The Munchkin Princess Wants to Run Away - Chapter 9

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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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“Please visit often. When I don’t see the beautiful Ivanna, my work efficiency suffers dreadfully.”
Ivanna looked up from the documents, breaking into laughter at the sight of Elisa rubbing her cheek against her own face.
“Nonsense. You manage perfectly well without me.”
“But looking at someone lovely gives me strength.”
“Elisa is far prettier than I am—what are you talking about?”
Hair like a roaring torch, burning red; eyes the color of crimson, brimming with confidence.
Elisa possessed a beauty that turned every head and a figure as taut and vital as spring itself.
By comparison, I was nothing but skin and bone, bleached pale as bone itself.
My expression naturally conveyed helplessness, even pity—no matter how I scowled or tensed my features, I could never muster an air of menace.
‘If I don’t keep my wits sharp, I’ll be the sort of face swindlers target.’
In truth, when I first established the Merchant Company, all manner of unsavory types had attached themselves to me.
I’d had to start the business with barely enough coin to purchase a meager bowl of soup with the thinnest broth.
Yet there were those who coveted even such pittance.
“Goodness, Ivanna! Had you ever graced society, the noble houses would have lined up to offer marriage!”
Even at this wedding, rumors flew that an angel had descended from the heavens!
Unable to contain her exasperation, Elisa pulled me into a tight embrace.
Someone needed to recognize and cherish the true worth of this beautiful, lovely princess.
That is why I had devoted myself to concealing her power and protecting her path toward meeting someone worthy of love.
Yet of all men, it had to be the cold and barren Reynold—the Imperial Court had sold its princess to the highest bidder like a common good.
When news of the princess’s marriage spread through the Capital, none had burned with more fury than Elisa.
A deficient princess lacking Authority—she’d expected them to consign me to a convent, not suddenly arrange a marriage.
Had I known beforehand, I would have maneuvered to marry off some decent fellow from another house instead!
In her eyes, Reynold was a man with neither blood nor tears flowing through him.
The ultimate weapon raised by House Reynold—save for the royal family blessed with Authority, he was the strongest person on the Continent.
A monster who had ascended to Transcendence at a mere twenty years of age.
The previous Duke had relinquished his title the instant his son achieved Transcendence, withdrawing to his Territory.
He had believed his son would make House Reynold—already formidably powerful—even stronger still.
True to the former Duke’s hopes, the current Reynold had transformed his house into a force rivaling the Imperial Court itself.
“If anyone should be fielding marriage proposals, it’s Elisa. Why are you still unwed?”
Oblivious to the fire burning in her chest, Ivanna laughed with widened eyes.
“I’ll be staying late tonight, so I’ll help you sort through as many documents as I can manage.”
“Please visit as often as possible.”
As she gazed upon the gentle Ivanna, Elisa spoke with tears gathering in her eyes. The fault lay with the Imperial Court for neglecting such a capable princess.
“I will.”
Ivanna nodded with a smile, meeting those imploring scarlet eyes.
Elisa had cherished and adored me for longer than a mere day or two.
Having received permission to venture out when accompanied by my guards, I harbored no intention of remaining tethered to the Duchy for long either.
‘Perhaps my absence will sit better with the Duke as well.’
There was no place for me in the Imperial Palace or in this Duchy.
It might have been better had I never been born at all.
Ivanna swallowed the darkness in her heart as she gazed upon the bustling scene she had missed for so long.
* * *
“The Duke, it seems, lacks the leisure to scrutinize even the lowest corners of his domain.”
A month had already slipped past since I first began slipping away in secret.
In all that time, I had harbored hope that my circumstances might improve, yet nothing had changed.
A liar.
“No matter how tremendous the strength Her Majesty possesses, her gaze does not extend to the gutters of the street.”
At Ivanna’s murmur, Sola answered with a bitter smile. The Imperial Court was no different.
Even the royal family themselves had seen the youngest princess treated with such injustice, yet they feigned ignorance.
“This is merely what we expected to happen. You have little choice but to venture out frequently—it follows the plan. How would you feel about some seafood this evening?”
Anthony dismissed the matter without concern, noting that his experience in the Imperial Palace was scarcely different from this.
“I like the sound of it. Since the Duke wished for quiet, dining out is preferable to causing upheaval.”
At the mention of seafood, Ivanna’s eyes brightened. She found herself imagining a savory broth brimming with tender morsels of the sea.
The Duke had instructed me not to leave the Duchy until guards were assigned to me, though guards might never be appointed until the day I died.
“Rather than risk the Duke’s notice, it would be best to execute that plan we discussed before with all speed.”
“I shall make a show of frequenting the manor while appearing to remain within its walls.”
“Would you do that for me?”
At Anthony’s words, Ivanna’s expression brightened.
If only I could avoid the Duke’s detection, perhaps everything might yet work out.
Only Anthony, who managed the entirety of her daily affairs, would occasionally wander the estate, so she could avoid suspicion that she was never there.
Sola handled not only matters related to the Merchant Company but also gathered various other intelligence, so she rarely showed her face within the Duchy.
“We must avoid suspicion. Let’s take a garden stroll once a week.”
Ivanna found herself smiling at the thought of stepping outside the Duchy, which was no different from the Imperial Palace itself.
‘Since they gave me the pretext first, no one can complain if I go out frequently.’
Ivanna’s lips curved with satisfaction. The safety the Duke had mentioned was protected by his Authority, so there was no problem.
“Just to be safe, let’s wait a few days. The butler warned me to be careful.”
That day, the three of them dined at the Capital’s most famous seafood restaurant.
The next morning, after finishing a meal made from food she’d prepared in advance, Ivanna surveyed her surroundings.
Even the maid who came to clean was no longer appearing.
When she told the head maid the truth, the woman said she would punish the other servants.
But no one came to clean.
So she was helping Anthony clean quickly using her Authority.
“Let’s stay holed up here until lunch, then head to an expensive restaurant for dinner.”
“Very good.”
Ivanna couldn’t hide her regret at the pleased expressions on both their faces. They were undoubtedly receiving treatment even worse than what she endured.
“Since I’m here anyway, I should visit the Library.”
She wondered if there might be unusual books in the Duchy’s Library that she hadn’t found in the Imperial Court collection.
At the curiosity gleaming in Ivanna’s eyes, Anthony had no choice but to nod.
After the three of them finished the meal they’d brought with them, they rested for a moment.
“I don’t want to eat lunch in this dreary reception room. Let’s go now.”
Ivanna, who had been regarding the dull reception room, sprang to her feet and headed toward the Library.
The servants they passed in the corridors avoided her as though encountering plague itself.
They offered formal greetings, but showed no deference toward the Duchess.
‘Pathetic.’
Ivanna swallowed her scorn at treatment no different from what she had endured in the Imperial Court.
The more concentrated power was, the more sensitive people were to strength.
Perhaps that was why she—voiceless, powerless in word—was always an object of contempt.
“Do you think I’ve ever brushed the Duke’s sleeve?”
The moment she turned the corner toward the Library, a mocking voice echoed from behind.
‘Why would I brush his sleeve? He has no use for me.’
She had never even imagined that Duke Reynold would father a child with her.
She would simply remain a Duchess in name only; if he ever brought a bastard to the Duchy, she need only acknowledge the child’s claim to succession.
He had brought the Imperial Princess precisely because it benefited House of Reynold—Cedric Reynold held no expectations of her whatsoever.
Their marriage was a transaction, not something founded on love or any genuine affection.
‘I suspect it’s the same for everyone else.’
Ivanna thought of the Duke for the first time in a long while.
‘He’s handsome enough, but he seems quick to anger. Not particularly appealing.’
She completed her assessment of the Duke as she walked the corridor.
“The harassment here is certainly simpler than at the Imperial Court. If it stays like this, life seems quite livable.”
“What?”
As the distance between them grew, Anthony spoke with playful irreverence.
Ivanna broke into a soft laugh at the impish expression on Anthony’s face.
“Besides, the Imperial Court never provided funds on time. At least the Duke properly manages our stipends.”
“Do you think he won’t reduce the maintenance allowance later if he finds out you’re not doing anything?”
“It’s a line item in the contract, so he can’t touch it.”
Ivanna laughed again at Anthony’s suspicious look. Her clear laughter rang out in the quiet space.
At the sound of her laughter, a door somewhere on the upper floor closed silently and swiftly.

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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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