n

n

n“The only one fit to rule, Your Majesty. It is no exaggeration to say that Liz’s stability and peace began with Your Majesty’s generosity.”

nHe spewed this sort of flattery.

nRieta found it a little much, but… Come to think of it, she thought anyone would give this much praise to someone who lent money without interest. Yeah, interest-free.

nThe nobles also nodded, listening.

nSince then, the story of Liz’s future continued.

n“I will always keep your expectations in mind and use them as an indicator of the right path. I’m in control of Liz now, and Liz’s precious successor…..”

nThe minister’s voice shrank as if it had crawled in for a while.

n“Two…. young sons.”

nHis so-called “two young sons” were Rieta’s younger brothers.

nSilence descended upon the salon for a moment.

n

n

n“There’s no mention of the princess.”

n“Before you got here, it was said she was the first candidate for succession, right?”

n“That’s right, she’s the firstborn…. but if you look at the letter…”

n“Ssh! Be quiet.”

nThe minister’s reading of the letter continued.

nKing Liz told various stories in it. Overall, it was quite pretentious and boring,

n“Wishing for the eternal glory of the great empire.”

nFinally, after the reading, the minister handed a letter to the emperor.

nBut people all glanced to Rieta, to the emperor.

n“How…”

nKing Liz did not mention Rieta anywhere in the long and boring letter.

nNot even once.

nHe left his only daughter in the Empire, and one would think he would mention it. Naturally, family should come to mind.

nKing Liz had abandoned her to the Empire.

nHe had no intentions of having her return to the kingdom, nor would he pay attention to her anymore.

n“…How pitiful..”

nSomeone sighed.

nThe princess, neglected by the king, was akin to a burden, treated like a useless restriction of his unimportant affairs.

nAs the attendees’ uncomfortable gazes fell on her, Rieta felt her face burn.

nShe stared holes through her skirt, her head down.

nIt wasn’t hard to guess what people speculated while looking at her. Probably, they thought that King Liz sent a letter deliberately ignoring her, and they felt sorry for her.

n‘That’s… Not it.’

nHer father was not a schemer.

nHe wouldn’t have used his brain to write such a letter to Rieta on purpose.

n‘The reason he didn’t mention me.’

nRieta bit her lip.

n‘He really forgot about me.’

nKing Liz was not very interested in Rieta in the first place.

nIn fact, she used to think, ‘If I didn’t maintain my dignity and stopped showing up, I think he would forget me.’

nIt seemed that her existence really was erased from him…

n….How was that possible? Wasn’t a child special to his or her parents?

nEven if she wanted to forget it, she could not. If she closed her eyes, she would see his face in the darkness…

nShe remembered her worries preceding this moment..

n‘What if my father writes down bad things about me?’

nCome to think of it, it would have been better if he had.

nHe could have commented, “I’m always worried about her performance in most areas.”

n“Then, the princess…”

nShe could hear conversations about her arise in the distance. Their voices revealed their growing interest in her. Gossip-loving servants would relish the tale of a princess abandoned by her father the king.

nHer heart sank.

nShe didn’t know what to do anymore. She just wanted to escape immediately.

nBut how?

nRieta couldn’t even lift her heavy head. No, it was difficult to even open her tightly closed eyes.

n‘……’

nUnconsciously, her heart sped up.

n“It’s already.”

n

n

nJust then, the Duke’s voice boomed next to Rieta, as if he had just remembered something important.

n“Time passes like this.”

nHe checked the congregational clock inscribed with the imperial emblem and put it back in his pocket.

n“I’m sorry, Princess.”

nHe dropped to his knees in front of Rieta, and looked into her eyes, as her head was bowed down.

n“It’s time for my nap.”

n“….Yes?”

nHe spoke both in the imperial language and kingdom language, so everyone understood the inappropriate things he said.

nNaptime. This time was also the Duke’s nap time.

nThe Duke of Mayer, who was so busy that he didn’t sleep well at night, has no such thing on his busy schedule as it is.

n