The surviving princess {Liskook}

Chapter 9

Every evening, the Jeon household experienced a small commotion during dinner time. This was, of course, due to the princess’s eccentric behavior at the table.

Soo-hyun, who often frowned at the sight, eventually began avoiding dinner under the pretense of visiting the homes of his vassals.

Ji won did not hide her dissatisfaction, complaining that her husband seemed to be experiencing mood swings in his old age. Seeing this, Jungkook suggested that they have a formal family dinner only once a week, which brought a temporary peace to the household.

Initially, the royal maids who claimed they would serve the princess now only showed up at the end of meals to clean her up. As a result, Jungkook found himself dining alone with his wife in their bedroom every evening.

Strangely, with fewer people around, the princess became noticeably more docile. Just when Jungkook thought this might not be as difficult as he had anticipated, an incident occurred.

“This is roast quail.”

Suddenly, the princess turned her head away, refusing to even look at the plate. Puzzled, Jungkook cut a piece of sea bass from the other plate and offered it to her. She glanced at it out of the corner of her eye, opened her mouth, but kept her gaze fixed elsewhere.

“Have you had a bad experience with quail? Should I take it away?”

Despite the maids’ assurances that she wasn’t picky, the princess didn’t respond. However, as soon as Jungkook removed the quail dish, her tense body visibly relaxed.

“Let’s not include quail in the meals from now on. Ah, how about mushrooms? Do you like them?”

The princess ate relatively well, with the exception of quail.

******

The maids were no longer surprised when the princess entered the workroom. When the royal maid left on some pretext, they would routinely inform the butler of the situation.

Today, the princess, instead of touching anything, simply stared blankly out the window before sprawling out on the floor. Two maids quickly dropped their tasks and rushed over to guide her to a pile of clothes.

“Young madam, the floor is cold. Please lie down over here,” they coaxed.

When the princess ignored their attempts, the maids brought over blankets and garments, carefully rolling her onto the makeshift bed.

“That’s better.”

“Young madam, you should stay on this. The floor is cold and hard.”

Once settled, the princess closed her eyes and soon began to snore softly, allowing the maids to return to their work.

“You know, young madam would look so much better in finer clothes.”

“Indeed. If the problem is getting dirty, perhaps we could make a nice bib with some embroidery?”

While a few maids discussed this wistfully, the new maids exchanged puzzled glances.

After finishing his afternoon duties, Jungkook sought out his wife again. He wanted to ask about her day, but communication was impossible, and she wouldn’t even meet his gaze. With a sigh, he rang the bell for dinner.

As usual, the royal maids came to clean up the princess, now sticky with food. Once they had her washed and settled back in bed, Jungkook moved to the adjoining study.

Opening the safe, he found a letter from Edil, his mother’s maid, tucked among the documents. It was news he had been waiting for, so he opened it first.