The Munchkin Princess Wants to Run Away Chapter 10

“Gasp.”

Knowing there was no one around, Ivanna couldn’t help letting her guard down.

“I heard last time that hardly anyone comes to the floor with the library unless it’s the Duke himself.”

Anthony reassured Ivanna, who had covered her mouth in surprise. The Duke was a busy man who barely had time to stay at his own estate.

“Phew, what a relief.”

As they climbed another flight of stairs, Ivanna let out a faint sigh. Even making a little noise felt like something she had to be careful about in this estate.

She would have been much more comfortable in her own imperial palace, but since the Duke’s room was right next to hers, she constantly had to use her divine power to block out sounds.

What was the point of telling her to behave herself while giving her a room right next door to his?

She rarely encountered the Duke in person, since he was always busy with work, but just in case, she even had to walk through the corridors without making a sound, maintaining an elegant appearance at all times.

There were some conveniences, but she also felt as though she were trapped in a cage even smaller than the one in the imperial palace. Still, unlike the imperial family’s cage, the door to this one was open, so she could endure it.

As long as the Duke didn’t demand a divorce, she wouldn’t have to return to the imperial palace.

Just as he had said they should abide by the contract, Ivanna had no expectations of the Duke, either.

As long as he didn’t break their agreement, she would remain faithful to the contract herself.

I won’t give anything to the people who abandoned me.

She was grateful to Justin, but in a way, she had already repaid that debt through her marriage.

The tears she had shed while looking at the things he had sent her as though they were charitable donations had lasted only a short while.

He should have just let me die. He should have just abandoned me.

Unable to meet her family or even express her resentment toward them, Ivanna felt her disillusionment and hatred toward them accumulate layer upon layer in her heart.

The smile disappeared from Ivanna’s face.

As the library door closed and Ivanna vanished from sight, a large figure appeared in the corridor.

So she knows how to smile like that.

A man with pink hair and ash-gray eyes gazed down the corridor, lost in thought.

It was the same face he had seen in the princess’s palace the other day. It seemed the princess only showed her true self when no one else was around.

Her clear, lilting voice echoed in Cedric’s mind.

The drought in his territory had been dragging on.

With no solution in sight, he had visited the library to clear his head. He had been just about to return when it happened.

The moment he was about to leave the library, a clear burst of laughter rang out from the floor below.

The princess.

The woman who always stiffened up and wore a tense expression in front of him was laughing so freely.

Without realizing it, Cedric closed the door he had just opened. There was no reason for him to hide in his own estate.

And yet he couldn’t bring himself to open the door again.

From the spot where he had retreated, he heard the princess and her maid talking, and their conversation was anything but cheerful.

She was being bullied, yet she could laugh like that. Cedric couldn’t understand the princess’s reaction.

Had what the princess said to him last time been true? Had she been disobeying his orders?

Cedric frowned. None of the reports he had received so far had mentioned anything of the sort.

“I heard the head maid had dealt with some of the servants who caused trouble. It seems the matter wasn’t handled properly.”

It was his own fault for assuming the issue had been resolved and failing to check. This time, he would set things right.

Not for the princess’s sake.

He didn’t expect absolute loyalty from his servants, but he couldn’t simply overlook their disobedience to orders from their superiors.

His large frame moved without a sound.

Upon arriving at his office, Cedric spoke.

“Bring me the reports on the princess.”

The room had been empty, but suddenly, a dark figure dropped out of thin air along with a thick stack of reports. He knelt before the Duke.

Flip.

Cedric’s hand roughly turned the pages.

[Imperial Calendar, March 15, 2432

Breakfast – Warm vegetable soup, salad, bread. Lunch – One sandwich. Dinner – Salad, one lamb steak.

……

Imperial Calendar, March 20, 2432

Breakfast consisted of soup containing two pieces of meat. Lunch – One potato. Dinner – One piece of cold meat, one slice of bread.]

The more Cedric read, the darker his expression became. The princess had been telling the truth about the problems with her meals.

“Why didn’t you report what was happening to the princess?”

“I didn’t believe it posed a threat to her well-being. Her attendant had been bringing food in from outside.”

Cedric fell silent at the shadow’s answer. At this point, he had no excuse to offer the princess.

At the beginning of the marriage, the reports from the shadows and the butler had been identical.

After that, the shadows had submitted reports on the princess once a week, but he had assumed they would be the same as the butler’s reports and never bothered to look through them.

Other complicated matters had taken priority, and he hadn’t put the princess first. He had plenty of other things to deal with besides her.

As stipulated in their contract, the princess had caused no trouble and had remained obedient.

A faint groan escaped Cedric’s lips.

“How did the princess get out of the ducal estate?”

“She disguised herself as a servant and left through a secret door used by the staff.”

“Ha.”

Only then did Cedric finally realize just how many problems there were in his estate.

“Leave all the reports concerning the princess here.”

The shadow took the entire stack of reports from his magic pouch, placed them on the desk, and withdrew.

Cedric read through every report in one sitting.

He immediately rang the bell and summoned the butler. There were matters to take care of before he apologized to the princess.

“Your Grace? Is there something you need?”

“Howard. Dismiss every servant in the estate and hire new ones. You won’t escape responsibility, either.”

Howard, the head butler, who had hurried over in response to the Duke’s urgent summons, blinked.

“E-everyone? All of them? Me, too?!”

“Yes. There’s no reason to employ people who disobey orders while working in my estate.”

At the Duke’s icy voice, Howard swallowed hard.

“I’m sorry. Whatever the problem may be, I’ll make sure it’s dealt with properly this time.”

Trembling under the force of the Duke’s anger, Howard bowed his head.

“Don’t make me give the same order twice.”

“……”

He couldn’t understand what had made the Duke so angry. No one had reported anything to him about the matter.

“I was negligent. I’ll dismiss all the servants and hire new ones.”

The head butler immediately stopped arguing. Someone must have incurred His Grace’s displeasure.

No, it would be more accurate to say someone had failed to follow the rules rather than merely displeasing him. And now Howard’s own position was on the line.

It was a thunderbolt of an order for someone who had served House Reynold faithfully his entire life. But for now, avoiding the Duke’s displeasure was his top priority.

“Bring Agnes here.”

“Yes. I’ll see to it immediately.”

The young Duke of Reynold was rational and cold. That was precisely why he had raised his house to its current position.

He had no need for limbs that refused to obey his commands.

There were countless people who wanted to establish ties with House Reynold, the most powerful family after the imperial family.

Even someone like Howard, who had served the ducal house for so many years, could be cast aside.

Watching the Duke’s retreating back, Howard swallowed hard.

Agnes won’t take this lying down.

As a bloody storm swept through the ducal estate, Howard squeezed his eyes shut.

 

***

 

I should never have let a woman who wasn’t qualified to begin with into this household.

Agnes, the head maid, hurried into the Duke’s office. She lowered her eyes with a respectful expression as she thought to herself.

She had already guessed why the Duke had summoned her.

The princess’s maid had come to her several times. That was why Agnes had turned a blind eye on some occasions and reprimanded the maids on others.

She had no personal grudge against the princess. The problem was simply that the princess was useless to the ducal house.

The marriage had brought great benefits to House Reynold, but that was only natural.

Marriage between nobles was about exchanging benefits.

The princess had done nothing to participate in high society as the lady of the house, nor had she undertaken any activities that might benefit the family.

Even if her health was frail, she should have fulfilled at least the minimum duties expected of the lady of a noble house.

That was why Agnes had warned the maids while paying little attention to the new mistress herself.

Privately, she had even been pleased that the princess seemed to know her place.

There was no room in this ducal estate for a powerless duchess.

Agnes had hoped she would simply live quietly, but the maids had to go and make a mistake.

“I apologize for my failure to manage the staff properly.”

Agnes pressed her lips together and bowed her head to the Duke. The useless princess must not attract His Grace’s attention.

That was why she had ordered the lower-ranking servants to be even more careful and thorough.

They had brought harm to the family. She had no intention of letting the matter slide, either.

“If you would tell me who behaved disrespectfully toward Her Highness, I will—”

“Agnes.”

Agnes, who had been absorbed in thoughts of how to clean up the mess, tensed at the Duke’s voice.

At his quiet reprimand, she pressed her lips tightly together. There was no room left for negotiation.

One wrong word here could put her in danger, too.

“Did you take my order to look after the princess so she could live quietly as permission to ignore it?”