chapter 13
As much as I had half expected it, neither Leonard nor I triggered the barrier around the Princess Palace.
Whether his magical abilities were beyond imagination or the priests and mages who had set up the barrier were simply incompetent, we arrived in my study in the blink of an eye.
Either way, as the princess, I ought to cooperate in improving the abilities of the kingdom’s mages and priests.
I came to the conclusion that I should revoke every vacation request submitted by those who had worked day and night for this banquet and lock them all inside the Magic Tower and the Temple.
Then I turned my attention to the scoundrel who was trying to ruin Singcaster.
Having already withdrawn his magic, he was casually looking around my study.
How could he shamelessly look around as if it were his own house?
Soon he approached my desk and flicked a stack of documents with his finger.
“You’ve got mountains of paperwork here… Do you ever sleep? Come to think of it, I heard you practically handle all of Singcaster’s internal affairs.”
“Stop analyzing my study!”
I stepped in front of Leonard to block his view. Not that I actually managed to hide much.
At that moment, perhaps having heard the commotion from outside, Abigail called out.
“Your Highness?”
It was only natural for her to be confused. A voice had suddenly appeared in a room that had been empty moments ago.
“Your Highness, did you perhaps go out and come back? May I come in?”
“Just a moment.”
I had secretly gone out on my own several times before. It was all to change the original story.
At first, Erdan had nearly fainted at the thought of the carefully raised princess wandering around outside and tried to keep me under strict supervision. But after a year, he gave up.
After hearing that I was doing it to protect Singcaster, he had even started helping me.
So the white owls searching for me earlier probably never imagined I had been kidnapped.
“...Should I head back now?”
Standing before my flustered self, Leonard silently mouthed the words.
“Yes. I’ll call for you next time.”
If we stayed together any longer, it would only invite misunderstandings, so I quickly pushed him toward the window.
Leonard looked at me as if I were ridiculous.
“You’re telling me to leave through the window?”
“You came in through the window when you kidnapped me. Figure it out.”
Fortunately, Leonard obediently climbed onto the windowsill like a well-behaved cat. After straightening his disheveled clothes, he turned around to look at me.
“Tomorrow morning. I’ll be waiting to hear from you.”
Having practically set the appointment himself, he promptly jumped out the window.
For a moment, I wondered if he had fallen flat on the ground and hurriedly looked down below, but there was no sign of him anywhere.
Only the faint trace of his scent lingered at the tip of my nose.
“Your Highness?”
The voice calling for me came again from outside.
“Ah, yes… Come in.”
“I was so startled when you suddenly disappeared. Where in the world did you go?”
The moment Abigail entered my room, she began another lecture about my habit of wandering off.
There’s a saying that the sister-in-law who tries to stop a fight is more annoying than the mother-in-law who starts it.
Dorothy only made things worse, insisting that I should be understood because I went outside “as often as her brother went clubbing.”
Unable to listen to the two of them bickering any longer, I finally shouted:
“Both of you, stop already!”
Because I was hungry.
Being kidnapped and then returning home was exhausting work, and it left me starving.
I stuffed the cookie Dorothy handed me into my mouth and asked,
“Abigail, did my brother or Aurora come looking for me?”
Though she shot me a glare, Abigail still handed me a glass of juice and told me to eat more slowly.
“That’s exactly why the white owls were looking for you. If you had only disappeared for half a day, everyone would have assumed it was one of your usual outings. But you sent a letter and then vanished. Naturally, they were worried.”
“Your Highness, His Majesty the King and the Saintess have arrived.”
Speak of the devil.
The announcement of their arrival came from outside.
“Show them in.”
I swallowed the rest of the cookie and ushered Erdan and Aurora into the study.
“Charlotte, where exactly did you go?”
The moment he entered, Erdan grabbed my hand instead of sitting down and carefully examined me from head to toe.
Apparently he didn’t notice the cookie crumbs around my mouth. He kept smoothing my dress and hair instead.
“Good heavens. Your dress is wrinkled, and your hair is a mess. For you to suddenly disappear like this—”
“It’s happened many times before, Your Majesty.”
“...That’s true.”
Aurora’s blunt interruption made Erdan concede awkwardly.
Honestly, that friend of mine had absolutely no tact. One day I was going to find one of her faults and report it to the Head Priest.
Grumbling inwardly, I nevertheless put on an apologetic expression.
“I’m sorry, Brother. From now on, I’ll tell you where I’m going before I leave.”
“I’ve heard that promise more times than I can count. I think it’s about time I stopped believing it.”
After sitting down on the sofa, Erdan pulled a letter from inside his jacket.
Naturally, Aurora produced the same letter.
It was the note Eric had dropped—the one saying that a tracking spell and barrier magic had been placed on it and asking them to come as soon as possible.
Setting the letter on the table, Erdan’s beautiful green eyes filled with concern.
“I heard a little from Miss Sara. She said it was extremely difficult to undo the magic on it. What exactly happened?”
Holding her own letter, Aurora added,
“Sara said you seemed deep in thought after reading it. Then you disappeared from the study. It sounds like you figured something out. Am I wrong, Char?”
I couldn’t answer.
We had gone through many things together while changing the original story, but I still didn’t know enough to casually reveal that I had met another transmigrator.
As I hesitated, a sigh mixed with amusement escaped Erdan.
“You’re going to start talking about your ‘past life’ again, aren’t you? Like with Nox Glaston.”
“Well…”
The truth was, I had once told Erdan and Aurora that I was originally a Korean and that this world existed inside a novel.
The two of them had found it strange how I always managed to navigate every crisis so smoothly, and eventually I had no choice but to tell them about my past life.
But neither of them had believed me. In the end, I had laughed it off as a joke.
“That can’t be it. I told you that was a joke, remember? There are still some things I’m not certain about. Please just give me a little more time.”
“Of course we can wait. We know that everything you do is for our sake and for Singcaster.”
At their words, I smiled faintly.
“Thank you for trusting me. I can’t explain everything right now, but I promise I’ll tell you what happened soon.”
That’s right. Even if that prince was another transmigrator like me, I wouldn’t tolerate him if he threatened the safety of Singcaster.
I had worked far too hard to change this world.
Holding both Erdan’s and Aurora’s hands tightly, I steeled my resolve once more.
Very early the next morning, I quietly asked Abigail to send Leonard a letter requesting a meeting.
Then, after practicing the Ramas breathing technique to strengthen my mind and body, I washed up with solemn determination and entered the powder room.
In romance-fantasy novels, heavy makeup, large gemstone accessories, and extravagant dresses were the standard way to establish dominance.
“Make my makeup bold.”
“Who are you meeting?”
“The Sixth Prince of Blake.”
To be honest, those tricks might work on noble ladies, but I doubted they would have any effect on a prince.
Even so, I put on my own version of battle armor.
After several maids worked their magic, the woman reflected in the mirror looked so intimidating that even a shop owner would flee if she came in demanding a refund.
“Your Highness, I don’t think this is going to make the prince like you.”
Dorothy looked distressed, but I merely snorted.
“I’m not going there to be liked. I’m going into battle.”
Then I slipped several enchanted rings onto my fingers—one on each finger of my right hand and two on the middle and ring fingers of my left.
Aurora, who had barged into my room uninvited that morning, twisted her face into a strange expression.
“Char, those rings look more like a gauntlet than jewelry.”
“Really? That’s a relief.”
I had no intention of throwing punches, but looking like I might was the important part.
As I smiled brightly, Aurora shot to her feet and placed her hands on her hips.
“I knew this would happen, which is why I came. You know that prince, don’t you? The one you disappeared to meet yesterday?”
