Who Made Me a Princess?

Chapter 4

After Athanasia’s wrongful execution, the truth came to light—everything had been caused by the countess’s scheming. But Claude still didn’t feel the slightest bit of guilt or regret over the death of his first daughter. He truly loved no one but Jennette.

Being the angelic female lead, Jennette felt a great deal of guilt when thinking of Athanasia. However, she quickly found solace in her beloved Ijekiel’s arms and moved on with her life.

So when I had read that the story ended with “...and they lived happily ever after,” of course I’d been livid!

“Argh.”

Thinking about that story always pisses me off.

I had no idea why the author would have added such a doomed supporting character who died for a crime she wasn’t guilty of committing.

The middle school student, who had seemed to be a fervent fan of the novel, excitedly claimed that the choice was intended to underscore the tyrant father’s singular love for Jennette, and only Jennette.

The student had gone on to talk about how that was the charm of princess coming-of-age stories, how the romantic hopes and dreams of all women were brought together in one perfect novel.

But it all sounded so ridiculous to me that I just let it flow in one ear and spill out the other.

I hadn’t particularly been a fan of Athanasia or anything, but she was definitely better than Claude or Jennette. And this was besides the fact that I didn’t really care about what happened to other people, as long as I was happy.

Why?

Because I think I’m the Athanasia in the story!!

“Waaaah!”

I got sad again, so I burst out crying. I tried to convince myself again and again that it wasn’t true, but even delusion and denial have their limits.

There are too many things that line up perfectly with that damn novel!

No matter how hard I tried to ignore the ominous feeling of déjà vu, it was impossible to escape.

“Your Highness!”

Lily burst through the door at the sound of my pitiful cries.

“What’s the matter, Your Highness?”

I buried my face in the familiar embrace and continued to cry. My mood had already been fluctuating so much lately; seeing Lily’s face made me even more sad.

“Are you hungry?”

Lilian York.

She was the only character who believed in Athanasia and defended her innocence in Lovely Princess. As a result, Lilian had been killed by Claude alongside Athanasia.

Lilian had volunteered to come to the Ruby Palace to become a nanny figure to Athanasia. Her reasoning? Athanasia’s late birth mother, Diana.

Diana may have been a dancer whom everyone considered to be very lowly, but she had also been a captivating woman with platinum hair the color of moonlight and mysterious violet eyes.

Furthermore, her talent and skills had been so incredible that she was invited to dance solo in front of guests at an imperial banquet.

Lilian, who had grown tired of a stuffy life in the imperial palace, had seen Diana on the night of the banquet. She came to both envy and admire Diana for her unrestrained spirit that soared as free as a bird in the sky.

But shortly after childbirth, Diana’s body became so weak that she eventually passed away.

“Waaaaaah!”

Claude, you bastard, waaah.

I began bawling even louder, and Lilian clearly became bewildered and concerned.

“Oh dear. Please don’t cry, Your Highness.”

But how can I not cry? No matter how many times I think about it, I keep coming to the same conclusion: this world I am in really is the world of that damn novel!

Though the friendship between Lilian and Diana had been mentioned only briefly in the novel, it had still left quite an impression on me.

It was a friendship between two resilient and beautiful women. It had reminded me of Anne and Diana from Anne of Green Gables, a film I had seen at a birthday party that I’d been invited to when I had been young once before (and named Lee Ji-hye).

Right. I had no friends. That is why I’ve always yearned for such wonderful friendships like this!

But in the end, Lily ended up dying because she stood up for Athanasia.

“Waaaah!”

“Does she need her diaper changed?”

Ack, wait a minute! No, I didn’t pee!

“She’s not hungry; it’s not her diaper. What could it possibly be…?”

Ahh, my virginity! My innocence!

After being forcibly stripped down to my skin, I started thrusting my limbs about and wailing even harder.

Sure, this definitely wasn’t the first time this had happened since being in my current body, but it continued to serve quite the mental and emotional blow every time!

“She’s been more fretful than usual lately.”

Lily seemed frustrated that she couldn’t figure out why I was crying so much. But I was just as frustrated as she was.

I can’t talk about this situation I’m in even if I want to! There isn’t a sliver of hope here!

Whether I’ve been possessed or I’ve transmigrated, the fact that I’ve become a princess is pure nonsense all around. It’s so unfair!

Oh, Lilian. Why is your name Lilian? Why is Diana, Diana, and why is Claude, Claude? And why am I Athanasia? Why?! I’d rather be Jennette. I don’t want to be Athanasia!

“It’s alright, Princess. I’m right here.”

I continued to cry for a while, even after hearing Lily’s soft, consoling voice. I had no choice but to hurry and grow up so I could get out of that damned palace.

Time, can’t you go any faster?!

***

It was a clear and sunny spring day. Nature continued to produce beautiful, blooming flowers—though no one ever tended to the Ruby Palace gardens.

I ran among the fluttering flower petals and grabbed the skirt of a maid named Hannah, who had been passing through the outdoor corridor.

“Miss, miss.”

Today was the day various vegetables, meat, seafood, and other ingredients for the week were delivered to the castle, so I knew she was on her way to her next task after having checked on those.

Hannah looked down at me upon my call, and I made the most adorable facial expression I possibly could, my eyes glimmering at her.

“Miss, choco for Athy?”

I was five.

Five years old. So I’m not embarrassed at all. I’m not... I definitely am. Ugh, this is so embarrassing.

“Would you like some chocolate, Your Adorable Highness?”

“Yesh! I love choco. Gimme a lot a lot.”

Despite the humiliation, Hannah’s cheeks turned rosy. My adorable plea had caused her to swoon and start rummaging through the pockets of her apron.

She was a kitchen maid, and I knew she carried chocolates and candy in her pocket at all times to give to me.

“You like chocolate that much?”

“Athy loves choco! I love thiiis much!”

I raised my arms in the air to draw a big circle. Sure, it might have been embarrassing, but a snack in exchange for one cutesy antic was worth it.

“Athy loves Hannah, too!”

“Oh, my.”

Gimme! Gimme chocolate!

“What do you think you’re doing, Hannah?”

My grand scheme to get some chocolate from the maid was rudely interrupted.

“Ces!” Hannah cried.

“Did you not hear Ms. Lilian? She said we can’t give the princess sweets whenever she wants.”

The second maid, who had appeared from the end of the corridor, was a slim, beautiful, cool-headed lady with a chilling aura. Her name was Ces, and it definitely wasn’t her first time getting in the way of other maids trying to give me snacks.

“We can give her just one!”

“Well, the problem is that you’re not the only maid around here who thinks that way.”

Ugh! Don’t get in the way between me and my chocolate!

Unlike Hannah, Ces possessed an ice-cold aura that made her less approachable, but that didn’t faze me.

“Miss.”

This time, I gently grabbed Ces’ skirt and launched my dewy-eyed attack at her.

“Athy wanna eat choco.”

I looked up at her with the most forlorn look I could muster, and Ces’ face finally started to soften just a tiny bit.

“No, Your Highness.”

Oh, but I can see right through you! I know you’re being swayed right now!

“We really mustn’t...”

But I won in the end. Ces bent her knees to meet me at eye level and gave me a handful of chocolate.

“This is a secret from Ms. Lilian,” she said.

Lily, who had been almost exclusively responsible for taking care of me since the beginning, had put a ban on sweet snacks. She was worried about me getting cavities. So it was a secret between me and the maids that I would occasionally snag some chocolates from them.

“Tank you, miss!”

I gave Ces a big, beaming smile and a kiss on her cheek. I saw the face in front of me soften completely in the face of my cuteness.

See? This one may be cold on the outside, but she’s all warm and fuzzy on the inside, I say. Mmm. An ice-cold beauty who’s only affectionate to me. I like it.

“What? That’s cheating, Ces!” Hannah exclaimed. “You only got in the way because this was what you were after, didn’t you?!”

“Ahem. What are you talking about? I’m not driven by ulterior motives like you.”

“Then why did you give chocolates to the princess? Aww, her smooches were supposed to be for me!”

The two maids began to bicker behind me, but I scurried away from the hallway before Lily could catch me. It felt like some sort of hit and run operation, but not getting caught by Lily was of the utmost importance!

Time passed like a flowing river, and just like that, I was already five years old.

Whenever Lily caught me using my cuteness, she would nag me about speaking in honorifics or being too friendly with the staff. But this had become my way of navigating my everyday life in the palace with more ease and comfort.

Besides, what dignity does a princess like me need when I’m stuck in some far-off palace?

I had put in such great effort over the years that the maids who had neglected me before were now giving me snacks and approaching me first. It was definitely a success in its own right.

In any other normal situation, it would have been considered insolent for any maid to speak to a member of the imperial family before being spoken to. However, there were no such laws in my palace.

I had decided to win their favor around the time when I had first started to walk.

Before then, I had resented the maids so much that I had deliberately cried and thrown tantrums without reason. I had knocked over things like water to give them a hard time.

But then I realized that having amicable relations would actually help me a lot more than what I had been doing up until that point.

My life had already been hanging by a thread because of Claude. There was no reason to be hostile with the maids, which would have lead to a life of being chastised by them every day.

Besides, if things continue like this, there will be no difference between me and Princess Athanasia in the novel!

One thing that had played a pivotal role in turning my thoughts into actions had been when I realized that it had not, in fact, been an illusion that the gold items in my room were disappearing one by one.

Don’t dare call me materialistic. People who’ve never been deprived in their lives will never know. *Sniff*

While everyone working in the imperial palace came from an aristocratic background, those working in the Ruby Palace hailed from much humbler noble families.

After Emperor Claude murdered everyone in the Ruby Palace, no one had wanted to come here to work. Those who were forcibly assigned to work in my palace against their will had been those from humbler noble families, such as barons or viscounts.

In short, only those without the power to speak out, even if their lives were on the line, had been sent to work at my palace.

It was also said that most of those viscount and baron households had been on the verge of ruin, and that the staff hailing from those families had been forced to do all of the odd jobs and dirty work around the palace.

At first, they had spent their days anxious and wary in a space through which the echoes of manslaughter reverberated.

But after a month, they had realized that the emperor had absolutely no interest in me or the Ruby Palace.

And so I had become a nobody overnight, a mere sack of barley that sat quietly and neglected in the corner of the room.