CHAPTER 26: THE FOUND PRINCESS

The idiotic phrase "it’s not what you think" would be very appropriate right now. I held my breath while Duke Dickens stared at the child with shocked eyes.

There was probably no point in making excuses.

In this country, there were only two people I couldn’t fool: the emperor himself and Duke Dickens. The latter had served the imperial family for many years and couldn’t fail to recognize his master’s only daughter. Angela Stone looked very much like her father.

When the man regained his ability to move, he slowly walked to the back of the room. His gaze remained fixed on Angela. The girl was still sleeping peacefully, her breathing steady.

— ....

A silence fell between us. I was afraid to speak first.

Dickens Sr. cleared his throat.

"Explain," he began hoarsely, "What does this mean?"

At first, I decided to play dumb.

"I don’t understand what you mean," I said sincerely.

William looked at me menacingly. The initial shock in his emotions was mixed with anger. He pointed his finger at me.

"YOU...!" The duke could barely contain his shout. "So you are behind the kidnapping of Her Highness?!"

"......"

"What were you thinking? Do you even know that you have committed treason?"

The duke’s accusations rained down on me. I kept a straight face. I had to think of something quickly. This situation really did look extremely ambiguous.

The kidnapped crown princess is in my bedroom. What’s more, the duke caught me red-handed. What else could I say? He could have me tied up and sent to the scaffold without further explanation.

At the very least, trying to convince the man that this girl was not Angela was a failed idea from the start. Knowing the truth, I would look even more suspicious.

I cleared my throat, pretending not to be the least bit upset.

"Do you think you have the right to make such loud accusations?" I frowned. "Treason... You can’t charge me with that without evidence."

William smiled bitterly.

"Evidence?" he repeated. "Her Highness disappeared about ten years ago. And you’re the first person I’ve found her with!"

"So what? Don’t you think the princess could have ended up with me by accident?"

"By accident?!" the man flared up.

"Quite possible."

"Don’t try to make a fool of me! The whole empire knows that the crown princess was kidnapped. To be honest, I’ve long suspected that your family might be involved in this matter..."

I looked deeply offended.

"My family? What does it have to do with them?"

I did my best to get out of the situation.

Of course, I knew that my father was behind Angela’s real kidnapping. But now I stubbornly pretended that this was not the case. Harris Weinstein kidnapped the princess almost immediately after her birth in order to make her his hostage. The girl was to play the role of a bargaining chip in the struggle for the throne.

Harris knew that the current emperor would do anything for his only daughter.

And at first, the plan went very smoothly. Angela was successfully stolen from the palace, but then an unexpected obstacle awaited them. The Weinsteins’ old enemies decided to strike at that very moment. And after a bloody battle that lasted all night, the newborn princess disappeared.

Driven mad with grief, the emperor promised a reward to anyone who would return his daughter to the palace. And the reward was truly unimaginable — a hundred gold bars and a piece of land anywhere in the empire. In essence, someone who was a beggar yesterday could become one of the richest people in the empire in an instant.

It is not surprising that so many people rushed to search for the princess. But finding Angela before she came of age was practically impossible. The heroine lived in a remote village, where news from the capital hardly ever reached. The locals didn’t even know that the crown princess was missing.

And now, this golden child suddenly appeared in my bedroom. What’s more, I didn’t take the girl to the palace immediately after she was found. It’s logical to assume that I am the kidnapper.

If things go badly, Duke Dickens will indeed turn me in. Despite his personal dislike of the emperor, the man was infinitely devoted to his country.

Right now, I was walking on the thin ice of his trust.

Realizing this, I chose my words carefully. William Dickens was waiting for an explanation from me, on which his decision depended.

"We are indeed called a family of villains," I said, "but what makes you think we are behind this kidnapping?"

The man snorted.

"Of course, to carry out a coup..."

"A coup?" I smiled. "Think about it. Ten years ago, I was just a child myself. Why would I do something like that?"

"Very funny!" he exclaimed irritably. "I know that back then, your father had long had his eye on the throne..."

"You’re wrong. My father wasn’t that kind of person."

"What?"

"Even though he was a villain, my father had principles. He would never have used children for his own purposes."

"......"

While I lied without blushing, the duke was already preparing to bring new charges against me. I beat him to it:

"Besides, the previous head of the Weinstein family has been dead for a long time. If all this were really necessary for a coup, the princess would have returned to the palace long ago."

"Exactly!" the man exclaimed triumphantly. "That’s what I wanted to ask! For what purpose are you holding..."

"It’s not me."

"What...?"

"All this time, the princess was raised by a commoner."

Dickens Sr. was stunned by this statement.

"What are you talking about?"

I sighed and put my hands behind my back. I began my story with a tragic look:

"In fact, ten years ago, my father saved Her Highness."

"What...?" the duke asked incredulously, thinking he had misheard.

"You know that the empire has many enemies. And one of them kidnapped the princess that night," I continued. "My father found out about it by accident... And for the sake of the empire’s well-being, he protected Her Highness."

The duke was stunned.

"Protected...?"

"My father entered into an unequal battle with the bandits and, unfortunately, was killed... But before that, he managed to hide the princess among ordinary people so that no one would find out and harm her."

I twisted the original story in an incredible way. I turned Harris Weinstein, who was actually a real villain, into a hero of the empire. The man even sacrificed his life to save the heir to the throne!

Duke Dickens listened to this story with his mouth agape. He was usually a very perceptive man, and his cold blue eyes pierced me. But for the sake of saving my life, I was ready to do more than that.

"And then...?"

I sighed heavily.

"The thing is, until recently, I myself did not know the whereabouts of Her Highness. We met by chance. At that time, the assassins tried to attack her again..."

Dickens jumped up in surprise.

"What? Her Highness was attacked?"

"Fortunately, I arrived in time and saved her. But the princess was wounded. I had to bring her here."

This story, which I had made up in a couple of minutes, sounded like incredible nonsense. How did I find out about the assassins and end up there? How did I know that this girl was the crown princess? And a bunch of other questions that the man would have been better off not asking. I kept a calm expression on my face until the very end.

Duke Dickens seemed extremely alarmed.

"So you’re saying that until now, the princess has been living with some commoner?"

"Exactly."

"And where is he?" the man pressed.

"He should be here soon..."

The duke clenched his fists.

"No! This cannot continue!" he suddenly declared. "Angela de Stone is the heiress and the only hope of our people. She cannot live in such conditions!"

I was surprised.

"And what are you going to do?"

"Bring her back to the palace, of course."

The duke’s answer seemed obvious. But I unexpectedly objected:

"To the place where the princess will be in the greatest danger?"

William froze.

"What are you talking about?"

"You’re right," I sighed, "Her Highness is our only heir. Many people are hunting for her, and... they want her dead."

"In that case, the palace is the safest place!" the duke declared calmly.

"On the contrary. It’s the most dangerous place."

"What...?"

"Have you forgotten what happened ten years ago?" I reminded him. "Bandits kidnapped the princess right under the guards’ noses. Who can guarantee that it won’t happen again?"

In the end, I resigned myself to the fact that the original plot of the game had gone down the drain. Now everything had gotten even worse. However... Even so, I tried with all my might to preserve at least the main part of the canon. Angela must not return to the palace before she comes of age.

That’s where she’ll meet her love interests. Otherwise, what’s the point of this game?

Now I was ready to cling to this option with all my might.

"But...!" the man wanted to object.

"Returning the princess right now would be like sending her to certain death," I insisted stubbornly.

The duke glanced at me with displeasure.

"What do you suggest, then?"

"Until we find the killers, it’s better for the princess to live outside the palace. No one must know about her origins."

After I explained the situation to him, the duke looked uncertainly at Angela. His gaze was drawn to the fact that she was dressed very poorly and really looked like a commoner.

Under my reasonable arguments, Dickens Sr. finally gave in. But he set a condition.

"All right..." he conceded, "But in that case, Her Highness will live on my estate."

"What?" I was taken aback.

"She is the crown princess!" the duke snapped. "I cannot allow the heir to our empire to languish in poverty!"

I sighed.

"And how will you explain that?"

"Hmm?"

"A stranger’s child suddenly appearing in your house," I concluded, "and one who looks very similar to Her Highness... In that case, the princess will only become an easy target for assassins."

William pursed his lips angrily. He didn’t want to, but he had to agree with me. Being not the last person in the empire, he was indeed watched by many eyes.

He asked:

"Then will you take her in?"

I choked.

Me?! No way! The main villain and the heroine in the same house? It sounded more like some kind of joke.

However, I didn’t have to decide for myself. The system thoughtfully provided me with ready-made options. As I understood, they were decisive in this quest.

"Hand the princess over to Duke Dickens."

"Keep the princess for myself."

"Return the princess to Enoch."

I sighed heavily. Either way, seeing how persistent the duke was, I didn’t really have a choice.

I’d have to turn Enoch into an aristocrat.