What’s Wrong with Going Out to Explore?

Ellie’s request, of course, was denied.

She had just fallen and injured herself from going out to “get some fresh air,” and now she wanted to wander the city alone?

No matter how bold one was, no one would allow that.

Normally, Ellie had been a gentle, compliant girl.

If a maid suggested refusing her request, she usually wouldn’t argue.

But this time, Ellie’s attitude was much firmer.

After all, the consciousness inside this girl’s body was no longer the weak little girl of the past.

Even if she had only sat on the throne for a month, she had been the ruthless tyrant recorded in history books—one who killed more ministers than anyone could count.

How could someone like that be stopped by a single maid?

However, after thinking it over, she decided not to act too extreme.

She simply pushed the empty teacup toward the maid and smiled pleasantly:

“That’s true. The sun is too harsh right now. Maybe it will cool down later. I’ll leave in an hour. If my outing requires approval, you’d better handle it within the hour, okay?”

In her old life, if she waved her hand, that maid would never dare utter another “no” again—
Because her life would’ve ended.

But now, there was no need for such cruelty.

So she gave the maid an hour to decide—
Should she let Ellie go, or should she call someone else?

And the result?
Naturally, as expected—
Solor came.

The maid might not have much authority and couldn’t meet Solor directly, but like a flaky pastry layered over and over, she reported to her superior, who reported to their superior, until the message reached the “most effective” person.

That person, of course, was Solor.

“Brother, aren’t you very busy?”

Ellie sat before the vanity mirror.

She didn’t know much about makeup, but she could at least use it to examine her own face properly.

A stranger’s face—yet one that belonged to her now.

And because it was hers, she must memorize every detail.

The shape of her eyes, the height of her nose, the curve of her lips, the mole at the corner of her eye—

If she wanted to become “Ellie,” she had to engrave these details into memory.

“There wasn’t much to do, really. I just spent some time talking with someone from the Mohr family… He has a distant cousin visiting the capital. Also very stubborn. So I wondered if I could ask him for advice. Haa…”

Solor clearly didn’t want the air between them to feel tense, so he began chatting casually.

While speaking, he kept glancing at Ellie’s expression, hoping his presence would feel warm and familiar rather than distant.

Ellie really did seem less close to him lately.

Ever since he grew busy with matters of succession, Ellie had gradually faded from his view.

There were even several times when he went to see her, and instead of being happy, she seemed to be hiding something—avoiding him.

Solor didn’t seem to realize how dazzling he was.

So dazzling that others could only become shadows under his feet.

“Mohr family? Oh.”

Hearing the familiar surname, Ellie paused.

Then she remembered—
Wasn’t that the surname of the former deputy captain?
Solor must mean Carlyle.

Back when she was Eric, her greatest troubles had always come from the Royal Knight Order supporting Solor.

The deputy captain and captain were both troublesome in their own ways.

The captain acted like a cheerful fool, yet managed to charm her top assassin into following him.

The deputy captain was originally a merchant but frighteningly capable and principled.

Neither was easy to deal with.

To defeat those two, she had lost much—soldiers, money, even dignity.

But now, since she no longer needed to oppose Solor, those two might even become allies?

Hmm… who knew?

Since arriving here, she had been recovering in the palace and hadn’t checked on anyone from her past life.

If she could turn from man to woman, maybe that damn captain could turn from man to dog.

Haha, let him eat a big helping of fate 😄.

“Yes, the Mohr family. But after chatting, I realized your situations are very different. His cousin is too adventurous—doesn’t act like a noble lady at all. Wants to try everything, even planning to abandon her family estate to open a clothing shop… But Ellie, you…”

“So in contrast, I’m the type who doesn’t want to explore at all?”

Ellie finished the sentence for him when he hesitated, turning his unspoken thoughts into a question—and answering it.

“…”

“No, that’s not what I meant.”

Faced with his sister, Solor clearly wasn’t using those polished “social strategies.”

There was no political calculation, no manipulation—
Just the awkward sincerity one showed to the person they cared about most.

“I’m guessing the reason you squeezed out time to come here is because the maid told you I wanted to go out, right? Isn’t that what you want? I can start exploring now, Brother.”

And indeed, exploring was something Ellie herself wanted to do.

As “Ellie,” her life had been terribly constrained.

Everyone seemed to adore the princess, but because of her weak personality, she had always seemed easy to push around.

She couldn’t immediately show the sharpness she once had as the second prince—
But at least before that, she wanted to gather information and understand the current political landscape.

And if her purpose was information gathering…
Going alone was best.

If a group followed her, people would be frightened before she could even ask a question.

And whatever she asked would spread to everyone’s ears.

She didn’t even know yet which people around her were trustworthy.

Whether any nobles had inserted spies into her attendants.

Or whether there were careless gossips leaking information.

After arriving in this world, Ellie wanted to let go of her past—
Maybe not live a quiet, peaceful princess life, but at least atone for her sins.

But it had only been a few days, and she already realized—

Changing behaviors formed over twenty years was… surprisingly difficult.