Chapter 26
26
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After Gray left, I spent the whole day agonizing.
‘How can I mess with Rosa?’
Then, as evening approached, a decent idea finally came to mind.
Beatrice might cry again, though…
‘Sorry, Tris…’
I apologized inwardly and slyly rubbed my chest.
I didn’t even need to rub it many times.
Beatrice was fussing over me, worried I might be sick, and stayed right by my side.
“Your Highness, are you perhaps feeling unwell after dinner?”
When she asked cautiously, I felt so sorry that I managed to frown effectively.
“Yeah, I feel like I’m gonna, burp… gonna throw up…”
“Good heavens, Your Highness!”
Beatrice quickly found something like a towel and held it out in front of me.
“Ugh…!”
I had no intention of throwing up, but I made a retching sound a few times and sighed.
“Haa, no. I’m okay agai—, gasp.”
Sorry, Tris. Really sorry.
I’ll be really, really good to you from now on.
I’ll listen to you for the rest of my life.
‘Please forgive me just this once.’
Eventually, Beatrice rushed out in a panic.
And after a moment, she returned urgently with the Royal physician.
“You’re feeling worse?”
The Royal physician asked with a troubled expression, and I nodded.
Beatrice explained, at a loss.
“I thought she seemed energetic during the day, so I gave her a little more than half her usual portion for dinner. Did I suddenly give her too much?”
Actually, even that was far from enough.
But the doctor gave the perfect answer for my intentions.
“It seems that way. She should have rice porridge all day tomorrow. Did she have any snacks besides the meal?”
“Mommy gave me chocowate to eat after taking medicine…”
I said hesitantly, like a child who didn’t want to have their snacks taken away.
‘But taking away tomorrow’s snacks is actually Rosa Rostel La Pasca!’
The Royal physician shook his head with a sorry face, unaware that I was secretly cheering.
“I will tell His Majesty to make sure no other snacks are given tomorrow. I will also speak to the kitchen separately.”
“Yes, Doctor.”
Beatrice replied, her eyes brimming with tears.
“Well… I’ll have a cup of tea brought up to soothe her stomach. If she throws even that up, call me again.”
Beatrice repeated.
“Yes, Doctor.”
Not long after, a maid sent by the Royal physician brought a cup of tea.
‘I’m perfectly fine, is it okay to drink medicine?’
I hesitated for a moment, but I figured it would be okay if it was just to calm my stomach.
After drinking a cup of the sweet-tasting tea, Beatrice stroked my small back endlessly.
“You mustn’t be sick, Your Highness. Promise me properly today, okay?”
Feeling sorry, I held out my pinky first.
“Yeah, weally. I won’t be sick fwom tomorrow.”
So please just give up, Sister.
‘Listen to Mom and give up.’
Beside Yan, who was chirping mockingly at me, I fell asleep hoping only for that.
The next day, in the Ruelle Separate Palace Princess’s room.
King Oblin wanted his eldest daughter to attend classes normally, as he had promised his youngest daughter the day before, but the situation was not favorable.
“No way! I don’t wanna learn! With Gabi! No way!”
Rosa shouted at the top of her lungs.
“But darling, your sister has been doing that all along… It wasn’t easy for her either, but she’s been putting up with it for almost a year.”
“Anyway! She can do it!”
The daughters had faces so identical that one could not find any differences when they were placed side by side, but their personalities were different.
‘Lilin has been much more docile since she was very young.’
King Oblin was at a loss in front of his eldest daughter, Rosa.
“Rosa, you’re the older sister. You were born a little earlier, so…”
He was about to scold her for not being able to yield, but Rosa quickly cut him off.
“Then let me raise a kitty too.”
King Oblin replied, dumbfounded.
“Darling, the kitties have already been chased away. If you really want to, I can look for other gentle cats, but…”
“I don’t want other kitties!”
Rosa shouted so loudly that King Oblin sighed.
“You have to talk quietly, darling. And if it’s that kitty you like, your mother can’t allow it. It’s too ferocious.”
“Hwaaaaa…”
Rosa burst into tears, and Rosa’s maid Chelsea, hearing the crying from outside the door, knocked.
—Knock knock.
The King had no choice but to get up, and Chelsea came into the room, looking around cautiously.
Then, she whispered quietly, so that only the King could hear.
“The Royal physician visited last night too, and it seems she’s not feeling well today either?”
The King reluctantly nodded.
“…I see. Please take care of her. I’ve already received the medicine in advance.”
The King was about to leave through the door, but turned around and said.
“By the way, if Grand Duke Nigel wants to see the child… tell him she’s not feeling well enough to see him today.”
Chelsea looked troubled, but she couldn’t disobey the King’s command.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
King Oblin left his daughter’s room with heavy steps.
There were still more than two years left until the first oracle at the age of seven…
‘Every day is like walking on thin ice.’
The more the children grew, the more they talked, the harder it became.
The King gave a small nod to Icarus, who was standing guard in front of the Princess’s room.
“Icarus.”
Her knight, who stood like a pillar, followed behind him like a shadow.
He had to make another apologetic request to Icarus today.
All I did was laze around pretending to be sick all day, but strangely, I was so sleepy that I didn’t see Rosa at dawn.
The day at the Separate Palace started similarly.
However, unlike usual, Gabriella had opened the window from the morning.
‘Did she hear something from my parents?’
Thanks to that, Yan seemed to have gone to the Main Palace a couple of times to see my father.
Yan always fussed and asked me to say ‘hoo’ when we were alone, but now that he was feeling better, he only ate a little of the egg.
‘Is he eating something outside?’
But while I was having a simple and satisfying day with Yan, another shocking news came.
“What? Sister is still lying down?”
It was the time when the sunset was shining through the window.
I was shocked that my mother had not been able to persuade Rosa all day, and I stamped my feet.
“I am sorry, Your Highness… I tried my best to persuade her yesterday…”
“Why? Why is Sister being like that? Why doesn’t she listen?”
Frankly, I was the same when it came to not listening, but I brazenly questioned.
Gabriella sighed deeply.
“I think… she’s trying to get the kitty back with this opportunity.”
“Kitty?”
I asked irritably and glanced at Yan.
Then Yan shook his head even in front of Gabriella and cried loudly.
—Chirp chirp! Chirp chirp chirp!
Then he flew to me and scratched the back of my hand.
“Ouch.”
It was a weak force that wouldn’t leave a scar, but my skin tingled.
But Yan scratched the back of my hand a few more times even though I showed that it hurt.
‘Does he have something to say…?’
Gabriella had been by my side all day today, so I hadn’t been able to say a word to Yan.
Looking back at Gabriella, she seemed to be contemplating what words to use to persuade me.
But I had no intention of giving in to Rosa.
‘She’s only hurting herself if she doesn’t study. She doesn’t even know how to write.’
So I steeled my heart again and said to Gabriella.
“Never! I can never give in! Mommy pwomised me. I will never give in!”
“Your Highness…”
More than anything, I know what the last resort of my mother and Gabriella is.
‘If I keep not listening, they’ll say one of us has to leave the Royal palace.’
It wasn’t when I was this young, but I had heard such words before when Rosa and I couldn’t reconcile our differences.
‘Rosa had already received the oracle back then.’
As someone who had not been foretold of any Divinity, giving in to Rosa was the only way to survive.
‘Because I thought it was natural that I, who had not received any abilities, would be abandoned if only one of us remained.’
But it’s different now.
‘Mother can’t abandon either of us.’
And Rosa doesn’t know that fact.
I confidently demanded of Gabriella.
“Gabi has to be on my side! I’ve been working hard all this time!”
Gabriella, who is as fair as my mother.
She eventually left the room for a moment to write a letter to my mother.
Feeling sorry for Gabriella, I sighed as soon as the door closed.
“You did well.”
Yan praised me nonchalantly and flew to the window.
Then he folded his wings neatly and landed in front of the open window.
‘Does he have something to say after all?’
When I quickly followed him to the window, Yan hurriedly opened his mouth as if he had been holding back.
“Actually, there’s a bit of a problem.”
