PRKE 06

CHAPTER 06…………………………….

He stared at Demestia with a gaze sharp enough to pierce. Demestia curled the corner of her lips upward.

See, that’s what you get for messing with me.

“Count Lorenzte’s household?”

“Yes, Your Highness. The one known for its beauty.”

As soon as he paused at just the right moment, the people around them looked at Demestia with interest.

Demestia beamed and said:

“Lady Aris Dolencia.”

What day was it today?

While staring at the clear sky with barely a handful of clouds, I rolled a walnut in my hand.

The harder the shell pressed into the softer skin of my palm, the clearer my mind felt.

“Eighth year of Hermannon, the twenty-eighth day. Huh? Is that today?”

“What did you just say?”

When I turned my head, Jenny was standing close by. Behind her was a half-woven basket.

“Do you need me to do anything?”

I stared at her. Because of her natural flush, she looked younger than her age.

Lately I had been checking dates with particular care. If I didn’t think ahead about what would happen when, the executioner’s blade might come flying at the back of my neck.

I have to protect my own life.

I’d grown lazy, my belly softening while living in a noble’s house, and forgotten that simple truth from the streets.

I was planning to return to my old mindset, to become a wary street animal watching in all directions.

Today was the day the Goddess of Water made her procession. Jenny was destined to die a few months from now.

The culprit was a spy of Doverakan, described as Aris’s friend but in truth her lover.

Back then I knew nothing, so I only grieved, but thinking about it now, yes… that bastard must have been the cause.

How could I save Jenny?

I pondered for a moment, but no clear solution appeared.

She can’t stay like this, practically no better than a maid.

Being a real maid would have been easier. I could simply take her somewhere else. But she was treated like a maid while being an adopted daughter of the count, which meant I couldn’t.

If Jenny dies again because I have no power…

I tightened my grip without realizing it.

Crack!

Startled by the sudden sound, I opened my hand to find the walnut shell crushed to powder.

I quickly brushed my palm clean, but Jenny had already seen it.

Avoiding her gaze, I swept away the remaining crumbs.

“Goodness, stop fooling around. It’s honestly strange. You’re so skinny, yet how are you this strong?”

Jenny shook her head and picked the walnut pieces off the floor. Feeling a little embarrassed, I folded my hands primly.

She really reminds me of the old Rattle.

Back in my childhood as a thief, the girl who stuck to the boss and handled the accounts had been plump and cute like Jenny.

She was so good at buttering him up that we called her Rattle.

While I was recalling that dreary childhood—too gloomy to call nostalgic—the door flew open. It was Hubert’s young page.

“What is it?”

“The count wants you downstairs.”

“Just me?”

“No. Everyone in the house.”

Jenny and I exchanged glances.

“What could it be?”

When we went down to Hubert’s study on the first floor, everyone was already gathered. As soon as she saw me, Lady Emmern scowled.

“Why are you so late? Everyone’s busy and we all have to wait for you?”

Apparently the fact that I’d arrived last irritated her. I drooped my eyelids and sighed softly.

“Sorry. I was busy with work.”

“Hmph. As if you’re the one doing all the work in this house.”

Well… wasn’t I?

I wanted to sincerely ask who she thought was actually running the household.

She’ll probably say the butler or the head maid. Or Hubert.

Predictable.

The only things Lady Emmern did here were host tea gatherings for noblewomen or summon merchants to buy dresses and jewels.

Or enjoy her hobbies, all of which cost gold by the fistful.

But unlike me, born a commoner to the bone, she didn’t find any of that strange.

As a noble, she likely saw all of it simply as her duty.

How exhausting.

Arguing with someone whose entire worldview was different would only tire me. I sat without a word.

“Next time, come early and tidy the place.”

Hubert’s expression darkened as he watched Lady Emmern wave her fan with that prim face.

He preferred quiet, and Lady Emmern—always loud and stirring up trouble—was someone he couldn’t stand.

Aris, watching him, pushed a plate of sweet pastries toward Lady Emmern with a charming smile.

“Madam, please have some.”

“Thank you. Aris, you really are such a pretty thing.”

After praising Aris, she glanced at me as if to say: watch and learn.

It wasn’t the first time, so I accepted the look expressionlessly. Lady Emmern then openly criticized me.

“Unlike you, that girl is never warm. I worry she’ll forget her place. I heard she behaved improperly at dinner the other day. Did she think I wouldn’t find out? Georgiana told me everything.”

Her words were sharp enough to prick, but I suppressed the twitch in my lips.

“Big sister was just very hungry that day. I understand. She regrets it too.”

Aris glanced at me, her eyes narrowing. A wordless warning to behave. How ridiculous.

But for now, going along would prevent unnecessary trouble.

“I truly regret it.”

I nodded earnestly. Aris, satisfied, looked between Lady Emmern and Hubert with a bright face.

“See, Madam? She’s already reflected on it.”

Lady Emmern gave Aris a fond look.

“I was only worried you might have been hurt. That girl might disrespect you. Somehow I end up looking like the villain.”

“That could never be. Aris doesn’t mind at all. She understands her sister’s feelings. And she understands yours too. After all, discipline is needed for a household to run properly, right, My Lord?”

Suddenly addressed, the former count, Baron Vakenin Lorenzte, cleared his throat.

Lady Emmern’s slightly stiff face softened at Aris’s soothing words.

“All right, all right. For your sake, I’ll let it go.”

Once she considered her pride satisfied, she quieted down. The room grew still.

Aris looked proudly at Hubert.

Hubert, his expression gentled, gave a small nod.

It felt like watching a well-rehearsed play.

The real Rattle is right here.

Thinking back on it, I really had been foolish.

Mother scolded me so much that speaking made me sound vulgar, so I kept to myself and did household chores quietly.

But even in this home, the rule of the streets held true: the crying child gets the candy.

“So what’s this about?”

Baron Lorenzte asked, looking curious. Everyone turned to Hubert. His face darkened.

“Well….”

When Hubert finished recounting what had happened at the palace, no one spoke for a moment.

“So you’re saying our Aris might be appointed as a princess? An honorary princess?”

Lady Emmern said with a vacant expression. I snorted inwardly.

A fake princess, more like.

“What is an honorary princess?”

“It means a woman who has rendered great service to the nation is elevated and treated as a princess of Riorsa.”

“But how can one be treated as a princess without being born one?”

Hubert winced. He probably thought her repeated questions showed a lack of intelligence.

He was known as a gentle and intelligent man, but he secretly looked down on those he judged beneath his standards.

That loaf of bread he gave me was just charity, yet I was overly moved.

His face was angelic, and I had misjudged him in my youth.

Being able to tell real from fake is a key skill for a thief.

I shook my head. Right now Hubert didn’t look like gold. More like dull lead.

The lump of lead spoke:

“She would hold the rank of princess and receive treatment equal to it. The royal family would provide her dowry when she marries. Not as much as Princess Laratou, of course.”

His tone grew stiff as he mentioned marriage. Aris’s big eyes filled with tears, as though shocked.

Hubert, who normally panicked at even a hint of Aris’s distress, didn’t so much as glance her way.

The room sank into gloom.

“It sounds like a good thing, but….”

Lady Emmern trailed off, watching her husband’s expression.

“Think carefully, Madam. Is this truly good?”

The baron asked, exasperated, but Lady Emmern only fluttered her fan, still not understanding.

He sighed and looked at Hubert.

“They’re looking for a scapegoat for Princess Laratou.”

“That… seems to be the case. I never imagined Viscount Demestia would drag Aris into this.”

A deep wrinkle formed between Hubert’s brows. His face was twisted with conflict.

The king’s command and his love for Aris must have been clashing inside him.

Suddenly he looked at me.

I quickly lowered my head with a grave expression, staring at the floor as if I could bore a hole through it. I could feel his gaze on the top of my head.

Cold sweat trickled down my back.

Why look at me? What’s this shameless bastard planning to use me for now?

Lady Emmern finally understood Hubert and the baron’s conversation and shrieked:

“So they want to make Aris a princess just to marry her off to a barbarian?”

She covered her mouth with a white handkerchief and shook her head as if nothing could be more horrific.

“That can’t happen. Sending Aris to the savages of the wasteland?”

“Calm yourself. It’s not fair to look at it only negatively.”

“What do you mean not negatively? You just said it wasn’t a good thing! Even I can see it. Nothing could be worse than this!”

The baron looked at her with weary contempt.