The Munchkin Princess Wants to Run Away – Chapter 15

Author: isuzuuy

“It’s a good thing His Grace came to visit the territory after marrying Her Highness the Princess.”

When a territory resident who had drunk the water distributed by House Reynold spoke with emotion, the person beside him clicked his tongue.

“What do you mean, thanks to the princess? That useless woman should be atoning for her failure to receive a divine power that could benefit the empire.”

With blazing eyes, he glared at the carriage where the duke and duchess had stopped.

“What if you get arrested for insulting the royal family?”

“She’s the duchess now. What does she have to do with the royal family?”

When someone tried to stop him, glancing nervously toward the knights, the man sneered and asked who would care about an incompetent princess.

“The other royals are using their divine powers to strengthen the empire. What kind of royal is someone who never received one?”

The man slandering Ivanna seemed to take great pride in the divine powers possessed by the royal family.

“There could be a reason for it, couldn’t there? Be careful not to let other people hear you. His Grace is visiting right now, too.”

“What good are divine powers anyway? They don’t make it rain on our fields right now, do they?”

Another man, who had been listening silently, grumbled.

“Hey, watch your mouth!”

The villager who had tried to stop them hurried home with his allotted water, as though he wanted nothing to do with them.

She didn’t even receive a divine power. What kind of royal is she?

The man who had been badmouthing the princess spat on the ground and turned away.

“If you command it, I’ll have them summarily punished for insulting the royal family.”

So the people really did have a poor opinion of the princess.

Ivanna had left the carriage under the pretense of taking a walk. At Ethan’s cold voice, she shook her head.

They probably needed someone to blame, too.

“People can curse even His Majesty the Emperor when they’re out of sight. We can’t punish the people for every careless remark.”

Ethan quietly watched the princess smile awkwardly.

It was fortunate that they had been standing behind the supply wagons because she wanted to see the organized provisions.

The mistake had been hiding there after the princess expressed a desire to see how the villagers lived firsthand.

“Let’s go back.”

As the princess turned away with a subdued expression, Ethan clenched his fists.

I need to be careful about letting her appear in front of people.

With Ethan escorting her, Ivanna returned to the temporary barracks, thinking about what had happened.

She already knew that many people disliked her because she had failed to receive a divine power.

With the drought making matters worse, the people had turned their resentment toward the princess who had received no divine power.

“Those are the words of ignorant people. Please don’t take them to heart.”

When they reached the temporary barracks set up near the carriage, Ethan spoke cautiously.

“I’m not concerned.”

Thinking that the duke had assigned her a decent escort, Ivanna entered the barracks.

The small village didn’t even have enough lodging to accommodate their party, so they had to set up military tents.

“What is it that you’re not concerned about?”

“Oh……”

She hadn’t expected the duke to be there.

Cedric was taking off his shirt when he asked the question, leaving her at a loss for words. So it really was true that when people were sufficiently flustered, they couldn’t speak.

Ivanna immediately spun around.

Rustle.

She heard Cedric silently changing his clothes.

There was a screen for privacy, so why was he changing out in the open?!

Ivanna struggled to calm her face, which was growing hot.

She swore she had never seen another person’s bare body before.

The moment she had seen Cedric, she had squeezed her eyes shut, but the image of his smooth skin, as though it had been sculpted from fine clay, his broad shoulders, and his firmly defined muscles remained vividly in her mind.

It was as though someone were beating a huge drum right beside her ears.

“I apologize. I didn’t expect you to return so early.”

Before she knew it, he had finished changing, and his voice came from behind her.

“So, what is it that you’re not concerned about?”

At the gentle touch of fingers tapping her shoulder as though to tell her he was finished, Ivanna turned around.

His large body was covered in clothes once again.

She quickly dragged her gaze upward before it could wander toward his chest.

Trying desperately to act calm, Ivanna spoke.

“I went to look at the supplies. I was worried because the drought is so severe.”

There was no need to mention that the villagers had insulted her. Ever since the drought began, people had been cursing the princess instead of the Imperial Family.

If she thought of it as the price she had to pay for receiving a divine power and not using it, it didn’t hurt all that much.

Her conscience did prick at her, but she had no intention of pretending not to notice the suffering forever.

Even before her marriage, she had secretly slipped out of the Imperial Palace to replenish reservoirs in nearby areas or bring down a little rain.

The power granted by the gods was extraordinary. She wondered whether her siblings could do as much.

She couldn’t reach very distant places, but as long as they were near her, she could make it rain as far away as a day’s journey.

“It’s a problem affecting not only the empire but the entire continent. There’s little we can do about it.”

The duke nodded as though he understood.

“I really hope it rains today.”

It would rain, without a doubt. She intended to use her divine power.

Nevertheless, Ivanna spoke with genuine desperation.

She just hoped he wouldn’t connect the rain to her.

“We can only hope and pray for that.”

Looking at the princess’s downcast expression, Cedric had the feeling that she was once again keeping something important from him.

He wondered whether he should tell her not to hide anything from him if it concerned her safety.

The contract.

It was the strongest means of binding him and the princess together.

It had been drawn up to favor the princess as much as possible in exchange for the benefits provided by the Imperial Family.

Apparently, even the Imperial Family wasn’t pleased with the rumors that they had sold the princess off.

“If a problem arises, tell me. Just as you honor the contract, I must fulfill my duties as your husband.”

“Yes.”

Her face gave no indication that she had understood him at all.

With her gentle-looking eyes and small frame, she seemed like someone who wouldn’t question anything even if he failed to fulfill the contract.

“Don’t forget that our relationship is based on a contract.”

“I understand.”

I shouldn’t go out anymore.

As soon as Cedric finished speaking, Ivanna turned around.

Since he had brought up the contract again, he must not have liked the fact that she had been wandering around outside.

Sigh.

Was she not even allowed to get some fresh air?

Ivanna suppressed her urge to grumble and went behind the privacy screen.

“I’ll call a maid for you.”

At Cedric’s words, Ivanna shook her head.

She could change her clothes by herself.

Whenever Anthony was busy, Ivanna had always managed to wash and eat on her own.

Besides, she didn’t want to call Anthony over and make things uncomfortable with the duke present.

Anthony would be careful, too, but she didn’t want to give Cedric any reason to criticize him.

Since she had been wearing a comfortable dress for traveling, Ivanna quickly changed into her nightclothes.

There was even a small area in the barracks prepared for washing, so Ivanna took a towel and entered the bathing room.

She tried not to make any noise that might disturb the duke.

Apparently, he had nothing more to say, because he had sat down at the desk and begun reviewing documents.

Splash.

Water for bathing.

The villagers had barely enough drinking water to get by, yet there was enough water for them to fill an entire bathtub.

Excuse me. Could you make it rain tonight?

Preferably over as wide an area as possible, and as far away as possible. And I’d like it to rain while I’m asleep.

Ivanna murmured inwardly.

In truth, all she had to do was snap her fingers. No, she didn’t even have to do that. Simply thinking about rain was enough to make it fall.

Even so, whenever she used her divine power on a large scale, Ivanna always spoke to the gods as though she were asking them for something she desperately needed.

The failure of the rain to fall was the gods’ fault, after all.

Just as they had been late in granting her divine power, they had simply forgotten to send rain to the continent. All she was doing was waking them up.

Making sure the gods didn’t forget their duties.

“It’s warm.”

If she didn’t use the water that had been prepared, she would undoubtedly arouse suspicion. Ivanna sank into the warm bathtub and let out a quiet breath.

She had accumulated quite a bit of fatigue after spending several days traveling by carriage. The duke occasionally glanced at her, but he had never once asked whether she was tired.

The royal family really did have strong constitutions.

Even if she hadn’t received a divine power, that didn’t change the fact that she belonged to a bloodline blessed by the gods.

People would be happy if it rained tomorrow, wouldn’t they?

Ivanna took her time washing before finally getting out.

She wanted to delay the moment she had to climb under the same blanket as Cedric.

They had been sharing the same bed for a week now, so she was no longer as nervous as she had been at first.

But it was still uncomfortable.

She was bothered by the slight shaking of the bed whenever he lay down beside her, and she hadn’t realized he was so well-built.

Whoosh.

The duke’s body, which she had managed to forget while they were talking, suddenly came back to mind.

Were all knights built like that?

She had never been interested in other people’s bodies, so she had nothing to compare him to.