Ch#146
The inner palace of the Imperial Palace.
It had been a place of utter silence for the past few years, but over the recent days, it had been nothing short of nonstop commotion.
"I don't want to wear this!"
Eve threw the clothes the maid had brought straight onto the floor.
The maid hurriedly picked them up from the floor in surprise and dusted them off.
"But Lady Eve, this is the standard daily formal attire worn by the imperial family here, as designated by His Majesty."
"It's ugly!"
Honestly, it wasn't ugly at all.
It simply lacked the flashy colors children would like.
The brown, subdued daily formal robes were what the imperial family wore inside the palace when having an audience with the emperor.
"Even so, the palace wardrobe official..."
"I don't like it! I want to wear a Madam Crevel dress instead! That's prettier!"
Eve pouted her lips and crossed her arms.
She hoped they'd give up at this point.
"But according to etiquette..."
Unable to read her mind, as the maid offered the brown clothes again, Eve finally yelled.
"I said I don't like it! Are you stupid? I told you I hate this aaaah!"
Having yelled, Eve plopped down on the floor and began thrashing her legs while crying.
"I'm not wearing it! I'm not wearing that!"
At Eve's attitude, the maid looked to Izriella as if asking what to do.
Izriella sighed with a 'here we go again' expression and gestured for the maid to leave.
The maid left the room as if she'd been waiting.
Though well-trained, right before stepping out, relief at not having to deal with Eve anymore was visible on her face.
"Bring Madam Crevel clothes! Those are prettier! I want to wear something prettier when seeing Dad!"
The words alone sounded like quite a cute whine.
A child's sulking to show off prettier clothes to her dad was something anyone could hear once in their life.
Some might puff up their chests hearing it, thinking their daughter likes and follows them so much.
But not in this place right now.
Izriella looked at Eve, who had started bawling loudly.
From her behavior, no amount of coaxing would work.
'Can't blame her. Now recognized as imperial and everyone bowing their heads—why would she listen?'
To curb a willful child's habits, a strict adult was needed.
But now that Eve was recognized as imperial, no one could scold her like that.
'Not completely none.'
Just one person.
The emperor, Eve's father, could scold her.
But she was throwing a tantrum right before going to see that emperor—what was she thinking?
Still, Izriella didn't panic.
Over the few days she'd stayed here, the palace maids had begun appreciating her presence.
She was the only one who could manage Eve's temper.
They were all curious how Izriella tamed Eve, but she never taught them.
It had value only if she alone knew, and others would mock it if they learned.
"Lady Eve."
Izriella finally sat beside Eve rolling on the floor and spoke.
"Evi Alden doesn't do things like this. That's why His Majesty favors her."
The moment Evi's name left Izriella's mouth, Eve's loud bawling stopped abruptly.
As expected, it had been fake crying.
"What does... she do...?"
Still not fully calmed from sulking, Eve glared while breathing roughly.
"She always wears her Genius Academy uniform neatly and never cries. She doesn't beg for prettier clothes and shows a proper demeanor before His Majesty. Because she knows he likes that attitude."
"Then I want to wear that too!"
Eve jumped up and thrust the clothes the maid had left at Izriella.
Meaning hurry and dress her.
It worked.
Izriella smiled as she took the clothes.
A few days ago, Eve had been so unruly that she'd unwittingly blurted, "If you keep this up, His Majesty might favor Evi Alden even more!"
She'd thought Eve might throw an even bigger fit, but contrary to expectations, Eve had turned incredibly docile at that moment.
That's when Izriella realized it.
That Eve was extremely conscious of Evi.
So to make things easier for herself, she'd spoken as if for Eve to hear about how much the emperor favored Evi.
Then Eve would sulk alone as if her possession had been stolen, biting her lip.
After that, things became much easier for Izriella.
Whenever Eve threw an unreasonable tantrum, mentioning Evi did the trick.
Today was the same.
Izriella called back the maids waiting outside.
They quickly changed Eve's clothes and finished the rest of her preparations.
* * *
When the time came, an attendant came to fetch Eve.
Izriella took Eve's hand and headed to the audience chamber.
'Why hasn't His Majesty recognized her as princess yet?'
The daughter of the empress he supposedly loved so much—why drag out the princess verification like this?
'But it's only a matter of time.'
Izriella had briefly visited the count's residence yesterday.
In that time, the atmosphere there had completely changed.
After her expulsion from the Genius Academy, it had been shrouded in dark silence with no visitors, like a ruin.
But yesterday, carriages filled the front yard with no room to step.
The lobby had lines of people waiting in case the count returned anytime.
The fact that Count Aradman had brought the princess had already spread everywhere.
'Good thing we revealed it at the Seasonal Festival.'
Thanks to that, rumors spread throughout the capital in less than a day.
Soon, the two arrived before the audience chamber.
"Lady Eve. Have a good visit."
Saying that, Izriella whispered to Eve.
"Don't forget to get His Majesty to recognize you as princess quickly."
"Yeah, got it."
Eve nodded vigorously as if she wanted it too, then followed the attendant inside.
* * *
Entering after the attendant, Eve spotted Clois sitting in the inner chair and beamed.
'It's Dad!'
She'd only briefly seen Clois properly at the Seasonal Festival banquet.
But Eve already liked her dad very much.
'The coolest person I've ever seen!'
Was it because he was emperor?
Clois was the most striking person Eve had seen in her life so far.
Golden hair sparkling like hers, deep blue eyes. Tall stature and sturdy build.
Above all, what Eve liked most was the elegance she'd never seen in anyone, paired with his handsome face.
Since entering the palace, she'd seen high-ranking nobles and tall, large people.
But facing Clois gave her the greatest sense of intimidation.
'My dad.'
Eve suppressed her leaking smile, shoved the attendant aside, and ran to him.
"Dad!"
Izriella had told her what she could do and have as princess.
She couldn't understand it all, but anyway, the prettiest and best things in the world would be hers.
And at every palace festival from now on, she'd hold her dad's hand, receive everyone's greetings, and live wearing pretty clothes and shoes forever while eating delicious food.
Just before Eve ran into Clois's arms, he opened his mouth.
"Stop."
"...!"
At the emotionless voice, Eve unwittingly froze in place.
"Dad?"
Puzzled by the cold voice, Eve looked at him.
Everyone said at the banquet he'd been too surprised to hug her.
So today he'd welcome her.
"......"
Clois stared at Eve for a long while before speaking.
"Eve, I have some questions for you."
His voice was a bit softer than at first, but he was still calling her Eve, not Evebien.
Clois looked at the child flustered before him.
Poor child.
A child who had lived deep in the mountains not knowing who her parents were.
Clois recalled this child was the same age as Evi, seven.
Even staying months at Count Aradman's, the sudden world change must have been shocking.
"I've heard how you've lived. You must have suffered for a long time. I have some questions about that."
"Y-Yes......"
At the word "questions," Eve bit her lip.
She instinctively knew.
From now on, she had to answer exactly as Noma had taught her.
* * *
"Lady Eve!"
Izriella approached Eve coming out of the audience chamber.
"How did it go? When will he recognize you as princess?"
"I don't know. He just said rest well today since he's tired......"
At Eve's words, Izriella swallowed a sigh.
Why drag it out like this?
As she pounded her chest in frustration, Eve asked.
"Iz, that kid Evi is still at the Genius Academy, right?"
"Why suddenly..."
"I, I need to meet her."
Eve thought.
As Izriella said, the emperor favored that child.
Then if she acted just like that child...
'Then Dad will like me more.'
She didn't know what the Genius Academy was, but there was no reason she couldn't do what that child did.
