Chapter 52: 52

I hurriedly straightened my messy hair.

Greeting the princes and princess in pajamas. What kind of chaos was this?

First of all, I hurriedly greeted them with courtesy.

“I greet the Princes and the Princess…”

“I see, are you coming to the luncheon later?”

Even before the greeting was over, the girl was lying on the bed with her chin on her hands.

As if following her, the two boys turned their faces to me and their eyes lit up.

“Princess should come too. Hm?”

Talking out of the blue without any context was the unique way of speaking for a young child.

I gave the best answer I could after biting my lips.

“Dad… No, I’ll ask my Father if he’s going to go.”

‘If Alan goes, I go, and if Alan doesn’t go, I don’t go either.’

It was a very natural reason for me, but the princes and the princess made a fuss.

“Do you have to get your dad’s permission? Why?”

“If you want to go, you can go.”

“If he tells you not to go, just pester him. If you whine, he will listen to you.”

“Come to the luncheon, hm?” 

I was distracted by the babbling, but I asked as carefully as possible.

“…Do I have to go?”

I was not being sarcastic, I was really curious. 

Was there a reason why I had to attend the luncheon, to the point the princes and the princess visited me in the morning?

The triplets looked at each other’s faces and spoke together.

“Eldest brother…”

“Eldest brother…”

“He wants to see the Princess!”

‘Who the hell is that?’

At that moment, a familiar low-pitched voice was heard from the doorway.

“If he’s going to invite her, tell the Crown Prince to come directly.”

Turning around, Alan was standing by the door. He was still wearing a black uniform today.

The man came slowly and sat down on the bed. It was a smooth movement like a black leopard.

“Lily, did you sleep well?”

Alan’s cold eyes softened as soon as they touched me.

He didn’t pay any attention to the royal triplets nearby, but only looked at my complexion.

“If you have any trouble sleeping, do tell me. I’ll send a formal letter to the Imperial House to protest.”

‘…Are you going to send them a letter about my sleeping problems?’

“No… it was comfortable. Really.”

Not wanting to cause any trouble, I quickly shook my head.

The triplets still stood next to the bed and tilted their heads.

“So you’re not coming to the luncheon?”

It seemed they were not going to go back until I gave them a proper answer.

Alan sighed and met my eyes.

“Do you want to go, Lily?”

Do I have to decide? How should I answer?

I pondered for a moment, but then I shook my head and gently pulled Alan’s sleeve.

“No, I want to go home.”

When the emperor brought up the story of the luncheon yesterday, Alan was very upset.

He didn’t want to go, so there was no reason for me to insist.

“Let’s go home, Dad. There was something important, right?”

It was not polite to simply decline the invitation of the imperial family, even in my opinion.

No matter how hard it was, I would have to add an appropriate excuse.

There was nothing important, but I stared at Alan, hoping he would understand my intentions.

Alan smiled softly and looked back at the triplets.

“I will decline the invitation.”

…My earnest wish did not reach even the smallest of dust.

The triplets didn’t even care about Alan’s decisive attitude, and once again babbled at me like sparrows.

“Then the masquerade on the last day of the carnival! Will you come then?”

“That day only comes once a year!”

“On that day, you can dance in the center hole without having to make a debutante. You wouldn’t know who is who when you wear a mask.”

“Go away.” 

Alan gestured towards the door, as if the chattering children were annoying.

The twins didn’t hide their disappointment, but when Alan narrowed his forehead, they left the room like foals with their tails on fire.

Suddenly, the bedroom became quiet as the maid followed after tidying the room.

“I’ll call the maids in charge of dressing.”

Alan gently ruffled my hair and stood up.

I hurriedly checked before he left the room.

“Dad, is it okay to decline the Emperor’s invitation like this?”

Alan tilted his head slightly, as if he didn’t know what I was talking about.

“Didn’t you say you wanted to go home?”

That’s right. How embarrassing.

“That… no matter how I feel, I thought I should say that I’m sick or something”

“Are you sick?”

Alan looked scary, and I waved my hand in haste.

“No! I’m just saying.”

Alan’s mood loosened again. 

Anyway, I get nervous several times a day.

“It’s okay. Because the Emperor doesn’t really care about small excuses.”

Alan patted my hair. It was a hand large enough to cover the entire top of my head.

“Lily, you don’t have to worry about anything.”

Was it because I was unwilling to show myself to others no matter where I was?

Alan looked somewhat satisfied.

“Let’s go home, Lily.”

Return to the Duke’s Castle. When I realized that fact, I felt strangely at ease.

Even though I slept in a similarly luxurious bed, the Duke’s Castle was much more comfortable than the Imperial Palace.

I didn’t even know why…

‘Is it because the texture of the blanket is different?’

In the end, even after returning to the Duke’s Castle, I couldn’t find the exact reason.

***

‘I keep sleeping in these days.”

The next day after returning from the Imperial Palace. 

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When I woke up, the sun had already risen to the middle of the sky.

I overslept, but I laid in bed for a while and fell asleep again.

I finally managed to wake up by the late afternoon.

‘It’s true that I was tired from going to the Imperial Palace… But when I was living in an ant cave, I always woke up at dawn.’

At that time, if I didn’t go out begging early, I would die of starvation, so my eyes opened by themselves.

But these days, the nightmares I usually dream of rarely come, so it keeps getting worse.

Even the people of the castle did not wake me up, but prepared meals and baths according to my schedule.

“Princess, are you awake?”

The larks rushed in as if they had been waiting and took me to the dressing room.

As I left my body in their hands with a blank face, I was suddenly dressed in a neat indoor dress.

“How was the Imperial Palace?”

“I heard that the Crown Prince is very handsome.”

“Have you met him?”

The larks chattered non-stop the whole time they were braiding my hair in two ponytails.

Now, I see that they were very similar to the children of the imperial family.

The same thing as if even the gestures were copied, or the habit of speaking together as if one person were speaking…

‘Are all twins and triplets like this?’

“Oh, by the way, the Imperial House sent you a present!”

“What?”

‘What do you mean ‘a present’? To me, who came back after refusing the luncheon?’

I thought I heard it wrong, but the larks smiled and brought out a pretty gift box.

“It arrived for the Princess this morning!”

“The Duke has already inspected the content, so feel free to open it.”

Somehow, the box was luxurious, but the ribbon knot was sloppy. 

Alan had opened it and then tied it back up.

I carefully untied the ribbon and opened the lid that was as white as the ribbon.

A faint light rose from inside the box. 

As soon as I confirmed the identity of the gift, I swallowed my saliva without realizing it.

‘It looks delicious!’

Inside the box were shiny sweet treats.

It was obvious that it was the cookies which had been served when I met the emperor.

The larks also recognized the identity of the gift and gathered their heads together.

“Wow, I can feel the magic of the royal family!”

“Is it possible that Her Majesty the Emperor herself granted it?”

‘Maybe it is?’

It was not any other gift, but these were the very cookies I enjoyed eating back then.

‘I turned down the invitation to the luncheon, but instead of scolding me, she even sent me a present?’

I didn’t know if she’s broad-minded or if she had other thoughts…

I didn’t really know what the emperor was like. Maybe my thinking was too twisted?

Then my stomach cried loudly. I blushed in embarrassment. Because I slept for a long time, my hunger had accumulated.

The larks held up the box, making a fuss as if something big had happened.

“Oh my God, the Princess must be hungry!”

“Let’s go eat, Princess!”

“Come on!”

I was troubled, but I held back my growing appetite and closed the lid of the box.

And left the larks behind, exiting the room.

The desire to eat the cookies alone was desperately strong.

But now, there was someone I had to share this delicious snack with.

***

“There was a full moon last night too.” 

When I uttered a conversation starter, Michael giggled as if he had been waiting.

“The full moon always rises during the week when the carnival is held. Didn’t you know that too?”

Michael remained the same.

I wanted to have a friendly conversation before I got to the point, but seeing the way he was speaking, I should just quit it.

‘Let’s hold in, hold it in.’

I suppressed my irritation and opened the gift box.

Maybe he thought there was a bomb in it, as Michael, who was sitting on the window sill, flinched like a cat and shrugged.

“What is that?” 

Whether or not Michael was vigilant, I just shrugged and pulled out a cookie.

“A gift from Her Majesty the Emperor. It’s delicious, so you should eat it too.”

I split a large round cookie in half and handed one piece to Michael.

Michael stared intently at the shiny piece of baked treat, then turned his head.

“I don’t need it.”

“Take one bite. It tastes better than pomegranate.”

“There’s no such thing in the world.”

Michael snapped, but I could feel he was showing interest.

There were no servants in this rustic room, so probably no one had brought him a snack.

“If I don’t take it, I will eat alone.”

I started eating half of the cookie. 

‘Yum yum’.

There was no need to pretend it was delicious to provoke Michael.

Perhaps because I was hungry, the cookie tasted so good and sweet that I thought my tongue would melt.

I ate my share of the cookie to the last bite and waved the other half in front of Michael’s eyes.

It will be lunchtime soon, so Michael must be hungry.

‘Come on, will you still not fall for it?’

Michael glanced at me and mumbled so softly that it was barely audible.

“…Why are you giving this to me?”

“Huh? That’s…”

I rolled my eyes and spit out an absurd excuse.

“These are sweets made by Her Majesty, and since you couldn’t go to the Imperial Palace, I wanted to eat them together with you.”

Illegitimate children were not allowed to enter the Imperial Palace.

So, while the Bauner family and I stayed in the Imperial Palace, Michael returned to the castle alone.

It was a pitiful story. 

Of course, there was not a single ounce of sympathy for Michael in my heart.

‘I wanted to bribe him first because I have something to ask him, but it doesn’t seem to work.’

Michael still had a grim expression on his face.

When I was about to give up and go back, Michael tilted his head toward me.

Then, with his front teeth, he gently bit the tip of the cookie.

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