889 – The Sorrow of a Crown Princess – 1

How would a person react if he or she were to be shocked beyond his or her ability to handle?

They often burst into tears, express their anger violently, or lie on the floor and do freestyle. They can’t suppress their emotions rationally, so they express their sadness with their whole body.

However, the Crown Princess’s reaction was none of the three.

“Doll… I’m playing with it…”

The Crown Princess, who had been looking back and forth between Kran, the doll, and Pedi with tearful eyes, lowered her head deeply, then ran to the Empress and hugged her legs.

Then she buried her face in the hem of the Empress’s skirt, as if she didn’t want to see anything or say anything at the moment.

“Oh my god.”

Even the Empress could not hide her embarrassment at the Crown Princess’s reaction for the first time in her life. How embarrassed must she have been for the Empress’s always smiling face to waver for a moment?

I was equally embarrassed. There were many instances where the Crown Princess threw a tantrum or showed her frustration, but this was the first time I saw her so completely dispirited. Even though I was the same family member who had been with the Crown Princess since she was born.

‘I wish you had been angry.’

I swallowed without thinking.

Of course, if he had been angry, he would have vented his anger on a level that was incomparable to before. He would never have been able to appease or calm down easily. It is highly likely that he would have been sulking about his father and Pedi until the moment Barandi left the Marquisate.

However, being more angry than usual and showing a side of yourself that you have never seen before are two different things. The former can be overcome with effort, but how on earth do you deal with the latter?

“Your Majesty.”

In this awkward and awkward silence, Barandi’s anger only grew stronger.

The doll that his granddaughter cherishes. The next emperor is deeply heartbroken because of that doll. In order to behave perfectly, the marquis deliberately blocked his sight and hearing when the topic of the situation’s hobbies came up, but he suddenly incurred the next emperor’s hatred.

It must feel like the sky is falling. But it’s ambiguous to blame anyone because it’s a problem between children, and it’s also the first gift your granddaughter has received from an outsider. It’s a terrible dilemma where you can’t do anything.

“My nephew, I will prepare a lot of wonderful and pretty dolls. I will prepare enough to fill Your Majesty’s room, so please relax.”

‘ah.’

As if he had noticed the craftsman’s dilemma, Ainter opened his mouth to lighten the mood─ but he ended up sighing inwardly because it was such a bad comment.

The princess was not simply shocked by the doll. The thing that she had asked for so badly, the treasured possession of her first brother, was in the hands of her cousin whom she had never seen before. That was the shocking point. The doll was merely a medium that symbolized the princess’s sadness, but it could not be said to be the real reason.

Unfortunately, Ainther overlooked that point. Apart from his gentle personality and his affection for the crown princess, he was just a novice father. So he was obsessed with the keyword of a doll and failed to see the real problem. It was truly a pity.

“It’s not necessary.”

Anyway, the Crown Princess firmly shook her head at Ainter’s words, which did not seem to get to the point. Naturally, her face was buried in the Empress’s skirt.

I guess I should be thankful that he even gave me an answer. If he ignored even my uncle’s words, it means that the situation is extremely serious.

“Sister.”

While the adults were pondering how to resolve this situation, Pedi, who could be said to be the starting point of the situation, opened his mouth.

For a moment, I seriously considered whether I should cover Pedi’s mouth. In this situation, if Pedi provoked the crown princess even a little, the crown princess’s puberty could come about 10 years earlier.

At the same time, a faint sense of anticipation also rose. A child knows his or her own heart, and the feelings that adults cannot fill are filled by those of the same age. Perhaps Pedi could successfully appease the crown princess?

That’s why I tried to calm my trembling hands and looked back and forth between Pedi and the Crown Princess.

‘Cheer up, my son…!’

This dad always believes in his son! Our Pedi is a great son who has never let his dad down!

“Don’t you have a doll too, sister?”

This is the first time I feel like I’ve been betrayed by Pedi.

“But if you still want it, I’ll give you one.”

“ah.”

A sigh escaped the voice as the additional blows continued.

This is a disaster that cannot even be described as a landmine. It’s like Pedi detonated a claymore on the Crown Princess’ mentality.

“No need!”

The Crown Princess, who was shaking as if her phone was on vibrate mode at Pedi’s cruel words, finally reached the end of her patience, and pulled out her face that had been tightly hidden and screamed.

Needless to say, tears shed from frustration soon covered my face.

“You idiot, Paddy! You’re bad! You’re an idiot brother!”

The crown princess shouted like that and disappeared down the hallway, leaving even the empress behind.

I blankly stared at the back of the Crown Princess as she ran at the speed of light that no one could catch.

‘I don’t even know the way.’

Soon, concerns about the crown princess began to arise.

This is neither the palace nor my mansion, but a third place. It is an unknown place to the crown princess, so even if I run like that, I will get lost quickly. If I get lost in the Marquis’s Palace, it will be difficult to get back here.

Of course, there are countless servants in the afterlife, so they will find the lost princess right away, but it would be a bit much to make her go missing even for a moment.

“I─”

“I will go, so you stay here. If you leave now, they will run away even more.”

He rolled his eyes here and there at the empress’s request and nodded.

If you approach the Crown Princess with an impertinent determination while she is in deep sorrow, the next step will be disaster. For now, it is right to leave it to the Empress, who is her biological mother, and for the other adults to remain silent.

“I am sorry for causing such great disrespect to Your Majesty the Empress.”

“How rude. It’s natural for children to fight as they grow up. Especially when they’re friends, like siblings.”

The Empress smiled at my apology and turned her gaze to the Marquis Barandiga.

“Marquis, don’t take this to heart. It’s painful to see children fighting, but it’s part of what happens.”

“Ah, Your Majesty the Empress. The Crown Princess is not an ordinary child, but the one who will become the mistress of the empire. Even if it was not intentional, how can I not be responsible if Your Majesty was hurt by my carelessness?”

“no.”

The empress firmly shook her head at the words of the marquis who seemed to have aged five years in the meantime.

“Charlotte and I came to see our families. So this is a minor squabble between family members, not a dispute between the Crown Princess and her subjects.”

“your majesty…”

“The Marquis, please take good care of Krann. I will take good care of Charlotte.”

With those words, the empress walked away with her maids.

But is it because of the mood? It is quite natural to deal with the Crown Princess’s sudden actions. The maids maintain a certain distance from each other, and have formed a siege formation so that they can quickly capture the Crown Princess if she runs in reverse. Their strides are also stable, so they block the possibility of the Crown Princess’s charge breaking the siege.

This situation seems familiar. Is it perhaps a common occurrence for the Crown Princess and her maids to play tag in the palace?

“Daddy, daddy.”

“huh?”

“What did I do wrong?”

I smiled faintly at Pedi’s cautious question.

Actually, it is true that the trigger was Pedi. However, if you ask if this is wrong, absolutely not. How can a gift prepared with good intentions be wrong?

“No. It’s just that my sister is a little upset. Pedi didn’t do anything wrong.”

“But… Sister… I think you’re mad because of the doll…”

“Actually, my older sister had prepared a doll as a gift to give to Kran. She got upset because Pedi gave it to her first.”

“Really?”

Dad doesn’t know either. But let’s just assume that’s the case from today on.

“Okay. So when our Pedi and Noona come back, should we prepare a gift other than a doll?”

“Seonmuul?”

“You’re upset because of the gift, so you should resolve it with a gift. But since your sister also has a doll, wouldn’t it be better to prepare something else?”

Even I don’t understand what kind of logic this is. It’s such a bizarre logic that even a passing Titi would shake his head at.

However, the validity of the logic is not important. What is important now is that Peddie apologizes to the Crown Princess. If the Empress succeeds in somehow appeasing the Crown Princess, the Crown Princess will also completely accept Peddie’s new gift.

It will definitely be like that. It absolutely has to be like that.

“Boo…”

While Pedi was desperately hoping for a happy ending, Krann, who had been watching all this commotion, began to cry.

Kran noticed that the crown princess was fond of him and smiled brightly. However, the crown princess who was fond of him suddenly became agitated and ran away crying. Even a newborn baby would be enough to sense that something was wrong.

“Our Kran. My sister went out for a bit on business. She’ll be back soon, so don’t cry.”

At that sight, Ainter quickly consoled Kran.

Fortunately, the sobbing Krann quickly calmed down, as his biological father’s embrace was warm and stable.

“Your Majesty.”

“Go ahead, Count.”

“By the way, where is Lady Shati?”

The storm had passed and I had forgotten about it for a moment, but upon thinking about it, I realized that Shati was not there to greet the Empress and the Crown Princess.

“We are preparing a banquet to welcome the distinguished guests. We were rushed because Count Kaitana had obtained better ingredients than what we had prepared. In a way, it’s fortunate.”

I nodded absentmindedly at the Marquis’s words.

Even the situation’s brother-in-law, Marquis Barandi, and the Emperor’s younger brother, Ainter, were flustered by the Crown Princess’ tears. If Shati had been there, how panicked would she have been? It was fortunate that she was absent.

“Your Majesty. As Her Majesty the Empress has already said, do not take this matter too seriously. The Crown Princess will soon relent and become fond of Kran.”

“That is true. I have heard that Your Majesty is a very kind person for his age.”

The Marquis smiled faintly at my consolation.

However, his gaze is secretly turned towards Kran, as if he is calming down while looking at his granddaughter.

***

Not long after, we caught our Charlotte.

No matter how fast Charlotte is, this is not the palace, and the servants are sturdy maids. If the maids decide to do something, they will be caught in no time.

“Our Charlotte. Should we stop now?”

“Woah…”

Soon, when I wiped Charlotte’s face with a handkerchief while she was in my arms, Charlotte resisted by lightly throwing herself at me.

“Are you going to show your ugly face in front of your younger siblings?”

But when his younger siblings—Pedi and Krann—were mentioned, he stopped rebelling.

Thank goodness. I don’t hate my younger siblings yet. It’s just that my feelings of resentment have exploded in a big way.

“Charlotte. The reason Pedi gave the doll to Kran is because Kran can’t go to Pedi’s house. Charlotte can go to Pedi’s house whenever she wants and see the doll.”

“I don’t know…”

“Besides, Kran is my little brother whom I’m meeting for the first time. So, I guess I can give him a present because I’m happy to see him?”

Charlotte nodded slightly at my words.

“…But no…”

Then he opened his mouth in a very small voice.

“I said no…”

“no?”

“It’s strange… When Pedi gives me a gift… I feel so sorry…”

She pouts and thumps her chest with her small hands.

“Because Pedi didn’t give it to me, he gave it to another younger sibling… It hurts here…”

“Oh my god.”

I was surprised by those unexpected words.

That guy too. It’s difficult to feel that way already.