Do All Mothers in Childcare Novels have to Die? Chapter 1

The Kingdom of Nieta, the country where Liliana was born and raised as a princess, lost the war disastrously.

It was because the high-purity mana stone’s price, which was only found in the Kingdom of Nieta, was raised significantly with some confidence while trading smoothly with Carlo Empire.

Carlo Empire had said several times to lower the price, but the King of Nieta didn’t even listen.

When the war broke out, the Kingdom of Nieta felt the empire’s great power and was defeated helplessly.

The emperor of the empire, Helio Carlo, said through a messenger:

“I command King of Nieta to give the kingdom’s princess. I will return to the empire with the princess.”

King of Nieta lowered his head and wept at the end of the messenger’s words.

It was undoubtedly a good thing for the princess to be the empress of the empire. As long as it does not go in the form of a defeated nation hostage.

There was no way the princess would be treated well and live freely. Receive favors? Don’t expect that.

Carlo Empire would have thought of shackling the Kingdom of Nieta by referring to the empress whenever needed.

Thus, all five princesses of the Kingdom of Nieta gathered in the audience room.

“Which one of my precious daughters should I let go?”

The King of Nieta looked at his favorite eldest daughter, Princess Riley. She was a noble daughter who might become king in the future. It was absolutely impossible.

He then looked at the second, third… and even the fourth princess, but he couldn’t let them go. They were all his dearest daughters he loved so much that he couldn’t help it.

“Who the hell out of these four….”

The attendant whispered to the lamenting King of Nieta.

“Your Majesty, the last princess remains.”

The fifth princess was Princess Liliana. Her pink hair was like cotton candy, and her youthful cheeks were pale and shiny.

Also, her pink eyes full of concern were round and lovely. She had already had her coming of age ceremony, but she was relatively short and skinny, so she looked like a teenage girl. This lovely girl was unfortunately completely forgotten by King of Nieta.

“All right!”

King of Nieta’s tearful eyes gleamed. And everyone there looked at Liliana. Liliana gulped, feeling all gazes on her.

“You, you were there. Your name… what was your name?”

Even the princess’s name, born by King of Nieta one-night mistake, was obscured. Liliana muttered in a miserable mood.

“I’m Liliana, Your Majesty.”

“Yes, Liliana! You will be the hero who saves this country!”

As soon as Liliana heard those words, she bowed her head forward and collapsed. The other princesses’ screams erupted, and King of Nieta also shouted in a very perplexed voice.

“Wake up quickly! Call all the doctors! I will punish you all if Princess Liliana is not allowed to go as a hostage!”

***

Having become a hero to save the Kingdom of Nieta, Liliana woke up with six doctors looking at her. The doctors all looked relieved and asked Liliana to get up.

Then Sophia, the maid who was standing next to Liliana, wept and said.

“Congratulations, your highness Princess Liliana. It is said that your highness’ mother has been granted the title of countess.”

Liliana’s mother was a maid in the royal court of commoner origin. But in one night she becomes a countess. There has never been such a career advancement. She could be said to be the one who sold her daughter at the highest price.

But her mother could not be happy with the news, and Sophia also congratulated her, but she only considered the public eye. Sophia’s voice was full of despair.

“Yes, please tell the king that I’m grateful.”

Liliana said with dark, subdued eyes.

“Are you feeling well?”

One of the doctors asked impatiently, and Liliana nodded her head.

“I’m tired, so I want everyone to leave. I’ll call you again if necessary.”

The doctors repeated it several times very desperately and urged her to call them if she wasn’t feeling well. The King of Nieta would kill them if they didn’t heal Liliana properly.

After everyone left, Liliana bit her lower lip and stared into the air in the quiet room.

“I have to run away.”

When everyone, including King of Nieta, looked at her in the audience room earlier, Liliana had a sudden realization.

The story of a princess abandoned in her own country becoming a hostage to the empire and becoming an empress; where has she heard of it?

This was a world in a romance fantasy, and also in the childcare novel 「The Pink-haired Princess is not Abandoned」.

As the title says, it is a story about a female protagonist with pink hair like cotton candy, melting the heart of the emperor, who is the father, to make a daughter fool who will never exist in the world; and Liliana in her previous life enjoyed reading the book.

However, she was not the main character in the story, nor the supporting role who became happy… she reincarnated as a mother character destined to die after giving birth to the female protagonist! This was the worst.

Obviously, she would die in the future if she was just quietly taken as a hostage and became the empress. Liliana got up from the empty room and started collecting all her belongings.

Even if she was a forgotten princess, she was receiving gold, and the money she had saved as a princess with a dark future was quite a lot.

With all jewels in her pocket, Liliana waited for the night to come with all jewels in her pocket before escaping from the window by making a string with the curtain. She even managed to crawl into the stable and pull out a horse….

“In the Kingdom of Nieta, horse food is mixed with magic stones. Because of that, the horses are very healthy… oh my.”

This was the attendant’s voice. As soon as she pulled the horse out of the stable, she faced him.

“Your Highness Princess Liliana! A-are you running away?!”

The attendant shouted loudly, and Liliana rode the horse with a despairing look on her face. She was about to leave the palace, but a tall man standing behind the servant suddenly grabbed the reins and jumped onto the running horse.

“W-what!”

Liliana pulled the reins hard in surprise, and the horse raised its front paws and wept loudly. As the commotion broke out, the guards who were patrolling around the area rushed toward them.

“Your Highness Princess Liliana!”

“Your Highness Princess Liliana! Please come down!”

The guards shouted out one by one. Liliana clenched the reins in anger.

If she got caught like this, the surveillance would get worse and she wouldn’t be able to run away. She blamed herself for not making a proper plan because she was in a hurry, and most of all, she hated the man behind her.

“Hey! It’s all ruined because of you!”

Liliana shouted as she glanced at the man behind her. Then she heard the guards gasping in surprise.

“P-p-p-princess Liliana. He, he’s….”

Liliana glared at the attendant this time. But his old face was white as a blank sheet of paper, to the point that he could still be seen floating in the middle of the night. And the stuttering words were very suspicious.

Liliana parted her lips repeatedly and then turned again. The blue flame-like eyes that were never obscured by the darkness were looking at her.

The man raised one corner of his mouth with a face as if he looked at something really insignificant.

“My hostage was trying to run away.”

She could tell even without the attendant finishing the sentence.

This man… was the emperor of the Carlo Empire, Helio.

What could Liliana do against the emperor of the Carlo Empire? Liliana somehow twisted her body to get away from Helio.

Helio held Liliana’s waist tightly, thinking she was running away. Then he jumped off the horse before Liliana could do anything. She screamed in surprise.

“I-I will fall…!”

“You won’t fall.”

Helio whispered into Liliana’s ear. His low-pitched voice gave her goosebumps to the point the soles of her feet were tingling.

However, a little relief came soon after. Helio didn’t hold on to Liliana long and put her straight to the ground. Liliana stepped back as if she wanted to run away from Helio’s arms, but the huge horse was blocking her from behind.

“Hic!”

The horse rumbled nervously and exhaled a rough breath as there were a lot of people standing around, and Liliana began to spit out hiccups intermittently. She covered her mouth, but she couldn’t stay like that forever.

Helio’s gaze was very sharp but he looked strangely happy. Liliana thought it was her illusion and was courteously greeted.

“… I see Carlo Empire, hic! His Majesty the Emperor, hic!”

In the meantime, of course, the hiccups didn’t stop. Liliana covered her mouth again. Helio looked at Liliana and asked sarcastically.

“Princess Liliana?”

Liliana nodded, still covering her mouth. Helio moaned, stroking her own sleek, sharp chin, and ruffled her neck. He muttered as he looked at Liliana’s pale face.

“I’m sure you’re my hostage, but you run away late at night, how courageous.”

“I’m not running away, I’m going for a walk.”

Liliana tried her final resistance. However, it was unlikely that he would be acting like an idiot emperor and deceived by these words as she spits her words out.

A short laugh was heard above the top of her head. As Liliana lifted her head, Helio was smiling so that his white teeth were exposed. Liliana stared at the handsome face with a shiver of excitement.

Helio didn’t look at Liliana for long before turning his back straight away.

“Y-your Majesty! Where are you going?”

The attendant asked urgently and chased him. Instead of answering the attendant, Helio turned his head and looked at Liliana. He pointed at Liliana with the tip of his chin and spoke briefly.

“Hostage, come with me.”

Then he began to go his own way again. Liliana was so overwhelmed that her hiccups stopped.

‘I’m so unlucky!’

She wanted to shout like that; she couldn’t finish the runaway she started because she wanted to live and avoid her death. Liliana kept her mouth shut and was dragged along like a dog with a leash

Do All Mothers in Childcare Novels have to Die? Chapter 2

The royal palace's audience room was very quiet. King of Nieta stood opposite the throne, with five princesses lined up behind him.

After that, the attendants, the maids, and Helio's knights surrounded the audience room.

Helio sat cross-legged on the throne as if it was natural. He seemed only in his mid-twenties, but he had a sense of intimidation that could overwhelm the audience.

Helio tapped the throne's armrest with his fingernails and shook his head.

"The throne is too small."

It was a chair for the king of a country. It could never have been made small. But for the emperor of the Carlo Empire, it must have been a very small, shabby, and unsightly chair.

There was no malice in Helio's voice. It was as natural as saying that the sky is above your head and the earth is under your feet. That made King of Nieta even more ashamed, but there was nothing he could do.

Helio looked around and stared at Liliana's pink hair. Then he laughed in a low voice.

"I just saw something very interesting."

King of Nieta bowed his head like the king of a defeated country and asked politely.

"What did you see?"

"Didn't I tell you to send the princess? I was planning to take the princess to the empire and make her the concubine."

"Our Kingdom of Nieta was honored and wanted to send a princess. Even though she is my daughter, she is beautiful and clever...."

Helio clapped his hands together and made a noise. Clap! Everyone shuddered as the sound resounded in the silent auditorium.

The man in front of him was the one who could destroy this country at any moment. The reason for not doing so was simple. Because he didn’t have to go that far.

Helio bent down and pulled his body forward. As his sculpture-like beautiful face approached, King Nieta watched in fear.

“The beautiful and clever princess ran away and just ran into me.”

“Pardon?”

The King of Nieta asked like a fool. Either way, Helio continued what he was going to say.

“That’s why I was worried. A princess who dared to abandon her country and run away. I wondered if the king had given me any princess from so many options.”

“T-that can’t be. That’s not true. Princess Liliana is my youngest daughter, whom I adore very much.”

Standing behind King of Nieta, Liliana had a face as if she chewed on shit at those words. What did he mean by adore, he didn’t even know her name until today.

Liliana had no idea that Helio was looking at her because she was bowing.

Helio was watching with great ease as Liliana’s fine brows wrinkled. That alone clearly showed King of Nieta was lying.

‘What shall I do?’

Helio grabbed his chin and opened his eyes languidly.

It didn’t matter which princess he took. If the kingdom that had been driven to the brink of destruction were released for nothing, the whole continent would look down on the empire, and then it was dangerous for the empire if that happened.

However, if he just took the mana stone, the Kingdom of Nieta would be ruined, so it was no different from destroying it now.

Besides, Helio needed a woman who would become the concubine. It would be fine if it were a woman who was not affected by the empire, so it didn’t matter if he took any princess.

If possible, it would be better if it was Princess Riley, who was the king’s favorite and had the highest rank of succession to the throne.

Knock, knock, knock.

Helio tapped the throne’s armrest several times. The ringing sound of his soft fingertips made everyone’s mouths dry. Including Liliana.

‘Please take another princess!’

Liliana prayed earnestly with her hands clasped under her navel.

And Helio was also watching her actions. It was ridiculous to see her white hands clasped so tightly together until they turned red. He wondered if that was what a desperate hamster looked like.

Helio smiled softly, then returned to his arrogant face and looked at King of Nieta.

“If the king truly cares about Princess Liliana, he will do this.”

“What do you mean?”

“Let the child born between the princess and me be granted the right to the Kingdom of Nieta throne.”

King of Nieta widened his eye. No one here would have known that King of Nieta had such big eyes. He barely closed his eyes, which seemed to pop out at any moment, and bit his teeth tightly.

“That, it doesn’t make sense…”

King of Nieta managed to pluck up his courage to refute it, but Helio didn’t even listen.

“It doesn’t have to be the first. It doesn’t even have to be the second. Hmm, the third one would be good enough.”

The inside of the audience hall was filled with astonishment. There were no cases of handing the right of succession to the princess’ children who married abroad, or even the third child. There were four princesses in their country.

However, as it was said many times, Kingdom of Nieta was on the verge of destruction, so even this had to be taken as the emperor’s grace. What can’t the emperor do if he already decided it?

Therefore, King of Nieta had no choice but to bow his head politely while biting his molars.

“I’ll do that. Your Majesty the Emperor.”

***

Liliana realized what rising in status felt like.

Until now, the palace had never been interested in Liliana. But now, they talked about her wherever Liliana stepped, and she was given a fancy dress that was supposed to be only her spectacle worn by other princesses.

She had only one maid, Sophia, and suddenly her maids increased to ten; and when they made a fuss about taking care of her, it was so hectic that she was dying.

‘Perhaps because of the right of succession that Emperor Carlo mentioned.’

The word was nothing short of a threat to eat the whole country if it didn’t like it at any time.

One way or another, Liliana suddenly became a person with the potential to become the king’s mother. It was natural for the treatment to change.

The unconventional treatment continued until the day she left the Kingdom of Nieta.

King of Nieta gave Liliana the most luxurious carriage he had, but Helio saw it and immediately dismissed it.

“It’s junk. Bring me something else.”

The best carriage in the kingdom was thrown into a corner, and a much larger and more luxurious carriage was placed in front of Liliana’s palace.

Liliana felt too burdensome to step on the carriage, so she had to pick up her courage and get into the carriage. She was very confused when she put on her buttocks because she felt like the soft cushion would eat her.

Sophia, her maid of honor, got into the same carriage to attend Liliana and said.

“The dragon’s tail is better than the snake’s head.”

Certainly, it was better to be the imperial concubine than the defeated nation princess. King of Nieta, Liliana’s father, even showed tears because he didn’t want to let go of his other daughter he loved; in this way, she looked much better as a hostage.

‘If I’m not destined to die after giving birth…’

Liliana leaned against her carriage window and laughed at her situation. What should she do now?

A tall man was standing out at the front of the envoy. Liliana sighed deeply as she looked at the beautiful golden blonde hair.

A lunatic father in childcare novel.

That was what Liliana thought of Helio.

***

No matter how luxurious the carriage was, the journey was difficult. The sound of infantry’s footsteps and the cavalry’s hooves also made her head ring, and her hips ache as she continued to sit in one position.

Liliana wanted to be abandoned and return to her quiet palace.

“I want to go home…”

“That’s difficult.”

A voice was heard by the carriage window, which had been left open for a while due to motion sickness. Liliana was so startled that she jumped off her butt. Helio smiled faintly at her.

“Why are you so surprised?”

“N-no.”

Liliana clumsily pulled herself back. She hurriedly tried to close the window. However, she was forced to stop in haste as a large hand slid through the window frame.

Liliana then looked out the window properly. Helio was riding his brown horse and looking toward her carriage. His blue eyes, which impressed her from the first time she saw him, were full of doubts.

“Are you thinking of running away?”

“What?”

Liliana pulled out her head and looked puzzled.

“You denied it like that. You already have a record.”

“That’s because I wasn’t fully prepared!”

Liliana said as if she was really wronged. Helio exhaled a long breath and made a curious expression.

“What does that mean?”

“Even if I ran away from here, would I be able to survive on my own? I may have lived in a shabby palace in Your Majesty’s eyes, but I lived my whole life as a princess. I don’t know how to make a bonfire, I don’t know how to build a house, I don’t know how to sew.”

Liliana bent her fingers one by one and counted what she couldn’t do to survive alone. She then said, as if she remembered something, with her eyes twinkling.

“I can cook a little bit. Oh, I don’t know if it’s possible in a world without a gas stove, but…”

The previous words were clear and confident, but the latter words grew smaller, so he couldn’t understand what he was saying. Helio unconsciously listened to her and asked.

“What did you just say, princess?”

Liliana shook her hands and smiled awkwardly.

“In conclusion, I have no reason to run away. If I had jewels, I would be able to live well on my own… but Your Majesty has confiscated them all.”

He couldn’t tell whether she was a woman who was scared or not to speak such words in front of the party who confiscated it.

Actually, Liliana was more timid than she is now. She lived like a shadow in the royal palace, so it was only natural for her to be like that. However, as she regained her previous life’s memories, the world spread out like a letter and she naturally became bolder.

Her maid, Sophia, was terrified because Liliana was doing something she wouldn’t do, but Helio just thought of her as a strange princess.

‘I heard she was an abandoned princess.’

There was nothing strange about her dismal. However, as she responded with eloquence without deviating from courtesy, he became interested in where the personality originated. When Helio didn’t leave around her carriage, Liliana saw it as an opportunity.

“Excuse me, Your Majesty.”

Liliana put her hand on the carriage window and leaned closer. Helio replied with a short ‘Hm.’

"I'm really useless. You saw it at the palace, right? My father, King of Nieta, is so uninterested in me that he doesn't even remember my name. Your Majesty may have already noticed."

"Therefore?"

"It means that I have no value as a hostage. Any person that you are not sure if you'll be able to send back? And who is that? I'm that kind of princess."

Do All Mothers in Childcare Novels have to Die? Chapter 3

Helio smirked. It was funny that she was so confident in saying that she had no value.

Helio reached out and put his hand into the carriage window. Liliana flinched and tried to pull herself, but then she opened her eyes wide and abandoned the idea altogether. 

The woman was more courageous than he thought.

Helio gave such a comment and touched Liliana's pink hair. The soft hair got tangled in his fingers and was released by the swaying of the horse and carriage.

"If you have a child, they will pay attention to that child."

She couldn't refute that remark. The child would even have the right to succeed to the throne. The Kingdom of Nieta couldn't help but be interested in the child.

They might want to take the child home so his influence wouldn't grow too big. They would have to pay the price for that. She didn't even know Helio was aiming for it.

'One way or another, a successor has to be born between this man and me.'

Liliana was frustrated in her heart. In addition, Helio and Liliana also had children for political reasons in the original story. Not once, but twice.

The first child was miscarried by slander. Liliana in the original story was severely hurt by it. When Helio received a report that Liliana's body had recovered, he visited Liliana's palace and had a second child.

However, the report was a false report by Liliana in the original story to survive in the desolate palace. Her unrecovered body could not withstand childbirth and she died.

After contemplating silently, Liliana opened her lips in a round shape as if she had realized something.

'After all, if I don't make a false report, the emperor won't even come to see me!'

There was no way that the emperor would hold a weak woman, so she wouldn’t die. But…

‘Anyway, the first child will eventually lead to miscarriage. That will hurt my body! I don’t want to spend the rest of my life worrying about it!’

Liliana shuddered at her thoughts. As she shook her head vigorously, her hair which was as soft as cotton candy fluttered. Helio looked at it with a curious expression.

‘That little head is thinking so hard.’

She looked just like a squirrel. A small squirrel that was about to lose all her acorns while thinking so hard.

Helio kicked the horse lightly on the hip, leaving Liliana to let her think hard. Helio’s brown horse passed the carriage and moved closer to the lead. Meanwhile Liliana was in turmoil.

‘How the hell to make the emperor completely forget me?’

***

In fact, it didn’t feel so real until crossing the border. Liliana had to appreciate that the guard posts appeared more frequently and the equipment looked a little more luxurious.

Although the military power of the Carlo Empire and the Kingdom of Nieta was considered far apart for more than 30 years, it was natural not to know because Liliana had no military knowledge in either her previous or present life.

So when she finally arrived in a big town, what Liliana felt was ‘This is Carlo Empire.‘ 

Well-maintained roads and bustling markets. She was amazed at the appearance of the people who seemed rich. Liliana opened the carriage window, looked outside, and then asked the knight who rode the horse near her.

“Sir. Is this the capital?”

The knight answered in a stiff manner.

“No. This is Arsene, the frontier city.”

“Is this the border?”

Liliana rolled her eyes in bewilderment. This was the first time Liliana was out of Nieta Castle. So there was only one chance to compare the Kingdom of Nieta and the Carlo Empire border. Nevertheless, this noticeable difference couldn’t be known.

“The Kingdom of Nieta border was very stark….”

Only military bases were built, and all the people seemed starving. Liliana’s murmur made the knight speak with a tone more proud than before.

“The empire is strong. So there’s no danger in living on the border.”

That was why people gathered and lived in a place like this. Liliana nodded. As she leisurely looked outside, she felt people stumbling and staring from behind the carriage.

“What’s that carriage?”

“You know the Kingdom of Nieta. The defeated country. That is the princess.”

“Oh my, poor thing.”

Liliana bit her lip in embarrassment and closed the carriage window carefully. When she pulled the curtains down, all the voices of the people could be heard as humming noises.

“Your Highness. Don’t worry too much.”

“I’m not worried that much. It’s just that it feels unfamiliar for everyone talking about me.”

At Liliana’s words, Sophia made an even more heartbreaking expression. Sophia was a very kind maid. It wouldn’t have been an easy decision for her to come to this distant land, but Sophia was willing to follow her. Liliana took Sophia’s hand and patted it.

“Let’s do well. If we go to the Imperial Palace, we’ll live quietly again. You can have a good time there, taking care of the flower garden.”

“Yes, let’s do that. The palace won’t be so quiet once there is a baby.”

Sophia said that because she wanted to comfort her. At that moment, Liliana got goosebumps again and smiled awkwardly. She would never give birth to a baby. She wouldn’t even have it in the first place.

“What’s wrong, Your Highness?”

“Ah. That’s…”

Liliana pondered for a moment and pulled Sophia’s hand to her knees. Sophia looked puzzled at Liliana as if wondering what was wrong. Liliana put her lips in Sophia’s ear and whispered.

“Please get me a contraceptive pill when you get to the Imperial Palace.”

“Pardon?”

Sophia slammed Liliana’s hand as if it were nonsense.

“You’ll be in big trouble if you get caught! Do you think I’m the only one who’s going to die? Your Highness will also die!”

“Sophia, please. I never, ever want to get pregnant.”

“Why on earth? There is nothing more helpful than a baby in the lonely palace life. It was even received the right to the throne.”

That’s the problem! The emperor would never back down because of the right to take the throne! He had properly grasped the Kingdom of Nieta’s shackles, but she couldn’t take that opportunity.

Liliana opened her pink eyes pitifully and pouted her lips. But this pitiful charade didn’t work at all. Sophia scolded her like a child, she tapped Liliana’s lips with her index finger and shook her head.

“Never. I can’t help if Your Highness gets hurt.”

Sophia even looked determined. It seemed impossible to persuade her. Liliana decided to take a step first. She didn’t even know how to save herself.

Liliana looked sideways with a sulky face. Even so, Liliana was bored because she could only see the swaying curtains.

***

It didn’t last very long for Liliana to pretend to be pitiful and sulky. This was because her tired body couldn’t stand the boredom and she fell asleep.

It was the loud drumming and people’s cries that woke Liliana.

“Long live Your Majesty Emperor!”

“Glory to the Carlo Empire!”

People shouted excitedly and began to sing the song of victory.

“Are you awake?”

“Yeah… Where is this?”

“It’s the capital.”

Liliana pulled back the curtains slightly and looked outside. The Carlo Empire’s capital was so beautiful and majestic that her admiration poured out.

There were countless huge buildings and people who looked like commoners couldn’t be properly distinguished because they were dressed in luxury silk. Liliana muttered bitterly.

“… It was natural for the Kingdom of Nieta to be defeated.”

The Kingdom of Nieta was foolish to make such a powerful country angry.

The carriage passed through the capital’s main road and entered the Imperial Palace. And once again, it split into several branches there. Liliana’s carriage arrived in front of a palace.

The pillars were all pure white like they were made of grain. The palace roof was emerald like a refreshing sea, and the windows were engraved with elaborate patterns.

Liliana was amazed at the splendid and huge palace she had never seen.

“Why are we here? Do I have to say hello as soon as I get here?”

Liliana thought this palace was the Empress Dowager Palace or people of high rank. However, the servant bowed his head while she got off the carriage and denied the idea.

“The Emerald Palace was bestowed by His Majesty the Emperor to Her Highness Princess Liliana. You’ll be staying here from now on.”

Liliana wanted to open her mouth when he said that, but she couldn’t because she was still a princess. She asked cautiously, trying not to show off her surprise.

“Ah, is it a guest palace?”

It made sense to build it so beautifully because you never know who would come. But the servant shook his head and drove in a wedge.

“Your Highness Princess Liliana is the owner of this palace.”

Liliana entered the Emerald Palace with a bewildered feeling. The maids were waiting for her in a row. The maid standing in the front row took a step forward and handed her an envelope. Liliana picked it up and looked inside.

A short sentence was written in cursive on a letterboard decorated with gold leaf.

「All your maids are guards, so don’t even think about running away.」

Ha. This crazy emperor….

Liliana felt a painful forthcoming.

Helio smirked. It was funny that she was so confident in saying that she had no value.

Helio reached out and put his hand into the carriage window. Liliana flinched and tried to pull herself, but then she opened her eyes wide and abandoned the idea altogether. 

The woman was more courageous than he thought.

Helio gave such a comment and touched Liliana’s pink hair. The soft hair got tangled in his fingers and was released by the swaying of the horse and carriage. 

“If you have a child, they will pay attention to that child.” 

She couldn’t refute that remark. The child would even have the right to succeed to the throne. The Kingdom of Nieta couldn’t help but be interested in the child. 

They might want to take the child home so his influence wouldn’t grow too big. They would have to pay the price for that. She didn’t even know Helio was aiming for it.

‘One way or another, a successor has to be born between this man and me.’

Liliana was frustrated in her heart. In addition, Helio and Liliana also had children for political reasons in the original story. Not once, but twice.

The first child was miscarried by slander. Liliana in the original story was severely hurt by it. When Helio received a report that Liliana’s body had recovered, he visited Liliana’s palace and had a second child.

However, the report was a false report by Liliana in the original story to survive in the desolate palace. Her unrecovered body could not withstand childbirth and she died.

After contemplating silently, Liliana opened her lips in a round shape as if she had realized something.

‘After all, if I don’t make a false report, the emperor won’t even come to see me!’

There was no way that the emperor would hold a weak woman, so she wouldn’t die. But…

‘Anyway, the first child will eventually lead to miscarriage. That will hurt my body! I don’t want to spend the rest of my life worrying about it!’

Liliana shuddered at her thoughts. As she shook her head vigorously, her hair which was as soft as cotton candy fluttered. Helio looked at it with a curious expression.

‘That little head is thinking so hard.’

She looked just like a squirrel. A small squirrel that was about to lose all her acorns while thinking so hard.

Helio kicked the horse lightly on the hip, leaving Liliana to let her think hard. Helio’s brown horse passed the carriage and moved closer to the lead. Meanwhile Liliana was in turmoil.

‘How the hell to make the emperor completely forget me?’

***

In fact, it didn’t feel so real until crossing the border. Liliana had to appreciate that the guard posts appeared more frequently and the equipment looked a little more luxurious.

Although the military power of the Carlo Empire and the Kingdom of Nieta was considered far apart for more than 30 years, it was natural not to know because Liliana had no military knowledge in either her previous or present life.

So when she finally arrived in a big town, what Liliana felt was ‘This is Carlo Empire.‘ 

Well-maintained roads and bustling markets. She was amazed at the appearance of the people who seemed rich. Liliana opened the carriage window, looked outside, and then asked the knight who rode the horse near her.

“Sir. Is this the capital?”

The knight answered in a stiff manner.

“No. This is Arsene, the frontier city.”

“Is this the border?”

Liliana rolled her eyes in bewilderment. This was the first time Liliana was out of Nieta Castle. So there was only one chance to compare the Kingdom of Nieta and the Carlo Empire border. Nevertheless, this noticeable difference couldn’t be known.

“The Kingdom of Nieta border was very stark….”

Only military bases were built, and all the people seemed starving. Liliana’s murmur made the knight speak with a tone more proud than before.

“The empire is strong. So there’s no danger in living on the border.”

That was why people gathered and lived in a place like this. Liliana nodded. As she leisurely looked outside, she felt people stumbling and staring from behind the carriage.

“What’s that carriage?”

“You know the Kingdom of Nieta. The defeated country. That is the princess.”

“Oh my, poor thing.”

Liliana bit her lip in embarrassment and closed the carriage window carefully. When she pulled the curtains down, all the voices of the people could be heard as humming noises.

“Your Highness. Don’t worry too much.”

“I’m not worried that much. It’s just that it feels unfamiliar for everyone talking about me.”

At Liliana’s words, Sophia made an even more heartbreaking expression. Sophia was a very kind maid. It wouldn’t have been an easy decision for her to come to this distant land, but Sophia was willing to follow her. Liliana took Sophia’s hand and patted it.

“Let’s do well. If we go to the Imperial Palace, we’ll live quietly again. You can have a good time there, taking care of the flower garden.”

“Yes, let’s do that. The palace won’t be so quiet once there is a baby.”

Sophia said that because she wanted to comfort her. At that moment, Liliana got goosebumps again and smiled awkwardly. She would never give birth to a baby. She wouldn’t even have it in the first place.

“What’s wrong, Your Highness?”

“Ah. That’s…”

Liliana pondered for a moment and pulled Sophia’s hand to her knees. Sophia looked puzzled at Liliana as if wondering what was wrong. Liliana put her lips in Sophia’s ear and whispered.

“Please get me a contraceptive pill when you get to the Imperial Palace.”

“Pardon?”

Sophia slammed Liliana’s hand as if it were nonsense.

“You’ll be in big trouble if you get caught! Do you think I’m the only one who’s going to die? Your Highness will also die!”

“Sophia, please. I never, ever want to get pregnant.”

“Why on earth? There is nothing more helpful than a baby in the lonely palace life. It was even received the right to the throne.”

That’s the problem! The emperor would never back down because of the right to take the throne! He had properly grasped the Kingdom of Nieta’s shackles, but she couldn’t take that opportunity.

Liliana opened her pink eyes pitifully and pouted her lips. But this pitiful charade didn’t work at all. Sophia scolded her like a child, she tapped Liliana’s lips with her index finger and shook her head.

“Never. I can’t help if Your Highness gets hurt.”

Sophia even looked determined. It seemed impossible to persuade her. Liliana decided to take a step first. She didn’t even know how to save herself.

Liliana looked sideways with a sulky face. Even so, Liliana was bored because she could only see the swaying curtains.

***

It didn’t last very long for Liliana to pretend to be pitiful and sulky. This was because her tired body couldn’t stand the boredom and she fell asleep.

It was the loud drumming and people’s cries that woke Liliana.

“Long live Your Majesty Emperor!”

“Glory to the Carlo Empire!”

People shouted excitedly and began to sing the song of victory.

“Are you awake?”

“Yeah… Where is this?”

“It’s the capital.”

Liliana pulled back the curtains slightly and looked outside. The Carlo Empire’s capital was so beautiful and majestic that her admiration poured out.

There were countless huge buildings and people who looked like commoners couldn’t be properly distinguished because they were dressed in luxury silk. Liliana muttered bitterly.

“… It was natural for the Kingdom of Nieta to be defeated.”

The Kingdom of Nieta was foolish to make such a powerful country angry.

The carriage passed through the capital’s main road and entered the Imperial Palace. And once again, it split into several branches there. Liliana’s carriage arrived in front of a palace.

The pillars were all pure white like they were made of grain. The palace roof was emerald like a refreshing sea, and the windows were engraved with elaborate patterns.

Liliana was amazed at the splendid and huge palace she had never seen.

“Why are we here? Do I have to say hello as soon as I get here?”

Liliana thought this palace was the Empress Dowager Palace or people of high rank. However, the servant bowed his head while she got off the carriage and denied the idea.

“The Emerald Palace was bestowed by His Majesty the Emperor to Her Highness Princess Liliana. You’ll be staying here from now on.”

Liliana wanted to open her mouth when he said that, but she couldn’t because she was still a princess. She asked cautiously, trying not to show off her surprise.

“Ah, is it a guest palace?”

It made sense to build it so beautifully because you never know who would come. But the servant shook his head and drove in a wedge.

“Your Highness Princess Liliana is the owner of this palace.”

Liliana entered the Emerald Palace with a bewildered feeling. The maids were waiting for her in a row. The maid standing in the front row took a step forward and handed her an envelope. Liliana picked it up and looked inside.

A short sentence was written in cursive on a letterboard decorated with gold leaf.

「All your maids are guards, so don't even think about running away.」

Ha. This crazy emperor....

Liliana felt a painful forthcoming.