Episode 101
Translator : Missme
Editor : Aru
What?
âPrincess?â
Princess? Why all of a sudden?
I opened my mouth when I stared at the man who was suddenly calling out a princess.
âExcuse me, Iâm afraid youâve got the wrong personâ¦.â¦.â
Kwang!
Then the door of the drawing-room opened. The sound was so intense that I thought the door was going to break.
Fortunately, the door was fine. The door was stronger than it looked. Soon after I thought so, I saw a welcome face.
âAsh?â
Ash came straight to me without saying much.
Then he gently wrapped me in one hand and pushed me behind him, pulling out the sword from his waist with the other hand and pointing it at the man.
I was startled.
Whatâs going on here?
The man seemed to be surprised as well. Ash opened his mouth without lowering his sword.
âNoonim.â
Ash has decided to call me noonim only when there are other listening ears. Well, thatâs not whatâs important now.
âYou remember those guys who were after you in the North Forest a while ago?â
âWhat?â
You donât tell me those hitmen?
âThey came down from a kingdom north of the Empire.â
And Ash went on to say something that couldnât be overlooked.
âAnd so does this man.â
What?
I looked at the man in a different sense.
The man did not deny it. However, he only added a strange smile on his face.
ââ¦â¦ could you give me a chance to explain something?â
With the blade in front of his Adamâs apple, he raised his hands silently.
As if to express that he has no intention of harming this side at all.
âPlease.â
I stared alternately at the man and Ash.
And at this time, the word âprincessâ that the man said sounded meaningfully in my head.
Soon after, I nodded.
âLet me give you a formal introduction. My name is Medel Suena.â
The man sitting in the parlour-room chair put his hand on his chest and said calmly.
âIâm the leader of the Countess Suina family of the Viroz Kingdom, which boasts a long history and authenticity, and at the same time assist the king in key royal posts.â
Count Suena.
I gave him a hard look. He took out a seal inscribed with the patterns of the royal family and Countâs family and put it on the table as if he thought I was suspicious of his identity.
I glanced at it and didnât bother to touch it.
The Viroz Kingdom.
When I opened the map, I was greeted by a kingdom in the north of the empire.
Although it is not a friendly country, I remember hearing its name because of its close geographical distance.
I asked Ash.
ââ¦â¦how did you know?â
The men who were after me in the woods came from the northern kingdom, and this man is the same.
Ash answered briefly.
âA native of the northern kingdom has a slightly different accent than an Imperialist.â
âAccent?â
âThatâs right.â
The man was in charge of further explanation.
âItâs fine, but there are differences in pronunciation and emphasis. But even so, the accent heard so fine that thereâs not a lot of people who can tell it apart. You are amazing.â
The man smiled and talked softly as if he wanted to please Ash.
Ash added to me, by the way, without giving the man a proper look.
âThe butler looked into it. I came down as soon as I got the message.â
Aha.
âYou have a competent butler. But I think your Excellency is as sharp as he is. It seems like you were convinced after facing me.â
The man, Count Suena, seemed to have not given up his flattery toward Ash.
Suddenly it was strange.
The Count had been excitedly referred to Ash as a word that was close to blasphemy.
Just now, that one before.
No matter how different their status is, they were usually expressions that might be offensive.
Instead of showing signs of displeasure, the count is acting like a man who is impatient to flatter Ash.
âIs it that important?ââ
What did you come to see me for?
ââ¦â¦so, you want to explain?â
I gave the count a chance to get to the point. Count Suena received my words with a welcome face.
âFirst of all, Iâll tell you the conclusion. The men who had previously targeted the princess are those who were hostile to the royal family.â
I think the most important explanation is missing now. I pointed out.
âWhy do you keep calling me a princess?â
âOh, dear, Iâm sorry.â
The count smiled awkwardly again. Perhaps because of his drooping eyes, he looked quite good when he laughed.
âDo you know the legend handed down to the royal family of the Viroz Kingdom?â
âLegend?â
âItâs a cliche and uninteresting legend.â
The count continued to talk.
âWhen twins are born in the royal family, one side must disappear so that the country does not become ruined.â
âItâs such an inhuman and archaic legend.â
The countâs voice was rather calm, the exact opposite of what his voice contained
âIâm so glad youâre alive, Princess.â
***
I put my arm on the balcony railing blankly.
The dark, shrouded night sky was particularly starry today, but none of it caught my eye.
I had a complicated mind.
âI was a princess.â
This was the case with Count Suenaâs explanation.
My biological mother, the Queen of the Viroz Kingdom, gave birth to twin sisters more than 20 years ago.
The twins born to the royal family are curses that can ruin the country. At least in the Viroz Kingdom.
It is said that the vassals immediately insisted on selecting and killing one of the twins, and my mother opposed the idea, saying, âI canât do that because theyâre a child from my stomach.â
However, the arguments of the vassals were too strong to continue the opposition.
In the end, she left me, who was still a baby, to a trusted aide and sent me away.
On the surface, they get a fake body and pretend that Iâm dead.
Thatâs how time passed. More than 20 years since then.
âTo this day, the legend is gradually losing its power. This is because a counterexample that violates the legend was found in the predecessors.â
ââ¦â¦.â
Her Highness The Queen wants to correct his past mistakes. Although Her Highness was forced to let the little princess leave Her Highness arms, Her Highness now has the power to ignore their protests.
ââ¦â¦.â
âPlease come back to the kingdom. May you come and get back what you should have enjoyed. I came all the way here to serve the princess.â
The night breeze brushed my face.
I didnât feel anything and was still leaning blankly against the railing.
âPrincessâ¦â¦.â
A sudden laugh came out.
When was it? The other day, I had a short private talk about my family while walking down the hallway with Sir Davery. I then recounted the fact that Sir Davery was an orphan and thought I was just as well. My whole biological family went to America, and I made that joke to myself.
âIt wasnât in the United States, it was in the neighbouring country.â
Itâs absurd.
It was just amazing. I thought I was an orphan, but it turns out I was a princess of a kingdom. This is just like a story from a novel.
âWhoo.â
Iâm getting a headache. I was mentally exhausted after suffering from this thought all morning through night.
I relaxed myself leaning on the railing and stretched almost like laundry.
It was then.
ââ¦Ash.â
Ignoring the dark background and the bright white hair caught my view.
Ash gazed at me from under the balcony, whether he heard a little murmur, or whether the purpose was to look this way from the beginning.
And then the next moment the optimum distance came in. I knew what Ash was going to do and opened my eyes wide.
âThis is the 2nd floorâ¦â
â¦â¦ or anything like that, he doesnât care as well.
Ash kicked lightly against a nearby wall and jumped at once to the second-floor railing where I stood.
I canât even see with my own eyes how the wall becomes a stepping stone.
âItâs not even the first time.â
I can feel Deja vu. Although it was not a balcony but a corridor window on the second floor at the time.
Ash sat next to me as if nothing had happened and casually spoke to me.
âIsnât it cold?â
âUhmâ¦â¦â¦..â
I touched how thick the wool shawl I had around my shoulder was. Itâs all right.
âItâs all right. But why did you come out?â
âI was wondering if youâd be doing this.â
What am I doing?n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Well, Iâve been out of my mind ever since Count Suena visited me in the morning.
The butler or Bessie asked what was going on, but I just fumbled.
Ash looked into my face carefully. The persistent gaze made my cheeks glow.
ââ¦â¦you know, Ash.â
I chose to open my mouth instead of avoiding eye contact.
âEung.â
âIâm the princess of the Viroz kingdom. What do you think of this?â
A princess with the modifiers âunfortunateâ and âTwins.â
âWell.â
Ash came up with an answer without much pause.
âDoes it matter?â
ââ¦â¦huh?â
âYouâll soon be the Duchess anyway.â
âââââ