The Adopted Princess Hopes to Escape the Genre - Chapter 40
“…ss.”
“…….”
“…Miss!”
Someone kept calling out to me, stirring me from sleep.
“Mm… what…”
Struggling to lift my heavy eyelids, I squinted at the blurry figure in front of me.
“Ah… Ali…?”
“Yes, my lady! It’s me!”
“What… why are you waking me up…”
The interruption of my sweet sleep brought a wave of irritation. Though I knew Ali wasn’t at fault, I couldn’t help but let my tone carry traces of annoyance.
“The banquet is about to start, but you weren’t in your room, so I thought you might be here, my lady.”
Only then did I remember the banquet I had completely forgotten about while sleeping. I rubbed my face dry and barely managed to sit up.
Rashid was still asleep, using his arm as a pillow on the sofa. Ali seemed to be debating whether she should wake him or not.
Still caught between sleep and wakefulness, I gently shook Rashid to wake him up. He stirred, rubbing his eyes.
“Mm….”
“Rashid… wake up. We have to go to the banquet….”
At my words, Rashid lifted his upper body, but he still seemed half-asleep, his expression blank.
Both Rashid and I sat side by side on the sofa, blinking drowsily. Ali watched us with an amused look before turning to me, now a bit more awake, and urged me.
“My lady, you should return to your room to change before the banquet. And fix your hair as well.”
Ali reached out to help me up. Since I had already decided to move, I took her hand to stand up.
But at that moment, Rashid grabbed my hand. He wasn’t even fully awake, yet he instinctively held onto me as if stopping me from leaving.
“Where are you going?”
“My room.”
“Why?”
Why would I need a reason to go to MY room?
I glanced at the hand holding mine, then looked at Rashid’s face. His firmly pressed lips revealed his determination not to let go. When I tried to slip my hand out, he only gripped it tighter.
“Rashid, let go. What’s wrong?”
I shook my hand as I protested.
Then, Rashid gently pulled my hand and pressed my hand’s back against his cheek.
My sleepiness vanished in an instant.
What is this kid doing now?
Startled by the warmth against my hand, I flinched. Rashid looked up at me and asked,
“Can’t I go with you?”
His eyes sparkled in a silent plea. I nearly nodded without thinking.
‘Of course, a male lead candidate would be sly from the start.’
“Ugh. Still, no.”
I deliberately avoided his gaze and pushed his forehead away with my hand.
Rashid, now dejected, lowered his head.
His pitiful look overlapped with my youngest sibling, making it difficult to step away.
Feeling guilty, I grasped Rashid’s head with both hands and lifted his chin.
“Hey. Why are you sulking again? Just a while ago, you made it obvious you didn’t want to play with me.”
“T-that’s—!”
“Enough. We can play tomorrow or after the banquet, so stop it. You have to get ready, too.”
“…Okay….”
“See you later.”
Rashid nodded.
Only after hearing his response did I release his chin and follow Ali out.
Before stepping through the door, I turned back to look at Rashid. Then, grinning, I tapped my left temple with my finger.
Rashid tilted his head, confused.
When I tapped my head again, he hesitated before mimicking my gesture.
Finally realizing his hair was sticking up, his face flushed bright red.
Laughing at his reaction, I left the room.
As I walked down the hall, still chuckling at the thought of Rashid’s flustered expression, Ali spoke up.
“Miss, you must have gotten close to Lord Baccharis. You look very happy!”
Had I been smiling too much? I quickly forced my lips back into place and replied as casually as possible.
“Well, a little? It feels nice, like I gained a cute younger sibling.”
Ali tilted her head, looking puzzled.
“A younger sibling? Not a friend?”
“Yeah, my youngest—”
Mid-sentence, I shut my mouth.
Ali gave me a curious look, but I clamped my lips shut, refusing to say more.
That reckless social nature of mine nearly made me spill personal details from my previous life. That was close.
Ali was now officially my second-highest security threat.
At this rate, I might end up blurting out that I was reincarnated.
Wanting to steer the conversation away from a topic that put me at a disadvantage, I quickly changed the subject.
“Let’s hurry. We’ll be late for the dinner banquet.”
“Yes, miss!”
With quickened steps, we arrived at my room, where the maids were already waiting.
I headed straight for the vanity and let them work their magic. My bed-flattened hair was swiftly restored with just a few deft touches.
Looking into the mirror, I was quite satisfied with the results.
After changing into a new dress for the dinner banquet, I headed down to the dining hall.
It seemed I was the last to arrive. I had expected Rashid to be the one running late, but he was already seated beside Duke Baccharis.
The seat across from Kaiden, next to Rashid, was empty, so I made my way over.
As I approached, Rashid suddenly stood up and pulled out my chair for me.
Caught off guard by the unexpected gesture, I stared at him, but he remained unfazed, pushing the chair forward slightly to help me sit.
‘Do they teach this kind of etiquette at an early age?’
Experiencing such thoughtful consideration for the first time, I felt my face heat up slightly. It was intriguing to see how naturally these boys carried themselves.
Then, I realized that everyone at the table was watching us.
It wasn’t every day you saw a seven-year-old boy pulling out a chair for another seven-year-old.
‘So he wants to impress the Duke by flaunting his manners using me?’
Thanks to Rashid’s overly courteous behavior, I found myself at the center of everyone’s attention, and my pupils trembled.
I had always suffered from an incurable affliction where my face would flush, and my heart would race whenever I suddenly became the center of attention from more than two people.
This situation quickly became unbearably uncomfortable.
‘I’m definitely going to get a stomachache today.’
