Chapter 6

<b>“You stay nice and cozy in here.”</b>

There were three wrinkles now. Shoot, I forgot that this hand is the one that I was sucking on just a moment ago.

Rolling your eyeball around is the best way to check out the atmosphere. I grabbed the other hand that was holding the towel tight so that he wouldn’t get angry.

Oh, I forgot I also sucked on this hand.

I quickly retrieved my hand to wipe it off on my clothes and held Euphil’s hand again with a silly laugh. Dumbfounded, he let out a hollow smile.

<b>“What’s the use if you wipe it off on your clothes after you’ve already wiped it all off on me? I guess the towel was useless.”</b>

<b>“Mirthy likes Euphil’s hand also. Hehe.”</b>

I guess there was truth in the saying, ‘You throw an extra piece of bread to someone you dislike and can’t get angry at a fool.’

In light of this, I held his hand tight and laughed like a fool. I didn’t forget to blink my eyes in attempt to flaunt my cuteness.

‘He’s not pushing me away this time, either.’

Even when my hand was wet with saliva, I made the splendid achievement of holding his hand without him shaking it off.

Euphil cleared his throat quietly after staring at his hand of which I had gotten a hold of.

<b>“Okay, you can go now.”</b>

<b>“Hm? Where? Are we going for a walk?”</b>

<b>“Go home, to your palace.”</b>

Ah, he’s kicking me out.

I dawdled out of my desire to linger. I tried squeezing his soft hand and also took a look at some books that were lying around.

<b>“If you touch the books with your wet hands, I won’t ever let you come back here.”</b>

<b>“Hehe, Mirthy will never touch them!”</b>

Whatever you say. What else can I say if you’ll let me come back here again as long as I don’t touch the books?

I tried hard to suppress my evil smile. Euphil on the other hand, seemed to be thinking something different since he was flinching and poking at his cheeks.

<b>“If you get saliva on the books, the books will be damaged. If that happens, you can’t read the stories that you like.”</b>

Eh? Is he trying to console me?

I had just experienced the rare feat of being consoled while trying to hide my thrill at the prize that I had received from the infamous tyrant Euphil Raize, no less.

I managed with some difficulty to stop myself from giving him a doubtful glare. He must be plotting something.

Wait, what kind of plot could he have?

The only one with ulterior motives here is me.

That young tyrant just seems like his heart is all fluffy now.

From what I’ve read briefly in the books, he had become a tyrant due to the pain of betrayal.

Perhaps this means that nothing of the sort happened before he was ten?

As I was contemplating this in my head, I saw the pair of red eyes looking at me and found myself nodding.

<b>“Yeah, Mirthy knows how you feel. Hehe.”</b>

Then I squeezed his hand.

Euphil’s face seemed to turn slightly red at my words just like a child his  his age would do. That was adorable.

I felt a lump in my throat.

Ever since I woke up from my sleep, I haven’t felt let down spending time with him.

That is until this moment that I described as a walk and he declared sending me back. It was a very itchy feeling.

He escorted me past the ranunculus flowers in the garden with the white wooden chair. No matter how many times I come here, I cannot seem to memorize the way when I’m with him. It was probably because he walked in a straight line taking excessively simple routes.

<b>“Now go.”</b>

<b>“Okay!”</b>

Once we parted like that, I would just stand there and wave my hands at Euphil’s back. Even if he wouldn’t look back for a long time, he would look back at least once with a frown on his face urging me on to go home.

‘Isn’t he pretty considerate?’

As I thought to myself, I couldn’t help but to wonder again today how that ten year old boy would turn into a tyrant.

A somewhat grumpy but kind ten year old boy.

Something that will turn him into a tyrant. Why is that boy trying so hard to act so mature?

Mulling over these thoughts, I returned to my palace yet again and nodded off into sleep in my bed.

* * *

The palace of Prince Euphil was one of the three palaces in the royal palace belonging to a prince or princess.

There was the eldest prince above Euphil and below, there was a princess. In other words, me.

There used to be another grown princess but she got married with an aristocrat and left the palace a long time ago. Let’s say she’s living my ideal life.

But Euphil ends up wiping out the entire family, including the princess that had left the palace. I’m going to have to cancel what I said about her life being my ideal life.

I guess the only way is to coax young Euphil and grow up as his younger sister and then, run away.

If my palace could be described as something between a maze and a forest, his palace was quite well managed.

Water flowing out of the harp held by a muse whose hair had been plated gold. The garden tree that had been trimmed into the shape of an instrument. The scenery in which there were no weeds to be spotted anywhere.

On the other hand, my palace?

I can have so much fun and stay fit playing ‘jump over the weed.’

So nice.

Anyway, that’s probably why there were quite a number of people visiting his palace.

<b>“Don’t worry. No one is paying attention to you.”</b>

I stuck close to him, holding his hand tight out of my nervousness about  the strangers.

That’s how he tried to comfort me. I guess it is better than nothing.

“Mirthy…… has a lot of friends.”

<b>“Really, who?”</b>

<b>“Euphil, Valk, and Puffy.”</b>

<b>“Valk? Who’s Puffy?”</b>

<b>“Puffy’s my teddy bear. Valk is someone I don’t know.”</b>

How would I describe the guard captain. I ended up just writing Valk, the guy who brings me lots of firewood off as someone I didn’t know. If he disagrees with my description, he can show up in front of me with firewood right now.

Valk would still bring me a lot of firewood after that, but didn’t come see me; perhaps his conscience wouldn’t let me. Instead, raspberry pies were occasionally sent in but Ante had been eating all of those.

Damn it.

<b>“How can your friend be someone you don’t……”</b>

As he was about to refute me, he froze up. His eyes were fixated in a single direction.

‘What is it?’

I drew close to his face and followed his sight to find a group of men. Judging from their fine clothing, they seemed to be nobles.

<b>“Valk? Misters?”</b>

The word mister unfroze his body and he let out a snicker. He seemed to find my words funny.

Soon, his red eyes had sunk deep. I did not know what it was that was swaying inside his eyes.

He told me in a hushed voice who the people were.

<b>“The Duke, Premier, Minister of Military, who is also the queen’s younger brother.”</b>

<b>“Yeah?”</b>

<b>“And……”</b>

<b>“And?”</b>

<b>“The King.”</b>

My body also froze up upon hearing his words.

The mister with the most majestic clothing was looking toward us with eyes as cold as ice.

Euphil let out a calm laugh. It was such a cold laugh in a voice that I had never heard from him since I had met him that I felt a chill going through my bones.

<b>“Yes, it’s the person who abandoned us.”</b>

That’s the first time I had seen my father.

A solemn man with glistening silver hair and green eyes.

* * *

“Prince Euphil, how are you?”

High officials approached him and politely extended their courtesies. It was unthinkable not to formally greet a prince in front of the king, even if the prince was an abandoned one.

But, they all seemed confused regarding me who was standing there hanging on to Euphil’s hand.

I was blinking my eyes with a firm resolve to never let go of the hand that I was holding.

One of the aristocrats met my eyes. I shyly took my other hand and bit my finger. I felt the aristocrat’s face relax.

That moment.

One of them seemed startled looking at my eyes.

“Purple……? Princess Mirthy?”

“Princess Mirthy?”

In just a moment, there was a commotion amongst them.

Wow, even the king’s closest associates don’t recognize my face? They really didn’t pay much attention to my existence after all.

Then the belated pleasantries began.

“Princess Mirthy.”

“Princess Mirthy. It is a fine afternoon.”

A princess that they have never seen before and an appearance that apparently did not take on that of my mother’s.

Even so, the officials could not keep their eyes off of me. The flustered expression on their faces when I gave them a big smile was identical to Valk’s.

It was an expression that said, ‘she’s adorable but I have to keep a straight face here.’

‘Oh whatever.’

<b>Charge!</b>

I put on my most innocent expression and waved my hand softly, whether the king was looking or not. It was to show that I was glad to meet them as well.

<b>“Haha.”</b>

The premier finally let out a laugh. I secretly put on a triumphant smile looking at his soften eyes akin to a pair of eyes looking at a baby animal.

Until I met the king’s eyes.

Contrastingly, the king’s eyes were cold.

His gaze toward me and Euphil, both were eyes completely devoid of any emotions.

‘How can he look at his own children like that?’

Euphil and I must really be abandoned children. I shivered a little and Euphil squeezed my hand that was holding his for the first time.

The king spoke towards him:

<b>“Euphil.”</b>

<b>“Your Majesty.”</b>

It was an extremely short conversation.

He treated the king with the utmost respect, one that is difficult to be expected from a ten year old boy. Looking at this, I felt that I could understand why a ten year old child was trying so hard to act mature.

To tell the truth, I actually knew this king. It was because I was someone who read the book.

He was a king who had several children but was cold to all of them. He had four queens and three of them had already passed away. If I had just read the book, I might have thought maybe that was the reason he turned into such a cold person, but this was directly related to me. If that king had just taken good care of Euphil, I wouldn’t have to try this hard to evade murder.

In other words, I was sure that he was a terrible father. It doesn’t take a person who’s read the book to realize this. I could count the number of times that he even looked at me when I came across him.

After refusing to give me any attention for a while, he turned his head slightly and gave me a glance. No, I couldn’t even call it a glance. This rotten king, he just ran his eyes over me like I was some insignificant insect and turned to Euphil.

<b>“You’re wasting your time with silly play, just like your mother.”</b>

The current queen’s younger brother took a deep breath. The premier did the same.

The King nonchalantly started a conversation with Euphil.