The Loyalist is the Abandoned Princess - Chapter 5

Agnes’s horrible past flashed through my mind, making me frown involuntarily.

“Agnes?”

Seeing my brow furrow suddenly, Kayneth tightened his grip on my hand.

His touch was like the coil of a cold snake, chilling me. I barely managed to suppress the urge to shake it off.

In a voice barely above a whisper, I said to him, “I’m really fine, Kayneth, brother.”

“I told you, you don’t have to call me ‘brother.'”

The voice that once sounded “kind” now felt deceitful.

‘It might actually be better for me to stay in the imperial palace.’

Better to be around Caspian, who openly showed contempt and indifference, than Kayneth, who pretended to be kind.

I forced myself to smile at Kayneth, trying to appear genuinely okay. There was no need to arouse any suspicion.

“Ah, no. I think I should start being more proper. We heard what His Highness said. I should take care of myself and get well soon.”

“……”

Kayneth’s eyes darkened slightly.

But soon, he smiled again and nodded.

“If you say so.”

I felt both hollow and extremely tired. I gave a slight squeeze to loosen Kayneth’s grip on my hand.

“So, brother, you should go now. I’ll stay here and not cause any trouble. I’ll sign the divorce papers properly.”

Kayneth slowly rose and looked down at me, lying in bed.

There was no way he hadn’t noticed my change. Kayneth had always been Agnes’s most meticulous observer.

‘He’s the one I need to keep the farthest away.’

He would be the first to realize that I wasn’t the “real Agnes.”

“Goodbye, brother.”

At my farewell, Kayneth reluctantly nodded again. “Then I’ll go. Remember to write as I said.”

“Yes.”

Once Kayneth left the room, I finally let out a sigh I’d been holding in.

“This is draining.”

I hadn’t felt this tense even during a court-martial.

Agnes’s situation was certainly not an easy one.

‘Why did I have to end up in the body of such a scoundrel?’

It seemed that a peaceful retirement wouldn’t be as simple as I had originally thought.

***

Possession—or reincarnation, signing divorce papers, fainting, the argument between the prince and Kayneth.

So much had happened over just two days that I hadn’t had a moment to catch my breath.

It was only the following morning that I began to understand where I was.

‘I’m definitely inside the imperial palace.’

Whether out of pity or fear that I might truly die… Caspian seemed intent on keeping me within the imperial palace for the time being, just as he’d told Kayneth.

In truth, it was probably better than leaving me at the Barbouquet estate.

If I really did run away to find Parsifal in the north, things would become incredibly complicated.

Parsifal’s face suddenly popped into my mind.

Parsifal Merlinger.

The son of the Emperor and the late Empress. The second prince of the empire and commander of the northern border.

And Agnes’s one true love.

He despised her even more than Caspian did.

“Leave. Your presence reeks.”

***

In Agnes’s memories, Parsifal was a dependable knight.

Not just Agnes—objectively speaking, he was certainly an impressive man.

Of course, Caspian was also handsome. No one in the Mern Empire could deny that.

However, despite both being attractive, the two men were fundamentally different.

If Caspian resembled an orchid grown in a greenhouse, Parsifal was like a wildflower blooming on a rugged mountain slope.

Given their backgrounds, it was no surprise.

Caspian had been raised as the most noble after the Emperor, while Parsifal had roamed harsh battlefields under the Empress’s persecution.

To Agnes, Parsifal’s precarious nature must have seemed new and alluring.

I could understand why she had come to admire him, at least in my head.

But understanding was one thing; believing her actions were right was another.

‘No matter the reason, betraying your spouse is wrong.’

Love doesn’t put food on the table. Loyalty is most important, and marriage is, to some extent, a promise between two human beings.

Regardless of how much one values their own love, I couldn’t understand how anyone could easily betray a vow made to another.

Sending love letters to Parsifal? It was absurd no matter how I thought about it.

“I’m sick of being stabbed in the back.”

Caspian’s words suddenly echoed in my mind. His voice had trembled with anger.

It wasn’t just his voice. His eyes and the expression on his face when he looked at me were filled with disgust.

It unsettled me, but I quickly composed myself.

‘What can I do? Even if I wasn’t the one who did those things, Agnes did. Once we’re divorced, we won’t have to see each other again, so there’s no need to worry.’

Right at that moment, my stomach growled loudly.

Only then did I realize that I hadn’t eaten a proper meal since being possessed.

Feeling both hungry and bored, I reached for the bell on the nightstand.

But something felt off.

Even after ringing the bell for a while, no one came to my room.

‘What is going on?’

Am I really alone here?

Just as I started to feel uneasy, there was a loud knock on the door.

“Come in.”

Creak. Thud. Stomp, stomp, stomp.

Soon enough, a maid with freckled cheeks and brown hair stomped into the room.

Like an angry bull entering a bullring, she charged in with a violent energy.

***

The maid, who had finally appeared after quite some time, openly frowned as soon as she saw me sitting up against the headboard.

She raised an eyebrow and responded curtly, “You called?”

Ignoring her surly tone, I asked casually, “Yes. Where exactly is this place?”

At my question, the maid rolled her eyes dramatically and sighed deeply.

It was as if she was saying, ‘You’re a princess, and you don’t even know that?’

Her demeanor was shockingly disrespectful.

But considering Agnes was soon to be expelled from the imperial family, it wasn’t all that surprising.

The maid reluctantly answered, “Your Highness, this is the Scorpio Annex, where you will be staying for now.”

Scorpio Annex? Two hundred years had passed, so it was my first time hearing of such a building.

Still, I wondered if this freckled maid was assigned exclusively to me.

One thing was certain—she clearly didn’t like me.

‘I don’t want to bother someone who doesn’t like me.’

Regardless, it seemed necessary to know her name, so I decided to ask cautiously.

“What is your name?”

The maid reluctantly opened her mouth to reply.

“…Catherine.”

“Alright, Catherine. Nice to meet you.”

“…Yes, Your Highness.”

Catherine’s frown deepened, her expression even more sullen.

‘It seems my reputation is completely in the gutter. Judging by the maid’s attitude.’

I couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

‘I won’t be here for long, but I’d still like to get along while I’m here.’

Nodding slowly, I spoke to Catherine, “Catherine, I’d like a tour of the estate. Could you show me around?”

“…Pardon?”

“I’ll be staying here for a while, so it would be good to know which rooms are where and who else lives here, don’t you think?”

“Ah… Yes, Your Highness.”

Catherine’s frown deepened further.

Perhaps she thought this was some new form of harassment, judging by her wary expression.

Of course, I had no intention of harassing the curt maid.

Maybe it was a habit I’d picked up from leading my troops, remembering the names of my subordinates?

I just wanted to learn the names of the people I’d be around, even if only for a few days—nothing more.

I rose from the bed, feeling stiff.

Perhaps because I’d been lying down for so long, my joints creaked like rusty metal.

‘Not a single muscle left on this body.’

The state of my body was so poor it was almost disheartening.

‘Not that it’s something I need to worry about immediately.’

Putting on my gentlest expression, I said, “Forget the rooms. Let’s start downstairs. I’d like to meet the people I’ll be sharing the space with.”