The Munchkin Princess Wants to Run Away - Chapter 21

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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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“If you were the Emperor, could you simply allow an abandoned imperial princess to work miracles in the Southern Region?”
At the Duke’s earnest question, the Count fell silent.
“Yet even after the marriage, hasn’t the Imperial Family remained quiet?”
The Imperial Family, which seemed poised to make various demands of the Ducal Household under the pretext of the princess, had thus far held their tongue.
“The Crown Prince has agreed to handle it within reasonable bounds.”
Cedric recalled the Crown Prince. They did not share a particularly deep personal bond. Yet the Prince had entrusted his younger sister to him.
He seemed to care for the princess in his own way.
“I have heard rumors that the Crown Prince has always been different toward the youngest princess since childhood.”
There were many tales circulating about the eldest prince carrying the young princess around the garden day after day.
“Still, if rumors grow that the princess possesses Divine Power, his heart may change. Be more cautious.”
“Understood. And my wife has requested a Tea Time with Her Highness. Would that be acceptable?”
Cedric hesitated at the hopeful expression on the Count’s face. The Countess had been his tutor in etiquette since childhood, but she was also a skilled mage of the Ducal Household.
He could not possibly refuse a request from an old vassal family.
“I grant it.”
The Count’s expression brightened at once.
“Since we shall finally have a guest, my wife will be delighted.”
The Count left the office with a cheerful face.
* * *
“I hear peculiar rumors are circulating in the Southern Region.”
“Duke Reynold is conducting an inspection of his territory.”
Justin White Windsor answered the Emperor’s question with courtesy. The two men were taking tea in the Emperor’s private reception chamber.
Justin, with sky-blue hair reminiscent of Ivanna and vivid violet eyes, offered a gentle smile.
“Are you still worried about your youngest sister?”
“Father. How could I let go of my sister?”
At his sorrowful tone, the Emperor’s eyes wavered for a moment.
“She is already married. She has left our household.”
“Even so.”
Justin’s eyes crinkled slightly, as if he understood his father’s coldly spoken heart.
“We did our best for her marriage, so she will not be dissatisfied.”
At his father’s words that he had procured the finest match for her, Justin faltered. Since the Day of Divine Power, Father had not once laid eyes on his youngest sister’s face.
Justin swallowed the sigh rising in his throat and reluctantly nodded.
“It only rains in the Southern Region.”
The Emperor gazed out at the sky beyond the reception chamber. The summer sky was clear and brilliant.
The Capital had not seen rain for a month.
Rain and his youngest.
Ivanna had not received Divine Power.
When his youngest, whom he had cherished more than his own eyes, had failed to receive Divine Power, the Emperor felt as though his very lifeblood drained away.
For a moment, he had suspected the Empress’s infidelity, but that was a misunderstanding.
He had conducted paternity tests countless times, and Ivanna was indeed his daughter.
A mistake of God. An omission.
The Emperor himself could not find words to define what had transpired.
He had resolved to love her regardless, but fierce condemnation arose against a member of the imperial family without Divine Power.
The Emperor had been consumed with suppressing the matter.
The Empress was no different.
It was not that they had ceased to love that child.
Time could not be turned back, and the girl had married into a good family.
He believed he had done his duty.
“There is no possibility she has received Divine Power again, is there?”
“We have confirmed it several times. She has no Divine Power.”
Justin smiled bitterly at his father’s remorseful tone. No report had come that Ivanna possessed Divine Power.
“I wish the Heavens would take pity on that child. But we must prevent Reynold from acquiring excessive power.”
Steel entered the Emperor’s voice, which had been full of sympathy.
“This drought relief may be the crucial breakthrough. If we act hastily, won’t the resentment turn toward the Imperial Family?”
“The object of resentment is not fixed.”
Justin caught his breath at his father’s cold words.
“You are being too harsh on Ivanna.”
“She is of the imperial blood. She must fulfill her role.”
The man full of regret and sympathy shifted into the one seated upon the Emperor’s throne.
Justin’s hands clenched into fists at his father’s icy demeanor.
The Imperial Family was a place where I, too, might be discarded if any grounds for disqualification were discovered.
I was grateful to have entrusted my brother to Duke Reynold.
The Duke was cold, but he was not a man to break his contracts.
The Cedric Reynold I knew was someone who protected his household’s people with absolute rigor.
A true nobleman who understood duty and obligation.
Justin bowed his head at his father’s command to keep his ear to the Southern Region.
As always, he felt the hollow frustration of it, but there was no remedy.
* * *
“Where is the Imperial Princess?”
Cedric looked out at the darkened evening and asked his attendant while reviewing the Ducal Household’s reports.
“She is in her bedchamber, sir.”
Again, she hasn’t left her room.
Since arriving at the Ducal Household, it had rained frequently, yet the Princess was always confined to her chamber.
Though it was what he had desired, Cedric found himself thinking that she spent an excessive amount of time shut away.
By his standards, a healthy person could not remain indoors all day.
Click.
As he entered the bedchamber, the Princess—already prepared for sleep—met him with a startled expression.
“You’ve returned.”
“You’re still awake at this hour.”
“I was just about to fall asleep.”
Cedric studied the Princess’s face carefully. She showed no signs of fatigue or strain.
After exchanging greetings, the Princess tidied her nightgown and moved toward the bed.
“Countess Lavern has requested Tea Time with you tomorrow.”
“With me?”
“Yes.”
At his words, the Princess’s eyes widened. Cedric found himself unable to look away from those sky-blue eyes, brimming with curiosity and anticipation.
“Countess Lavern is a retainer who has long served the Ducal Household.”
Cedric quickly averted his gaze and spoke.
“I understand.”
The Princess paused for a moment, then nodded.
“I’m not forcing you.”
It would be better than continuing to spend her time in the bedchamber.
He knew it was meddling beyond his place, but for her health, it was an unavoidable choice.
Even a healthy person grows weary and listless without movement. And wasn’t the Princess physically delicate?
Cedric genuinely believed the Princess was frail, and he was convinced that to remedy this, she needed at least some daily activity.
A sound body houses a sound mind. This was an eternal truth.
“But since you’ve already granted permission for the Tea Time, I cannot withdraw it.”
“I apologize for not asking your wishes beforehand.”
At his apology, the Princess stared at his face for a long moment, then said it was fine and slipped beneath the blankets.
Why wasn’t she pleased?
Wasn’t she tired of staying only in her room?
Cedric clenched his fists. He shouldn’t be giving her attention. That downturned mouth, those lowered brows, the way she turned her back to him—it all grated on him.
……
Cedric, who had meant to tell the Princess about Countess Lavern, found himself unable to speak.
With her back turned and lying in bed, the Princess seemed unwilling to continue their conversation.
It was a clear rejection.
He had been inattentive due to his busyness, but he hadn’t expected to be ignored to this degree.
‘We are not people who need to converse.’
Intellectually, he knew this, but seeing the Princess turn away so blatantly left him with an odd feeling.
And yet he could say nothing, perhaps because she was his wife.
He could not be the sort of man who treated his wife carelessly.
As long as the Princess honored the agreement between them, he could overlook such trivial matters.
Granting the Tea Time was itself an act of goodwill toward Countess Lavern, who had long served the Ducal Household.
True, it had been his mistake not to ask the Princess’s wishes beforehand.
But since she had also consented, there should be no problem—yet his mood had been dampened for no reason.
Rustle.
At the sound of fabric, the blankets shifted slightly.
Cedric leisurely removed his jacket and shirt.
With each of his movements came the soft scrape of cloth and the quiet fall of garments to the floor, filling the room with sound.
“Won’t you leave again?”
“Yes.”
Ordinarily he would have attended to other matters until dawn, but tonight held no such appeal.
“Sleep first.”
Cedric walked deliberately toward the bed as he spoke.
The princess buried beneath the blankets gave a small nod—the quilt trembled faintly in response.
He gazed at her bundled form, small and compact as a ball of cotton, then turned toward the bathroom.
“Phew.”
The moment Cedric disappeared into the bathroom, Ivanna released the breath she’d been holding and poked her face out from under the covers.
“Why is he suddenly going to bed early?”
A faint splash of water echoed from beyond the bathroom door. Ivanna’s lips jutted out in protest. Tea Time, of all things. She couldn’t believe it.
And now she was supposed to lie in bed beside him without having slept in ages. The small sound of running water from the bathroom roared in her ears like thunder.
Ivanna stared fixedly at the bathroom door.

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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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