Chapter 6
— Papa
The moment I called him that…
Phaeon’s eyes flew wide open.
It was the first time I’d ever seen him this shocked.
Even when I’d fabricated that divine revelation earlier, he hadn’t reacted this strongly.
Is that tiny ant-sized conscience of yours finally starting to sting?
“Mr. Angel… do you like ‘Papa’ too?”
I asked innocently, my eyes sparkling.
“Th-…”
He cleared his throat several times, yet he still couldn’t hide the tremor in his voice.
“…That form of address is unacceptable.”
“Why? Why is every name not okay? You said anything was fine as long as it wasn’t ‘Angel’…!”
“It violates royal etiquette.”
“Then… j-just once in a while… when it’s only the two of us… can I use it as a nickname?”
Without warning, he dropped to one knee in front of me.
Gripping my tiny shoulders firmly, he spoke in an urgent voice.
“Your Highness, we won’t have many opportunities to meet from now on.”
“We’ll be living in different places.”
“And I have duties that must be fulfilled.”
You don’t have to squeeze me that hard! You’re going to leave bruises!
Well… it’s not like you’ve ever had experience dealing with children.
“So never.”
“No matter where we are…”
“You must never call me that.”
“…”
Tears welled up almost immediately.
Partly because my arm genuinely hurt from how tightly he was gripping it…
But mostly because of the anger and sadness I felt at how desperately he was trying to push me away.
“…!”
“Hic…”
“Mr. Angel is so mean to Asha…”
“Asha…”
“Asha really likes Mr. Angel…”
“G-… Your Highness.”
“Uwaaah…!”
My entire body shook as I burst into loud sobs.
“What happened?!”
The knight who had stepped outside rushed back into the room.
Startled, Phaeon immediately let go of me.
But it was already too late.
I couldn’t stop crying anymore.
Even I had lost control.
“Mr. Angel…”
“Asha…”
“Just wanted to call him Papa…”
“But he said…”
“He won’t even see Asha anymore…”
“Hic…”
“Asha wanted…”
“To be close to Mr. Angel…”
“I only wanted to use a nickname…”
“But he said no…”
“And he was scary…”
Still crying huge tears, I poured out my complaint.
The knight shot Phaeon a reproachful glare.
“Oh dear, Sir Parsiel.”
“You’re being far too harsh over something as small as a nickname.”
“Her Highness is still just a little child.”
“You can’t treat her the same way you treat adults.”
“…My apologies.”
“I went too far.”
He reluctantly apologized.
His uneasy gaze drifted toward my arm, which had turned red where he’d grabbed it.
But the instant he saw the marks…
He looked away as though he’d witnessed something unbearable.
Seeing that only made me cry even harder.
“Hic…”
“Asha…”
“Doesn’t have any friends…”
“I was so jealous…”
“When I saw friends calling each other by nicknames…”
“So…”
“Since Mr. Angel is Asha’s first friend…”
“I wanted to call him by a nickname…”
“…Friend?”
He repeated blankly, looking utterly dumbfounded.
Sir Conrad immediately came to my defense.
“Her Highness has gone this far to ask you.”
“Why not simply allow it?”
“Receiving a nickname from the princess would be an honor for any knight.”
Apparently unable to think of a rebuttal…
Phaeon’s anxious eyes shifted back and forth between Conrad and me.
Finally…
He lowered his head.
A long sigh escaped him.
“…As Your Highness wishes.”
With only those words…
He turned around and fled the room without even saying goodbye.
“Then…”
“I can call you Papa now, right?!”
I shouted after him through my tears.
He never looked back.
“Tch. That ill-mannered—”
Conrad started to curse while watching Phaeon’s retreating back.
Then he noticed me and quickly changed his tone.
“Your Highness, please don’t be upset.”
“That man is famous for having no blood, no tears, and no heart.”
“Frankly, I’ve always wondered why Lord Lux favors him so much.”
“I doubt anyone has ever given him a nickname in his entire life.”
I silently continued glaring at the door Phaeon had disappeared through.
Mistaking my silence for heartbreak…
Conrad awkwardly smiled.
“Hehe… Your Highness.”
“Then how about giving me a nickname instead?”
“I’d be delighted!”
Just because you scolded Phaeon doesn’t mean I’m going to forgive your incompetence from my previous lives.
You pig.
“Asha’s tired.”
“I want to be alone.”
My icy gaze visibly startled him.
“Ah…”
“O-Of course.”
“Please get some rest.”
“The maids will arrive shortly to attend you.”
He hurriedly left the room.
As the door closed, I heard him mutter,
“…How can a child have eyes like that?”
Once I was alone…
I struggled onto one of the guest chairs and quietly organized my thoughts.
“I’m sorry… but I cannot love you.”
“Even if you are the child of my beloved daughter.”
That…
Was what the king was originally supposed to say to me today.
In my first life…
Those words had wounded me more deeply than almost anything else.
The fact that I was a princess…
That the king was my grandfather…
It had all felt so unreal.
But I’d still held onto one tiny hope.
At least my real family won’t be like the Windmild family.
Instead…
The first thing I received from them was a curse disguised as a sentence.
“I cannot love you.”
By my second…
And third…
And countless later lives…
The pain had dulled.
But the scar never disappeared.
Little by little…
I became convinced that no one in the world could ever truly love me.
Still…
At least one important thing had changed today.
The king now looked upon me with genuine affection.
Because of the prophecy proclaiming me a Child of God…
His trust in me had grown immensely.
“Your Highness.”
“We’re maids temporarily assigned from Ollentia Palace.”
—the palace where Aquila and Stella resided.
A group of temporary maids entered together.
“I’m Lawrence, the acting head maid.”
“Until your official ladies-in-waiting and permanent maids arrive, we’ll serve Your Highness with the utmost care.”
Official?
What a joke.
I already knew how this would normally unfold.
I’d be hidden away inside this guest palace where visiting dignitaries stayed…
Too intimidated to leave my room…
Living like a socially isolated princess.
“First, let’s remove those priest’s robes.”
“We’ll help you change into this nightgown.”
“We haven’t been able to obtain dresses suitable for someone your age yet…”
Haven’t obtained them? My foot.
You kept me dressed in nothing but nightgowns until I was five.
Using the ridiculous excuse that children grow too quickly.
Of course…
I had no intention of remaining in Aquila’s palm forever.
I’ll drive the final nail into this within the next few days.
◇ ◆ ◇
Three days later.
King Ferdinand rose at four o’clock that morning, as he always did.
Though buried beneath mountains of state affairs every day…
He never once considered neglecting his sacred morning rituals.
“Your Majesty, the air is quite cold today.”
“You overexerted yourself yesterday.”
“Perhaps you should skip dawn prayer just this once…”
“What nonsense!”
he barked.
“Lord Lux is watching over us even now!”
“Sloth is the first sin that leads one into the abyss.”
“…Very well.”
“I’ll escort Your Majesty to the temple.”
They made their usual way toward the royal prayer hall.
But today…
An unfamiliar sound echoed inside.
The captain of the guard hurried ahead to investigate.
Before he could enter…
The king grabbed his arm and raised a finger to his lips.
“Shh.”
“Be still.”
This prayer chamber was reserved exclusively for the king.
Who could possibly have entered such a sacred place?
Then…
His emerald eyes spotted a tiny figure from behind.
So small…
She looked as though she could be lifted with one hand.
A soft whisper floated through the dim room.
Too quiet to distinguish the words.
Its owner…
Was the granddaughter he’d only met a few days earlier.
Princess Anastasia.
“…!”
Only a handful of candles illuminated the darkness before sunrise.
Bathed in their gentle glow…
The little girl praying with all her heart looked more sacred than a baby angel.
For a long moment…
King Ferdinand simply stood there, captivated.
Finally, he cleared his throat.
“Ahem.”
Startled…
Anastasia spun around.
“Y-Your Majesty?!”
“…’Your Majesty’?”
He smiled faintly.
“You called me something different last time.”
“G-Grandpa?”
The king cleared his throat again, clearly pleased.
“And where is your bodyguard?”
“Why are you here alone?”
“Sir Knight was sleeping so soundly…”
“So Asha came by herself.”
“I didn’t want to wake him.”
“What?!”
“He has only been assigned to you for a few days and he’s already neglecting his duty?!”
The king nearly exploded.
But seeing Anastasia flinch…
He softened his voice.
“How did you even find this place?”
“I just…”
“Woke up…”
“And it felt like I heard Lord Lux calling me.”
“So I kept walking…”
“And before I knew it…”
“I was here.”
“Did Asha do something wrong?”
“Are you going to scold Sir Knight?”
“Please don’t.”
King Ferdinand’s face filled with emotion.
“No…”
“No, I won’t.”
“Not if you don’t wish it.”
“But tell me…”
“What were you praying so earnestly about?”
“I was asking forgiveness…”
“Because…”
“Asha is a sinner.”
“A sinner?”
“What sin could a child as small as you possibly have committed?”
“Before coming here…”
“Asha never once prayed at a temple.”
“They never let me go…”
“I couldn’t help it…”
“But…”
“That still makes me a sinner…”
“…!”
Every citizen of Santora was expected to attend temple worship once every ten days on the Day of Prayer.
Though not legally enforced…
It was regarded as the sacred duty of every citizen.
Anyone who neglected it would be looked down upon.
But his granddaughter…
Had never been in a position where visiting a temple was even possible.
Her adoptive parents…
Those monsters…
Would never have allowed it.
“No.”
“Lord Lux would never think you’re a sinner.”
“You don’t need to beg forgiveness for something like that.”
The king sighed sadly as he comforted her.
But Anastasia slowly shook her head.
“No…”
“Even if Lord Lux forgives Asha…”
“Asha’s own heart won’t.”
“I…”
“I can’t stay in the palace.”
“What are you saying?”
“You deserve everything that should always have been yours!”
Anastasia shook her head vigorously.
“No.”
“Asha doesn’t deserve it.”
“Grandpa…”
“Please…”
“Let Asha live at the temple.”
“…What?”
“At the temple?”
“Then…”
“I can stay with Lord Lux every day.”
“And pray for all the time I missed.”
“But child…”
“You can simply come pray every day.”
“The temple is right next to the palace.”
“You may visit whenever you wish.”
“Why would a princess live there?”
“I don’t want to enjoy every luxury while pretending to repent.”
“I’ll serve the temple.”
“At least…”
“For as long as I missed praying.”
King Ferdinand could scarcely believe what he’d heard.
“My child…”
“How thoughtful can someone so young possibly be?”
“I’m an old man…”
“Yet I’ve become so accustomed to worldly comforts that I never once questioned the blessings I enjoy.”
“But you…”
“You truly are God’s Child.”
“Only someone with a soul this pure could speak such words.”
My soul is already worn completely threadbare…
Anastasia thought to herself.
But…
She decided to let him continue believing otherwise.
◇ ◆ ◇
That afternoon…
I skipped happily toward the temple.
Holding Rosa’s hand with my left…
And Yuz’s with my right.
“I still can’t believe Her Highness is actually going to live at the temple!”
Sierra exclaimed excitedly.
“Me neither.”
“I thought we’d only ever be able to admire you from afar.”
“But…”
“Will you really be alright?”
“Someone as precious as Your Highness living at the temple…”
“Mhm!”
“Asha knows how to wash clothes.”
“And fold them.”
“I can clean too!”
“Oh, Your Highness!”
“You don’t need to do those things.”
“We’ll take turns looking after you.”
“Though we won’t be able to care for you as well as the palace maids.”
“That’s right.”
“And from now on…”
“Please call us by our names.”
Then…
I spotted Phaeon in the distance.
The moment he saw me…
He froze solid like a statue.
His expression practically screamed,
“Why are you here?”
Ah…
This is exhilarating.
“Papa!”
Beaming from ear to ear…
I ran straight toward him.
Looks like we’ll be living under the same roof from now on.
Take good care of me, Papa.
