The 17th Princess Just Wants to Live

Richard remained silent for a while. Without saying a word, he just looked at me.

How many complex emotions, beyond my understanding, must have flashed through those red eyes as he looked at me?

Then, Richard spoke.

“… what do I need to do?”

My face lit up.

“Thank you, Brother!”

Richard let out a groan as he ruffled his own hair while looking at me. Then, he suddenly raised his head and gave a cheeky grin.

“Whatever it is, I’ll do as you ask. Even Luke would be pleased if he knew we gained the lands of Aschenbach.”

As he said this, he gestured with his chin toward Rudolph.

“So, let’s send that bastard away.”

Calling him a to his face… really, Brother…

I glanced at Rudolph to gauge his reaction.

This wasn’t the first time Richard acted like this, and Rudolph wasn’t the type to react to every little thing. In fact, Rudolph seemed completely indifferent to whatever Richard had to say.

“Lucilia.”

It seemed he was lost in some serious thoughts of his own.

“I just can’t understand you. Do you love that boy, Tristan?”

“What?!”

Was it because I was so surprised? My voice came out much louder than I intended.

“What are you talking about? I’ve only met him once.”

I tried to brush off Rudolph’s words as a joke with a laugh. Love? That word was far too heavy to describe my feelings for my favorite character.

“How could I believe that you’d bring down the second most powerful man in the empire to save a boy you met just once? It’s more convincing to say you fell in love at first sight and are acting foolishly because of it. Idiots like that aren’t as rare as you’d think.”

“It’s not like that…”

Rudolph seemed unable to understand the simple desire not to leave an abused child to suffer.

Richard hadn’t accepted it either until I explained it to him. Trying to fully explain my feelings to Rudolph, who couldn’t grasp others’ emotions, was impossible.

Rudolph probably had a strategy that suited him best. After a moment of thought, I spoke up.

“But is that really important?”

“What?”

“It doesn’t matter what my feelings are, does it? What’s more important is what you stand to gain from all this, Brother.”

Rudolph seemed a bit confused.

“You made it sound important when you explained it to Richard.”

“Everyone is different.”

I said that with a smile. Especially since the two of them were so vastly different, of course I’d use different approaches.

“Unlike Brother Richard, you, Brother Rudolph, might never understand how I feel. But does that matter? It’s impossible for everyone to fully understand each other.”

The Rudolph described in the original story was a cold-hearted person who couldn’t understand human emotions. He despised emotions, and he particularly scorned the notion of love.

The real Rudolph standing before me was similar in many ways. But that didn’t mean he was some monster incapable of living among others.

While it was chilling that he’d brought me to the birthday celebration with his subordinate’s life as a bargaining chip, when he asked for my support, he was actually easier to communicate with than Richard. And earlier, he even set up a protective barrier as soon as we arrived at the Opal Palace.

To put it simply, the Rudolph I’d met so far was like a difficult boss at work — one you could get along well enough as long as you turned a blind eye to their personality issues.

Sure, he had some serious flaws, but so what? It wasn’t like I was here to play the heroine who rehabilitated a trashy male lead.

“So, Brother, don’t worry too much about why I’m doing this. Instead, think about how you can bring down the man with more power than anyone but the emperor.”

I said this to Rudolph with a mischievous smile.

“Doesn’t that sound like it could be fun?”

Rudolph was the kind of person who would throw himself into a power struggle just for the thrill of it. Could he really resist joining the ultra-difficult challenge called the Aschenbach Duchy?

Rudolph stared at me for a moment, then shifted his gaze to the empty space. He seemed to be considering it, but he didn’t look as serious as before.

Sensing that Rudolph’s mood had lightened, I wrapped up the conversation with a lighthearted joke.

“To be honest, Duke Aschenbach is pretty annoying, isn’t he? You remember how he didn’t even bother to properly greet you at the birthday celebration, right?”

At my words, Rudolph tilted his head slightly and let out a small laugh. His silver hair swayed, casting a faint glow over his blue eyes.

“I remember.”

“You said it yourself, Brother. Compared to me, a member of the imperial family, everyone else is like bugs. You’re not going to let a bug disregard you, aren’t you?”

“Alright, alright.”

Rudolph playfully raised both hands.

“Let’s hear your plan first. Judging by how much you’ve been saying, I assume you’ve got something concrete in mind?”

This was practically a yes. I clenched my fists and shouted.

“Of course!”

“What if you back out after hearing the plan?”

Richard grumbled.

“I don’t like sharing information with someone who’s not on our side with certainty. You only discuss really important stuff with people you can trust.”

Rudolph glanced at Richard with just his eyes, then smiled at me. It was a mischievous smile, quite unlike his usual calm and composed demeanor.

“Hearing him say that, it seems Richard would really miss me if I weren’t around. For his sake, I’ll help you.”

“What?! Why would I miss you if you weren’t here?!”

Richard shot to his feet, slamming the table.

But Rudolph didn’t even glance at him and instead picked up the teapot. With an annoyingly elegant motion, he began to pour the tea.

The scent of floral tea filled the parlor.

It almost looked like an ordinary sibling quarrel. It was such a peaceful scene that it was hard to believe we were in the Esperusa Imperial Palace.

Seeing this, a wave of relief washed over me.

Until I met these two today, I was filled with worry and anxiety. I was so tense that I couldn’t even eat properly since morning.

I had no confidence that I could get these two stubborn and quarrelsome people to join the same plan.

But in the end, I did it. Now, the two of them would give their all to make Tristan a duke.

No matter how strong a foe Aschenbach might be, I felt certain that with these two working together, we could succeed.

As my mind eased, I suddenly became aware of a strong hunger that I had forgotten about. I turned to Richard.

“Brother, could you pass me that cake in front of you? I’m starving.”

Richard, still glaring at Rudolph, was startled by my words.

“You’re hungry? You didn’t have lunch?!”

His voice was loud enough to make my ears ring. Somehow, it seemed even louder than when he was yelling at Rudolph.

“It’s almost three o’clock. Of course, I’m hungry.”

The truth was, I was too nervous to eat lunch. But I decided to keep that a secret, as admitting it might get our palace chef in trouble.

Richard pushed the plate of strawberry-topped cream cake toward me. As I cut myself a slice, I spoke up.

“Before we get into the detailed plan, I have something to tell you.”

The combination of white cream and red strawberries always looked delightful. I took a bite of the cake, and the sweet taste was so wonderful it nearly swept my worries away.

Ah, I wish I could finish this before discussing business.

“Do you remember earlier when I said we have a reliable informant?”

But I couldn’t just eat in front of them without saying anything. Reluctantly, I continued the conversation.

“There’s actually one more person involved in this plan. The Seventh Princess has agreed to help us.”

Seventh Princess Theodora Hill Esperusa was the best information broker in the imperial family. She ran her own information agency and was known for being strictly neutral on matters like the Solea issue.

Her only rule was one, money. She sold information to anyone who paid, regardless of whether they were siblings or a beggar on the street.

Rudolph, who was sipping his tea, widened his eyes with interest.

“Theodora?”

Richard also leaned forward, surprised.

“You bought information from Theo? She’s really expensive.”

He looked around the parlor as if he was suddenly realizing something.

“If it’s information on Duke Aschenbach… you’d probably have to sell the Opal Palace three times over.”

“Isn’t that a bit rude, Brother?”

I snapped back, feeling a bit upset.

What was so bad about the Opal Palace?! It was small, shabby, and stuck in the coldest, northernmost corner of the palace grounds where the sun barely shone, but it was my precious home!

“I’m just saying it because I know you’re broke.”

“It wasn’t money, it was information that I gave her. But that’s not the point right now.”

Not wanting to dwell on that, I forcibly steered the conversation back.

“The point is the information I’m about to share is based on solid facts.”

“What’s this all about that you’re being so secretive?”

I took another bite of cake and washed it down with tea. Then, looking at the two of them, I said.

“Duke Aschenbach is planning a rebellion.”

Richard looked shocked but only for a moment. He quickly shrugged.

“I always thought he might try something like that, but it’s sooner than I expected.”

“Are you planning to frame him for treason, or is he actually preparing for it?”

Rudolph remained composed as well.

They were both well-versed in political matters, so it seemed they understood that Duke Aschenbach’s rebellion was an inevitable event.

“The latter. I’ll explain in more detail, but the duke has been preparing for this for years…”

So, I was the only one who found this surprising.

Was I really the only one shocked that Duke Aschenbach wasn’t being falsely accused of rebellion but was actually a traitor?

I put in so much effort to follow the original storyline after transmigrating, but the story kept deviating, and now I didn’t know what to trust anymore!

… but I couldn’t rant about this to my brothers, so I swallowed my frustration.

“Here’s my plan. First, we need to find evidence of Duke Aschenbach’s treason. Sister Theo promised to compile the details of his plans within a few days.”

“Sister Theo, huh?”

Richard picked up on my phrasing.

“You seem to have gotten pretty close to her, haven’t you?”

“Once we have the evidence, the next step is to hand it over to Tristan.”

I ignored Richard and continued. Why was he nitpicking when we were discussing serious matters?

“Tristan, being an illegitimate child, needs a significant accomplishment to inherit the title of Duke Aschenbach. So, we’ll make it seem like he’s the one who reported his own father.”

“That’s a good idea, Lucilia. But I do have one question.”

Rudolph put down his teacup and asked.

“How much does this boy Tristan knows about your plan?”

“Well…”

As expected of Rudolph, he went straight for the weakest point. I hesitated before answering.

“Actually, Tristan doesn’t know anything. I’ve only met him once…”

So, the issue was this.

“Before anything else, we need to persuade Tristan.”