I Went on a Date!
The next day.
“Ugh… what a terrible morning….”
Liana must have woken up first, because I was the only one left in the bed.
Grumbling and groaning, I crawled out from under the covers, put on my clothes piece by piece, and stepped out of the room. There was Liana standing guard right in front of the door.
“Good morning, Your Highness!”
She was smiling brightly, as if something wonderful had happened.
I, on the other hand, was not smiling.
“This is not a good morning for me!”
My head kept screaming that if I didn’t want my neck chopped off by a guillotine, I had no choice but to work… but my heart was crying out for freedom.
Perhaps it was because of my dead-eyed, shit-eating expression and lifeless movements, but Liana made a suggestion.
“Your Highness, shall we take a short walk?”
“What nonsense are you spouting? If I’m not there, who’s going to do the work?”
“We can do the work after the walk! Come this way!”
Despite saying “this way,” Liana grabbed my wrist without hesitation and dragged me straight back into my bedroom.
“Please sit here.”
She sat me down on the bed and immediately began rummaging through my wardrobe.
“…What are you doing?”
“What do you mean, what am I doing? I’m picking out clothes for Your Highness to wear!”
No, seriously, why?
I could just go out in what I’m already wearing.
Figuring she must have her own reasons, I quietly watched as my wardrobe was turned upside down in real time.
“No… Your Highness needs to wear something cuter.”
“It’s just a walk! Why on earth would I need to wear something cute?!”
The floor was already piled high with clothes.
I’d heard from Calian that every single one of them was ridiculously expensive.
Watching her toss them around so carelessly, I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.
Out of that mountain of garments, the one she finally chose was—
“This is exactly what I was looking for!”
Liana held up a pure white dress with a satisfied nod.
Still wearing that meaningful little smile, she took one step toward me, then another.
She was clearly planning to dress me herself.
I stared at her and immediately began backing away.
“I-I can dress myself! Just leave the clothes and go stand guard…!”
“Hehe… Don’t resist~”
“Uwaaa! No! I said I’ll dress myself!”
There was no way a ten-year-old body could overpower an adult.
In the end, I was completely helpless against Liana.
***
“Liana is a bad vassal who doesn’t even listen to me….”
Just thinking about my parents made tears well up on their own.
As I wiped them away and sniffled, Liana looked visibly flustered.
“Ahh! Your Highness! Please don’t cry—look at the mirror! Look in the mirror!”
She struggled to carry over a full-length mirror and set it in front of me.
A pure white dress, a straw hat woven stitch by stitch by hand, and my chubby little figure that somehow made the whole outfit even more adorable.
The combination created an absurdly powerful synergy that screamed “protect me.”
“…I’m cute. I am the cutest being in the entire world!”
“That’s right! Your Highness is the cutest in the world!”
After changing my clothes, Liana changed hers as well.
She was no longer the knight and vassal Liana—she was simply a beautiful girl.
That was who stood before me now.
“Your Highness, now that you’re perfectly dressed, I think we’re ready to go.”
“But the ministers are waiting outside…”
Liana gently pressed a finger to my small lips.
“I have a plan, so don’t worry too much.”
I strained my ears toward the noise outside and caught snippets of conversation.
‘Have you seen the Regent today? She’s not in the office.’
‘Then she must still be in dreamland. She’s still growing, after all.’
‘…Should we have the maids wake the Regent?’
‘You know entering the imperial family’s bedchamber without permission is a grave offense unless you’re one of her personal vassals. We can only wait….’
In short, they were saying, “Let’s camp out here until the Regent wakes up!”
Obviously, the moment I opened the door they’d kidnap me and drag me straight to work.
Just thinking about it gave me goosebumps.
I swallowed dryly.
“Liana, it sounds like the ministers are waiting right outside. Do you really have a good plan…?”
The only answer I received was a smile.
After flashing me that grin, Liana scooped me up in her arms.
“E-eek?!”
“Shh. When I count to three, open the door, okay?”
Something about her serious demeanor made me decide to trust her.
And so the countdown began.
“One… two… three! Now!”
—Bang!
The moment the door flew open, every minister’s gaze snapped toward us.
“Ah! Your Majesty the Regent! Where are you going?!”
“Even if it costs us our lives, we must stop her!”
“Your Majesty! There are mountains of overdue documents waiting in the office!”
Right now, Liana was carrying me in a princess hold.
And she was clearly in a running stance.
The ministers quickly filled the hallway to prevent her from dashing off.
Liana sneered at them.
“Her Highness is exhausted from work and simply wishes to take a short walk. If you dare block her path, I cannot guarantee what His Majesty will do to you once he finds out.”
“Ugh…! No matter how much of a doting father he is, even he would scold us in this situation!”
“You clearly don’t know His Majesty at all.”
With those final words, Liana leaped high over the ministers’ heads.
As they stood there stunned, she stuck her tongue out at them.
“His Majesty would have told us to go play right away!”
“I really, really don’t want to work right now! Loyal ministers, handle everything for today!”
“Ahh! Your Majesty the Regent! Sir Liana!”
After landing perfectly, Liana shouted,
“We’ll be back before sunset, so don’t worry!”
Then she took off at full speed while still holding me.
She ran so fast it felt like we were speeding down a highway.
The occasional shocked faces of ministers we passed were just a bonus.
“Huh? Your Majesty the Regent! Where are you—”
Liana was simply too fast. Before the minister could even finish his sentence, we had already disappeared into the distance.
.
.
.
After hastily escaping the palace, Liana gently set me down.
“How was it, Your Highness?”
How was it…?
The answer was obvious.
“It was incredibly fun!”
That rush, that thrill.
It was so addictive I’d never forget it for the rest of my life.
If my body were a bit bigger, I would’ve asked her to teach me how to run like that.
Despite running so hard, Liana’s hair was only slightly tousled and she wasn’t even sweating. She still looked perfectly fresh.
“I ran so much that I’m hungry now. Shall we get something to eat?”
I hadn’t run at all, so I wasn’t particularly hungry.
But since Liana had worked so hard for my sake, I figured I should at least grant her this small favor.
“Is there something specific you want to eat?”
“I don’t really know what anything is just by looking. I’d like to try whatever Your Highness enjoys most.”
‘…….’
I fell silent at Liana’s words.
It had only been a little over a month since I’d been possessed by this novel.
I was just as clueless as she was about what kind of food existed in this world.
There was no helping it. I’d have to tell a plausible lie.
“Because I spend almost all my time inside the palace, I don’t know much about what the common people eat. Since we’re in the same boat, let’s look around together!”
Suddenly, Liana’s eyes began to water.
I hadn’t said anything particularly touching or funny.
“…Why are you crying?”
“I’m not crying! Something must have gotten in my eye!”
Tears were streaming down Liana’s face, yet for some reason a bright smile bloomed on her lips.
‘Are those tears of joy?’
I wasn’t Liana, so I had no way of knowing.
I didn’t particularly want to pry, either, so I turned around to give her a moment to wipe her tears.
“Let’s go quickly. I’m quite hungry myself.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
***
After eating with Liana, we went on what could only be described as a date disguised as a walk.
We browsed the shops lining the streets and watched street performers cast dazzling spells for their acts.
While enjoying the peaceful atmosphere of the empire alongside the citizens, a question suddenly occurred to me.
‘Wait, aren’t we currently at war? Why does everyone seem so peaceful?’
Korea was in a ceasefire too, but technically we were still at war.
And the empire should be in the middle of a bloody conflict right now, shouldn’t it?
“Liana, isn’t the empire currently at war? Yet the atmosphere doesn’t feel like a country at war at all.”
Since this might be information not everyone knew, I whispered so quietly that only she could hear.
“Most of them probably know. But can you imagine the empire losing, Your Highness?”
Indeed.
The idea of a cheat-level empire losing to a bunch of weaklings?
If that day ever came, it would surely dominate the continent’s headlines as the biggest news of the century.
“I truly cannot imagine it…”
“Right? They believe in the empire. After all, the empire has won every single battle so far.”
As we walked while talking about the empire’s future, Liana suddenly stopped.
“…….”
“What’s wrong?”
She was staring intently at a jewelry shop.
I immediately read her expression.
She was at that age where girls loved accessories, after all.
“Would you like to take a look?”
At my words, she gave a vague nod and before I knew it, we were already standing inside the jewelry shop.
There were so many accessories.
Rings, necklaces, earrings, and more.
Out of all of them, Liana’s gaze was fixed on one particular piece.
“Oh, you have a good eye, miss~ This necklace is made with a gemstone found only in the Aindel Kingdom~”
The gem decorating the necklace shimmered with shifting colors.
It changed hue every time you looked at it.
It was the kind of jewel that could enchant any woman.
“Liana, do you like this one?”
At my question, Liana frantically waved her hands.
“N-no! I was just looking because it’s pretty!”
Liar.
Her eyes were saying something completely different.
The shopkeeper was watching us with a sly, fox-like smile.
“It’s really quite rare, so it’s very difficult to obtain~ No one knows when the next shipment will arrive~”
Oho.
The classic merchant tactic.
This woman was a pro.
But who did she think she was dealing with?
I was the second most powerful person in the empire and the future ruler.
Money was something I had in abundance.
“You don’t need to butter me up. I’ll buy it. How much is this necklace?”
“Y-Your Highness Iris…!”
The moment I expressed my intent to purchase, the shopkeeper’s smile stretched so wide it looked like her mouth might split.
“The price is this much~”
I wasn’t sure if a single necklace should really cost that much, but since Liana wanted it, I’d pay without hesitation.
“I shall purchase it.”