* * *
“……And the second meaning is that you two must never fight.”
I rested my chin on my hand, gazing out the window, wearing the wide-sleeved, flowing robes of this place.
“Princess, is there something you wish to ask?”
“Oh, no.”
I knew that Ryung, who attends to me most closely, would come and ask, but I murmured aloud because it was important. Very, very important.
‘On Earth, my goal was to reconcile Ian and Dante! To keep them from fighting! But now that I’m here, my goal is to keep Dad and Father from fighting?’
Is it my fate to mediate and befriend everyone?
I sighed deeply, recalling the awkwardness between Dad and Father at breakfast this morning.
“Princess, the King has sent a chest filled with precious fabrics and coral ornaments.”
“Again? There was a gift yesterday, too.”
“It shows how much he cherishes you, Princess.”
Of course, Dad was very wealthy. He must have collected all sorts of treasures in the warehouse during his three thousand-year reign. So, it doesn’t matter if he showers me with gifts…….
“Wow, this is really pretty.”
“It suits you very well, Princess.”
Looking at the reddish earrings and necklace, I imagined wearing them to a party someday.
They weren’t suitable for a child, so I planned to save all the gifts from Dad and use them after my debutante [a formal coming-of-age celebration for young women].
‘But even if I wear new jewelry to every party, I think I have enough for at least three years.’
How am I going to take all this?
Worrying that it might be too heavy and I’d have to leave someone behind, I clapped my hands.
‘I can leave Hwairan behind!’
After all, Hwairan is from here, and he can come and go on his own without needing to board the airship!
‘Thank goodness. I wanted to take everything Dad gave me, without leaving anything behind.’
When I see my adoptive mother, I should unpack the gifts and tell her what happened here. I need to explain everything at length to Grandfather and Inanna.
Then, I wanted to hold Ian and Dante’s hands and tell them everything one by one. They would be as happy as if it were their own business.
“Oh, come on. Don’t hide and watch from there, come closer.”
While thinking about this and that, I went out into the hallway and found a delicate hand peeking out from the corner way over there.
Hiding only halfway as if telling me to look, but not able to come closer and only sending gifts. I had a feeling this would happen, so I’m glad I came out.
“Dad! I found you!”
Grasping the sleeve, Dad flinched greatly and slowly turned to me.
At first glance, his face might seem cold, but his eyes were always tearful whenever he looked at me, so he wasn’t scary at all.
Dad immediately knelt down in front of me and hesitated.
“Did you…… open the gift?”
“Yes! The coral earrings are so pretty. Thank you for the wonderful gift, Dad.”
As I answered with a bright smile, I could see that Dad was very happy. To exaggerate a bit, his complexion brightened as if sprouts were growing on his head.
“There’s still a lot to give. The treasure vault is entirely yours, but I chose only the most precious things from within.”
“Don’t tell me…… you did it yourself?”
“Yes, of course. I stayed up all night and barely managed to pick a few things, but Hwairan said that the coral ornaments would be good.”
“……All night?!”
I looked at Dad, who was explaining proudly, with dumbfounded eyes.
No, you’re old, didn’t you sleep?
“Starting today, gift-picking is forbidden for the time being.”
“……!”
“I won’t accept them even if you send them, so please sleep at night.”
As I said firmly with my arms crossed, tears welled up in Dad’s anxious eyes……. Oh, this is driving me crazy!
“Dad, no, wait. D, don’t cry! I was just worried about you!”
Drip.
Drip.
Tears streamed down his fair cheeks, which were poreless despite his age.
For me, who is weak against beautiful people, the tears of a beautiful person are like poison. I squeezed my eyes shut, trembled, and eventually hugged Dad tightly and began to soothe him.
“No, the gifts that Dad sends without sleeping are…… I’m happy, but I’d be even happier if you took care of your health first. It’s not that I’m not happy. Do you understand?”
How can he be so sensitive? How has this country been maintained for three thousand years?!
“Princess. Dad made another mistake……. I didn’t know any better. I’ll be sure to sleep at night from now on, and pick gifts during the day.”
There’s no option to not pick gifts at all…….
I nodded for now and looked behind Dad.
There, Hwairan was standing with his mouth wide open as if his jaw was about to fall off, and even through the mask, his expression seemed to say that he had seen something he shouldn’t have.
Why is he like that?
“Dad, Hwairan is here.”
But Dad pretended not to hear. He was clearly avoiding eye contact and tilting his head awkwardly!
Good heavens, is he pretending not to hear because he doesn’t want to go to work?
“Dad, you have to work! You said there are just as many people here as there are on Earth!”
“But if I go now, when will I see the Princess again…….”
“I’m here.”
Five days since finding my biological father, I was staying in the palace.
In the morning, I made Dad, Father, and Yuri face each other and have a meal together, and then I took a leisurely stroll along the cloud path behind the palace with Yuri.
Meanwhile, Father seemed to be spending time in the palace library, and Dad followed me around like a chick, until he was caught by Hwairan like now and returned to the main hall.
After finishing the walk and resting for a bit, gifts would arrive like just now, and at first, Dad was hiding outside the building where I was staying.
Then, the distance got closer day by day, and he ended up hiding around the corner.
“And you have to go to work to tell me about Mom.”
In fact, I wanted to ask about Mom right away. What kind of person she was, whether there was a portrait, how much I resembled her……. I was curious about everything.
But I was out of my mind for the first two days, and then I learned that Dad would burst into tears even if the word ‘Mom’ came out.
‘It took another two days to calm him down.’
Then, just yesterday, Hwairan, who had approached me quietly, told me that there was a memorial hall in this palace dedicated to the Queen.
There was an incense burner under Mom’s portrait, and you could stick incense in it, but that wasn’t all that was in the memorial hall.
‘He said there were baby items that Mom had secretly prepared for me.’
Then, of course, I should go there, right?
I wanted to go with Dad and hear stories about Mom. They said that the incense had never gone out at Mom’s altar, and I wanted to offer incense as her daughter.
“We were going to go to the memorial hall together.”
“We should. I’ll be back soon. Can you be alone?”
“Yes. I’m better at everything than you think? I’ll be reading a book. Or playing with Yuri.”
“That’s right. Even though you’re still so young, you’re so thoughtful……. Is there anything else that’s uncomfortable?”
“Yes. The palace people don’t kneel down when I pass by anymore, right?”
As soon as the rumor spread that the lost princess had returned and that I was his biological daughter, the palace was turned upside down.
Everyone I encountered except for Hwairan would kneel down and put their heads on the floor from afar when they saw me.
It was so uncomfortable that I asked them not to do that, and since then, they’ve all changed to just bowing. Other than that…….
“Ryung brings me everything I want with just a wink.”
“I see. That’s a relief.”
Dad glanced up at my room and then gracefully stood up.
“Then…… shall we have dinner together?”
“Ah…… um, okay.”
Dad seems to want to be alone with me. Since it’s a time to talk about my deceased mother, that would be good.
I nodded.
‘More than anything, we need to get closer.’
Just looking at my 말투 [manner of speaking], I’m naturally talking to Dad, then using honorifics, wavering back and forth.
Dad wanted me to speak comfortably, but honorifics often came out. It must be because we’re not close enough yet.
“Then see you later!”
I waved vigorously at Dad.
Dad looked back at me several times with a face full of regret as he left.
After seeing Dad off, I turned around to tell Father that I was going to the memorial hall tonight.
I didn’t want him to be surprised if he came to find me and I wasn’t in my room.
“Father?”
But for some reason, Father wasn’t anywhere to be found today.
Just in case, I went to Yuri’s room, but there was only Yuri, who was excited to see me, and Father was not there.
‘Where on earth did he go?’