The Abandoned Princess' Secret Bedroom

Tristan looked at his bloody finger. Was he sick? His expression did not change. Llewelyn sighed and pulled out a handkerchief.

“Are you in pain?”

“It hurts.”

“Then why do you look like that?”

“It hurts a lot.” 

He repeated stoically. 

A smile formed on Llewelyn’s lips. The wound on his finger was serious, but somehow he could stand it. The Red Knight Commander offered to show her how harmless the baby bird was, and it bit him.

Llewelyn couldn’t help but burst into laughter. She smiled brightly, forgetting her fight with Pamela, the monastery, her curse, becoming the golden raven, and her headaches. As she smiled, her cheeks plumped up. Her amber eyes, soaked in the sun, were warmly dyed.

Llewelyn’s smile was as beautiful as an angel’s. Tristan stared at Llewelyn as if possessed, wrapping his finger in the Llewelyn-scented handkerchief. Llewelyn was smiling brightly like the sun.

Tristan turned his head after a moment. It was because he realized that he was not looking at her smile alone.

A man standing under the tree glanced at Llewelyn. Almondite was watching him. In an instant, the eyes of the two men met.

*

“Llewelyn.”

The man muttered. What was contained in his turquoise eyes was cold anger. A blazing fire engulfed him. As he swallowed his saliva, flames climbed his throat.

Almondite struggled to suppress his boiling emotions and calm them down. Somehow, he never lost his nobility.

Llewelyn was avoiding meeting with him. Yet, little by little, she was interacting with others. The meaning of her actions were clear.

Rejection. It meant that she didn’t want to talk, let alone get married. He felt frustrated.

At that moment, the head of the man standing in front of Llewelyn turned. His red eyes stared blankly at Almondite. The men made eye contact like that. Almondite was jealous of where Tristan was, and Tristan was jealous of the deep bond Llewelyn and Almondite had.

But Almondite knew he had to be patient. His turquoise eyes stared at Llewelyn tenaciously. Her smile was shattered in the sunlight.

“If I go on like this, my position will be in jeopardy.” 

Vivian complained to Allen.

Allen Maud was arrogant from birth. Son of Count Maud and brother of Vivian, he was one of the Queen’s White Knights. Vivian was ashamed of giving birth to a child out of wedlock, but when she found out that the child was offspring of the King, she shunned people as if she were already the King’s wife.

But their plan went awry. It was because Vivian was being ignored by the King.

“I trusted the Queen.” 

Vivian clenched her jaw. Trusting the Queen, she approached Bastian and had an amazing night. The process of trying to convince him was not difficult.

“That stupid stutter! As long as he had it…!” 

Bastian used to stutter a lot. 

Thinking of that stupid mama’s boy, Vivian bit her lip.

Did she even give birth to his child? The Queen didn’t care, for her troubles were solved. In order for Vivian’s son to be recognized as a Prince, Count Maud had to hand over mines to Pamela.

‘I came here after sacrificing something.’ 

Vivian gritted her teeth.

Pamela wanted a family that could rival that of her own, Brion. And Count Maud had set his eyes on the central political world. They had to hold on to their position until the Duke of Brion returned from defeating the rebels. 

“But what can we do? We have to trust the words of the Queen and wait.”

“I was made to look like a fool!”

At that, Allen shook his head.

She pursed her lips. 

“Besides, I am being treated worse by Her Majesty than the Princess! It is an insult.”

“You mean Princess Llewelyn?”

“Yes. The Princess will become a stumbling block for Dion in the future.”

“She’s only a stumbling block, it’s okay.” 

Allen smiled cruelly.

“She is a stumbling block, simple enough to remove. Can’t you get rid of one Princess?”

“For five years, the Queen has not been able to get rid of the Princess. There must be a reason behind that. You have to be careful. Princess Llewelyn has nothing to lose.”

Allen chuckled and handed her a pint glass. 

“You still only remember the old days.”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

The noble Royal Family elected a golden raven every year. The late King used to dress young Llewelyn in gold at every founding celebration. She looked down on everyone, always wearing only splendid and beautiful things. Even at such a young age, looking into those amber eyes made them feel somewhat embarrassed.

Llewelyn was not intoxicated with what she had. Taking everything for granted, she constantly observed people and made her own judgments. When she smiled, she looked as soft as an angel, but when she was expressionless, it resembled the cold expression of the dead Queen.

A face that resembled the Queen from Thessaly who had died. Those amber eyes were like a bird of prey.

“But is it not funny that it’s gone down like that.”

She wasn’t particularly jealous. In fact, the downfall of the Princess gave her a level of satisfaction. The downfall of a noble woman was pitiful and amusing.

It was pitiful to see the Princess beg to protect the Prince’s room, but… Vivian felt a little pleasure at that time. Princess Llewelyn was like her! She was ruined! Vivian laughed at the Princess’s ugliness and was relieved. If there is someone in the Royal Family who was hated, wouldn’t she be hated less?

“You mean what happened because of the Prince’s room?”

“Yeah.”

“There was a lot of talk about it. The Red Knights escorted and assisted the Princess.”

“Yes, I saw it. Sir Jayad came in.”

“Yes. Maybe they don’t have any pride, to protect the Princess who insulted royalty so much… That’s what happens when a stupid Zakat is a leader.”

Vivian agreed with Allen. After being insulted like that, to fight the Queen to protect the stupid Princess. Were Zakats really that stupid? It was said that they were a clan that did not learn, that they were truly ignorant. It was pathetic.

“The Red Knights also have to act well. More pressing though, I got the Queen’s hatred…”

“Wait, the Queen will wipe out all the Red Knights?”

Vivian nodded at Allen’s words. She didn’t care, since politics were not her jurisdiction.

“Really, brother.”

“Yes?”

“What kind of relationship do you have with the Queen and His Majesty?”

“What does that mean? You know.”

“Is that so?”

Vivian was surprised when she entered the palace. Bastian’s stutter was better than she thought, and he knew how to oppose his mother’s opinion.

Pamela was strange too. Standing on top of Bastian and commanding the world, she was a little different from the rumors. Wasn’t she broken by Bastian’s insistence, who refused to marry Vivian?

Surprisingly, Pamela occasionally looked at Bastian. So did he. They constantly checked on each other. 

‘Am I wrong?’

But to take power as King, Bastian needed Pamela. Pamela also needed Bastian.

When the mother-child relationship was broken, and when Bastian died, Pamela would put Prince Dion on the throne.

‘Assuming that Princess Llewelyn is no threat, Bastian is not a lesser person than I thought…is Bastian the most dangerous?’

She thought it would be good to win the favor of Pamela. Didn’t she need to take care of Dion? After thinking about it, Vivian raised the corners of her lips. Then, she saw a young maid walking by.

She was Llewelyn’s maid.

“Brother?”

Meeting Vivian’s gaze, Allen smiled.

*

“Princess!”

At the urgent call of a maid, Llewelyn closed the book she was reading. The rudeness of the maids was common, so she was used to it. She asked, barely hiding her irritation. 

“What’s going on?”

“I, I…”

“How many times do I have to say I hate stuttering?” 

It wasn’t the first time Llewelyn had complained, but the maids failed to correct themselves. 

“It’s not about me. Miss Maud…”

“What about Miss Maud?”

“Rosalie made a mistake and is going to have her ankle cut off.”

Llewelyn returned her attention to the book as if nothing had happened. But the text did not catch her eye. Rosalie was a young maid. Although rude, she was always cheerful, and she was also a maid whose name was rarely remembered.

“Wow, Princess. Rosalie is the youngest maid here. Only thirteen.”

Llewelyn responded ruthlessly. 

“She acted carelessly, and in the end, she’s out of luck.”

“…”

“You knew about this? Please educate the maids well in the future. Contrary to what you did to me, you shouldn’t neglect Miss Maud.”

The maid bit her lip. So did the others. Llewelyn looked at them and frowned.

“Do you treat me as your master? As far as I know, I don’t think that has ever happened.”

The maids flinched at Llewelyn’s cold remark. But the rebellious expressions on their faces did not disappear. Llewelyn didn’t feel the need to say anything more.