PRKE 33

Posted by zahid, Released on January 1, 2026

CHAPTER 33……………………………..

“Are you saying that again? If the King finds out, he won’t just scold you and let it end there.”

Princess Laratu blinked once and rolled her large eyes upward.

“Will he find out?”

The maid who met her gaze clenched her fists.

“Of course he will! Everyone’s watching the guests from the Empire like hawks. They even gossip about what meat you had for breakfast—how could you not get caught?”

“Sigh… but what can I do? I’m just too curious. I keep thinking about it.”

The princess’s frustrated sigh softened the maid’s heart, and she hesitated.

“If you really want, how about attending a banquet he’s at?”

Finally, the answer she wanted came!

The princess’s face brightened.

“Do you think Dad would allow it?”

“I’m not sure. But if you say you didn’t know he’d be there, surely he won’t get angry, right? It wasn’t a problem last time either. Of course, that was because you accomplished something, but still.”

“You mean the welcome banquet for the Imperial delegation?”

“Yes, that one.”

The banquet fire incident.

At the mention of that day, when a major accident almost happened, Princess Laratu looked proud.

The Veiled Maid.

The person everyone had been curious about was Princess Laratu herself.

“Well, if it weren’t for me, it would’ve been a disaster, right?”

“The child who told the princess about the Imperial guests got scolded badly, though.”

The princess, suddenly sullen, sighed.

“Is that child okay?”

“It was just a pay cut, so it’s fine. She won’t dare speak nonsense to the princess for a while. Understandably so—she talks too much.”

The maid, grumbling disapprovingly, glanced at the princess’s gloomy face and cleared her throat.

“Are you really that curious about the Imperial guest? You even talked to him that day, didn’t you?”

“That’s not enough! He was… really, incredibly handsome. When he saved me, our bodies touched, and my heart raced so fast I couldn’t even breathe properly, afraid he’d hear it. He’s tall, and his face…”

The princess’s cheeks flushed pink.

‘Oh dear, this is serious.’

The maid looked at her young mistress with a tongue-clicking, exasperated expression.

“Arthur, Arthur. That scary prince already has someone. Just yesterday, they were having a noisy date at the temple.”

At that, the smile disappeared from the princess’s lips.

“You mean the adopted daughter of the Lorenst family?”

Princess Laratu recalled the girl she had seen at the banquet. She had no ill feelings toward her since she had saved her, but she didn’t like that she had a connection with the prince.

“Yes, that brave young lady.”

“She’s the one your father had set up to deal with the prince instead of you. It’s a date by order, after all.”

Of course, that was common knowledge.

A fake princess deployed to prevent the precious princess from marrying the barbarian from the Empire.

“But still…”

The maid tilted her head.

“They seem to get along well, though. They date at the temple and occasionally have meals together.”

“That’s because my father ordered it.”

A slight worry crossed the princess’s face.

Suddenly, she scrunched her face as if angry.

“Who said all people from the Empire are barbarians! He was far more refined than the pompous nobles of the kingdom!”

The maid watched nervously as the princess’s indignation faltered mid-outburst.

From experience, every time the princess…

“Oh, I know! How about this?”

“What is it?”

The princess said brightly.

“Invite Egrain Lorenst to tea time!”

“Huh? Suddenly?”

“I’m curious about the prince. She would know a lot, wouldn’t she?”

‘What she really wants is to pry into the prince’s relationship.’

I thought it would be better not to, but…

‘Still, it’s better than inviting the prince himself to tea.’

The maid nodded.

“I’ll make the preparations.”

“Thanks! It might be awkward with just the two of us, so it’s better to invite someone else too. I wonder if Karsatuna’s mood has improved?”

Watching the carefree, gleeful face of the naive princess, the maid sighed in resignation.

‘I need to make sure the lower staff keep their mouths shut.’

If the king found out that his precious princess had fallen for the barbarian from the Empire, he might faint on the spot.

This situation feels oddly familiar.

“Miss Egrain Lorenst. This letter is from Princess Laratu.”

My back prickled. Eyes were everywhere.

When the pink carriage, which clearly claimed me as the princess’s, stopped in front of the mansion, I was skeptical—but my bad feeling didn’t fail.

Whether it was fortune or misfortune that Aris was with me when the princess’s personal attendant called my name, I couldn’t tell.

“What kind of letter is it?”

“It’s an invitation to a tea party.”

“A… tea party?”

It was such a sudden invitation. I had never spoken properly with the princess before.

‘She probably doesn’t even know I exist.’

The attendant, with an artificially proud smile, spoke proudly.

“It’s a tea party personally hosted by Princess Laratu. This time, you, Lady, have been chosen.”

So I’m supposed to feel honored, I guess?

I took the letter reluctantly, and the attendant cleared his throat, hands behind his back.

“Miss Egrain Lorenst, in a way, as part of the royal family, you could be considered as one family with Princess Laratu, couldn’t you?”

‘No. I’ve never thought that before.’

The honorifics the attendant used were different from the princess’s, so there was no way I would think so.

And it wasn’t just me—it was common knowledge.

My princess title was largely meaningless; it was honor without substance.

If the prince returned to the Empire and no longer needed me, I couldn’t even protest if the crown reclaimed my title.

“Princess Laratu felt bad that your health prevented you from greeting her, Miss Egrain.”

“That’s thoughtful of her.”

“Indeed.”

The attendant nodded proudly.

‘More and more people are claiming I’m part of their family.’

Wow… a kingdom’s king and princess pretending I’m family.

Of course, I felt nothing.

“Please attend and make the princess happy.”

I almost responded that I would, instinctively.

Suppressing the innermost servant instinct, I managed a polite expression of gratitude.

After sending off the attendant, Aris and Hubert were waiting for me.

I approached them with the letter in hand.

They must have been enjoying tea before the attendant arrived, because I looked at the table with tea and accompanying desserts.

“The tea’s gone cold. Should I make a fresh pot?”

Aris looked at her cup, startled, as if she hadn’t noticed.

Hubert shook his head.

I instructed Georgiana.

“Bring a fresh pot just for the young lady.”

Soon, Georgiana brought steaming, fragrant tea.

“Here you go, Miss.”

Aris muttered without touching the new tea.

“You’re going to have tea with the princess at the palace.”

“……”

“I’ve never received a personal letter from the princess before. Last time, it was a dance request from the prince, and now Princess Laratu too. Amazing. Before, you couldn’t even get a party invitation unless it was Aris.”

I lifted my teacup. The moderately cooled tea moistened my dry mouth. A small smile formed.

“Indeed, unexpectedly, you’ve moved up in the world. It seems the gods do watch over us when actions for someone else come back to you like this.”

“……”

Translation: You’re jealous over a princess’s position you once rejected.

Aris bit her lip slightly and glanced at Hubert. Soon her big eyes filled with tears.

“I feel jealous and sad at the same time.”

I took another sip of tea. Aris seemed to want me to ask why she was sad.

Was that necessary?

‘She’ll blabber it out anyway.’

Sure enough, Aris bit her lower lip tightly. Her sobbing grew stronger.

“I didn’t attend party invitations before because I was worried about harming my sister. My sister is someone the King himself pays attention to, so I had to behave well. Still, at home we only talked and played, while my sister worked. That was fine since it was for the family, but now only my sister gets invited by the princess. It’s frustrating and sad, that’s all.”

She was talking endlessly. If I let her continue, she might even say she’s as sad as the sea is vast.

I threw a bait.

“Then, shall we go together?”

“Can we?”

I was faster than a cat snatching fish.

Seeing her hopeful eyes, I recalled the content of the princess’s letter I had just read.

Thinking of the phrase “with only a few friends,” I looked at Aris and couldn’t help but smile.

“Surely the princess wouldn’t refuse you, would she?”

“……”

“She even invites people like me, unknown in society.”

I wanted to mock her immediate agreement, but I held back and spoke kindly.

“You’ve been having a hard time, so I can’t leave you alone. That’s my fault. Recently, friends often visit the Hebain Marquis’s house, so I didn’t realize you were lonely.”

Aris, lowering her eyes and speaking as if sympathetic, looked genuinely flustered and glanced at Hubert.

“That’s because the young lady of the Hebain Marquis has an important concern, and I’m the only one she can consult.”

“Ah, so that’s why we needed so much wine and dessert. It’s for consulting.”

“Sister.”

Aris, her eyes glistening with tears, tried to interrupt me.

“It’s all what the young lady of the Marquis likes. As you know, she’s a bit chubby.”

“Oh? Isn’t the Marquis’s brother slim? Tall and proper, just like a palace knight.”

She froze.

Hubert, sniffing the tea in front of him, stared at Aris.

“You invited the Marquis’s eldest son too?”

“No, that… um…”

Aris’s eyes shook violently. She couldn’t tell rigid Hubert that she invited both boys and girls to the party.