremble secretly, fearing he might just drop me into the water. And as soon as the mission of boarding was complete, I was completely drained of energy.
Huh? But this boat, the ride (?) is no joke. No, is this just how imperial family boats are? It glides along without a single tremor! But being alone on this large boat with Claude is terrifying beyond measure.
Wait. Neither of us is rowing. So how is this boat moving? Is there a motor? Or could there be a lower deck where slaves are stomping their feet?
“What are you thinking about?”
Don’t talk to me. Don’t look at me. Ugh. I considered answering Claude’s question with something like “The weather’s nice today!” or “The lake is pretty!”, but since I’d come this far, I decided to just flatter him.
“Papa’s hair is sparkly! Pretty!”
But it was true that Claude’s hair was beautiful. My own light blonde hair was pretty too, but Claude’s honey-like, deep blonde was definitely more to my taste. Maybe it’s because I was so destitute in my past life that I’ve developed a grudge against gold. Sob.
“Sparkly good! Hehe.”
At my words, a slender smile appeared on Claude’s lips. No, wait… When this guy smiles like that, something feels ominous.
“Come to think of it, you had that pouch of jewels that day too.”
Kugoong! Goal! Athanasia the player has lost her mind!
“I am keeping your treasure safe, so come and retrieve it yourself next time.”
…Landmine. It’s a landmine! It’s a minefield in every direction, I can’t escape! Aaaagh! No wonder I was shocked that I had to leave all my pouches in front of the angel statue that day; of all the bad luck, Claude had taken them.
Aaaah, crazy, I’ve lost my mind. I guess I’m not destined to die peacefully.
While I was speechless, Claude seemed to have lost interest again. His gaze was directed not at me, but across the lake. So I was able to observe him a little more comfortably than before.
Hmm. What country’s style of clothing is Claude wearing? Egypt? Greece? An oil kingdom? I don’t know.
Anyway, loose, voluminous clothes like what he had on now suited him really well. Perhaps it’s because he’s a man who exudes boredom from his entire being. Last time I thought he was like a lion, but now he looks like a leopard sunbathing. Of course, either way, he’s still a wild predator.
I remember reading in a side story of The Lovely Princess that Athanasia’s mother, Diana, truly loved Claude as well.
I didn’t understand it at first, but looking at Claude, it seemed plausible that women would flock to him like moths to a flame. His eyes, looking at something other than me, were breathtakingly beautiful.
His pupils, devoid of any warmth, truly looked like jewels. From this angle, they appeared as a pale turquoise, slightly lighter than the blue of the lake water. I wondered if my eyes were the same. But since I didn’t have the courage to stare at Claude for long, I soon quietly turned my head away.
Oh? And then I saw a strange flower. At first I thought I’d imagined it, but the boat gradually drew closer to where my gaze was fixed, and soon I could see it up close.
Wow. What is this? It’s a blue lotus? Ah, no. It only looks that way because the lake water is blue; strangely, the petals themselves were transparent. It looked similar to a lotus, but the petals were clear. Do lotuses even bloom on lakes? I want that.
Feeling like I could reach it if I stretched out my hand, I scooted my bottom toward the edge of the boat. I knew Claude was watching me, but even that didn’t distract me.
It wasn’t even a particularly pretty flower, strange as it was, but for some reason, I felt like I had to get it right this moment. Just a little more. Just a little more. And just as the petal, tinged with blue, was about to touch my fingertips…
Plop!
I fell off the boat.
“Ah, puh!”
Water rushed into my nose and mouth in an instant. I thrashed my limbs about in a panic.
What is this? How did this happen? My breath was bubbling away, choking me, and I was completely disoriented. The dress the maids had dressed me in for my meeting with Claude today had several layers of lace and was heavy. Wait. I can’t swim. I can’t!
“Sa… save me…”
No matter how much I flailed, my toes touched nothing. My wet hands only scraped against the boat, lacking the strength to pull myself up. Still, driven by fear, I kept reaching out.
And then, the moment my eyes met those always-calm eyes, I felt my already cold body freeze all the way to my fingertips.
Claude was simply watching me, struggling in the lake, without a word. The moment I saw those utterly unperturbed eyes, I knew immediately.
He’s not going to save me. That man is not going to save me. He’ll just quietly watch me sink beneath the water with those same emotionless eyes.
Splash.
The moment I realized it, the strength drained from my body. Something wrapped around my ankles was pulling me down. It was instantaneous, being submerged up to my head. The feeling of water filling my lungs was horrible. Drowning, in this life. The thought I’d had just before boarding the boat had come true. That’s why they say you should be careful what you wish for, but still, this is too… you…
“Agh! Puh!”
You son of a bitch!
“Heeoock! Huk. Ugh, cough, cough…”
Just then, a strong force pulled me out of the water. I coughed frantically, vomiting water. My vision was spinning, my ears ringing with tinnitus, and I couldn’t maintain my balance.
“Oh my goodness, Princess!”
I don’t know how much time passed. I heard someone running toward me, and then Lily’s horrified voice pierced my ears.
Only then did I realize that Claude had taken me off the boat, now docked, and placed me on the lakeshore.
“Felix.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Starting tomorrow, teach Athanasia how to swim in the water.”
He flicked his wet hand once, then turned his back on me.
“Would it not be disgraceful if the Emperor’s daughter drowned in a mere lake?”
That was hardly something to say to his daughter who had just nearly drowned. But there was no one here to point out his cruelty.
Lily, frantically trying to soothe me as I trembled, wrapped me in a large towel, seeming flustered. Felix, unable to give any proper answer to the Emperor’s words, looked bewildered, then turned his hesitant steps to follow Claude as he walked ahead.
“Princess. Princess… it’s okay. You’re okay now, Princess.”
Lily’s hands holding me, Lily’s voice whispering in my ear, were trembling terribly. Claude’s retreating back pierced through my blurry vision.
“Uu…”
I could only open my mouth after he had completely disappeared from my sight.
“Waaaah…!”
In all my life – long if you count both, short if you don’t – there had never been another time I had cried out of such sheer terror.
I, who had never been sick a day in my life, had not been well a single day since meeting Claude. Getting indigestion after having tea with that brat was a given, and now I had nearly drowned in the lake while boating. Afterwards, I caught a cold – the likes of which I’d never had before – and had to lie curled up in my blankets, unable to eat or drink.
And so, while being cared for by Lily and the other maids, I came to the conclusion that Claude was a true son of a bitch.
Of course, he did eventually pull me out of the water, but that bastard clearly watched me floundering and didn’t save me right away.
What a sick psychopath. How can you just watch a five-year-old child drowning and look at her like that? And I’m his own daughter! Even now, I get chills thinking about it. Well, I suppose he is that kind of person – that’s why, even in the book, he killed Athanasia without a moment’s hesitation. Hic.
After that day, I had nightmares every night and sobbed. Whenever that happened, Lily, who never left the room and sat by my bedside, would come over, stroke my head, and hug me tight. Only in Lily’s warm embrace could I finally fall back asleep
