The Loyalist is the Abandoned Princess - Chapter 9

It had been a week since I encountered Caspian in the library.

In other words, it had been two weeks since I came to the Scorpio Annex.

I continued to lead a regular life—exercising and reading.

‘I wish I could live like this forever.’

It was unsettling, though, that there hadn’t been any word about proceeding with the postponed divorce signing or anything else.

‘How long am I supposed to wait? Has everyone forgotten about me?’

The annex was so quiet, it felt like I might have been forgotten. Apart from Catherine bustling around, the place was silent.

I stared blankly at the pile of snow gathered on the window sill.

With time, it was evident that winter was deepening. When I first arrived, the annex had felt a bit chilly. Nowadays, it was so cold that I had to wrap myself in a thick fur coat just to go for a walk.

Now that I looked, the peppermint tea I had been drinking had cooled off.

If I called Catherine now to brew another pot, would she grumble?

There wasn’t much to consider.

‘I’ll just go and get it myself. Besides, Catherine always brews it too strong.’

I draped a fur cape over my shoulders and headed downstairs.

However, as soon as I stepped outside my room, I noticed something was off.

“Huff, huff…”

Each breath I exhaled formed a pale, misty cloud.

‘Why is it so cold?’

No, this wasn’t just cold. It was severe enough to make it hard to believe I was indoors.

My entire body shivered as if I were a trembling leaf, and my teeth chattered uncontrollably.

Now that I looked closer, frost had formed on all the windows on the first floor.

“What on earth…”

Why was there no heating?

Perplexed by the incomprehensible situation, I quickened my pace.

***

When I reached the first floor, I saw Catherine, her face blue from the cold.

She was bundled up in all the clothes she could find, resembling a round, puffy snowman.

Yet, even so, she was shivering pitifully.

‘No, that’s not the issue here.’

She looked as if she were on the verge of freezing to death.

It reminded me of the time, two hundred years ago, when I was on an expedition to the northern border. The soldiers who froze to death had the same expression.

An urgent voice escaped me without thinking.

“Catherine!”

“Ah, Your Highness.”

“What on earth… No, more importantly, why is there no heating? It’s unbearably cold!”

“Ah… Is it cold, Your Highness?”

Sniffling, Catherine looked helpless. I quickly shook my head to reassure her.

“No, my room is fine. The problem is here.”

“……”

Catherine pressed her lips tightly together, remaining silent. Clearly, she had something to hide.

Prying into it would be a waste of time.

I walked past her, striding down the hallway.

When I opened the door to one of the rooms, an even more pitiful sight met my eyes.

Philippa, Rilla, and William—the staff of the annex—were huddled together, trembling in front of a tiny flame.

The fireplace lacked proper firewood, and the small flame looked as though it would go out at any moment.

It was absurd.

“What is going on here?”

“W-well, Your Highness…”

“Explain.”

Ah.

Startled by my sharp voice, Catherine confessed the truth.

“…Since two days ago, we’ve been told there’s a shortage of firewood and that the Scorpio Annex should manage on its own.”

“Who said that?”

“The head maid…”

Catherine bit her blue-tinged lower lip and closed her eyes tightly.

Was she scared? I was practically seething with anger at this point.

‘No matter how angry one might be, cutting off firewood? How are the people here supposed to live?’

I tried to suppress the rising fury.

‘First, let’s deal with the immediate situation.’

“Do I still have heating in my room?”

“Yes.”

“Then use that to heat the first floor.”

“Pardon…?”

“At this rate, we’ll all freeze to death. What good is it if only I survive?”

“But…”

Catherine couldn’t continue, biting her lip. My gaze must have been quite fierce. Agnes’s sharp features came in handy at times like this.

While William and Philippa hurried off to bring firewood from the storage, I began to think about who was behind this situation. It wasn’t hard to figure out.

Caspian.

For a moment, I felt as if I were going to be sick.

No matter that we were due to divorce—I was still his wife, the Princess Consort.

There was no way the head maid could have cut off our firewood on her own.

Even if Caspian hadn’t directly ordered it, he must have at least allowed it.

It didn’t make sense otherwise.

‘How petty and underhanded.’

No matter how much he hated me, to cut off firewood in the middle of winter? I’d rather he insulted me to my face or locked me up in a cell—anything but this.

Just because he greeted me politely at the library didn’t mean everything was alright…

It clearly wasn’t.

I clenched my fist tightly, recalling Caspian’s expressionless face from that day.

***

I didn’t mind being the target of his anger.

Even if it wasn’t my fault, since I was now living in “Agnes’s” body, it was right for me to bear her mistakes.

Whether slapped or drenched in water, I didn’t care.

I’d been through far worse when I was a commander—rolling in the mud with soldiers, chewing on tree bark to survive.

But that didn’t mean the current situation was acceptable.

What crime had the staff of the annex committed?

In my previous life, the thing I hated most was the concept of a “whipping boy.”

A whipping boy was a child punished in place of a prince.

I could never understand why a subordinate should bear the consequences of their superior’s mistakes, no matter how much I thought about it.

The moment I became the prime minister and the prince’s tutor, I abolished that ridiculous system.

No matter how noble the imperial family might be, no one else should be punished for their mistakes.

‘Collective punishment or whatever, this isn’t right. I should be the one punished, not them.’

“Is he twenty-two?”

If I remembered correctly, Caspian was around that age.

I wasn’t entirely sure.

Agnes knew everything about Parsifal’s comings and goings but hardly anything about her own husband.

A bitter laugh escaped me as I continued muttering to myself, “Is it because he’s young? His thinking is quite shallow. If he wants to be petty, he should direct it at me, not at the people downstairs shivering from the cold.”

“Your Highness…”

Catherine began trembling as she watched me mumble to myself, clearly frightened.

‘Damn, I didn’t mean to scare her.’

Forcing a smile, I tried to reassure everyone. “It’s nothing.”

Of course, it didn’t work.

Seeing me curse and then smile must have scared her even more, as tears welled up in Catherine’s eyes.

Catherine pleaded with me, her voice trembling, “Your Highness, we are really alright… We’re not cold at all.”

Philippa, Rilla, and William also pleaded in unison.

“We’re fine, Your Highness.”

“Truly, Your Highness, the blankets are so thick that we’re managing just fine. You don’t need to worry.”

Hearing their desperate words, my anger cooled instantly.

At this point, there was nothing more to lose. I quickly took off my cape.

“Your Highness!” Catherine, startled, tried to stop me.

“If you catch a cold now, it could turn into pneumonia.”

“Your Highness…”

“Why should you all suffer because of me?”

I draped the thick cape over Rilla, the smallest of the group, and gave her my gloves as well.

Then, I unwrapped my scarf and put it around William, the elderly coachman.

Clearing my throat, I spoke loudly, as if making a declaration, “I apologize to all of you. I should have taken action before it came to this.”

The staff exchanged uneasy glances, unsure of what was happening.

Seeing their anxious faces, I raised both hands, speaking firmly, “This is my fault, and I will resolve it myself.”

Catherine’s eyes widened in surprise.

“But, Your Highness—”

“I need to meet the head maid personally.”