DKVM Ch 6

Chapter 6

Large eyes framed by long eyelashes.

Blue lake-like eyes underneath.

She was a little taller than most girls her age, with a picture-perfect posture.
‘Wow, she looks like an elf from a fairy tale…’

Forgetting my original purpose, I stared at Rahel in mesmerized fascination, and then came back to my senses and greeted her.

“Ah, hello, Princess. I’m Vivian, your playmate from today-”

But before I could finish my greeting, Rahel brushed past me and took a seat at a table in the center of the greenhouse.

‘…she’s cold, so cold.’

Was it inevitable that the villainess would hate me, the heroine?

Rahel began reading the book she had brought with her as if she didn’t care if I was standing or not.

I stared at her and swallowed a sigh.

‘Will I ever be able to get along with her…?’

I was filled with such anxiety.

Suddenly, I noticed something strange.

‘What? Come to think of it, my heart was hurting like crazy just a few minutes ago….’

The pain that had been bothering me earlier had disappeared as if it had been washed away.

‘Normally, the pain would slowly fade away, leaving a lingering ache.’

The pain was gone in an instant.

And it was after bumping into Rahel earlier.

Realizing the connection between the two, I clamped my hand over my mouth.

‘The slightest contact with Rahel makes the pain go away?’

How was it so fast like that?!

‘Awesome!’

I wanted to hug her right then and there, but I decided to hold back.

If I did, I might get kicked out, let alone befriend Rahel, who didn’t like me.

I scrambled back to my seat and sat down before I could be hated.

No matter what I did in front of her, Rahel didn’t even give me a glance, but a smile tugged at the corners of my mouth as I watched her.

‘Surely, I’ll be Rahel’s best friend!’’

I had to make sure she wouldn’t push me away.

If nothing else, this was a matter of my life!

As I stared at Rahel, beaming, Rahel, sensing the look in my eyes, raised her eyes.

The annoyance in her blue eyes was palpable.

Regardless, I turned to Rahel and confessed.

“I like you, Princess.”

Rahel’s brow furrowed slightly.

“I’ll be sure to make you happy.”

And spare my life as a bonus.

Despite my enthusiastic confession, Rahel’s cold stare returned to her book.

And she never looked at me again until after our first tea time, when the butler came to fetch her.

Before I could finish introducing myself, Rahel rose from her seat and spoke for the first time.

“Don’t come back.”

It was a chilling first sentence, but I wasn’t about to let it get to me.

‘If ten swings don’t make a tree fall, eleven will.’

It’s a matter of life and death for me!

* * *

It was a few days later, on the day of my scheduled tea time with Rahel.

I visited the villa again.

But after 10, 20, 30 minutes…

It seemed like a long time had passed, but Rahel hadn’t come to the greenhouse.

Suddenly, I remembered Rahel’s harsh words, spoken before we parted ways.

“Don’t come back.”No way…

‘Am I being jilted?’

Of course, the tea-time appointment had been arranged unilaterally by the duke, against Rahel’s wishes, but….

‘Still!’

When I rose from my seat, thinking I should ask the maid when Rahel was coming.

*click*

The door to the greenhouse opened.

“Hello, Princess-”

Reflexively, I turned to greet her, but a giggle made me look up.

It wasn’t Rahel standing there, but Sally.

“Hello, Princess~?”

Sally mocked my greeting, then quickly changed her expression and looked at me with disdain.

“You’re just as clueless as ever, aren’t you?”

I glared at the unwelcome intruder.

Sally snorted, regardless of whether I was bothered or not.

“Why do you think she hasn’t come here before now?”

“What?”

“She doesn’t want to see you. You should just realize that and go home, but whatever… this is what annoys me about children who don’t have a clue.”

“Did the princess really say that, or is there something else going on?”

Whether she was lying or Rahel had really said that, Sally looked confused for a moment before she spoke up.

“Yeah. She doesn’t want to play with uneducated kids like you because she’s way above their league.”

I scoffed to myself.

‘You’d think that having said all that, I’d run out of the room crying like a little girl….’

But that’s not happening.

I’m not a naive nine-year-old who’s going to take her word for it.

“Really? Can I ask the princess about it?”

“What?”

“If what you’re saying is true, then I’m going home, but what if you’re lying?”

I took a step toward Sally, looking exaggeratedly troubled.

“So I’m the cheeky kid who went home against the duke’s orders to be the princess’s conversation partner?”

“Well, I’m not lying, am I?”

“Then let’s go find out.”

I pushed Sally’s shoulder and walked out of the greenhouse.

“H-Hey!”

For a moment I could hear Sally’s shrill voice behind me, but she didn’t come after me.

‘If Sally’s telling the truth, Rahel hasn’t come to the greenhouse so far and she doesn’t like me.’

If I go see Rahel and she treats me coldly, Sally would probably think that’s funny.

‘But my purpose is not merely to expose your lies.’

I smiled smugly and approached a nearby passing maid.

I was about to ask her where Rahel’s room was when I ran into Rahel, who was just coming down the stairs.

Rahel’s eyes widened for a moment at my unexpected presence, but then her brow furrowed and she asked.

“What are you doing here?”

She looked annoyed.

Sally, who followed slowly, told Rachel.

“You insist on seeing the princess, even though I already told you to go home?”

Sally probably thought I’d be offended and back off at this point.

‘Thanks for saying that.’

Rahel isn’t interested in me right now, but I know how to get her attention.

I know Rahel’s past, even if it’s part of the original story.

I put on an exaggeratedly hurt look, and then I blurted out.

“Well, I realize you don’t really enjoy tea time with me, so I’ve been thinking of other ways to entertain you….”

Rahel’s cold eyes looked at me, and there was a fleeting glimmer of curiosity in them.

A child is still a child after all.

I grinned as I threw out the bait.

“I was going to show you around town, but then again, you wouldn’t have fun playing with me, would you…?”

Rahel couldn’t help but be drawn in.

Sally, who was nervous about what I was going to say next, snorted.

“Why would you go to such a smelly place? The lady doesn’t like to go outside the mansion. Isn’t that right, miss?”

But contrary to Sally’s words, Rahel didn’t immediately refuse.

Rather, she looked at me with wavering eyes.

It was the reaction I expected.

‘Rahel, you want to get out of the mansion, don’t you?’

Having read the original story, I knew.

Rahel is the child of a rebellious imperial prince and the duke’s daughter, Princess Isela.

The emperor knew this, but he could do nothing about Rahel, who was ostensibly the illegitimate daughter of Princess Isela…..

The entire empire knew this didn’t mean the emperor had completely forgotten.

Rahel herself would know better than anyone.

So Rahel has spent her life trying to keep a low profile.

Never leaving the mansion, hiding her presence, playing dead…so that everyone would forget about her.

‘That’s how repressed feelings grow, and eventually turn to resentment.’

But there was no one here to recognize Rahel, certainly not the emperor.

This means that in this village, at least, she doesn’t have to hide as she did near the capital.

‘This is a chance to score points and help Rahel on her first outing.’

In the original story, it’s mentioned that Rahel was confined to the mansion voluntarily as a child, but it’s not clear if she ever ventured out to explore the town.

That’s just the villain’s narrative.

But I know that Rahel wants to go out into the world.

She’s just hesitating because she’s scared of the unknown.

I reached out my hand to her.

“Still, would you like to go into town with me, Princess?”

“I-”

It was at that moment when Rahel looked at me in disbelief and started to answer.

“That would be awkward.”

Rahel’s words were interrupted by a middle-aged woman who appeared out of nowhere.