Chapter 006

Chapter 006

“Cute and simple…”

Cute and simple? How could that expression possibly apply to those incidents? Although I had only given three examples, there were many more accidents I had heard the Princess caused. Moreover, they were all major incidents. It wasn’t surprising that she was put on probation.

But such thoughts did not seem to enter the Princess’s line of reasoning.

“I burned down my family’s mansion when I was young.”

“Excuse me?”

“It was a time when everyone was asleep. I fetched oil from the warehouse and spread it around the mansion. Then, the chef accidentally dropped the lamp he was holding. That knocked over all the candles burning in the house.”

I nearly dropped the teacup I was holding. I barely managed to steady it. Hearing about a fire made me flinch involuntarily. Memories from my childhood still refused to leave me.

Now that I thought about it, I’d heard the Kruger family was very historic, yet their mansion wasn’t that old. I once heard the Kruger Mansion was rebuilt ten years ago.

I had assumed the original building was just old, but that wasn’t the case. If the entire building had burned down, it couldn’t have been used as is.

“You look curious as to why I did such a thing. There’s no particular reason. I just wanted to see the mansion burn like a piece of paper in a stove.”

The Princess leisurely held her teacup. She dropped several sugar cubes into it and gently stirred with a teaspoon. I watched the sugar cubes melt from the heat of the hot tea I had just poured.

“The mansion was instantly engulfed in flames and collapsed just like this sugar cube tower. Well, fortunately—or unfortunately—no one died.”

“…”

The Princess eventually took a sip of her tea without a care in the world.

“This tea is delicious. Though, there were too many sugar cubes.”

No matter how hard I thought about it, there was absolutely no way I could ever fall in love with this crazy Princess.

“Priest John! Please do something about that mad Princess!”

“…Anton, if I could do that, would I be standing here right now?”

While I was looking over my documents, Anton burst into the office, huffing and puffing. Listening to him, it seemed Princess Salome had caused another incident.

I wanted to help somehow, but there was probably nothing I could do. Anyone but me would find it difficult to calm Princess Salome down.

I raised an eyebrow slightly. I gathered that the Princess had done something to anger him this time. Anton began to tell the story rapidly, as if he had been waiting for my reaction.

“No, is she truly from a noble family? When the priest went to wake her this morning, she ripped out his hair and screamed at him not to touch her, saying she was going back to sleep. Now the poor priest has a bald spot on his head!”

“…”

“If this were her first time, I wouldn’t say anything. There are strict rules in temple life, but she ignores all of them. Yesterday, she broke the stained glass in the chapel. That is already her 31st act of vandalism! And it’s only been a week since she started her temple life.”

Although the Princess had only been living at the temple for a short time, I had become somewhat accustomed to her eccentricities. So, I merely thought that the priest who managed the temple’s accounts must be having a hard time. Next time we met, I would have to offer him words of comfort.

The Kruger family would compensate for the property damage, but I had an obligation to sort out the Princess’s actions while she was staying at the temple. I organized my documents and got up.

“So, is the Princess awake now?”

“No. No one succeeded in waking her. Wouldn’t it be better to just leave her alone?”

“It’s almost time for the Princess’s lesson. I have no choice. I will go wake her.”

“…Be careful. Priest John might also have his hair ripped out.”

I smoothed my black hair for a moment, then walked out of the office. The office I was in and the room the Princess occupied were a bit far apart. I took quick steps. Class had to start soon.

Since I had to live according to my schedule to satisfy my nature, I couldn’t leave the Princess alone. Of course, the past week had not gone according to my plan even once.

Before I knew it, I arrived in front of the Princess’s room and knocked on the door. Even after waiting for a long time, there was no answer.

“Princess, this is Priest John. You need to get up for your lesson.”

I was so frustrated that I wanted to just open the door and go in. But I couldn’t barge into a lady’s room so carelessly. I knocked harder on the door. Still no answer.

At this point, the Princess might have fainted. I thought about the documents I had to process in the office. I couldn’t put off the lesson any longer. His Eminence the Cardinal said he would reduce my workload while I was in charge of the Princess, but my workload remained the same.

“I will come in. Please forgive my rudeness.”

I opened the door cautiously. The room was quiet. The sight of the Princess sleeping soundly came into view.

I slowly approached, calling the Princess’s name over and over. If possible, I didn’t want to go near the bed. If she really ripped out my hair, I would be in trouble.

Even if it wasn’t for that reason, it was truly improper for me, a single man, to go near a lady’s bed. Though the greater impropriety was already committed when I entered the room.

“How long do you plan on sleeping?”

“It’s all the same. Entire… It’s just that. I don’t like it, I don’t like it.”

The Princess muttered something in her sleep. Because of the distance, I couldn’t hear properly. But the Princess’s expression looked somewhat distressed. Was she having a nightmare? In that case, I needed to wake her even faster.

After some thought, I approached the Princess’s bed. The Princess was breathing heavily and covered in a cold sweat. I carefully placed my hand on the Princess’s shoulder and shook her.

“Princess, are you alright? Wake up.”

Then, the Princess suddenly grabbed my hand and pulled hard. My body, unable to maintain its balance, lurched forward. I instinctively grabbed the bedsheets to stop myself. I need to get up quickly. That’s what my head told me, but my body stiffened and didn’t move.

I looked down at the Princess. Ah, the red-haired angel is sleeping soundly. There was silence.

The Princess slowly opened her eyes. I found myself staring into her amethyst-encrusted eyes.

“Priest, what are you doing? Pouncing on me?”

“No, this is a…”

Ruined. It was the perfect situation to be completely misunderstood.

“Yes, Priest. Do not worry. I won’t tell anyone that High Priest John tried to attack me.”

“How many times must I tell you it was a misunderstanding! The person who pulled me in was you, Princess! Don’t you remember?”

“I don’t remember a thing. How do I know that isn’t a lie fabricated by the Priest?”

“I swear on God’s name, absolutely not.”

The Princess was clearly mocking me. I wiped my face and sighed. Yes, I admitted it was a situation that could have been misunderstood. It was also my fault for carelessly entering the Princess’s room. Even though the Princess pulled me, I was wrong not to immediately get up.

I bowed my head to the Princess, who may have been genuinely displeased with my actions.

“I apologize if entering the room made you uncomfortable. But the intention to actually attack you is…”

The Princess let out a small laugh.

“Priest, you are so naïve. I was just teasing you, yet you apologized so sincerely.”

I was slightly relieved. I was glad she was just making fun of me. If the Princess had truly misunderstood me, the situation would have been very difficult.

The Princess still smiled mischievously. She naturally took my chin and made eye contact. I blinked.

“If you still want to sleep with me, just tell me next time. I’ll be gentle.”

“Princess! Don’t make jokes like that!”

I nearly screamed. What kind of absurd statement was that? Sexual relations were taboo for priests who had to maintain chastity. In the first place, I had never once thought of doing anything like that with the Princess.

I felt my cheeks turning bright red. I covered my face with both hands. The Princess burst out laughing and brought her face closer to mine. Her nose gently brushed against mine.

“Do you think it’s a joke? I’m not joking.”

The Princess’s smile was alluring. If I were an ordinary person, I might have immediately melted at that smile. But I was shocked, shook off the Princess’s hand, and stepped back.

The Princess shamelessly shrugged her shoulders. She looked like her usual self, completely different from the pained expression she had while asleep. I suddenly became curious and asked.

“So, did you have a nightmare earlier? You seemed to be in pain and were talking in your sleep.”

The Princess tilted her head as if she couldn’t quite remember.

“What did I say?”

“‘Entire…’ You said it was nothing more than that and that you didn’t like it. I couldn’t hear the middle word properly.”

A fleeting moment of darkness appeared in the Princess’s eyes. Her bright smile vanished in the blink of an eye. Did I say something wrong? I watched her complexion closely.

“Did I say anything else?”

“No, you didn’t say anything else.”

The Princess immediately smiled brightly again, as if asking when her expression had hardened.

“Well, it’s true that I had a nightmare. But it’s difficult to tell you the details. Because I’m a woman with a lot of secrets.”

“…I see.”

I had no intention of asking if she didn’t want to talk about it. It was simply fascinating to catch a glimpse of a side of the Princess I had never seen before.