ICOF 04

Chapter 04

“Your Highness, could you take a look at us too?”

Two noble ladies sat in front of me, resting their chins on their hands as they pleaded.

They were curious about when they would meet their future partners—and who those partners would be.

It seemed they had heard rumors about the couples I had predicted.

This is getting troublesome.

But… it’s my fault.

If I had stayed fully conscious, I wouldn’t have been spouting all that nonsense.

At this rate, I might regret forever that I couldn’t keep my mouth shut.

“I heard a rumor that Your Highness is a disciple of the reclusive mage Melvin—is that true?”

I didn’t want to crush the shining expectation in the noble lady’s eyes, but I almost laughed.

Melvin? Don’t they mean Merlin? That name sounds like a knockoff.

I bit my lip to hold back my laughter.

“No, no. Your Highness must have received an oracle. She must be a divine priestess blessed by the temple.”

Another lady joined in, and the two of them chattered like sparrows.

Sorry, but I’m just the daughter of a Korean shaman. Still… that kind of misunderstanding isn’t bad.

Since I didn’t deny or answer, they urged me, grabbing and shaking the hem of my dress.

“Your Highness, please tell us too!”

Ha… give me a fee first!

I lazily picked at my ear.

“There’s no such thing as a free reading. No matter the time or place, you need this to hear a prophecy.”

I made a circle with my fingers and winked at them.

The two exchanged glances, and one of them hesitantly pulled out an embroidered handkerchief from her pouch.

“I made this for an embroidery exhibition—please accept it.”

“I’ll give you this.”

The other took out a solid lipstick.

Ha… I’m a princess. Do they think I don’t have things like this?

I shook my head.

“No. I like gold. You know—round ones?”

The two exchanged looks again and burst into laughter.

“Your Highness, you’re more materialistic than you look! You already have money and land—do you still want more?”

I nodded seriously.

“You know how it works here. Once a woman gets married, her children and property all belong to her husband. So before marriage, I should gather as much as I can and secretly build a stash.”

I said it boldly, but honestly, I didn’t really mean it.

If I kept doing readings for people, it would never end. I figured if rumors spread that the princess loved money, they might stop bothering me so much.

But instead, the two ladies laughed even harder.

“Hahaha! If you announce it like that, how can it be a secret fund?”

“Wow, you’re clever!”

The lady with the handkerchief wiped her tears from laughing and kept talking.

“Your Highness, before, you always seemed in a bad mood, so it was hard to talk to you. But now that we’ve met you, you’re actually so funny.”

The other lady nudged her friend.

“Sophie, you shouldn’t say that to Her Highness!”

But Sophie didn’t care.

“Now that I’ve met you, I regret not talking to you sooner.”

Why did Giselle keep such distance from people?

I wondered too, but I just shrugged.

“I regret it too. I should’ve started collecting gifts from you ladies earlier. By now, I’d have a huge secret fund.”

They burst into laughter again and grabbed my hands.

“Your Highness, you did the right thing breaking up with Sir Adrian. An unrequited love that lasts that long is never worth it. When we heard you dumped him, we felt so relieved! Other ladies even applauded your courage. We’re all rooting for you—stay strong!”

“That’s right! Everyone says your decision was amazing.”

I felt a bit embarrassed by their enthusiastic support.

“Well… I wouldn’t say amazing… ahem.”

Then again, who hasn’t experienced unrequited love at least once?

That’s probably why they felt like my situation was their own.

In the end, unable to refuse, I accepted the handkerchief and cosmetics they offered and gave them some advice.

I told them to go watch the parade on the upcoming national holiday.

There, they would meet a kind gentleman in blue clothes—and his friend.

Only after asking me many more questions did they finally leave, satisfied.

And I returned to my boring, lonely time.

.

.

.

Huh? Why did I wake up in this dark room?

I scratched my messy hair and got out of bed.

Then I turned my gaze toward the window—and froze.

It was pitch black outside.

Just earlier, it had been midday while I was chatting with the noble ladies.

How did I end up lying in my room? Why don’t I remember anything in between?

A chill ran down my spine as I quickly pulled the bell cord. Soon, Lin rushed in.

“Your Highness, you’re awake? How are you feeling?”

“What do you mean, how am I? Did something happen?”

Lin stood in front of the bed, avoiding my eyes and fidgeting.

“Well… something did happen. Actually… quite a lot…”

“What? What happened?”

“You really don’t remember anything?”

“I’m asking because I don’t remember. Just tell me!”

Ah! Please don’t let it be something serious.

I’m already expecting a disaster—but I don’t know how big it is, and that’s making me anxious.

Ignoring my hopes, Lin squeezed her eyes shut and shouted,

“You… you were flirting with men!”

“…What?”

What did I do?

“W-what did I do?!”

Lin carefully opened her eyes and looked at my shocked expression. Seeing my jaw dropped open, she hurried closer.

“I tried to stop you, but…”

“Lin. Start from the beginning. Not a summary—the full story. Quickly!”

She swallowed hard and began recounting everything.

“So… from what I saw, you came out of the greenhouse and went to Prince Lucas’s office. Since it was mealtime and you didn’t go to the dining room, I followed you to ask why… but then you suddenly burst the office door open. Inside were the prince’s friends and knights, and you started saying things like ‘You’re handsome’ and ‘You’re cool,’ and even whistled at them…”

What?

“Are you serious? No—this is insane! Why didn’t you stop me?!”

Lin pouted and replied in a sulky tone,

“How is a maid supposed to stop the princess?”

…This is a disaster.

Why do I keep losing control like this lately?

I shook my head.

“Ahem… then what happened next?”

Lin bit her lip, looked away, and continued quickly,

“You kept laughing happily and told the prince’s friends not to go anywhere on the national holiday and to watch the parade instead. Then Prince Lucas said, ‘Have you lost your mind? Don’t you have any shame?’ And then… you suddenly turned pale and collapsed.”

I let out a loud groan and started pacing around the room, pulling at my hair.

Seriously… I’m messing up in every possible way.

If Rosa had seen this, she would’ve nagged me for a hundred years. Maybe it’s a good thing she’s not here.

Then something suddenly occurred to me. I rushed back to Lin.

“Then how did I get back to my room?”

Lin hesitated again and muttered,

“Sir Adrian… carried you…”

“What?! What was my brother doing while Adrian carried me?!”

As I shouted, Lin grumbled again,

“The prince injured his back during sword training…”

“Yeah, right.”

He knew I broke off my engagement with Adrian.

And he’s always bragging about being the strongest and telling me to rely on him—but now his back hurts? So he just handed me over to Adrian?

I shut my eyes tightly and briefly considered disappearing altogether.

But who could I even blame?

I was the one who flirted with a bunch of men—and then got carried back in the arms of the man whose engagement I had just broken.

Where did all that confidence go?

Why did I act so shamelessly like that?

I grabbed my hair and groaned,

“Ugh… I’ve become a walking disaster.”

“D-disaster?”

This won’t work!

If I keep going like this, I’ll disgrace not just myself, but the royal family—and even damage my father the king’s reputation!

I shook my head and steeled my resolve.

“I need a solution. To stop losing consciousness… maybe I need to perform a ritual. Or a ritual fan—ah! That’s hard to find here. Then maybe a bell… do I need ritual flags too?”

“Ri-ritual? Be-bell… flags?”

Lin repeated my words with a near-tearful expression.

“Ah, it’s… something like that.”

I bit my nails, deep in thought.

I need control. I have to stop this power from bursting out randomly and making me lose consciousness.

To do that, I need to suppress it.

Should I go to the mountains? If I pray and perform rites…

Knock, knock—

Just then, someone knocked on the door.