“Dad? Did I hear that wrong?”

“Take a look at this. The chief steward of the palace just delivered this royal decree.”

As the ornate paper adorned with gold leaf was unfolded, the first thing that caught the eye was the Lord’s red seal.

Not only did the decree, seemingly penned by my father, lift the lockdown, but it also recognized me as a royal.

“The Lord issuing such a royal command means you’ve regained all your rights as a royal. Congratulations, Bella!”

“Now more people will come to the Rose Palace. Not only that, you’re free to act, so the invitations will pile up. Ah, I’m so excited!”

Though the maids congratulated me with happy faces, I myself felt uneasy.

I had known that such a day would come, but it was too abrupt.

‘I thought at most the lockdown would be lifted… to recognize me as royal too?’

The only time I had ever been treated as a royal was when I was invited to a royal ball.

Until now, I had been strictly isolated from the outside world, even prohibited from inviting anyone to the Rose Palace.

But now that Dad officially recognized me as a member of the royal family, those days would be over.

If anyone tried to disrespect or harm me, that would be a direct challenge to the Tzepes royal family.

‘But this doesn’t mean Dad has accepted me as his daughter.’

Given Dad’s personality that I’ve observed so far, there’s no way he issued such a decree because he suddenly realized he loved me.

It’s more credible that he decided to empower me out of some necessity.

In other words, it’s like a declaration to see how I will grow from here on.

“Why is everyone gathered here? Any good news?”

“Lady Sione! You’ve come at the right time. Take a look at this!”

Late to the news, Sione’s eyes widened as she read the decree.

She too seemed as surprised by Dad’s royal command as I was.

“My goodness… Finally, this day has come. How touching, Lady Bella. Or should I say, Your Highness, since more people will now recognize you?”

“No, don’t. It’s uncomfortable for me too.”

“You’ve endured a lot all this time. Thank you for waiting so patiently.”

Sione held my hands, her eyes moist. It must have been an emotional moment for her, having guarded my dormant body alone for decades.

Seeing her face mixed with joy and emotion, my nose felt a bit tingly too.

“You’ve suffered more, Sione. Others as well.”

“You’re always my pride, Lady Bella.”

With a smack, Sione gave me a kiss on the cheek, making it flush red.

I had gotten used to it more than before, but such public displays of affection were always awkward.

Just as we were in the midst of all the congratulations, Ronya snapped her fingers as if she had a great idea.

“Speaking of which, I heard there’s a festival in the capital soon. How about we go for an outing to celebrate the end of this tiresome lockdown?”

“A festival? Does that sound fun?”

“Absolutely! There’s a parade and lots of delicious food. It’s really festive.”

Hearing Ronya’s excited voice, the other maids chimed in, agreeing it was a good idea.

Even Sione, who would normally have cautioned against it, nodded, indicating it must be an event worth seeing.

‘A festival… I’ve never seen one before, but it’s oddly exciting.’

I’ve never left the palace, both in my past and current lives.

Not finding life in the Rose Palace too stifling might be because of that.
People only know the taste of delicious things if they have tried them.

The thought of seeing the city of ordinary people, which I had only encountered in picture books, with my own eyes excited me.

I was imagining the festive atmosphere among the cheerful people.

Suddenly, a long-forgotten fact came to mind.

“Sione. Come to think of it, isn’t Raven supposed to go with us? She’s under a spell.”

“Yes, Master said if you go out, you must take her with you. Now that I think about it, it seems like he knew something like this would happen.”

“Huh, so we really have to go everywhere with Raven.”

“For now, yes. Once you’ve grown stronger, it will be alright to be apart.”

Confused, I asked what she meant. Sione moved to my room and explained Elga’s story to me at a slow pace.

She seemed not to want to tell all the content to the other maids, as it was related to my personal information.

“The spell the Lord placed on you takes a part of your magical power. Meaning, the stronger you are, the farther you can maintain a safe distance with Raven. Once you’ve grown enough, you’ll be able to control that distance.”

“Hmm… so there’s no choice for now. Do I have to be careful?”

“If you get seriously injured, Raven will likely be affected as well. Otherwise, it doesn’t matter.”

Wow, even if he’s my dad, isn’t this a bit extreme?

I listened to her words carefully, deciding that I had to avoid getting hurt for Raven’s safety.

“Actually, the spell is similar to Vampires’ inherent ability to enslave, so it’s a bit unstable. Have I told you that I was once the Lord’s slave?”

“Yeah. You said now it’s just Walter who is.”