A Princess In The Hearts Of Many

The store was even more luxurious on the inside. Wooden displays showcased the rare gems the store was famous for. Evelyn and Bloom hurried to admire the fine craftsmanship, while Kira was more taken by the ancient architecture of the place.

It might have been the first time she had the opportunity to truly appreciate this world's setting. The palace made her feel suffocated and uncomfortable. Either someone was trying to feed her to a dragon, or they were crawling into her bed at night to seduce her.

"Kira, look at this!" Evelyn excitedly showed off a hairpin. It had a simple design, yet it was captivating. The beautiful jade hairpin featured a green stone with gold details. Kira didn't see anything special about the piece of jewelry, though.

"It's really beautiful."

"Do you want to buy it?" Bloom asked curiously.

Evelyn considered it briefly before nodding. Yes, the hairpin reminded her of someone, and she had to get it.

Kira stood aside, watching her friends in boredom. A voice startled her. "Aren't you getting anything?" She nearly shuffled away, finding the Regent standing very close to her, his chest almost brushing against her back. He always had a smile on his face, as if nothing could truly bother him.

"I haven't seen anything I like."

"Did you look?"

"I did," she lied.

The Regent had been watching her for a while, so he knew she was lying. He was a bit stunned by the princess's lack of interest—he'd heard a lot about her love for all things rare. She liked to collect beautiful things, whether they were jewelry or men.

He had no particular opinion of her character; he simply thought she looked good on the surface. Whether or not she was as shallow as people said wasn't his concern. He wasn't after a romantic affair.

"Then we can go somewhere else if you like."

"No, Evelyn and Bloom like it here."

"Just the two of us, then."

"No, thanks." Kira didn't even think about it, rejecting his offer quickly. She already had Dae to deal with—she didn't want to get involved with other men.

The Regent smiled good-naturedly at the rejection; he didn't take it seriously. He walked out of the store and went to check on his horse.

It wasn't long before Kira became bored of standing around. The manager, noticing her disinterest, panicked. He kowtowed and begged her to please take a look, even offering to have something specially made to suit her tastes. She wasn't a jewelry girl, so she couldn't muster much effort for something she might not even wear. Reluctantly, she went to look at the displays.

She browsed the items without much enthusiasm, most of them unrecognizable to her. But, like Bloom, she was drawn to a hairpin. This one had a mild design, with a smooth wooden surface and a tip that curled into a serpent shape. It was the kind of thing one might hardly notice. All Kira knew was that it had a sharp edge, and it wouldn't attract attention if she kept it with her.

She thought about the next time Dae might try to bully her—she'd pluck out his eyes with this hairpin!

"I want this one."

"Isn't that… a bit bland?" Bloom asked, genuinely unable to see the appeal.

Kira didn't care about their opinion. Her mind was made up. "I'll wait for you guys in the carriage." Payment would be handled by the manager when they were done, so Kira walked out directly.

The Regent was leaning against the carriage. He glanced briefly at the hairpin Kira was clutching in her palm like a dagger. His lips curled up. "Did you want a knife?"

"What? How did you…"

"You have murderous intent. Who might the princess want to kill?"

"Nobody that would be missed," she said, her voice dripping with resentment. The Regent found her interesting.

Kira had wanted to wait in the carriage, but she noticed a dango cart nearby—the smell was irresistible. The Regent watched her leave, then dismounted his horse and followed.

The man selling dango was immediately struck by Kira's beautiful appearance. Not only was she clearly a noble, but she also looked like the daughter of a rich family. He greeted her with a kind smile. "How many do you want, young miss?"

"Let me have two skewers."

"All right, here you are."

She was presented with the delicious snack, still hot. Kira, not really a princess at heart, found nothing strange about eating in front of others. She munched on the glutinous rice balls happily. Only the Regent, who stood behind her, found this amusing.

When she started on her second skewer, Kira noticed a young boy dressed in worn-out clothes watching her. He looked about ten years old, skinny, with dirt crusting his pale skin. He eyed the skewer with longing.

"Hey, little guy, do you want some?"

The boy was clearly embarrassed to be caught, but his hunger outweighed his shame. He nodded.

"Come over," she said gently. The child slowly made his way to her. Kira couldn't resist touching his soft, dark hair. Though dirty, she could tell he was cute. It's hard being poor. "Mr., please bring five more skewers."

"Yes." The vendor was stunned but didn't question her. It was rare to see nobles interact with street children. "Here you go," he said, handing her the skewers, now wrapped in paper to protect the child's hands.

Kira gave the snack to the boy, who ate the first skewer hungrily, forgetting to thank her in his rush. Her heart ached for the child. What was the point of helping him now if he'd be hungry again later and she wouldn't be around to help?

She didn't have any money with her, but the fancy pendant Evelyn had made her wear might have some value. She took it off and showed it to the vendor. "Does this have any value?"

The man's mouth fell open. His sister-in-law was a jeweler, so he knew a thing or two about gems. "Miss, this appears to be a thousand-year-old emerald."

"So, will it be enough to guarantee him a month's worth of meals?"

"You want to trade it?" the Regent asked, speaking for the first time.

"Yeah, I don't like it that much. Please, take it." She pushed the pendant into the vendor's hand. He accepted it, though hesitantly. Kira turned to the little boy, smiling. "Whenever you want some dango, you can come to this man. Don't go hungry anymore, okay?"

"T-thank you," the boy stammered.

"Don't mention it." She pinched his chubby cheeks. "So cute."

The boy blushed and quickly walked away, clutching the bag of dango like it was a rare treasure.

"Miss, you are very kind," the vendor complimented her. It was rare to see someone care about others.

Kira smiled. "The little guy is cute," she said absentmindedly, and began walking back to the carriage.

The Regent said, "Do you think he's cute too?"

"Hmm," she agreed without much thought. "All pitiful things have an appeal. It's better to keep them close, so you can monitor them and make sure they're doing well."

Kira was thinking of a stray cat she once found digging through her dumpster. The cat had passed away, but she still felt good about the few days she had spent taking care of it.

The Regent, however, thought about the harem of men the princess kept around her. Come to think of it, most of them had nowhere else to go—they were all pitiful.

He couldn't help but look at the princess again. "So, that's the reason."