CATB Chapter 28

A dazzling golden room fills my vision.

'Money was thrown at this place.'

I inwardly clicked my tongue as I walked down the room's long corridor. Looking at the gorgeous decorations hanging here and there, I realized just how luxurious the king's personality was. Usually middle-aged men don't go for this level of lavish interior design... This isn't even the Sun King Louis...

'If there was money for this, couldn't he have at least changed Alexa's room?'

I recalled the gloomy gray room at the Conetti estate. Thinking of that place, which resembled a hikikomori training facility, the father's luxurious office, who had neglected his daughter to such an extent, didn't look very appealing.

I tried to hide my cold expression as I entered the office. Except for official events, I actually hadn't had many opportunities to see the king, and this was my first time entering his office.

In other words, this would be the first situation where I, having become Alexa, would face the king's damn orders disguised as requests. I had expected he'd order me to do something again from the moment he persistently kept calling me.

Since I had broken off the engagement, Berford was no longer a card the king could offer, so what would it be this time?

Or maybe, just maybe, could he actually be worried about Alexa?

Actually, based on the king's behavior up to now, I don't think that's likely at all—no, not at all—but in any case, I didn't want to eliminate faint possibilities with preconceptions.

As I entered the center of the room, the king, discovering me, brightened and approached me.

"Oh, Alexa!"

"Your Majesty."

He was the king who invariably spread his arms wide, showing fervent welcome. When I slightly dodged to the side and curtsied in greeting, I saw him awkwardly lower his arms again with an embarrassed expression. I didn't feel sorry at all.

"I greet Princess Alexa."

"I greet the princess."

At the continuous greetings, I turned my head. Two middle-aged men in luxurious attire had stood up and approached to greet me. I could see simple refreshments set out on the high-quality velvet chairs and table near where they had been sitting. The pretty teapot seemed to have already cooled, which meant they had been here for quite some time.

They knew I was coming but were still occupying the space?

Originally, audiences between royalty and the king were conducted one-on-one unless there were serious problems. Even if one brought companions, it was customary to ask permission from the other party first. I hadn't expected the king to observe such basic courtesy toward me, but just because I didn't expect it didn't mean I wouldn't feel annoyed.

"Duke Manuela."

The pale blonde hair and gray eyes reminded me of the small boy I had kindly crushed in the forest not long ago.

"You recognize me."

"How could I not know the kingdom's loyal subject? But the gentleman beside you is..."

"Ah, this is Count Abigail. He came to the palace together with me to have an audience with His Majesty."

"I am Gerard Abigail. Today is the first time I'm directly meeting the famous Princess Alexa."

The greasy-looking thick brown hair and flickering blue eyes weren't very welcome.

"Pleased to meet you, Count Abigail."

I nodded formally and immediately turned my gaze to the king. The fact that the duke was the king's right hand was already known, and judging by the fact that this count could also enter the king's private office, he was probably one of the key figures of the royalist faction.

You brought two more allies?

How amusing.

I didn't erase the automatic smile that appeared on my lips as I sharply surveyed the surroundings with my eyes. Fortunately, there was no one else here besides these people. There were guards and attendants, but they were waiting outside the office. Whether because he was planning many questionable things or because the king himself didn't like having people hidden around him, he had installed a bell to call them when needed, according to what Jen had told me. Jen had already befriended all the employees stationed in the palace with her characteristic friendliness and seemed to chat about this and that, and such small stories became quite useful information for me.

Since the entrance and interior of the office were connected by a long corridor anyway, sounds from inside the room would be adequately muffled unless he rang the bell. Even if they were heard, I estimated that unless it was quite serious, they wouldn't dare burst through the door and interrupt the conversation between the king and me.

In any case, so it's just me and these three people here. I smiled satisfactorily.

Isn't a secret play more valuable the fewer people there are?

The king, who had been waiting for me to speak first, finally broke the ice.

"Are you feeling better? Since you said you absolutely couldn't come to see me, I was worried that you might have lingering aftereffects from dealing with the monsters last time."

Ooh, that's a lie.

Then you should have come to see me quickly, instead of always being late with everything. Who would believe your words?

To match his worried expression, I tried to smile as weakly as possible. I had no idea how to make such an expression, but smiling faintly was the best I could do.

"Yes, I seem to have pushed myself a bit too hard from this incident. This wasn't an ordinary matter, was it? Actually, having to suddenly deal with dozens of monsters, it wouldn't make sense for my body to be perfectly fine."

As I trailed off my words and immediately brought up the hunting competition, the king and duke exchanged uncomfortable glances.

"That... yes. Thanks to Alexa, we survived."

He never says thank you to the end. Though I hadn't dealt with the monsters expecting rewards or for any special purpose, I found the king somewhat irritating.

"Oh my, thanks to me? Actually, if the grand duke hadn't helped, I would have been in real trouble too. Even though I'm a beast, it would have been impossible to completely annihilate the monsters when most of the royal knights were absent."

So I'm talking about you bastards taking all the sword-wielding punks to save your own skins. Understand?

"Of course, it must have been a decision Your ever wise Majesty made out of trust in me, choosing to preserve the royal lineage by leaving everything to me."

"...Yes. This time the grand duke was of great help. I should summon the grand duke sometime... to commend his service."

The king answered with a face like he'd eaten shit. The emphasis on "commend" showed how much he disliked having to do so. Worried that bringing up the grand duke's story again might further increase his wariness toward him, I decided to stop Belkellion's story here.

"But if Your Majesty's sacred body is in good health, what could be the problem? Pellipe exists because Your Majesty is here. You were very wise even in the emergency situation. It was the right judgment befitting Pellipe's sovereign."

Since Alexa wasn't originally the type to run her mouth, the king slightly raised his eyebrows at my smooth praise, but soon stretched his lips in satisfaction at my continued compliments. Actually, he too had been receiving nagging and attacks from the duke and other nobles about fleeing from the hunting competition, so my praise was very welcome to him.

"Haha! Truly my daughter. To understand father's heart so well—I'm truly a blessed father. Don't you think so, Duke?"

The duke nodded bewilderedly.

"Yes, as you said, I was thinking of the best method for all circumstances when conditions weren't favorable. The number of monsters was rapidly increasing, and weren't the royalty in attendance there? So I had to make unavoidable sacrifices for the greater good..."

The long story that followed was the king's kind explanation of how he could so quickly and efficiently choose the option of escape.

Shit, just say you got scared and ran away instead of making such a long excuse.

Feeling my already short patience growing even shorter, I thought I should quickly change the subject.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me for not immediately answering Your Majesty's summons. My body still hasn't completely recovered, so I simply couldn't move. But since the chief secretary said Your Majesty wished to see me about a very important matter, this unworthy girl dragged her body here to see you."

The king, who had been passionately absorbed in his own story, seemed uncertain whether I was speaking sincerely or mocking him for persistently summoning me. I smiled brightly at the king. He hesitated. I was trying to soften my tone, so it felt like mice would leap out of my mouth*, but what could I do—at least it was necessary right now, so it couldn't be helped. If needed, I was someone who could bend like the tongue in anyone's mouth.

"Uh... yes... you must have had a hard time. Thanks to you, I really caught my breath. Father is truly proud of you beyond words. Really..."

The king's subsequent babbling skills were impressive (shit, there's no end to it). He praised me without the slightest sense of discomfort. Someone who didn't know would have thought he was a tremendously affectionate father.

Instead of answering, I slightly curtsied to receive the king's praise.

"The reason I called you here is none other than..."

Now comes the main point. About forty minutes after entering the room, the king finally ended his long pretense and revealed his true colors.

"Monster hordes have appeared again in the western border region. As you've experienced firsthand, the monsters are extremely vicious and wicked, so the damage there is considerable. We've continued sending subjugation forces, but they've all failed. The lords are raising hell demanding we send support quickly, but here they're all just passing it off to each other. It's such a headache I could die."

What does that have to do with me?

When I looked at the king without any change in expression despite his words, the king was momentarily flustered, then immediately approached me.

"Alexa, as always..."

The king cut off his words and instantly gripped my hand tightly. I tried not to shake off the snake-like coldness transmitted through his fingertips.

"Now there's only you. Who else can I trust? Ariel is weak and Wilhelm is too young. Really, there's only you, Alexa. You are Pellipe's hope."

"......"

How ridiculous.

This old man seems like he's sold some okjangpan** somewhere before with that smooth talking.

I tried to swallow my sneer as I stared at the king's face.

Alexa must have fallen for the king's honeyed words like this.

Though she was obsessed with Berford, the reasons for that obsession likely included how her upbringing left her desperately starved for human affection. No wonder, since all her family members lived separately from her and she spent all day alone in that gloomy mansion.

How could she refuse a father who occasionally summoned her like rain in a drought and spoke such sweet words? With this, I was certain that Berford wasn't the only publicly known reason why Alexa roamed around battles carrying out the king's orders. The king's confident face, as if certain she would never refuse his words, told me so. He already looked like I had accepted his words without even mentioning Berford yet. I wanted to punch that smug face.

"......"

"Alexa?"

Seeing me maintain silence, the king's handsome face stiffened slightly.

'She should be responding by now,' his expression seemed to say.

"Ah! Captain Berford will naturally accompany you. This time it seems like it'll be a longer subjugation than expected, so you'll be able to stay with him continuously for a month or two."

"......"

"Hmm? Alexa?"

"......"

"Couldn't you hear me? Oh dear, you must be very tired. Well then, I've said everything I had to say, so you may go now."

I haven't answered yet?

I was almost amused by the king's behavior of just making his usual notification and trying to dismiss me. Alexa, just how much of a pushover were you?

"Your Majesty."

"Hmm? Alexa, I told you to call me father. How disappointing."

"Aren't Marquess Harman and I already in a broken engagement?"

At my words breaking the silence, the king froze. He was also flustered since I had never contradicted his words like this before. The annulment documents between Berford and me had been signed by both sides relatively quickly and were being kept in the royal palace. In other words, it had already become a documented fact. But the king didn't seem to think so.

"Ah! Don't worry! If you two spend more time together, the marquess will soon change his mind. Of course, absolutely. Haven't you become unrecognizably beautiful? I don't know how worried I was about you. For the magic to be broken like this and your magical power to remain the same—it's Demeter's blessing. Really."

"...What about sister Ariel? The two of them are..."

"Now, now, don't worry! You just need to trust father. Didn't I personally arrange your engagement?"

The king cut off my words and spoke confidently. Perhaps because I had contradicted his words for the first time, he didn't hide his discomfort.

Wow, I really hate being interrupted.

"Well then, don't worry and go ahead. Your face looks dark—is it because you're not feeling well?"

No, I'm hitting maximum condition right now.

I found the king's behavior of instilling false hope that Berford would surely end up with her pathetic. He blocked only Alexa's eyes and ears from the publicly known facts that everyone else knew.

It's not like he's playing with a child, what is this?

"Your Majesty, I'm truly sorry, but..."

"Yes?"

I waited until the king, and the duke and count in the room who were still watching us, turned their attention entirely to me.

"...It's impossible."

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

His tone suggested he never thought I was referring to his request from just before.

"From now on, I will not obey Your Majesty's commands. No, I cannot obey them."

Translator Note:

*
Korean idiom meaning speaking so sweetly and gently that it feels unnatural or disgusting to the speaker—like the sickeningly sweet words would disgustingly manifest as mice.

**
Okjangpan (옥장판) were Korean jade mats/mattresses sold door-to-door with exaggerated health claims, typically targeting seniors through deceptive sales tactics. Like snake oil salesmen.