She wondered out loud. In fact, she seemed quite taken aback about it.
Not that I could blame her.
I could understand how she’s feeling right now.
‘You’re absolutely right…’ Cerera’s clothes are way too simple to be a royal nurse. Now, when I say simple, I’m being nice. In fact, if someone called her out for being too plain I would have nothing to say to defend her.
I mean, I know she hates unnecessary luxuries, but I feel she tries too hard at being prudent that she made herself too simple; it was to the point that it actually backfired and diminished her beauty. ‘Tsk.’
Princess Faylene looked surprised, but only for a moment, then she started to ponder something.
Well, all her thoughts were reflected on her face.
I mean, it was pretty obvious to everyone that she was judging- no, “tasting” me.
‘Am I some kind of dish to be tasted?’ I felt so offended that I turned my head away.
‘So what if you’re pretty? Even if you’re pretty if you are also annoying, it’s over!
I feel super annoyed right now!’
“Is that child her royal highness?”
‘Yeah! That’s right, I’m the royal princess.
I’m saying that child is definitely me.’
The “royal highness” part made my cheeks burn, but that definitely proves that I am on a higher standing than the other princess.
But why is she gazing at me with such heated eyes? It feels really burdensome.
‘Look, I’m only a three-month-old ‘wah wah’ baby. I honestly don’t know why you have to gaze at me with such feverish, glazed eyes. What is wrong with this girl?’
“Yes, this one is her royal highness.”
Cerera bit down on her lips and just barely replied. Just by looking at her, I could tell she really regretted revealing my identity to this Princess.
‘Yup.
I think I figured out why.
To reveal a defenseless baby to a hostile woman who has a deep grudge against the child’s father is quite the…… thing to do. Yup.’
“Hand her over. I want to try holding her one time.”
‘What?!’
I was so shocked I forgot to keep sucking on my pacifier.
‘What did this crazy hag say? Yes? Do you even know me?
I think this is the first time we met, yes?
HEY! Even my own birth father never held me. The only one who can hold me is Cerera!’
“That…”
Cerera clearly looked uncomfortable.
‘Turn her down. Turn her down!
If you’re going to hand me over I’m gonna sulk!
*SOB SOB*
Damn! I feel so bitter. How can I live?
I know this guy, that guy and even I held babies, but now that it’s happening to me, I hate it!
If it was a familiar face that I saw at least a couple of times I would understand, but that woman just saw me for the first time!’
“Why? Do you think we will hurt her?”
The Princess pressured my nanny.
‘That damn-!
No! I don’t want to go. I hate that woman!’
I grabbed onto Cerera’s clothes.
‘No, Mommy! If you send me I will cry.
I will cry!
In that woman’s eyes, there’s something similar to animosity!’
This is not a lie I’m making up because I don’t want to go, but in those green eyes of her’s, there really is some type of enmity in there.
‘It was so blatant that it felt burdensome. It was that kind of hostility!
Fuck this.
Why do I have to get this kind of look just because I was unlucky enough to get the wrong father?!’
I thought it started out good with it being my first time to walk outside…
‘But how did it end up with me rolling down a cliff?!
Don’t hand me over! No, Don’t hand me over!’
“Pri-Princess, stop twisting around.”
“Wahhhinnnn~”
Finally, for the first time since I was born, I burst loudly into tears.
‘I hate! I hate this woman!’
I don’t know why she sprayed herself with this perfume, but I hated this strong rose scent. The thick make up she was wearing and long sharp nails she wasn’t trimming – I really hated everything.
“Shut up! Can’t you keep that mouth shut!”
‘Have you ever heard of a baby shutting up because it was told to?!
I hate you!
I want to cry- No, I’m already crying.’
From my eyes, tears were tirelessly running down.
It was to the point that I couldn’t see what was in front of me anymore. I was just kicking up a fuss with all the energy I had with my mouth opened and crying with all my might.
‘Ah, now I know why babies cry so vigorously. It’s the only way they can display their displeasure. I am such a weak existence. I can’t even crawl, so I can’t even go away by myself!’
Also, unlike Cerera, her body was so thin I couldn’t rub myself against her. She was too hard.
‘I hate it here!’
“Wahinnnn~”
“It so noisy! Why is it so loud?”
‘All kids are like that.
*Sigh* Don’t raise any.’
Cerera fidgeted next to me and Elaine looked at me with surprised eyes.
‘Yes, I know.
You guys have never seen me like this right? It’s a first for me too.’
I am crying like this for the first time.
‘But I hated it to the point that I cried!’
“Waaah~~~”
You’d think she was a normal person who would give up by now, however, I don’t know where she learned it but Princess Faylene grabbed my body tightly and didn’t let go. In this way, my wrist and hips were in great pain.
‘It hurts! You don’t even know how to hold a child?!’
“Whose attitude do you take after?! If someone saw this, they would think I was doing something bad to you!”
‘Your face is a horror, you old lady!’
“Wahinnn~”
‘Damn. Someone help me!’
Seriously, it looks like she would drop me soon with the way I was struggling about while giving it my all. When suddenly, I heard a familiar voice drop from above.
“What’s going on?”
The voice was so familiar. I turned my face, wet with tears, and looked through blurry eyes.
‘Ah, It da… Daddy!’
My eyes grew round like saucers and, at the same time, the body holding me grew stiff.
With the Emperor’s entrance, the whole atmosphere, as if splashed with cold water, immediately cooled down. Unfortunately, while the chaos was going on, it happened right under the hallway he was passing by. I felt so taken back, I shut my mouth. Of course, the hallway was away from this spot, but it wasn’t far enough for him not to see anything.
Princess Faylene instantly paled and lifted her face. Keitel met her eyes and sneered. It was his usual grin, the one he gave that suggested he looked at everyone and considered them all bugs.
“I greet the one who has touched Evangelium.”
The saying means to hear good news to the Emperor who had heard the voice of God. Male or female one must repeat this saying to the Emperor of Agrigent.
It’s quite a scary sight to behold a blue-faced blue-haired woman shaking with her head bowed down.
After my dad appeared, I stopped crying, but I was sniffling.
“May you reach Evangelium.”
I don’t know if it’s because Cerera a citizen, but her greeting was quite different.
As I grow up, I will slowly learn all the small differences, but I wanted to know right now.
‘Why?’
Unfortunately, this was not a good situation to satisfy my curiosity. Slowly, the Emperor came down the stairs and gazed at us with a sinuous posture. So far I just thought of my dad as this crazy bastard, I guess I had mistaken the animosity he gave off, for it turns out it was his normal self. I was wrong about the animosity he gave off, and now it was much larger than what I felt in the room as it weighed down the atmosphere.
“Can someone explain to me why my daughter was crying?”
‘Who’s your daughter? Oh wait, I am.
I want to cry in protest that I’m not. You always called me as if you’re talking about someone else’s daughter. Are you trying to show off your ignorance? If not, please change the way you talk about me.’
As usual, no one knew how I felt so I just sniffled as I sucked on my thumb. When I was making myself busy crying, my lovely pacifier went by itself somewhere.
‘Where did it go, my pacifier?
Pacifier, big sister is sorry. Where did you go?’
“What… What happened was…”
The Princess put more strength in her grip and my torso started hurting. ‘Ow! Seriously!’
I really wanted to cry out loud, but daddy was daddy so I couldn’t.
‘He will kill me if I cry.’
The survival instinct I didn’t know I had was telling me this.
That mean bastard. I had to satisfy myself with just furrowing my forehead and looking longingly at Cerera. At that moment, I met his eyes.
‘Huh? Why are you laughing?’
I didn’t know what this crazy guy would do so I made a face.
‘What? What’s going on?’
The guy who always sneered at me was giving me a genuine smile. ‘Wow, his beauty is to die for. It’s blatant that God made a mistake when balancing his assets. How else could a person have everything except personality? Hey, Can you tell me?’
“Come here.”
Keitel spread his hands toward me.
I was momentarily left at two crossroads.
Was it a crazy woman or a crazy dad?
It was just a moment, but my thoughts really did fall into chaos.
‘Ah, I guess you’re better than this woman gripping my torso so tightly that it felt like she was tearing it off.’ I quickly let out my hands.
I guess since he was a crazy bastard no- an Emperor, Princess Faylene gave me up easily. ‘What else could she do?’ I guess it was his first time holding me because his posture was awkward, but I was finally able to stop sniffling. Now that my torso was free from the pressure, it felt so much better.
‘Ah. This is a real problem.
Just because I saw you a couple of times I got really used to you.
*sniff sniff sniff*
Your scent is familiar. Damn.’
He watched me get comfortable in his arm. I raised my head and looked into his eyes, then, I smiled cheerfully.
‘I’m not bribing you okay. I’m not!
…I just want to survive okay.’
I don’t know if he understood my struggle to live, but he smiled back at me. It was as gentle as the spring breeze. However, it instantly turned cold again.
‘Are you the man of a thousand masks? Seriously, do you really own a thousand masks?
How could a person just suddenly switch emotions that fast? We should break up!
I can’t continue familial ties with a fickle guy like you!
But I guess I can’t right?
Damn, I’m screwed.’
Anyways, that fierce face was not towards me, but at the shivering Princess Faylene.
‘Ah, I feel she looks pitiful now.’ Earlier I hated her to the bone, yet I didn’t want to throw her alive in front of a crazy bastard, so I felt complicated.
‘So who told you to hold me?’
“Who are you?”
It was just one sentence. He was a man of few words, but he was even curter in front of that Princess. ‘I guess it’s unsurprising. I mean, what could he have to say to her that required longer sentences?’
“I am Princess Segesta from Praezia, your grace.”
“No, not that name.”
He twisted his lips. It was not a genuine smile from pleasure nor his usual sneer. Rather, it was something that twisted your insides, made your skin crawl and caused your stomach to churn.
“I want to know the name you received when I shoved you in the harem. I don’t care for the name you used in the past.”
‘Wow, you sadist.’
The Princess, who was gripping her dress, turned white. ‘Now I’m starting to feel sorry for her.’
‘I think I know how she feels.
Yup, it’s scary. I’m scared too.’
While it is the Princess currently in that place there’s no guarantee I wouldn’t be in her place someday. I pulled his clothes back.
‘Hey, dad, with this I’m okay now, so how about we just let her off around now?’
“Faylene…”
At that moment, the maid behind the Princess broke the silence.
“It is Princess Faylene.”
Keitel’s face instantly froze. His hostility doubled. In this atmosphere, it was hard to breathe that I wanted to cry. ‘But damn-!’
‘Because of this dad in front of me, nothing is going well today.’
I finally just scrunched up my face and whimpered.
‘Hgh, I hate this! Things like this!’
“Who are you to step in front of me?”
It was unnecessarily aggressive words. ‘I guess he doesn’t know what the word “mercy” means.’
“Do you think someone like you can interfere in a place like this?”
The maid immediately went on her knees. Then she shouted as if she was screaming.
That pitiful sight shocked me.
“I committed a deathly crime! Please spare my life! I beg of you! I’m sorry!”
I had no connection to this incident, but even I felt sorry for the sobbing maid who was screeching.
She just wanted to protect her mistress… If it was me, I would have forgiven her no matter what, but unfortunately, the one who caught her was a crazy lunatic.
“Drag her away.”
Everyone held their breath at his cold words. Of course, I held my breath back too.
He didn’t have an ounce of mercy in him.
I heard the only medicine for a crazy guy like him is a beating, but since there was no one around who could beat the Emperor up, there was no cure for him. ‘Yep, there’s is no cure for a bastard like you.’
“This is the first time I saw our Princess cry.”
‘So, are you going to kill me?’
“Where’s her toy?”
‘What toy?’ Unfortunately, he wasn’t asking me so I couldn’t answer.
“Yes?”
Cerera looked surprised as he looked at her, however, he looked pretty calm in comparison.
“Toy. The one she’s always chewing on.”
‘That’s not a toy, but a pacifier, my friend.
AKA binky.
It even has a nickname and is a friend to all babies.
You’re a dad and you don’t know that?
Ugh, seriously!’
“Ah, it’s…”
Cerera, who was baffled, looked around and found it near the spot the Princess stood.
‘Ah, it “durity”! ( )
How can I put it back in my mouth!’
The Emperor must have agreed with me.
“Toss it.”
As soon as she picked it up, he was ordering her to throw it away.
Cerera couldn’t bring herself to just throw it away on the floor so she hid it away in her arms.
Since I lacked a pacifier, I just made do by sucking on my thumb.
*Suck suck suck*
‘Ah, it’s my finger, but it’s salty.’
“She cried so vigorously.”
‘Yes, thank you for your acknowledgment, so can you let me go free to my nanny?’
My wishes were ignored, as usual, the Emperor looked down at the Princess while holding me.
She was deathly still with her head lowered.
‘Ha~ She’s so pitiful.’
The girl with a thousand masks
refers poetically to the mask of faces that actors wear – while expressing emotions that are not their own, the mask they wear (their acting)
I think it similar to Man of a Thousand Faces
Lon Chaney
A pacifier (American English) or dummy (British English) and (Australian English), also known as a binky, soother (Canadian English), teether or Dodie is a rubber, plastic or silicone nipple given to an infant to suck upon. In its standard appearance it has a teat, mouth shield, and handle.