The Munchkin Princess Wants to Run Away - Chapter 1

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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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“I would prefer that we harbor no expectations beyond what the contract stipulates.”
At the man’s cold words, Ivanna recalled how she had been cast aside in the past and nodded without resistance.
‘As if anyone would ever care for me. I’m nothing but an ordinary face.’
Ivanna concealed her true thoughts with ease, maintaining an composed expression.
What the man—Duke Cedric of House Reynold—was asking for was precisely what she had longed for.
Just ten years old.
Her entire life had collapsed into ruin the moment she failed to manifest the Power that every member of the Royal Family received.
Cast into the Separate Palace with the shame of lacking Power and the scandal of illegitimacy hanging over her.
After that, her parents never sought her out again. This man would surely want the same.
“Even if I become a duchess, there will be little change from my current circumstances.”
With that, Duke Reynold fell silent, as though he had said all there was to say.
Those godlike features—spoken of as though divinity itself had descended—suited his expressionless, icy countenance with an almost supernatural perfection.
Yet none of that mattered to Ivanna. She had far more pressing goals.
To escape this wretched Imperial Palace.
So when Justin, the crown prince and her eldest brother, proposed marriage, Ivanna accepted without hesitation.
When a member of the Royal Family changes their name upon marriage, their Power gradually weakens and eventually fades.
Perhaps God had forgotten her age. Her Power did not manifest until she turned seventeen.
Thanks to that, just before she would have starved to death, Ivanna had escaped the Imperial Palace with her Power and managed to earn money.
Which was precisely why she would never let the Imperial Family know that she still possessed her Power, not even if it killed her.
If they discovered it, she would become nothing more than a propaganda tool, forced to travel the empire on their behalf.
She would sooner die than endure that.
“Is there anything else you require?”
Ivanna looked up from the Marriage Contract, which she had examined meticulously, and asked. The duke was staring at her with an unwavering gaze.
‘There’s nothing on my face.’
The intensity of his stare made her hand flinch. She nearly reached up to wipe her face without thinking.
The contract contained everything she had requested in advance.
“As long as we honor the terms, there’s no need for either of us to feel any embarrassment. I’m busy, so I’ll take my leave.”
Cedric rose from his seat as though he had no time to waste on further pleasantries.
She felt his sky-blue eyes follow her, but he did not slow his pace.
The man, a master of perfect etiquette, departed the room without making a sound.
Alone in the Reception Room, Ivanna first confirmed that no one was within earshot, then lightly flicked her fingers.
Water droplets appeared in the empty air, bubbling softly before spreading like a thin membrane that enveloped the entire room.
‘Perfect.’
Relieved, Ivanna raised the contract high.
“Flawless! I’m finally free of the Imperial Family!!”
She stamped her feet with excitement, her voice ringing out in triumph.
Twenty-four.
She was well past the typical age for engagement and marriage.
Because of that, she had spent countless nights in dread that she would be sold off to some wealthy but unremarkable house—and yet here she was, marrying a duke.
Justin must have taken leave of his senses.
“Brother, what about Mother and Father? Without manifesting a Power, I’m not a member of the Royal Family anymore, am I?”
“Ivanna, no. Of course not. Mother and Father are simply terribly busy. Logan and I have so much to study these days—we’re just occupied, that’s all.”
Ivanna sighed as she recalled Justin, who had found the courage to visit her despite the scrutiny of others.
He had often brought her food and clothing.
Everyone else had abandoned her, but Justin alone had remained by her side.
If this marriage would benefit Justin, then both of them would gain what they desired—a win for everyone.
Ivanna was brimming with confidence that she could live quietly as Duke Cedric wished.
She was already doing so in the Imperial Palace; she could certainly manage it in House Reynold.
And she would receive a monthly Maintenance Allowance of a thousand Gold, no less.
Sola! Anthony!
We’re rich now!!
Ivanna threw her hands up in the air and spun around, unable to contain her joy.
Surely there would be no thieves or unscrupulous bureaucrats there.
Ivanna recalled the pittance she had received from the Imperial Palace budget—never even a tenth of what was allocated.
Of course, it had not always been this way.
After she failed to manifest a Power, the handmaidens who had fawned over her with seeming devotion began, one by one, to change after the day of Power manifestation.
Some had even dared to lay their hands on the budget allocated to the imperial princess.
Ivanna reviewed the contract several times, anxious to miss nothing.
Fortunately, it clearly stated that the Maintenance Allowance would be paid directly to her personal account.
Without needing to purchase luxuries, he would acknowledge her wealth as her own.
‘The price of living quietly, then.’
Ordinarily, a noblewoman’s maintenance allowance would be reclaimed by the family if left unspent.
Keeping up with fashion in dresses was essential, but it was more advantageous to invest in jewelry and ornaments that might become assets later.
Or one had to acquire works by renowned painters.
Personal possessions were recognized as individual property, so should a divorce ever occur, one could take them along.
House Reynold seemed likely to do the same, and she’d drawn up ambitious plans for extravagance—but if he deposited funds monthly into her personal account, there would be no need.
It was fortunate that he wouldn’t be paying her salary in jewels.
Of course, Sola and Anthony wouldn’t expect such things, but still—it felt like a weight had lifted.
Whether this generosity came from marrying into the Imperial Family, or whether Justin had negotiated something behind the scenes, she couldn’t say.
The Marriage Contract that the Duke of Reynold presented contained many clauses favorable to her, save for a few exceptions.
Her eyes, the color of the sky, curved upward in a smile.
“If the price is living quietly, as though I don’t exist—that’s more than enough.”
Tap-tap.
Ivanna tucked the contract into her bag and rose from her seat.
Since she’d entrusted the wedding to the Duke, she wouldn’t have reason to see him again before the ceremony.
‘Things will be quiet for a while.’
Ivanna smiled faintly, withdrew her Power, and left House Reynold in silence.
* * *
“Master.”
Cedric lifted his head at his aide Marcel’s urgent call.
“You must handle this matter first.”
“Didn’t we agree that the Imperial Family would oversee all wedding-related arrangements?”
At the Duke’s listless reply, Marcel fought the urge to clutch at his hair as it seemed to melt away in despair.
“At the very least, you must make some decisions! Surely you don’t intend to leave everything to them, even if this is a marriage to the Imperial Family?”
Marcel laid the ceremonial robes and jewelry designs sent by the Imperial Family before the Duke.
“It appears House Reynold has some weakness the Imperial Family has leverage over. We should be grateful they’ve even incorporated House Reynold’s crest and colors at all.”
When Cedric examined the ceremonial robe design, exactly as Marcel had lamented, the Duke’s House crest and colors appeared in small touches along the collar and cuff edges.
‘The Imperial Family’s crest and colors were placed in the most prominent positions.’
This made it seem not as though a princess were marrying into House Reynold, but rather as though he himself were entering the Imperial Family as a guest.
He’d left the wedding to the Imperial Family to maintain neutrality, yet problems had surfaced nonetheless.
There was always someone eager to overreach.
“I’ll need to make adjustments.”
“Of course!”
Cedric clicked his tongue and rose from his seat. Marcel followed, his cold smile betraying his thoughts of upending the entire ceremonial robe design.
It was the Empress who received Cedric when he visited the Imperial Palace.
Despite his message that he’d come regarding wedding matters, the princess was nowhere to be seen.
“It seems the princess made this mistake out of her overwhelming love for the Imperial Family.”
When Cedric brought up the problem, the Empress offered a benevolent smile and made excuses for the princess.
‘She’s laying all the blame at the princess’s feet.’
He’d thought the Imperial Family would know where to draw the line given the relationship between them, but they’d overstepped considerably.
Cedric decided it might have been cleaner to take control of the wedding himself.
“If the princess felt so inclined, I suppose I should speak with the parties involved.”
“There’s no need for that. She did it willingly, but I intended to offer her some guidance from my end.”
Cedric chuckled at this display—discarding the princess while pushing her blame onto him, yet seeking to monopolize all the benefits.
“The princess seems unskilled in such matters.”
“The poor child’s delicate constitution prevented her from receiving proper instruction.”
The Empress wore a regretful expression, lamenting that the princess had been so sheltered by the Imperial Family that she didn’t understand how the world truly worked.
“I hear a separate Marriage Contract was drawn up, so I’ve had various worries about it.”
At the Empress’s words, spoken with a laugh suggesting the princess was still rather naive, Cedric shook his head.
“The clauses are sound enough to be filed with the Imperial Court of Law without concern.”
He had drawn up a Marriage Contract with the princess separately from the Imperial Family.
It had been a request from Crown Prince Justin.

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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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