The Abandoned Princess' Secret Bedroom

The poor shuddered as the knights, dressed in lavish clothing, disembarked from their wagons. 

Llewelyn blinked at the maids, but they didn’t know what to do. Llewelyn looked away from them and sighed.

“Bread and blankets.”

At Llewelyn’s words, the maids brought what was in the wagon with displeasure. At her instructions, people were busily moving. Llewelyn stood up and cupped her hands around her mouth while shouting.

“I am the Princess of Brygent, Llewellyn Raven Brygent.”

“…”

“With the grace of Your Majesty and the Duke of Biserk, I will show you hospitality.”

The high-pitched voice sounded alien to the poor, and it stuck in their ears. Llewelyn gracefully gestured to the knights.

“Come on, let’s prepare a table to put the supplies on.”

As the knights hesitated, Tristan glared at them. At his silent gaze, they moved their bodies with an expression of blatant dislike.

“Are you here to do this?”

Tristan stood next to her and whispered the question. Llewellyn nodded her head.

“I’m going to be insulted anyway, so I have to do something good.”

“… Are you talking about the gift the Duke of Biserk gave you?”

“Sir Jayad must know that the duke’s actions have been noisy.”

“…”

“If I give it back, it won’t hurt the man. It doesn’t feel good to hear that you gave it to someone else instead.”

Tristan asked Llewelyn.

“It was a precious gift, did you not like it?”

“No. I hated it.”

Was there a way that she could like it? However, Llewelyn tried to hide the truth. Tristan looked at the poor said.

“The princess didn’t do this out of pity for them.”

“Are you disappointed?”

At those words, Tristan looked at Llewelyn’s face again.

“How dare I be disappointed?”

“You are free to feel. I don’t care if you’re really disappointed.”

At that moment, all the materials brought were set up. It was when Llewelyn was about to move, Tristan said.

“I am disappointed.”

“What?”

“Why in the world are you…”

“…”

“No, nothing.”

Tristan stood next to Llewelyn and stepped forward with her. His profile looked strangely angry. She felt puzzled, but soon focused on her purpose.

Of course, it wasn’t pure good deeds. This was a calculated act.

First of all, Bastian and Pamela would not stop this. Pamela would also have noticed that Llewelyn was trying to insult the Duke of Biserk by refusing a gift.

But unexpectedly, Pamela was pleased with Llewelyn’s good deeds. In any case, it was because it was able to rectify the public sentiment. For the first time in her life, Llewelyn received compliments from Pamela that she did a good job.

After Llewelyn slept with Almondite, to donate all the gifts she gave as a sign of courtship to the poor… How funny would it be to aristocrats who despised the ‘poor’?

Lastly, if it was revealed that Llewelyn had done a good deed, even if she did not keep her chastity, it could be redeeming when she went to the monastery. It was because the monastery liked to show off people, no matter what.

As long as she made up her mind to do it, she didn’t intend to do it sloppily. Acting without efficiency was just disgusting.

Llewelyn went to the buckets of water while distributing bread. She soaked a clean cloth with water to replace the dirty and stinky ones, and handed out the shoes they had prepared. They also gave the mothers time to eat and fed their babies.

“It’s milk that you can’t get sick from eating. I hope you can eat a full meal today.”

“Thank you.”

Llewellyn was meticulous. There was no change in her expression despite the filthy hygiene that made her eyes water. Instead of a fake smile, she took care of people one by one with a blunt face. The knights who saw it whispered.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I’m working really hard. I thought she’d make us do it all.”

“Yeah, it’s really dirty. Do you think that arrogant princess will die?”

Suddenly a foot flew out and kicked the knights’ knees. When the downturned knights spit out curses and turned around, Tristan was standing there. He held a pile of dirty cloths in his hand.

“All right, Commander.”

His dark crimson eyes blazed. He caught knights gossiping about the woman he was supposed to escort. 

“If you have eyes, see. Maybe you’ll die from the dirtiness.”

“…”

“These items were all prepared by the princess.”

“What…”

“Aristocrats serving the slums usually prepare only bread and milk. ‘Let’s just figure out how to feed the hungry’… That’s the best they can think of. But people don’t just need to eat.”

“…”

“Since I was a child, I grew up watching people in the capital, but their eyes are worse than mine.”

He said no more and looked at them with contempt. Then he walked back to Llewelyn. The knights were dumbfounded. Tristan Jayad protecting the princess? Was she good enough for that? As it turns out, the items she brought were quite diverse.

Bread and milk were the basics, clean water and cloths, shoes to protect your feet, and blankets to keep you warm. Tristan complained that he was not a war horse and that he was bothered by too many items, but at the root of it was a sentiment that thought deeply about the poor. Feeling a little embarrassed, the knights looked at each other and started to help.

They knew it too. They were the ones who acted weaker than the princess.

Llewelyn never wasted anything when she did something important. It took three days to prepare the supplies. When she bowed her head and counted the bread.

“Could you give me one more piece of bread?”

It was a man’s voice. His voice was as soft as a feather, but his voice was as weak as a mosquito. Llewellyn thought it was the voice of a boy who had gone through puberty.

“Sorry, I’ll give you one more if there are any leftovers. If it’s not enough, I’ll bring more next time.”

It was then when Llewelyn finished speaking and raised her head.

“Uh…hello?”

She was expecting an ugly boy, but the man standing in front of her was taller than Llewelyn. What surprised her wasn’t that he wasn’t a man or that he was tall. The pure white clothes the man was wearing were alien to this ugly and dirty place.

Almondite, Bastian, Pamela, and even Tristan over there had heart-pounding looks. But this man was far superior.

Platinum blonde hair that looked like it was the realization of sunlight, and whiter skin than hers. Purple eyes that look like amethysts. An exquisitely shadowed nose. Thick bright red lips. Its appearance with delicate lines was beautiful, but strangely, it was not at all neutral. Was it because of the curved cheekbones on the face? Or was it because of his throat?

As soon as she lost her mind, he smiled brightly.

“I didn’t know I would be cut off.”

That timid voice from earlier was fascinating. It was definitely a man’s voice, not that of a boy.

“Uh…”

“Nice to see you, Princess Llewellyn. I am Ernel, the fourth Patron serving His Holiness.”

***

****

Almondite sat with his legs crossed. The hand that rested on the armrest tapped the armrest. His hair, which was normally brushed neatly, was disheveled.

“Did she really sell them all?”

“Yes.”

“And you said she used it all to help the slums?”

“That’s right.”

Almondite asked again.

“Nothing left?”

“Yes. Nothing.”

“…”

The aide thought the duke would be angry right away. Whatever your intentions, if you sell all your courtship gifts to help the poor, wouldn’t that be offensive? However, the duke showed no sign of anger and only smiled.

In other words, he seemed to have expected this behavior.

“Is there any opposition in the royal family?”

“The Queen’s side is quiet. It seems that the king has no reason to refuse.”

“There was such a strong backlash for cleaning up the slums, but there is no reason to stop the princess from taking care of it.”

Almondite smiled contentedly.

“That’s why Llewelyn is going to the slums, right?”

“Probably.”

“Who was in charge of the escort? Is he a respectful man?”

“You don’t have to worry. Lord Jayad followed.”

Almondite’s face contorted instantly at that answer. The aide was puzzled. This was a man who laughed even when he was told that she sold all the presents he had given him. He quickly explained Tristan’s history.