A Blend of Romance and Fantasy - Chapter 13

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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13.
I’d half expected it, but neither Leonard Blake nor I triggered the barriers protecting the Princess Palace.
Whether his magical prowess exceeded imagination or the Priesthood and Mages who’d erected the barriers were simply inadequate, we arrived at my Study in the blink of an eye.
As Princess, I really ought to cooperate in raising the competency of the Mages and Priesthood.
I resolved to confiscate every vacation voucher those who’d labored ceaselessly for this Banquet Hall had earned, and lock them away in the Magic Tower and Temple.
Then my gaze shifted to the scoundrel intent on destroying Sincester.
Having already withdrawn his magic, he was now leisurely surveying my Study with an unblemished expression.
How could he examine it so brazenly, as though it were his own home?
Presently, he approached my desk and flicked the stack of documents with a finger.
“Mountains of paperwork… do you actually sleep? I’ve heard you manage all of Sincester’s domestic affairs.”
“Don’t analyze my Study!”
I positioned myself in front of Leonard Blake to obstruct his view. Not that it would conceal much anyway.
That’s when Abigail’s voice came from beyond the Study door, having heard our commotion.
“Your Highness?”
It was natural to be bewildered—a voice suddenly emerging from a place that had been empty.
“Your Highness, have you just returned from going out? May I enter?”
“Just a moment.”
I’d frequently made secret outings. It was necessary to alter the original story.
Initially, Erdan had been horrified, attempting to restrain me—a delicately raised Princess—from wandering. But after a year, he’d given up.
Once he heard it was to protect Sincester, he even began cooperating.
So the White Owls searching for me earlier likely hadn’t mistaken my absence for a kidnapping.
“…Should we leave?”
Leonard Blake whispered silently with his lips, watching my flustered state.
“Yes. I’ll call you next time.”
Being together here would invite unnecessary misunderstandings, so I hastily pushed him toward the Window.
Leonard Blake then asked, bewildered.
“Are you telling me to exit through the Window right now?”
“You entered through the Window when you kidnapped me. Just go carefully.”
Fortunately, Leonard Blake climbed onto the windowsill as gracefully as a docile cat. After tidying his disheveled clothing, he turned to face me.
“Tomorrow morning. I’ll wait for your contact.”
Having made an appointment entirely on his own terms, he soon leaped from the Window.
Fearing he’d crashed to the ground, I rushed to peer below the Window, but there was no trace of Leonard Blake anywhere.
Only his lingering scent, which had been hovering near the tip of my nose, remained faintly behind.
“Your Highness?”
I heard her voice calling me again from outside.
“Ah, yes… come in.”
* * *
“I was quite startled when you suddenly disappeared. Where on earth had you gone?”
The moment Abigail entered my Room, she began scolding me relentlessly about where I’d wandered off to.
They say a sister-in-law who scolds is more irritating than a mother-in-law who strikes.
Dorothy took it even further, insisting I understand that the Brother frequented the outside world “like he was clubbing,” as if that justified everything.
Unable to bear listening to the two of them bicker back and forth, I finally shouted.
“Everyone, stop it!”
I was starving.
Being kidnapped and returning was an exhausting and hunger-inducing ordeal.
I hastily shoved the cookie Dorothy handed me into my mouth and asked.
“Abigail, did the Brother and Aurora not search for me?”
Abigail squinted at me while slowly offering a glass of juice, gesturing for me to eat more carefully.
“That’s precisely why the White Owls found the Princess. If it had been only half a day, they would have dismissed it as one of the Princess’s typical outings, but since you disappeared after sending a letter, they couldn’t help but worry.”
“Princess, His Majesty the King and the Saint have arrived.”
As the saying goes, speak of the devil—word came from outside that the two of them had arrived.
“Show them in.”
I swallowed the cookie in my mouth hastily and led Erdan and Aurora into the Study.
“Charlotte, where on earth have you been?”
The moment he entered, Erdan grabbed my hand instead of sitting on the sofa, inspecting me thoroughly from top to bottom.
He didn’t seem to notice the cookie crumbs around my mouth, only continuously smoothing down my dress and hair.
“Good heavens. Your dress is wrinkled and your hair is disheveled. It’s unusual for you to disappear so abruptly like this.”
“It has happened frequently, Your Majesty.”
“…That’s true.”
At Aurora’s sharp remark, Erdan nodded with an awkward expression.
That friend of mine really has no flexibility whatsoever. I’ll have to find some fault with him one day and report it to the Saint.
I grumbled inwardly while putting on an apologetic face.
“I’m sorry, Brother. From now on, I’ll inform you of my destination before going out.”
“How many times have I heard that promise? I think it’s time I stopped expecting it.”
Erdan sat on the sofa and produced a letter from his pocket, showing it to me.
Of course, Aurora was also holding an identical letter.
It was the note Eric had dropped, which had tracking and barrier magic cast upon it—a letter asking me to come immediately whenever I had time.
Erdan set the letter on the table, his beautiful green eyes clouded with worry.
“I heard some details from Magician Sarah. She said it was extremely difficult to dispel the magic that was cast. What exactly happened?”
Aurora added another word while holding the letter.
“Sarah said you seemed to be thinking intently about something after reading the letter. Then you disappeared from the Study, so it seems you must have discovered something. Am I wrong, Charlotte?”
I couldn’t answer.
While I had done many things alongside changing the original story, I hadn’t yet obtained any information to confidently claim I’d encountered another transmigrator.
As I hesitated, a sigh tinged with laughter escaped from Erdan.
“Are you about to bring up that ‘past life’ story again? Like with Knox Glaston?”
“That’s….”
In truth, I had once confessed to Erdan and Aurora that I was from South Korea and that this place was inside a novel.
Erdan and Aurora found it strange how I navigated through multiple crises so smoothly, and ultimately I had no choice but to bring up the past life story.
But the two of them didn’t believe me. In the end, I could only brush it off as a joke.
“That can’t be. You said it was a joke, didn’t you? There are just some things I’m uncertain about, and I’d appreciate it if you could wait a little longer.”
“Of course I can wait. I know that everything you do is for us and for Sincester.”
At their words, I let out a soft laugh.
“Thank you for trusting me. I can’t speak of it right now, but I promise to tell you what happened very soon.”
That Sixth Prince—no matter that he shared my predicament as a possessor, if he threatened Sincester’s safety, I would not hold back. Not after I’d worked so hard to reshape this world.
I grasped Erdan and Aurora’s hands firmly, steeling my resolve once more.
* * *
Early in the morning, I quietly asked Abigail to send Leonard Blake a letter requesting a meeting.
After steadying my mind and body with Lamas-style breathing, I washed myself with reverent care and entered the Powder Room.
Heavy makeup, large jeweled accessories, and an elaborate dress—these were the unwritten rules of intimidation in Rofan.
“Make my makeup bold.”
“Who are you meeting with?”
“The Sixth Prince of Blake.”
I wondered if such tactics would even work before a prince, unlike with noble ladies, but…
Still, I donned my own formidable armor.
Reflected in the mirror after the maids’ masterful work, I looked like someone who would make even a shopkeeper flee if I came demanding a refund.
“Your Highness, I’m not sure this will make a good impression on the Sixth Prince.”
Dorothy’s face fell, but I scoffed.
“I’m not going to look good. I’m going to war.”
I then slipped several enchanted rings onto my right hand—one on each finger—and onto my left hand on my middle and ring fingers.
Aurora, who had invaded my room without warning, contorted her face into a strange expression.
“Charlotte, those rings look almost like gauntlets.”
“Really? Thank goodness.”
I wouldn’t throw a punch, but it was important to look like I might.
As I smiled brightly, Aurora sprang to her feet and placed her hands on her hips.
“I came here for this very reason. You and that Sixth Prince—you actually know each other, don’t you? Yesterday when you disappeared, you went to meet him, didn’t you?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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