Chapter 12
Cindy quietly stepped aside into a corner, watching Kitty busily rinse the flowers from the branches as she sank into thought.
That day, several of the lowest-ranking servants from the Second Princess’s Palace had knelt before Princess Katrina, weeping as they begged for mercy.
But the tiny princess had not changed her mind.
No—it wasn’t merely that she refused to relent.
She hadn’t even blinked once.
Even when a middle-aged servant tearfully explained that he had young children depending on him for food…
Even when a maid who looked barely twenty sobbed that she was caring for her sick mother and pleaded for one last chance…
The little girl had simply replied,
“What does that have to do with me?”
When Princess Katrina had first forgiven the servants who had neglected and abused her, Cindy had only pitied her.
She’s still too young… She doesn’t understand anything yet. She doesn’t realize that letting them go without punishment will only endanger her in the future.
Can such a small, innocent child really survive in the Imperial Palace?
But now Cindy realized she had been mistaken.
Katrina hadn’t spared them because she was kindhearted or naive.
The truth was…
She simply didn’t care about anything except cakes and sweets.
Whether a complete stranger suddenly appeared claiming to be her guardian…
Whether that person abused her mercilessly…
Or whether someone cried and begged not to be expelled…
None of it interested her in the slightest.
Princess Katrina simply continued baking cakes and cookies in silence.
The moment Cindy realized that truth, a chill crept into her heart.
A life spent wandering from place to place since birth…
A mother who had thrown herself to her death before her eyes…
That dry, expressionless face that rarely showed any emotion.
Just how much must this child have gone through to become someone who held no hope or interest in people at all?
Whenever Cindy tried to imagine those lost years, her mind went blank.
“Here, Cindy. You should have one too. You melted the chocolate for me.”
“Ah… Thank you, Your Highness.”
By the time Cindy returned to herself, Kitty had already finished decorating the cakes and handed her one in a yellow mug.
Kitty took the cake in a light green mug—the color of fresh spring leaves—for herself.
With a tiny dessert spoon, she scooped up cake and strawberry jam together.
Nom!
The chewy, sweet texture clung pleasantly to her tongue.
The tart strawberry jam perfectly balanced the rich, heavy chocolate flavor, preventing it from becoming overwhelming.
Cindy, who was tasting chocolate for the first time in her life as well, opened her beautiful eyes wide.
“My goodness… It’s so delicious!”
“Let’s have it with milk.”
Silently praising Kitty’s decisiveness, Cindy immediately poured two glasses of milk.
The plain, creamy milk soaked into the dense chocolate cake.
It was an absolutely perfect combination.
Kitty and Cindy closed their eyes at the same time, quietly savoring every bite.
After enjoying the blissful dessert for a while, Cindy carefully spoke.
“So, Your Highness… if the young Marquis of Roengreen comes to visit, should I simply send him away as well?”
“Hm?”
The young Marquis of Roengreen…?
Who’s that? Why would he come here?
Kitty blinked blankly, her face practically asking the question aloud.
Thinking perhaps the thick chocolate cake had made her pronunciation unclear, Cindy repeated herself carefully.
“The young Marquis of Roengreen… Your Highness’s fiancé.”
He would almost certainly come to meet the fiancée who had finally returned to the Imperial Palace after eight years, even if only out of courtesy.
It was something they absolutely had to discuss.
After all, Cindy was now the only servant remaining in the Second Princess’s Palace.
Although her identity as a spy had already been exposed, and she was deeply moved by the Second Princess’s incredible generosity in sparing her…
She still had to personally handle every matter in the palace from now on.
Yet Katrina wore an expression that clearly said,
“I have a fiancé?”
“…Surely… you didn’t know?”
At Cindy’s cautious question, the little princess’s face turned pale.
Even Cindy, who had secretly believed the clever princess must have planned everything carefully, nearly panicked after seeing that vacant expression.
“You… really didn’t know?”
She had dismissed all the servants without even knowing?
This is terrible.
Seeing Cindy’s horrified expression, Katrina hurriedly defended herself.
“I’m only eight years old!”
Ah…
Unfortunately, among the Imperial Family of the Theros Empire, marriage arrangements often began before a child was even born.
“What kind of nonsense is that?! That’s so unfair! How could they get me engaged without even telling me?!”
Kitty flailed both arms in protest.
But it was a resistance that came eight years too late.
Even cocoa mug cake topped with strawberry jam and peach blossoms couldn’t calm her anymore.
Frantically trying to think, Katrina finally remembered the most important question.
“Ah! Big Brother! Does this engagement help Brother Evan?”
Of course.
For Kitty, who had become a neglected princess with no powerful empress mother to protect her, the most important thing in the world was keeping her terrifying older brothers happy.
No matter what happened, offending them was absolutely out of the question.
Cindy quickly explained everything she knew.
Naturally, it had been Emperor Theodore who originally arranged the engagement with House Roengreen.
At the time, Evan had been far too young, while Dimitrius had shown absolutely no interest in his half-sister.
When it became known that Empress Sophia was carrying a daughter, everyone believed the prophesied Saintess would finally be born.
As a result, competition to become the unborn princess’s fiancé had been fierce.
The one who ultimately emerged victorious was Marquis Roengreen, ruler of the Empire’s eastern frontier and master of the Magic Tower.
It might seem strange that such a great archmage wanted the Saintess as his daughter-in-law…
But the benefits were obvious.
The Imperial Family and House Roengreen would form an enormous marriage alliance connecting religion, politics, and magical technology.
Then…
Everything fell apart when Empress Sophia fled.
The tyrannical Emperor Theodore hated her for humiliating him so completely.
Yet at the same time, he became obsessively fixated on her.
Whenever he found even the smallest clue about her whereabouts, he would lose all self-control and rush out of the Imperial Palace himself.
Naturally, affairs of state were neglected.
Taking full advantage of that growing power vacuum was none other than the Second Prince, Evan.
By then, the First Prince Dimitrius already had a notorious reputation as an unruly wastrel.
The more perceptive nobles quickly began aligning themselves with the astonishingly capable young Second Prince.
One of those farsighted nobles…
Was Marquis Roengreen.
By now, Evan had achieved stable success across numerous business ventures using House Roengreen’s advanced technology and immense wealth.
In other words…
The political benefits that should have belonged to Emperor Theodore as the Marquis’s in-law…
Were instead being enjoyed by Second Prince Evan.
The exceptionally intelligent Princess Katrina understood everything instantly—
And let out a horrified scream.
“Th-Then… from Brother Evan’s point of view, this engagement absolutely has to continue!”
“…That’s right.”
But Kitty had just dismissed every servant except Cindy.
She wasn’t even capable of properly receiving her fiancé as a guest anymore.
If she carelessly destroyed such an important engagement…
Would her brother really let her off the hook?
“Th-This is a disaster!”
Kitty jumped out of her chair and ran around in a panic.
“Why didn’t anyone tell me something this important in the first place?!”
Watching her anxious mistress with genuine concern, Cindy quietly murmured,
“…Your Highness always seemed so calm despite everything you’ve been through… I thought… you must have had your own reasons.”
Yes.
There was no point blaming poor Cindy now.
What was done was done.
Instead of whining to a maid only four years older than herself, Kitty needed to find a solution.
“That’s right—the cake!”
Spotting the cakes in the blue-striped mug and the polka-dot mug, she immediately gave an order.
“Cindy, take these cakes to Brother Evan and ask for his help. He needs this engagement too, right? I’m sure he’ll help us.”
“Y-Yes, Your Highness!”
Cindy straightened up instantly and answered with renewed determination.
As she busily wrapped the cakes meant for the Second Prince, she suddenly raised a very reasonable question.
“Um… does Prince Evan actually like sweets this much?”
“…Probably? I think… Brother likes chocolate.”
