I Broke Up With The Country

*Why didn’t I think of that?*

When I realized that I had reincarnated 150 years into the future, I thought that the information from my past was no longer necessary. The people who had been around me were surely all buried in the ground by now.

It was a mistake in judgment. Even if 150 years had passed, and everyone I knew had died, the title granted to my friend would not die with him.

The Lamian Marquis family was too powerful and wealthy to decline within just 150 years. I made it that way.

So, even though people die and eras change, the title remains and would have passed down through his bloodline for generations. This includes the title of the Marquise’s wife.

In other words, the person outside right now is a woman married to a descendant of August de Lamian.

I took a deep breath and stared fixedly at the door. My hands trembled even more than when I met the king earlier.

Who could she be? How should I deal with her? Should I regard her as part of August’s family, or as a completely unrelated stranger?

I couldn’t readily come up with an answer to any of these questions.

One thing was clear: I wasn’t ready to face that name yet.

I gathered my emotions in a split second and opened my mouth.

“Since I’m not feeling well right now, let’s talk another time…”

Before I could finish speaking, the door burst open.

A lady in a splendid dress strode into the room. She entered with an air of familiarity, as if she were entering her own living room, with no regard for manners or etiquette.

“I am honored to meet Your Highness the Princess.”

The Lamian Marchioness? This woman…?

I stared blankly at the noblewoman in front of me, unsure of what appropriate words to use in response.

“Marchioness…?”

“I’m relieved that you recognize me. I was worried you might not remember, given the confusion you’ve been in.”

I could sense the sarcasm in her tone, but I pretended not to notice and gave a naive smile as I asked a simple question.

“What brings you here?”

The Marchioness did not answer my question. Instead, she looked me up and down as if she were a governess examining a foolish young lady.

“How is your health?”

“Much better.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

The Marchioness conveyed her message with no joy or concern, speaking indifferently.

“I will assist with the preparations for the evening’s banquet. Please make sure everything is ready by 7 o’clock.”

“A banquet?”

“The banquet that was scheduled for three days from now has been moved up to this evening. If you’ve recovered, you must prepare immediately and attend.”

Come to think of it, I had heard from the maid that there was a banquet scheduled for a few days later.

But something felt off.

The king currently has no queen, and the queen’s role as the head of the palace is being filled by the king’s sister-in-law, who is away on a long trip. There’s no high-ranking woman available to suddenly move up to an official event.

“Why has it moved up suddenly? Is there some sort of issue?”

“It was a decision made due to the internal circumstances of the palace. There hasn’t been any particular incident, so there’s no need for concern.”

Her attitude was as if she were saying I had no right to know.

I barely managed to suppress a laugh. Despite my efforts to maintain a perfect expression, I couldn’t stop my eyebrows from raising.

Considering her confidence and firmness, and the power of the Marquis family, she was probably the head maid of the court or at least a maid responsible for caring for the princess.

However, only the queen, the king’s mistress, or at a stretch, a female royal relative could take on the role of the palace’s head. A mere noblewoman couldn’t control the palace’s events.

“Is this the will of His Majesty the King?”

I deliberately made my voice smooth yet cold. For the first time, cracks appeared in the Marchioness’s mask-like face. She looked directly at me and said,

“The King is not involved in the internal affairs of the palace. It’s merely due to circumstances within the inner palace…”

“What circumstances?”

“It’s somewhat difficult to explain in detail…”

“Difficult?”

The Marchioness appeared flustered by my insistence. I quickly pressed on with my questions before she could counterattack.

“Are you saying that it’s difficult for me, the King’s only daughter, to know about the situation in the palace, while the maids are allowed to know?”

The Marchioness’s pupils wavered. It seemed she was quite surprised by my reaction.

“But Your Highness is still young…”

“I am sixteen, Marchioness. I’ve already made my debut in society, and it wouldn’t be strange for me to marry into another royal family.”

And considering the years I’ve lived, I’ve experienced even more than you.

I reminisced about the countless arguments I had in society and continued speaking rapidly without a pause.

“If you find it difficult to speak, I’ll ask the King himself whether this is being handled properly. Even if you don’t know the details of the inner palace’s affairs, His Majesty will judge whether it’s appropriate to move up the banquet.”

“His Majesty has already agreed to the schedule change.”

“Agreed?”

I let out a calculated laugh.

“It seems you might be mistaken, Marchioness Lamian. You are not in a position to seek His Majesty’s approval.”

I glared at the Marchioness with a fierce look.

“The palace’s master is His Majesty, and only he can decide to hold the banquet. You are in a position to kneel before Him and seek permission.”

The Marchioness’s face lost all color.

As I watched her confidence wilt like a plant deprived of sunlight, I spoke each word clearly.

“Therefore, please be careful with your choice of words in the future. If you speak like this at tonight’s banquet, His Majesty will not take kindly to it.”

It was an unfounded threat, but with enough forcefulness, it could suppress the opponent.

“I’m in a very bad mood these days.”

The Marchioness looked at me with a confused expression and then lowered her gaze.

“Are you not going to answer?”

As I added more sharpness to my words, the Marchioness finally spoke in a trembling voice.

“Yes… Your Highness.”

What I was going to issue to her was nothing but a dismissal.

“Please leave.”

“But Your Highness, the preparations for the banquet…”

“I can handle the preparations on my own. Considering my health and time, I will take care of it myself. There is nothing for you to do.”

The Marchioness, unable to accept the situation, turned completely pale. It was clear that I had won this power struggle.

“Leave.”

The Marchioness, trembling only on her shoulders, did not respond. I drove the point home with one last burst of anger.

“I commanded you to leave.”

In the end, the Marchioness of Lamian didn’t respond and merely bowed before leaving.

Only after she had gone did I let out a sigh of relief.

I had considered letting it go, but it was clear that she was openly disregarding me, so I had no choice but to put my foot down.

The demeanor the Marchioness had just displayed was exactly like the attitude of the maids who had served me before I was appointed as the heir to the throne in my previous life.

Despite the passage of time, I was still a princess who was being disregarded.

Even though I had gone from being a bastard to a legitimate princess born in the main palace, my influence remained small, and many still looked down on me.

Seeing the Marchioness so flustered by such a small amount of pressure, it was highly likely that the “Princess Estelle” had been meekly following the maids’ orders without a word in the past.

There was no need to wonder why she had been so docile. I had been the same once.

At sixteen in my previous life, I was incredibly naive and obedient. Whether it was my father or anyone else, I always agreed with what was said and followed orders without question.

Coldness and neglect were the norm, and my passive and submissive nature felt like destiny.

Back then, I thought if I just endured and waited, everyone would eventually love me, and I would become the queen and live happily, just as my mother had hoped.

It was a foolish expectation. Even though I did become a queen, the happiness I desired did not come, and the love of my family, even my most trusted friend, all drifted away from me.

I lowered my gaze to look at my hand.

It was a hand holding advantageous conditions I never had in my past life.

The status of a legitimate princess by birth, the position of being the king’s only child, and the knowledge, skills, and experiences etched into my bones from my previous life.

Since I was living another life, it was only right to use all that was given to me diligently to change my destiny, as a sign of respect for the man who had given me this new life.

I clenched the hem of my dress tightly with my unblemished, unscarred hand.

I would never sit idly and be taken advantage of again.

And, I would absolutely never become a queen again.