Side: Sheila

“Why, why, why, why—”

Gnashing my teeth, I treaded down the hallway.

I had reported Iris to father so that she could see the error of her ways, but she was more cunning than I thought!

“Look at her, running her mouth so shamelessly!”

…And here I thought that she was better than those barbaric mercenaries who could only flail their weapons around, but how mistaken I was—!

“At this rate, I won’t be able to save the orphanage!”

With every passing second, the orphans were being exploited.

“Lou—”

A silver-eyed and golden-eyed young man carrying a large pile of documents appeared before me. His name was Lou. When I was young, I visited the slums out of curiosity and found him.

At the time, even though we were around the same age, he was very skinny.

Taking pity on him, I gave him shelter in the royal palace. When I asked for his name, he didn’t reply. He probably didn’t have parents to name him. Pitying him, I decided to name him ‘Lou.’

“Your Highness.”

“Ugh, Lou, I already told you many times, just call me Sheila! We’re like siblings to each other!”

“I can’t. I’m a lowly commoner from the slums.”

“Why are you saying such pitiful things? Ah, Lou, you’re injured.”

I saw a scratch on the back of his hand.

“Oh, I must’ve scratched it somewhere.”

“You’re unexpectedly clumsy. Here, let me take care of it.”

“No, I can’t afford to bother Her Highness.”

Despite his calm and composed appearance, Lou was always injured somewhere. That clumsiness of his was kind of adorable.

“What are those documents? Are you working again? You’re my brother, so you don’t have to work. Raise your head and be proud. Consider yourself a member of the royal family.”

“…Thank you for your consideration, but this is what I want to do.”

“Is that so? If so, that’s all right. Speak to me if you have any grievances.”

“I understand, thank you.”

Now, if only Iris had this kind of relationship with the orphans.

Instead, she took pride in her status and exploited those below her even though we were all equal. As a superior, she should be able to lead her people.

What should I do to make her understand that?

“Hey, Lou. What should I do to make Iris understand my perspective?”

“By Iris, do you mean the Duchess of Lowenberg?”

“Yes, she mistreats the orphans. I want her to see the error of her ways.”

“Did your words fail to reach her?”

“No matter what I said, she only turned a deaf ear!”

Resolving the core belief of the difference in status was much more difficult than I thought. Still, I mustn’t give up, for the sake of those orphans.

“I don’t think you can impose your values on her. After all, the duchess also has her own thoughts and beliefs. Just because they’re different, that doesn’t mean they’re evil. Even if the duchess’ deeds are truly evil, it’d be impossible to make her understand what she can’t comprehend. People often base their judgments on what they know and are familiar with, rather than anything beyond that.”

“But I can’t just sit back and watch my friend commit crimes!?”

I want to stay friends with Iris forever.

Lou failed to understand me. Although we were akin to siblings, we weren’t related by blood, and unlike me, he grew up in the slums. Even if he currently lived in the royal palace and had received a proper education, I could see why someone from the slums would fail to comprehend my beliefs and thoughts as a princess.

Despite that, Lou always indulged my whims, and as a result, I became too spoiled. What a shame. At the very least, I hoped that he wouldn’t blame himself too much for not being able to understand me.

“I’ll mull over it some more.”

“Okay.”

—There has to be a way to save Iris and the orphans.

---

***T/N: Lol, did you guys see despite her humblebragging, the princess keeps trashtalking Iris on the side? The part about being a barbarian and all.

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