Chapter 483

“Your Imperial Highness?”

Just as Princess Veronica sat upright before her desk, her eyes burning hotly as she flipped through a grade schooler’s homework notebook, a cautious voice of reminder came from outside the bedroom door.

“In six hours, there will be the Ministry of Finance’s meeting for re-budgeting. Considering the time needed to tidy up your attire, meet with the members of the meeting, and travel there, you should rest now.”

“Hmm, I’ll sleep right away.”

Upon hearing the lady-in-waiting’s reminder, the princess looked up at the window and realized it was already faintly bright outside, suddenly aware that she had been lost in thought, completely missing her usual sleeping time.

Closing the old notebook carefully and tucking it into her drawer, the princess yawned wearily, stood up from her desk, and walked toward the large bed in her bedroom.

However, just as she was about to sleep, she seemed to remember something and turned to ask the lady-in-waiting: “By the way, has the exclusive interview for tomorrow afternoon been arranged?”

“It’s all set.”

The lady-in-waiting, who was drawing the curtains, paused slightly upon hearing this, then replied with a somewhat strange expression: “I spoke with the chief editor of ‘Scepter and Horn,’ asking them to focus more on… your relationship with His Royal Highness during the interview.

As for the questions they’ve prepared, I’ve copied them down and placed them on your desk, in the third folder of pending documents. You can review them after tomorrow’s budget meeting.”

“Very good, thank you for your hard work.”

Nodding approvingly, the princess, exhausted from a whole day of work, lazily snuggled into her fluffy blanket and, with half-closed eyes, drowsily instructed: “But remember to adjust the order next time. Anything related to Leon should be placed in the first file. I want to see it as soon as possible.”

First file? Isn’t that supposed to be for national affairs? Although I know it’s your first love, isn’t this a bit excessive? Hearing the princess’s instructions, the lady-in-waiting couldn’t help but twitch her cheeks slightly, inwardly criticizing harshly, but still obediently nodded: “Alright, I’ll remember.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“By the way, Your Imperial Highness…”

Just as Princess Veronica closed her eyes, seemingly ready to fall asleep at any moment, the lady-in-waiting couldn’t help but softly inquire:

“With so much official business lately, only getting four or five hours of sleep every night, aren’t you too busy to cancel the exclusive interview and adjust your schedule for a proper rest?”

After saying this, worried that the princess might misunderstand her intentions, the lady-in-waiting quickly continued: “Your Highness, I’m not saying you shouldn’t spend time thinking about Prince Leon, but compared to these meaningless interviews, wouldn’t it be better to take some time to rest and see him directly…?”

“That’s absolutely impossible~”

Hearing the lady-in-waiting’s suggestion, the princess lying on the bed shook her head with closed eyes: “You don’t understand Leon. In general, he’s a very cautious person who strongly dislikes situations he can’t control. If I forcefully intrude into his life, not only will he not accept me, but he might even distance himself from me.

On the contrary, if most of the time I don’t actively seek him out, but instead use little tricks to maintain my presence, occasionally ‘giving in’ and showing up, it would be harder for him to push me away.”

“…”

Who would push you away? Our prince is truly blind! Looking at the princess lying on the bed, the voluptuous curves beneath her nightgown, along with the slender waist above them, the lady-in-waiting barely managed to resist the urge to touch, merely nodding with her head slightly lowered.

“Also, do you think I’m being too eager?”

Kneeling on the bed, placing her head on the pillow, the princess let out a pleased moan and gently said with closed eyes: “Actually, I know what you think. You believe it’s absurd that I’ve been demanding newspapers to unify their tone and write extensively about me and Leon, perhaps even secretly laughing at me for becoming obsessed with men after finding a prince, right?”

?!!!! Upon hearing the princess’s words, the lady-in-waiting’s expression changed slightly, and she quickly shook her head in denial: “No! Your Highness, I haven’t thought that!”

“It’s fine, because you’re right. Lately, whenever I have free time, I do indeed think about Leon all the time.”

“…”

With another arch against the bedding, amidst the bewildered expression of the lady-in-waiting, the princess smiled sweetly and asked:

“Tell me, if there were such a man, someone who doesn’t value your family background, doesn’t covet your wealth, doesn’t lust after your beauty, yet loves his siblings, works diligently, takes responsibility bravely, and possesses almost impeccable personal virtues…

“… ”

Wouldn’t you feel moved?

“Right?”

Glancing at the lady-in-waiting’s dreamy expression, like successfully boasting about her favorite jewel, Princess Veronica smiled contentedly, then raised her hand, gazing determinedly as she clenched her fist fiercely.

“You must understand, life may seem full of opportunities, but when certain things come your way, if you fail to seize them, you’ll never catch them again.

And to me, Leon is one of those things that I must hold tightly onto, under no circumstances letting go. I must fight! I must compete! I must use every method to grab him! Being laughed at in someone’s heart is insignificant compared to him!”

“…”

Looking at the princess, who despite lying sideways on the bed with her butt slightly raised, still exuded a sense of authority with her clenched fists, the lady-in-waiting could only look at her with a complicated gaze.

Although… having determination is good, but does love really need to be pursued so aggressively?

“Hehe, just teasing you.”

Seeing the lady-in-waiting stunned by her “love lessons,” unsure of what to say, Princess Veronica couldn’t help but smile and then neatly tucked herself into the covers, closing her eyes and saying: “When I have free time, I’m not entirely thinking about him… probably around seventy percent. The remaining thirty percent, I do think about other things, like arranging those somewhat absurd reports.”

Those reports?

Amidst the puzzled expression of the lady-in-waiting, the princess, her face filled with fatigue, murmured dreamily:

“When Lord Joshua and the queen were first placed under house arrest, the Minister of Finance and the Upper House nobles caused quite a stir with me, even openly claiming it was an illegal coup. Though I suppressed it, it did create quite a fuss.

However, after I took these exclusive interviews and temporarily unified the tones of several major newspapers, focusing daily discussions on Leon, have you noticed anyone talking about the coup anymore?”

“?!?”

So… was all of this intentional?!

“The suspicions of coups and conspiracy theories cannot be suppressed when deliberately stirred up, but a sufficiently eye-catching piece of gossip can easily overshadow these destabilizing elements.”

Amidst the astonished expression of the lady-in-waiting, Princess Veronica smiled and then closed her eyes, speaking affectionately:

“Leon must have seen those reports, but he hasn’t come to ask me about it, which means he understands why I did it and its significance. He gets me~”

“…”

Your Highness, among everything you’ve said tonight, this sentence seems a bit unreliable…

Watching the princess who, without realizing, fell into a deep sleep with a smile, the lady-in-waiting helplessly shook her head and, holding her belly full of secondhand embarrassment, quietly left the bedroom and returned to her own side room opposite.

A night without dreams.

Perhaps due to eating too much “midnight snack,” the lady-in-waiting slept unusually soundly. However, just as she groggily got out of bed, feeling sore all over, intending to wake the princess in the adjacent room, a servant rushed in anxiously.

“Something’s happened!”

Seeing the lady-in-waiting, the servant sighed in relief and handed her a note, urgently informing her: “The ambassador of the Crocodile Kingdom says that in the previous airship attack incident, they lost something extremely important. If it’s not found within three days, they will consider imposing sanctions on our kingdom!”

(End of Chapter)