Translator and Editor: Effe and Tea
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Chapter 32 – Danger, Danger (1)
“Um, escape abroad?”
“..Yes?”
Arthur’s voice rose in surprise.
The footsteps stopped again.
“The fortune-teller said so. Leave Stern.”
Arthur looked around and asked in a low voice.
“So, are you really going to run away?”
Sienna asked softly as if in a whisper.
“Would you like to go with me?”
“…..”
When their eyes met, Arthur just stiffened.
His eyes moved dizzyingly, as if to determine whether the princess was playing a prank again.
Or maybe he was really afraid of what she would do if he was sincere.
Obviously, there was no immediate answer.
She ended the brief silence first.
“Just kidding!”
Sienna smiled and walked down the long hallway.
Arthur kept checking to see if she was really joking.
He asked the question a dozen times throughout the walk, and only after receiving an answer did he wipe his chest.
***
“What do you think of His Majesty?”“Maybe to the princess…”
“Shh! Be careful with your words.”
The officials preparing for Walpurgis Night each year were also stunned by the king’s sudden decision.
Since the queen was absent, in principle, it was right for the princess to proceed.
But who is Sienna?
She is locked up in the Princess Palace and rarely comes out, so even in this castle there are few people who know her face.
Over time, she was slowly forgotten, leaving only the image of her interpersonal phobia, incompetence, weakness, and even her appearance.
It was accepted almost as a norm that she rarely accompanied him to official functions because he was embarrassed to show her.
Of course, there were strange rumors lately.
Whether the King went to escort the Princess himself, or she had a good debutante ball.
But it was literally the story.
Prejudice is scary.
Of course, they thought it was an inflated rumor.
Busy with their daily work, they did not have time to face the Princess in person.
The high-ranking nobles and the events they attended were a different story from theirs.
So the Sienna they remembered was only a very young figure.
One of those who murmured over the King’s decision laughed loudly.
In an instant, the atmosphere in the venue relaxed.
“What would the Princess know?”
“I’ve seen her before and she was stuttering.”
“Does she know how to read? Does she read numbers?”
“Haha. Refrain from profane speech.”
“Have you ever seen such an idiot? It’s just us together, what’s wrong?”
At the same time as the banter was circulating inside, Arthur was restless and stomped his feet.
“Pri, Princess?”
Sienna brought her ear closer to the door to hear their loud talk.
Arthur was even more angry that she might be hurt.
“Such rudeness! Tell His Majesty right now and punish him!”
“Leave it.”
She no longer wanted to be recognized or found attractive by anyone.
She had done that enough already.
‘Now there is no need to be noticed.’
The narrower her position, the less she would have to organize later, so it wasn’t too bad.
“Let’s go in.”
“Yes? ”
Leaving Arthur stunned, Sienna slammed the door open.
“Good morning.”
And with a bright smile, she entered with a strong spirit.
Officials stiffened at the sudden appearance of the Princess.
Perhaps someone’s conscience was stabbed because he had been having a fun conversation a while ago.
Someone first came to his senses and poked the person next to him in the side.
And with that, the poking in the side like dominoes began.
After going round and round, they finally bowed their heads as a group.
“Greetings, Princess.”
Sienna, who sat at the head, looked around and said.
“Sit down.”
The officials slowly sat down one by one, watching her.
But in reality, Sienna didn’t think much of it.
She just wanted to finish the duty and return to her room quickly.
“Then shall we receive the report?”
“……… … Ah! Yes!”
The youngest-looking official stood at the far end, ran over, and handed her the papers.
It contained the progress so far.
Sienna took a quick glance and asked the young official who seemed to be her age.
“Is it supposed to go on like this?”
“It has been the same every year… His Majesty said he wanted to make a change this time.”
“Change…..”
Haha, she laughed out loud.
Easy to say.
Even among those who spoke for change, few truly wanted to change.
Sienna was trying to gauge the King’s wretchedness and suddenly feeling her face sting, lifted her head.
The officials then bowed their heads at the same time.
Sienna hid her face behind the papers, because the gazes examining her like self-appointed judges were so burdensome.
Then someone jumped up in the misapprehension that she was hiding because she didn’t understand the paperwork.
“I will explain in detail.”
It was a man with a curled brown mustache.
He didn’t ask and instead began to recite the origins of Walpurgis Night, the size, characteristics, number of people, and budget of the annual event.
However, the explanation did not end there.
Even those sitting next to him turned their heads to the point of yawning.
She tried to listen, but it was too long and boring, so Sienna eventually raised her hand.
“Stop. I’ll stop there.”
The man with the mustache grimaced again and sat down.
But this time, the blonde-haired man sitting on the other side got up and lowered his head.
“We will prepare for Walpurgis Night as we have done every year, so you don’t have to worry about it, Princess.”
As soon as the blonde man finished speaking, the man with glasses on the other side got up and started shooting.
“What does that mean! His Majesty has entrusted this task to the Princess!”
“The Princess is inexperienced, so as servants, we should relieve the trouble. What’s the problem?”
“Are you going to ignore the King’s orders now?”
Sienna pinched her chin and watched the quarrel escalate.
At the same time, she recalled the King’s recent incomprehensible actions.
When she saw the situation, it seemed that she knew the intention.
‘Are you using me?’
She had a hunch.
This is just the beginning. Now, the balance of the castle was obviously leaning towards Pierre.
But not everyone thinks the same.
Although some were holding their breath, there were also those who hated Pierre with his cruel and sensitive nature.
Moreover, conservatives viewed Pierre’s birth background negatively.
But here the King made a gesture as if he was about to overturn the plate.
He was suddenly attracted to the neglected Princess.
She was only entrusted with a small event now, but it was nonetheless unexpected.
The quick-witted began to watch the situation carefully.
Is Pierre’s throne certain?
Does the King have no intention of abdicating?
Aden was secretly trying to restructure the balance of power in a situation under pressure.
What he wants is confusion.
There was no one like Sienna to make a ripple in the stagnant water.
Some would expect that there would be a change in the next throne, and some would feel a crisis and gather forces.
It was a good opportunity to find out who was Stern’s servant and who was Pierre’s.
In addition, confusion among the bureaucrats would soon lead to the strengthening of the royal power.
But Sienna knew.
Pierre becomes the next King of Stern.
The King just wanted to warn Pierre. It’s not his place yet.
In the end, he just needed the word ‘himself’ in order to keep the throne longer.
Sienna felt that Aden’s plan had been properly fulfilled, as they forgot the Princess sitting before them and clashed violently.
‘Should I dance to the rhythm?’
She slammed the table as the papers flew all over her.
“Let’s stop here today.”
On the way home from the meeting, Arthur, who was in deep thought, suddenly asked.
“I wonder if His Majesty will really put the Princess on the throne…….”
“No way. ”
“But it’s apparent that His Majesty’s behavior has changed lately, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know if you remember, but His Majesty said something like that earlier at teatime with Lord Valencia.”
“If it’s tea time with Marquis Valencia…”
“There are many magical places in the Marquis’ estate, so he thinks it will be good for my health. He wants me to live freely there.”
‘Well, my usefulness is to marry Jad.’
At first, she had no expectations for the King.
She accepted it calmly in her own way, but she could hear Arthur’s voice, which had become solemn.
“…… He said that.”
‘Because he’s soft hearted.’
She retorted with laughter.
“It’s a pity for Arthur. If you were Brother’s knight, you would get ahead in the future, but you lined up wrong.”
“Oh, that! Absolutely not. Never! Never!”
Arthur proved his innocence with his whole body, waving his hand.
“Really?”
“Of course. I like it here. I’m not really interested in careers either. I will just be by your side like this.”
“I will not be responsible for your regrets later!”
“Yes, Yes. So please refrain from such talk like escaping abroad. My heart was pounding earlier!”
Sienna was stabbed and turned her back.
“By the way, do I have to go there tomorrow as well?
“Because there is not much left until the event.”
As she pondered, she shook her head.
“It’s too noisy.”
“I agree.”
***
‘Ah, what is our Dandelion doing?’
Yesterday was tolerable, but today the symptoms have gotten worse.
As soon as she opened her eyes, her peach fairy’s face lit up her mind and she had to listen to Shushu nagging her to focus.
After receiving a headbutt without any sense of getting hit, she resumed her strange training.
Her whole body was throbbing, and she went to the venue trembling after her breakfast.
Arthur looked around and carefully whispered.
“Xeon Howard wants to see the Princess.”
“Ah, come to think of it, I haven’t seen him lately.”
“It looks like he went on vacation for a few days. He said he would see the Princess soon.”“Tell him I’ll see him at the library. By the way, there is something I want to ask him.”
“When would be good?”
“The dawn after the Walpurgis night, let’s do that.”
***
The hall was always noisy.
Boring explanations she didn’t want to hear and didn’t know why she should, officials fighting when they meet.
Even in the midst of the chaos, some young officials demanded a new project.
Sienna looked at the white paper fluttering like snow and thought of Dandelion, who had been like an angel on the third day of her debutante.
Surrounded by tumult, she remembered his straight and pretty fingers.
As she looked casually at the sky beyond the window she was reminded of the azure shirt he once wore.
‘Oh no. It’s serious.’
She knew, but her knowledge didn’t change anything.
‘Haa, I want to play! It’s such a nice day ‘
On this beautiful afternoon, she wondered how long she should allow for listening to this pointless discussion without any fun or emotion.
The officials sitting on both sides left her alone and began to fight hard as if they had really forgotten her existence.
Only a few of the young officials sitting on the edge looked at Sienna.
After hours, they still hadn’t been able to settle their differences on just what kind of alcohol they would have to prepare.
‘Is this something to fight about?’
Sienna grabbed her pen, alternating between the folder she received yesterday and the blank paper.
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Advanced Chapters!
Rate the novel on Novel Updates.
Join our discord to receive the latest updates as soon as possible!