The 17th Princess Just Wants to Live

“Your Highness, please wake up.”

I heard the sound of curtains being drawn, and the fresh air gently flowed into the room. Sunlight pierced through my closed eyelids.

“Hmm…”

I grimaced and turned over to the other side.

My cheek brushed against a soft pillow and blanket. The blanket was fluffy and smelled like sunshine; it was the best feeling…

“… huh?”

A fluffy pillow? A soft blanket? Why were those things in my room?

I opened my eyes wide.

“Ahh!”

Startled by my sudden movement, Miriam, who was near the bed, jumped and lost her balance, landing on her butt.

“Ouch…”

What was going on? Why was I watching her physical comedy first thing in the morning?

I looked at Miriam, who was sitting on the floor with a pained expression, and suddenly realized something was off.

“Miriam?”

“Yes, Your Highness…”

Miriam staggered to her feet. I asked her in a bewildered tone.

“Where am I?”

I was sure I fell asleep in my room, but I woke up in an unfamiliar place.

The room was bright and cheerful. The cream-colored wallpaper looked newly applied, and the wooden floor gleamed.

Come to think of it, the pillow and bed were both soft. I was used to sleeping on a hard bed with a flattened pillow.

“You’re in the guest room! Isaac moved you here after you fell asleep yesterday!”

Miriam answered.

“Guest room?”

I didn’t know the Opal Palace had such a thing.

“When important guests visit, we need a place to accommodate them. So, we always keep at least one room in top condition.”

Miriam said with a cheerful smile. I stared at her dumbfounded.

Why was she smiling while saying that…? Did she even understand what she was saying?

It seemed that the servants of the Opal Palace paid attention to appearances. That was not inherently a bad thing.

But if the guest room was hundreds of times better than my room, that was a different story!

I was the owner of this palace! My room was a mess! And yet they’d created a space like this on one side of the palace?

“For goodness’ sake…!”

Just as I was about to express my anger, there was a knock at the door.

“Your Highness, it’s Matilda.”

Then, nothing happened for a moment.

“Your Highness?”

Miriam tilted her head. It took me a few seconds to realize I needed to respond.

“Come in.”

Even as I said it, the words felt very strange. If I recalled correctly, it was the first time since coming here that I had allowed someone to enter my room.

The door opened, and Matilda walked in.

Matilda was the most experienced servant after the late chamberlain. I had heard that she was in charge of the practical running of the Opal Palace.

“I’ve brought your meal…”

I wasn’t sure why someone of her standing was personally serving me breakfast.

Matilda glanced at one corner of the room. I looked over as well.

There was a very unfamiliar item next to the bed. It looked like a washbasin.

“I didn’t realize you hadn’t washed yet.”

Was that really a washbasin?

“I’ll come back later.”

“No, it’s fine.”

I quickly stopped her.

I hadn’t realized amidst the chaos, but when she mentioned food, my body reacted first.

I had fallen asleep without eating dinner yesterday, so it was natural to be hungry.

“I’ll wash quickly. Bring it now.”

As I said that and tried to get out of bed, Miriam swiftly brought the tray with the washbasin.

“You must be hungry, so I’ll make it quick.”

… what?

Before I could ask, something warm touched my face. A floral scent wafted through the air.

Miriam was washing my face.

I let her do it, feeling a mixture of confusion and resignation.

This, too, was the first since coming here.

Until now, I had gone outside to draw water from the well and washed my face myself every morning.

But now, I was having my face washed with perfectly warmed water infused with flower petals? Without lifting a finger?

Once the face washing was done, Miriam took the basin and left. Meanwhile, Matilda set up the breakfast on the bed.

Eating on the bed?

As a proper Korean, I considered making a remark, but then I saw the food and closed my mouth.

There were warm pancakes topped with red and blue berries. The vibrant colors were a shock to my senses.

Another plate had an egg dish and a fresh salad. The salad looked freshly picked, with a vibrant green hue.

Lastly, there was a cup of steaming milk.

How should I put it? I knew this sounded silly.

It was like a from a fairytale laid out before me.

“Matilda?”

She stood by the wall, hands clasped, waiting for my orders.

“Am I going to die today?”

I asked her half-jokingly, half-seriously.

A lot had happened between us yesterday. I knew that.

But I didn’t expect the fear to last long.

I thought that maybe, after a night’s sleep, they’d regain their senses.

Perhaps this elaborate breakfast was the result of regained senses? Maybe they planned to eliminate the cause—me—before Richard targeted them any further…

As I hesitated, Matilda spoke.

“It’s understandable that Your Highness doesn’t trust us.”

There wasn’t a hint of grievance in her voice. She seemed genuinely remorseful. At least, outwardly.

“You must have been surprised by… this room as well.”

Oh, right. I forgot to mention it earlier because I was so startled this morning.

“I won’t make excuses. We have wronged you, Your Highness. We never properly served you and were too busy lining our own pockets.”

She looked at me and bit her lip.

“You’re still so young.”

The atmosphere in the room suddenly felt like a confession. I looked at Matilda somewhat curiously.

There were ten servants in the Opal Palace. Their attitudes toward me varied.

In Matilda’s case, she usually avoided me.

I rarely saw her around the palace. Thinking back, it seems she was actively avoiding me.

Did she feel guilty when she saw me before?

Not that it excused what she did, but it was a strange feeling.

“I dare not ask for forgiveness. But we’ve learned a lot from this incident. So, if you could watch over us…”

Was she saying she would do better from now on? I nodded and picked up the glass of milk. Judging by the atmosphere, it didn’t seem like an assassination attempt.

“We will serve only you, Your Highness, with utmost loyalty.”

Gulp.

“There’s no need for that.”

“Pardon?”

Matilda looked flustered.

“I don’t mean to say we should go back to how things were before.”

I cut a piece of pancake and put it in my mouth.

Whoa, it was delicious. So sweet, soft, fluffy, and warm.

The taste was enough to make me forget everything else. I almost forgot the conversation and just wanted to devour the pancakes.

“Your Highness?”

“… what I mean is.”

I had to focus and pull myself together. This was an important conversation.

“I appreciate you treating me well. I hope you’ll continue to do so. But don’t pledge your loyalty to me.”

Munch, munch.

I kept eating pancakes while talking.

“Please, continue your work as a spy. You…”

Come to think of it, I didn’t know who Matilda’s real master was. She had avoided me so much that this was the first proper conversation we were having.

“Who do you work for?”

Matilda answered immediately.

“The 19th Prince.”

Benjamin…? He was nine years old this year. Why were the kids in this place so precocious in such ways?

“Okay… anyway, keep doing your job. Just report that I’m living quietly and without any ambition. Got it?”

“But Your Highness.”

“That’s my way of surviving. Can’t you understand that?”

Matilda seemed to think deeply, then slowly shook her head.

“No, I understand Your Highness’s grand intentions.”

Thankfully, she seemed quicker on the uptake than others.

While chewing on my egg dish, I thought I should give Matilda the vacant head maid position.

Then it happened.

“Your Highness!”

A maid banged on my door as if to break it down. With an annoyed expression, I signaled Matilda to open it.

“What’s all this commotion…”

“A messenger from Ruby Palace is here!”

Matilda’s scolding tone was drowned out by the maid’s shrill voice.

“The 12th Prince is coming to Opal Palace for lunch today!”

***

Where did it all go wrong?

I tried to think of an answer to that question. No matter how much I thought about it, the answer was always the same.

The day I stepped into the forest because I was so hungry I couldn’t stand it anymore.

It was from that day. Ignoring the promised happy ending and twisting my own fate.

But what could I do? I was hungry! Who knew picking some forest berries would lead to all this?

I sighed deeply.

“Ah, don’t move, Your Highness.”

Miriam said as she braided my hair.

I was preparing to meet Richard.

The thought of seeing his face again after just one day made me want to run away, but I had no choice.

Opal Palace was in an uproar since the morning after Richard’s sudden lunch announcement. The servants, still reeling from yesterday’s shock, trembled as if they were facing their end.

I didn’t want to see Richard either. So, I conveyed my refusal to the servant from Ruby Palace, saying I wasn’t feeling well and would have to reschedule lunch.

Even while saying it, I doubted Richard would listen, and the response that came back was beyond my expectations.

“Our Prince says that if the servants can’t even manage the health of the 17th Princess properly, they are not needed, and he will come to handle them himself.”

Hearing this, I threw off the blanket I had wrapped around myself and had to spout an obvious lie that I suddenly felt much better.

Thanks to my dear brother, I proclaimed that my health had greatly improved and that it would be an honor to have lunch together, while the servants’ eyes grew ever moister as they watched me.

“Please, don’t move. You have so much hair, it’s difficult.”

Miriam grumbled. I pouted.

“Just tie it simply. Why go to such lengths?”

“How can you say that! If the Princess looks like a beggar today, we are really done for!”

I stared at Miriam through the mirror.

I was beginning to think I should abandon the theory that she was sent by someone. She was too dumb to be a spy.

She was incompetent and talkative. The worst combination for a servant. She had mentioned bouncing around various palaces before coming here, and it made sense.

Risking myself to save such a fool from Richard must have been something.

“It’s done. So pretty, right?”

While I was lost in thought, Miriam finished doing my hair. I looked at my reflection.

I wasn’t sure about pretty, but I did look less pitiful than yesterday. My previously untamed blonde hair was now neatly half-tied with a small ribbon at the back. Unlike yesterday, I was wearing a proper reception dress today.

The dress was too big, so they had to cinch my waist with a ribbon and pin the back like crazy. So, my back looked quite funny compared to the front.

“Just show the front to the prince!”

Miriam said confidently. Though it didn’t seem feasible, there was no other option.

The delicious smell from downstairs indicated that the kitchen was busy preparing the meal. They might be blowing an entire month’s budget on this.

What a mess. I just hoped today would pass without any incidents.