“But listening to our daughter speak, I became confident that even if she became the emperor right away, it would be fine, don’t you think?”

No, that would be a disaster!

I wanted to stop living and find rest, but I didn’t want to be worn out already. I strongly opposed it. Even when I was designated as the heir to the throne, I secretly suffered so much, and I didn’t want to revisit the future that I had tried so hard to forget in this way.

“But Mother, I hope our daughter can enjoy playing like any other child for now.”

It was indeed a joke! I sighed deeply.

For a moment, my heart sank, and I thought my soul was sinking into the swamp of exhaustion, but I barely managed to escape.
“This will be discussed and handled well by Mom and Dad, so don’t worry.”

Oh, you’ve saved me some trouble.

I was about to speak more seriously if needed, but Hecate withdrew her opinion to dispatch a surveillance unit.

“Also, as you said, Mom won’t go to the west.”

“Okay.”

Did she catch the bait with the painful expression on her face? Worried that we might change our minds later, we made a promise with a pinky swear, which Hecate readily accepted.

And that evening.

I returned to the bedroom, took a nap, and woke up, being led by Miranda and Hailey to wash up and wear a gorgeous dress.

“Why are you dressed like this? We’re just having a meal, not welcoming guests or friends.”

It was strange because unless I was welcoming guests or friends, I usually wore comfortable, well-ventilated, and modestly decorated clothing.

“Her Majesty said today is a special day and asked you to look even more lovely than usual.”

Upon hearing this, Miranda, who was preparing to tidy up my hair, smiled, and at Hailey’s request, I raised my arms slightly.

After the meal, as my stomach started to feel uncomfortable, I endured a meticulous fitting of the dress to make sure I could breathe comfortably. Hailey asked me to endure a bit more, and in my mind, I counted how many chestnuts I could find.

“It’s quite fluffy.”

One fortunate thing was that it wasn’t heavy.

“Well, it’s not bad.”

Someone had said before that the hanger had to be perfect for the clothes to be more beautiful, and that’s exactly how it was now.

“Besides, there’s so much yellow that it looks like a chick.”

From the yellow beret with a pink rose brooch on top, the white headband added for beret stability, the hidden hairpin between the headband and the hair curls, the short scarf wrapping around the neck for outdoor meals, and the ribbons filled with lace adorning the upper front of the dress, everything seemed like an attire for participating in a salon or a noble’s party.

“Since they’ve sent the dress, might as well wear it.”

It felt awkward, but I couldn’t ignore the sincerity, so I quickly turned my body, eager to go and tear into the meat.

“Your Majesty.”

“Why?”

I walked towards the door and gestured for her to follow, but Hailey, who was accustomed to meticulously adjusting the dress, smiled and said as she walked.

“Her Majesty the Empress personally chose today’s outfit, so she asked you to come next time wearing something you picked out yourself.”

“Huh?”

Is she playing with dolls with her own child? It’s absurd. Feeling awkward for a moment, I turned to ponder what dress Hecate had sent.

“Was it a dress with a rabbit headband, a dress with a pink background mixed with sky blue?”

“Yes, that’s right!”
“Turned around, turned around.” I touched my forehead with one hand. It was probably because I felt dizzy, thinking that I would have a hard time for two consecutive days. However, I didn’t complain about not wanting to wear it. It was because I didn’t want to look too shabby just by wearing clothes.

“Quack!”

“Are you excited too?”

For some reason, Jeff even prepared a beret for Pobi, the same as mine but a bit smaller in size. Seeing Pobi, who usually just had a shiny and slippery round head, with something attached, I felt once again that the little fellow transcended the limits of a doll.

“Are you hoping to get a bite of meat?”

“Quack-awk!”

What should I do? This time, it’s going to be a potato dish again. Silently snickering to myself, I watched as Pobi, with its vigorous and long quacking, drooled and blinked its small, narrow eyes.

I wondered if that gluttonous duck had a universal warehouse attached to its small body, as it constantly swallowed various things besides potato dishes.

“Well, since today is a special day, I’ll let you taste a little.”

As all the sacred and precious meat was mine, I didn’t want to be generous with it like giving out charity.

“Quack….”

As if it had been shocked afterward, Pobi, who had been staring blankly, made a resentful expression as if saying it was too unfair to be given only one point and then slowly slumped down, looking depressed.

“Just kidding. I’ll give you two points.”

When I spread two fingers to comfort it, Pobi, who seemed to consider where it was, made an unjust expression as if saying it was too fatal to be given only one point and then gradually perked up, shedding tears as if hanging on the lifeline of salvation like the only human on the rescue rope.

“I’ll give you three points later.”

How would Pobi react? I didn’t care about overeating and suffering even if I went crazy over meat anyway. Since it would be boring to tell everything from the beginning, I decided to be a slightly mischievous owner for this moment.