The Munchkin Princess Wants to Run Away Chapter 20

“I’m glad we’re finally out of the tent.”

Ivanna said with a relieved smile as she sipped her warm tea.

Fortunately, the ducal party had reached a fairly large count’s castle just before they had to stop. The road leading to the ducal territory was open to carriages.

She had expected their schedule to proceed without delays unless something like the previous landslide occurred, but she hadn’t known there was a wide, deep river on the way out of the count’s territory.

Apparently, the water level had risen dangerously close to the bridge. They were stuck once again, with no choice but to wait until the rain stopped.

I wish we could reach the ducal territory soon.

After they distributed meals to the villagers, something must have changed in the duke’s mind again.

Since that day, his attitude had returned to the way it had been before.

Had he disliked distributing the food? Then he shouldn’t have agreed to it in the first place.

Ivanna pouted as she looked around the neatly arranged bedroom.

He even holds a grudge for ages.

She decided to revise her opinion of Cedric. He was a cold, aloof man who knew how to apologize but held grudges for a long time.

Still, at least the bed here was spacious. No matter how far she stretched her arms, she wouldn’t accidentally touch the duke as she had last time.

The bedroom the count had provided was large and comfortable. It seemed he’d deliberately prepared a separate building for the duke. Although it was far from the count’s own quarters, it overlooked the garden directly.

If not for the drought, the garden would have been filled with beautiful flowers. Instead, it lay barren.

The steady drizzle and gray sky dampened her spirits.

I hope we can return to the capital safely without anything else happening.

Now that it had started raining in the ducal territory, the other regions would surely receive rain as well.

Once the drought disappeared, there would be no reason to worry about her divine power being discovered.

Being forgotten by everyone.

It was what she’d wanted so desperately. So why did she feel so strange?

Ivanna quietly looked around the empty bedroom. Since their arrival at the count’s estate, Cedric had been coming back late in the evening and leaving early in the morning.

He had been right, after all.

Don’t show more interest than necessary.

So that was why he’d stated it so firmly on the day they signed the contract.

Ivanna scrunched up her nose and picked up her outerwear.

She figured taking a walk around the separate building would be better than sitting alone and feeling sorry for herself.

“Are you going out?”

“No. I’ll just walk around the corridor a little. You can stay here.”

They’d been told the entire building had been cleared for their use, so she wouldn’t run into anyone.

After telling Anthony and Ethan that she would be going alone, Ivanna began walking slowly down the corridor.

Just as she was about to descend the stairs, she heard servants talking below.

“Is it true that this rain is thanks to Her Highness the Princess?”

Ivanna stopped short.

“They say it’s a blessing from heaven for the duke, who took in the abandoned princess.”

“Oh, come on. Does that even make sense? Unless the princess is hiding her divine power, I suppose.”

Ivanna ducked behind a pillar to avoid the servants, who were chatting while dusting the window frames with feather dusters.

“I heard that the princess, who never received divine power, prayed to God through her tears, and that’s why the rain came.”

One of the servants glanced around before speaking in a hushed voice.

“If the princess had received divine power, she wouldn’t have stayed quiet about it. I heard she’s vain and extravagant, too.”

“But didn’t she seem rather modest for someone like that?”

The servants, unaware of the truth, continued gossiping about the rumors circulating throughout the ducal territory.

“She must just be pretending for now.”

“Right? After all, receiving divine power would mean being recognized as a member of the imperial family again. I’d announce it immediately if I were her.”

They giggled softly, saying that if they were in her position, they’d want an entire room filled with dresses.

“Still, she probably isn’t hiding it. But isn’t it strange? It’s raining while she’s traveling around the territory with the duke.”

A maid who had been gently tapping dust from the window frame spoke as she gazed at the rain, something she hadn’t seen in a long time.

“It’s probably a coincidence.”

“You think so? Whatever the reason, I just hope the rain keeps falling without stopping.”

Ivanna covered her mouth to stifle her ragged breathing.

There are people who think I have divine power?

Just because it had rained on the day a member of the imperial family visited, they thought she might have received divine power?

“If Her Highness really does have divine power, then she’s become the duchess now. Wouldn’t she use it for House Reynold instead of the imperial family?”

“What do you mean, ‘if’? Her Highness is the only member of the imperial family who failed to receive divine power, and no one has ever received it a second time.”

Her companion scolded the maid, whose imagination had clearly run away with her, cutting off the conversation.

“Oh, but still. Maybe God took pity on the princess and gave her divine power as a gift.”

Even as she thought the idea was absurd, Ivanna pressed her lips tightly together.

Because she had, in fact, received divine power from God a second time.

Ivanna turned around and left.

I shouldn’t have made it rain.

She had done it because she couldn’t bear to see innocent people suffer, but it had turned into unnecessary meddling.

Now she was caught up in strange rumors, and people were beginning to suspect she possessed divine power. What would happen if the imperial family ordered her to return?

Ivanna entered her bedroom and let out a series of ragged breaths.

“It’s okay. It’s okay. Everything they said is just speculation.”

Leaning against the bedroom door, she tried to calm herself down.

At least it was fortunate that she was the only member of the imperial family who had failed to receive divine power. No one else had been in the same position.

The reason she refused to reveal that she possessed divine power was the damn expectations that would follow the moment she announced it.

Even knowing that the imperial family would only seek her out again because of her divine power, she might still end up giving them her heart.

She didn’t have the strength to endure the misery that would come from their hollow declarations of love.

Suddenly, she wanted to run away from everything.

Ivanna gazed at the steady rain with dark, sunken eyes.

Couldn’t I just disappear, washed away with the rainwater?

She swallowed the familiar anger and resentment rising within her. The chill of the silent room, where she was all alone, seemed to seep into her very bones.

She needed warmth and laughter.

I shouldn’t keep relying on Solar and Anthony like a spoiled child.

Thud.

Ivanna’s body crumpled as she sank to the floor.

There’s no one I can call without hesitation.

Letting out a hollow laugh, Ivanna sat on the cold floor for a long time, gazing blankly at the rain falling outside the window.

 

***

 

“It almost seems as though Your Grace has brought the rain with you.”

“It’s nothing more than good fortune.”

Cedric shook his head at Count Lavern’s remark. The rain that had begun in a small village continued to fall without respite, as though making up for all the time it had been absent.

The rain, which had briefly stopped that morning, had begun drizzling again.

“How is the countess’s condition?”

“There has been little improvement.”

Cedric let out a faint sigh at Count Lavern’s bitter expression.

“Still, she’s delighted that you’ve finally come to visit our territory.”

“I’ll make time to visit the countess.”

“I’m sure my wife will be happy simply knowing you’ve taken the time to see her.”

Countess Lavern suffered from Mana Erosion Syndrome. Her health had deteriorated so suddenly that there had been no time to take action, and now she was barely surviving on life-prolonging treatment.

“I’ll look into whether there are any better medicinal herbs available.”

“You’ve already done more than enough for us. And now you’ve even brought us rain.”

“I had nothing to do with this.”

Cedric spoke firmly as he watched the count smile at the rain.

“Have you heard that people are saying this rain means God hasn’t abandoned the imperial family after all?”

“Seems there are pointless rumors spreading here, too.”

There were always people who enjoyed making up stories and spreading them wherever they went.

However, the fact that the princess was being mentioned alongside the rain falling over the south was suspicious.

Has someone deliberately set this in motion?

Cedric was bothered by the way people were linking the rain to the princess.

It was almost as though someone was encouraging the belief that she had received divine power related to rain.

“Her Highness never received divine power. Wasn’t that confirmed by the imperial family and the custodian of the sacred relics?”

“That’s true. But it’s also true that Her Highness was abandoned by both the imperial family and the empire because of it, isn’t it? Things became so bad that the people even began to believe God had abandoned the imperial family.”

In that case, the rain falling over the south after such a prolonged drought was practically a divine blessing.

Those who had wondered why God was sending rain to the south in particular had finally thought of the princess.

Since the Day of Divine Blessing, she had never appeared at a single public event, supposedly because of her frail health.

Because she hadn’t received divine power, even the empress’s fidelity had been questioned. However, a blood test had confirmed that the princess was the emperor’s biological daughter.

Even after marrying Duke Reynold, the princess had continued to seclude herself, still using her health as an excuse.

“Since the rain began at the same time as Her Highness’s visit to the territory, isn’t it only natural that people would think God is blessing the south?”

Count Lavern gave a broad grin, but Cedric shook his head.

“Even so, it’s an excessive assumption. If it turns out not to be true, we must also consider the problems that could follow.”

He couldn’t simply view the rumors as a good thing. The members of the imperial family were more persistent and calculating than most people realized.