My Mom Got A Contract Marriage - Chapter 4

She immediately lowered her head and gently clasped her hands.

“I’m going to take my leave now.”

“Why?”

His Majesty asked with a smirk. Startled, Lilyca looked up again.

“Sorry?”

“Come here.”

His Majesty gestured with his finger as Lilyca took a step or two towards him.

“Just there.”

“Why are you trying to harass the pretty Princess?”

His Majesty’s eyes widened at the dark-haired man’s words.

“When did I harass her? I just told her to come over here.” Then, he looked at Lilyca.

“Come on, come here now.”

Lilyca gathered her courage and walked around the desk to stand in front of the emperor.

However, to her surprise, His Majesty picked her up and placed her on his knees.

“It’s like lifting a candy shell. The only thing I hear is her clothes crinkling. You love your daughter so much, so why did you starve her?”

His Majesty’s words made Lilyca furious. She couldn’t stand someone insulting her mother!

“I’m not hungry!”

“Then why are you so light? If I pushed you with my finger, I think you would fall.”

“My body is strong.”

Lilyca answered without realising. If a person was not in good health, he would not find a job. So, this answer came naturally to her.

“But look, by just doing that…”

His Majesty grabbed his middle finger with his thumb and the little girl fell.

The shock of the flick made a loud click.

“?!”

Lilyca, who was sitting facing the emperor in an unsteady posture, fell backwards to the floor.

“!!”

The child’s face turned scarlet.

Her forehead and head hurt, but she was even more embarrassed that she fell so easily, so Lilyca tried to be on her feet quickly.

Fortunately, the carpet was soft, which prevented serious injuries. But the other two men in the office screamed in shock.

“Your Majesty!”

“Alteos!”

The knight called out the emperor’s name before approaching and lifting Lilyca into a warm embrace.

“Oh, the Princess is as light as a sugar cookie.”

“Your Majesty, what is the meaning of this? Princess, how are you? Your forehead has turned red. And how is the back of your head? Can you tell me if it hurts when I touch you?”

When she saw the friendly, worried look on his face, Lilyca held back her tears.

“I’m okay, everything is fine.”

But everyone could see the tears flowing. The man’s voice grew cold.

“Your Majesty.”

“She said she was strong.”

“Your Majesty.”

“Atil is not so sulky.”

“Besides being a Takar, the Crown Prince is a well-trained boy.”

At this, His Majesty took a deep breath and said,

“I’m sorry, it’s my first time with a daughter. I will ask the imperial doctor to come. Now sit down comfortably, Princess.” He said as he sat Lilyca down on the couch in the corner of the office.

“By the way, I didn’t introduce myself. My name is Lat Sandar. The big guy over there is Tan Wolf, you can call him Tan. It’s unfortunate for the Empire, but surprisingly, he is the commander of the knight-guards.”

At that, Tan snorted and groaned.

“It must be the imperial misfortune that you are prime minister.”

“Having a brain capable of only responding to what other people say seems even more pathetic.”

“What did you say?”

Tan growled. But Lat ignored him and continued,

“Oh no, Princess. You are going to have a bump on your forehead.” Lat sighed.

His Majesty, Alteos, called the attendant.

“Bring anything to snack on. Something the Princess would like.”

At Alteos’ words, the attendant’s eyes widened. Seeing him back away quickly, Lat said to Alteos with a funny face,

“I think the effort to smooth your faux pas with something delicious is low level, but in the current situation, you did well.”

Besides assessing the newly married empress, everyone had to think about how to treat the adopted daughter, Lilyca. So, if the emperor called Lilyca into his office and gave her sweets, of course, everyone’s attitude will change for the better.

After all, the most influential person in the palace is the emperor.

Alteos stared intently at his new daughter.

In fact, he had completely forgotten about her existence. But now she had become unforgettable.

How could he forget such an impactful meeting and person?

The brown, semi-curly hair had a slightly spongy look, very different from her mother’s, but their eye colour was similar.

Lilyca met His Majesty’s piercing gaze and her forehead hurt again.

She had the same impression of His Majesty as the first time she had seen him.

He was tall and very handsome, but one aspect of him didn’t seem human.

She had heard and thought he was a very scary person, but seeing him like that, she thought maybe he wasn’t that bad. After a while, the doctor entered the room.

The imperial doctor, who came with a medical bag, winced upon seeing the faces in the office.

His Majesty the Emperor, the Prime Minister and the Commander-in-Chief of the Knights-Guards. All the key people in the empire were gathered.

The doctor approached and asked, “Where were you hurt?” He looked at Lilyca’s wounds and told her that if she put ointment on them, they would go away quickly.

After a while, the imperial doctor applied some ointment to her forehead and placed a plaster over it.

As soon as he left, the attendant came in with the snacks.

There was chocolate in a small cup and a bowl of fried breadsticks. It was obvious that the chef, who had to make snacks in a hurry, had racked his brains.

“You can dip bread in hot chocolate and eat it.”

The attendant explained nicely before leaving. Hesitantly, Lilyca looked at the beautiful silver tray and asked,

“You’re not going to eat it with me?”

“No. Just eat.”

“This was ordered for the princess, wasn’t it? Enjoy it.”

Alteos and Tan said one after the other. Indulging their demands, Lilyca carefully pricked the fried bread with a silver fork, dipped it in the chocolate, and then put it in her mouth.

“!!”

Her eyes widened and her expression brightened. Seeing the girl like this, the three men also had happy expressions on their faces without realizing it. Lilyca couldn’t believe such a thing could exist in this world. She continued to dip the bread in the hot chocolate and ate the rest of the food diligently.

“Let’s order something else to drink.”

“Isn’t milk enough?”

After eating sweet bread and refreshing her mouth with milk, Lilyca exhaled a “Phew.” before saying,

“Thank you for the meal.”

As she thanked the adults, the girl also held the glass of milk tightly with both hands as she was afraid of dropping it.

Then, when she looked up to greet them, she was surprised to see the three of them looking at her with a warm gaze.

“Uh, do I have something on my face?”

Lat shook his head, but the little one still wondered if she had eaten messily or if there was a trace of food left in the corner of her mouth.

“No, it’s just that the Princess is very cute.”

At Lat’s words, Lilyca’s face flushed red. It was the first time she had heard someone say she was cute.

Her mother being very beautiful, the little girl was ashamed of not reaching her level. Thus, upon hearing Lat’s words, her fingers and toes wriggled without her noticing.

“Thank you.”

“I’m just telling the truth. Rather than that, Princess, was this story told to you by the Empress?”

“What?”

“The story that the Empress would be harassed every night.”

“No, this is not the case!”

Lilyca, stunned, shook her head. She was afraid they would suspect that her mother might have been up to something by using her.

“I came on my own initiative.”

“So, who told you that?”

At Lat’s words, Lilyca grew flustered and looked away from the cup in her hand.

“It’s, well…”

“I understand.”

Lat nodded then asked,

“That’s a different question, but are you enjoying your life right now?”

Lilyca looked up and replied to Lat,

“I’m working hard.”

It was a strange response, but Lat smiled anyway.

“I understand that too. Your Majesty, how about making Bryn the princess’ servant?”

Tan raised an eyebrow, Alteos, meanwhile, looked at Lat for a moment then nodded.

“Good idea.”

“Indeed, it would be preferable for the position to go to a young person.”

Lat spoke with a soft smile and turned to Lilyca.

Lilyca thought Lat wasn’t as good a person as he appeared to be.

‘It is rare for a good person to have such a high position.’

Being nice didn’t mean having a weak heart, but in Lilyca’s mind, it was all the same. People in high positions are determined, sometimes cold and heartless. So, wouldn’t the prime minister, Lat, be the same?

“Okay, I’ll let you two talk about work. Princess, come, I’ll walk you back.”

Tan waved with her hand, thus ending the conversation. Lilyca hurriedly jumped up from the sofa and said,

“It’s okay. I can go back alone.”

“No, you can’t. A princess should not be seen without company. I could let a servant do it, but I will do it today.” Tan retorted with a wink. Then he added, “Thanks to you, I was able to skip work for a while.”

Lilyca replied, “really?”

She was embarrassed, not knowing how to react. Instantly, Tan grabbed her and placed her on his shoulder.

“Kyaa?!”

Tan gripped the flabbergasted Lilyca’s legs to hold her in place. Due to the several layers of petticoats worn inside, no one saw the girl’s underwear, which saved her from an embarrassing situation. However, the posture she was in seemed rather shameful to her.

“Ta, Sir Tan.”

“You can just call me Tan. The Takar never call others this way unless they are among themselves.”

[NB: “님”, which was used at the end of Tan’s name, is a Korean suffix that signifies respect. Lilyca is now royalty, so it’s strange for her to respect Tan so much.]

Tan smiled and left the office with Lilyca on her shoulder. The attendant who was waiting outside widened his eyes.

Of course, Lilyca was very embarrassed, but Tan didn’t even notice.

However, even though she was high up, she wasn’t afraid of falling because Tan’s hand held her in place firmly and his shoulders were wide and comfortable. In addition, it was quite pleasant to contemplate the surroundings from this height.

‘Okay, let’s stop caring about the shame. Maybe this is how a princess goes for a walk? And I am a princess now. So, let’s act like one.’

But Lilyca still tried to regain her dignity by positioning herself differently.

“Guide me to the Princess’ residence.”

At Tan’s words, the attendant took the lead and began to show them the way. Lilyca looked around and asked what came to her mind,

“By the way, Tan.”

It tickled Lilyca internally when she disrespectfully called out the name of someone much older and taller than her.

“Yes, Princess.”

But Tan responded immediately as if he didn’t care.

“If you have the surname Wolf, maybe you know Lauv…?”

The reason the words sounded so stretched out was that Lilyca passed from talking with honorific to without it. Tan nodded.

“He is also part of my clan. Maybe about six villages further.”

“That’s what I thought. Tell him I’m sorry for the rude words I said the other day.”

Lilyca asked in a small whisper. Tan replied with a curious face,

“Rude words?”

“I mean, I thought Lauv was trying to kidnap me…”

At her explanation, Tan simply smiled again.

“Princess, I want to say some pretty harsh words to you, may I?”

“Yes.”

At that moment, her heart became lighter and Lilyca turned her gaze forward.

Arrived at their destination, Tan had just dropped off Lilyca in front of the room. Then he said to her,

“Around me, there are only men who are vicious. Of course, for my part, I find it very amusing. On those words, please excuse me.”

Tan, in a knightly manner, saluted her respectfully.

Lilyca let out a long sigh.

She had used too much energy this morning. She also had to rest until Mrs Glenderin arrived.

‘Nevertheless, the fried bread was delicious. Hot chocolate too.’

And what about this wonderful taste? She hadn’t expected this black liquid to be so delicious.

Lilyca thought before sitting down in the high chair that was placed near the window.

She could see part of the garden from here, so she liked to sit on that side.

The little one stared fixedly at the garden, and just as she was about to open a spelling book, she heard a hubbub coming from outside.

The door swung open and a girl who looked to be about fifteen years old entered. A shiny headband drew Lilyca’s attention to her short, neat hair.

She strode forward and gave a deft curtsy to Lilyca, who was sitting in front of her and said,

“My name is Bryn Sol, Your Highness. From today onward, I am the servant of the Imperial Princess. Please take care of me.”

Oh, that’s right. Lat had mentioned her earlier.

Lilyca nodded.

“Take good care of me too.”

Bryn stopped her curtsy and clasp her hands tightly.

“So, Princess, I have orders from His Majesty to move your room. So, I’ll help you move out first.”

“Eh?”

“Now, don’t worry and follow me. The servants will carry your luggage.”

Lilyca was puzzled, but she had no choice but to follow His Majesty’s orders.

Entering the new room, Lilyca let out a small cry of exclamation. The original room was incredibly colourful and pretty.

But not as much as the new one. When she entered the room, she saw a lovely living room. Then, the window which offered a bright view of the whole garden, and that, at a single glance.

The bedroom also had a large window, framed by a thin, delicate ledge.

It seemed that this room was at least three times larger than the previous one, so just walking around this room was a bit of an exercise for Lilyca. Then Bryn asked,

“How do you like it, Princess? Do you like your new room? It is also closer to the residence of the Empress.”

“Really? Yes, I love it. I can also see the entire garden from the window. Can I go out?”

The previous room didn’t have a balcony, but this one had a big enough one.

“Sure.”

Bryn opened the window and Lilyca cautiously stepped out onto the balcony.

“Wow!” The girl exclaimed happily. Standing in such a high place made her heart race, but she also found it amusing.

It looked like when the Commander-in-Chief of the Knights-Guards had slung her over his shoulder earlier.

The balcony was also large enough to drink tea.

Bryn smiled with satisfaction.

“I’m glad you like it, Princess. This room is called “The White Dragon Room”.”

“White dragon?”

“Yes. You know the First Emperor Takar is a dragon, right? In the Sun Palace, all rooms of the imperial family have dragons. The Crown Prince lives in the chamber of the Black Dragon. And the Empress’ room is always the Silver Dragon’s room.”

“I see.”

She didn’t know that at all.

So, what was the old room called?

Lilyca didn’t ask because it might put Bryn in a sticky situation. Anyway, the previous room was probably not named after a dragon.