YOPRS 4

After the disastrous marriage meeting, Hans summoned Sophia to his room.

“Father, did you call for me?”

Despite having caused one disaster after another, she seemed awfully confident. With her hands clasped behind her back, Sophia sauntered into the room at a leisurely pace.

Just looking at her gave Hans a splitting headache. He dismissed the servants.

“Sophia.”

“Yes, Father.”

“You understand how important this marriage meeting was, don’t you?”

“Course I do. I know.”

“And you say that, yet you…”

Hans’s father, the fourth king of the Belmonde dynasty, had launched a war of independence against the Altheria Empire, only to suffer defeat. The former king had since passed away.

Taken hostage by the empire, the former king had secured his life by signing a peace agreement now known as the Treaty of Belfort. It was called a peace agreement, but in reality, it was a treaty imposed by force.

The terms of the agreement were outrageous. The empire placed restrictions on Aurora’s main industries: fishing and logging.

Whenever production exceeded a certain threshold, the empire demanded fishing taxes and forestry taxes. In the end, the burden fell squarely on the shoulders of the people.

The more they earned, the more they lost. Eventually, more than half the population had no choice but to abandon their livelihoods.

Of course, other industries besides fishing and logging were still in operation.

Aurora was a kingdom located at the southernmost edge of the Altheria Empire’s frontier. It also occupied the empire’s far southwestern corner, where it possessed a large port in the Belfort region. Among the routes within the Altheria Empire, the sea route between Belfort and Ashval was the shortest.

Thanks to this, Ashval’s specialty goods were distributed more widely than those of any other region in the empire. However, the kingdom’s geography—bordered by dense forests to the north—made overland transportation difficult.

As a result, the kingdom couldn’t even develop its specialty-goods trade into a growth industry.

It had already been thirty years since the kingdom lost its main industries and unemployment rates began to soar. From the former king’s reign to Hans’s—two generations had already passed.

Aurora had been trapped in a prolonged economic depression. Its treasury was drying up, and the kingdom had fallen into a vicious cycle of borrowing money just to repay its debts.

It couldn’t even afford to maintain its army, so its military forces had been cut by nearly half. A dynasty that had lost its honor and couldn’t even maintain its military strength? That was the beginning of its own destruction.

After Sophia’s biological mother died and the alliance between the kingdoms collapsed, a faction of nobles began questioning the legitimacy of the Belmonde dynasty.

The situation was so precarious that it wouldn’t have been surprising if the vassal lords had suddenly launched a rebellion the very next day. Hans had to find a way out, somehow.

That was why he had arranged for renegotiations with the empire.

As it happened, the northern territories of the empire had begun showing signs of unrest. Hans took advantage of the situation by recruiting militia forces, making Aurora’s otherwise nonexistent military strength look more substantial than it really was.

And so, he had created an opportunity through this marriage alliance. If the engagement alliance could be secured, there might be a chance to revise the Treaty of Belfort.

The political marriage had already been decided. This meeting was merely for show, intended to demonstrate the arrangement to the other factions…

“Haah.”

Hans sighed as he looked at Sophia’s utterly carefree expression.

She had made the crown prince cry. Even if she was a fool who thought of nothing but food, wasn’t this going a little too far?

Sophia had been watching him warily, sensing the reproach in his eyes. At last, she managed to speak.

“I’m sorry, Father.”

If only she would stop talking like that. Hans squeezed his eyes shut.

“Do you even understand what you’re apologizing for?”

How could she possibly understand? She was just an immature princess.

Scolding her any further would only wear out his voice. Hans gestured for Sophia to leave. Just then—

“I know, Father. It was only supposed to be for show, but I went and made the crown prince cry. What will Her Imperial Majesty the Empress think of us?”

Hans’s eyes widened.

Could that fool’s head really contain something other than butter and cheese?

Sophia fidgeted with her fingers and continued.

“What about the people? They must be having such a hard time. Everything they earn goes straight to taxes. Isn’t that all because of our family?”

“You… How do you know about that?”

“Why wouldn’t I? You talk about it all the time. I know, Father. I know.”

Hans stared down at Sophia for a long while, frozen in place.

Usually, whether he was scolding her or pleading with her, all she ever thought about was food and playing around. But now, her eyes were more serious than ever.

The little girl who usually avoided eye contact whenever he looked at her wasn’t even looking away this time!

Hans was deeply shocked. She had been sick a few days ago. Could she really have been possessed by a spirit or something?

Sophia asked him with concern,

“Have you had a chance to speak with Her Imperial Majesty the Empress?”

At that moment, a spark of hope began to flicker.

Hans sprang to his feet and patted his chest emphatically.

“I—I, your father! I’ve already spoken with Her Imperial Majesty!”

“What did she say?”

“She said children sometimes have disagreements when they’re playing together, and that we should let it pass this time. Still, out of courtesy, I promised to hold a banquet for them.”

“Then what’s there to worry about? We just have to do well at the banquet. Did she seem like there wouldn’t be another chance after this?”

Sophia had hit the nail on the head.

The fool… She’s no longer a fool…

Hans sprang to his feet, threw both arms into the air, and burst into laughter.

“Ha ha ha!”

Tears had gathered in the corners of his eyes.

“Oh, Father! Why are you crying? I’m sorry I upset you.”

“You… You’re not a fool after all! Oh, heavens…!”

“So all we have to do is behave ourselves at the banquet, right?”

“That’s right! Exactly! Sophia, that’s all we have to do!”

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Hans went on to teach her the basic etiquette she would need to follow on the day of the banquet. Sophia listened attentively to the very end before leaving the room.

As he watched Sophia walk away at her usual leisurely pace, hands clasped behind her back, Hans sank to his knees.

He wasn’t a particularly religious man, but today, for once, he felt the presence of God. He offered a prayer of gratitude, tears streaming down his face once more.

“Thank you for bestowing this blessing upon me.”

The following day, another formal luncheon was held with the Romania family.

Hans had practically begged for the gathering to take place, even though the other party had wanted to dine separately.

After witnessing Sophia’s brilliance the previous day, he had decided that she probably wouldn’t cause any trouble with the crown prince.

In fact, this might even turn into an opportunity to turn things around.

When Eleanor and Leon arrived at the dining room, Sophia looked at Leon with a brighter smile than ever.

After all, nobody spits in the face of someone who’s smiling.

Oh. Apparently, some people do.

Leon shot Sophia a brief glare before sharply turning his head away. He hadn’t actually spat at her, but it was practically the same thing.

But Sophia wasn’t about to give up.

In her previous life, she had been through everything imaginable. She had weathered every hardship life could throw at her. She wasn’t about to get hurt just because a little child looked down on her.

Whenever their eyes met, Sophia tried to cheer him up by acting cute. She would wiggle her shoulders, make her eyes sparkle, or flash him a big grin.

Perhaps because she resembled her biological mother, Sophia was so cute that even she found herself adorable whenever she looked in the mirror. She was small and plump, like a little white rice cake.

The adults at court adored her affectionate gestures, but they also found her adorable simply because of her appearance.

She had thought that would work.

Is he immune to the charms of a pretty face?

Every time Sophia tried to act cute, Leon would glare at her with blazing eyes, looking her up and down. Sometimes, he even mouthed insults at her.

Want to die?

Trying any harder would probably only get on his nerves even more. In the end, Sophia gave up on her charms.

I’m so darn cute, too… How mean.

There was no sign of the chilly atmosphere easing up.

Sophia looked toward Hans, hoping he might come to her rescue, but he was busy fighting his own battle.

“I understand. I’ll gather every single one of the vassal lords for the banquet. Yes, of course I can do that for Your Imperial Majesty!”

Sophia clicked her tongue.

How on earth did Hans intend to gather all those vassals with the influence the Belmonde dynasty had left?

One way or another, Hans would have to fight his own battle, and Sophia would have to fight hers.

Resolving herself, Sophia began observing Leon. She wanted to figure out what had caused his outburst the day before.

For a child, Leon barely changed his expression.

The only noticeable thing about him was that, while the rest of him looked like an ordinary child, his eyes were always glaring so fiercely at people that he seemed to have a nasty personality.

The Grumpy Prince. That’s a pretty fitting nickname for him.

He barely touched his food, picking at it without much appetite. And whenever Sophia tried to talk to him, he wouldn’t even look her in the eye.

What particularly caught her attention was how he kept watching Eleanor’s every move, as though checking her mood.

Well, considering she was the empress and he was the crown prince, perhaps she was strict enough to keep him under her thumb.

Come to think of it, when her daughter Mija was raising her first grandchild, she’d sent the child rushing from one private academy to another. By the time the second grandchild came along, she’d apparently gotten tired of it and let the child run around freely.

Could he be the eldest son?

Sophia gathered her courage and asked Leon,

“Are you the eldest son?”

“What?”

“I’m asking about your siblings.”

“Why are you asking me that? I told you I’m not going to marry you!”

It had been a pointless attempt. Leon slammed his fork down and drank only his juice.

His cheeks were puffed up with irritation.

How on earth was she supposed to get along with him?

Sophia felt utterly hopeless.