The 17th Princess Just Wants to Live

After that, I couldn’t see Tristan anymore.

No matter how long I waited, Tristan never came out. It seemed like he had been assigned to a different place to care for the horses. I walked around the ducal mansion, but I couldn’t see Tristan, nor could I hear the sound of hooves.

Surely, he would need to come out to tend to the horses. The thought crossed my mind that he might be avoiding me and neglecting his work, and I feared that he might be getting punished because of it.

I even left a lunch basket at the spot where we used to meet, but even after a few days, the basket remained untouched, just like when we first met.

Did I make Tristan angry?

I grew increasingly anxious.

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t understand why Tristan was acting this way. I didn’t even feel the urge to blame him. After all, I had seen his eyes shine brightly for a moment and then darken even more deeply right after.

Why? What could have caused him to become like this?

The thought that troubled me the most was what if I never see Tristan again?

If Tristan decided to avoid me completely, I wouldn’t have many options left. I could try to attend every social gathering that Ludwig went to, hoping to run into him by chance, or I could barge into the Aschenbach mansion.

Neither of these options seemed particularly promising.

What should I do now? I returned to the Opal Palace, wrapped myself in a blanket, and lay down, racking my brain.

Without Tristan’s consent, accusing Duke Aschenbach of treason would become much more complicated. I didn’t want Tristan to suffer through the hardships and the branding of a slave.

But what was even more important was the fact that the story in the original might differ from reality.

If I exposed the duke’s crimes based solely on the story’s plot, and it led to Tristan’s execution, I would never be able to forgive myself.

What was the problem, really? I began to mutter words of resentment towards Tristan as I pondered alone.

I thought we had grown close, but was that just my delusion? Was it so wrong to want to make him happy?

Why was he running away from me? Why?

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

“Yes?”

“Um, Your Highness…”

It was Emma, the maid, whispering from outside. To be more precise, Emma was a maid of the Opal Palace and a spy for Theodora.

After helping to prevent Richard’s rampage, the remaining servants in the Opal Palace swore their loyalty to me. But it was clear that this was largely due to fear, and giving up spying wasn’t something one could easily do with good intentions alone.

So, some of the remaining servants quietly resumed their spying. About three out of the six who survived?

I didn’t particularly mind this. In fact, I thought it might come in handy someday, so I let it be.

It turned out to be a good decision, as I had used Emma to reach out to Theodora.

I thought Theodora might have sent a message, so I got up. Emma entered my room and whispered the expected words.

“Would you like to take a little outing? There’s some nice tea prepared.”

She didn’t mention the place, but I knew it was an invitation from Theodora.

I was already feeling overwhelmed, so this was perfect. I hurriedly made my way to Jasper Palace.

Jasper Palace was a small palace, much like Opal Palace. It was tucked away in a secluded spot where sunlight barely reached, and it lacked a proper garden, just like Opal Palace.

However, the true charm of Jasper Palace could only be appreciated once you crossed its threshold.

Despite its small and modest exterior, the interior of Jasper Palace resembled a lavish gallery. The floors, made of the finest marble, were polished to the point where my face could be seen in them, and the white-painted walls were adorned with various artworks collected from across the empire.

It seemed even more extravagant than the last time I visited. I paused for a moment to admire the giant lion statue that greeted me in the hall.

“Lucy!”

Suddenly, a woman with red hair flowing behind her ran towards me from the inside. Without warning, she pulled me into a tight hug.

“Welcome! I missed you! Why don’t you ever visit unless I invite you?”

Theodora Hill Esperusa. The mistress of Jasper Palace and the Seventh Princess. For the record, this was only our second time meeting.

“Sister, I can’t breathe…”

I mumbled against Theodora’s chest, and only then did she release me from her embrace.

A cheerful beauty with fiery red hair gazed at me. Her green eyes, a bit darker than mine, softened as she smiled playfully.

“I prepared everything you asked for, but you’re too busy meeting a man to care about your sister. So mean.”

By , she must mean the matter with the Aschenbach Duchy. My expression hardened unconsciously. We had agreed that she would gather details about the treason plot and share them with me, so today must be the day for that conversation.

Seeing my expression, Theodora chuckled, as if she found it endearing.

“Come with me.”

Theodora led me to her room.

In the spacious room was a table far too large for just two people, laden with desserts. And all of them were my favorites.

Anyone else might have been surprised at how she knew my tastes without being told, but for Theodora, it was only natural.

She was known as the best information broker in Esperusa, rumored to know everything that went on within the imperial family.

“That’s right, Lucy. Before we get into the main topic, I have something to tell you.”

“Yes?”

I, who had been contemplating what to eat first while looking at the table, raised my head at Theodora’s words. She smiled at me as brightly as the sun.

“We finally cut off the tail of the Blue Serpent.”

She said that and added one more thing.

“Thanks to you.”

The tail of the Blue Serpent.

It was the phrase I wrote when I first sent a letter to Theodora, and it was the reason Theodora had such unconditional goodwill towards me despite this being only our second meeting.

The referred to an information organization known to be the most influential in the empire’s underworld. Theodora had been searching for a man who had escaped from that organization for a long time.

Because he had betrayed Theodora’s mother.

The leader of the Blue Serpent was Theodora’s mother’s father, her maternal grandfather. He was a cold-blooded, ruthless tyrant who cared about nothing but money, seeing even his own children as mere tools.

Theodora’s mother tried to escape from such a father and hide herself. She wanted to leave the underworld behind and live a dignified life.

She knew well where to hide from her father’s reach, being deeply involved in the organization’s affairs. Her escape plan was perfect. Had it gone as planned, the Seventh Princess Theodora would not exist.

But Theodora’s mother was betrayed.

By the one person she trusted and depended on, the one with whom she had promised to elope.

The leader of the Blue Serpent sold his daughter, who had tried to flee and betray him, as a concubine to the emperor. Theodora’s mother, who had sought freedom, found herself trapped in the grandest and most dazzling cage in the world.

Theodora grew up hearing this story from her mother. It was natural that Theodora, who deeply loved her mother, would inherit her desire for revenge against her grandfather.

On the day Theodora turned fifteen, she inherited the information network that her mother had secretly nurtured after entering the imperial palace. She even gave it a name.

Teridion, after a small spider that hunted snakes with its potent venom.

Saying that she had cut off the tail of the Blue Serpent meant that Theodora had achieved the revenge she longed for by dealing with her mother’s betrayer. No wonder she seemed so much more cheerful than before.

“It’s thanks to me? All I did was give a little help after you had almost found him.”

What I said wasn’t just modesty.

Theodora already knew which region the traitor had headed to. Even if I hadn’t provided the name of the city and his specific hideout, she would have eventually found him, just as she did in the original story.

“Thanks to you, I saved time and money. That’s a very important thing.”

Theodora spoke with a serious voice, her smile fading.

“I’ve said this before, but now that everything is over, I’ll say it again. I owe you a great debt. From now on, I and Teridion will assist you wholeheartedly in whatever you wish to do.”

I smiled.

Theodora’s assistance was more than welcome. In the original story, she had maintained absolute neutrality even after Imelda’s victory.

The fact that she survived the brutal fight for the throne without siding with anyone spoke volumes about her abilities. The idea of her helping me was very reassuring.

“Thank you, Sister.”

When I responded, Theodora looked at me intently. Then, she suddenly got up, ran over to me, and hugged me tightly.

“Oh my goodness, who do you take after to be this mature! You’re only twelve! Kids don’t need to be like this! Kids should be playing around and making mistakes while they grow! Though I guess that’s not easy in this household!”

“Sister, I can’t breathe…”

I said, but Theodora didn’t release me right away like before. She only loosened her grip and laughed heartily when I was about to pass out from lack of air.

“So, shall we get down to business? Oh, go ahead and eat. I recommend the banana pudding first. It’s not too sweet, with a nice aroma and a smooth texture.”

I followed her recommendation and scooped a big spoonful of banana pudding into my mouth. The pure sweetness and fragrance of the banana filled my mouth refreshingly.

“Duke Aschenbach’s rebellion plan is divided into three main stages.”

While I savored the pudding, Theodora’s servants brought her a pile of thick documents. Theodora picked up a few sheets from the top and began explaining to me.

“The first stage is to create chaos within the empire, to divert the attention of other nobles and the emperor away from Duke Aschenbach. This stage is being carried out in various ways across the empire.”

“For example?”

“Pirates in the west.”

I swallowed my pudding.

Pirates, as in those ruthless people who hijacked ships and demanded ransoms. I remembered hearing at the birthday celebration that the western regions had been troubled because of them.

The western part of the empire, though bordered by the sea, had a dry climate and remained mild throughout the year.

Many nobles took vacations to the west in the summer. The economy of the western region practically ran on the noble tourists who sought refuge from the humid summer weather.

Yet, even with summer only a few months away, the pirate problem hadn’t been resolved.

“The pirate group is active mainly around Malt, and there’s a rumor that their leader is a fallen knight. They say he turned to piracy with his knightly retinue. It’s half true and half false. He is a knight, but he didn’t become a pirate because he fell from grace.”

“Then why?”

“He received an order. From Duke Cardina.”

A completely unexpected name came up.

“The two ducal families have joined forces?”