Maebyul, who usually didn't come out of her bedroom much, had recently started entering the study more frequently. I thought she didn't even care about me, being so engrossed in playing in her room. Esteban looked at Maebyul's bright blue eyes, which were staring up at him intently, and imagined how indignant she would be if she knew how busy he was.
“Daddy, Daddy. What's that? What are you looking at? What is this?”
She even sat right next to him on his lap, asking all sorts of questions out of curiosity. What a delightful and adorable scene. Esteban smiled brightly and answered each of her questions.
“This is a document about the Gernobo Agreement. This one is a review document for the new proposal. Ah, that one is about the customs duty reform.”
“Oh.”
He thought she wouldn't understand even if he explained, but in fact, it was Esteban who didn't know. Maebyul scanned the documents with her sparkling eyes. Her little head was furiously spinning with all sorts of ideas. How could she make good use of these?
“Wow, it's so interesting. Really! Daddy, you're amazing~!”
While outwardly pretending to know nothing, she clapped her hands and praised Esteban. This made Esteban's shoulders rise as if they were about to touch the sky.
“Yeah, Maebyul. Your daddy is always working hard day and night for this empire.”
“Wow! Daddy, you're so cool, so cool!”
Unaware that the empire's secrets were being leaked, Esteban was thoroughly stripped bare. Maebyul's exploitation knew no bounds, not even within the family. After successfully extracting information from her father, Maebyul returned to her bedroom and immediately lay down on the bed. She then picked up her oil pastels and began to sketch out her plan. Franz, who had suddenly become a potted plant during the class, cautiously asked,
“What... are you doing?”
“Conspiring.”
“Pardon?”
“Conspiring!”
Franz's mouth dropped open.
‘How can she be so bold about it?’
The world had never seen such an adorable and cute villain plotting so innocently. Franz, with a dumbfounded look, watched Maebyul excitedly coloring on the paper.
‘Scary.’
The bizarre lines on the paper seemed to form a terrifying conspiracy, making Franz shudder.
***
“This should be enough for now.”
After finishing the plan, I sneaked out again and headed to the guild. Franz tried to stop me, saying it might be discovered, but I had no choice. I promised to return as quickly as possible and only then could I break free.
“Sigh. Franz is really immature.”
Sometimes it's hard to tell who's the adult and who's the child. Arriving at the guild with Eidan, I was taken aback as soon as we entered the estate grounds. There were far too many guild members around, unlike the last time I visited.
‘Thank goodness I changed my hair and eye color with magic!’
If Franz had come out as he was, he would have been advertising "Your Majesty" to everyone. The magic potion had turned me into someone with silver hair and green eyes, just like Oscar.
‘This makes us look more like siblings.’
It was a bit disappointing that I couldn't show this to Oscar. Anyway, as I headed towards the Master's office, the gazes on me were very intense.
“Who is that? That little girl?”
“She's so cute...”
“She's heading towards the Deputy Master's office, isn't she?”
“Is the Deputy Master married?!”
“Then how old was he when he had an accident?”
“Didn't look like it, but the Deputy Master really...”
Before I knew it, I had become Casey's daughter. Since Eidan was shrouded in mystery, the general guild members only knew him as one of the guild members. Perhaps because of this, they didn't pay much attention to Eidan. However, Eidan glared fiercely at the guild members who were whispering.
“That's ridiculous.”
“Oh! Calm down, Eidan.”
“But, Your Majesty.”
“Shh!”
How could he call me "Your Majesty" in such a crowded place! Startled, I covered my mouth, and Eidan's eyes widened.
“You shouldn't call me that outside.”
“...Then what should I call you?”
“Hmm... Your name?”
In the Ermanno Empire, it wasn't a big deal if someone had the same name as the emperor, so "Maebyul" wasn't particularly special. In fact, I heard it had become a trend for parents to name their daughters Maebyul. So, calling me by my name should be fine, right? But Eidan didn't say anything.
“Why? Don't you like it?”
“...”
“What if you don't like it...?”
Since being the guild master was also a secret, I couldn't ask him to call me "Master," and it wouldn't do to keep calling me "Your Majesty." Calling me by my name seemed the best option, but was it that difficult? As I walked, deep in thought, I suddenly realized Eidan wasn't beside me. Turning my head, I saw him standing a few steps away, looking at me.
“Eidan?”
“...B.”
“Huh...?”
“Maebyul.”
I thought I had misheard, but I hadn't. Eidan had called me by my name. Despite spending so much time together, he had always called me "Your Majesty" or "Master" and never by my name. It felt strange, like a dandelion had bloomed in my heart.
‘This is all because you suddenly called me after acting like you wouldn’t!’
Honestly, I was a bit surprised, but I pretended it didn't bother me and continued walking.
“W, well! Let's go!”
“Yes.”
Why did I feel a bit regretful for asking him to call me by my name? *** When we arrived at the Master's office, Casey soon entered. He looked extremely exhausted.
“Why am I in such a mess?”
“Huh?”
“Suddenly I have a nine-year-old daughter, and I had an accident at a young age.”
“Wow, Casey, you shouldn't live like that.”
“It's all because of Your Majesty!”
Casey, clearly feeling wronged, shouted in frustration. It seemed the rumors had caused him a lot of trouble on his way here.
“Was it that unfair?”
“Sob. Of course. I even had a crush on someone in the guild...”
“Wow. I didn't know that...”
“Now I'm done for. I'm finished...”
“Want a raise?”
“I'll work hard!”
“...”
At the mention of a raise, Casey perked up. I was speechless at his sudden change in attitude.
‘A crush, huh...’
Is love really that easy? Casey even went a step further.
“Since you'll be coming often, why don't you just adopt me as your daughter! I've always wanted a cute daughter.”
“Casey, if you get caught, your dad will kill you...”
“That's true. Then, a younger sister...?”
“Casey, you're from the back alleys, right?”
“Let's make me a back alley sister.”
That's how I ended up being Casey's back alley sister. Anyway, I had very little time, so I had to finish the discussion quickly. I took out the crumpled plan from my bag and laid it on the table.
“Here. This is the rough plan.”
“What is this...?”
“A plan, of course.”
“Are you trying to ruin the guild?”
I thought he was joking, but Casey's expression was unusually serious.
“No, that's not it...”
Feeling a bit deflated, I folded the paper back up and put it in my bag. It seemed better to explain it verbally.
“The nobles will be handled by Casey to find their weaknesses. For the public image, I have one idea.”
“Yes.”
“I have a foster care foundation that I sponsor. What if we donate to it?”
Because my father kept giving me gifts, I ended up donating everything except what I needed to the orphanage, which led to the foundation's creation. Casey nodded seriously.
“Donating is a good way to improve perception.”
“Yeah. And there's an event coming up soon. It would be great if the guild could participate in the volunteer work.”
“Good idea. We'll do that.”
The first guild protection project discussion went smoothly. *** When it was time to return to the palace, I felt a bit reluctant. Although I occasionally went out with my father's permission, I was always accompanied by guards and never had the chance to explore freely.
“Since there's still a bit of class time left, shall we look around the shops?”
Eidan readily nodded.
“But you can't eat anything. Just in case.”
“Got it.”
Eidan could handle attacks but not poisoning.
‘If only I could heal myself, there would be no worries.’
It was so frustrating not being able to heal myself. I passed by the street food with a sad look. It was the first time I could walk around freely without any supervision, and I was very excited. I peeked into various shops, admiring everything.
“This is cute. Oh, that's pretty too!”
Seeing the jewelry, I thought of the maids who usually took care of me. But they would prefer the expensive boutique jewelry, so I couldn't give them the street market jewelry.
‘I'll get them proper gifts next time.’
Just as I was happily moving to another shop, a voice I recognized called out.
“...Your Majesty?”
I froze, hearing the voice of disbelief. Turning my head slightly, I saw Enrique standing among the busy crowd.
“Y, you must be mistaken!”
I quickly covered my face, but it seemed he had recognized me. I heard his footsteps approaching.
“What are you doing here? It's dangerous with just one guard.”
“It's fine. It's Eidan...”
My identity was already exposed, so there was no point in hiding it. Enrique came to my side, glanced at Eidan, and then looked back at me.
“Did you sneak out?”
“It's... well...”
Feeling intimidated by his questioning, I lowered my head. Enrique knelt down and met my eyes.
“Surprised? ...I was just worried about Your Majesty. Don't make that face.”
“I was just about to go back. I just wanted to see the outside.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. Can you keep it a secret from Dad?”
If my secret was exposed, not only would I be in trouble, but Eidan would be too.
‘I might never leave the palace again!’
I didn't want to become a ghost of the palace. Clasping my hands together, I looked at Enrique pleadingly. He sighed and reluctantly nodded.
“Alright. And...”
Just as Enrique was about to say something more,
“Big brother!”
A familiar voice called out from a distance. Seeing the red hair among the crowd, Enrique stood up and guided me towards Eidan.
“Go back quickly. It will be troublesome if Emily sees Your Majesty.”
After bowing to me, Enrique disappeared towards Emily. Watching his back, I wondered,
‘What was he going to say?’
*** Today was the day of the foster care foundation event. Originally, I was supposed to attend alone, but suddenly Dad and Oscar decided to come too, turning it into a royal visit. As soon as we arrived at the orphanage, the journalists who were waiting greeted us with bright eyes and began writing in their notebooks.
“...Who called the journalists?”
“I, I don't know. It wasn't me.”
Gustav wiped his sweat, looking flustered. I secretly chuckled.
‘Me.’
I had called the journalists because any publicity, big or small, would improve the guild's public image.
“Chase them away—”
“Dad! If we do good things and people see it, they might think, ‘I want to do good things too!’ Wouldn't that be better?”
“Leave them be.”
Stopping Dad from chasing away the journalists, I signaled to Casey, who was mingling among them. He nodded. As we entered the orphanage, the director hurried over to greet us.
“Your Majesty, Your Highness, and Prince, welcome. I am Clara, the director of this orphanage. It's an honor to have you here.”
“Nice to meet you, Director.”
Following the director's lead, we took our seats at the front. Since it was a fairly large foundation, many nobles were also present as sponsors.
‘I need to remember their faces.’
Once the children from the orphanage were seated, the event began.
“Thank you again to His Majesty the Emperor for your generous support for the children.”
Applause filled the room. As always, I put on a dignified smile.
“Next...”
The list of sponsors from other nobles followed. As time passed, the last sponsor's name was called.
“Thank you to the Evil Guild, who recently donated to the foundation.”
“No problem.”
Casey stood up, smiled professionally, and nodded. The journalists didn't miss a moment, eagerly taking photos. Glancing back, I saw Dad and Oscar looking bewildered. I secretly smiled.