Chapter 33
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Dice Game with the Princess
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Before long, the maids arrived pushing a trolley.
"Your Highness the Princess, we've brought your meal."
Philomel wondered why they were still calling her Princess. The news of the fake princess had spread across the entire country; there was no way it hadn't reached the imperial palace.
"We'll set up a small table so you can eat from your bed."
"I'm not so unwell that I can't eat at the table."
"Please reconsider. Your Highness must rest absolutely right now."
It was blatant patient treatment. And every dish laid out was nutritious fare.
"We'll take our leave so Your Highness can rest comfortably. Please call us anytime if you need anything."
With no chance to pry for information, the maids finished their duties and left the room.
She had no desire to incur unnecessary debts, especially after declaring just moments ago that she would leave the palace and all.
Gurgle.
But her stomach had other ideas.
Thinking back, she hadn't eaten anything since a piece of bread and a few spoonfuls of soup at the restaurant the night before last. She had been fasting ever since.
Having poured out everything she wanted to say, her stomach felt refreshingly clear for once, and her appetite returned.
Whatever. I'll fill my belly first and think later.
Philomel picked up a fork.
Once she finished eating, the chief attendant arrived with medicine. He carried the fruit of the World Tree, which Philomel knew well.
"I'm not even a patient..."
Her fainting spell had come from accumulated fatigue—sleepless nights on uncomfortable beds, topped off by a shock. There was nothing wrong with her body.
But the chief attendant clearly thought otherwise.
"You are a patient. Your face has become half its size. Goodness, you were already so slender, and now you're just bones."
She had lost some weight during her fugitive life, but that was a blatant exaggeration.
"It's a miracle you're walking around at all."
To the chief attendant, Philomel must have looked like a critical patient who could collapse at any moment.
Under his gaze brimming with concern, she ended up taking the medicine and even sipping the after-meal tea that followed. Her body relaxed completely as a result.
A body that had lived her whole life as a noble princess screamed in delight at the comfort after just a few days of rough bedding and tasteless food.
Human hearts are fickle; with her hunger sated, she now craved a bath and clean clothes.
Philomel glanced down at the dress she was wearing. She hadn't changed in days, and it was filthy from rolling on the detention cell floor.
Only now did she check the bed she had crushed under that dress out of worry. The bedsheets and blankets were hopelessly stained black.
"...This was expensive."
It was the one-of-a-kind bedding that elvenkind had spent years crafting for the empire's emperor. The Belleroph Empire's founding myth was exquisitely embroidered on the quilt. Rumor had it that the elven queen herself had blessed it, making it priceless.
She rubbed at it worriedly with the cleanest part of her sleeve, but the stain only spread further.
...The face of Belleron, child of the sun god and founding emperor, was now blotchy.
"Whatever! It's not like I lay down because I wanted to."
Philomel gave up on the pointless effort and lay back down.
...Surely they won't execute me over something like this?
She shook her head and turned her thoughts to what came next.
For now, not dying was a huge relief. Execution was out of the question, but staying here indefinitely...
Bang!
At that moment, the door flew open without a knock, slamming against the wall with a loud thud.
"Daddy! I'm here!"
Beautiful golden hair swayed. It was Ellensia.
"Let's finish that dice game we didn't get to last time!"
Philomel and Ellensia's eyes met.
"Uh..."
"......"
Ellensia's eyes widened like a rabbit's as she strode forward.
"Oh my gosh! Philomel, right? When did you get here?"
"...This morning. Long time no see, Princess Ellensia."
Philomel replied politely to Ellensia.
Now that her identity as the fake princess had been revealed, this was appropriate.
"That's great! I was so worried when I heard you were missing."
Ellensia approached Philomel, smiling as brightly as if reuniting with a long-lost friend.
It might be natural for the kind Ellensia, but it felt awkward to Philomel.
"Thank you. For worrying about me like that."
Philomel suddenly felt embarrassed by her disheveled state.
Her clothes were dirty, her hair a mess. She hadn't even noticed in front of Justis, but somehow, she wanted to appear presentable to Ellensia.
Perhaps because it was the complete opposite of their last encounter, when she had met the country girl as a princess.
"Are you staying for good now?"
"Not exactly..."
As Philomel trailed off, Ellensia didn't press and looked around instead.
"But where's Daddy?"
"Beats me. Seemed like he went somewhere."
Philomel wanted to ask the same. How was she supposed to explain the current situation, where the master of the room had vanished and she had taken it over?
"What's that?"
Philomel pointed to the item in Ellensia's hands to change the subject.
She saw a paper board and box.
"Oh, this? Perfect timing! Philomel, want to play dice with me?"
Pulled by Ellensia's hand, Philomel sat at the table in one corner of the room. It was the same table she and Justis sometimes used for tea time.
"Have you ever played dice?"
Ellensia spread the board on the table and took out dice and small game pieces from the box.
"Not really, but I know the gist."
She had watched maids play it a few times out of boredom.
You rolled the dice and moved your piece forward by the number shown.
Each square on the board had instructions that raised or lowered your piece's status. Everyone started as serfs, and the first to reach emperor won.
"It was a game I loved playing back home. A maid brought it here when she saw me bored. Now Daddy or Nanny plays with me."
"Nanny?"
"She was my mother's nanny too! I heard Philomel grew up with her as well."
That was one more reason to leave the palace.
"Last time I played with Daddy, he had to leave for urgent business. So I came today to..."
"He'll be back soon."
Philomel offered a casual consolation to the crestfallen Ellensia.
Even though it was a scene from the novel, she couldn't picture the emperor playing a commoner's game. It was amusing to think of the real emperor aiming to become emperor in a game.
Best case, you maintain your status; worst case, you fall in rank.
In any event, the two began playing.
Philomel had no idea how she ended up playing dice with Ellensia in the palace. She could only chalk it up to getting swept up in the girl's innocent enthusiasm.
But the new game was surprisingly fun, so she wasn't in a bad mood.
I always wanted to join when the maids played.
She had pretended disinterest, but deep down, she had wanted to play along.
The two took turns rolling the dice, advancing their pieces neck and neck. It was a close match.
The square Philomel's piece landed on read, You enter the palace as a maid.
She had switched from merchant to maid. Maids were a respectable mid-to-upper class, reserved for nobles of verified lineage.
"Philomel, you're becoming a maid?"
"Yes, that's what it says. Your turn, Princess."
"Not in the game—for real. Want to be my maid?"
Philomel looked up from her piece at Ellensia.
"I don't know anything yet, so I'd love for knowledgeable Philomel to teach me. And I'm worried about you. You've lived in the palace your whole life—what will you do now with nowhere to go? Be my maid and stay here with me. Okay?"
Her innocent face left Philomel speechless.
"...Thank you for your consideration of my situation. But I'll have to decline. I have no intention of staying in the palace."
Philomel struggled to sound composed.
Becoming Ellensia's maid sent chills down her spine.
It wasn't about hating maid work or wounded pride. It was because becoming Ellensia's maid was exactly how the plot of Princess Ellensia unfolded.
Once Ellensia appeared and the fake was exposed, 'Philomel' faced punishment for impersonating a princess.
But Ellensia pitied her and pleaded with the emperor for mercy, even going so far as to make the would-be exile her personal maid. Of course, the resentful 'Philomel' repaid that kindness with enmity.
Was there no escaping her fated path, no matter how she struggled? Was she doomed to become Ellensia's maid against her will?
A chill of fear spread through her chest.
"Really? You can't just stay here? I'll be good to you."
"I'll gratefully accept your kind intentions, Princess."
"...Tch, fine. Too bad."
Ellensia didn't press further and rolled the dice Philomel handed her.
The clattering of the dice rolling across the board echoed strangely loudly.