The Munchkin Princess Wants to Run Away Chapter 11

“I’ll order salary reductions for all the servants and make sure the matter is corrected.”

Agnes immediately changed her tune.

The servants of House Reynold were fiercely loyal and took great pride in serving the ducal family.

She thought this should be enough to make them understand.

“I have no need for those who cannot properly carry out their master’s orders.”

At Agnes’s troubled expression, Cedric shook his head.

Even a small incident could become the seed of discord. The imperial family was constantly looking for an opportunity to bring House Reynold down.

Cedric had no intention of letting this problem slide.

“Howard. Investigate properly what happened to the princess.”

“As you command.”

Howard gave Agnes a subtle look, signaling her to stay quiet.

He couldn’t afford to let this matter escalate and drag her down with it.

Cedric was not a particularly difficult master to serve.

However, he was not lenient, either. He was not the sort of master who would tolerate mistakes indefinitely.

No. Since he hadn’t even realized a mistake had been made, he had effectively lost the opportunity to correct it in time.

“I’ll deal with everyone involved.”

Agnes, who had been watching the Duke’s reaction, also realized that the matter was now out of her hands. In a situation like this, the best course of action was to bow her head without question.

“Just because the princess has become the mistress of House Reynold does not erase the fact that she is a member of the imperial family.”

Cedric’s calm voice rang through the office.

He had told them to ensure that the princess could live quietly in the ducal estate, but that did not mean she should be disrespected.

“Nor does the fact that she lives quietly within the household diminish the authority of the Duchess.”

Members of the imperial family possessed authority simply by virtue of who they were.

The princess had been mocked for failing to receive divine power, but she had never lost the elegance and nobility characteristic of royalty.

“I will not provide letters of recommendation for those dismissed this time. This is the price they pay for treating my orders lightly.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Agnes finally realized the extent of her own mistake.

She had assumed this was merely a contractual arrangement, but the Duke was paying much closer attention to the princess’s treatment than she had expected.

She had made the mistake of thinking that showing the princess a little courtesy would be enough.

“I’ll hire new staff to take care of every aspect of Her Highness’s daily life.”

After ending the conversation and returning to her private office, Agnes immediately summoned the maids and began questioning them about everything that had happened.

The maids had failed even to report that the knight assigned to escort the princess would be returning late because he had been given another assignment.

In the end, more than a hundred servants were dismissed from House Reynold over the following few days.

Among them were particularly large numbers of kitchen staff and maids.

The incident heightened anxiety among the remaining servants.

Realizing that the Duke had not completely withdrawn his attention from the Duchess, the servants began to tread carefully once more.

“Disrespecting a member of the imperial family? This was far more serious than something that could be settled with dismissal alone.”

Cedric clicked his tongue as he read the report Howard had brought him. For more than a month, the princess had been neglected not only at mealtimes but in every aspect of her care.

Afraid that the blame might fall on them as well, the remaining servants honestly confessed what the dismissed staff had done.

Cedric checked the princess’s meal records again, clicking his tongue when he saw that she had been served nothing but watery soup for nearly every meal.

“Howard, is House Reynold poor?”

At their master’s weighty question, both Agnes and Howard lowered their heads.

They had warned the servants to behave themselves, but they had never imagined things would go this far.

“No, Your Grace.”

“The mistress of a household where even the servants eat their fill has been left to starve.”

Neither of them could raise their heads at the Duke’s cold voice.

“You will both have your salaries reduced for the next six months.”

“Thank you for your leniency.”

Howard bowed deeply. Agnes clenched her fists as well.

She had thought a few warnings would be enough to put an end to the problem, but the servants had dared to act far beyond what they were entitled to do.

She felt the full weight of her own failure.

She couldn’t even begin to guess why the princess had chosen not to inform the Duke of the matter herself.

“I will go to Her Highness, confess my wrongdoing, and beg her forgiveness.”

“Do so.”

By now, the two of them should have learned to treat the princess with the proper caution and respect.

Cedric believed he had taken care of everything within his power.

 

***

 

They really do hate me.

Ivanna let out a quiet breath as she walked through the garden.

It had been a long time since she had experienced such open hostility and rejection.

Somehow, the Duke had learned about her situation, and a large number of servants had been dismissed.

The dismissed servants had felt wronged, but being fired was still better than being executed for insulting a member of the imperial family.

Ivanna had thought the matter would end there, but among the remaining staff, resentment over losing their colleagues had taken root alongside their fear of the Duchess.

They believed that innocent people had suffered because of an ineffectual Duchess who contributed nothing to the household.

Would it be better if they simply insulted me to my face, like they did in the imperial palace?

Now, no one even looked at her. All she could sense was the malice directed toward her.

Complete disregard.

It was what she had wanted, but not like this.

“Should I just tell him I want to move out of the estate?”

In reality, she was already living elsewhere for all intents and purposes.

Her meals had returned to normal, but there was a certain carelessness to the way they were served that she couldn’t quite put into words.

She wasn’t the only one who noticed it. Solar and Anthony felt much the same way.

Since then, Ivanna had been using outings as an excuse to spend every day at the trading company.

She was afraid that leaving the estate altogether would attract attention, so she occasionally stopped by to walk in the garden or shut herself away in the library.

After several days away, House Reynold felt stifling and cold.

“Where exactly are you planning to go?”

“Eek!”

Lost in thought, Ivanna was startled by the sudden question and stumbled.

“Careful.”

A strong hand caught her unsteady body. Feeling the warmth of the hand supporting her, Ivanna quickly pulled herself together.

“Are you all right?”

“Y-yes.”

Ivanna nodded, looking bewildered as she stared at Cedric, who had suddenly appeared in front of her.

Why is this man here?

It was the first time she had encountered the Duke while taking a walk.

“What did you mean when you said you wanted to leave the estate?”

After waiting for Ivanna to calm down, Cedric asked in a tone that sounded almost interrogative.

“No!”

Ivanna quickly shook her head at his question.

If she told him she wanted to move out, she had no idea what a man so fixated on their contract might do.

“I meant that the city is so interesting that I want to go out more often!”

The words I want to live somewhere else had risen all the way to the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t bring herself to say them aloud.

A Duchess who intended to live quietly in accordance with their contract would never say that she wanted to live elsewhere.

“The person I’ve selected to serve as your escort is still on a mission, so please be patient a little longer. He’ll return soon.”

Seeing how cautiously the princess watched him, Cedric softened his attitude slightly.

He was now certain that she wasn’t trying to break their contract.

Despite being treated so poorly, she had never said a word to him about it.

He already knew from the shadows’ reports that she frequently went out.

She probably thought she had no guards, but the Duke’s shadows had been protecting her all along.

According to their reports, she visited the same trading company every time. As it happened, that company was one of those mentioned in a previous report concerning smuggling.

She went there almost every day, and on some occasions, she didn’t even return to the estate.

Cedric couldn’t bring himself to say anything about the princess’s little rebellion. Even he, a man who valued rules above all else, had a conscience.

“Have you simply become curious about the outside world?”

“Yes. It’s my first time outside the imperial palace.”

Ivanna had been anxiously studying Cedric’s expression, but now she felt relieved.

As expected, this man had no idea that she had been spending her time outside all along.

Even the Duke, the only family she now had by virtue of their contract, was indifferent to her.

Ivanna no longer wanted to continue living that way.

Accepting the marriage to the Duke had been the first step toward changing her circumstances. It was her first leap toward escaping both the imperial family and the life she had been trapped in.

She had anticipated that the Duke would pay little attention to her, just as he did now, and had been preparing a way to escape.

She couldn’t sever all ties with the imperial family, since she could never return to the palace, but she wanted to live as though neither she nor the Duke existed in the other’s life, just as their arrangement dictated.

That was all the more reason she couldn’t afford to give the Duke anything to hold against her. She had to remain quiet and unobtrusive, just as she was now, so he would continue to take no interest in her affairs.

“Is there somewhere in particular you like?”

The unexpected question briefly stole her breath.

Could he have already assigned someone to follow me and be testing me now?

The suspicion suddenly crossed her mind, making her heart prickle with unease.

Come to think of it, he was the one who had already selected her escort and postponed the appointment because of the man’s current assignment.

Considering their contract, that was rather strange.

A man who had insisted on the terms of their agreement could hardly have failed to consider the safety of a member of the imperial family.

How had she not thought anything of it until now?

Realizing her mistake belatedly, Ivanna licked her dry lips.