Chapter 13
I thought I tore it a little.
The knights must have been flustered by my charismatic shout.
“Ttekki.”
The knight smiled kindly.
No, this isn’t it. What in the world went wrong?
“Young Lady, you can’t just impersonate the Princess.”
“You’ll get a scary punishment if you do that. Euahahahat!”
The two didn’t seem to believe that I was Isabel.
Well, I thought it could be like this since my face wasn’t well-known, and I looked like this.
I stopped my nanny from saying anything and asked her to put me down.
I asked my nanny to put me down.
I stood majestically on both feet.
I pronounced it as carefully as possible.
“Ttodok-gwa i-reum-eul malhae（State your affiliation and name）.”
The knights ignored me and turned their attention to the nanny.
Their expressions were quite different from when they were dealing with me.
“Let’s say the Young Lady is young, but what are you doing?”
“Hurry up and take the Young Lady back.”
I said.
“Ignoring the Princess when she’s talking, is that Bilotian’s bopdoya（law）?”
“Excuse me?”
“I asked for your affiliation and name.”
The knights’ faces were filled with bewilderment.
It seemed like they sensed something was strange.
“The knights guarding the Imperial banquet hall don’t even memorize the faces of the royal family?”
“……”
“Do you want to get scolded? If you don’t know my face, the standard procedure is to report to your superior and confirm it first.”
“……”
“No forgiveness.”
In reality, the two knights just stood there, speechless.
They seemed very flustered.
‘As for the appearance of a Princess…… I must have shown enough.’
There are many eyes watching.
Every move I make will be recorded, and that will become my reputation and image.
So, I had to make sure to clarify things and say what I had to say clearly.
I smiled brightly.
“But I’ll let it slide. It’s a happy day today.”
* * *
“To commemorate the day the sun rises, Armuriel-nim, the Creation Mage of our Mirotel Magic Federation, personally imbued mana to create……”
Serna secretly poked Ron’s side.
“Your Majesty. You should give a return greeting.”
The person who just presented the gift was Wilhelm, the rising star of the Mirotel Magic Federation.
The Mirotel Magic Federation was an absolute power that practically divided the continent with the Swordsmanship Empire, Bilotian.
Serna whispered softly.
“Your Majesty?”
In fact, Ron’s ears were not listening to Wilhelm’s words.
He was already aware of the commotion at the entrance.
His extraordinary hearing picked up Isabel’s voice.
“Out of the way! Make way! I’m Ishabel.”
From then on, Ron’s attention was entirely focused on the entrance.
Every word Isabel said after that was correct.
‘That’s right. It was good that she asked for their affiliation and name first, and it was also right to logically point out their mistakes. It was very Princess-like.’
She knew Ron very well and sensed that he was distracted by something.
As the Empress, she took on Ron’s role.
She opened her mouth.
“I express my deepest gratitude for the Mirotel Magic Federation sending such a precious gift.”
She made eye contact with Wilhelm.
She continued speaking with a benevolent smile, befitting an Empress.
“In the future, I will visit the Mirotel Magic Federation and give my greetings to Sir Armuriel separately.”
Ron’s current attitude was a serious diplomatic blunder.
However, no one cared about it.
It was because the Empress shone so brightly.
But at that moment, Ron rose from his seat.
“Let her in.”
His voice was imbued with mana.
It pierced through the people like a launched arrow and reached the entrance.
The knights flinched.
“Did you hear?”
“Y-Yes, we heard.”
They both looked towards the inside of the entrance at the same time.
Her gaze was fixed on this direction.
Cold sweat ran down their backs.
“P-Please enter, Your Highness.”
“I will escort you.”
I felt that the situation had gone wrong.
Their expressions hardened.
Isabel walked, holding the hand of one of the knights.
Sweat was dripping from the knight’s hand.
Isabel said with a bright smile.
“It’s okay. I forgave you.”
“……”
“Father only punishes one mistake once.”
The knight suddenly felt that the small hand in his own was enormous.
He realized that this child, with her small and pretty smile, was of the Imperial bloodline.
“I apologize for my rudeness. I will visit you separately in the future and ask for your forgiveness.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I think I’ll feel better if I do.”
“Then buy me jelly. Or ice cream. Peach jelly, chocolate ice cream.”
The knight had a strange feeling.
He experienced a paradox, a combination of irresistible dignity and unbearable cuteness.
Isabel arrived in front of the head table, escorted by the knight.
Isabel raised her head and looked up at Ron.
“I pwepared a gift for you, Your Majesty.”
The envoys murmured.
Not much of it was positive.
This was because Isabel’s current attire and appearance did not suit this banquet.
Some noblewomen were greatly surprised.
“Oh my goodness. Is that the Princess?”
“Her face is covered in soot.”
“Oh dear, how unsightly.”
They covered their faces with fans.
“I heard she was practically abandoned by the Imperial Family. I guess it’s true.”
“Even so, she should be receiving basic care.”
“I would have severely scolded the nanny.”
Serna, standing right next to Isabel, and Isabel were in stark contrast.
“The Empress is so dignified and elegant.”
“Even a daughter of a fallen noble family would be neater than her.”
Isabel didn’t care much about the whispers around her.
She couldn’t hear them well, and she only had 17 years left, so she didn’t have time to worry about such trivial things.
“I’ll give it to you.”
“What is that?”
Ron’s upper body, which had shown almost no interest in the Mirotel Magic Federation’s gift, was leaning forward considerably.
“It’s a ring.”
Isabel proudly held out the flower ring.
It was sparkling with imbued magical power.
“Ta-da, it even sparkles!”
“……”
“I’ll put it on for you. Can I go up?”
Everyone looked at Isabel as if she was absurd.
Everyone thought that the Iron-Blooded Emperor would let out a furious shout.
Some whispered, covering their faces with fans.
“This is the ultimate embarrassment.”
“Indeed.”
“She’s a half-baked Princess who can’t even learn swordsmanship, and she’s completely ruined the Emperor’s face.”
At that moment, the wind blew.
The fans of those who were speaking negatively about the Princess were torn to shreds.
At the same time, the Emperor spoke.
“Stay there. I will come to you.”
Ron, who had been sitting on the head table like a statue, rose from his seat.
It was the first time this had happened.
He slowly walked down.
He faced his daughter, who was in a disheveled state.
And he knelt on one knee to meet Isabel’s eye level.
“Did you make this?”
“Yes.”
“And you got into this mess while making this?”
“……Yes.”
Her voice became smaller.
Actually, she had gotten into this state while playing in the dirt.
But it was a little difficult to tell the truth.
“You look terrible. I should scold your nanny severely.”
“N-No!”
“I’m joking.”
Ron tucked his daughter’s messy bangs behind her ear.
It wasn’t a familiar touch, but it wasn’t rough either.
Isabel liked his touch so much that she smiled.
Her heart felt ticklish because of the warmth she had never experienced in her previous life.
She walked forward and whispered in Ron’s ear.
“I like that you’re here, Daddy.”
“……”
“It’s a secret.”
“What’s a secret?”
“That I like Daddy.”
She covered her mouth with her finger and said, “Shh.”
Isabel smiled brightly.
‘It’s a little embarrassing.’
Her face flushed for no reason. Still, she wanted to be honest with her current feelings and heart.
Because she only had seventeen more times left.
‘Oh, right, the gift, I have to put it on.’
With her small hands, she carefully put the ring on Ron’s finger.
Ron’s hand was trembling slightly.
* * *
Late at night, close to midnight.
Serna, lying in bed, let out a deep sigh.
“Why did you choose the flower ring as the best gift? It was a huge issue. It still is. You know that your actions have been interpreted as ignoring the other envoys, right?”
He chose the flower ring given by the Princess as the best gift.
This was an act of ignoring and insulting the envoys who had prepared their gifts with care.
“If you’re going to be expressionless, you should be expressionless until the end. Your Majesty, who maintained a poker face throughout the banquet, smiled when your daughter appeared.”
“I never did that, Serna.”
“You smiled, definitely. I saw it.”
“I didn’t smile.”
“Really? You swear on me?”
“……”
Ron, at a disadvantage, exercised his right to remain silent.
According to the doctor, the Emperor had a ‘disease where he absolutely cannot lie if he swears on Serna’.
His face reddened slightly.
“Was it a few years ago…… You were furious, saying that a ring was absurd for a swordsman, remember?”
Swordsmen do not wear cumbersome things on their hands.
Because it subtly changes the feeling of holding a sword.
“But this time, you received a flower ring, a flower ring imbued with mana that interferes with a swordsman’s mana flow, and designated it as the best gift. In front of everyone.”
“……”
“I’m going to be busy cleaning up this mess one way or another. I might not see you for three or four months. Maybe even longer.”
It was a punishment for Ron.
The diplomatic issue was actually trivial, but not being able to see Serna was a huge deal.
Only then did Ron realize the seriousness of the situation.
“Have I done that wrong?”
“I didn’t say you did wrong.”
Serna smiled.
“Because I would have made the same choice.”
Anyway, they had to clean up the mess.
Many envoys were offended, so they had to go on a long journey to appease them.
It was annoying and troublesome, but that was politics and diplomacy.
And the next day, Ron visited Isabel’s room for the first time in a long time.
