Chapter 8

Lilyca checked the oranges before the kitchen staff made juice with them. Then, she left the kitchen with a basket of orange juice and refreshments.

“Let’s go see mother. I want to share it with her.”

At Lilyca’s words, Bryn carried the basket and nodded.

Lilyca walked through the hallway with a light footstep and suddenly stopped.

Looking at the door with a black dragon painted on it, she asked what she had been curious about for a while now.

“How come I’ve never seen the Crown Prince?”

“His Highness is touring his fief right now.”

“His fief?”

“Yes, the Crown Prince takes his imperial duties very seriously. His Imperial Highness of Rowen is the Crown Prince.”

“I see. So, when will he be back?”

“I do not know. I think it’s about time he comes back.”

At Bryn’s words, Lilyca stared at the Black Dragon Room before walking away.

When she arrived at the Silver Dragon Room, her mother was sitting at her desk reading a letter.

When Lilyca came in, Lydia quickly got up from her seat.

“Lily, it smells nice.”

As she hugged the little girl and kissed her on the cheek, Lilyca smiled softly and hugged her mother back.

“I went to the kitchen with Bryn today. We ate delicious food there and brought refreshments.”

“To the kitchen?”

Lydia paused but was quickly relieved when she realised that she had recently changed the kitchen staff as well.

Up until now, no one had tried to feed her daughter anything weird.

“There were so many delicious things to eat.”

“I see.”

Lydia beckoned the handmaid to receive the basket.

While Bryn and the handmaid were setting up refreshments, Lydia and Lilyca sat next to each other on the sofa.

“Did you go to the office again today?”

“Yes, but His Majesty kept flinging the papers around.”

Masking herself with a smile, Lydia managed to hide her coldness.

She didn’t feel comfortable with the emperor pampering her daughter.

However, it was true that soldiers were replaced not long ago for treating the princess disrespectfully, and that made Lilyca’s position more firmly established.

She couldn’t help but sigh.

“Lily is having a hard time.”

“Not at all. It’s rather enjoyable.”

Lilyca grabbed her mother’s hand and shook her head. Then, she asked,

“What kind of letters did you receive?”

“They are replies to my invitations. I’m going to open the salon. That and…”

Her mother whispered softly,

“I’m about to invest the down payment I received.”

“Down payment?”

“I got a down payment when I started this contract.”

Lydia gestured to the maids who had served refreshments to step back.

“Aren’t we supposed to leave all the money we’re using now, our jewellery and our clothes after the contract? We should definitely earn money while we’re here.”

She was going to splurge with all the money from the down payment. Her investment options were simply endless.

Lilyca worried about her mother’s confident words and said,

“Mother, don’t buy anything like a panacea, holy water or a pot of happiness. And beware of scammers.”

“Oh, Lily. Don’t worry. Because there is no such thing. Mommy will only invest in investments that will yield a 100% profit.”

Lilyca was even more worried when Lydia told her not to worry.

Where in the world is a 100% safe place to invest?

Lilyca added,

“Mother, you have to let me know if you’re going to invest. Absolutely.”

“Of course.”

Lydia answered and took her daughter’s hand.

“And I have something to give to my dear Lily.”

“You do?”

“Bring it.”

When Lydia gave the order, a maid came quickly with a tray. A silver coin was placed on a velvet cushion.

Lilyca was flabbergasted.

“My silver coin!”

“It took me a long time to find the same silver coin. He had promised to keep it separately, but that old man…”

Lydia frowned a little before smiling again.

“Is this really your silver coin?”

“Yes, yes, t-this is my silver coin.”

Lilyca, bewitched, picked up the silver coin. She remembered everything, all the stains and scratches.

It was her silver coin.

Deep down in her heart, she had given up. She didn’t even think about getting her silver coin back.

If she received a new silver coin, she wouldn’t need it because it wouldn’t be the same.

But she hadn’t said a word since it was a foolish thing to say.

However, the silver coin was back in her hands now.

Lilyca touched the silver coin several times. It was a silver coin that had soothed her every night.

Her silver coin.

Her vision was blurred. These days, her lacrimal glands seemed to be broken.

But when Lydia hugged her and patted her on the head, the little girl knew it was okay to cry as much as she wanted.

Lilyca sobbed with joy and relief. She shed tears as the wounds in her heart melted away.

“Thank you, mother.”

“No. Rather, I am thankful you forgave me and I feel sorry for being such a mother. But I couldn’t find your other coins…”

“It’s okay! The important thing is this silver coin!”

Even if her mother brought her other coins, Lilyca wouldn’t be able to tell them apart. Lydia wiped her chest.

Lilyca held out a small wallet. The wallet, which was opened with a snap, was embroidered with a cute raspberry pattern.

“I’ll put my coin in it.”

When she opened it, there were already some white coins in it.

“This is enough.”

Lilyca didn’t really care about the money, because her silver was worth a quite lot and she did not need money at the moment. So, it was more than enough for her.

She was happy with her cute wallet, and carefully placed the silver coin in it.

Lydia smiled brightly as she saw Lilyca happy.

It took a lot of work to find this silver coin but seeing her daughter’s smile made her feel that it was nothing. Lydia will continue to protect this smiling face.

She won’t be as foolish as she used to be.

She was glad to know that spending time with her daughter every day was such a pleasure.

Now Lilyca had gained weight, and her hair was glossy.

Even her nails were shiny and polished, so it was hard to think that she used to be a child in the slums.

And she seemed to get along well with Bryn.

‘Bryn Sol was a great maid in my previous life.’

The Sol family’s loyalty was famously recognised, so she didn’t have to worry as long as she knew in which direction this loyalty was sailing.

Lilyca held her wallet tightly and pursed her lips for a moment. Lydia asked,

“What’s wrong? Are you short on money?”

“No! That’s not it. Well, mother…”

“What’s the matter?”

“I’ve heard about His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“What? Did you hear any rumours?”

“No, that’s not it. I heard he’s coming back soon. Can we do a welcome party or something?”

“Well, it’s best if we don’t.”

“Is that so…”

Her daughter’s shoulders drooped, and Lydia quickly explained the reason.

“The Crown Prince is very picky about food. He doesn’t touch anything unless it’s brought by his aides. So even if there is a party, it wouldn’t be fun.”

“But isn’t he coming back after a long time? Besides, we started to live here so suddenly you and me. What should we do if we’re misunderstood?”

Come to think of it, she didn’t even see him at the wedding.

What would you think of a cousin who suddenly appeared in the next room?

Her heart pounded with anxiety when she remembered the numerous stories about an evil stepmother.

Maybe he’ll misunderstand and think they’ll treat him badly?

Watching Lilyca talk about it so earnestly, Lydia thought, ‘No, Atil isn’t like that.’ But there was no need to break her daughter’s heart.

After all, the next emperor will be Atil, so Lydia thought she should get along well with him.

Since his childhood, assassination attempts have been so frequent that Atil had now a hard time trusting other human beings.

An escort knight who had served him for a long time even attempted to assassinate him, making him fall deeper into complete distrust.

[Cristal’s NB: She’s talking about her past life.]

‘I’m planning to prevent that incident and keep a reasonable distance.’

“Let’s think about something other than a welcome party. We could just let them know they are welcome?”

“Yes!”

Lilyca’s face brightened at Lydia’s words. Then, she said with her hands folded,

“I’ve been thinking. Wouldn’t it be nice to bring flowers and delicious food to his room?”

Lydia nodded.

“And when he’ll no longer be tired, we can have a small tea party and drink tea together.”

“Yes.”

Lydia had various thoughts come to her mind, but upon seeing her daughter’s twinkling eyes, her desire to oppose her disappeared. She asked seriously,

“Lily, do you really want to get along with the Crown Prince?”

“I want to get along well, but I don’t know what His Highness’s feelings are. But yes, it is my wish to get along well with him.”

“Well, then, all right. Mommy will also actively help you.”

“Thank you!”

Lilyca smiled brightly and hugged her mother. Lydia thought she’d send her daughter a bunch of tea party supplies.

***

Lilyca’s plan was of course passed on to Prime Minister Lat and His Majesty.

Lat smiled and said, “Can I send you a gift?”

Lilyca gracefully allowed it. After a month of hard work, etiquette started to become embedded in her body.

Soon after, Lilyca screamed joyfully at the gift boxes that the maids were bringing in.

The large and beautiful boxes were bound with smooth silk ribbons, which Bryn said she would take back and put to good use.

Every time the little girl opened one of the pastel light boxes, cheers erupted spontaneously.

Beautiful glass bowls that looked transparent, and teacups with delicate gold decorations. It was the perfect size for a child like Lilyca.

It was too luxurious to be used to playing house.

The plates, painted in pink and blue colours, and the cute silverware fitted her hand perfectly. The embroidered tablecloth, as well as the porcelain teapot, had cute animals drawn on them.

Squirrels, rabbits, bear cubs, and weasels were all so cutely drawn, that she didn’t get tired of looking at them. When she opened the silver box inlaid with gold, she found that there were sugar cubes in similar shapes.

They were so beautiful that her eyes were spinning.

Such things were laid in numerous boxes, neatly aligned in rows by type.

There were ten kinds of tea leaves sent from the Sandar family, and Bryn explained that each one was very precious.

“Tea is a speciality of the Sandar estate. Because the Sandar estate is in the south, the people of this territory are very sensitive to the cold.”

“I see.”

Lilyca nodded while she learned those new facts.

Then, the little girl started to throw the paper away several times, because she was sending out invitations over and over again.

She still couldn’t write fluently, and she couldn’t handle the pen tip well, so she had a lot of trouble smearing ink. Despite everything, she chose nothing but the best.

She was heartbroken that expensive paper was wasted, but she couldn’t help it.

The seal was shaped like a dragon, and the white powder sprayed on it indicated that it was sent from the White Dragon Room.

It was a white powder, but strangely, it shimmered like snow.

When Lilyca asked, Bryn replied, “It’s processed snow jewels.”

Lilyca gasped at those words. Snow jewels were jewels that fell together with the snow, and were shaped like snow crystals, but did not melt.

“I really wanted to pick some up, but I was never able to.”

“Let’s try it this winter.”

Lilyca nodded.

At the same time, preparations began in earnest.

His Majesty had given his permission to open the Black Dragon Room, but Lilyca was troubled.

“Wouldn’t he hate it if he found out that we went inside his room?”

Bryn made a funny face at Lilyca’s question.

“I hadn’t even thought of that since it’s impossible.”

“Oh.”

In the Imperial Palace, servants and maids frequently come and go in all rooms to handle chores. So, it’s impossible to live without anyone coming into his room.

“If that really bothers you, you can just decorate the living room.”

Lilyca nodded at her words. The structure of the White Dragon Room and Black Dragon Room was almost the same.

When you first open the door, there was a large entrance and drawing room, and you have to open the door one more time to enter the living room. The living room was connected to both sides of the drawing room, and the rooms were connected again next to it.

“Then let’s decorate only the living room.”

Lilyca decided on this.

When she asked when the Crown Prince would return, Bryn shook her head.

“His Highness and his aides keep their trips secret without telling when they’ll return. So, I don’t know when he’ll be back. But shall we find out through Bran?”

“Bran?”

“He’s my older brother. He’s now serving the Crown Prince.”

“Really? Then, can you ask him what he likes?”

“Yes, I will.”

Bryn nodded.

According to the news from Bran, the Crown Prince was expected to arrive within a week so Lilyca quickly became busy.

The old air was ventilated, the sheets were replaced with new ones, and the walls were decorated with ribbons and coloured paper rings.

Because of the beautiful flowers she had asked from the gardener, the atmosphere of the Black Dragon Room, which was previously bleak, became very lovely.

In addition, according to Bran, the Crown Prince said that he liked sweets. Lilyca felt a sense of kinship and chose a type of tea that was sweet.

Her mother advised her, “you have to choose tea according to the colour and type of food.” So, Lilyca and Bryn put teacups and bowls of each type on the table and looked for combinations.

The chef also made new sweets every day. The confectionery chef was hired by her mother and said that he’ll make new snacks interesting.

Since it was already May, the weather warmed up, causing the garden to become quite lively. Lilyca asked if she could place a table in the garden and move the tea party’s location.

Bryn said it was a good idea, and her mother said it was okay, so Lilyca rewrote the invitation to fix the tea party venue and put it on the table.

In case he couldn’t see it, she made a doll holding the invitation on the table.

Everything was ready.

Lilyca looked out of the window from time to time and wondered when the Crown Prince would come.

‘I hope he likes it.’