The Munchkin Princess Wants to Run Away Chapter 1

“I hope we won’t have any expectations of each other beyond what is necessary under the contract.”

At the cold man’s words, Ivanna obediently nodded, recalling her past, when she had been coldly cast aside.

‘Ha, does he think anyone would actually like him? There’s nothing worth looking at besides that pretty face of his.’

Ivanna calmly concealed her true thoughts and maintained a composed expression.

The man—no, Duke Cedric Reynold—had asked for exactly what she had wanted so desperately.

She was only ten years old.

Because she had failed to receive the divine power that every member of the imperial family was supposed to obtain, her entire life had plummeted into ruin.

She had been abandoned in a detached palace, burdened by the absence of divine power and the scandal of being an illegitimate child.

After that, her parents stopped visiting her altogether. This man probably wanted the same thing.

“Even after you become the Duchess, not much will change from how things are now.”

Having said all he intended to say, Duke Reynold pressed his lips shut.

His appearance was so extraordinary that people called him a god incarnate. His expressionless, cold demeanor suited his unreal beauty just as perfectly.

However, even that remarkable appearance meant nothing to Ivanna. She had a much more important goal.

Leaving this damn imperial palace.

That was why Ivanna had accepted the marriage proposal from Justin, the Crown Prince and eldest son of the imperial family, despite how sudden it was.

When a married member of the imperial family changed their surname, their divine power gradually weakened until it disappeared.

Has God simply forgotten her age? Her divine power had not manifested until she was seventeen.

Thanks to that, just before she starved to death, Ivanna had finally obtained her divine power and managed to sneak out of the imperial palace to earn money.

Because of that, she absolutely did not want the imperial family to discover that she possessed divine power.

If they found out, she would have to travel throughout the entire empire as a propaganda tool for the imperial family.

She would rather die than do that.

“Is there anything else you would like to request?”

After carefully examining the marriage contract, Ivanna raised her head and asked. The Duke was staring intently at her with an expressionless face.

‘It’s not like there’s anything on my face.’

Under his intense gaze, Ivanna’s hand twitched. She almost brushed her hand over her face without realizing it.

Everything she had requested in advance was included in the contract.

“As long as we abide by the contract, there should be no reason for either of us to have any unpleasant encounters. I’m busy, so I’ll be leaving now.”

Cedric stood up as though he considered it a waste of time to exchange any more words with her.

He could feel the round, sky-blue eyes following him, but he did not stop walking.

The man, who carried himself with impeccable etiquette, left the room without even making a sound with the door.

Left alone in the drawing room, Ivanna made sure no one was around before lightly snapping her fingers.

Bubbles of water appeared out of thin air. Then, they spread out like a thin membrane, enveloping the entire drawing room.

‘Great.’

Relieved, Ivanna held the contract high above her head.

“Perfect! I’m finally free from the imperial family!!”

She shouted, hopping up and down in excitement at having achieved her goal.

Twenty-four.

She was well past the age when most people became engaged or married.

She had been fretting over the possibility of being married off to a family that had nothing but money, so the fact that she was marrying a duke was unbelievable.

Justin had to be out of his mind.

“Brother, what about our parents? Since I didn’t receive divine power, does that mean I’m no longer a member of the imperial family?”

“Ivanna, no. How could that be? Our parents are simply very busy. Logan and I have more things to learn now, too, so we’re just busy with that.”

Ivanna let out a sigh as she recalled Justin, who had at least occasionally come to see her while avoiding other people’s eyes.

From time to time, Justin had brought her food and clothes.

Everyone else had left her, but Justin was the only one who had still made room for her in his life.

If this marriage would benefit Justin, then they would both get what they wanted. It was a win-win for everyone.

Ivanna was brimming with confidence that she could live quietly, just as Duke Reynold wanted.

She was already living that way in the imperial palace, so there was no reason she could not do the same in the ducal household.

And on top of that, she would receive a monthly allowance of one thousand gold coins to maintain her status.

Solar! Anthony!

We’re rich now!!

Raising both hands high, Ivanna stood up and spun around in circles.

Surely, there wouldn’t be any thieves or administrators with absolutely no conscience here.

Ivanna recalled the imperial budget allocated to her, of which she had never received even a tenth.

Of course, things had not always been like this.

After she failed to receive divine power, the maids who had treated her so affectionately, as though they would gladly lay down their lives for her, began changing one by one after the day of the divine power ceremony.

Eventually, they even started taking money from the budget allocated to the princess.

Anxious, Ivanna checked the contract over and over again.

Fortunately, it stated that her allowance for maintaining her status would be paid into her personal account.

That meant the money would be recognized as her personal assets, even if she did not purchase luxury goods.

‘This must be the price of being allowed to live quietly.’

Usually, any allowance for maintaining a noblewoman’s status that went unused would be reclaimed by her family.

Dresses that kept up with the latest fashion were essential, but it was more advantageous to invest in jewelry that could later become an asset.

Otherwise, she would have to buy works by famous painters.

Such items were recognized as personal property, so if she ever got divorced, she could take them with her.

She had assumed the ducal household would operate the same way and had planned to indulge in plenty of luxury. But if they were going to deposit the money into her personal account every month, there was no need for that.

It was a relief that she wouldn’t have to receive her allowance in the form of jewelry.

Of course, Solar and Anthony probably wouldn’t approve of such a thing, but at least she felt as though a burden had been lifted from her shoulders.

Perhaps it was because this was a marriage involving the imperial family, or perhaps some kind of deal had been struck with Justin.

Aside from a few exceptions, many of the clauses in the marriage contract Duke Reynold had presented were in her favor.

Her sky-blue eyes curved into a gentle smile.

“If the price is living quietly as though I don’t exist, then that’s more than enough.”

Tap, tap.

After organizing the contract and putting it into her bag, Ivanna stood up.

She had decided to leave the wedding arrangements to the Duke, so she probably wouldn’t have to see him again before the wedding.

‘Things should be quiet for a while.’

Smiling to herself, Ivanna withdrew her divine power and quietly left the ducal residence.

 

***

 

“My lord.”

Cedric raised his head at the earnest call from his aide, Marcel.

“You really need to take care of this first.”

“Wasn’t the imperial family supposed to handle everything related to the wedding?”

At the Duke’s indifferent reply, Marcel resisted the urge to clutch his stomach, which felt as though it were melting away from stress.

“You still need to make at least a few decisions! Even if this is a marriage with the imperial family, are you really going to leave absolutely everything to them?”

Marcel placed the designs for the wedding attire and jewelry sent by the imperial family in front of the Duke.

“It makes it look as though the ducal household has some kind of weakness the imperial family is exploiting. We should be grateful they even bothered to add a little of the ducal crest.”

Upon examining the designs, Cedric saw that, just as Marcel had lamented, the crest and colors of the House of Reynold had been incorporated only slightly into the collars and cuffs of the garments.

‘They’ve put the imperial crest and colors on the most conspicuous parts.’

At this rate, it looked less like a princess was marrying into the ducal household and more like the Duke himself was becoming a dependent of the imperial family.

He had entrusted the wedding to the imperial family to maintain neutrality, but trouble had inevitably arisen.

It was obvious who would be the one to take advantage of the situation.

“I suppose we’ll have to make some changes.”

“Of course!”

Clicking his tongue, Cedric rose from his seat. Marcel followed him with a cold smile, already imagining himself tearing apart every last piece of the wedding attire.

When Cedric visited the imperial palace, it was the Empress who received him.

Even though he had informed them that he had come to discuss the wedding, the princess was nowhere to be seen.

“It seems the princess still has such a deep affection for the imperial family that she made that mistake.”

When Cedric brought up the issue, the Empress offered an affectionate smile and made excuses on the princess’s behalf.

‘She’s shifting all the blame onto the princess.’

Considering the relationship between the imperial family and the ducal household, he had expected them to show some restraint, but they had gone too far.

Cedric decided that perhaps it would have been cleaner to take control of the wedding arrangements himself from the beginning.

“If Her Highness the Princess wanted it that way, then I suppose I should speak with the person directly involved.”

“What need is there for that? She did what she wanted, but I was planning to reprimand her myself.”

Cedric let out a laugh at the Empress’s attempt to pass off the discarded princess to him while keeping all the benefits for herself.

“It seems Her Highness is rather inexperienced.”

“The child has always been physically weak, so she was unable to receive a proper education.”

The Empress wore a sympathetic expression, saying that the princess had been so sheltered within the imperial family that she did not understand how the real world worked.

“I heard you drew up a separate marriage contract, so I’ve had quite a few concerns.”

At the Empress’s words, delivered with a smile as though the princess were still too naive to know what she was doing, Cedric shook his head.

“The clauses are perfectly adequate to be submitted to the Imperial Court. There is no need for you to worry.”

He had drawn up a marriage contract with the princess separately from the imperial family.

It had been Crown Prince Justin who asked him to do so.