Ch.36Status Window-Viewing Princess (4)

It was unprecedented.

A banquet welcoming a foreign ambassador was terminated because the kingdom’s only noble lady had a seizure. The situation was so chaotic that King Ioreen personally visited to apologize.

Of course, the head of Duke Rupenter’s family also expressed sincere apologies. As a result, the Rupenter family’s reputation was in tatters. The entire family seemed troubled by the disgraceful incident that would be talked about for decades.

Rumors about Lady Rupenter continued to spread. She finally woke up three days after the banquet had been interrupted.

“Would you accept this invitation?”

The man bowed as he handed over an invitation from Duke Rupenter’s estate. The person delivering the invitation was none other than the kingdom’s second prince, Luca Ioreen. Given that he was running errands for the noble lady, they must have been unusually close.

“I’ll go.”

“Pardon? … Oh, yes!”

The second prince, who had prepared dozens of excuses for this invitation, snapped back to reality in bewilderment.

Serin sighed softly as she looked at Luca.

“I don’t particularly regret the incident that interrupted the banquet. Rather, it’s much more burdensome to see someone of your status as a second prince bowing so casually.”

“Hmm, I see.”

“I’d prefer if a royal of the kingdom wouldn’t act so rashly.”

“Ahaha, repaying the debt I owe to Kanarin… I mean, Lady Rupenter, is worth bowing my head for.”

Though he appeared frivolous on the surface, he seemed to harbor his own concerns.

In any case, with the noble lady awake, leisurely behavior was a luxury. Serin and I finished our preparations and immediately boarded the carriage the second prince had arranged.

As the carriage sped along, Serin broke the silence.

“I wonder if the noble lady had a chronic illness? I heard she was famous enough to wield influence throughout the kingdom…”

“Her achievements seem remarkable. I heard the Rupenter family was essentially a fallen house, but she restored it to prominence in just ten years…”

In reality, I hadn’t even properly revitalized the Elenot family, Eshtiel’s house. How her insight could be bright enough to save a ducal family remained a mystery to me.

“I heard she’s also skilled with weapons? It’s strange that someone so robust would have a seizure at a banquet. Even if she’d swallowed deadly poison, I don’t think she would react that way.”

“Well, swallowing deadly poison would typically cause such a reaction…”

Serin occasionally commits the atrocity of applying her own standards to others. I wish she would realize that not everyone can be a superhuman like her.

“She’s truly puzzling.”

“Hmm…”

I sighed as I recalled that moment. No matter how I looked at it, the noble lady’s final appearance remained suspicious.

‘If I didn’t see wrong, Lady Rupenter was clearly…’

She had fixed her gaze on me while having the seizure. If that was the case, was I also the target of what she shouted as she collapsed?

[Y-you…! What on earth did you bring here!?]

[Why, how could this person…!!! Ugh…?!]

She spoke as if she knew my identity.

I understand being hated by imperial citizens for being the child of a deposed emperor. But it’s unnatural for a foreign noble lady to harbor such hatred toward me. Above all, there was no way she could have seen through my identity behind the mask.

‘Whatever it is, I hope it doesn’t cause trouble for Serin.’

I sincerely hope my concerns are excessive.

The vast estate gradually comes into view.

Our carriage has entered the mansion owned by Duke Rupenter.

Clouds like billowing smoke began to fill the empty spaces in the sky.

◇

Knock knock.

The second prince knocked on the noble lady’s bedroom door from the front. A faint voice from inside granted permission to enter.

The second prince entered the noble lady’s bedroom and spoke joyfully.

“Kanarin. The Imperial Princess has arrived. The one you’ve been looking for.”

“Ah…”

The noble lady raised her upper body from the bed with a pained voice.

She had a pale complexion. Her gaunt appearance could never be faked as a mere pretense of illness.

Then the noble lady apologized in a subdued voice.

“Please forgive my rudeness for receiving such an honored guest from my bed due to my poor health.”

“Don’t worry about it. If you’re ill, you should stay in bed.”

“Thank you for your consideration.”

After the noble lady’s pleasantries, silence fell. In the scene where no one could easily speak, the noble lady finally parted her lips after hesitating for a while.

“Luca. I’m sorry, but could you entertain the Imperial Princess’s attendant for me?”

She wanted to speak with Serin alone. The second prince immediately agreed, but Serin firmly objected.

“I’m sorry, but if there’s something my attendant shouldn’t hear, then I’d rather not hear it either.”

“I don’t think so, Your Highness.”

“No, I’m saying that’s what I think, so how could you…”

“Then could you please bring your ear closer? If you still feel the same way afterward, I won’t insist further.”

Serin’s momentum faltered at the noble lady’s confident response.

“Well… if that’s the case.”

Serin maintained a suspicious attitude but slowly sat down on the noble lady’s bed. The noble lady then confidently whispered something into Serin’s ear.

Flinch!

Serin’s entire body jolted as if startled. The subtle hostility she had been emanating melted away, and she gazed at the noble lady with eyes that somehow contained emotion.

“Um… Rian?”

Serin looked at me apologetically with her hands clasped together.

“I’m really sorry… but could you spend some time with the second prince? Please, I’m begging you.”

She seemed ready to accept it if I insisted on staying. As always, Serin’s soft kindness makes me feel like a special person.

That’s why I wanted Serin to be more assertive.

“Serin. Strictly speaking, I am a guard employed by the imperial family. You don’t need to ask me for such things. As long as it doesn’t deviate completely from my duties, I will follow your orders.”

“But I don’t want to order you around, Rian. No matter what anyone says, you’re my person.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, it is.”

Serin’s sincerity reached me completely, making my chest tingle. Not wanting to display the indecency of touching my chest in front of the two ladies, I bowed.

“I’ll see you again when your conversation is finished.”

“Yes. See you soon, Rian.”

As I stepped back, the second prince guided me. As the bedroom door closed and the sound of chattering faded away, I tried to forget the strange resonance that remained in my chest.

◇

I was relieved.

I was relieved that my mental discipline had reached such heights, and relieved again. The days I spent being pushed around by my father as an imperial princess were not in vain.

I nearly collapsed with a seizure like the noble lady right in front of Rahilt.

‘This is crazy, crazy, absolutely insane…!!!’

At first, I wanted to scold the noble lady for her audacity. After all, she was subtly trying to exclude none other than Rahilt. Especially if she had made excuses about disliking the mask, I might have torn down the mansion regardless of her status.

But there was a reason for the noble lady’s calm response.

The noble lady asked me to bring my ear closer, and I willingly complied. And the phrase she whispered to me was…

[East sea~ waters and Mount Baekdu shall endure forever…]

… the national anthem.

The national anthem of South Korea, my homeland in my previous life.

In an instant, my wariness melted away, and I easily understood—no, empathized with—why she wanted to send Rahilt and the second prince away.

Shortly after, when Rahilt and the second prince’s presence faded away, I hastily spoke up.

“What?! What is it! Are you also a transmigrator?!”

“To get straight to the point, yes.”

“Korean?”

“A college student who loved seolleongtang.”

“Wow, that’s amazing.”

I had occasionally wondered vaguely.

Among the endless population produced in this world, could I really be the only transmigrator?

But there was no one who advocated for the modern person genius theory, so I gave up thinking I was the sole beneficiary of a miracle. But to think that a fellow transmigrator existed right next door! It was truly a case of darkness under the lamp.

“Wow… I’m so happy to meet you… really…”

“I’m happy too. I was afraid until I could be certain… what a relief.”

“How old are you, by the way?”

“Ah, the typical Korean age inquiry. It’s been so long that even this feels nostalgic.”

I wonder how long it’s been since I asked someone’s age right upon meeting them. Usually, one would first reveal their family name and exchange greetings filled with all sorts of flowery words…

The noble lady answered in her still subdued voice.

“I’m twenty-three. The same age I was in my previous life.”

“I’m nineteen in this life and was twenty in my previous one. Can I call you unni?”

“Wouldn’t that look strange to others?”

“What does it matter? An imperial princess and a noble lady addressing each other as sisters.”

“Kuk, hehe… That’s true.”

She didn’t seem to mind. Her beauty, which had slightly irked me until just now, now appeared exquisitely lovely. This must be the bond between Koreans.

“Your Korean name was Narin, right, unni? I don’t know your surname though.”

“How did you know?”

“Come on, drop the formalities.”

“Mmm, how did you know?”

“It just seemed that way. From experience…”

“Then is your name perhaps Serin?”

“Was it obvious? It was Han Serin. My name.”

“I was Ha Narin. What a coincidence, isn’t it? Looking at it this way.”

“Yeah, really.”

Being bound by the common point of being transmigrators and sharing the same nationality, our intimacy grew at LTE speed. Now that I knew she was older, it felt like I had gained a caring older sister…

That fact alone made me so happy.

“Unni Narin. Were you also hit by the reincarnation truck?”

“No, I was a terminal patient, and I ended up transmigrating into the last web novel I read.”

“What was the title?”

“Hmm… I think it was ‘I Was Imprinted as the Mother of a Baby Divine Beast.'”

“Ah, I had that on my to-read list.”

It was a romance fantasy that had been adapted into a webtoon. I hadn’t read it myself, but it was quite famous for its cute artwork.

“So you transmigrated into the female lead?”

“No, I transmigrated into an extra character whose family name was barely mentioned.”

“Wow… So you became famous throughout the kingdom just with your knowledge of the original work?”

“That’s… well…”

Unni Narin trailed off. Apparently, the route I guessed was wrong.

Soon, she moved her lips and mumbled in a shrinking voice.

“I was forced into it, I had no choice…”

“What do you mean?”

“Umm, before I answer in detail, can I ask you something first?”

“Oh, of course!”

Unni Narin cleared her throat.

“Serin… do you know who that man is that you brought as your guard?”

“Of course I do. He’s Rahilt, the child of the deposed emperor. Did you also read ‘I Tamed the Child of the Deposed Emperor’?”

“I wonder… Did you read that novel to the end?”

“No, it was far from complete when I was hit by the reincarnation truck. Why? Did you read it all?”

“Not at all. I didn’t read it, but I know the content.”

“You didn’t read it but you know the content?”

I tilted my head at the contradictory statement. Then Unni Narin stopped hesitating and revealed the harsh truth to me.

“Well… it was famous among romance fantasy readers for having one of the worst endings ever… So while I don’t know the details, I know how it ends.”

“W-worst ending? What are you talking about!”

It’s a work featuring none other than my husband!

…

……

‘Oh, maybe not?’

Wasn’t it a novel with that bitch Rashera as the female lead, making it a disaster from the start?

And the main villainess is the daughter of the previous male and female leads?

Plus, I was one of the most pathetic side characters who stubbornly followed along?

I remember now.

It was a novel where I trembled and clung to the hope of Rahilt’s happiness alone.

I admit it. It is indeed a disaster.

But what was the ending like…

“Um… what is it? What happened to our Rian…?”

“Rian? I guess that’s your nickname for him.”

“Anyway, tell me what happened!”

I leaned my upper body forward and urged her desperately. But hesitation still lingered on her lips.

“Unni Narin!”

“Actually…”

The ending that Unni Narin next revealed was truly devastating.

“It’s a world-ending finale… They say the child of the deposed emperor, Rahilt, goes insane and destroys everything, an ending where everyone dies…”

“W-what?! What did you just say…!!!”

…

I barely held onto my consciousness that was about to fade, and could only stare blankly at the person who had provided this premium spoiler.