The Lady Wants To Rest - Chapter 6

“I’m the Roxanne Grand Ducal family’s First Princess. Holding me in contempt is equivalent to holding the Grand Duke of Roxanne, his Royal Highness, in contempt. It seems you have at least five lives.”

The maids blanched.

It was because there was nothing incorrect about what I had said.

No matter how strong the stepmother who stands behind them is, how dare a mere maid affront a princess? To tell the truth, it was a crime that would result in death.

“W, we have never disdained your Highness, the princess….”

The pain of her cheek long forgotten, the head maid fumbled over her words.

“Really?”

I tilted my head a little to the side and looked straight at her. When the maid met my scarlet gaze, she froze like a mouse who had seen a snake.

“Is that so?”

The head maid gulped nervously. Confusion, shock, and fear welled up in her eyes.

At last, the maid lowered her gaze.

“I, I apologize.”

I decided to stop when I heard the apology.

In order to prevent similar situations from occurring, I thought it was necessary to give a firmer warning, but that was too tedious. And I was hungry.

“Bring out the food.”

“…Yes.”

The maids’ polite manner couldn’t even begin to compare with their attitude from before.

The kitchen was bustling as the servants prepared food, and soon enough a savory meal was brought out to the dining hall.

A cold hors d’oeuvre, soup with shrimp, fish, a main course of medium-rare steak, a refreshing sorbet, and a sweet dessert accompanied with the Bordeaux wine that I had mentioned.

It was a full course meal fit for an honorable personage.

As I cut my steak, I thought to myself.

‘This won’t  do. I need to find a way.’

Though I had reprimanded the head maid as an example, the number of people who scorned Princess Rubia would not have been a mere one or two. It had to be the entire castle.

As I chewed my meat, I thought of a million ways to overcome this situation.

‘Which life was it? Was it the 7th, or 14th, maybe the 33rd?’

This was not the first instance.

Every time I was reincarnated, I would either earn favor through charity, possess cutthroat authority, or conspire the fall of my enemies, each of which was a potential means of resolving the situation at hand.

These were all possible solutions. To be honest, Rubia’s stepmother… wasn’t a very difficult villianess to bring down.

However as I laboriously sifted through my options, I quickly became bored.

‘So tedious.’

***

No matter the method, each required a certain amount of effort. I found it annoying to even lift a finger, so where would the effort come from?

Also, if through that effort, they all came to not abhor me, but instead stand by my side? Then would I still be able to live the life of a couch potato that I so desired? Definitely not.

‘In the end, the fate of a princess is but one. I’ll probably be sold into an arranged marriage.’

My marriage had already long been decided. In other words, Princess Rubia already had a fiance.

‘Hmm, how troublesome.’

I frowned as the forgotten fiance came to mind.

Unexpectedly, Rubia’s fiance was a rather virtuous figure. No, it wasn’t just to the point of virtuosity. From all the men on the continent, he was considered the best candidate for a son-in-law.

‘The West Empire’s Fourth Prince. He has no right to the throne, but he has amassed more than enough popularity and capability to even threaten the Crown Prince. In reality, it is unknown whether the Crown Prince or the Fourth Prince will inherit the throne.’

After I thought up to this point, I had on a bitter expression.

If I was to marry a figure with an exceptional background like the Fourth Prince, this life would be ruined. Even in this uncertainty, I knew for certain that I had to avoid this marriage.

After I chewed my last portion of steak, I stood up and downed the rest of the wine in my glass.

“Your Highness?”

The head maid approached me carefully. I looked at her swollen cheek and spoke.