Chapter 2

“Your words show a distinct lack of etiquette or love for this family.” [1]

“...”

Well, my brother is showing his ‘love' by giving me a lecture, if that's what he's talking about. As a reminder, this is even before checking if his sister has recovered from her life-threatening fever, but whatever.

There certainly is such a thing as etiquette in a family, which my stepmother seems to have a good hold on. Apparently, Princess Rubia's normal behaviour seems to not be in good form.

'It's frustrating.'

In my past life I had a habit of smoking. Now, I had to force myself to stop looking around for a short smoking pipe.

"Anyway, your words and deeds are not alright. Apologise to your mother."

Sven and my stepmother are really arm in arm. What a sweet development. Sven really has a silver tongue.

I tried to contradict Sven's words, but I quickly gave up.

I wasn't Rubia and so I was very tired of the love affairs of this cut-throat family.

"My apologies."

“......What?"

"I apologize, so please relax. By the way, you like apples, so please eat a lot of apples on the way out."

There was a moment of silence in the room.

For a moment, my stepmother trembled as if she was having a fit of convulsions.

"You, you...! It's now..."

"Do you hate apples? I thought you liked them. Well, if you don't like them, don't eat them, of course." 

My stepmother grew more and more angry at my words. She seemed on the verge of an explosion over the excitement.

Of course, this was the direction of development that I wanted.

At that same time, Sven stepped forward as if to stop his stepmother.

"Rubia, what the h.e.l.l does that mean?”

He gave me a scowl.

I replied with a blank look in my eyes.

"Is there anything wrong with that? Apples are good for your health and if you eat one a day, you're less likely to get a major disease. I realised this when I was sick and so now, my health is very good."

"You...!"

Sven, who was angry, suddenly shut his mouth. My stepmother, who was expecting Sven to scold me looked towards me with a suspicious look on her face.

"...I'd better get back, Mother."

"Prince?"

My stepmother made a face showcasing her disbelief.

But Sven shook his head at her gently.

Then, my stepmother was forced to step down. Sven, the heir to the empire, was no match for a mere stepmother.

My stepmother left the room, still staring at me.

Finally left alone, I let my expression drop.

'Oh, he's not stupid.'

Sven realized that this game of apology was not just a pun, but rather a mockery of their behaviour.

How proper is it to be in a rush to criticize a family member that has just recovered from a serious illness? And when he finally realized it, he backed away, with no room to undo his actions.

'Whatever, I don't care. Let's just go to sleep now.'

I flopped down on my bed. Then I fell asleep right away.

*

*

*

I had a happy dream.

A memory.

It was a dream from my 53rd life, when I was spending time with the cows. Back then I was a little girl, smiling brightly. I loved them, and they loved me, too. In my dream, I looked happy. [2]

Then I woke up, and the pillow I was gripping to my stomach was soaked with sweat.

I sighed and said,

"Lou, get me some water."

The room is silent. 

I already know.

There is no 'Lou' now. In my 53rd life I found comfort in isolation, but that young version of me wasn't so used to it.

I smiled softly.

There was no need to reminisce. This was merely a lingering sense of loss after thinking about that previous life.

In that past life of mine I lived with my brother and I thought… I thought after all this time has pa.s.sed, that I would be used to this by now.

Anyway, apart from all that, I also seem to be getting used to not eating anything. 

In this situation eating is the best.

However, thinking about it, I haven't received food since I woke up. I tried to look around for a maid, but no one noticed me. My stepmother was probably to blame.

I thought there would be at least one maid who was serving me. I stood with a blank expression and made my way out. [3]

“-- I mean, I ...” 

"Is that true?"

Maids were loitering in the empty dining hall after a meal, chatting casually.

But the moment I entered, their eyes turned towards me and their mouths shut with a snap. 

Suddenly, the dining room's atmosphere stilled and fell into silence.

They looked at me like I was an enemy, with disregard and contempt.

There was a touch of sympathy mixed within a few of those glances, but most were cold stares. 

I couldn't bring myself to care and raised my voice....

"Give me something to eat. A steak, medium-rare. Oh, if there's wine, I'd like it to come out too, preferably of the Dorbosan Lebien variety."

There was embarra.s.sment in the eyes of the maids.

It seemed like a surprise to them that Rubia would make such a request. 

The Rubia they knew was a timid little princess who always hunched her shoulders and couldn't speak properly.

"What are you doing? Quickly serve the food."

"The food only comes out at the set mealtimes. So, at the moment, there's no food." A kitchen maid opened her mouth. 

As a favoured maid of stepmother Margaret, her gaze seemed quite mocking.

"No food?"

"Yes, there is none."

"Then make some now."

"What?"

"If you don't have any food then make it right now, what's wrong with you?" 

The kitchen maid shut her mouth for a moment at my words. Then she heaved a great sigh.

"Haah, bothersome."

It was muttered under her breath, but I heard it. Of course, it was obviously meant to be heard on purpose.

"All right. Wait a minute," said the maid, but she didn't show an ounce of respect to the princess. 

So, this is what Rubia, the master of this castle, has been treated like. No one treats her properly in this castle. Even the lowly maids ignored Rubia, following the legion of her stepmother, which was further pushed by the King's neglect and the Prince's indifference.

'Let's just eat. I'm feeling tired, so I'll eat first and think later.'

Soon the kitchen maid appeared with a tray. On the tray there was a small bowl lying half-heartedly. Tarak! The maid threw the bowl before me.

After she laughed in vain, she raised her lips in a smirk.

"This is all I have for you. Enjoy your meal."

The bowl was half-full and only contained cold oatmeal.

"And please make sure to get to the real mealtimes next time. It's improper to show such laziness, princess." 

I sighed and got up.

I wasn't going to do this if possible because it was very annoying, but I couldn't not react to that. She went well over the line.

"Are you done talking?" When I stood up and looked down at her, the middle-aged representative maid flinched slightly.

However, she continued, raising her nose after remembering the usual timid Rubia.

"Yes. Please be careful next time."

I agonized over how to resolve this situation, wherein authority of the household has collapsed. There were numerous ways. However, they were all troublesome, so I chose the simplest and fastest way.

There was one easy way to fix a broken household.

And that was to show overwhelming authority.

My hands slice through the air and hit the maid's cheek.

I gave her a thras.h.i.+ng.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

The representative maid screamed and fell.

Other maids around her screamed and turned pale due to the unexpected disaster. I looked down at the maid who had collapsed, distracted by the pain and shock.

"Get up."

The representative maid covered her swollen cheeks with her hands and gazed at me with a venomous look. 

When I saw the look in her eyes, I said, “You must have been trained poorly, or the Grand Duke of Luxen seems funny to you.”

 “....!”

The words "Grand Duke of Luxen" stopped the maid.

I swallowed back a sigh. After my previous lives, I experienced this repertoire many times. I'm bored.

"I am the first princess of the Grand Duke of Luxen. To treat me like this is to wish for the annihilation of King Luxen. You've got a death wish, haven't you?”

The maids turned pale.

Because there was nothing wrong with what I said.

No matter how much she followed my stepmother's power, how dare she insult a princess with her status as a maid. To be fair, death was an unavoidable sin.

"I did not mean to disrespect the Duke..." The representative maid said, "I never hoped for the decline of the Princess either."

"Really?"

I tilted my head and looked straight into her eyes. Facing my bright red eyes, the maid was stiff as a mouse in front a snake.

“You mean so?” 

The representative maid gulped. Her eyes were filled with confusion, shock, and fear.

Finally, the maid shook her head.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

When I heard the insults, I couldn't hold myself back. Well, to make sure this doesn't happen again, this level of authority should be fine.

I think I should've warned her more harshly, but it was too annoying. I was simply hungry.

"Give me some food."

“Yes."

The manner of the maids became much more polite than before. The kitchen was bustling with new cooking and soon elaborate dishes began to emerge. Cold appetizers, shrimp, fish dishes, medium-rare steak, fresh sherbet and even Dorbosan Lebien wine, just like I asked for.

It was a dinner as if serving a VIP.

I thought slowly while cutting the steak.

‘It's not enough as it is. I still have to find a way.'

The kitchen maid got scolded by example, but there would always be one or two people who would ignore Princess Rubia and treat her like an enemy. It could even be said that my enemy was the entire castle.

I thought through countless ways of fixing this situation in my head, while chewing the meat.

'What life was that in? Seventh, fourteenth or thirty-third?'

It wasn't the first time this kind of experience has happened.

In each past life, I'd overcome this situation in a different way. Whether it was by influencing others with kindness, showcasing harsh authority, or by destroying my enemies in a conspiracy. I thought it would be possible to choose an option out of my previous actions. Frankly, Rubia's stepmother... didn't seem to be a very difficult villain.

However, thinking through my options, I quickly grew weary. I was tired.

---

[1] The actual sentence was: "The birch to an exhortation for me is younger brother to build urinary or etiquette in the house approval in love to eseoimnikka." What is even happening.

[2] This says 53rd life as a little girl, but last chapter I swear it said they were a guy in their last life. ??????

[3] This actually translated to her maid being punished or something, but the translation was too nonsensical.

*This is machine translated so it's not entirely accurate.*