“…I wish I were a real doll.”

“What do you mean, doll?”

Perhaps it was an unconscious muttering, but her thin shoulders jerked up.

“When I was a child, my mother told me.――The duty of a princess is to marry for political gain and produce an heir who will succeed the throne. To that end, she said, she had to become a lovely woman, like a ‘doll,’ whom her husband would love…”

Rishe couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at those words.

“And yet, I am what you see. I can’t do anything well, and I irritate people when they see me. Even my face has a look in it that people find repulsive.”

Harriet covered her face with her hands as she said this.

“I really can’t do anything…At the very least, I think I need to be quiet, stay out of the way, and stay put.”

“Harriet-sama…”

“…Don’t show my face in a way that makes people uncomfortable. I must keep my head down. Don’t talk…”

A small voice, which Rishe didn’t think anyone would hear, spilled out one by one.

Rishe looked at Harriet and asked her to calm down.

“Is that why you’re hiding your face like that?”“I…! If I show my face, His Majesty might tell me to break off our engagement. T-That’s the only thing I have to avoid. This is the only reason I was born.”

Harriet’s voice sounded like she was about to cry, but she spoke clearly.

“I have to fulfill my duty as a doll through this political marriage …”

It sounded like a voice clinging to something.

And Rishe certainly remembered those words that she heard over and over again.

[…Everything must be done by tomorrow.]

As a child, that “education” was all that mattered to Rishe.

Her parents gave her strict orders from which she could never escape.

Several tutors visited their house; classes continued from morning till late at night; and assignments continued even after she was left alone.

Because of those days, she couldn’t remember spending the night with her parents.

She stayed in her room, slept in her bed, and when she woke up, a day of queen training began anew.

There were piles of things she had to learn before her.

In front of them, Rishe desperately comforted herself.[I can do this…I must learn these properly.]

On the 30th day of the seventh month, Rishe’s birthday, she muttered to herself in his room.

That was probably the day she turned six.

The lights in the main house were out. Everyone was probably asleep, and Rishe was all alone.

The date was about to change, but no one congratulated her on her birthday. However, that was to be expected since she was behind in her studies.

She wanted to cry, but she also felt very embarrassed to do so, so she mumbled over and over again instead.

[I wasn’t born a boy… So instead, I should at least be the queen. Otherwise, my…]

She remembered stopping her pen and rubbing her eyes.

[―――― What is the meaning of my birth …]

Rishe gently shut her eyes.

Then she secretly took a deep breath, and then POP! She clapped her hands.

“Hya!?”

“I’m sorry, Harriet-sama.”

She smiled at Harriet, who looked surprised, and told her.

“Do you mind accompanying me for a moment?”

“Hmm …?”