“Haa, I’m so full …” Veronica patted her belly. “One more bite and I think I might explode.”

She was sprawled across the couch, holding a hand to her mouth to suppress an unladylike burp. Another hand laid on her comically, but temporarily big, belly.

As satisfied as she was for finally eating something, it made her feel wasteful knowing that she could only eat a quarter of what was served on the table. She was a prideful glutton in her previous life, and couldn't go a single day without carbohydrates. Eating a big meal wasn’t much of a challenge for her.

But seeing a good portion of food on the table still after indulging hurts her gluttonous pride.

Veronica almost wanted to cry, “Poor macarons… I have failed you…”

The system had beads of sweat rolling down its dashboard at the woman’s gluttonous nature. She didn’t pay it any mind as she was hugging the leftover pastries in sadness.

“Isn’t there a way to have the rest of them placed in the inventory?” Veronica pleaded to the wildly confused system.

It almost felt bad for the fake princess but it shook its head. It decided to leave an apologetic message.

Announcement!

Unfortunately, only items that were given through us can be stored in the inventory.

Two rivers came down her face, “Man…!”

Her tears immediately dispersed when soft knocking came at the door. She raised an eyebrow, eyeing it intently.

Another one of the empress’ goons?

“Who is it?” She called out to the other side.

“Princess, I brought you the two sisters as requested!” Nate shouted back from beyond the door.

“...” Veronica blinked. “Already…?”

It had only been thirty minutes. There’s no reason for the two sisters of the maid to be here yet, unless for some reason they’ve been working in the palace this whole time.

She got up, but realized that the same food was still on the table.

Right… It would look suspicious if it looked like the food was eaten after all that.

She’ll just take the two girls off Nate’s hands and drag them inside the room. Wasting her time trying to explain herself felt too much like a hassle. She slowly opened the door wide enough to see the three of them, but not wide enough for them to view her room.

The two girls had long brown hair with black eyes, and lots of freckles. The one on the right was three inches taller than the other with straight hair, and the little one had two large braids. Veronica couldn’t help but stare at their appearance.

They’re adorable…

The smaller one looked at Veronica confused but gripped onto her sister in fear. Veronica pointed at the girls.

“So these two are that maid’s relatives? You found them very quickly, Sir Nate.” She looked at the blonde knight.

Nate bowed in respect, “That maid told me where to find them, so I quickly took off after leaving her in the palace dungeons. They worked in the palace stables while their sister was one of the many maids who catered to Empress Delilah.”

He squinted his eyes at them, “But I guess no one educated them on how to properly greet members of the imperial family.”

The stern warning from Nate caused both girls to curtsy in front of Veronica, “I-It’s an honor to meet you, your highness.”

Palace stables? With horses…?

Veronica was a little confused as to why they were separated so drastically. Horses would look like mountains to children their sizes. They are especially dangerous mountains that not only move, but will attack based on temperament. It would be a lot better if the older sister was tending to the horses instead while the little ones did laundry duties instead.

Unless, this has something to do with Empress Delilah… She thought, crossing her arms.

She noticed that the taller sister was shaking. The little one simply kept looking down, not trying to meet Veronica’s eyes.

Veronica couldn’t stand eyeing their nervousness, “Good work, Sir Nate.”

“Anything for you, princess!” Nate exclaimed, smiling. “Is there anything else I can help you with? Please don’t hesitate to tell me!”

Veronica shook her head, “No. That will be all. Report back to my father immediately. I can handle myself from here.”

He almost had a sad puppy face but didn’t bug her further, “As you wish, your highness. I’ll be on my way then.”

Nate was ready to turn away but quickly remembered, “Ah, princess! Before I forget, make sure you’re well rested for tomorrow’s training session. His majesty gave the okay to train you.”

Wait, really?! Her face lit up.

“Is that so?” Veronica smiled. “I’ll do just that, then. Be sure to finish up your paperwork.”

“P-Please, don’t remind me,” Nate had sweat dripping from his cheek. “I’d rather not even think about it.”

Veronica watched as the knight briskly went away, which led to her inviting the two girls into her room. As they entered, their eyes gleamed over the massive bedroom and soon laid eyes on the table full of half-eaten food. There was some confusion on the taller sister’s face, but not the smaller one.Veronica grabbed their attention, “I’m sure that you’re already aware of why you’ve been summoned to my room.”

The taller sister flinched, “Y-Yes, your highness. We were briefed on how our big sister, Riley, has wronged you.”

In a moment’s notice, she immediately got on her hands and knees, startling Veronica, “I beseech you, Princess Genevieve! I beg your forgiveness for Riley! I implore you that it’s all a misunderstanding!”

The little sister was also startled, “Bailey, we shouldn’t…!”

Veronica sighed, looking at Bailey, the taller sibling, “A misunderstanding? Was it not your sister’s intention to poison me?”

It was the little one’s turn to flinch, “P-Poison…? Wh-Why would our big sister try to poison you, your highness?”

She shrugged, “Beats me. All I know is that she was being suspicious and didn’t insist on tasting my food before serving it to me.”

“Riley would never do that, princess!” Bailey raised her voice.

“B-Bailey…” The little one pleaded after her. “Please calm down. She’s the imperial princess.”

Oh? Veronica smiled slyly. The little one has sense while the older one has lungs. That’s interesting…

Veronica decided to test Bailey. “And what makes you think that?”

She lifted her head up, looking straight at the princess, “We may be commoners, but we would never attempt to betray the imperial family!”

“Are you saying that there are commoners who would attempt to betray the imperial family?” Veronica twisted her words. “Or are you trying to prove your big sister’s innocence? Your statement can be misconstrued.”

Bailey didn’t know how to answer so her little sister stepped in, “Please forgive Bailey, your highness. We’re just shocked that something like this even reached our ears.”

She curtsied, “Even though she’s done something wrong, we believe that Riley wouldn’t just do something like this.”

Huh. Veronica breathed. She really is the smarter one.

“I don’t think I ever caught your name,” She looked at the little one.

“My name is Neila, your highness,” the little sister answered, rising.

And awfully calm too. I wonder why…

“Well, Neila, I’m aware that the three of you are close knit,” Veronica walked back over to the couch. “But the fact of the matter is that my life was in danger and your sister is the prime suspect.”

“But princess-!” Bailey started.

Veronica cut her off, “However, there’s a possibility that your sister has been ordered to do this by someone else.”

Both sisters flinched. It was quiet for a minute before Veronica continued, “The reason why I brought you two here in the first place is because your lives will be in danger otherwise. I’m not sure who your sister worked for, but I’m positive that they used the two of you as bait to set her up.”

They looked at each other, astonished by what they were hearing. Veronica finally sat down on the couch and crossed her legs, “I want to protect you, is all. My guilty conscience will never allow me to sleep at night, knowing that someone out there has your lives in their hands.”

It was the half-truth. For all she knew, Empress Delilah probably had someone on standby to get rid of the three girls if her plan failed. On the other hand, she was the one who dragged the maid, Riley, by her hair to Genevieve’s father, Emperor Isaac. She was hoping to throw the book at her face and watch as her head got put on a stake and hung over the palace walls for the entire empire to see.

However, due to the system and its rules, it cannot happen. No one can die because of her actions. At least, not yet.

Once I find out how saving one-hundred million people works, then we’ll play that game…

She caught Neila looking at her quizzically. Her tummy made a loud growl that echoed throughout the room. She blushed in embarrassment, twiddling her thumbs.

Veronica stifled a laugh, “Are you hungry? I can feed you if you want.”