RWMU 10

Chapter 10

“Miella Celine Rodrick.”
Someone once said that middle names exist just to show how angry your parents are.
I buried my face in my mother’s arms and flinched.
‘Mom’s angry.’

I tried to pretend I didn’t hear, but my unease probably reached my mother even as she held me.
I reluctantly gave up trying to avoid it and lifted my head.
“Y-yes…”
I’d been crying so much that my voice came out all muffled and nasal.
My eyes were swollen, which might have made me look pitiful enough to get some leniency, but my mother was resolute.

A sharp question was directed at me as if she’d been waiting for the perfect moment.
“Why were you on the carriage when you should have been in your room?”
“Well….”
Under her intensity, I almost told the truth.
‘I absolutely can’t.’
I quickly clamped my mouth shut.
‘I can’t say I sneaked onto the carriage to meet Leonhardt.’

I had prepared myself to be scolded for causing trouble, but revealing any connection with Leonhardt would be disastrous.
I stared around wildly, hoping for some excuse, but nothing came to mind. My mother’s gaze only grew colder.
“Miella.”
“Well….”
The word “well…” kept getting stuck in my throat as my eyes wandered to my father.
“Darling.”
I sent him a pleading look for help, and my soft-hearted father gave my mother an imploring glance.
But it didn’t work. After all, in the Rodrick household, my mother was the unquestioned number one.

Thanks to my father, I gained a bit of time to calm myself and think of an excuse.
“Lester said he was going to the palace, so I got under the chair to follow him—but I fell asleep.”
It was a slightly condensed version, but the situation was close to the truth.
‘I’ll get caught if I lie to Mom.’

I looked up at my father with eyes like a kitten in boots, trying to minimize my punishment. He responded just as I hoped.
“You must have been quite startled. Hmph! There, there.”
He carefully handed me a handkerchief, glancing at my mother.

“Dad…”
I took the opportunity to cling to him.
Of course, the “hmph” was just for show.

Seeing me sneak out of her view, my mother made a deflated sound, laughing in disbelief.
Her stiff expression slowly softened.
I laughed quietly, still in my father’s arms, glancing at my mother.
“Oh my.”

My mother gave a helpless shake of her head and lifted me from my father’s arms into her own.
“It’s suffocating!”
I whined, trapped between both parents, and my mother playfully bit my ear.
“Was it not too cramped under the carriage seat?”
I had no words, so my complaints vanished. I just laughed, and my mother pinched my cheek this time.
“Ow.”
I exaggerated my protest.

Brushing my cheek with the back of her hand, my mother said,
“Do you know how worried we were?”

At this point, we were almost done.
“I understand.”
I made a deeply repentant face, and my mother, trying to maintain a stern expression, asked,
“You won’t do that again, right?”
I answered carefully, trying not to look too relieved.
“No.”

“You still need a punishment. For the next month, no going out or treats.”
I had expected it but was still unhappy.
“Waaah.”
I tried to stretch my eyebrows and look pitiful, hoping she’d shorten the period, but my mother remained firm.
“You can’t even share treats with Lionel.”
Even my only hope was gone, and I was truly despondent.

“Duke Rodrick, welcome.”
The Emperor greeted Duke Rodrick with a bright smile.
“Your Majesty, it’s been a while.”

After the Duke’s formal greeting, he sat opposite the Emperor.
Though it might seem rude for a duke to behave so casually in front of the Emperor, neither cared.
They had been close since the Emperor was a prince, so such familiarity was perfectly acceptable.

Once seated, the Emperor’s steward brought tea.
After the steward left, the Emperor took a sip and asked the Duke,
“I heard the young princess enjoyed touring the palace?”

It was casual conversation, but I couldn’t help being curious.
This was the first time Duke Rodrick had asked anything of him.

“Indeed, she did. I am grateful for Your Majesty’s kindness.”
Seeing the Duke, usually reserved, speak so politely, the Emperor felt quietly proud.
He had received much from Duke Rodrick over the years but had done little in return, leaving a lingering sense of debt.

Feeling generous, the Emperor said,
“Though it may seem ordinary to us, the palace must be quite wondrous to a child. I should invite her more often.”

Duke Rodrick gratefully accepted the Emperor’s graciousness.
“If the Empress permits, would you consider having a daughter now? Though getting one as lovely as Miella may be impossible.”

The Emperor laughed at the Duke’s doting remark.
Then he muttered to himself,
“Raising such a precious daughter, arranging a marriage must be nerve-wracking.”

Thoughts turned to the recent talks of the Crown Prince’s engagement.
“She’s only six!” the Duke snapped, reacting sharply to the Emperor’s joke.

The Emperor teased, “The Crown Prince is eleven, looking for a fiancée.”
“Five years to go, then,” the Emperor added lightly.

The Duke caught on and regained composure, though the Emperor’s subtle barbs still seemed to irk him.
After a brief pause, the Emperor asked, “The Crown Prince and the young princess are five years apart, right?”
Duke Rodrick’s expression soured.
“Yes, I can do basic math.”

Ignoring the Duke’s sharp reply, the Emperor added slyly,
“Not saying to act now, but a boy of the Crown Prince’s standing could naturally become close to a girl of similar rank.”

Duke Rodrick gave a silent, displeased response.
The Emperor chuckled, knowing the Duke was about to protest but quickly shifted the topic.
“Anyway, there was unrest near the border?”
Back to serious matters—but the Emperor clearly wasn’t ready to drop his playful ideas just yet.

After art class, a maid appeared as if on cue, heading for the study.
“Princess! The lady requests your presence in the reception room!”
“Mom?”

I let go of the maid’s hand and ran to my mother.
“Miella.”

She set an invitation on the table, held me in her arms, and kissed my cheek.
Then, holding me close, she opened the invitation and showed it to me.

At the bottom of the invitation was the Crown Prince’s seal.
‘Why is he inviting me now?’

It was a summons I had never received in my past life.