“…You.”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“…?”

“I’m sorry! I was just so curious!”

“…”

“They said the Princess had arrived, so I was curious and watching, but… I’m sorry! I wasn’t eavesdropping! I’m just… I’m sorry! I’m truly sorry.”

Behind the pillar stood a child who appeared to be around my age.

Bright curly blonde hair adorned with fluttering blue ribbons, a small frame dressed in a white gown covered in frills—she looked almost like a doll.

She had quite an alert, intelligent face.

However, her plump cheeks had turned pale with shock, and her large orange eyes were moist with tears.

The child was holding a rabbit doll nearly as large as her upper body, and I realized those were the ears I had glimpsed occasionally from behind the pillar.

A comfort toy, perhaps? A noble child of around seven carrying a doll in broad daylight in a mansion full of guests? Doesn’t her nanny teach her proper manners? Doesn’t she have a tutor? Why is she hiding behind a pillar?

All sorts of questions flooded my mind.

I took a step back, when suddenly the child thrust the doll she was holding toward me.

“This is a gift for you!”

Her abrupt action startled even me. What am I supposed to do with this? I wondered silently.

Just then, Hasis and Ilian, who had somehow appeared beside me, spoke with amused voices.

“What are you waiting for, little sister? She said it’s a gift. Take it.”

“Yes, our young lady. Wouldn’t it look perfect in your arms?”

These jerks.

Still, feeling I shouldn’t refuse in this situation, I reluctantly accepted the rabbit doll.

The soft doll, I now noticed, was too new to be a comfort toy.

I carefully examined the child standing before me.

Her eyes, quite similar to Margrit’s, clearly showed that she was indeed the youngest daughter of the Adler Marquis family.

Once I confirmed this, my expression grew slightly guarded.

Why would the daughter of the party hosts be alone in a place like this?

“What are you doing here?”

The child hesitated at my question. Finally, she spoke.

“I’m sorry…”

“That’s not what I asked.”

“I-I’m sorry for that too.”

“…”

A strange sense of displeasure suddenly welled up inside me.

It wasn’t frustration at not getting the answer I wanted. It was an instinctive aversion to a familiar sight.

“Stop apologizing when you’ve done nothing wrong. It makes people look down on you.”

My voice came out cold without me realizing it. I felt Hasis and Ilian’s gazes from beside me.

The child’s eyes widened at my words. Then, slightly bowing her head again, she spoke.

“I’m sorr—”

“Hmm.”

“I-I mean… I’m Evelyn Adler, Your Highness.”

“Yes.”

“I… I heard the Princess was coming, so I was curious… and ended up like this.”

“If you wanted to see me, you could have come to the garden. There are plenty of children your age there. This is a garden party hosted by the Adler Marquis family, after all.”

“Well, that’s… Father…”

“…”

“Father told me not to come out…”

Hooh.

I inwardly sighed at Evelyn’s answer.

I couldn’t fully understand why the Marquis Adler would prevent his youngest daughter from attending, but looking at this child, I could somewhat guess the reason.

‘Was it to prevent her from trying to befriend me?’

Girls like Margrit are old enough to understand a few words of caution, but a child this young might behave unpredictably despite any warnings.

Of course, there could be other reasons, but what was certain was that Marquis Adler didn’t particularly want this child to appear before me.

I now gazed at the child, Evelyn, with growing curiosity.

Fortunately, she resembled the cream puff-like Marquis Adler only in her eye and hair color, and was quite adorable otherwise.

However, she seemed somewhat withdrawn, unusual for a daughter of a powerful family, which bothered me slightly.

I glanced at the doll in my arms. The dolls that should be sitting quietly in a corner of my bed would soon welcome a new friend.

Sighing inwardly, I asked:

“What’s this doll?”

“Oh, it’s a gift I prepared! I have a doll I sleep with, and it’s incredibly cozy! So I bought the same one as a gift for Your Highness! Only the ribbon color is different. But this one is pretty too!”

“Oh. R-right.”

When the topic of dolls came up, Evelyn’s eyes lit up again, seeming to forget her earlier gloom.

In contrast, my expression turned awkward.

People like Margrit who cleverly try to isolate others or establish dominance are easy to handle.

I’ve dealt with such people since childhood.

But I didn’t know how to handle someone who exposed their true feelings so openly.

If she were an adult, I might simply ignore her, but since she was a child, that didn’t seem right.

‘Hmm. I understand why the Marquis didn’t want her to come out.’

She clearly wasn’t the type to meticulously follow scripts prepared by adults.

This was less about age and more about temperament.

‘But it would be boring to retreat like this.’

If Marquis Adler was determined to act this way, perhaps doing the opposite might be interesting?

If I claimed I had forcibly brought her along, the Marquis would have nothing to say. Above all, I was bothered by the look Margrit had given toward this pillar earlier.

That cold gaze didn’t seem like one directed at her sister.

It was a painfully familiar look.

With that thought, I asked, “Would you like to go to the garden?”

“Pardon?”

“Don’t you want to attend the garden party?”

Honestly, bringing Evelyn along wouldn’t cause any major incident.

At most, the Marquis Adler would grab the back of his head and sigh when he heard about it.

And it would contribute to seeing that unpleasant Margrit’s face contort.

But given my personality, ending things this mildly was the maximum mercy I could show for their rudeness.

Besides, it didn’t seem right to leave a child who had come out wanting to meet me all alone in the hall.

‘If she’s prepared a doll and stood waiting in the hall, doesn’t she want to attend the garden party too?’

My past self would have.

However, contrary to my expectation that Evelyn would happily follow me, she was hesitating.

Why?

As I stared at her, Evelyn carefully shook her head.

“No, thank you. I’ll… just go back to my room.”

“If it’s because of your father, that doesn’t matter. It’s a garden party, after all. Isn’t it natural for you to participate?”

“My sister doesn’t like it.”

“Your sister? Margrit Adler?”

“My sister doesn’t like me attending garden parties. When I do, she gets embarrassed.”

“Embarrassed?”

“…”

“Why would she be embarrassed?”

“…Because I’m not clever enough… I’m different from my sister.”

At that moment, I felt a strange churning inside.

The child’s face, conscious of her sister’s judgment, showed fear beyond mere worry about being scolded.

This wasn’t something created by ordinary sibling quarrels.

I knew exactly what this situation was. I didn’t want to know, but I did. Yet there was nothing I could do about it.

Of course, using my position as princess to warn against such behavior would be simple, but I had no particular reason to do so.

These things are meant to be overcome alone. The weak are naturally preyed upon. With that thought, I slightly twisted my lips.

For some reason, my mood kept souring.

“I see. Alright then.”

I had no interest in forcing someone who didn’t want to come.

But contrary to my thoughts, I untied the decorative ribbon from my wrist and tossed it on the floor.

‘She’ll figure out what to do with it.’

Thinking this, I turned to leave without wasting any more time.

Having met Evelyn in the hall, going up to the second floor was no longer possible, and there was no point in lingering here.

Being away from the party too long wouldn’t change anything anyway.

At that moment, Hasis, who was following me, quietly asked, “Hey, is it okay to leave her like that? The kid who came to see you?”

Knowing what he meant, I replied indifferently, “She said she didn’t want to come.”

“Still. Her eyes said otherwise.”

“She said she didn’t want to. That’s the end of it. Why should I drag her along forcibly? She said no.”

Hasis frowned, seemingly not entirely convinced by my answer.

“Our young lady is quite cold-hearted.”

I heard Ilian say this, but I smiled and replied coldly:

“That’s how the world works. There’s no one in this world who will save the stupid and weak.”

Except, perhaps, oneself.

I was too stupid and too weak. The price I paid for that was severe. And what ended all those situations was, ultimately, the moment I picked up a sword.

I continued walking with an unusually cold expression.

Perhaps noticing this, Hasis and Ilian surprisingly added nothing more to my statement.

* * *

After leaving the mansion, I immediately handed the doll to Hasis.

Hasis, who initially looked at me with a ‘why are you giving this to me?’ expression, saw my face and reluctantly accepted it, tucking it under his arm.

Throughout our walk back to the garden, he looked like he wanted to say something to me.

However, he must have chosen to keep quiet, as the journey to the garden was filled with nothing but silence.