TROWFT 03

Chapter 03

After arriving in the capital from the Berwen Ducal Territory.

I looked at the pile of letters pouring in and held my forehead for a moment.

‘One set is from the military, and the other is invitations.’

The coarse stationery contained congratulations on becoming a Swordmaster, talk about how I’m now the next commander-in-chief to lead the military…

It was written in that vein.

“Well, it is the social season, after all.”

The other elegant letters were invitations, expressing that they would be honored if I attended their balls.

They usually don’t send me invitations. Since I wouldn’t go anyway.

‘I feel like there are more invitations after the crazy princess rumor started.’

There’s been a quiet rumor that I’m the Emperor’s chosen groom candidate for the Princess.

So people naturally thought that the Princess and I would end up together.

But then suddenly the Princess is said to have gone mad, so they’re probably sending invitations with a small hope of ‘maybe?’

‘You’re all wrong.’

I’m a woman.

“Your Grace. Everything is ready for your entry into the Imperial Palace.”

“Understood.”

I put on a jacket over my shirt and looked in the mirror.

There I was.

A handsome young man with ashen hair and silver-gray eyes.

‘All thanks to dark magic.’

I smiled slightly and smoothed my short hair.

A woman living as a man. There will be no marriage or love in my life.

So what I want now is just to sprawl out on a bed and sleep.

“Hoo.”

I looked at the massive, fluffy bed befitting a Duke’s dignity.

What’s the point of having a bed like that! I don’t have time to lie down.

And so, I turned my back on the bed and went forth today as well.

And…

“I behold the Shield of Hailen! Congratulations on reaching the pinnacle of the sword, Your Grace!”

As soon as I entered the Imperial Palace, I had to receive a rousing salute from the knights.

—

After receiving greetings from the knights endlessly, I arrived at the Crown Prince’s palace in the afternoon.

And then I was able to hear about the ‘crazy princess’ stories.

“So, what exactly is the Princess’s nickname?”

“…Lunatic.”

“……”

For a moment, I thought I’d misheard.

I wanted to keep a straight face, but my cheeks twitched involuntarily.

Let’s not laugh. I shouldn’t laugh. It’s about my friend’s sister; I shouldn’t laugh.

“You can laugh if you want.”

With Lesius’s permission, I ended up holding my stomach and laughing.

Calling the delicate and gentle Princess Rosalyn a ‘Lunatic.’

Isn’t that a completely mismatched word?

‘From what I’ve heard, it seems less like she went mad and more like…’

Her way of thinking seemed to have become more open, but her actions were certainly shocking for people of this era.

“Sorry.”

Did I laugh too much?

Feeling embarrassed, I quickly apologized.

“…It’s fine.”

Lesius cleared his throat and turned his head.

His ears are red. Is it hot?

“So this is the content of what the Princess says?”

“Yeah.”

“Hmm.”

The paper I received was filled with continental common script.

It seemed they had transcribed the language the Princess speaks as they heard it.

“Especially, Rosalyn says that word a lot.”

“What word?”

“[F*ck.]”

*Pfft!*

At the familiar curse word coming from Lesius’s mouth, I ended up spitting out the tea I was drinking.

It was a word I hadn’t heard in such a long time.

And clearly, it was Korean.

My native language from my past life.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I was just surprised.”

I took the handkerchief Lesius offered and wiped my mouth, thinking.

‘Is it a coincidence?’

A word with the nuance of ‘[F*ck]’ could exist here too.

Folding the slightly damp handkerchief, I scanned the writing on the paper.

“[Send me home.]”

“[There’s so much f*cking stuff I’m not supposed to do.]”

“[She is pretty, though.]”

“[I want to eat chicken. Not this soup, chickeeeen!]”

As I read the characters aloud…

“Lewin. How do you know this?”

Lesius, who had taken the handkerchief back from me, stiffened his expression for a moment.

I want to answer, but…

“Where is Her Highness the Princess right now?”

“She’s probably in her palace. She’s been confined by His Majesty for knocking down the Marchioness.”

First, I need to assess the situation.

A princess who speaks Korean. What in the world is going on?

“I’d like to see the Princess right away. Is that possible?”

“Now?”

“Yes. Right now.”

At my serious expression, Lesius also became grave.

“The Duke of Berwen urgently wishes to visit the Princess. Inform the Princess’s palace.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

As soon as the knight left, I pushed my chair back and stood up.

“You’re coming too?”

I asked Lesius, who was also rising, in surprise.

“Lewin. It would look more suspicious if you met Rosalyn alone.”

Lesius fidgeted with the folded handkerchief in his hand.

I couldn’t see his eyes, bowed as they were.

“You two aren’t five or six-year-old children anymore.”

He spoke in a momentarily lowered voice, then lifted his head and gave a bright smile.

“We’re at an age where meeting alone would stir up rumors.”

Hmm. I suppose so.

When we were young, I saw the Princess a few times when she was a newborn or a toddler, following Lesius around.

But I haven’t seen her much since she grew up. I’ve been busy too, and, well, relationships between the opposite sex here are quite tricky.

Even the distance one can approach is determined by the level of the relationship, so enough said.

Still!

“You’re busy. His Majesty hasn’t been well lately either.”

I have to meet the Princess alone!

“You need to study. That’s how you become a wise ruler.”

I pressed down on Lesius’s shoulders, which had grown broader in my absence, and sat him back in his chair.

“A wise ruler… Yes, a wise ruler.”

Looking up at me, Lesius’s green-like expression cracked for a moment.

‘What was that just now?’

As I blinked, he was smiling at me kindly, as usual.

Did I see wrong?

“Who am I to defy your command?”

Lesius pressed the handkerchief he was holding against my cheek.

Somehow, with the handkerchief between us, his hand seemed to be cupping my chin.

“Huh…? Why all of a sudden?”

“Lewin.”

I could feel his hot hand through the cloth. The soft fabric slowly wiped around my jawline and lips.

“There was still some moisture left.”

Lesius scattered his sharp eyes and smiled.

Hmm? I’m sure I wiped it all off?

—

‘I’ll go alone, okay?’

Lesius had never once refused my request, and today was no different.

And so I went to the Princess’s palace.

It was good that I had set out confidently, but meeting the Princess wasn’t easy.

“I’m terribly sorry, Your Grace. Please wait just a moment.”

Lady Roxon, the Princess’s lady-in-waiting, fidgeted anxiously while watching my reaction.

Why is she like that?

“No, the discourtesy is mine for coming so abruptly.”

I bent my back politely, as per protocol.

“My Lady.”

A palace attendant approached the flushed lady-in-waiting and whispered.

It was a very small voice that an ordinary person wouldn’t be able to hear.

“It’s true that Her Highness the Princess has disappeared.”

Being a Swordmaster, my ears are exceptionally sharp, so I heard it clearly.

“Ah…!”

There was the Empire’s Duke standing right before her, and the Princess had vanished…

The lady-in-waiting staggered, clutching her forehead in shock.

For her, this was probably the greatest hardship she’d faced in her dozen or so years of life.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes.”

I chivalrously caught the lady-in-waiting.

“Since the Lady is so unwell, I will take you to the infirmary in a hurry.”

“Yes…”

With a face growing redder, the lady-in-waiting nodded weakly.

“Thank you for escorting me, Your Grace.”

After arriving at the infirmary, the lady-in-waiting, seemingly embarrassed, quickly excused herself and disappeared.

And so.

“Hm.”

I was left alone in the palace corridor where the infirmary was located.

‘I probably won’t come back here again.’

I’ll frequent the central area where the Emperor and Crown Prince reside, but I’ll hardly ever come to these outer parts.

‘Seems like my plan to see the Princess has gone down the drain. Maybe I’ll just take a walk.’

As I was strolling around the outskirts of the garden with that thought.

*Thump, thump!*

Along with the sound of something being kicked, the bushes rustled.

“[What’s this made of? Why won’t it come out?]”

My feet stopped automatically at the familiar language.

The Princess?

*Scrape, scrape.*

I heard the sound of something being filed with a metal saw, followed again by thumping sounds.

‘What on earth is she doing?’

I approached slowly and parted the bushes. There was the Princess, filing the iron bars with a knife.

Beside her was a pile of already dulled knives.

“[Ah! Finally! It seems almost done!]”

She must have filed the thick iron bars so much that one part was nearly cracked, as if it could be cut through.

She didn’t do that in one day; she’d been persistently filing them.

Wow. Her tenacity is top-notch!

‘Come to think of it…’

Her clothes were plain, un-princess-like. And a backpack next to her that rivaled an immigrant’s luggage.

‘It’s a runaway. This is a hundred percent a runaway.’

As Duke Berwen, should I stop her, or should I turn a blind eye to my friend’s sister’s rebellion?

I had a brief conflict, but

the deliberation was short.

“What are you doing?”

“[Ah. I’m f*cked.]”

Because it was obvious she’d be caught soon anyway.

And I also had things I wanted to ask.

“[Without any f*cking luck.]”

“[What did you just say…]”

The Princess’s expression, as she turned her head fiercely, was filled with shock.

Her hand gripping the knife swung towards me.

“[Y-you, you, what are you!]”

“I am the Duke of Berwen. Your Highness.”

I made a splendid bow, but the Princess brandished the knife and backed away.

I withdrew my now awkward hand.

“No, not that. What you said earlier.”

Fluent continental common language burst from the Princess’s mouth.

“[You mean this?]”

“[Yes! Wait, why this language and this tone? Yes!]”

I stroked my chin at the Princess’s words.

How should I explain this?

“[I remember my past life. This is my native language, Korean.]”

The Princess’s expression grew strange. She dropped her hand holding the knife in surprise.

“[…Past life, you say?]”

“[Yes.]”

“[So you mean you were reborn here?]”

“[Yes. I died in a traffic accident and opened my eyes as a baby. So I thought, ah, I’ve been reborn.]”

For me, it was a natural conclusion.

Born again after dying, in a different world. Of course I’d think I was reincarnated.

If so, then…

‘What about the Princess? Did she survive a near-death experience and remember her past life?’

Just as I was thinking this,

“[That’s strange…]”

The Princess’s face, smudged like charcoal, turned serious.

“[I was possessed into a book.]”

“[Pardon?]”

This time, I was the one surprised.

“[As a villainess who gets her head chopped off by a yandere obsessive.]”

I blinked at the unbelievable words.

This place is inside a book?

“[Want to hear something even more surprising?]”

The Princess spoke, seeing my dumbfounded face.

“[This place is going to be ruined soon.]”