The Munchkin Princess Wants to Run Away - Chapter 19

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

“Your Highness, you don’t suppose the Princess is hiding her Divine Power, do you?”
“If you received Divine Power, would you hide it?”
“No. I’d announce it immediately and finally enjoy what I’ve been denied all this time.”
Sedric posed the question, and Marcel answered without a moment’s hesitation.
“She’s endured far harsher treatment than anyone should have to bear in silence.”
At the note of sympathy in his voice, Sedric turned his gaze toward the tent where the Princess would be.
A woman who had slipped out of the Imperial Palace and made contact with a merchant guild.
He’d told Marcel otherwise, but the matter gnawed at him nonetheless.
The report that she’d sold Purified Water had wormed its way into his thoughts like a splinter.
He’d wondered if she’d hired a mage, but closer investigation revealed only a crude Water Purification Device.
A bucket of water that the poor folk in the slums could afford for a single silver coin.
The thought crossed his mind: what if it hadn’t been magic or a purification device at all? But he dismissed the notion just as quickly.
It was a meaningless supposition.
Sedric knew the look in the eyes of those who’d surrendered to despair. The day he’d first seen the Princess, her gaze had been hollow and hopeless.
Without guards to watch her, he could tell she’d slipped out of the Imperial Palace with ease, deceiving all who might have noticed.
Having lived in the Imperial Palace for so long, the Princess would know its secret passages better than anyone.
The same held true at the Duke’s Estate.
Viewed in that light, her transgression became comprehensible.
No member of the Royal Family had failed to receive Divine Power on the Day of Divine Power, nor had any ever regained it afterward.
Deliberating over the Princess’s Divine Power was a waste of time.
“Nip any idle rumors in the bud before they spread.”
“Yes.”
Upon hearing Marcel’s acknowledgment, Sedric moved on.
Once the road blocked by the landslide was repaired, they would have to depart for the next village at once.
The sudden rain had delayed him, but he welcomed it.
As he reached the front of the tent, he paused—voices carried from within.
“The villagers have eaten almost nothing but supplies, you know. It breaks my heart.”
“Now that it’s rained, the crops will grow.”
The Princess was conversing with her handmaid while she dined.
“Only a month, though. How can crops possibly grow in that time?”
“I overheard the mage earlier—apparently the Magical Waterway system here is quite well-maintained.”
At the handmaid’s lengthy explanation, the Princess seemed relieved.
‘How can she worry about others like that?’
Once Sedric learned the Princess was involved with smuggling merchants, he’d hastily investigated what had transpired within the Imperial Palace.
Her allocated budget had been substantial, yet it had never reached her hands.
Only after reading the reports did he understand why she’d been forced to leave the Palace.
After enduring such cruelty in succession, she still wanted to help others?
“Even so, after enduring such a long drought, wouldn’t it be wonderful if they could have at least one day to eat their fill and smile?”
Sedric heard the wistfulness dripping from her words and turned to leave.
“Your Grace, is there something you require?”
A servant carrying the Duke’s meal spotted him and asked, puzzled.
“Tell Marcel to distribute rations to the village.”
“Rations, sir?!”
Sedric swallowed a sigh at the servant’s look of astonishment. What he was doing now was not right.
It conflicted with fairness toward other villages and wasn’t part of the plan.
To the surprised servant, Sedric specified an amount that would not disrupt the schedule.
“I’ll see to it at once!”
The servant’s face brightened at the command. Watching him turn to leave with such satisfaction, Sedric’s brow twitched slightly.
If the Princess reacted with such enthusiasm, he thought, it would be most gratifying. He entered the tent without hesitation.
“You’ve come.”
Ivanna pressed her lips together at the sight of Sedric entering the tent.
Ever since her proposal had been rejected earlier, she’d found it embarrassing to face him. She’d known refusal was coming when she made the offer, but the sting of it was real nonetheless.
After finishing her meal, she turned the pages of her book with a tension that crept into her fingertips.
Flip.
Flip.
Ivanna feigned ignorance, sitting in her chair as she turned another page.
It was a book she’d brought from the Duke’s Estate library. The Duke had noticed her sitting alone in the tent, then made his way to the dining table.
Shortly after, a servant brought the Duke’s meal. Silence filled the tent all the while.
“The road has been repaired, but it may still be unsafe, so we’re scheduled to depart tomorrow morning.”
“Understood.”
Ivanna nodded at something Sedric had said during the meal.
“And this evening, we’ve decided to distribute the provisions we brought to the villagers.”
“What?”
Her pale blue eyes, which had been fixed on the page, widened with surprise. Hadn’t he refused outright before?
She couldn’t believe that the Duke had accepted the proposal, even if it was late.
Wasn’t he supposed to be stubborn?
Ivanna’s gaze met Sedric’s.
“You were concerned the schedule would be disrupted, weren’t you?”
“Those who aided the household deserve proper acknowledgment. It’s only fitting.”
At the Duke’s casual tone, Ivanna’s cheeks flushed slightly.
“This evening, the Duke’s estate cook intends to serve soup and simple dishes to the villagers.”
It was a larger undertaking than she’d expected.
Ivanna found herself at a loss for words.
“Thank you.”
“I didn’t do this for you in particular.”
The moment Ivanna managed to speak, Sedric drew a clear line, his words cutting sharp.
“Even so. You reconsidered.”
She felt the heat rising in her cheeks. Ivanna brought her hands up, cupping her face quietly.
Don’t let this matter to you.
The Duke had only indulged a passing whim. She pressed down hard on the swell rising in her chest.
She couldn’t bear to nurture hopes only to be wounded by them. From the start, this was a relationship in which she’d abandoned any notion of love or affection.
“Think what you will.”
With that, their conversation ended.
‘Thank goodness the Duke is so cold and aloof.’
The scale that had begun to tip righted itself at once.
Ivanna lowered her hands from her face and collected herself.
To imagine such a man could be warm—it was a delusion, and a foolish one at that.
Ivanna’s hair trembled faintly.
She mustn’t expect anything from him again.
Cursing Sedric inwardly, Ivanna turned the pages with such force they crackled loudly.
……
Sedric, having finished his meal, stared at Ivanna intently.
The villagers would receive provisions—so why had her mood shifted?
Surely, however emotionally inattentive he might be, he could discern shifts in another’s temperament.
People were often ruled more by feeling than by logic and reason.
That was precisely why, in any negotiation, the emotional state of those at the table mattered most.
Yet now, if anyone’s mood should be troubled, it ought to be his own.
He’d gone back on his word. He’d said it was well within his means to provide, but he’d never reversed a decision once made.
The princess was making him do things entirely unlike himself.
Sedric listened to the harsh sound of pages turning.
Gradually they grew slower, more gentle—her irritation was beginning to ease.
‘Why should I attend to the princess’s mood?’
In their contractual arrangement, he held the upper hand. Even if he monitored her emotional state during negotiations, the underlying power structure remained unchanged.
The final decision, after all, rested with him.
Sedric rose from his seat, thinking he’d acted foolishly.
Between them, goodwill and interest were unnecessary.
Prolonged cohabitation had simply caused him to turn his attention toward the princess against his will.
Leaving the tent, Sedric walked with long strides toward the landslide site.
He had no desire to be ensnared by pointless emotion and commit another blunder.
He reasoned it was the effect of living alongside the princess, and resolved to approach matters more coldly from here forward.
* * *
“The river’s swollen—I suppose we can’t go any further today.”
Anthony set down the bedding and smiled warmly at Ivanna.
Ivanna shook her head gently, insisting she’d done nothing, but Anthony simply grinned knowingly and began humming tunelessly.
It had been raining without pause for a full week now.
After the landslide, their journey had continued without serious incident.
The rain, which had begun to drizzle the evening they departed the territory, hadn’t stopped for seven days.
Since the first day, she hadn’t used her Divine Power, and yet the rain persisted.
At first, she’d thought she’d misused her Divine Power and had tried to stop the rain. Another landslide would have been troublesome.
But he stopped when he realized the Divine Power wasn’t draining away.
He couldn’t stop the rain that would break the drought.
Even if it overflowed, it felt right that the rain kept falling. The heavens had finally come to their senses.
Ivanna felt both a pang of regret that she wouldn’t need to use her Divine Power, and a wave of relief.

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