People Aren't Meant to Be Fixed! - Chapter 43

During the day, I deliberately went to the Imperial Princess and bumped into her, successfully transferring the bad energy I had been harboring in my body.

‘What’s going on?’

Afterwards, before executing the second plan, I risked my life to shadow her to observe the situation, but the Emperor happened to be with her.

‘The bad energy I had deliberately transferred to the Imperial Princess by bumping into her has disappeared.’

In the midst of that, I confirmed with my own eyes that it had been perfectly transferred, but by evening, I was startled to see that the bad energy had cleanly disappeared.

‘I don’t know how she got rid of it, but I can’t give up just because of that.’

For a moment, my head felt numb as if struck by a hammer, but I quickly hid behind a wall and fell into deep thought.

I still had several means prepared for various scenarios.

Crunch-.

‘This time, I absolutely won’t fail.’

However, I couldn’t help but feel frustrated when the plan with the highest probability of success was thwarted. I nervously bit my nails and trembled. If I didn’t do this, I couldn’t quell my anger.

‘Don’t think this is the end!’

Soon, the vivid eyewitness account told by the sole survivor who claimed to have witnessed the Grand General beheading my father came to mind.

‘Although we have been defeated by the Empire now, the revenge for the blood relatives who died due to your ancestors’ greed will succeed!’

‘Just as we suffered, I will surely take the life of someone precious to you…’

He was a prisoner deliberately left alive by the Grand General to inform the allied forces that had rebelled against the Empire. After witnessing the brutal execution of my father, who had been highly respected among our allies, he went mad and soon after took his own life.

‘The losers sure talk a lot.’

The sound of the blade cutting through the air and digging into flesh made my heart sink so deeply. The auditory hallucination that often rang in my ears as if I had been there myself tormented me, making me clutch at my chest.

“Father’s enemy…”

I volunteered to be a spy solely for revenge, and painstakingly changed my appearance and identity to enter the Empire, so I couldn’t falter here.

Moreover, news of my first attempt’s failure would soon reach the ears of the Mondroit family who had aided my infiltration, so I couldn’t leave any more blemishes until the revenge succeeded, as I had to protect my own safety as well.

Tap, tap-.

After recalling the patrol guards’ and maids’ shift times and movement routes, I arrived safely at the Imperial Princess’s bedroom without being detected.

Click-.

This is where the master key I obtained with blood, sweat, and extreme caution shines. Feeling my heart race with tension, I carefully opened the door and quickly closed it.

The dim bedroom was empty, without even anyone hiding.

“Isn’t this what the Imperial Princess uses to call her maids?”

As I needed to somehow transfer the bad energy back into the Imperial Princess’s body, I decided to store it in an object she would likely use often and looked around, spotting a rattle.

‘Since it’s a frequently used item, if I infuse the bad energy into it, it should be effective.’

Great! I smiled victoriously, feeling as if a ray of hope was shining down on me.

Zap-.

“Ugh!”

However, the moment I grasped the rattle, which was merely a baby’s item, a sharp pain struck my head and abdomen.

“Ah, aaargh!”

I made a loud noise but tried to clamp my mouth shut and not groan to avoid being discovered here. However, as the pain gradually intensified, I ended up dropping the rattle and screaming.

‘What kind of trick did they put on a mere rattle?’

Following that, the clang sound pierced my ears like a death sentence, and I became anxious, not knowing what to do. I hastily escaped from the Imperial Princess’s bedroom.

‘It’s ruined! Who knew such power would be in a baby’s item!’

Thinking I should first escape and then come up with another method, I prayed not to encounter anyone.

However, as I turned left around a large pillar, a black figure appeared. Before I could confirm their face, they twisted one of my arms behind my back and slammed my forehead against the wall.

Thud-!!

“…Shh.”

A chilling breath touched my ear, seemingly warning that they wouldn’t let me off if I did anything unnecessary.

“You’ve finally come to Bowellian Castle where His Majesty resides.”

Soon, a faint laugh was heard, and as I barely turned my head back, I saw a woman with green hair. The woman’s identity was Lilith, the Empress’s aide who held the position of Grand General.

“Did you think everything went smoothly until now because you were thorough?

With a snort, her yellow eyes curved into a gentle arch.

“But what can we do if that’s not the case? You’ve been caught in my trap since the moment you got your hands on the key!”

When I tried to retort, opening my mouth, a stinging pain in my side prevented any voice from coming out.

“It was clever to figure out the shift times of the maids and patrol guards, but foolishly letting courage take the lead has led to this outcome. It’s truly the ending of a third-rate villain you’d only see in novels~.”

Lilith clicked her tongue, meeting my eyes, adding that it would have been so much better if I had used my head as well as I acted.

“For someone as pitiful as you…”

Soon, Lilith smiled brightly and said while putting handcuffs on me with a click:

“I recommend spending the rest of your life rotting in prison, practicing chess with an imaginary friend.”

No, this can’t be happening!

I struggled in a final act of desperation, but when Lilith gestured, hidden knights appeared and grabbed my arms on both sides, restraining me with force.

I had no choice but to submit for now.

“Lord Asian, can you relay what just happened to His Majesty?”

“Of course, Lord Lilith. Leave it to me.”

After that, as I tried to catch my breath and somehow regain my composure, another knight appeared, and I was immediately transported to the underground prison to await interrogation.

* * *

“Your Majesty, it’s Asian.”

“Come in.”

I was fooling around with Jeff before eating when Asian came to visit.

“First, I apologize for intruding while you were having a pleasant time with the Imperial Princess…”

As soon as permission was granted, Asian burst through the door with an urgent expression, but upon seeing Jeff’s hair condition, he froze in place.

“Your Majesty, your hairstyle has suddenly changed.”

Hmm, actually, that’s my work. I got bored and used a ribbon I brought to change Jeff’s usual hairstyle.

“Did the Imperial Princess perhaps style it for you?”

“That’s right!”

That Asian fellow is quite perceptive. I folded my arms with a satisfied expression.

“I didn’t know the Imperial Princess had talent in this area too. Don’t you think she might set a trend in the Empire’s social circles when she grows up?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. The Imperial Princess is versatile, so there’s ample possibility.”

No, that’s a bit too much, isn’t it? I felt good at first but then became embarrassed.

“More importantly, given the situation, I’ll excuse myself for a moment, Your Majesty.”

Asian then approached quickly and whispered in Jeff’s ear, and Jeff’s face immediately darkened as he spoke in a serious tone.

“She was caught quickly for having spent months undercover as a maid. We can’t let the Empress handle this alone, so I’ll move right away as well.”

“What do you mean you’ll move right away? What suddenly happened?”

I heard the words ‘maid role’ and ‘undercover,’ and recalled the spy Sasha had mentioned and the blonde maid I had bumped into earlier in the day.

“That’s right, Darjeeling. The bad person who was troubling your mother has finally been caught.”

Meanwhile, Jeff placed both hands on my shoulders and added with a kind face:

“It seems Daddy will have to go personally to teach them a lesson. That means I’ll have to part with our lovely daughter for a while, is that okay?”

“Yes, it’s fine, go quickly.”

I might be a little bored, but I can eat alone if necessary, and from what I heard, the situation doesn’t sound good, so I told him to go quickly.

“As expected, our daughter is so brave! You’ve touched Daddy’s heartstrings, so I’ll play with you three times as much when I get back!”

But why is he praising me for that? I told him with a sullen face to hurry and help mom, and Jeff said he understood and quickly turned his back.

“Asian, let’s move as quickly as possible.”

“Your Majesty, then shall we use the shortcut in the secret passage?”

Slam!

‘No, he left with that ribbon still in his hair!’

I was shocked exactly 3 seconds after Jeff closed the door and disappeared.

‘What if he goes out with that ridiculous hairstyle I did just to tease him?’

No matter how urgent it is, how could he not fix his hair? I was dumbfounded for a while with my mouth open.

‘By the way, was it that maid I saw earlier today who was caught?’

I thought the castle would be in an uproar for a while, like a storm brewing after a long time, but contrary to expectations, only the blonde maid’s existence quietly disappeared while everything else remained the same as usual.

“Imperial Princess!”

“Are you all better now?”

Honestly, I thought I wouldn’t be able to meet the children either, but Hecate said we should still see friends often and arranged a gathering with Fleur.

“Yes, thank you all for your concern.”

I thought Vladimir would come too, but for some reason, we haven’t all gathered since that big event.

‘I guess Sasha didn’t come because of what happened when the Duchess collapsed last time.’

I brushed it off with a rough guess and called a maid to carry out what I had to do when I met these rascals again.

“Return the gift Berith gave me.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The teddy bear I never asked for.

I quickly told them to take it away as I felt uncomfortable keeping the attachment doll and it was bothersome in many ways.

“Why are you giving it back? Berith doesn’t need it because he gave the teddy bear to the Imperial Princess to get better quickly.”

The kid tilted his head, not knowing my inner thoughts, and I didn’t need to explain it in a complicated way, so I made up the easiest excuse.

“I’m not sick anymore, that’s why. You take it back.”

“Hehe, I see.”

Berith, who apparently hadn’t slept properly for days because he didn’t have the doll, hugged the teddy bear preciously, and I shook my head watching that sight.

Jingle-.

“What’s the big deal about this?”

By the way, Poppy, who hadn’t been seen until now, appeared with the rattle in its mouth, constantly trying to give it to me, which was quite suspicious.

Whoosh-.

I snatched it away thinking it would be nice if it could speak, when suddenly a blue light flowed out of the rattle and spread in all directions.

“Wow! It’s like a magic wand from a fairy tale!”

“This is truly a rare phenomenon, Imperial Princess.”

At this, Carlyle opened his eyes wide in surprise, Berith’s eyes sparkled, and Ronowe started emitting a dark red aura like in the imperial library.

“The theory about mysterious phenomena that transcend physical boundaries is well explained in a book written by scholar Feigel…”

Moreover, she spoke clearly without stuttering and casually mentioned the name of someone who wrote difficult academic works, which surprised me.

“Wow, elder sister knows that stuff too?”

“Yes! But I read that book a long time ago, so I don’t remember the contents well.”

Meanwhile, Berith praised and admired Ronowe.

‘Am I the only one who can see the dark red dots floating around Ronowe?’

We all saw the light coming from the rattle earlier, but I don’t understand what’s going on at all.

“By the way, Ronowe, you’re really interesting.”

I tried to hold back but couldn’t help blurting it out.

“You usually act like you don’t know anything, but suddenly you show such broad knowledge.”

Then Ronowe, confidently stating that she can know everything.

“Excuse me… for interrupting.”

At this point, a maid who had been observing the situation chimed in with an opinion.

“If we want to properly verify the phenomenon we just witnessed, wouldn’t it be better to consult the temple rather than blindly searching in books?”

“Hmm…”

That’s not wrong. In my heart, I shouted that it would be better to go to Jeff rather than wasting time in the library.

“Then let’s go to His Majesty! We can’t do as we please, so we should talk to an adult!”

Oh, why are you acting so mature all of a sudden?

I thought you would insist on going to the library throwing a tantrum, but Ronowe said she would take the lead and told everyone to follow her.

‘If taught well, she could be used as a good subordinate later, even if not as good as Carlyle.’

I thought as I watched her back, already holding Berith’s hand and being the first to leave the room.

Vaguely, I feel that Ronowe also shows the sprout of a loyal subject, about half as much as Carlyle.