The Munchkin Princess Wants to Run Away Chapter 6

“There won’t be any need for that anymore.”

Solar shook his head firmly.

“Thanks to Her Highness, who worked herself to the bone to build up the merchant company, we’ve become rich. Solar, stop nagging her.”

Anthony lightly tapped him on the shoulder.

“I’m going to give it to you anyway, so accept it without arguing.”

“Understood.”

At Ivanna’s stubborn insistence, the two could only smile as though they had no choice.

“Anyway, I’m bored. It would be a bit much to go out right away, wouldn’t it?”

Having spent the entire week cooped up in her room, Anthony was growing tired of it. He asked cautiously, watching Ivanna’s reaction.

Without an escort, he was worried about whether it was all right for them to go out.

“There’s no one looking for me anyway, but they haven’t completely lost interest in me yet. I think it would be better to be careful.”

They had said they would assign her an escort soon, but there was no telling when that would happen. Besides, one or two maids still occasionally returned to show their faces.

She wasn’t completely free just yet.

Moreover, once she had an escort, using the estate’s carriage whenever she went out would leave a record.

She also needed to find a way to come and go without her escort noticing.

Even the strictly guarded imperial palace had a little hole in its defenses. Surely there would be some way to sneak in and out of this place, too.

She almost wished she could simply tell them to contact her only when necessary and live at the merchant company instead.

The Duke was the one who had told her to keep a low profile, but it probably wouldn’t be easy to get his permission to live entirely outside the estate.

Not only did he not trust her, but it was also unusual for a married woman to live separately elsewhere.

Ivanna recalled the Duke’s expressionless face and soon abandoned the idea.

Instead, she decided to focus on the fact that she had gained freedom without any responsibilities or obligations. That alone made her feel so refreshed that she could practically float with happiness.

 

***

 

“It seems Her Highness is adjusting well to life at the estate.”

Howard, the head butler, submitted a summary of the reports he had received from the maids over the past month.

As he watched Cedric calmly sitting and reviewing the documents, his gaze was filled with pride and affection.

“However, are you really not going to visit the Duchess?”

“What more is there to a marriage that is nothing but a contract?”

A trace of regret crossed Howard’s eyes at the Duke’s cold response. The previous Duke and Duchess had also begun their relationship as a contractual marriage, but things had not been this bad.

The couple, who had given birth to a once-in-a-generation genius, had returned to their territory as soon as Cedric came of age, saying they wanted to enjoy the rest of their lives. They were now spending their retirement in peace.

“Even if it’s a contractual marriage, you’re still husband and wife.”

“I have no intention of getting caught up in the struggle for the imperial throne. If an heir is needed, I’ll see to it.”

“Do you think children simply appear out of nowhere? You should help Her Highness adjust to life with the ducal family.”

Howard couldn’t hide his frustration.

He had wanted Cedric to grow up experiencing a wide range of emotions, but things had not gone as he had hoped.

When he was young, the Duke had been lovable and innocent. But as he grew older, he had become a rigid and rational man, unlike his parents.

That was why Howard had been among those who welcomed the marriage to the princess.

Even if it was a contractual marriage, he had hoped that having a wife might bring about some kind of change.

“Enough.”

Cedric rejected the suggestion, saying that such things were not included in the contract.

Howard suppressed a groan.

The princess he had first seen at the wedding had looked delicate, but her eyes had been full of determination.

It had been the same when she came to receive the documents last time.

Although she had barely left her room since the wedding, she had not seemed intimidated.

The characteristic arrogance of royalty.

And the elegance and refinement possessed by those of high status.

Both had been unmistakable.

‘There haven’t been any major problems yet, but I wonder how long she’ll remain so docile.’

For now, she was behaving herself and watching the Duke’s mood, but she might reveal her true nature later.

That was why Howard had been continuously reminding the servants to remain vigilant so that no fault could be found in their conduct.

Having finished all his business, Cedric rose from his seat.

“Are you going out?”

“I’m going to the merchant company.”

“Ah, Her Highness also asked about going out the other day, so I told her that she would soon have an escort, but…”

“Nothing has been decided yet, so leave it be.”

In truth, Cedric didn’t care where the princess went. As long as she didn’t get hurt or cause trouble for the ducal family, it made no difference to him.

He had already assigned a secret knight directly under his command to protect her.

“Unless it concerns the princess’s safety, there’s no need to report every little thing to me.”

With that, Cedric left the study without delay.

A report had come in from the ducal family’s merchant company that he couldn’t simply ignore.

Weapons being shipped out?

The quantities of minerals and weapons exported to other countries were strictly monitored by the state.

Yet they had discovered evidence that an enormous quantity of minerals, unaccounted for in the records, had been transported to foreign countries.

Normally, the head of the merchant company, acting as his representative, would come to report such matters. But this time, the situation was somewhat serious, so Cedric decided to take action himself rather than wait for him.

Thus, he headed to the merchant company in person, an unusual occurrence for him. He preferred to handle important matters himself.

Cedric put thoughts of the princess out of his mind and headed quickly toward the city center.

 

***

 

“Wow, I’m so hungry. How can they be doing the exact same thing as before?”

For a week now, the meals had been pitiful. Ivanna stirred the watery soup around and around.

“I knew this would happen. Even when we go to get the food ourselves, they say it’s all gone and give us nothing but stale leftovers.”

Anthony shook his head in disbelief.

The maids who had occasionally remained behind, even if there had only been one or two of them, had now disappeared without a trace, as though they had all made a pact.

They no longer brought her meals, and when the three went to collect the food themselves, they were given garbage fit for servants or slaves.

“The head butler and the head maid don’t seem to know about this either, do they?”

“No. When we go to them and explain what we need, they act as though they have no idea what we’re talking about.”

For the time being, Anthony had kept quiet about the situation, just as Ivanna had wanted.

After all, they had already learned from experience that if they spoke up, they would be the ones who ended up in trouble.

“Still, we can’t keep living like this.”

Solar spoke as he looked at Ivanna’s arm, which had grown thinner than when she first arrived at the ducal estate.

“We’ve endured enough, haven’t we?”

Noticing Solar’s gaze, Ivanna flashed him a grin.

“Yes. It’s not right for you to go hungry, Lady Ivanna.”

He had been holding back the urge to march straight to the butler, just like Anthony.

“Would you say we’ve put up with enough by now?”

“Absolutely.”

Grinning, Ivanna rose from her seat. In fact, she was already dressed in shabby clothes of the sort commoners might wear.

“Let’s go.”

And so Ivanna slipped out of the ducal residence through a small opening that Solar and Anthony had found.

The Duke’s shadow quietly followed behind her.

 

***

 

“Miss, shall we get that skewer, too?”

“Yes. And a drink to go with it.”

As Cedric arrived in the city to visit the merchant company and dismounted from his horse, a familiar-sounding voice caught his ear.

He turned his head and saw a group of people standing behind him, their faces hidden beneath their hoods.

‘The princess?’

A small face peeked out from beneath a hood before quickly disappearing again.

The princess was nibbling at a skewer handed to her by a maid, her sky-blue eyes sparkling.

Her mouth was so small that with each bite, only a tiny piece disappeared, like a bird pecking at its food.

Every time she moved her head, Cedric caught fleeting glimpses of the princess’s cheeks, flushed red beneath her hood.

He had been told to stay at the estate until her escort was appointed. Then how had the princess managed to come into the city?

Cedric stopped walking and stared at her.

“Would you like to go over there this time? There’s a new pastry shop over there, and apparently, it’s all the rage.”

Behind the lively voice of the maid, he saw the princess give a small nod.

Her cheeks, flushed like ripe fruit, had nothing to do with him. Her formerly pale face had simply taken on a healthy glow.

However, leaving the estate without an escort was a problem.

Cedric sensed the presence of the shadows guarding her surroundings.

Then he approached the princess from behind and spoke to her.

“How did you get outside?”

The head butler wouldn’t have given her permission. Cedric’s eyes fell on the drink and skewer in Ivanna’s hands.

“Gasp!”

Ivanna, who had been enjoying a proper meal for the first time in ages, stiffened.

The two people standing beside her reacted the same way.

The Duke’s voice was lower and stiffer than most people’s, and it was not the sort of voice one could easily forget.

Chomp.

Chomp.

‘I can’t let him take this away from me!’

Even as she shrank under his chilly gaze, Ivanna refused to put down the skewer and shoved the meat into her mouth.

“What exactly are you doing?”

Even as the Duke asked in disbelief, Ivanna swallowed the meat in great gulps.

“Slowly. Have a drink while you eat.”

Letting out a low sigh, Cedric pressed a hand to his forehead and gestured toward the drink in Ivanna’s other hand.

Gulp.

“Haah. I feel alive again.”

Ivanna let out an involuntary exclamation of relief, then cautiously glanced at Cedric as though she were a criminal awaiting judgment.