'The princess is looking at me. She has not stopped looking at me since she dragged me into this room. Should I feel honored or afraid of her?'
Sui did not feel either emotion when she looked at the princess.
For the first time since she had met the princess, the predominant emotion brewing inside Sui was annoyance.
The more Sui felt annoyed, the blanker her face got. And for some reason, the blanker Sui's face got, the happier the princess looked until she finally opened her mouth.
"Why are you standing? Don't your legs hurt? Please, have a seat."
The princess offered, and the innocent chair suddenly looked like a death trap for Sui.
Despite this, Sui knew she could not defy an order from the princess.
So, despite her distrust of the princess, Sui sat on the chair but kept her body tense in case she needed to run away.
The princess looked delighted at Sui's obedience, and looking at that grin made Sui flinch.
"I thought you looked like a bunny, but maybe you are more like a puppy. Certainly, it looks like one. Or maybe I'm thinking about a kitten. It's a little difficult for me to tell the difference."
'I am neither. I am a human being. But I don't think the princess will treat me like one, so I might as well give up.'
Sui's straight face did not show a single thought, but her mind was busy concluding.
*Cough*
The maid was tasked with looking over the princess, and Sui suddenly coughed. It reminded Sui of her manners in front of the princess.
'I know! You don't have to remind me that I'm being rude here. But what do you want me to do?'
Sui bit her lip to stop saying anything stupid, but the princess caught her anyway.
The smile on the maid's face faded slowly, and Sui noticed the maid flinching.
"Hey, maid, hurry up and leave now. I don't like the way you are looking at me right now. Either disappear from my sight, or I will make you disappear by force."
The princess's anger turned toward the new servant, and there was no way to tell why or how she had been triggered.
The only thing Sui knew was that the princess was not happy.
"P-Princess, I-I-"
'What a fool. Doesn't she know that she needs to stop talking now, and has she been told? In this position. She is creating trouble for herself.'
The princess was looking at Sui again, and her gaze turned back to interest.
Sui could not figure out what the princess was thinking, but she did realize that the maid in front of him was a fool who did not know what she was doing.
Any sensible person would have run away as soon as possible, but the maid behind Sui's back was frozen solid.
"Do you have anything to say to me? Come on! Don't keep me waiting."
The princess pressures Sui hard, and at this rate, Sui ends up breaking and confessing.
*knock*
"Princess, are you in here? Please come to the breakfast hall. The emperor is waiting for you."
Just when Sui was about to break, a miracle happened: Someone knocked on the door and saved her life…or so it felt.
"Tsk, so that annoyance is finally here."
Sui was not supposed to hear these words, but she had. The only thing she could do now was pretend she did not hear anything.
"Tell my brother that I am busy and he should have breakfast alone. I will join him in a short while."
The princess sounded irritated, and Sui felt that the princess was playing cautiously.
This was the princess's first attempt to give a diplomatic answer.
'Wow! So, does the princess even need to be careful around the emperor? I better remember this for the future so I do not make a mistake.'
The princess made a sour look again while the servant outside the door retreated.
The peace did not last long.
"Oi Yunjin, I know you are inside. You are keeping your brother waiting, and that is not okay. Either come out, or I will drag you out myself."
The air in the room got denser.
No one dared to look up at the princess's death stare.
The knocking on the other side of the door had gotten vicious, and the door threatened to break apart at the slightest pressure.
"Ugh, fine! I can hear you. There is no need to pressure me this urgently. "
The princess stood up and walked toward the door.
Her expression was neutral, but the lack of anger on the princess's face was a surprise.
Even more surprising was that Princess Yunjin was not making a death threat to the owner of this voice.
"One day, you will test the limit of my patience, Victor. That will be the day you die at my hand. The only reason that day is not today is because my brother still needs your help. Do you understand this?"
The princess asked while yanking the door open with all her might.
The heavy door swung on its hinges, showing the amount of strength the princess had used to open it.
Sui looked at 'Victor' since she had never heard that name before.
The man was dressed from head to toe in white and had no skin exposed anywhere except his face.
His eyes were the same shade of blue as Princess Yunjin, and there was even a feeling of familiarity as the pair stood side-by-side.
And yet, the chemistry one usually saw in a couple was not there.
Sui could not imagine them being anything more than acquaintances and friends.
But to even say that was a stretch.
"Yes, I heard you loud and clear, little sis. You can try to kill me later. For now, let's head out."
Victor tried to grab Princess Yunjin's hand, but the princess was quicker than him and easily avoided his hand.
She was out by the time anyone realized what happened.
"Yunjin's sure got a temper. I wonder if anyone would be able to tame it!"
Sui felt eyes stopping to focus on her for a second, but before she could form any thoughts, the door closed behind her, and the tension bled out of the room.
"Phew, I s-survived."
The other maid finally collapsed, and her knees hit the ground hard.