The Munchkin Princess Wants to Run Away Chapter 19

“Could it be that Her Highness is hiding her divine power?”

“If you were in her shoes, would you want to hide the fact that you’d received divine power?”

“No. I’d announce it immediately so I could finally enjoy all the things I’d been deprived of.”

Marcel answered without the slightest hesitation at Cedric’s question.

“She’s been treated far too harshly to simply sit back and do nothing.”

At the sympathetic tone, Cedric turned his gaze toward the tent where the princess was staying.

She was a woman who had secretly slipped out of the imperial palace and established ties with a trading company.

Although he had told Marcel otherwise, that fact continued to bother him.

The report that she had sold purified water kept pricking at his nerves like a splinter.

At first, he had wondered if she had hired a mage, but upon investigating further, he discovered that all she had was a crude water purification device.

One bucket of water that people in the poor slums could buy for a silver coin.

What if it hadn’t come from magic or a purification device at all?

The thought crossed his mind, but he soon dismissed it.

It was a pointless hypothesis.

Cedric knew all too well what the eyes of someone who had given up looked like. When he had first met the princess, her eyes had been dull, devoid of even the slightest hope.

Since she hadn’t had an escort all this time, it was easy to understand how she’d managed to slip out of the imperial palace by deceiving the people around her.

Having lived in the palace for so long, she would know its secret passages better than anyone.

The same was true of the ducal estate.

Seen in that light, he could understand the princess’s escapades.

There had never been a member of the imperial family who failed to receive divine power on the Day of Divine Blessing, nor had anyone ever received it a second time.

Dwelling on whether the princess possessed divine power was a waste of time.

“Stamp out any unnecessary rumors before they take root.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

After hearing Marcel’s reply, Cedric started walking.

As soon as the road blocked by the landslide was repaired, they would have to leave for another village.

The unexpected rain had held him back, but he didn’t mind.

When he reached the tent, he stopped upon hearing the conversation inside.

“I heard the villagers have barely eaten anything besides the supplies we’ve given them. It’s so sad.”

“Now that it’s rained, the crops will grow.”

The princess was talking to her maid while eating.

“But they said it’ll only last a month. How can crops grow in that time?”

“I heard the mage talking earlier. Apparently, the magical irrigation channels are in good condition.”

The maid went on to explain at length, and the princess seemed relieved.

How can she still worry about other people?

After learning that the princess had become involved with a trading company connected to smuggling, Cedric had hurriedly investigated what had happened to her in the imperial palace.

The budget allocated to the princess hadn’t been particularly small, but it had never properly reached her.

Only after reading the report had he understood why she had been forced to leave the imperial palace.

After suffering one misfortune after another, she still wanted to help others?

“Even so, after enduring such a long drought, wouldn’t it be nice if they could have at least one day when they could eat and laugh without a worry?”

At the regretful tone in her voice, Cedric turned away without another word.

“Your Grace, is there anything you need?”

A servant who happened to be bringing the duke’s meal spotted him and asked in confusion.

“Tell Marcel to distribute food to the villagers.”

“Food?!”

At the servant’s astonished expression, Cedric swallowed a sigh. What he was doing now was wrong.

It went against the principle of fairness toward the other villages, and it wasn’t part of the plan.

Ignoring the servant’s surprise, Cedric specified an amount that wouldn’t affect their schedule.

“I’ll take care of it immediately!”

The servant’s face lit up at the order. As Cedric watched him turn away with a pleased expression, one of his eyebrows twitched.

He would have been satisfied if the princess had reacted like that servant.

He strode into the tent without hesitation.

“You’re back.”

Ivanna pressed her lips together when she saw Cedric enter the tent.

After he’d rejected her earlier proposal, she felt awkward about facing him. She’d known he would refuse, but that didn’t make the rejection hurt any less.

After finishing her meal, she’d taken out a book to read, and her fingers unconsciously tightened as she turned the pages.

Flip.

Flip.

Ivanna pretended not to notice him, sat in her chair, and continued turning the pages.

It was a book she’d taken from the ducal library. The duke glanced at her sitting alone in the tent before heading toward the dining table.

A servant soon arrived with his meal. Until then, silence filled the tent.

“The road has been repaired, but it may still be dangerous, so we’ll leave tomorrow morning.”

“I understand.”

Ivanna nodded at Cedric’s words as he ate.

“And this evening, we’ll distribute the food we’ve brought to the villagers.”

“What?”

Her pale blue eyes, which had been fixed on her book, widened in surprise.

Hadn’t he firmly refused her earlier?

She couldn’t believe the duke had reconsidered her proposal, even if it was a little late.

She’d thought he was completely inflexible.

Ivanna and Cedric’s eyes met.

“You were worried it would disrupt our schedule.”

“It’s only appropriate to give some recognition to those who have helped the ducal house.”

At the duke’s casual tone, Ivanna’s cheek twitched.

“The ducal house’s cook will be preparing soup and a few simple dishes for the villagers this evening.”

It was on a much larger scale than she’d expected.

Ivanna couldn’t find the words to respond.

“Thank you.”

“I didn’t do it specifically for your sake.”

When Ivanna finally managed to speak, Cedric drew a clear line between them.

“Still, you reconsidered.”

She could practically feel her cheeks lifting into a smile. Ivanna raised a hand and gently covered her face.

Don’t get happy over something like this.

The duke was simply being capricious for a moment.

She firmly suppressed the excitement swelling in her chest.

She had no intention of getting her hopes up only to be hurt later. Hadn’t she given up on love and affection from the very beginning of this relationship?

“Think whatever you like.”

That was the end of their conversation.

It’s a good thing the duke is such a cold, prickly man.

The scales had been about to tip, but now they righted themselves.

Ivanna lowered her hand from her cheek and came to her senses.

How could she have thought a man like that was warmhearted? There was a limit to how badly she could delude herself.

A faint tremor ran through Ivanna’s hair.

I must never expect anything from that man again.

Cursing Cedric inwardly, Ivanna turned the pages of her book so forcefully that they practically snapped.

“……”

After finishing his meal, Cedric stared at Ivanna.

He’d agreed to distribute food to the villagers, so why was she upset?

No matter how insensitive he might be, he thought he was at least capable of noticing when someone’s mood changed.

People’s emotions sometimes took precedence over logic and reason.

That was precisely why the most important factor in a negotiation was the mood of the person sitting across the table.

But in this situation, he was the one who should have been displeased.

He’d gone back on his word. He’d told himself that giving the villagers food was well within their means, but this was the first time he’d reversed a decision he’d already made.

Because of the princess, he kept doing things that were unlike him.

Cedric listened to the sound of the pages being turned roughly.

Judging by how the sound gradually grew slower and gentler, her mood seemed to be improving little by little.

Why should I have to concern myself with the princess’s mood?

He held the upper hand in their contractual relationship. Even if he took his counterpart’s feelings into account during negotiations, the fundamental power dynamic wouldn’t change.

The final decision was his, after all.

Thinking he’d gone out of his way for nothing, Cedric stood up.

There was no need for goodwill or interest between them.

Perhaps spending so much time together had inevitably led him to pay attention to the princess.

Cedric stepped outside the tent and strode toward the landslide site.

He no longer wanted to be swept up in useless emotions and make mistakes.

Blaming his behavior on having spent so much time with the princess, he resolved to assess the situation more coldly from then on.

 

***

 

“The river has risen, so I don’t think we can go any farther today.”

Anthony stopped halfway through arranging the blankets, looked at Ivanna, and smiled warmly.

Ivanna shook her head slightly, insisting she hadn’t been responsible, but Anthony gave her a knowing smile and began humming cheerfully.

It had been raining nonstop for a week already.

After the landslide, they’d continued their journey without any major problems.

The drizzle had begun on the evening they left the territory, and it hadn’t stopped for seven days.

Even though she hadn’t used her divine power since the first day, the rain had continued.

At first, she thought she’d used her power incorrectly and tried to stop the rain. Another landslide like the previous one would only cause trouble for everyone.

But when she realized that her divine power wasn’t being drained, she stopped trying.

She couldn’t bring herself to stop the rain that was relieving the drought.

Even if the rivers overflowed, it was better for the rain to keep falling.

It seemed the gods had finally come to their senses.

Ivanna felt both disappointed and relieved at the thought that she might not need to use her divine power after all.