Chapter 9: The Woodcutter’s Wife (1)
After meeting Rashan, Ariana watched a few more gladiator matches that failed to hold her interest before finally returning to the royal palace.
Her reason for staying was simple.
I needed to waste some time.
If the princess, who had left the palace for the first time, had returned immediately after arriving at the arena, the king might suspect she had gone there for another purpose.
Some might call it excessive caution.
But the king Ariana knew was more than capable of harboring such suspicions.
As a result, she didn’t return to the palace until quite late, and the next morning she barely managed to wake when the sun had already climbed high overhead.
“Princess Ariana, are you still tired?”
Pretending to be concerned, Rosa looked her over.
Ariana waved a hand dismissively, climbed out of bed still wearing her nightgown, and walked onto the balcony bathed in the midday sunlight.
Not long ago, even enjoying sunlight this freely had been a luxury.
“Princess Ariana, you should change your clothes first.”
If not for Rosa’s irritated voice coming from behind her, the moment might have been perfect.
Ariana frowned slightly and turned to look at her.
She had already informed Maia.
Soon enough, Maia would discover exactly what the Second Prince had given Rosa in exchange for acting as his spy.
Once that happened, Ariana intended to punish her lightly before putting her to work as a convenient tool to deceive the Second Prince’s watchful eyes.
Thinking about that eased her irritation a little.
“Where’s Maia?”
“She said she had somewhere she needed to go…”
There was only one place Maia would make time to visit inside the palace.
She went to see Mother.
After overhearing everything Ariana had said to Rashan, Maia naturally had to report it to her true mistress.
How will Mother react to my declaration that I’ll become queen?
Remembering the last image of her mother before her regression, Ariana sat at the table where a light meal had been prepared and took a sip of lukewarm water.
“When should I ask to see her…”
“Princess Ariana?”
“It’s nothing.”
After staring at the meal before her for a moment, Ariana picked up her utensils.
First, she had to visit the king.
She needed to report yesterday’s outing and spend some time “praising” the man who had graciously permitted her to leave the palace.
It was necessary if she wanted permission to go out again in the future.
Even so, the thought of facing the king made her stomach churn.
Ignoring the disgust as best she could, Ariana quietly finished her meal.
She knew from bitter experience before her regression that an empty stomach only made it harder to act according to plan.
After changing clothes, meeting the king, and returning to her room, Ariana threw herself onto the bed.
Pretending not to notice Rosa watching her closely, she shut her eyes and took several long, deep breaths to calm herself.
She couldn’t help feeling overwhelmed by the reality that she had to flatter the king simply to earn permission for a single outing.
At least things will be easier after my birthday…
In Molvian, men were considered adults at sixteen, while women came of age at eighteen.
The kingdom’s founding king had established the law to prevent young girls from becoming victims of child marriage—a stark contrast to the Empire, where girls were legally considered adults at fourteen.
Not everything about the Empire is better.
Thinking of the Darsen Empire, Ariana sighed.
She remembered how annoying the imperial envoy had been when he visited for her birthday before her regression.
He kept talking about how merciful the Crown Prince was while I stood there smiling like a doll in the dress the king had chosen for me.
Back then, she hadn’t understood.
Now she knew exactly what they had been trying to do.
They had been grooming her to become one of the Crown Prince’s consorts.
Not his empress.
His consort.
The reason was simple.
The Crown Prince already had a wife.
Unlike Molvian, which recognized only one legal spouse, the Darsen Empire allowed members of the imperial family to have multiple wives.
However, only sons born to the official empress could inherit the throne.
Children born to secondary consorts were often treated as political tools in the imperial family’s endless negotiations.
The reason they wanted me as the Crown Prince’s consort was obvious. Any child I bore could never become Emperor of Darsen… but that child could become King of Molvian.
Since Molvian recognized princesses’ rights of succession, their children could inherit those claims as well.
Why had they wanted Ariana instead of Olina, whose circumstances were similar?
The answer was even simpler.
Because she was beautiful.
And…
“The Flower of Molvian has no thorns”… wasn’t that what they used to say?
Before her regression, she had foolishly mistaken those words for praise.
She had believed they simply meant she was flawlessly beautiful.
How easy such a flower must have looked—
Beautiful, yet utterly incapable of protecting itself.
Ignoring Rosa’s gaze, which still hadn’t left her, Ariana sat up and ran her fingers through her tangled hair.
Come to think of it… this time I’ll have to wear the dress the king chooses again.
Remembering the birthday banquet that was fast approaching, she shook her head.
The thought of being dressed from head to toe according to the king’s taste, smiling exactly as he wished while greeting his guests, made irritation rise inside her all over again.
Normally, a birthday banquet was arranged according to the guest of honor’s own preferences.
The decorations, the clothing—
Everything.
But the Flower of Molvian belonged to the king.
Even the banquet celebrating Ariana’s coming of age had to be carried out entirely according to his wishes.
Before her regression, she had been so sick with a terrible cold that she hadn’t even had the energy to care.
This time was different.
Perhaps traveling back through time had granted her some hidden blessing as well.
Unlike before, her body was perfectly healthy.
Looking herself over, Ariana let out a quiet chuckle.
“I suppose there’s no harm in playing the doll.”
If someone else insisted on handling all the troublesome preparations for her, there was no reason to create unnecessary suspicion.
The king was willing to adorn her with priceless luxuries that no one else could easily obtain.
Rejecting them would only be foolish.
Having finally suppressed her growing irritation, Ariana opened her mouth to dismiss Rosa—
Just then, a soft knock sounded.
The bedroom door opened carefully, and Maia stepped inside.
As always, her expression revealed almost nothing.
Only the faint tremor in her violet eyes betrayed her emotions.
“Princess Ariana… Her Majesty the Queen wishes to see her daughter.”
“…Mother wants to see me?”
“Yes.”
The queen who had refused every request to meet her—
Who hadn’t shown her face once, no matter how desperately Ariana had pleaded—
Now wanted to see her first?
Ariana had known she needed to speak with her mother eventually.
But she had never imagined it would happen this soon…
Or this easily.
She blinked at Maia in astonishment.
“W-When?”
“Her Majesty said she’d like to see you today, if possible.”
What moved Mother?
Was it hearing that her foolish daughter finally wanted something?
Was it learning that she’d personally gone to obtain a single gladiator slave?
Or…
Was it hearing that Ariana intended to become Queen of Molvian?
…All of them?
Unable to determine which part of Maia’s report had prompted the queen’s decision, Ariana fell silent.
Maia spoke first.
“What shall I tell Her Majesty?”
“…She said she’d like to see me today?”
“Yes.”
“Then let’s go now. As for getting ready… would it be strange if I went just like this?”
“It wouldn’t.”
At Maia’s answer, Ariana nodded.
Her eyes briefly drifted toward Rosa.
Understanding the silent message, Maia gave the slightest nod.
There was no stopping news that the queen intended to meet the youngest princess from reaching the Second Prince.
But the reason for the meeting…
That could still be hidden.
“Rosa.”
“Yes, Lady Maia.”
“I have another task for you.”
“W-What? But I’m supposed to attend Princess Ariana—”
“I alone am sufficient to accompany Her Highness to see the Queen.”
Maia’s firm declaration turned Rosa’s pleading gaze toward Ariana.
The desperation in those light green eyes was almost amusing.
But Ariana pretended not to notice.
She calmly sat before her vanity.
Even without her intervention, Maia would deal with Rosa.
Right now…
Her only priority was meeting her mother.
As she slowly brushed her hair, Ariana carefully considered what she should say to the queen.
