The Third Imperial Princess Arrives
I let out a small groan as I woke up that morning. On the bed beside mine, Era was still fast asleep. She'd neatly folded her new clothes and placed them by her pillow, with the white dress I'd bought her yesterday resting beside her like some kind of treasure. A thin trail of drool even trickled from the corner of her mouth.
"Mmmnya..."
Whatever happy dream she was having, she was even sleep-talking through it. People really were impossible to figure out sometimes.
I started to get up, figuring it was about time to prepare for our departure. That's when I heard it—
Rustle, murmur—
"...?"
It was strangely noisy outside. The usual morning sounds of the village felt far too loud. The clatter of horses' hooves. The clash of armor. The restless murmur of a crowd. It wasn't just a few people either. The entire village seemed to be in an uproar.
'What the hell is this? Did the Maryeokche stir up more trouble?'
The Maryeokche agents had been guarding the inn all night, so it probably wasn't them causing a scene. I walked over to the window, gently pulled back the curtain, and peered outside.
Beyond the glass, at the village entrance, something dazzling was making its way in.
A knight order clad in gleaming silver armor. Banners fluttering in the wind. A procession of white horses marching in neat lines. And right in the center of it all—
The Third Imperial Princess, dressed in magnificent finery.
'...A princess??'
The villagers had gathered along the roadside, buzzing with excitement.
"I-It's Her Highness the Princess!"
"Good heavens. A princess visiting a backwater village like this!"
"What's going on? Why would Her Highness come all the way out here?!"
I studied the woman's face more closely. I'd seen it before. Both in the original story and just a few days ago, when news of the Seventh Prince's disappearance had reached the palace. She'd personally led a knight order out to search for him.
'...It's Serina noona.'
Princess Serina. Leon's older sister. In the original novel, she'd been portrayed as someone who cherished her younger brother to an almost terrifying degree. She was the very princess who had set out with the declaration, "I will find my brother," right around the time I had woken up in the frontier.
But why here? Of all places?
'No way...'
A thought suddenly crossed my mind. The Maryeokche must have contacted the imperial capital. They would have reported that they'd found the prince. That news would have reached the palace, and noona must have come out to meet us.
Maryeokche agents were still silently guarding various spots around the village. Even as noona's knight order entered, they made no move to block them, simply watching from the sidelines. It was entirely possible they'd been the ones to reveal our location.
'...Ah, shit. This is going to be a massive headache.'
If I met noona right now, the whole fake fiancée situation still hadn't been properly sorted out. My plan to handle everything carefully once we reached the palace was about to collapse completely.
I made an instinctive decision.
'...Let's avoid her for now.'
Running into her now would make explanations way too complicated. I wasn't mentally prepared, and we hadn't had time to get our stories straight. I stepped back from the window, trying to hide deeper inside the room. Quietly. Without being noticed.
But then—
"Leon!!!"
"......!"
"There you are!"
Our eyes met instantly. Serina had spotted me through the window. Of all the possible moments, it had to be right as I was pulling back the curtain and retreating.
I froze on the spot.
'Ah, fuck.'
'Why did our eyes have to meet right now?'
I'd completely missed my chance to run. I forced an awkward smile.
"Ah... haha... You've arrived, noona."
I raised my hand in a clumsy greeting. Even from a distance, I could see Serina's face brighten with joy—only for it to twist into something fierce the next moment. A face caught between delight and fury.
Serina led her knight order and quickly approached the inn.
"Sigh..."
With no other choice, I left the room and waited for her in front of the inn. Serina dismounted and strode toward me with purpose. She looked me up and down.
"You little brat!"
She immediately started scolding me.
"Where the hell have you been and what have you been doing?!"
"Noona, that's—"
"It's been a whole week! The palace has been turned upside down! Do you have any idea how worried I've been?!"
"......"
"A search warrant was issued across the entire empire! Every single knight order was mobilized to look for you! I didn't sleep for three days straight on horseback!"
Though she sounded furious on the surface, her voice was thick with concern at the end. The voice of an older sister who'd been sick with worry over her missing little brother.
"...I'm sorry, noona. There were some circumstances—"
"Circumstances? What circumstances! You vanished without a trace during an inspection—"
Serina paused mid-sentence as she took in my appearance. My ragged clothes. My disheveled hair. The clear signs of several days of hardship. I'd bought clothes for Era yesterday but hadn't even thought about changing my own.
"...And what is this state you're in?"
Serina's brows furrowed deeply.
"A prince looking like some beggar? What happened to those expensive clothes of yours?"
"Th-this is a bit of a complicated story..."
I broke out in a cold sweat. I couldn't possibly tell her that my clothes had been ruined in the frontier and that I was wearing the rags Era had made for me.
But then Serina glanced past me—toward the room.
She started walking in that direction.
"What were you doing in there? Packing your things?"
"N-no! There's nothing inside!"
I hurriedly blocked the doorway.
"...?"
Serina stopped, looking puzzled.
"I-It's just an empty room! There's nothing to see! Let's just head straight to the palace!"
But the more I tried to block her, the more suspicious she became. Her eyes narrowed.
"...Why are you acting like this? Are you hiding something?"
"N-no! There's nothing! Really!"
"...This is suspicious."
"It's not suspicious! What would even be suspicious—!"
Serina took another step closer.
"Move aside."
"Noona, just a moment—"
"I said move."
"There's really nothing—"
"Leon."
Serina's voice dropped slightly.
"Move."
She shoved me aside. She was an imperial princess, after all. Someone who'd trained with the sword since childhood. After days of starving and getting beaten, my body was weak. I was pushed away without resistance.
And then.
Serina looked into the room.
"...Huh?"
On the bed inside, Era was sleeping soundly. Peacefully. With a bit of drool at the corner of her mouth.
"Mmmnya... Leon... kill... more..."
She was even sleep-talking. Serina froze completely.
"......"
I stiffened as well.
'Ah, I'm screwed.'
Serina slowly turned to look at me. Her expression had grown strangely dark.
"...Leon."
"...Yes."
"...Who is this child?"
Her voice was icy. An unfamiliar girl sleeping peacefully in her younger brother's room. Sleep-talking his name, no less. It wasn't hard to guess what an imperial princess would think in this situation.
I broke out in another cold sweat and opened my mouth.
"...Well, you see."
How was I supposed to explain this? Fiancée? ...That was what I'd already told the Maryeokche, so at least it would be consistent. My brain spun rapidly.
"...It's, um, well—"
"Greetings, Your Highness the Princess."
At that moment, Jork appeared silently. I had no idea when he'd arrived. He approached from the inn entrance without making a sound and bowed respectfully to Serina.
"It has been a while, Your Highness."
"...Sir Jork?"
Serina recognized him immediately.
"Why is the Maryeokche here?"
"We are escorting His Highness the Prince. We are carrying out His Majesty's orders to safely deliver him to the capital."
Jork answered calmly. Then he added,
"And this person here..."
He gestured toward Era, who was still sleeping in the room.
"...is His Highness's fiancée."
"......!"
Jork went even further.
"I understand that this outing was also voluntary—His Highness left the palace specifically to meet her."
The lie I'd told the Maryeokche had now become their official report, delivered straight to Serina. The story that the prince had declared a commoner girl to be his fiancée and had voluntarily left the palace to meet her. The lie I'd created was snowballing out of control.
"...What?"
Serina muttered blankly. I waved my hands frantically.
"No, wait. Just a second. Noona, that's—"
"Engagement? Voluntary outing?"
Serina looked back and forth between me and Era. The commoner girl sleep-talking in the room and her brother who looked like a beggar.
"That... that commoner-like girl? Is your fiancée?"
"......"
"You? Voluntarily? Left the palace?"
Serina's voice grew louder and louder.
"What??????"
Finally, a scream-like cry burst out of her. The villagers watching from a distance began murmuring even more loudly.
While Serina stood there stunned with shock, Era continued sleeping without a care in the world.
"Mmmnya... Leon... together... laundry..."
Even in the middle of this chaos. I looked at her and let out a sigh.
'Kid, how can you sleep through this?'
But come to think of it... this was actually more dangerous. If Era stayed asleep, I'd have to handle all the explanations alone. And there was no telling what nonsense she might blurt out if she suddenly woke up. Something like "We slept together," just like she'd done at the clothing store yesterday. It would be better to wake her now and get our stories straight in advance.
"...Alright."
Avoiding Serina's gaze, I stepped back into the room and shook Era.
"Hey."
"Mmmnya..."
"Hey, wake up."
"Uuuung..."
Era rolled over and burrowed deeper into the blankets.
"Hey, wake up! This is serious!"
"...Uuuung... Five more minutes..."
"There are no five minutes! Hurry up!"
When I started shaking her shoulder vigorously, Era finally stirred and opened her eyes blearily.
"...Huh? Leon? Is it morning already?"
She rubbed her sleepy eyes and asked in a daze.
"...It's morning, but first, get your head straight."
"...Yes?"
Era tilted her head with still-sleepy eyes and slowly sat up. That's when she noticed the elegantly dressed woman standing at the doorway, staring straight down at her. A dignified woman accompanied by a knight order in silver armor.
"...Huh?"
Only then did Era register the gaze.
"...Wh-who are you?"
She asked in a small voice. The sleepiness had vanished from her face in an instant. I sighed and answered for her.
"...My older sister. She's an imperial princess."
"......What???"
Era jolted fully awake.
"Ah... ah...!!!!"
She shot upright and frantically tried to fix her clothes, but having just woken up, her hair was a wild mess and her clothes were hopelessly wrinkled.
"Hmm..."
Serina slowly examined Era. Her messy black hair. Her wrinkled clothes. Her disheveled, just-woken appearance. To anyone looking, she was clearly a commoner from the frontier, far removed from the imperial palace.
But then.
Serina's eyes suddenly wavered strangely.
"......"
She stared intently at Era's face. With a slightly puzzled expression.
"...Where have I..."
"...?"
"...You. I feel like I've seen you somewhere before."
"......"
Era looked at me with a completely confused face, then back at Serina.
"...M-me? No, I've never met Your Highness before..."
Era answered hesitantly. But Serina couldn't seem to tear her eyes away from Era's face for a long time. Her brows were furrowed, as if she were trying to recall something.
Black hair. Black eyes. And facial features that somehow felt familiar.
"...I'm certain. Somewhere—"
Watching this, I felt a sense of confusion inside.
'Does noona know Era?'
Era was just a commoner from a remote village in the frontier. There was no way she could have any connection to an imperial princess. In the original story, Era hadn't even existed as a character.
Yet noona was clearly feeling some sense of familiarity upon seeing her. Like running into someone you'd briefly crossed paths with long ago.
But Serina soon shook her head.
"...No. It must be my imagination."
Then her eyes sharpened once more.
"...She's rather pretty, but it's a common enough face for a commoner. I've never seen her before."
Serina seemed to conclude that for herself and moved on. But that brief moment of unease didn't seem to fade easily.
Watching the scene, I felt an inexplicable sense of discomfort.
'What was that just now?'
It was a strange feeling I couldn't quite explain. As if the end of some invisible thread had brushed past us for just a moment.
"Ah...!"
But this wasn't the time to dwell on it. The urgent matter was figuring out how to deal with the imperial princess standing right in front of us.
Serina crossed her arms and looked back and forth between me and Era.
"...Alright. For now."
She let out a deep sigh.
"This isn't the place for a long discussion. I'll hear the full story once we're back at the palace. In front of His Majesty."
"...Noona."
"You. You'd better prepare yourself to explain this engagement business thoroughly. I have no idea how His Majesty will react to a commoner fiancée."
Serina glanced at Era once more.
"...And you."
"Y-yes!"
Era snapped to attention with a start.
"I don't know how you've managed to stick yourself to my little brother's side, but..."
Serina's gaze grew sharp.
"The imperial palace is not a forgiving place. You'd do well to steel yourself."
"......"
Era swallowed hard. Watching her, I remembered what I'd told her yesterday.
"The imperial palace is not a forgiving place."
Noona was saying the exact same thing.
"...Alright. We're departing. Everyone, prepare."
Serina turned and gave the order. The knight order began moving with perfect coordination. The Maryeokche agents joined them as well. The group escorting us had now doubled in size with the addition of the princess's knights.
The window for escape felt like it was narrowing more and more.
Just before we finished preparing and got back into the carriage, Era stuck close to my side and whispered quietly.
"...Leon. That person. She's really scary."
"...Noona? She's always been like that."
"...Do you think I'll be able to handle this?"
Era's voice trembled slightly. The girl who'd been giggling excitedly over her new clothes just yesterday was now completely intimidated by the princess's dignity.
I looked at her and said,
"Hey."
"...Yes."
"What did I tell you?"
"...?"
"I said I'd stay by your side."
Era looked up at me.
"...Nothing will change even when we get to the palace. I'll be right next to you, so don't get too scared."
"......"
"Just watch your mouth. Don't say any of that nonsense like yesterday."
"...Hehe. Okay."
Only then did Era manage a small smile.
But right as we were about to board the carriage, I noticed Serina in the distance, staring intently at Era's back once again. She still wore that slightly puzzled expression. Like someone trying to grasp at a memory that was just out of reach.
'......'
That gaze bothered me for some reason, but I tried my best to ignore it.
And with the carriage door closing, surrounded by the escort of the princess's knight order and the Maryeokche, the carriage began rolling once more. Heading toward the imperial capital.
Toward the imperial palace—the true checkpoint that awaited us.