≈ Chapter 6 ≈
“The Princess of Belfast.”
It was the nickname Anais was most proud of.
Her great-aunt, the Queen of Belfast, had given birth only to sons.
The current Crown Prince of Belfast and all of Anais’s uncles, the princes, also had only sons.
That was why Anais was called the flower of Belfast’s high society.
Anais herself knew that very well.
So she always tried her best to behave in a way that matched the title of “Princess.”
What was a princess?
Anais had not always been like that.
She had simply grown up surrounded by a grand mansion and beautiful scenery.
There were countless servants bowing before her.
Girls her own age looked at her with envy.
People always acted the way Anais wanted them to.
“The Princess is so beautiful!”
Whenever someone said that, her grandfather, who loved Anais dearly, would gently pat her head and kindly reply,
“Princess? Don’t say something like that. It could cause trouble.”
Of course, her grandfather only said that because he was being careful about the Belfast royal family.
But those words awakened Anais’s competitive spirit.
Around that time, Anais had read a fairy tale.
It was about a princess who lived on a floating island in the sky.
She had blonde hair and blue eyes.
She was always lovely and beautiful.
She only wore pretty dresses.
She only spoke kind and beautiful words.
She ate only tiny amounts of food to keep her slender figure.
She never spoke badly about anyone.
She helped people.
Later, she left the island and…
What happened after that?
Anais couldn’t remember.
But she remembered the beginning.
A person who only wore beautiful clothes…
And only spoke beautiful words.
So Anais decided she wanted to become someone like that.
Then maybe… I can become a princess too.
Of course, Anais wasn’t foolish.
As she grew older, she realized she could never become a real princess.
But her loving grandfather explained,
“That’s only because your father isn’t the King. It isn’t your fault, Anais.”
Anais loved her father.
So she never blamed him for not being King.
Instead…
She enjoyed being loved by other people.
She liked it when people praised her.
She liked it when people admired her.
So she worked hard.
She never showed it openly…
But she studied hard.
She tried her best to become a beautiful young lady.
She tried not to be hated by anyone.
Of course…
There were still a few people who found Anais annoying.
That couldn’t be helped.
People always disliked someone who seemed too perfect.
No…
That’s not what’s important right now!
“My face… it’s completely ruined…”
Before she realized it…
Anais was standing in front of the mirror.
She had tried not to look.
But standing in front of a mirror was as natural to her as breathing.
She couldn’t help herself.
The girl reflected in the mirror had her face completely wrapped in bandages.
No…
You could barely even tell she was a young lady anymore.
Only her outline made it possible to guess.
Right now…
Anais looked more like a giant broccoli.
To be exact…
A burned broccoli.
The doctor had told her she was lucky.
Most people who were struck by lightning…
Burned to death instantly.
Carefully…
Anais removed the bandages from her face.
Her once rosy cheeks…
Her forehead…
Her slender neck…
All of them were covered in red burns.
The wounds had already begun to ooze.
Her eyelashes…
Gone.
Her eyebrows…
Gone.
Only the ends of her beautiful golden hair remained.
The rest had burned away.
It had been cut short like the uneven haircut of a naughty little boy.
Even now…
The burnt ends continued to crumble away.
Her lips had swollen from the burns.
Her entire body felt hot because she had been burned everywhere.
But the hottest part…
Was around her eyes.
“It’s over…”
“No one will ever marry me now.”
Anais wiped her tears away with the edge of a bandage.
Even at nineteen…
She had never been engaged.
Her grandfather had deliberately left that place empty.
He wanted to choose the very best man for her.
But now…
She almost wished she already had a fiancé.
Then perhaps…
She could simply pretend nothing had happened and quietly marry him.
“No.”
Anais took another deep breath to stop herself from bursting into tears.
“Crying will only make my face swell.”
And she hated the thought of crying while standing beside someone who accepted her only out of pity.
“That would make me nothing but a burden.”
The Princess of Belfast took a deep breath.
There has to be a way.
What would a real princess do in a situation like this?
Without thinking…
Anais remembered someone she had always admired.
Not the princess from the fairy tale she had read as a child.
A real princess who actually existed in this world.
If it were her…
Would she handle this with grace too?
Anais lowered her eyes toward her diary.
“All right.”
“I’ll start with what I can do.”
First…
She had to return the money to everyone who had lost it.
Anais turned away from the mirror and sat at her desk.
Staring at the mirror wouldn’t heal her face.
At least one thing is fortunate.
The Possessor had never been discovered by the Black Dragon.
If he had…
He would have been sent back across the Rainbow immediately.
Normally…
People whose bodies were possessed all died.
“…Sigh.”
Anais let out a long breath of relief.
But she still didn’t know.
The man sent by the Black Dragon…
Simply hadn’t arrived yet.
“Miss, please wake up.”
“Oh dear. Why are you sleeping here?”
Mmm…
Just let me sleep a little longer.
Nanny, why are you waking me up so early…?
She was about to complain.
But Anne kept shaking her.
Finally…
Anais opened her eyes.
She realized she had fallen asleep with her head resting on the desk.
“The doctor told you to rest. Why did you fall asleep sitting at your desk?”
“Ah… well…”
Apparently…
She had stayed up until dawn reading every note the Possessor had left in her diary…
Then fallen asleep.
Anais slowly stood up with a blank expression.
A sheet of paper stuck to her face…
Then fluttered gently onto the floor.
“You even took your bandages off.”
“Your wounds will only get worse if you do this.”
“Ow, ow…”
Anne, who knew nothing about the truth, carefully wrapped fresh bandages around her.
Anais quietly sat still before asking,
“By the way… why did you wake me so early?”
Looking out the window…
It didn’t seem she had been asleep for very long.
Normally Anne wouldn’t wake her until late morning.
What had happened today?
Only then did Anne seem to remember.
“Oh.
Someone has come to see you.”
“A visitor?”
Anais frowned.
“Anais can’t meet anyone right now.”
“You know that.”
Originally…
Her birthday party should have been held today.
But after Anais was struck by lightning at the harbor…
The party had been canceled.
Even the most clueless guest should understand that this wasn’t the time for visits.
But Anne shook her head.
“Well…”
“This isn’t an ordinary visitor.”
“Who is it?”
“Did Grandfather come?”
Anais’s voice immediately brightened.
Her warm and loving grandfather.
Had he come because he was worried about her?
But once again…
Anne shook her head.
“No… it isn’t the Master.”
“Then who is it?”
“Well…”
Anne nervously glanced around.
Just then—
Knock. Knock.
Someone knocked on the bedroom door.
“Miss Anais Fleur.”
“I’ve come to see you.”
Anais looked at Anne in surprise.
It was the voice of a man she didn’t recognize.
Nanny, what’s wrong with you?
Have you gone crazy?
I just woke up!
Why would you bring a strange man right outside my bedroom?
But Anne looked even more panicked than Anais.
“Please wait a moment, Commander!”
“Miss has only just woken up!”
Commander?
Anais frowned.
“Who is that rude person?”
“Um…”
Anne swallowed nervously.
Judging by her reaction…
The visitor must have been someone very important.
But Anais refused to stay quiet.
“I don’t care who this Commander is.”
“A gentleman cannot enter a lady’s bedroom at this hour!”
“How rude!”
She shouted loudly.
Immediately…
Everything outside became silent.
Still angry…
Anais turned to glare at Anne.
“Nanny.”
“You’d better explain this properly.”
Flustered, Anne stumbled over her words.
“Everything happened so suddenly that I…”
“Is it Eddie?”
Anais guessed it might be Edward, her cousin and a prince of Belfast.
If it were that troublemaker…
She wouldn’t have been surprised at all.
But Anne shook her head.
If it had really been Edward…
Anais would have recognized his voice immediately.
Then—
Another knock came from outside.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
“I’m sorry.”
“But I’m coming in.”
“What?”
Anais gasped.
Anne cried out in horror.
“Please wait, Commander!”
“Miss hasn’t even finished getting dressed yet—”
But the man showed no mercy.
Before Anne could even finish speaking—
BANG!
The door swung open.
“You can’t!”
Only then did someone outside try to stop him.
But…
It was already too late.
The door had already opened.
