Chapter 21
The horse that had carried the two of us for quite some time only began to slow after we had completely left the forest behind.
The dense trees thinned out, giving way to open plains.
“…What just happened?”
Damian asked, his voice still dazed, as if he couldn’t quite process what had occurred.
Imagining the expression he must be wearing behind me, I deliberately shrugged with feigned nonchalance.
“It was nothing.”
“That was not nothing.”
“Well… I expected Vincent to come.”
The Emperor was sharp. With his instincts, he would have realized early on that this incident was not merely a capricious runaway episode.
‘Then of course he would send Vincent.’
“The imperial palace is a world ruled by the strong devouring the weak. Did you know that?”
As I said that, I glanced back slightly.
Damian’s face was subtly distorted. It wasn’t displeasure—it was the expression of someone who genuinely didn’t understand.
“Your Highness worries about things like that? I thought everyone but the Emperor lay beneath your feet.”
“That may be true, but hearing it from someone else is unpleasant.”
“I’d call it objective.”
Was there any way to shut this man’s mouth?
“I don’t know whether the Young Master agrees, but seizing control within the imperial household was the result of my own blood and sweat.”
“Should I be impressed?”
I shot him a glare before facing forward again.
But it was the truth.
My position in the palace had not been secure from the start.
The imperial family valued bloodlines. Just because I had the Emperor’s backing didn’t mean everyone naturally bowed their heads. When I had just been adopted into the imperial family, the First Prince’s faction overwhelmingly dominated. The maids assigned to me would vent their frustrations by pinching and making a two-year-old child cry.
After all, Lorea had been nothing more than a nominal princess.
‘I was seven when I realized that to survive in the imperial palace, you had to instill fear.’
Five years—an early awakening.
I rolled my eyes lazily before answering.
“Vincent has a pollen allergy. Birch pollen.”
“And you made that strange sword specifically to prepare for that?”
“What else could I do? You hate the imperial family enough to want them dead, but you don’t have the freedom to simply cut off their heads, do you?”
At my blunt question, Damian let out a disbelieving huff.
“Why that reaction?”
“Shall I answer honestly?”
“…I think that question already answered it, but go ahead.”
“I’m surprised that Your Highness is capable of thinking.”
“Ah. I shouldn’t have asked.”
A sigh escaped me.
If possible, I would have liked to knock him on the head—though I doubted it would hurt much.
When I narrowed my eyes at him, Damian merely shrugged shamelessly, as if to say he had only spoken the truth.
“More importantly, this is troublesome. Since we dropped all our luggage, it will be difficult to head straight to the West like this.”
“I never expected we could go there immediately anyway.”
I answered calmly.
There were several small cities along the road to the West. I pretended to think for a moment, leaving Damian behind me.
“Let’s go to Jeda.”
And then I named the destination. It had been a planned stopover even before we departed.
Damian, however, seemed puzzled by my decision.
“You’re choosing Jeda over a large city like Akene?”
I expected that reaction.
Jeda was a very small city—embarrassingly small, closer to a village than anything else. It could serve as a stopover if necessary, but there was no real reason to choose it.
I smiled sweetly at him.
“Yes. I have a plan.”
“You actually have a plan…”
I told him I could hear that.
“This time I won’t accept objections. You are my escort, and this is a legitimate request from someone with a purpose.”
“Yes, yes.”
Damian answered half-heartedly, but he didn’t seem inclined to argue. He readily turned the horse’s head.
“Let’s hurry. We need to arrive before sunset.”
The horse galloped swiftly, and we reached Jeda just before the sun dipped below the horizon.
After what had happened earlier, we should have quickly unpacked and rested for tomorrow.
“…Are you truly certain? Honestly?”
Unfortunately, instead of unpacking, we were standing awkwardly in front of an inn.
More precisely, I couldn’t enter because Damian was blocking my way at the door.
I stretched up on my toes to peer over his shoulder, but when my legs began to ache, I snapped irritably.
“I said I’m fine. That’s the tenth time you’ve asked.”
“Has something happened to your head? Did life as a lofty princess become so dull that you now crave hardship?”
I lightly ignored him and tilted my head back to examine the inn’s exterior.
Being far from the capital in a small town, the building was old and worn. Still, it appeared to have all the essentials.
“This looks clean enough.”
“I’m going insane.”
Damian raked his hand through his hair in frustration.
The situation was simple.
Naturally, I intended to stay at the inn—but Damian stopped me. Apparently, Carlos had given him an artifact before we departed. It had the ability to create a simple lodging space. “Simple lodging” probably meant something far more luxurious than this inn.
‘An artifact.’
I couldn’t understand why someone who grew exhausted simply by existing due to his immense mana would go to such trouble.
‘He wouldn’t even accept my greeting.’
Honestly, I couldn’t tell whether Carlos found me bothersome or was secretly concerned.
“I’ll create a place for you with magic instead. Father gave me this artifact specifically for situations like this. Because of you.”
Damian dangled the red necklace around his neck demonstratively.
“I said no.”
I glanced at the necklace and firmly turned my head away.
‘Not a chance. I’ll conserve the mana inside that artifact and make him return it later.’
Of course, for Carlos—who possessed vast reserves of mana—this would be trivial. But for me, it was different.
‘I have my pride.’
I had a responsibility toward him. Luxuriating in comfort at the cost of Carlos’s mana was out of the question.
“I’ll go in first. Young Master, pay and come up.”
“Excuse me?”
“The suite.”
Seizing the moment Damian let his guard down, I slipped under his arm and opened the door.
‘Being short has its advantages at times like this.’
Damian stared in disbelief as I darted past him.
“Ah, Your—! Hey, miss!”
Ignoring his shout, I hurried up the stairs.
“You little burden!”
Such language toward a princess.
And to think he’s practically like an older brother.
Once I was out of his sight, I stuck out my tongue at him and headed toward the top floor.
