Favoritism

After Solor left, Ellie quickly finished the piece of cream cake.

After all, this was something she genuinely liked to eat.

Taking dainty bites one after another would just be pretending.

If she truly wanted to eat it, she would stuff it into her mouth in two or three bites.

Let the flavor she loved fill her entire mouth.

Even her throat would be filled.

Not a single drop of cream escaped from the corner of her lips.

In the end, everything slid down her throat and settled into her stomach.

Only when she felt her belly pleasantly full did it count as proper respect for her favorite food.

After that, Ellie casually wiped her mouth with a napkin.

She stood up from her seat and lowered her head to glance at the outfit she was wearing.

“Do you have something lighter to wear?”

The clothes she had on were already fairly light.

But because she was inside the palace, and specifically in the back garden near her own chambers, what she was wearing was hardly different from high-end sleepwear.

They were essentially home clothes.

After all, she didn’t need to receive young noble ladies who might pop out of nowhere.

There was no need to dress herself meticulously at all times.

No need to make herself look like a Christmas tree covered in ornaments.

Still, going out in these clothes was far too unrealistic.

Meeting people inside the palace didn’t require overly formal attire.

It wasn’t as if she wasn’t wearing underwear.

Relaxing a little was fine.

But going out meant she had to dress somewhat properly.

She didn’t need to be flamboyant.

But she couldn’t go out wearing pajamas.

“Your Highness, are you going out?”

Hearing this, the little maid beside her walked over again.

This maid was called Rena.

Ellie had deliberately asked for her name before.

She was the same little girl who had accompanied Ellie to the knight order last time.

The one who later shouted, “The princess is going to die.”

She wasn’t very old.

Only seventeen.

Still a young girl.

But thinking about it, Ellie herself was only a few years older than her.

After coming to this other world, aside from occasionally struggling to adapt to the lifestyle changes brought by her gender, she also felt slightly out of place with her age.

After all, in her previous life, she had been in her twenties.

In a few more years, she would have been thirty.

Coupled with years of imperial power struggles, her mindset was bound to differ from that of an Ellie who hadn’t even reached twenty yet.

Previously, Solor had looked young.

Like he was just in his early twenties.

But in reality, he truly was only in his early twenties.

Not even twenty-one yet.

And she herself, only a year younger than him, hadn’t reached twenty either.

Though she was close.

An old fox who had fought in politics for over a decade suddenly becoming a sickly teenage girl…

Sometimes, it really was hard to adapt.

Speaking of which, she remembered that in the previous world, the knight order’s commander had been about the same age as her royal brother.

But Iveria—Red Raven—had been four or five years younger than that commander…

…😧

…Was Iveria even an adult? 😟

At this thought, Ellie suddenly frowned.

But after thinking it over again, Red Raven could already split into two people.

Maybe Iveria’s age in this world had some sort of underage auto-adjustment as well.

Forget it.

No matter how much she complained, Iveria was already someone else’s wife 😠.

How infuriating.

Stealing my Red Raven like that.

Ellie was surprisingly clear-cut when it came to love and hate.

Toward Fers, it was “you traitor who eats from my bowl and looks elsewhere.”

Toward Iveria, it became “it must be that knight commander bastard who used some trick to steal my person.”

Logically speaking, for Ellie, Iveria and Fers should have been the same person.

Yet strangely, her attitude toward them was different.

Could it be that Iveria received some kind of favoritism?

No.

Putting that aside.

Now that the people around her had changed, she should place part of her attention on those currently by her side.

For example, this little maid named Rena.

Because she was a teenage girl, she was full of energy.

And because Ellie hadn’t known this girl in her previous life, she had no prejudice or preconceived notions toward her.

Whatever Rena did would naturally leave its own impression in Ellie’s heart.

As for what that impression was…

This girl was quite interesting.

She was good at taking care of people.

And very lively.

Though sometimes she was reckless and exaggerated.

For example, grabbing a guard’s trousers and crying that the princess was about to die.

Still, she seemed like a good person.

A girl worth continuing to interact with.

She was practically a blank slate of pure white.

This was what a real young girl should be like.

Not like herself.

Someone whose emotions had already become somewhat twisted.

Such innocent little girls should stay under her care…

…And continue to preserve their innocence.

At least to some extent.

If anything happened, Ellie would cover for it herself.

There was no need to worry about something too serious being beyond her ability to handle.

Just a little girl…

She shouldn’t walk the same path as her.

But she probably wouldn’t.

That kind of personality meant she didn’t have a mother who abused emotions.

Nor a brother who bore a life-and-death grudge against her.

“Yes.

I’m going out for a bit.

I want to visit the church.

That place is best for calming the mind.

I think it’s good for my illness.”

“—Yes.

That’s right.

It’s a place blessed by the gods.

If you go often, maybe your condition will improve.

I’ll prepare your hair and clothes.

The weather is lovely today.”

Whenever Ellie wanted to go out, she always had to find an excuse.

For a naive little girl who genuinely cared about her, explanations related to her illness worked best.

Because they truly cared about her.

They genuinely wanted her condition to improve as soon as possible.

…Why, though?

Ellie didn’t quite understand.

She hadn’t done anything.

She hadn’t given them benefits.

She hadn’t threatened their families.

So why were they so willing to stay by her side?

Why did they serve her with such loyalty?

In her previous life…

She had used countless punishments.

Endless coercion and temptation.

Only then did the people around her choose to support her.

Even her own mother had treated her that way.

Harsh beatings had been commonplace.

The reason her body had been so resilient in her last life was largely thanks to her mother’s “education” during childhood…

But now—ah.

How strange.

Why was this happening?

Where did their loyalty even come from?

She had once thought they stayed by her side for something in return.

Yet she discovered they genuinely treated this second princess well.

This sickly second princess.

She was loved by everyone.

So happy.

Even Ellie couldn’t help but sigh like that.

Just watching the little maid named Rena run off to prepare clothes for her, Ellie felt that…

Everything was simply too happy.

But in that case, would more people come to care about her?

If she died, perhaps it wouldn’t just be her royal brother who cried.

They would shed tears for her too.

Thinking that way…

It felt even happier.