Don’t Concern Yourself With That Book

Blinking innocently, I tapped on my chin with my index finger. I tilted my head as if it was taking me some time for me to ponder before looking down at them arrogantly.

“You’re making me feel bad. Shouldn’t you all be kneeling too?”

I smiled softly at the women.

“Just like Rebecca.”

I smiled like Castor did when he saw me close to fainting. While I spoke gently like Amor.

“Hurry and kneel.”

“Nobles will never lash out and reveal their anger. It will only show how weak they are and reveal their weaknesses to their subordinates.”

That was what my etiquette teacher taught me though she was only saying that while mocking me. There was only thing Rebecca emphasised and drilled into me while she taught me.

“Please smile.”

Only by dealing with them gently could I bring them to their knees.

Wanting to remember each and everyone of their faces, I called on their names one by one before the ten women slowly knelt down one after the other. What a wonderful sight. Putting on an innocent expression, I dished out the punishment.

With a pale face like an idiot’s, I acted ignorant as if I was mocking them.

They were a lot easier to talk in front of than Castor.

I slowly turned my gaze towards the empress and smiled at her without anyone noticing. I did not know why she brought me here and why she threw me towards this group of women. I did not even want to know anymore. She was pushing me to my limits and forced me to forgo my previous engagement to attend this banquet.

Amidst the flock of bewildered wolves, a sheep was sitting atop the graves of fallen wolves with an innocent smile on her face. I felt like I was about to laugh.

They thought I would be easy.

I was the only Imperial woman of the present Imperial family. According to my etiquette teacher, the emperor’s daughter would be a useful tool to the Empire. Until they became adults themselves, they would be treated with great care and would only possess the best. The Empire had long since been a powerhouse. Even as it was losing light, my value was only increasing.

‘Despite all the indifferent treatment I received,’

What did they think of me? The princess who had been covered by a veil for a long time. They must have agonised whether I would be a ‘hidden treasure’ or a ‘product that delayed its reveal due to gross defects’.

And now, the princess finally appeared. With a large band-aid placed on her cheek.

The princess did not resemble ‘Auresia’ and that only encouraged their morbid imaginations.

‘And everything they had imagined would pour out of their mouths.’

To them, I was a 17-year-old girl who grew up without knowing anything. A beautiful princess who had been locked in a cage as she continued to be praised for being the best woman in the Empire. Everyone who saw the bird would call it beautiful and the bird grew up thinking that was the truth.

The grown princess they have been imagining was me.

‘The shell I had hid myself in.’

Innocence did not equate good.

How good a princess was would remain within the expectations of which most would have. A clear smile, a gentle tone and an innocent expression would allow most to be familiar with her but that did not mean the princess should be arrogant.

“Princess, are you willing to put your future at stake? This is a symposium held by the empress, Her Majesty herself!”

“Well, so what? Did the empress do anything against me?”

Those who were loved and raised with praises would not know what to do when dealt with the opposite. They must have thought that the moronic princess would not know that the empress had an ‘evil’ side to her.

What a sweet and kind face, oh my, she must have fallen on the floor. The spectators kept mumbling things along those lines. And they continued to do so as they looked at the 10 young girls kneeling on the cold floor.

In fact, I could see in plain sight how humiliated they were by all the gazes.

In the end, they were still not willing to show obedience. How funny.

The fact that Auresia’s daughter had become of age elicited the hatred and jealousy of many wives. However, I was not pretty and did not meet their soaring expectations of me. But even if half of my face was disfigured, they did not deserve to judge my life.

‘Seriously. It’s funny.’

I turned my head to the side to stare at those who were kneeling on their knees. Was this their fault? Or was this the fault of the teachers who taught them as such?

Either way, they were only poison to me. To them, appearance was power and I would continue to face such gazes.

They knew this humiliation would not last long anyways since they were in the palace of the Empress.

I glanced to my side to look at the empress. The empress sat arrogantly and covered her face quietly with a fan. I could not see her mouth but the corners of her lips were lifted.

I slowly raised my head and pulled Rebecca up.

“Rebecca.”

“Yes.”

Even after getting up from kneeling, Rebecca still maintained her aristocratic attitude.

Of course since she was the first to kneel, she should be the first to get up. I did not forget her brief judgemental gaze as I acted dumb. What a consistent lady.

Staring at Rebecca, I tried to hold back my laughter. I wanted to step forward and step on the buds to prevent any bullshit from blooming again but there was a risk of exposing my thin smokescreen.

“You can stop now. You can get up on your own right? Yeah. The floor’s cold too.”

“Women of the Empire are not so weak as to catch a cold just because they’ve been kneeling like this for 5 minutes.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. They are templar candidates. You’re being too generous to those who have harassed you.”

“Harrassed me?”

After smiling slightly without anyone noticing, my eyes widened and my mouth was left agape.

Eureka.

I felt like patting Rebecca on the head. As if I was taking a test, I lifted my head to think. I smiled widely at Rebecca.

“Granius told me to tell him if I found anyone harassing me. Should I tell him?”

Now that I had come this far, I would not hesitate anymore and use all the cards I had.

“Will he be happy to hear about what happened today?”

I knew that if I withheld this card, it would not be able to help me against people who would try to push me towards the gutter in the future.

“That’s a good idea. Should I throw in a word to their templars as well?”

The reason why they could bother me was simple. It was because they knew this was the first time the Imperial princess had ever been to a banquet. And they also had the empress behind them.

One of the girls who had suffered from the thoughtless newcomer spoke.

About how I taught my subordinates.

“Is that so?”

I should start with their head.

I tilted my head as if I did not understand. The waves were roaring. As the building waves crashed wildly, I thought to myself so that no one would hear.

How did it feel to be treated like an idiot?

I already guessed they would be children of Curules. I happily watched as their already pale faces turned green at the mere mention of Granius’ name which I had just brought up without much thinking.

If this was a backhanded fight, I would not lose.

They had already crossed the line. It did not matter if I used dirty and cheap tricks. They were the ones who trusted in the empress blindly.

“Yeah. I’ll talk to Granius about it.”

Who was Granius? Why, the man in the highest official position in the Empire and the man in charge of the 4th Administration, of course.

Not only was he a templar of strength, he was also head templar of the Temple of Strength which was considered to be housing the largest number of templars. The fathers of the ladies facing me could never be of a higher position than him.

“Oh my, that’ll be too much trouble for you. Do you want me to tell him myself?”

“Rebecca’s willing to?”

“Yes. I remember everything that has happened thus far because I am not bad at memorising things. I can remember every word they said.”

Rebecca smiled coolly as she rose her head high.

“Everything. Word for word without mistake.”

I naively fluttered my eyelashes as I stared at Rebecca staring coldly at the ladies.

“Really? Then since I’m the one with the lacking head, Rebecca, you can go ahead and tell Sir Soricks and Granius about this matter.”

“Ah, if you’re talking about Sir Soricks, do you mean the Templar of Canbarrus?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s good. He can tell who’s at fault here. Then, afterwards I’ll file a formal complaint to the senate for a trial for defamation for what happened today.”

“Apologies, princess!”

“P-please forgive us, Amadema!”

All the women were staring at me with pale faces that looked like they were bleached. Staring at them, I widened my eyes before scoffing and speaking innocently once again.

“Hm?”

With a smile, I spoke.

“Only now do you admit you were wrong.”

In symposiums, the most vile and harshest taunts were overlooked. It was all based on the judgement of the powerful. That was why they looked down on me and tried to tear me down eagerly.

“So did you not think you were wrong earlier?”

Backing them was the empress who made the final judgement.

“We made a mistake. T-the trial!”

However, it would be difficult for them if this situation entered a formal trial. The reason being.

‘Blasphemy against the Imperial family is the greatest sin one can commit.’

No matter how powerless the Imperial family might be, only the Imperial family had the right to file for defamation. This was a crime for which the judge would always side with the Imperial family.

Well, that was because the presiding judge would always be the emperor.

In other words, they should have seen who they were going up against before trying to mock someone for their own humour. That was all. Otherwise, there would be nothing behind my title.

‘You thought I didn’t know that I had the right to sue. Because I looked dumb.’

Even the faintest smile I used to appear sociable disappeared. I looked at them with apt interest before patting my cheek charmingly.

“I wonder how the trial will go!”

“W-we were careless!”

“Yes, we were wrong!”

I pretended not to feel the gazes of spectators and laughed as bright as spring.

“Hm, that’s weird. You are all behaving differently from how you were before.”

As I smiled, I tilted my head as if I did not know anything.

“P-princess, we were wrong!”

Some of what my etiquette teacher said with a smirk was right.

“Perhaps, you will have to play the devil’s advocate. Wouldn’t it be difficult to put the commotion around ‘that face’ of yours to rest?”

This world naturally demanded pale skin, a curvy body and thin legs from a girl who just reached puberty. It was a world where a woman’s body would be broken down and graded like a butcher’s cut. And I was standing at the apex of such a world.

“No one will like you.”

The scar etched on me was like an imprint but had it really become my brand? I thought it would be better for me to just smile.

“Please, think it over. Don’t tell that person. W-we are just here today to become your friend.”

“T-that’s right! Amadema!”

“Well, is that so?”

My gaze landed on their temples as they grabbed onto the hem of my skirt before slowly raising it.

Pretending to agonise, I tapped on my lips to tease them as they sharpened their breaths. I spoke slowly.

“Right, good. I won’t tell him!”

Glances of relief and small sighs. As soon as they released my skirt, I spoke again.

T/N:

olala~