Chapter 13

-I told you not to come back. It might hurt you.

I was lying on a soft bedspread with sleepy eyes. I was very comfortable in Euphil’s room, because it smelled of books. And that meant that I could easily fall asleep here.

Holding on to Euphil’s sleeve, I rubbed my cheeks with a laugh on his hand.

To my surprise, picking up my tired little body, Euphil laid me on his bed. I jumped several times on a bed that was as soft and comfortable as my own. At the same time, I closely followed the expression on his face. But he said nothing.

He looked strange today. He spent more time staring at me than talking to me out loud. And he smiled at me a bit more than usual.

– I thought you had already forgotten about me, because you are now engaged to the prince of a neighboring country.

I stared at Euphil with shining eyes, very pleased to be next to him. Now he was lying on his side on the same bed with me. Propping his head on his hand, he stared at me, curled up against his chest.

Although he was only ten years old, he was much taller than me, so I held tightly to his clothes near the waist.

– Euphil saved me.

– Euphil-oppa.

– Okay, oppa!

I smiled again at the thought that now he is letting me call him oppa. Even though he was locked in the palace, he must have found a way to get the news about me.

“I thought he had completely forgotten about me. I guess I was wrong.”

-Euphille came and helped me, despite the fact that he had driven me away before. Euphille will no longer chase Mirthity away.

– I will.

– But that’s not true.

Smiling timidly, I touched his chest with my forehead. I didn’t want to look at him, because I was afraid that he would say something. But he just grinned.

– Mirthy missed Euphil very, very much.

– …Truly?

– Yes! It’s true! That’s why I came here!

– Didn’t you come here because of a fairy tale?

– Not. I came to see Euphi.

Euphil looked at the front door. It looks like he was waiting for the biscuits he had ordered earlier to arrive.

To be honest, I was very surprised. As soon as I appeared here, without batting an eyebrow, he ordered maids to bring sweets, and then he picked me up in his arms, because I was yawning sleepily. He did all this as if it were in the order of things.

– Now I can not go outside. This means that I can no longer visit you as I used to.

Euphil smoothed my disheveled hair with the tips of his fingers. I opened my eyes wide and smiled dazzlingly.

– Then Mirthy will come to you every day!

– Everyday?

– Yes! Valk guides me.

– Hmm … I guess I didn’t save him in vain.

While everyone else was exhausted, trying to reimburse the money they stole in double the amount, Valk was an exception.

This happened because after meeting me out of guilt, he returned everything he had previously taken.

He lost his position as Chief of the Guard, but still retained a relatively high rank. We can say that he managed to repent in time.

– Can I come here every day?

– Even if you come here, you will still sleep.

– Yes. Mirthy will come here and take a nap with Euphil every day!

Euphil did not immediately respond to my loud statement. He just smoothed my hair again and looked at me.

And then he smiled, albeit very faintly. His smile faded almost instantly. So quickly that it seemed almost illusory to me.

– It’s your business.

He agreed. My eyes widened in surprise.

“Okay, then let’s try to take it one step further.”

– Then you will read Mirthy’s fairy tales every day?

– No.

… Okay, let’s forget about that for now.

I nodded resolutely and said that Mirthy might just remember the stories she had already read. But Euphil seemed to have other plans.

– I will teach you politics.

– Politics?

“But I’m only five years old.”

I tilted my head to the side, disconcerted by his ambitious desire to teach politics to a five-year-old girl. Then I quickly pretended to be naive.

– What is politics?

– It is necessary to protect yourself.

– How?

-If I teach you, you can understand how the world works. You don’t look stupid.

“Shouldn’t I have to be a real genius to study politics at this age?”

But I nodded my head in silence.

Despite the fact that I look five years old, but I turned twenty-five even before I was in this body. Therefore, I was sure that I could understand the current state of affairs if he began to tell me about the world.

Moreover, Euphil took the initiative for the first time, saying that he was going to do something for me.

“Did I manage to win him over to my side?”

I was not sure if my plan had worked one hundred percent, or if Euphil simply decided to teach me so that I would fall behind him. In any case, I decided that the first step was to increase the time we spend together.

– Come. I will teach you.

– Okay! Mirthy will be coming every day!

– Come here even on the days when the prince comes to visit you, -with a sullen expression on his face and Euphil added, patting me on the head.

-Prince?

When I tilted my head to one side, puzzled, he explained:

– Prince of Arcaden. Your fiance.

– Aha! Okay! Because Mirthy loves you the most.

Euphil no longer looked as gloomy as before. I was a little distracted as I was surprised by his almost smiling expression. But he seems to be muttering something under his breath.

– After all, he gave you things that I could not give you.

– Hmm?

– Nothing. Wait. I’ll give you something now.

– Will you give? Are you going to give Mirthy a present?

– Yes. But not for your sake, but because I cannot let someone else get around me.

I opened my mouth wide. He seems upset comparing himself to Allenan.

As mature and reasonable as he looked, he was only ten years old. I couldn’t help smiling.

“But according to my maids, I owe all of this to Euphil.”

– Why?

– I dont know!

He raised an eyebrow, trying to act like an adult. Seeing this, I burst out laughing and touched his raised eyebrow.

-Now stop talking. Better sleep. You barely manage to keep your eyes open.

– Okay … But Valk is waiting outside.

– Tell him to wait.

His ruby eyes blinked slowly. Looking at them, I felt even more tired. For some reason, I always fell asleep quickly when I was next to Euphil.

– In this palace …

When I almost fell asleep, Euphil said that his punishment would soon end.

But I thought to myself that there’s nothing wrong with keeping him locked up. I liked to doze off next to Euphil.

“Maybe he’ll bond with me if we always take a nap together?”

Perhaps then he would not have the idea of killing his younger sister, who grew up in front of him?

I liked the smell of Euphil, so I rubbed my nose against his chest and almost fell asleep.

Euphil continued to speak in a low voice.

– I will make it so that no one can harm you. Including me.

If I had heard this before, I would have felt relieved.

But as with Allenan’s proposal, I could not rely on childish promises that were not confirmed by time. So I grabbed onto his clothes and muttered, finally drifting off to sleep.

– Euphille … Me too.

While he was under house arrest, I realized something. We were too weak. And weak people tend to borrow strength from others. I thought about whose strength I could rely on, because I was going to do everything possible so that Euphil would never be punished again. This could interfere with my future plans.

***

It has been pretty quiet lately. Euphil got his freedom back. All this time, I visited his palace every day to take a nap at his place.

While I was sleeping, Euphil stroked my head from time to time, which brought me considerable pleasure.

When I woke up, I sometimes found that he was holding me in his arms.

“Very warm”.

It has been a long time since I fell asleep next to another person. This is the first time since I was in Mirthy’s body. After all, a teddy bear cannot be considered a human being.

Having discovered this new joy for myself, I went to Euphil’s every day to take a nap with him. After the end of his sentence, Euphil himself began to carry me in his arms to his palace, taking Valk’s place.

– In recent days, the palace has been restless. Consider this.

– Restless?

– Yes. They say that the king’s uncle is coming. He is a duke.

Duke.

I’ve already read about him in the book. The king’s uncle was the brother of the previous king.

Usually such relatives are not mentioned in the books.

But he was a special case.

This man won the title of duke by destroying demons in the northwest of the country. He possessed outstanding fighting skills. He could be called a master of the sword.

He did not reach his position because of his family ties. He earned it honestly by volunteering to fight in the northwest. His reputation among the people was quite high, so even the king could not treat him as he pleased.

In the end, as he got older, he died in battle with the demon. It can’t be helped, everyone gets old.

“Hmm. Even the king is wary of this man.”

I smelled something.

I smelled money.

*

– Maybe you will choose this dress for today, princess?

A white dress with purple lace flew into the air. This silk dress has been gracefully embellished around the neckline. I nodded, smiling and holding my finger in my mouth.

I didn’t even need to look, I already knew that Oriet would dress me beautifully.

She said that nothing brings her more joy than brushing my hair. Her touch was always so light, as if she was stroking a rabbit. Every time she brushed my hair, I felt so pleased that my face melted with bliss.

She held a lock of my pink-silver hair with one hand and slowly combed it from top to bottom. She untangled my hair as carefully as if she were taking apart precious silver threads, and then she braided them into braids, and got my hair done like Juliet’s from the certain famous poem.

Earlier, when Ante looked after me, even in a dream I would not have dreamed that they could take care of me so carefully.

When I was in a good mood, I gently took Oriet’s hand and rubbed my cheek against it. Oriet smiled happily.

– Oh, princess. You seem to be in a particularly good mood today.

– Yes. Euphil said that we will not have classes today because he is busy.

– Haha, you don’t seem to like reading too much. Usually they don’t teach that at your age, but you’re so smart … Looks like Prince Euphil has become a little greedy.

– Hmm-mm …

This is exactly what was happening now. If I focused on one thing and achieved success in this, Euphil immediately introduced me to something new.