I’m Supposed to Be the Neglected Princess in the Future, but Something Seems Strange... - 28 - Return

King Gridor and his queen, after receiving a message from Crown Prince Raphael of the powerful nation of Martan, rushed to the port of Roanne in a panic.

Today, after a one-month journey at sea, the Princess Lea ship was returning to Roanne Port.

However, the royal couple did not go to Roanne Port to joyfully welcome their daughter Lea and her fiancé home.

(Please… let this be a mistake…!)

King Gridor looked up at the clear, cloudless sky with a troubled expression on his handsome face, praying silently.

Before the ship arrived, a messenger from Raphael had already reached them.

After hearing the messenger’s report, King Gridor was so shocked he nearly fainted.

His beloved daughter Lea had left a note during the voyage and disappeared. She was found safely, but it was said she ran away with her lover—and that same lover had stolen her money and jewels, then abandoned her.

There was also a report that Lea’s maid, Surin, tried to harm someone named Rose. But that didn’t matter now. The problem was that Raphael was extremely angry about Lea’s attempted elopement.

“We will talk about the future in detail when I return.”

That’s what was written in the letter the messenger had given him. Remembering those words, King Gridor felt a wave of dread.

There was no doubt now—the engagement between Lea and Raphael would be canceled. The real problem was how much compensation would be demanded. In the worst case, a part of their land could be taken. Since it was clearly their fault, if the matter got too big, it could even affect diplomatic relations. It was a serious matter of national trust.

He waited anxiously, watching the ship grow closer over the sea.

First, he needed to take them back to the castle before Raphael said anything in public. This whole matter should be kept secret from the citizens until it was resolved.

When the elegant, curved Princess Lea docked at the port, the gathered crowd cheered loudly. They were waiting eagerly for Lea and her handsome fiancé to come down the ramp.

King Gridor felt a sharp pain in his stomach. What if Raphael and Lea came down separately? The people would think something was wrong. If only, just for now, they could come down smiling together, as if still engaged… But maybe that was asking too much.

To avoid confusion, Raphael and the others should disembark before the general passengers.

Without realizing it, King Gridor clasped his hands tightly near his chest as he stared at the ramp. Then, a flash of bright citrine yellow appeared in his vision. It was Raphael.

The citizens let out an even louder cheer when they saw Raphael—but in the next moment, they all went silent.

The woman standing next to Raphael was not Lea. It was someone else.

She was a small woman. And she was incredibly beautiful. Her dark blue hair swayed gently in the wind, and her mysterious tanzanite-colored eyes sparkled.

Raphael took her hand gently and began walking down the ramp with grace.

(Ha…!)

King Gridor couldn’t help but smile a little.

That woman wasn’t Lea. Raphael had brought another woman with him. This was lucky. Even if Lea had tried to run away, Raphael was still her fiancé. But here he was—bringing another woman down the ramp in such an intimate way. That meant they had a case to argue on their side. Whatever the truth was, they could claim that Lea ran away because Raphael had feelings for someone else. That would make negotiations much easier.

King Gridor was still smiling when he suddenly froze.

Just as Raphael reached the bottom of the ramp, one of his guards raised his voice and declared:

“His Highness Raphael, and Her Highness Rose, Second Princess of Gridor, have returned!”

King Gridor gasped and widened his eyes.

“Rose!?”

He forgot about the crowd around him and shouted.

“Impossible! Rose… but Rose is…!”

He couldn’t finish his sentence.

Now that he looked closely, Rose did seem to have that same blue hair. Her eyes also had that strange color, like the sky turning from dusk into night. Her build… maybe similar. He had never really looked at her properly, but maybe…

And then—

Raphael, now standing close to King Gridor, turned Rose’s face toward him with a smile.

When King Gridor saw Rose’s face clearly, he couldn’t stop his body from trembling.

(…She looks like me.)

He had believed she didn’t look like him. He thought she was the child of an affair. He was furious that the queen had given birth to a child from some unknown man. But—Rose had a beauty that looked just like his own.

He was speechless.

Rose’s mysterious eyes met his only for a moment. Then she looked down. To the father, it looked like rejection.

The queen beside him was also frozen, staring in shock.

While King Gridor trembled, unable to speak, a voice called out:

“Her Highness Princess Lea has returned!”

King Gridor quickly looked up. He was shocked to see Lea coming down the ramp between two guards, like a prisoner being transported.

The crowd, who had been silent until now, began to murmur.

The black hair and black eyes were the same—but the face was different.

(…Who is that?)

That was King Gridor’s honest reaction.

He didn’t recognize her. That face wasn’t Lea’s. Because Lea was as beautiful as a goddess. That girl was not.

He couldn’t understand. He shook his head over and over without meaning to.

Beside him, the queen quietly fainted.

But King Gridor didn’t have time to help her.

Raphael smiled and whispered softly in the king’s ear:

“Princess Lea really looks a lot like Her Majesty the Queen. I’ve heard even her bare face without makeup is exactly the same.”

Raphael’s quiet laugh echoed in his ear and then faded.

Lea looks like the queen? Even without makeup?

…Come to think of it, had he ever seen the queen’s real face without makeup?

What did that mean?

He kept asking himself, over and over, but his mind was too confused to find the answer.

He stared blankly at Lea, who was looking down like she was afraid of everyone’s eyes.