The Munchkin Princess Wants to Run Away Chapter 18

The soil will be easier to carry if I let some of the moisture evaporate.

As she moved farther away from the site, Ivanna secretly began evaporating the moisture in the piles of earth, little by little.

“Huh? Doesn’t the dirt feel much lighter than before?”

“The sun must be drying it out already. The weather’s nice, after all.”

The villagers resumed shoveling. Finding the soil strangely lighter, they happily remarked that the warm weather was drying it out.

“……I think she’s a kinder person than I expected.”

The workers continued shoveling in silence for a while before one of them awkwardly spoke up.

“I was so happy about the rain that I didn’t even realize I’d hurt my hand.”

The villager with the injured hand spoke, unable to hide the smile tugging at his lips.

“I thought she’d look down on commoners like us.”

“Ahem. I suppose she wouldn’t be a princess for nothing.”

The gazes of the people watching the princess, who had now walked so far away that she was almost out of sight, had changed completely without anyone noticing.

“Lady Ivanna. Your shoes are ruined.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine.”

The spirited Ivanna continued walking, completely unaware of the change in the villagers’ attitudes toward her.

She had been so happy to have a nice pair of shoes made for her, too.

At Anthony’s tearful expression, Ethan secretly smiled.

The princess strode boldly through the mud without a care, while the maid following behind her looked utterly at a loss. He found the sight amusing.

Ivanna, who had been walking ahead, suddenly stopped and turned around.

“They must be exhausted after working all day. Is there any hearty food the villagers could eat?”

“Why are you here, Duchess?”

Ivanna, who had been pondering how to reward the villagers for their hard work, came to a halt.

Seeing the Duke, Anthony nervously stepped back.

“I heard there was a landslide because of the heavy rain last night.”

I promised to behave yesterday. Is he upset that I came out here?

Ivanna answered with a forced smile.

She couldn’t exactly tell him that she had accidentally used her divine power and made it rain much more heavily than expected.

“I was worried, so I came to see…”

The Duke was looking down at her with a grim expression. Ivanna lowered her head. The smile she had seen earlier seemed like a dream now, with not even the faintest trace of it remaining.

“I understand that you’re concerned about the schedule being delayed. However, the ground in this area has been weakened by the rain, making it dangerous.”

Cedric found it a little troublesome, but he explained why he had stopped the princess.

He could simply have told her to go back, yet the sight of her lowered eyebrows as she anxiously watched his reaction made him explain at length.

Besides, hadn’t there already been an awkward incident that morning?

When he had opened his eyes and found her delicate body leaning against him, Cedric had been unable to bring himself to move away carelessly.

Since then, the contract had remained on his mind.

Guarantee the princess’s safety.

That seemingly insignificant clause had been weighing on him.

The Crown Prince and the Emperor had every right to make her safety a condition of the agreement.

The princess’s body looked far too frail.

This was the first time he had entered into a contract involving a person as part of the bargain, and he had become all the more conscious of the need to be careful.

As soon as he had left the tent, he had assigned three additional shadows to guard her. He was confident that even if another landslide occurred, both he and the princess would survive without fail.

Even so, he was troubled by the fact that she had come to such a dangerous worksite. Cedric let out a faint sigh.

“It’s dangerous, so please return to the tent. I’ll order them to prepare a meal.”

“Oh, speaking of meals!”

At the Duke’s words, Ivanna immediately lifted her head. Then she added cautiously,

“Would it be all right if I shared my portion of the food supplies with the villagers who worked hard to clear the landslide?”

“I won’t allow it. This area is dangerous, so do not leave the tent.”

The Duke refused firmly, as though the request wasn’t even worth reconsidering.

Ivanna’s lips parted slightly, but she couldn’t bring herself to say anything more and simply nodded.

Then she turned around and headed straight back to the tent.

When they returned, Anthony watched Ivanna carefully as she sat down in a chair.

Her attempt to strike up a conversation had failed for once. He tilted his head, puzzled by the fact that his mistress’s expression was no different from usual.

Sometimes, the princess wore an expression that made it impossible to tell what she was thinking.

“I’ll go prepare your meal.”

Unable to bear the awkward atmosphere, Anthony fled outside. Left alone, Ivanna let out a faint sigh.

Tch. I was trying to change people’s perception of the Duchess a little.

And I failed.

She had decided to try after seeing the Duke smile that morning, but apparently, smiling and sharing food were two entirely different matters.

It was obvious that the drought would become even more severe in the territories farther along their route.

She even considered distributing food there through the trading company. At least that would help spread the name of Dandelion Trading Company.

In truth, as the Duke had said, giving the Duchess’s own meals to commoners was practically meaningless.

Even so, Ivanna wanted to share her portion with them, even if she had to pretend to be an ignorant princess who knew nothing about the world.

She might never stop being regarded as a foolish princess, but she could at least become a kindhearted and benevolent duchess.

It would be nice if people began saying that she had become somewhat useful now that she was a duchess.

If her divine power was ever discovered, she hoped the goodwill she had earned would serve as a shield.

I never expected the Duke to agree to something like this so easily.

Still, she hadn’t expected him to be so firm in his refusal. It wasn’t as though he was completely indifferent to her, either. Otherwise, there would be no reason for him to be so concerned about her safety.

The fact that he had dried her hair yesterday and caught her when she nearly fell that morning had both been unexpected.

Even if their relationship was nothing more than a contractual marriage, wasn’t it possible for them to grow closer or show each other some kindness? So why was he acting like this?!

Ivanna couldn’t predict the principles guiding Cedric’s actions.

Judging by how often he brought up the contract, it seemed likely that his behavior had something to do with it.

Ivanna let out a long breath.

She had even signed a contract promising to live quietly, but she had absolutely no intention of spending the rest of her life hiding in the shadows.

At the right time…

Perhaps once Justin had ascended the throne, the dealings between the ducal house and the imperial family would finally come to an end.

She had no idea how much the imperial family had invested in her marriage, but Elisa had told her that contracts between noble houses typically lasted around ten to fifteen years.

By then, the imperial family would probably have lost interest in her, and the Duke would be older and in need of an heir.

Then she wanted to divorce the Duke and disappear without a trace.

Her dream was to live a different life under a completely different name.

A marriage she had chosen solely to escape the imperial family had, unsurprisingly, brought her not even the slightest bit of happiness.

And yet, just because he had acted a little more comfortably around her that morning, she had thought he might show her some kindness.

What an absurd dream.

Suppressing a bitter laugh, Ivanna forced herself to swallow the meal Anthony had prepared for her.

 

***

 

“It seems it rained in the surrounding areas as well.”

As soon as the road blocked by the landslide had been cleared enough for people to pass, Marcel sent messengers to the other villages.

After hearing his report, Cedric looked up at the sky. He had no idea what had suddenly made the heavens change their minds.

He could only be grateful.

“The territories farther along our route won’t have to worry about water for a while.”

“Quite a few of them have already repaired their waterways and reservoirs in advance.”

Marcel glanced at the Duke, then recalled another item from his report.

“And regarding the rain, some people are saying it might be the divine power of the imperial family.”

“The divine power of the imperial family?”

Cedric’s eyebrow twitched at the unexpected remark.

“Yes. Apparently, some people are saying it rained because the Duchess visited the territory.”

“The princess was never granted divine power.”

At the Duke’s dismissive tone, Marcel nodded.

He knew that fact well, too.

However, it seemed the commoners were inclined to find meaning in even the smallest of things.

On top of that, rumors had begun circulating that the heavens had been moved to send rain because Duke Reynold had taken in the poor, unfortunate princess.

Should I report this properly?

For now, it was merely a rumor that had originated in a small village.

Even so, Marcel thought it was the kind of subject that would certainly displease both the Duke and the imperial family.

“Keep the rumors under control so they don’t reach the imperial family.”

Divine power? What utter nonsense. If the princess possessed divine power, she would have been treated far better than she had been until now.

Cedric felt sympathy for the villagers as he recalled the princess saying she wished she could distribute food to them.

The ducal estate was already regularly sending relief supplies to the surrounding territories.

If they distributed additional food to this village alone, they would have to provide extra assistance to the others as well.

Their resources were limited, and their journey had only just begun.

They had no way of knowing how often it would rain, and even if it did, the crops wouldn’t grow overnight.

Cedric brought his train of thought to a halt. No matter how deeply he considered the matter, he couldn’t come up with a solution.

The drought was far too severe to be resolved by a single night of rain.

Even at the temple, the High Priest and the Saintess were praying day and night for divine revelations. Yet the gods had given them no response.

If the rain stopped falling altogether, the entire continent might meet its end.