Chapter 7
“What are you two doing?”
A strikingly handsome young man with long black hair tied loosely down to his waist stood before them.
It was the First Prince, Dimitrius.
Since when had he been standing there?
As expected of the genius Sword Master who had awakened his aura at the age of seven, his awareness of his surroundings was almost superhuman.
Keeping her composure, Kitty introduced herself and Cindy.
“I’m Katrina. This is my maid, Cindy.”
A princess of the Empire should carry herself with dignity in every situation.
Seeing the child behave with all the poise expected of a princess of the great Empire of Teros, Dimitrius pressed a hand to his forehead and sighed.
“Who said I didn’t know that? I’m asking why you’re in the kitchen at this hour.”
The princess blinked for a moment, trying to understand what he meant.
“…Then why are you in the kitchen at this hour, Oppa?”
“I asked first.”
Hmm.
That was such a reasonable argument that she found it hard to refute.
“I’m hungry. I wanted to make a cake.”
“That’s not the point… Why are you trying to do that in my kitchen instead of yours?”
He was right.
This was the kitchen of the First Prince’s palace.
This time, Kitty and Cindy hadn’t even entered through the main gate—they had crawled in through a hole in the wall.
Since both girls were so small, and because it was late enough that most of the palace servants were asleep, it had actually worked.
What they had never expected was for the First Prince himself to be lying in wait inside the kitchen.
He strode over until he was standing directly in front of Kitty, staring her in the eyes as he questioned her.
Left with no other choice, she honestly confessed everything.
“Our palace cook won’t make food for me.”
“What?”
“Father used up all the palace budget, so they said we have to save food now.”
“Those damned bastards…”
Dimitrius, who looked at least four times Kitty’s size, growled through clenched teeth.
Before Cindy could stop him, his enormous hand grabbed the back of Kitty’s neck.
Like picking up a kitten, he lifted her into the air and began walking somewhere.
“Your Highness!”
Seeing Katrina dangling helplessly from his hand, Cindy gasped and hurried after them.
But no matter how fast she ran, there was no way her short legs could keep up with the long strides of the fully grown prince.
They left the kitchen.
Then they left the First Prince’s palace entirely.
Each time they passed another stunned guard staring at the bizarre procession, the distance between them grew wider.
Still, Cindy refused to give up and almost broke into a run.
At some point, Katrina had stopped struggling in Dimitrius’s grasp.
Did the princess faint from the shock?
The thought nearly sent Cindy into a panic.
Meanwhile, Dimitrius continued onward without slowing, marching straight into the shabby, humble palace of the Second Princess.
The servants, who had only just finished repairing the front courtyard after the earlier destruction, froze in horror at the sudden arrival of the First Prince.
Although it was bitterly cold outside, Dimitrius wore nothing but a silk robe.
Steam billowed from his well-trained body, making him look as though he had climbed straight out of hell.
The servants stood rooted to the spot in terror.
Head maid Garnet was the first to recover enough to step forward.
“Y-Your Highness… Princess Katrina suddenly disappeared, so everyone in the palace has been searching for her.”
Her face was full of confusion.
Why would the First Prince come to such a miserable place?
Dimitrius ignored her completely, as though she didn’t exist.
He lifted the Kitty still dangling from his hand.
“Hey. Is that your cook?”
Still hanging upside down, Kitty looked toward the cook hiding nervously behind Garnet.
Remarkably, despite everything, she still hadn’t fainted.
“Huh? Umm… yes.”
That was all the confirmation he needed.
The fist of the genius Sword Master—who had awakened his aura at only seven years old—slammed straight into the cook’s face.
Crunch!
His nose shattered instantly.
Two front teeth flew out.
The cook staggered before collapsing to the ground.
Screams of terror erupted throughout the palace.
The First Prince, Dimitrius, was infamous for his violent, explosive temper—one that rivaled even Emperor Theodore’s tyranny.
Sometimes, people said he was even more frightening than the emperor himself.
“Your Highness! Someone call the knights immediately!”
Ignoring the cries, Dimitrius casually kicked Garnet out of his way before striding into the pitiful building that barely deserved to be called a palace.
“If I find even a single potato in here, every one of you is dead.”
He muttered it quietly, almost to himself.
Yet every servant in the Second Princess’s palace instantly fell silent.
The threat alone froze them where they stood.
Garnet, who had fallen onto the floor, accepted help from two maids and limped after him.
Without anyone showing him the way, Dimitrius found the tiny kitchen immediately.
“Hm. There’s plenty of food here.”
“Your Highness! Your Highness!”
“Onions. Carrots. Potatoes.”
“Please, calm yourself!”
“Cabbage. Celery. Mushrooms.”
Garnet threw herself onto the floor in front of him, desperately begging for mercy.
But the murderous aura surrounding the First Prince showed no signs of easing.
“Huh. You’ve got plenty of food.”
He turned toward her.
“And yet you starve a child?”
“T-There… there has been some misunderstanding. I assure you, I can explain everything.”
Even while trembling violently, Garnet forced a smile onto her face.
Then, unexpectedly…
Dimitrius gently set Katrina down on a nearby counter.
He tilted his head as if to say,
Go on. Explain.
Garnet hurriedly squeezed out an even brighter smile.
“Haha… There was an unfortunate incident earlier today, so His Majesty revoked our entire palace budget. We were merely discussing how to deal with the situation. Our clever princess happened to overhear our conversation and must have become frightened.”
“So before today, you fed her properly?”
“O-Of course! We may not be perfect attendants, but we’ve always done our best to serve Her Highness.”
Dimitrius immediately turned toward Kitty.
“What did you eat today?”
“Nothing.”
The casual answer drained every drop of color from Garnet’s face.
Still forcing a laugh, she hurried to recover.
“Oh, Your Highness… You skipped your meal because you were busy sneaking snacks, remember? Don’t you remember? The cleaning maid already found the strawberry jam you secretly hid in your room.”
What?!
That strawberry jam had been so difficult to make…
And they had already found it?
Ignoring the look of devastation on the little princess’s face, Garnet eagerly continued.
She described Katrina as a troublesome child who loved sweets so much that she cared only for cakes, cookies, and candy instead of proper meals.
She claimed they had struggled endlessly to correct her unhealthy eating habits.
Surely that was why the princess had become upset.
The First Prince silently listened.
Although his face remained cold, it almost looked as though he was embarrassed for having caused such chaos after believing a child’s words so easily.
At least…
He was still listening to Garnet’s explanation until the end.
As Garnet gradually began to feel hopeful that she had managed to turn the situation around—
The kitchen door suddenly burst open.
“No, Your Highness!”
It was Cindy.
She had practically run the entire way chasing after Dimitrius.
Without even catching her breath, she threw herself onto the floor beside Garnet.
“Head Maid Garnet ordered that Princess Katrina was forbidden from leaving her room—and that she wasn’t to be given even a single sip of water until she admitted her wrongdoing!”
She continued without hesitation.
“And besides that, Head Maid Garnet and Lady Sara, who was responsible for educating the princess, constantly withheld food and physically punished Her Highness under the excuse of discipline! Everyone in the Second Princess’s palace silently stood by and took part in bullying her! I saw it all with my own eyes! I can testify!”
That tiny little brat… has she completely lost her mind?
For a split second, flames seemed to flash in Garnet’s eyes as she glared at the young maid kneeling beside her.
Then she noticed the First Prince staring down at her with unmistakable amusement.
She instinctively shrank back.
“So that’s how it is?”
The corner of his mouth curled upward, daring her to try making another excuse.
The moment Garnet met his gaze, she understood.
…He never believed a single word I said from the very beginning.
