ICOF 05

Chapter 05

“I heard you woke up, so I came.”

“Father!”

Behind the door Lin opened stood my father—the King—wearing a blue velvet robe, hands clasped behind his back, radiating dignity.

I was startled, but quickly ran to him and bowed my head.

I had done too many things wrong, so I felt ashamed… but at the same time, I had always longed for a father in my previous life, even if only briefly. So just having him now made me happy.

And on top of that, he was the king—what a powerful advantage.

After Lin greeted him and left, my father stepped into the room and looked down at me with concern.

“How is your body?”

“My body? I-I’m fine.”

“I heard about what happened today from Lucas. It seems you were quite troubled over Adrian.”

“No, I’m really fine.”

“That’s why I held frequent balls—to lift your spirits—but it didn’t seem to work. That’s unfortunate.”

Ah… so that’s why there were so many balls.

Was he hoping I would chat with noble ladies and maybe find someone new among the young noblemen?

I had thought balls were just a waste of time… but he was doing it for me. It was such a kind gesture.

Looking at my father’s gentle face, his silver hair neatly combed back, I felt a lump in my throat.

“I’m sorry… for causing trouble…”

My voice didn’t come out properly, but I still apologized sincerely.

Even if it wasn’t really me, I had stubbornly insisted on marrying Adrian—and then just as stubbornly demanded to cancel it.

And on top of that, I had gone around making ridiculous predictions and even flirted with noblemen in Lucas’s office.

There was nothing I could say to defend myself.

“Rather, I think it’s a relief. When your mother passed away, you bottled everything up inside without expressing it. Compared to then, you seem much brighter and stronger now.”

My father said something unexpected and gently stroked my head.

I looked up at him in surprise, my eyes instantly filling with tears.

“By the way, regarding your predictions and behavior—perhaps it’s a divine revelation. I’m thinking of inviting a priest from the temple to examine you. What do you think?”

“A priest? That’s… kind of a religious conflict…”

“Hmm? What was that?”

“Oh, nothing. I’ll meet them.”

I doubted a priest would figure anything out, but at least I should do it to reassure him.

“The Queen wanted to come as well, but I stopped her. A maid was recently dismissed after being caught hiding an improper relationship and pregnancy, so she’s busy selecting new attendants.”

“I… I’m sorry about that too.”

Remembering how I had exposed the Queen’s maid, I shut my eyes tightly.

My stepmother was kind, but since she came from a lower-ranking family and had no powerful backing, the maids often looked down on her behind her back.

At first, I tried to ignore it—but when I heard them snickering about her, I lost my temper.

So I exposed the maid’s secret affair and pregnancy—and even bet my wrist that it was true, demanding she be dismissed.

My father gently took my hand.

“No. I know you did that because you were worried about the Queen. She’s grateful to you.”

“R-really?”

I rolled my eyes upward, thinking.

Usually, stepdaughters and stepmothers don’t get along… but if things are like this, maybe there’s no palace intrigue here?

My father observed me for a moment, then smiled.

“You’ve lost a lot of weight. You need to eat well. Would you like to have lunch with me tomorrow?”

I answered lightly,

“Yes, Father.”

***

Normally, a royal lunch or dinner meant sitting at opposite ends of a long table under a grand chandelier, eating elegantly with little conversation.

But today… was completely different.

And what was all that Father said yesterday?

Why is he putting me through this embarrassment when I already want to crawl into a hole?

Instead of sitting far apart, we were seated closely.

At the head sat Father. To his left were the Queen and my younger half-brother.

To his right sat Lucas… then me… and right next to me—of all people—Adrian.

Why is Adrian here?

This is a family meal!

And why has he been staring straight ahead in silence since greeting me earlier?

I secretly sighed, feeling suffocated by my tight corset.

Then Lucas scolded me.

“Considering the disgrace you caused yesterday, I should lock you in your room for a week—but Father says you were unwell and not in your right mind, so I’m letting it go!”

Father?!

I shot him a resentful look, but he simply raised an eyebrow and turned toward the Queen as if he didn’t notice.

Well… I did bring this on myself.

Lucas glanced at Adrian and continued,

“I invited him here because of what he went through yesterday, so you should thank him!”

I turned to Lucas and mouthed silently,

What are you doing? Just stay quiet!

But he ignored me and focused on cutting his meat.

With no choice, I turned toward Adrian and took a deep breath.

“Thank you for yesterday… and I’m sorry. It must have been difficult.”

“Yes. Well… it was fine.”

He answered shortly without even looking at me.

Wow. Look at that sour expression.

What—do I need to kneel?

Feeling annoyed, I pouted slightly and focused on my plate instead.

I pushed the eggplant I didn’t like to the side and started cutting into the thick steak.

Then Adrian spoke.

“How are things going with the gentleman you met at the ball?”

“The gentleman from the ball?”

“Yes. The one wearing a naval uniform…”

“Oh, you mean Christoph.”

“You’re already… on a first-name basis?”

I cut my steak, thinking how tender it was today, and popped a piece into my mouth.

“Mmm… we were friends originally.”

“Friends?”

“Yes. Why? Don’t you have any female friends whose names you call?”

“….”

“Last time, you said I didn’t talk to any men besides you. Seems like you didn’t know me very well.”

After a few seconds of silence, Adrian replied,

“That’s true. I misunderstood you.”

“Oh, nice of you to admit it.”

I took another bite of steak, finally enjoying the food.

Then Adrian spoke again,

“I also didn’t know you would so… flamboyantly flirt with men in the office.”

“Cough—flamboyantly flirt?!”

I nearly choked on my steak.

I thought he was being a gentleman by not bringing it up—why now?!

Caught off guard, I tried to stay calm and pressed a napkin to my lips.

At the same time, I glanced sideways at him.

He was cutting his meat occasionally but hadn’t really eaten much.

When he lowered his head, his golden hair fell forward and shimmered in the light—and for a moment, I was mesmerized.

I quickly snapped out of it.

“Well… I was quite injured when I fell from the horse. Even if I look fine now…”

He cut me off.

“Your Highness, eat your vegetables as well.”

He used his fork to move the eggplant I had pushed aside back to the center of my plate and looked straight at me.

Seriously… why is he so handsome?

“You need to eat properly to recover faster. When I carried you yesterday, you were far too light.”

I looked down at the eggplant he had moved, feeling something strange.

Why is he acting like this?

“This is uncomfortable. It almost feels like you’re worried about me.”

“Giselle—no, Your Highness. Of course I’m worried about you. I’ve been friends with Prince Lucas for a long time, and I think of you like a younger sister—”

“That’s enough. One brother is more than enough for me.”

I firmly cut him off and wiped my mouth with the napkin.

Why is he pulling the ‘you’re like a little sister to me’ line here too? We’re not even related!

At that moment, Benjamin—my younger half-brother sitting across from me—picked up a small bell on the table and started shaking it excitedly.

Ding-dong! Ding-dong!

The moment I heard it, my head tilted slightly, and my shoulders began to move on their own.

And suddenly, the words my mother used to chant echoed in my ears.

“Eorahara mansu! Spirits of heaven and earth!”

…

…

Ah… of all times…