I straightened my back like someone struck by lightning.
The woman turned gracefully and continued.
"To meet the Supreme of the Empire, His Majesty the Empress has ordered me to dress up Your Highness perfectly. Please cooperate."
Then she gestured lightly to the maids. The four maids in the front row approached the bedside with my clothes.
I jerked backwards.
"Everyone, go away. I don't want to meet anyone like that."
"Please refrain from blasphemous words."
The woman's voice, which had been languishing, suddenly became fierce like frost.
"No matter how much you say to the Empress, it is unacceptable for you to talk about His Majesty the Emperor. I'll turn a blind eye to this one, so please be careful next time."
After a moment of shrugging my shoulders, my eyes set her sharply.
"What will you do if you don't turn a blind eye? Do you want to tell the Great Emperor?"
"There is nothing we can't do."
The woman responded coldly.
I let out a dry laugh.
"Really? Then run to the main palace and tell him. The Second Princess with no hair told me that she didn't want to see anything like your handsome face!"
At that moment, I felt a burning pain in the back of my hand.
I looked up at the woman, dumbfounded.
The woman slammed down on me with the thin whip in her hand, and her eyes were icy.
"Your Highness's authority as a Princess comes from His Majesty the Emperor. We cannot condone such insults."
"Dare.... Dare...me."
I couldn't continue to speak, and my body trembled.
The woman looked down at me with a serious look and walked towards the door.
"Her Majesty the Empress has asked us to bring Your Highness to the safety of His Majesty the Emperor by any means necessary. Do you want us to use tough measures?"
The woman screamed threateningly and threw the door open wide with one hand.
I held my breath when I saw the soldiers of the Empress Palace lined up in the hallway.
The woman quietly examined her blue-eyed face, as if admiring it, and spoke softly.
"We don't have to blush at each other. If Your Highness cooperates, it will be over soon."
If I did not cooperate, they would force me to do so.
I clenched my fists so that my joints turned white. My eyes burned with humiliation.
At this moment, if Senevere were in front of me, I could stick a dagger in her chest.
In this way, she should ruthlessly trample on my last dignity.
I felt like I couldn't forgive her for the rest of my life.
"Now, hurry up and wash Your Highness clean."
At the handmaiden's order, the two maids leaned over the bed.
I struck my hand roughly.
"Don't touch my body!"
The maids, startled by the loud shouts, scrambled back as if to avoid the fire. They were worried that they would be retaliated against in the future.
Sensing their hesitation, I took a slightly more overbearing attitude.
"I'll leave the bathing to the nanny. So get out of my room."
The woman looked down at me with a thoughtful look and then breathed a sigh of resignation.
"Yes. However, you have to leave the decoration to me. We cannot give up on this."
The handmaiden immediately led the maids outside.
After a while, the nanny ran into the bedroom.
She was the one who always hurt me with insensitive words. Still, the moment I saw her face, I felt relieved and almost burst into tears.
I buried my face in the shoulders of my nanny, who came to support me.
I didn't know how fast it was, and the nanny was just happy.
"Did you hear about it from the handmaiden? His Majesty has found you! I'm sure he was hurt when he heard that you were injured."
I listened to my nanny's chatter in one ear and struggled to get up from the floor. A tingling pain ran up my bones.
I was filled with anger.
What is it that will make you walk without any problems? The legs that were slumped could not even support their weight properly.
I gritted my teeth and dragged my aching legs to stand behind the screen.
I staggered into the marble tub, and the nanny poured warm water over me.
Dipping in the lukewarm water, I looked down at my legs. The reddish scar was like a swollen earthworm.
I fiddled with it with my fingertips, and the nanny slammed it on my back.
A wave of sadness came over me, but I put my hands away without a word. I was afraid that the nanny would get angry and leave the room.
"Now, I'm going to rinse your hair, so tilt your head back."
As I leaned my head against the bathtub, the nanny tilted the large kettle and poured lukewarm water into it.
When the soap was finally washed away from my body, I staggered out of the bathtub.
The nanny came with a large towel and wiped the water from my body, then dressed me in new underwear and an underskirt.
"Now, the handmaiden will do the rest."
When the nanny left the room with a happy face, the maid returned with the other maids.
I silently endured the stares that swept me up and down as if to give me a score.
The woman who was spinning around me clapped her hands for the maids.
"Braid her hair up and put on the clothes you have prepared. I'll pick the trinkets myself."
Soon, dozens of fingers began to move back and forth around me.
I silently endured their treatment of me like a doll, as if I were being tortured.
Three or four maids repeatedly dressed and stripped the clothes from my body, while the rest of the maids began to braid and roll up their waist-length hair.
The handmaiden, who had been watching the whole process with a stern face, nodded her head after a long time.
"That's enough."
The maids who had been arranging my clothes immediately stepped back.
I looked up at the maid with weary eyes. I slung a pearl silk cape over my shoulders and turned toward the entrance.
"It's time to go."
I hesitated and left the room. I wanted to walk as naturally as possible, but my legs couldn't move as I wanted.
I could feel the soldiers' eyes pouring out of me with every step I took at the wrong time. I wanted to crush all those eyeballs.
Suppressing my contempt, I walked out of the palace and saw a carriage waiting in front of the garden. Next to him stood a strange man in armor.
Did you stop the previous Knight?
The face of the man who had bothered me throughout the trip flashed through my mind.
But I soon realized that it was okay. After all, it was a guard knight who changed every season. It's time to change.
I climbed into the carriage with a grim face. The maid who was on board after me opened her lips tightly closed and spat out in a stern voice.
"Today, His Majesty the Emperor will tell you something important. Please refrain from using words and actions that are impolite."
"What's the big story?"
"I don't know about that."
"Then how do you know if it's a big story or an unpoetic story?"
The woman closed her mouth. It seemed that she was running out of patience.
I looked out the window, looking away from the woman rubbing her temples.
Before I knew it, the carriage was passing through the palace gardens and traversing the vast grounds of the imperial palace.
Looking nervously at the fast-moving scenery, I touched my knees, which had already begun to throb.
Even though it was covered with thick cushions, the slight vibration of the carriage seemed to pierce my bones. Wiping away the beads of sweat from my peregrine bones, I swallowed the pain desperately.
I don't know how long it had been doing, but the rattling carriage finally stopped moving.
I staggered outside and frowned at the large square where the sun was pouring down white.
In front of the main palace, there were a lot of people crowding around today. As I looked at it with gloomy eyes, the maid who approached me urged me.
"His Majesty is waiting. Let's go."
I bit my lip as I walked.
The sight of those who recognized me whispering in confusion invaded my vision. I tried to ignore it and pass by those who were standing in the way of the entrance, but someone stopped me.
"You can't pass by now. I'm sorry, but through the side door..."
The soldier who hurriedly stood in front of me belatedly checked my face and took a heavy breath.
I glared at him with a cold look.
"Who dares to stand in my way?"
"I'm sorry, Your Highness, the Princess."
The soldier stepped aside from the Burinake.
I walked past those who were clumsily bowing their heads towards me and entered the building.
Trying not to catch my unnatural gait, my whole body was drenched in sweat. Despite my efforts, it didn't seem to go my way.
I squinted and studied the reactions around me. At that moment, I saw a huge cage on one side of the hall. My eyes widened when I saw what was inside.
"...What is that?"
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