The Monster Princess

Chapter 7

“Bella, let’s go over there! Everyone is waiting for you!” Chloe said as she led me to the Mermaid Garden’s inner courtyard.

I followed her, brushing my hair aside. It was long again, at least for today. My short hair did not suit the outfit that had been prepared for me, so I had braided in some extensions.

It probably wasn’t so much that my short hair didn’t look good as it was just still unfamiliar. Plus, Marina was begging me in tears, so I had no choice. In the end, I let her have this one—it was probably a good idea, as she still got gloomy upon seeing my new hair and this would give her some extra time to adjust.

Goodness me. I am so good to my servants. With that unbiased judgment of my own character, I proceeded forward on the garden’s green-tiled pathway, finally reaching the inner courtyard filled with orange flowers in full bloom.

A typical tea party involved people seated around tables, chatting as they munched on refreshments. But today’s party was a standing one. Guests could roam the garden freely and pick out their own snacks.

A standing party was an extra-rare occurrence in the imperial palace, where formality was prioritized. However, Chloe always liked to stand out, so it wasn’t odd that she wanted to do something unconventional. The strange thing was that her stern mother would even allow it to happen. Has Katarina perhaps given up on her? Considering how ignorant Chloe is, it’s possible...

“Hi, ladies! This is my older sister!” Chloe walked over to a group of young noblewomen and puffed her chest out proudly. I had already encountered these girls at other functions, so I wasn’t quite sure why she would be so excited to introduce me to them. Nonetheless, they returned the enthusiasm.

“Oh my goodness! It is such an honor, Princess Arbella!”

“I haven’t seen you at one of Princess Chloe’s tea parties before!”

It seems I’m the only one from our family here. I wondered if the others had even received invitations. It felt like my half-sister was hopelessly infatuated with me.

“It’s a pleasure to see all of you. Chloe has put much effort into hosting this tea party, so please enjoy yourselves,” I calmly replied.

All of the young women were around the same age as Chloe and I, and they were all quite extroverted, making it a lively party. I found it a relief since it spared the need for me to talk much. I wasn’t in the mood for socializing today.

Just then, I thought I saw a familiar face. Huh? Am I imagining things?

I turned to get a better look at the figure. Sure enough, it was Judith. She was standing alone at one end of a table, looking very much out of place with her modest attire.

When our eyes met, she quickly bowed to me. I instantly became uneasy. She had become a thorn in my side ever since that cursed dream, and what was worse, I did not remember the book containing any details about Chloe’s tea party.

What is that girl doing here? She’s not exactly hiding by standing in the middle of the room like that. That must mean she was invited... But knowing my half-sister, it was not a friendly invitation.

As the first princess, I knew how things went in high society. I could immediately figure out what was going on. She’s going to ignore Judith the entire party and humiliate her. Or perhaps she wanted to show Judith what she was missing and put her in her place.

Now that I think about it, while the book portrayed me as a true villainess who posed a threat to Judith’s life, Chloe was never more than my puppet.

—“Judith! How dare you cause Bella to frown, even for a split second? You’ll wrinkle her perfectly smooth face! It’s unforgivable!”

She was cut-and-paste in her role as a villainess’s right-hand minion. Every one of her lines was obvious.

—“You lowly peasant! How dare you think of yourself as equal to Bella? Get down on your knees and beg for forgiveness right this instant!”

I sighed. It soured my mood to think about whatever Chloe was plotting now, although I didn’t exactly sympathize with Judith or pity her for having to attend such an awful tea party.

Chloe, you dare rope me into such lowly scheming? I shot a cold glare at the clueless girl, who remained giddy while gossiping with the others.

Judith was staring at the snacks on the table, gulping nervously. I observed her indifferently as her eyes scanned the guests around her. She looked shabby, but she seemed like an all right girl underneath it all. Even though she was vacantly staring at the table of food, I could tell she wasn’t stupid.

I always thought of her as a bastard with filthy common blood... But the book said her mother was not just another lowly slave after all. The novel revealed that the woman was actually a descendant of royalty who had ruled over a small magic kingdom, one that had fallen long ago.

Normally, the amount of mana one was born with couldn’t be changed, but Judith’s case was different. The book said that she became a fearsome magician by awakening the power inherited from her mother’s bloodline. Her truthfully noble lineage got even further under my skin.

She fidgeted as she stared at a platter of cookies. After a moment, she reached out hesitantly to grab one.

Slap!

A girl, Count Canon’s daughter, slapped her hand with a fan. “Dear me, there are insects crawling around the refreshments table. It must be the warm weather,” the girl said.

“Oh, my! You are right. Bugs do love sugar,” another young lady snipped.

“Would you mind passing me a napkin? I must wipe off my fan, something dirtied it.”

Judith’s face became scarlet. She knew she was the “insect.” If she had only been a little older, she might have just laughed it off and ignored it—but at the tender age of twelve, such words greatly affected her.

“Seriously...” I sighed. Why can’t they just mind their own business?

Judith retracted her hand and gave up on reaching for the cookie.

I stared for a moment before walking over to the refreshments table. At the same time, the offending young noblewoman was accepting a napkin from another lady.

“Here, a napkin,” the young lady said.

“Oh, thank—“

Slap!

I smacked the extended hand with my own fan. Count Canon’s daughter gaped at me, but I ignored her and gave her hand another good smack.

“My, my. I saw another insect. It really is summer, after all,” I said. Of course, any palace garden would certainly not have any bugs, let alone a garden that had undergone several days’ preparation for a tea party. “I thought it might crawl onto the napkin, so I smacked it away for you.”

“I-I see, Your Highness.”

“The thing was enormous! I couldn’t get rid of it with one flick. You all saw it, right?”

Upon getting a taste of her own medicine, the young noblewoman’s cheeks became flushed.

This was Chloe’s party, not mine, so I wasn’t about to go off on a tirade. I also figured they should be embarrassed enough and things would soon calm down. But for some reason, none of Chloe’s friends seemed humiliated.

“I did not see it, but I am truly grateful you chased it away, Your Highness!” she cried.

I was taken aback as I looked at her. She really seemed to think I was protecting her from a bug. Did it really go over your head? You literally just did the same thing to Judith. I couldn’t possibly make it any more obvious. Then, I remembered that all of Chloe’s friends were about the same level of dim and oblivious. That’s right, they’re all members of the clueless club.

“You are so kind, Your Highness!”

“Oh my god. You were amazing, swinging your fan without any fear!”

“Ugh...” As a small sigh escaped my lips, Chloe hurried over.

“That’s just how great Bella is! She is so sweet, kind, and brave! She’s even nicer to people close to her, but that’s our little secret.”

Once again, I couldn’t for the life of me tell whether she was bragging about me or about herself.

When Chloe noticed Judith, her face scrunched up in displeasure. “What? How long are you going to stand there? Are you that stupid?”

If this hypocrite was being sarcastic, I would have laughed—but no, she was genuine.

“Oh, by the way,” she continued. “Liliana was looking for you earlier. So, if you’ve got nothing to do, go report to the Third Princess’s Palace.”

Unlike her bully, Judith could actually read the room quite well. She took a bow and hurried out of the garden.

“Chloe, I’d like to have a word with you sometime,” I whispered in her ear.

“Huh? O-okay! I have plenty of time for you, Bella!” She beamed at me, completely unaware of the reason I wanted to talk to her alone.

Seeing this simpleton in action left me speechless. I took a moment to reflect on my life seriously.