RPL 10

Chapter 10

I nodded to myself and kept walking.

I had no idea where I was, but I just walked. I figured if I kept going, I’d eventually find a place to rest.

No matter how angry the emperor was at what I’d done, he didn’t seem like the type to casually discard his only shield.

If I disappeared, Kiseira would once again become the sole imperial grandchild.

‘Even if I get confined again, well… it’ll be fine. I already know how to get out.’

Yeah. I’ll just hide in the imperial palace.

As long as I don’t get caught, it should be okay.

Then I’ll just steal a few jewels and run.

How long had I been walking with those thoughts?

Without realizing it, I muttered,

“I’m sleepy.”

The moment the words left my mouth, a large pavilion-like structure appeared in front of me.

I pushed every other thought aside, quietly slipped inside, and lay down.

Ever since the moment of possession, I’d felt it—Regina’s body, after such a long confinement, was in terrible condition.

It already hurt just staying still, and because I’d washed with cold water out of disgust at how filthy I was, I’d even caught a cold.

On top of that, the struggle to get out of that place and everything that happened the moment I stepped outside…

‘I should rest for a bit first.’

I let out a shallow breath and closed my eyes.

Just a little while. Just a short rest, and then I’d figure out what to do next.

***

*Slap—*

Kiseira’s head snapped to the side. She staggered and collapsed to the floor.

The moment the door opened, Younid froze at the scene before him.

He had never understood why Kiseira was so terrified of her mother, vaguely guessing that the empress was simply strict.

But reality was far crueler than his vague speculation.

The bizarre fear Kiseira sometimes showed toward her mother stemmed from this.

“Your Majesty!”

Younid quickly collected himself and stepped in front of the empress.

Yet the empress didn’t seem to care in the slightest that the young master of a ducal house was standing right there.

*If I hadn’t been here…*

“It’s my fault. I suggested we play there…”

Thinking that, Younid’s words trailed off.

The empress spread her arms and looked down at Younid, who was blocking her path. Then she slowly opened her mouth.

“Young Master Younid. You should leave now.”

“But, Your Majesty…”

“Come again tomorrow.”

Her tone was firm. Still, Younid bit down hard on his lower lip and refused to step back.

“You…nid. See you tomorrow.”

“Princess Kiseira…”

“Please.”

Kiseira smiled.

Her cheek was red and swollen—clear proof that what had just happened was no illusion—yet she smiled as if nothing was wrong.

“……”

Younid stared at her intently.

But Kiseira’s smile did not fade.

At that, Younid lowered his arms as if giving up and left the room with a dark expression.

Watching his retreating back, Kiseira desperately fought the voices inside her heart.

*Don’t go. Don’t look.*

*I’m scared. I’m ashamed.*

*Protect me. Pretend you didn’t see.*

“Kiseira.”

The moment she heard the empress’s voice, Kiseira flinched hard.

Then she quickly clasped her hands together and began begging.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

Kiseira didn’t know why her mother had hit her. She had simply been struck across the face out of nowhere.

Even so, she desperately kept apologizing to the empress.

“Why did you do it?”

The empress spoke in a calm voice.

It didn’t sound like the voice of someone who had just slapped her young daughter without warning.

“I was wrong. I won’t do it again.”

“Again? You’ve already done it. What use is the word ‘again’?”

“I mean it. I really won’t do it again. I was wrong. I was truly wrong.”

The empress let out a deep sigh and sat on the sofa.

Kiseira quickly knelt in front of her and once again clasped her hands.

Just then, a knock came and the door opened.

“How did it go?”

“Well…”

The one hesitating to speak was the knight who had been slapped by Regina.

Regina’s guess had been correct.

“You failed.”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“Was it difficult? Catching a mere snot-nosed brat and putting her back?”

At the empress’s mocking criticism, the knight reported everything that had happened without omission.

“She declared herself a princess with succession rights to the throne, you say…”

“Yes. Because of that, I couldn’t treat her roughly in front of others.”

“I see. I’ve confirmed your incompetence well enough. You may leave.”

“Your Majesty the Empress!”

“Leave.”

The empress turned her head, and the knight reluctantly stepped out with a look of defeat.

Once the knight was gone, silence filled the room.

Kiseira knew exactly how angry her mother was right now. Even with that quiet face, she could tell.

Because she was her mother.

“Do you know what you let out?”

The empress broke the silence.

“I asked Daddy, but he won’t open the door for me.”

“No! It’s not that—it’s that the way to open the door is scary!”

“They say you need the blood of the imperial family to open the door, but… but bleeding hurts!”

Kiseira had never let anything out. She had only been asked to let something out.

The girl who claimed to be a fairy and asked for her help, only to come out on her own in the end.

It seemed that had offended her terrifying yet beloved mother.

“I-I’ll put her back. I’ll find her…”

Afraid of being scolded, Kiseira didn’t even think of saying that she hadn’t been the one to let her out.

The empress spoke firmly.

“It’s already too late.”

“But D-Daddy…”

“Daddy?”

The empress curled her lips into a sneer. At that smile, Kiseira felt her blood run cold.

“Did the emperor order you?”

Kiseira rolled her tongue inside her dry mouth.

If she told this secret, could she avoid being scolded?

But if she told it and Mother and Father ended up fighting, then what?

“This is a secret just between you and me. You mustn’t tell anyone. Can you promise me that?”

And it was the first secret she had made with her father. She had promised.

Even though she had been too scared to cross the secret passage alone and had revealed its existence to Younid, she had never told him to the end that her father was the one who had informed her.

“No. It was j-just an excuse. I’m sorry. I was wrong. I… I was all wrong.”

In the end, Kiseira couldn’t say it.

“You stupid daughter of the emperor.”

The empress, who had maintained a composed demeanor the whole time, finally hardened her expression as if she could no longer endure it.

Kiseira trembled.

*Don’t call me that. I’m Mom’s daughter. Why are you calling me that?*

*Don’t. Don’t talk as if I’m not Mom’s daughter.*

“I’ve had more than enough of your stupidity, so please, please just…”

The empress reached her hand toward Kiseira.

Kiseira could neither look away from that approaching hand nor dodge it.

“Enough.”

The moment her hand touched Kiseira’s body, Kiseira thought:

*My hair… my head hurts.*

“How many times have I told you to just stay still? How long do you plan to keep doing only stupid things and turning my stomach? Until when?”

The pain started from her head and instantly shook her entire body.

“Mom! Mom! Ahh!”

“Be quiet. Don’t even open your mouth.”

It hurt. It hurt so much that she got angry.

Kiseira had no idea where to direct that anger.

She couldn’t direct it at the one causing her pain.

Because she was scared and yet loved her. Because she was ‘Mom.’

So the child’s anger lost its way, wandered, and flew somewhere else.

‘…It’s that girl’s fault. I didn’t do anything wrong.’

It was because of that girl who lied about being a fairy that Mom got angry.

If Mom hadn’t gotten angry, then I… I wouldn’t have been scolded either.

I wouldn’t have hurt.

So it’s all that liar’s fault.

I won’t forgive her. I will never forgive her.

***

My feet and hands were throbbing. That was why I woke up.

When I left the emperor’s palace and wandered around, it had still been bright, but now dusk was falling.

‘When did I fall asleep?’

I blinked quietly.

I had only meant to rest for a moment, yet I had fallen asleep out of nowhere—and outdoors, no less.

I slowly sat up and examined my hands and feet one after another.

The wound on my palm from when I stabbed it to open the door was larger than expected. My feet were a mess from walking barefoot.

“I’m gonna die.”

It wasn’t just my hands and feet that hurt.

The fever still hadn’t gone down. Because of it, my mind felt hazy, as if a fog had settled over my head.

Still, for someone who had essentially slept outdoors, it wasn’t the worst state.

“You’ve woken up.”

At that moment, I jumped at the voice that came from beside me and turned my head. There stood the attendant who had informed the emperor of my visit.

‘I-I naturally assumed I was alone.’

How long had he been here?

“……”

I hid my flustered expression and slowly looked him over.

Now that I looked, he was an extremely handsome middle-aged man.

His splendid attire and the dignified wrinkles suited him perfectly.

He looked just like a middle-aged actor from a foreign film. Or like a foreign company chairman.

“His Majesty has provided a palace for Your Highness to stay in.”

“……”

“I will escort you there.”

A complicated feeling rose in me.

It felt as though I had been forgiven not because I had gotten angry as Regina, but because I *was* Regina—because I was his daughter.

But the emperor had probably only made the decision because he needed the existence known as Regina, so I decided to just accept it.

“Um…”

“My name is Kashas. Though lacking, I serve His Majesty the Emperor as chief attendant. Please feel free to call me as you like.”

When I hesitated and called out to him, he introduced himself.

He wasn’t just an ordinary attendant—he was the chief attendant.

“Ah, yes. But…”

“Is there something you wish to say?”

“Would it be all right if I went to the place I want?”

“I’m sorry, but the palace you previously used is currently occupied by someone else.”

The palace I used?

Ah.

Kashas seemed to think I was asking to go to the palace I had stayed in before being confined.

“No. Not there. The castle where I was confined. I want to stay there.”

“That place is…”

Kashas started to speak, then closed his mouth. He looked troubled.

‘Is it… not possible?’

I knew it was an unreasonable request.

I was essentially throwing a tantrum, asking to change the residence the emperor had assigned me on a whim.

But after already yelling at the emperor and even getting angry at him, what was one more tantrum?

‘Yeah. I should at least try.’

In the original story, Regina lived in the palace the emperor assigned her, just like this. She only returned to the castle where she had been confined after becoming an adult.

I knew what Regina had done in that castle.

And that was exactly what I needed most right now.