She hadn’t expected to get everyone’s attention all at once.
“Uh…, don’t fight….”
At Ellie’s brave attempt to mediate, Rilkea and Madam Laval both softened their eyebrows with pitying expressions.
“Oh dear, we weren’t fighting, Princess. We get along very well. Right, Captain?”
“Of course. We’re so close. Two friends united by love for the princess.”
“Hohoho!”
“Hahaha!”
“…….”
Their laughter sounded extremely awkward, but since they looked like they had reconciled, Ellie decided to let it go.
“But, earlier—what did you mean about dying? We need to hear about that.”
Rilkea set Ellie down on a chair, then kneeled on one knee to match her eye level.
“It might sound like overreacting, but Your Highness’s life is more precious than anything. So please forgive me for being a bit overprotective.”
“…Okay!”
If it were Princess Ellia, she probably would have cried because the atmosphere felt scary, but Ellie actually felt warm inside.
There was no need to fear someone who was worrying for her sake.
“What happened?”
Everyone’s attention focused sharply on Ellie. Their eyes were tense, as if she had witnessed an assassination attempt.
All she had done was try to follow her brother’s warning about not eating sweets—how did things get so big?
Embarrassed, Ellie answered with a small voice.
“Well…, people kept telling me to eat sweets.”
“…Pardon?”
Rilkea blinked slowly.
“…Ah. Did someone report that they were planning to poison your sweets?”
“No.”
“Then… do you perhaps have some condition where eating sweets can kill you? …No, that makes no sense.”
Considering how many desserts Princess Ellia normally devoured, that was impossible.
As the guard captain who had seen her behavior many times, Rilkea knew that well.
“If you eat sweets, your teeth rot, and then you can’t eat anything, and then you die!” Ellie cried desperately.
“Ah….”
Rilkea finally understood how the idea of dying came into the picture.
Someone must have taken drastic measures to protect Princess Ellia’s dental health. Whoever it was, they were a true loyalist.
“But they kept trying to make me go eat sweets!”
“…I see.”
A dangerous glint flashed in Rilkea’s eyes.
Yes, that was unacceptable. Forcing the princess with sugar lumps that did nothing for her bones or muscles—that kind of barbaric behavior had crossed a line.
This was basically an indirect assassination attempt.
Rilkea rose to her feet and looked back at the crowd.
The gentle eyes she had shown Ellie instantly turned fierce like those of a beast.
“Her Highness refused… yet you tried to force sweets on her… to rot her teeth…?”
The way she spoke—word by word—sounded almost like a murder threat.
Several people turned pale.
“N-No—brushing is enough, it’s fine!”
“That’s right! And right now, what matters most is helping her feel better!”
“One dessert isn’t going to rot all her teeth instantly!”
People scrambled to explain themselves.
“…Really?”
Ellie’s eyes sparkled at their excuses.
Her brother always said it was important to listen to many opinions.
So… having one dessert to cheer herself up should be fine, right?
“Yes, of course!”
“Would we ever recommend anything bad to Your Highness?!”
“It was just a misunderstanding, Captain!”
Rilkea let out a low hum, glaring at the crowd with cold eyes.
Her duty was to protect the princess from external threats—not to police every detail of her daily diet.
She still didn’t like how they tried to lure a naïve child with sweets, but for now, it was time to step back.
“…Understood. Then.”
Rilkea stepped away and returned to her guard position at the edge of the room.
As soon as the captain retreated, the people rushed in again with renewed, sugary enthusiasm.
“Your Highness, now that the misunderstanding is cleared, shall we go eat something delicious?”
“Uuugh….”
“Come now, take my hand. Or shall I carry you?”
Madam Laval asked with a bright, sugary smile.
The others also smiled widely.
Ellie hopped down from the chair and declared,
“No. I can go by myself.”
“Oh yes, of course. Our princess is all grown now.”
Madam Laval clapped her hands together at each step as she followed Ellie.
Feeling embarrassed yet also a bit proud, like she had become more mature, Ellie marched ahead toward the room.
Behind her, the adults exchanged looks and sighed silently.
Not easy at all.
Winning over a child’s heart turned out to be far more troublesome than expected.
The late king and queen had only one child: Princess Ellia.
Naturally, she was the sole heir to the throne. They needed to earn her favor quickly—but Ellie refused to move according to their plans.
But they couldn’t give up just like that.
“How about going to the garden?”
“The sunlight is warm today.”
People persistently encouraged her.
Hearing that, Ellie looked out the window in the hallway.
The forest where she had been with her brother was in midsummer, but here it was winter.
It hit her again that she had come to a different world.
‘Brother….’
Ellie suddenly felt gloomy, her lips jutting out as she stopped walking.
“A-ah, no! You don’t have to go to the garden!”
“You may do whatever Your Highness wishes!”
People quickly withdrew their suggestions the moment Ellie’s expression changed.
Ellie herself staggered from how easily they were swayed by her face.
Since waking up, the constant crowd of people buzzing around her had left her exhausted.
Whenever she tried to do anything, dozens of comments fell on her, dozens of suggestions flew at her.
“…I want to go rest in my room first.”
“Yes, Your Highness! We will escort you to your room right away!”
Being able to have tea with the princess was an incredible privilege.
Madam Laval might have been glued to Ellie’s side, but everyone was prepared to jump in with all they had if even a tiny chance came up.
“Uuugh….”
As Ellie was being pushed along by the crowd, she spotted the boy leaving the funeral hall.
“Then what shall we bring you to drink?”
“If Madam Laval sits in the nearest seat… would it be all right if I sit on the other side, Your Highness?”
People were whispering to Ellie again, too distracted to notice anything else.
At that moment, the boy also noticed Ellie. His face crumpled instantly, but their eyes had already met. Unlike at the funeral, he couldn’t just ignore her and walk away.
The boy reluctantly bowed his head in greeting.
They weren’t close enough to talk. It seemed like he was just waiting for Ellie to pass by, not lifting his head again.
‘I know, I know!’
She understood perfectly well how much he hated Princess Ellia—his attitude made that painfully clear. But she couldn’t just leave it like that.
“I want to eat with him.”
“?!”
Everyone followed Ellie’s pointing finger—and froze.
“Ah….”
The boy at the end of her finger also looked horrified.
The distance was far, but somehow Ellie’s voice had carried.
“Uh, um…”
“Him… why…?”
People fidgeted anxiously.
“Why?”
“Well… that boy is…”
“Why?”
“It’s just that…”
It seemed everyone knew the boy disliked Princess Ellia.
How could something so obvious to everyone be unknown only to Princess Ellia?
Ellie felt even more determined to find out the details.
She approached the boy herself.
With every step Ellie took closer, the boy’s expression twisted more and more. Any closer and she felt like she might get punched, so she stopped at a reasonable distance.
“Hi!”
“…Greetings to Princess Ellia.”
Still, he was a polite child.
He bowed to her again.
Good—since he responded, at least they could talk.
“Let’s have tea together!”
Ellie offered with a bright smile.
They say no one can spit at a smiling face…
“…….”
…But he just might.
The boy glared at Ellie so fiercely, as if he wanted to spit out anything he could.
Ellie felt a little hurt. She had never once in her life received such a hateful look.
For a moment she wondered if she had made a mistake approaching him, but the water was already spilled.
Ellie shamelessly pushed on.
“I want to drink tea with you.”
“…….”
The boy didn’t reply.
“…No?”
If he truly hated it, she was ready to give up.
It takes courage to accept an apology, after all.
But instead of saying no, the boy bowed deeply.
“If Your Highness wishes.”
“…….”
If he said it in a voice that hated it that much… was she supposed to be happy or not?
But he had already agreed.
Now that things were like this, she had to find out what had happened between them!
“Okay, then let’s go.”
With that, Ellie strode ahead.
Despite his full face of displeasure, the boy quietly followed behind her.
She wanted to walk side-by-side to talk, but he stubbornly kept exactly one step behind.
After a while, Ellie suddenly stopped walking.
“…But where should we go?”
The adults trailing behind the boy answered calmly.
“You may go to the tea room, or to the parlor attached to Your Highness’s room.”
“Uuumm… then let’s go to my room. To my room. Is that okay?”
“Yes.”
The boy’s answer was stiff and short again.
He followed obediently, yet his whole body and face shouted, “I hate this!”
‘Human relationships… are hard….’
Seven-year-old Ellie let out a deep sigh.
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