“So, Princess, will you please marry me?”

I stared blankly at the person who said that.

A man was sitting in front of me on one knee.

He was a beautiful man. His white skin was as smooth as porcelain, and his blue-black hair seemed to contain the night sky.

Brilliant golden eyes under the black hair looked at me.

A slightly thin face and shady eyes evoked a strange decadent beauty.

At the age of 18, he is already this beautiful. By the time he turns twenty, he must already be a handsome man who will shake up the empire.

As I imagined his future, I bit my lip in a complicated mood.

His name is Tristan.

He is a young duke who was recently granted the dukedom.

And he is the main character of this novel.

“You want me to marry you?”

Even though I knew it, my voice trembled a little.

“Did you mean that to me?”

Tristan's eyes lit up with a look of embarrassment at the sound of my voice.

I was tense like a cat in front of a tiger.

Tristan sometimes looks at me with very strange eyes. He frowns slightly and examines my face as if he were seeing someone for the first time.

I usually treat him without hesitation, but when I feel his gaze, I get strangely nervous and restless.

"Of course. Who else can I propose to marry other than the princess?”

Tristan said. His attitude was so decisive that I wanted to run away.

Of course I like Tristan. He has loved me for a long time, beyond imagining. And I wish him happiness more than anyone else.

So it can't be.

“Tristan, do you love me?”

Tristan's brow furrowed a little more.

So don't make that face. I mean, it's scary.

It's clear that Tristan doesn't love me. Otherwise, you wouldn't be staring at me like this every time I say something stupid.

“How many nobles in this empire will marry the one they love?”

Instead of answering my question, he asked me backwards.

That's right. In this world where arranged marriage is the default, it will not be easy for the duke to marry the person he loves.

But you did that hard thing. So you can't compromise here.

“Why are you saying that?”

As I was contemplating how to convince him, Tristan's voice suddenly became mournful. He thought his heart stopped for a moment.

“You saved me.”

He reached out to me. He tried not to do it, but the moment his golden eyes glared at me, I had no choice but to extend this hand as if possessed.

He took my hand and put it to my cheek. And he looked at me with eager eyes.

“Are you going to save me and throw me away?”

I couldn't say a word.

I wanted to tell you that I am not your destiny, that there is someone else you will love, but I couldn't.

So I screamed in my mind.

Why is he suddenly like this?!

You are not this character! And we're not like that...…!

Since when did this happen?

I didn't mean to do this, where the hell did I go wrong?

...***...

Let me explain from the beginning:

When I woke up one morning, I found myself in a novel.

In the book titled .

"Nonsense…….”

I looked in the mirror and slapped my cheek in disbelief.

It hurt immensely. It was reality.

Tears are stinging, but I don't know if it's because my cheeks hurt or I'm out of my mind.

I giggled and looked in the mirror.

A strange girl stood in the mirror. She was a very pitiful little child.

The girl with her long, curly blonde hair and blinking round eyes could have been as cute as a doll.

If only I had gained 10 kilos more.

A child who is short and pitifully dry that the dress she is wearing is about to fall off. Her skin and hair are crumbly, and there are handprints on her cheek.

The handprints on the cheeks were just made by me, but because they look pitiful, the handprints fit so well that it's ridiculous.

She looked like a young Cinderella from a fairy tale. Her unhappy energy was flowing all over her body.

However, contrary to what it seems, this child is not a kitchen digger, a maid, or a street beggar.

The child's name is Lucilia El Esperusa.

She is the 17th princess of the Esperusa Empire.

“This is a dream!”

I grabbed my head and tried to escape reality once more.

No, I can't, I can't do this! Why is it the <13th Princess> among the many romances!

As the title suggests, was a political drama about the process of rising to the throne of the thirteenth princess, the main character, Imelda.

The protagonist's competitors are, of course, the same brothers and sisters. There are not one or two brothers and sisters, but at least 18.

In other words, including Imelda, there are 19 children in total.

The problem was that this novel was incredibly harsh on the Ropan theme.

The Esperusa imperial family is, in a word, a bloodline. In the long history of the empire, no one has succeeded to the throne peacefully.

Siblings die and kill each other, and the final winner becomes the emperor. This was the tradition of the Esperusa imperial family.

They want to become a bloody, grassy family that is not enough even to say that it is a soybean flour family.

I fell in the middle of such a house.

Not as the main character, but as a supporting actor.

“Lucilia isn’t that bad, but…….”

I took a deep breath and recalled the original content.

For some reason, I had not only the original work but also Lucilia's own memories in my head, so there was no difficulty in understanding the situation.

Lucilia was a rare child in the Esperusa family, both physically and mentally weak. She also had no relatives to support her as her mother came from a Korean-American family.

A princess who is too weak and insignificant.

That fact saved Lucilia's life.

The mad prince and princesses of Esperusa are desperate to get rid of their rivals, but Lucilia was so insignificant that she couldn't even offend them.

Lucilia was weak, but not stupid. She knew that this was the only way she could survive.

So the 17th Princess chose to live as if dead in her small and shabby palace instead of intervening in political battles.

After thinking this far, I took my eyes off the mirror and looked around.

This was Lucilia's bedroom. As I remember, not mine, the room was small and shabby.

The bedroom had a bed, a dressing table, a palm-sized coffee table and chairs, and a wardrobe. All very outdated.

The blanket on the bed was thin and looked cold, and the chair in front of the table was about to break, so I couldn't even sit down.

Obviously, this room was small and shabby for the imperial princess.

But, from my point of view...….

“It’s bigger than a gosiwon room.”

I walked to the window and opened it.

“There are windows.”

Sunlight poured in through the open window. Looking at the sunlight in the room, I don't know how long it has been.

I muttered blankly.

“The room is fine…….”

In the original world, I was a dirt spoon.

I didn't have the money to go to college, so I got a job right after graduating from high school, and after I got a job, I worked until my body was broken. I also made some money.

But instead of going into my pocket, the money was used to pay for living expenses for my parents in rural areas and for my younger siblings' tuition.

“Aren't you the eldest daughter?”

My parents abused me with those words.

It was neither a thank you nor an apology, but I was comforted by those words. Because it was only then that my parents gave me kind words, when I gave them money.

So I worked hard. I was trying to save the money I would spend and give it to my family a little bit more.

The rent for a one-room apartment was too expensive, so I lived in the cheapest room in a gosiwon, and used to make up for my meals with discarded food from the convenience store I was working in.

I've never been tested, but since I've lived like that, there's no way I'm healthy. Maybe my body is broken as soon as it breaks.

Looking back, I remember how tired I was before going to sleep. Much more than usual, as if this whole body was bound in chains.

I guess I'm overworked.

"haha…….”

When I woke up, I was smiling. There was nothing to laugh about, but somehow I laughed.

Looking back on my life, I thought that I really lived like a hogu. Working to make money for others and overworked, is there any other life like this?

If I go back, I might be able to live a different life.

No, I will definitely live differently.

But I'm probably dead, and I have to live a new life in an unfamiliar place full of idiots.

The life of a poor princess who lives as if dead...….

"no."

I shook my head and muttered.

Here in the novel. Lucilia is a poor supporting actor. However, Lucilia's life is not always unhappy.

I know Lucilia's future.

“How old is Lucilia this year…….”

I just mumbled, but a memory popped up in my head as if answering. This year is the 515th year of the imperial calendar. Lucilia is twelve years old this year.

“Twelve years old?”

My eyes scanned my bare arms and legs.

“I think I would believe it even if I was eight years old.”

It seemed that she had suffered so much that she had not grown properly.

Unfortunately, the past is the past. What matters is the future.

Three years from now, Lucilia meets a person destined to change her life forever.

Imelda, the protagonist of this novel.

Imelda was originally a princess who lived quietly as if dead like Lucilia.

However, at the age of 18, a major event occurs, which leads Imelda into a struggle for the throne.

Imelda, who decided to aim for the throne in earnest, chose a strategy quite different from other competitors.

That is, she reached out to her weak and powerless brothers and sisters.

Many princes and princesses rejected her out of fear or blindly doubted Imelda.

But some were moved by Imelda's attitude, opened their hearts, and were eventually saved.

Lucilia was one of them.

Lucilia, who saved her life with the help of Imelda when she was dying of illness, vowed to spend the rest of her life for her sister.

At that moment, Lucilia's hidden talent blossomed. Since then, she has used that talent to help Imelda.

On the day Imelda becomes emperor, Lucilia congratulates her sister with a happy face. To her who won her victory, and to her herself…….

Thinking this far, I was so happy that I almost screamed.

Isn't this a life-changing thing?

She had a difficult childhood, but after riding the main line, she hits a jackpot in everything she does, and in the end, she defeats her enemy and wins.

Strictly speaking, the real winner would be Imelda who became emperor, but this was not the life I wanted to live.

The emperor is annoying and difficult, but it's also a dangerous position, isn't it?

Perhaps because of the memory of a past life where I died of overwork, in my eyes, a life full of practical happiness like Lucilia seemed much better than an emperor who had to work until he died.

And now I am Lucilia.

I once again stood in front of the dressing table and looked at my reflection in the mirror.

Now it didn't feel pitiful.

It wasn't the poor little child in the mirror.

It was the promised happy ending.

I looked in the mirror and smiled. Toward the new me, and for the true protagonist of this world.

“I’ll wait for you, sister.”

3 years from the beginning of the original. Let's just last 3 years. As quietly as Lucilia had been until now, as if dead.

Until my sister-in-law comes to visit me.

_____________________

Terms hub~

-Terms that one may not know is usually explained in the end!

Gosiwon refers to a form of dormitory-style single room accommodation common in South Korea that first appeared around the 1980s, mostly near universities in Seoul.

These facilities provided cheap accommodation, mostly small in size - between 3 and 6 square meters - and intended for students preparing for state-run exams to be lawyers or senior government officials.

But nowadays, gosiwons are more associated with poverty, having become a symbolic residential facility for socially disadvantaged people who cannot afford more comfortable accommodation.

Rooms are as tiny as 3.5 square meters and furnished with a desk, bookshelf and bed.

Hogu (호구) is a slang. It means the person who is so foolish that everyone use her/him for their own benefits. I recommend you not to use this word often.

Several months have passed since I possessed Lucilia.

At first, I thought living as Lucilia would be easy.

Because what I had to do was very simple.

Live quietly, inconspicuously! How difficult would that be?

Opal Palace, where Lucilia lives, is a small place, so it may be a bit boring, but I won't be here for a lifetime, just only three years.

I thought about how 3 years would pass quickly. I thought so...….

"I think I'm going to die…….”

I muttered as I lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

I could see the old, worn ceiling. The left corner, where the wallpaper has been largely peeled off, exposing the wood beneath, reminds me of something.

“Oh, I want to eat chicken.”

The moment I mumbled while looking at the exquisitely peeled-off wallpaper in the shape of a chicken leg, a loud sound resounded in my stomach.

Rumble.

I just rubbed my eyes. The ceiling looks hazy, probably just because of my mood.

"I'm hungry…...”

I turned to my side and sobbed.

Ever since I possessed this body, I have suffered from chronic hunger.

Lucilia is twelve years old this year. It's the age to eat a lot. Even if the table is full of food, after emptying it, one would put down the spoon and ask, 'What about dessert?'

But the food Lucilia eats at such an important time...….

“Princess, this is Laura.”

Just then, a maid entered my room with a tray in her hand.

Ah, one fact I found out after living for a month.

In this Opal Palace, no servant knocks when entering my room. Everyone jumps in, saying my name in a chubby voice.

If it was another palace, they would have been decapitated, but with Opal, this is the default.

"Please eat."

The maid named Laura set the tray on the table and quickly disappeared without saying a word.

I sat down with a deep sigh, looked at the tray and sighed again.

Hard black bread that I don't know when it was made, soup that's almost empty of ingredients, and a salad that's so rough that I wonder if weeds from the front yard were added.

Where can I find this food for the princess to eat?

I was still hungry, so I forced myself to pick up the spoon, but my face contorted before I could even eat the soup.

“My, the smell…….”

A sour, unpleasant smell came up. It was spoiled soup by anyone's eyes.

“Today is also ruined.”

I threw the spoon at random. A small spoon clattered against the tray.

“You bastards…….”

I was out of energy, so I couldn't even curse. I murmured words of resentment that no one would listen to.

“Please dress appropriately and eat.”

Originally, the princes and princesses received the budget to run the palace from the palace.

The problem is that there is no one working for Lucilia in Opal Palace.

The servants of Opal Palace have their own masters, and the reason they work here is to keep an eye on me.

The chamberlain is the servant of the 4th prince, the cook is the person of the 15th princess, and the janitor is the second cousin of the 7th princess's confidant's son-in-law...… What is this like?

I applaud their preparedness to keep an eye on even an insignificant princess, as they never know when I will turn into they nemesis. My shady sisters and brothers.

So the servants couldn't be faithful to their job. They were only interested in reporting my every move to their real owner and stealing money from the princess's palace.

There is nothing special about the first job, so I tend to focus more on the second job.

That's why my life is like this.

“Let’s go.”

Without regret, I threw the rice away and went out.

In contrast to the bitterness, the weather was sunny. Clouds like cotton candy floated in the blue sky.

“Oh, Princess! Where are you going?"

I stunned and stopped walking.

A maid with short blonde hair was looking at me with a laundry basket in her hand.

Is her name Mariam or Miriam...…. Anyway, she was a new kid. Are you two or three years older than me? Among the servants, she was the youngest.

I spoke in the most natural way possible.

“A walk in the woods.”

Hearing my answer, she smiled broadly.

“I see. Bye!"

Then she nodded and disappeared toward the laundry. What's so good, that you're all smiles like that.

I stood in a daze for a while, startled by the unexpected event.

Did my maid say hello to me? Laughing?

But after a few seconds, I realized.

'Aha, it's a strategy to steal information for being nice to me. You must never go over it.'

Suddenly, she became a cold city woman who doesn't trust anyone's favor, no, a city princess.

It must mean that he has adapted to the Esperusa royal family, but it feels like her original humanity has diminished.

My sister-in-law should come quickly. I walked toward Tabaktabak Forest, remembering the original story.

The Esperusa Palace, where the Imperial family, including the emperor, resides, is an area rather than a building.

Several palaces were scattered around Solem Palace, where the emperor lived, and the scale was enormous. There is a forest between the palaces and the river flows.

Opal Palace, where I live, was in the farthest corner. It is small and surrounded by forest, making it difficult for outsiders to enter and exit.

At first, I felt frustrated because I felt like living in exile, but these days it was the opposite.

Now I know how blessed this forest is.

"Yup."

Deep in the forest, I made sure no one was around and pulled the hem of my skirt over my knees. And tied it with a belt to keep it from falling down.

And ran.

A forest where there is no one, freely.

I felt an exhilarating sense of liberation.

"Oh!"

I stopped after running so hard.

White lumps sprouted under the trunk of the tree.

"It's a mushroom!"

I reached for the mushroom. But just before my hand touched the mushroom, a strange feeling spread through my fingers.

“Ugh.”

When I let go of my hand for a moment and stretched it out again, the feeling became more pronounced.

My fingers feel tingly and cold.

It's a poisonous mushroom

“Sheesh, it looked delicious.”

However, I had no intention of ending my second life with poisonous mushrooms, so I turned my steps without regret. After all, there are a lot of mushrooms.

After a few steps, I found another mushroom, and this time it was safe. I started picking mushrooms with excitement.

After several months of barely surviving on garbage that didn't even look like food, I finally found a way to live on my own.

It is to use Lucilia's ability to feed herself.

At first, I tried to find something to eat inside the Opal Palace. However, how thoroughly the cook maintained the kitchen, even sneaking in at dawn I could not find a piece of cheese.

Eventually I looked out. And it reminded me of the forest where Lucilia sometimes went for a walk.

If you're lucky, you might even find a fruit tree.

Stepping into the forest with such vague thoughts, I was surprised.

The forest was completely Lucilia's space.

I knew that Lucilia had a hidden ability. However, what I read about her in the book and what I felt with my own body were different.

Different from the air. I could feel the vitality of the forest through my skin. Besides, all the tall trees and thick bushes that looked the same to others looked different to me.

A keen sense for animals and plants.

It's still only that much, but that's enough for me right now.

“It’s okay.”

After picking the mushrooms, I got up again. Using the folded skirt as an apron, I put the mushrooms and walked for a while.

And finally, I arrived at a small, dilapidated cabin.

This house, which probably had been abandoned after being lived in by a forest keeper, was originally found by Lucilia before being possessed.

Lucilia was afraid of this old cabin. So after she found it, I never came around here.

But to me, this place was a wonderful hideout.

When I opened the door and entered, I was greeted by a narrow, dark cabin. One side of the wall was rotting and there was a pleasant smell.

No matter what, Lucilia was the princess, so it was worth avoiding a house like this.

But to me this is nothing! I've lived in a semi-basement room with mold on all four sides!

……not bragging though.

I shook my head and lit the furnace. The brazier and other miscellaneous belongings were left behind by the forest keeper, but they were used very well.

While the charcoal is burning, the mushrooms are skewered on iron skewers. When the flames are moderate, put the grill and put the skewers on it.

It started to smell pleasant.

"Sigh…….”

The white mushrooms cooked to a golden brown color, and the mushroom juice bubbled on the surface and occasionally dripped onto the charcoal.

Saliva began to form in my mouth.

A few minutes of fighting between the desire to eat and the need to endure. Finally, the mushrooms were perfectly grilled.

The color of the fire and the fragrant smell, it's just perfect.

"Thank you for this food!"

That moment when I opened my mouth wide for the first meal of the day.

Wow.

An explosion sounded.

"Ahh!"

I curled up and covered my head. Without knowing what the situation was, it was just an instinctive action.

What? What happened? Has the furnace exploded? But other than that, my body was fine.

There was no sign of the next explosion, so I quietly raised my head.

"Ugh."

And I was faced with an absurd sight.

Half of the cabin is missing.

Clearly, the place where there was a wall a while ago is now open. No, it was cut cleanly.

Thanks to that, someone was walking in the middle of the open field of view.

The moment I saw him, I was terrified.

He was just walking.

It was just that and it was scary.

Every single movement of that person, every single strand of his hair, every sound of his footsteps was terrifying.

I wanted to run away, but I couldn't. If I moved even slightly, I felt like I would stop breathing.

A man who looked more like a disaster than a human approached me, clad in a demon-like murder suit.

"You."

He called out to me. It was only later that he realized that the sword was pointed at me as I tried to get my spirits up from almost fainting.

"Who's there?"

Who are you...….

Even though I was shaking, I could barely raise my head. My eyes met the demonic man for an instant.

The demon's eyes were bright red. Red like freshly spilled blood.

Red eyes……?

“Huh.”

I was out of breath.

The 13th Princess is a novel about the journey of the main character, Imelda Belle Esperusa, to ascend to the throne of the emperor.

If there is a protagonist, there must be a villain.

Among the 18 brothers and sisters, there was a villain with only one episode, and there was a rival that could not be decided until the end.

Representatively, there were three competitors who annoyed Imelda the most.

1st Princess, Leonor Dawn, famous for being nicknamed Iron Blood.

Heir to the Mage Tower and future great wizard, 5th Prince Rudolf Sol.

And 12th Prince Richard Kahn.

He is the strongest swordsman who has no one to match him not only his brothers and sisters, but also the entire empire with a single force.

However, in terms of personality, he is a psycho among psychos with strong bloodlust from the Esperusa family.

He enjoys fights and wars and feels alive when he kills people. If it weren't for the prince, he would have been executed as a serial killer.

“I will ask you one last time.”

And the symbol of the 12th prince is blood-red eyes.

"Who are you?"

"Who are you?"

My whole body trembled. It was scary even when she didn't know who the person in front of her was, but when she found out, a funeral song rang in her ears.

Crazy! Why is Richard here!

I don't understand. No matter how deep I entered the forest, I never left the forest attached to Opal Palace. In other words, this is my land.

It's no exaggeration to say that this is a declaration of war, to attack another princess' land with a sword...….

'Oh right.'

I twisted my face.

'He likes war very much.'

Unlike the other imperial descendants who were reluctant to engage in all-out war, Richard always walked around the imperial palace with a sword. With an attitude as if he would pull it out right away.

I don't know why I came this far, but at least I was a human with common sense that I wouldn't just go to someone else's land.

“Are you dumb?”

As I continued to receive no answer, Richard muttered to himself.

Even in the midst of fear, it was quite absurd.

Isn't it a little too much for a 12-year-old to talk like he's going to suffocate people?

While I was thinking that, I unconsciously glared at Richard.

Did his thoughts show up on his face, or was it funny that he put up his sword on a trembling person?

Richard smiled at me.

In an instant, I forgot all about my situation and how it was going.

In a forest full of verdure, Richard's blond hair was as brilliant as the sunlight filtering through the leaves.

An overwhelmingly gorgeous face, in the middle of which the red eyes were clear as if they were burning. It's like the last brush strokes made by a craftsman with all his might.

I just laughed, but all the sounds around me disappeared and time suddenly seemed to slow down. It was such a destructive face.

Wow, Richard, you are much more handsome than I imagined...….

“Ah, is that your weapon?”

I was stunned, but then I came back to my senses at his words.

The place Richard pointed with his chin was my right hand. To be more precise, the mushroom skewers I'm still holding on to.

But what did you just say? Is this skewer a weapon?

“No, this…….”

I raised my hand in bewilderment. I was just trying to show the mushrooms.

Suddenly, I felt something brush my way, and the mushroom skewer fell in two pieces to the floor.

“Don’t move.”

I opened my mouth wide.

It happened right in front of my eyes, but I couldn't understand it. Bar, did you just cut the skewer with your sword? Didn't see anything?

“It was good to try. It was kind of cute too.”

He took a step closer and smiled even deeper.

“That, that, that weapon, that wasn’t…….”

I desperately tried to talk to him.

“But I’m not the kind of person who thinks you're cute, so isn’t your strategy wrong?”

Of course, the mad dog of the Esperusa family didn't listen to anyone.

Fool, at least pretend to listen!

“I’m too stupid for that bastard to send…….”

Richard stopped talking and suddenly looked behind me. Then, as his face slightly frowned, he swung his sword loudly.

I reflexively flinched.

Duaang.

But the attack was directed at my back, not at me.

An explosion sounded behind him, and Richard disappeared before his eyes. It was a movement that I still couldn't follow with my eyes.

I looked back, as if with a wink.

Half of the hut was now completely destroyed, leaving only ruins. And in the middle of the ruins, I saw Richard fighting wildly, spraying sword energy.

Even the three or four humans who evaded that swordsmanship surprisingly quickly.

“……!”

I covered my mouth not to make a sound.

The people attacking Richard were all dressed the same. He was dressed in black from head to toe, and a white mask was worn over his face.

If it appeared in a cartoon or game, anyone would say 'assassin'.

Their movements were swift, but somehow odd. It felt like it was moving more like a mollusk than a human being.

At that moment, Richard's sword cut the wrist of one of the assassins. Instead of blood, black smoke billowed from the place where it was cut, and it instantly took the shape of a hand.

I was aware of that existence that no one could see was human.

'The 5th Prince's Shadow Doll!'

If the 12th prince, Richard, was a sword genius, the 5th prince, Rudolph Sol, was the greatest wizard the empire had ever produced.

Shadow puppets are his favorite technique, and they appeared in the original work to kill Imelda.

Each of the shadow puppets had swordsmanship at the level of a skilled assassin, and if not critically damaged, they immediately recovered from wounds. There were not many people who fought against not one but several such monsters and survived.

One of them, the male lead in the original work, had to work hard to protect Imelda and deal with the shadow puppets...….

Phew.

The moment he thought so, the sword energy emitted from Richard's sword slashed the three shadow puppets at the same time.

The three puppets were hit by red swords and exploded, disappearing like ashes blown away by the wind.

That…… Aren't they so easy to deal with?

'I guess it's because it's daytime.'

I muttered to myself.

'Shadow puppets are black magic, so they're stronger at night. And Tristan couldn't show off his skills to the best of his ability to protect Imelda.'

As a fan of the male lead in the original work, I couldn't accept the scene in front of me and made excuses that no one would hear.

'Richard is stronger than the male lead! It can't be!'

While I was engrossed in such stupid thoughts, Richard shook his sword with a displeased expression. As if something dirty was buried.

“Whoa.”

He caught his breath and turned his gaze towards me. His face was even more annoyed than before, and my heart sank.

Wasn't it a setting that made you feel good after fighting a strong opponent? A shadow puppet would be strong enough, so why are you so angry?

“Aren’t you interfering?”

Richard slowly approached me.

“I thought we were on the same side. Then how did you know I would be here?”

“No, I…….”

Once I know the situation.

Richard came all the way here, being chased by an assassin sent by the 5th prince, or chasing an assassin.

And unfortunately, I was in the spot where he was passing by, so he mistook me for an assassin would that be the case?

The funeral song rang once again in my ears. A cold sweat run down my back.

“Well, it doesn’t matter anyway.”

Richard muttered in a low voice. Annoyance could be seen in his voice, and goose bumps ran through his body.

Haha, no matter how much Richard thinks, 'It's annoying, let's kill it'...….

“It’s annoying, so I'll kill it.”

That's right!

Richard raised his sword high with an expression that everything was troublesome. My head stopped thinking about anything else.

Oh I'm dying...

As the fear reached its peak, the tension in her body was released. Without even realizing it, her entire body lost strength.

And…….

Rumble.

The empty stomach roared without missing the gap.

Really, all it could say was a rumble. It was such a loud sound.

Richard looked at me with an absurd expression.

“Just that.”

He muttered in disbelief.

“Is that the sound from your stomach?”

Suddenly, the side of my neck felt chilly, so I looked down and saw that the sword Richard had been swinging stopped at a gap of a span.

“You.”

At that moment, sadness surged from the inside of my throat.

“Huh…….”

How can I explain my feelings?

A few months since I woke up in a novel.

The days of being ignored by the servants without being able to eat to my fullest were extremely sad.

But I persevered.

Because if you deviate from the original, something might go wrong, and to go wrong in this palace means you'll die soon.

Because I knew I would be happy if I just wait patiently.

But what is this like?

Not even 3 years, I ran into the original villain in less than 1 year, was misunderstood as an assassin, and ended up dying after showing a shameful appearance.

The first was death from overwork, and the second was murder.

Why is my life like this?!

“Uhhh, uhhh…….”

At some point I was crying.

Not only did she shed tears beautifully, but she cried very sadly and with a strange sound.

“Ha, I am.”

Richard laughed, but his voice didn't have the same composure as before. If I'm not mistaken, he seemed a little taken aback.

"Hey, do you think just seeing you cry will help? You're pretending to be weak and trying to catch me off guard...….”

"I-!"

Now I couldn't see anything. I shouted and interrupted Richard.

“It’s not like that!”

Without even thinking to wipe away the flowing tears, I screamed with all my might.

"I'm just hungry...….”

I stopped talking and cried out again in sorrow.

“My mushroom!”

The birds sitting on the trees were startled by my shouting and flew away.

“Huh, my mushroom…….”

I continued to mumble while whimpering.

I don't know who I'm talking to, and after shouting once, I ran out of energy and couldn't raise my voice any more.

How many times have I cried?

With a rustling sound, something dark red suddenly appeared in front of me.

"This……, want some?"

What Richard handed me was beef jerky.

The smoked scent wafted from the beef jerky, which was a little smaller than the palm of my hand.

Snap.

The moment my nose sensed the smell of meat, I lost my temper. I snatched the jerky and shoved it into my mouth.

“Kuhk, kol hack!”

“Hey, chew it well and swallow!”

Richard patted me on the back as I was coughing out of choking and even held out a bottle. I moistened my mouth with water and chewed the jerky in my mouth.

The beef jerky was incredibly tasty.

I don't know how long it's been since I've eaten meat. It is neither rotten nor spoiled meat. It's not juicy, but it's full of charcoal flavor, and the taste is rich and tender, probably from good meat.

“Huh…….”

Tears come out again because it is so delicious.

It's the first time I've had such delicious beef jerky...….

“Why are you crying again?”

Richard frantically searched his pockets again. He expected something else to come out, but this time he brought out a handkerchief.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t apply poison or anything like that. Oh, beef jerky and water too. I brought it to eat.”

When did I ever worry about that? So, I'm just thinking the same way.

I thought so and smiled.

Richard flinched and stared at me. Then he picked up his handkerchief and wiped my face.

It was a very strange feeling to put my face in Richard's hands while chewing the jerky.

The anger and excitement gradually subsided. The sense of reason that had left me was also returning.

'It's ruined, it's ruined.'

The returned reason shouted at me.

'It's completely ruined, you idiot!'

That's right. It is fortunate that his life was saved, but the original plan to live quietly and unnoticed was completely ruined.

Was it because of the embarrassing noise from the ship, or was it because I was crying out loud while shouting "mushrooms", Richard didn't seem to suspect that I was an assassin anymore.

Instead, I'll start with other doubts.

For example, who would be a girl of the same age walking around in a dress in the Opal Palace forest where the 17th princess lives...….

"Hey."

After wiping my face, Richard stopped and asked me. Red eyes filled my doubts and scanned my face and clothes.

I gulped down the last piece of jerky I had been chewing on.

That's right. I am your poor little sister, weak, frail, with no strength, no power, no ambition for the throne...… The moment I was about to say those words,

“Are you the maid at Opal Palace?”

Richard misunderstood my true identity.