Of course, when I put them in front of me, there was no better alliance than theirs. As if to prove my thoughts, they bickered with each other.

“Why are you pretending to be friendly with our unni!”

“She’s not your unni. She’s my mom.”

“No, she’s my unni!”

The never-ending squabble of childish 8-year-olds. I sighed deeply, caught in between.

Please… stop the obsession. We… weren’t like this before!

But the children’s fight didn’t stop.

Although I don’t know why the children, who should be in their own rooms sleeping, came here, they suddenly stuck to me and glared at Lian. Their intention not to let Lian come near me was so clearly evident.
In the end, we couldn’t exchange kisses properly like before, and the situation became one where we only exchanged glances like young children in love.

‘I want to… kiss too!’

I want to have a morning kiss!

But… there was no way.

A few days later.

“Princess.”

“Yes?”

Now much improved, she was picking flowers with Sha Sha and Rudello in the garden. I was also sitting with them in the garden, spreading a mat, drinking tea, and weaving flowers that the children brought here and there.

To others, it seemed so quiet that it might feel like there was nothing to do.

That time was good. Perhaps because I had gone through so much, such a routine was much needed. And in that, I slowly opened my mouth to become somewhat comfortable with the princess.

“I’m sorry for finding you late.”

“Oh! Just finding me is enough for me to be grateful. If Empress Mama hadn’t found me, I would have lived lost.”

“Is that so… Princess. Can I ask you one thing?”

“What is it?”

“Since when did you remember?”

It might be impolite, but it was a question I wanted to ask. Since when did she regain her memory? Worries and concerns piled up.

“I don’t know. I gradually realized something at some point. So, at that time, I asked for help. Anyone, please help me. But there was no one to help.”

“Really?”

“Instead, I thought it might be dangerous if I had my memory intact.”

As if recalling that time, the princess’s expression darkened.

“Since then, I pretended not to have my sanity intact. As if I had no memories. I kept holding onto the memories that came up. Hoping that someday, someone would come to help me. Hoping that I could walk on my own.”

That was the moment. The princess, who was quietly telling the story, blushed.

“He seemed like an angel.”

“Huh?”

“The gentleman who came to save me… Lord Kharitos seemed like an angel.”

“Like an angel, I suppose. Always wearing pure white clothes, excessively clean…”

Except for being meticulous to the point where he needed to shave his legs and ride in a carriage, he was a pretty decent person. But when I was about to say that, suddenly I felt it.

“Savior…? Like Kharitos?”

“Yes. No one else came to save me… he was truly a savior. He seemed like an angel, like a god…”

I fell for him at first sight. I want to believe it’s not true, but it seems right. While being a priest doesn’t pose a big problem in falling in love or getting married… still…

‘The atmosphere that day was definitely weird…!’

There might already be something between them. Well, no matter how I look at it, the princess is too precious.

‘If Kharitos finds out about this, he’ll probably get upset again…’
Still, the princess was perfect in everything. Nothing was missing. But Kharitos is not. That guy… surely has obsessive-compulsive disorder.

While I was thinking that, the princess, perhaps embarrassed, spoke up.

“Suddenly, I had such thoughts. Why was I abandoned? I was a princess, so where did things go wrong? I had such thoughts.”

“Oh…”

“Then I remembered that my father hated me since I was a child. A useless daughter born from a humble background… and the empress mama didn’t like me either. So, she probably didn’t like me, and that’s why she abandoned me. It would have been better if she killed me. Don’t keep me like this as I grow up. I even had such thoughts.”

“Princess…”

“But in the midst of that, only one person came to mind. My brother who genuinely cared for me. Thoughts of my brother came to me. I thought he would be the only one who would be genuinely sad if he found out I was gone. I was really worried.”

She also worried about Lian. Lian was quite concerned about the princess too.

“Lian searched a lot for me. If there was any information about the princess, he found out and investigated it.”

“The Lord Consort told me. Actually… I knew that would happen. Silly brother. Just thinking that his sister might have died… he searched for me so much.”

The princess’s eyes were moist.

“He’s still like a fool, still a good brother. And during the time we didn’t see each other, he became an even better person. Doing anything for the family… and loving the children more than anyone else. He grew up just as I wished he would.”

“But still, he’s a fool. So, please look after him, Princess. Please tell him sternly as a younger brother to not do anything foolish.”

“Yes, I will. I will.”