Published: September 4, 2025
Corrected typos on 2018/6/11.
Since I was little, I was a child nobody wanted.
My mother worked as a maid in the castle, so when I was very young, I was taken care of by my aunt and uncle in the castle town. My father was absent. I heard about him when I was even smaller, but the answers were always skillfully evaded.
“You really are ugly. Stop showing that face and go fetch some water or something.”
My aunt seemed to dislike my face and often ordered me out of the house on errands.
My aunt and uncle had three children about my age: two boys and a girl. Their names were Jido, Bado, and Kuku.
Whenever I was fetching water at the well, Jido would always kick me in the backside just as I was about to finish.
Bado would trip me when I was carrying the bucket.
Usually, I was cautious, but today I failed to spot them.
Soaked with water and standing on dirt, I was covered in mud.
“Heehee, mud girl~”
“Heh, with the mud makeup, your face looks better than usual~”
More than the mud itself, I cried out of frustration that I couldn’t argue back. Truthfully, when I was just wet, people treated me worse than when I was covered in mud and my face was hidden.
While washing my clothes and body beside the well, Kuku arrived, accompanied by her usual snarky friends.
“Oh? What a waste to wash off your lovely makeup.”
“Yeah, why don’t you just wear a mask then?”
“That’s a great idea! Kuku, you’re a genius!”
They didn’t inflict violence like Jido or Bado, but their words hurt me just as much. At times like this, I wondered how Arisa would fight back. Tama might have thrown mud dumplings to decorate them as well.
Those days of childhood were mostly like this.
â—‡
When I turned nine, my mother took me to the castle. To be the playmate of a princess, no less. She was the daughter of the fourth queen and very sickly. Also, she was very difficult, and the noble young ladies couldn’t last three days with her, so I was assigned instead.
Normally, commoners like me would learn etiquette for about a year before serving a princess, but because they thought I would give up in two or three days, they skipped it.
“Now it’s Lili’s daughter, huh? I don’t want playmates my age anymore. If anything, get a scholar or an official for her.”
From beyond the door came a childish voice, but the words were far too arrogant for such a young speaker. Clearly, I wasn’t welcome here either.
The first princess I met was a stunningly beautiful girl with mysterious purple hair and eyes. Her gaze was calm like an adult’s.
Prompted by my mother, I awkwardly greeted her. The princess glanced at me once, then before I even knew it, she pushed aside my bangs. I always hid my ugly face behind my bangs.
I braced myself for the scolding I expected to be thrown at me. But it wasn’t what I anticipated.
“Tch, this happy couple face. The winners are born having everything.”
“Princess Arisa, this child may not be beautiful, but she is a calm and good girl for her age. Please don’t dislike her.”
A happy couple face? I had never heard that expression before.
Princess Arisa tilted her head at my mother’s words and murmured, “Not beautiful?” That was kindness on my mother’s part. Even she couldn’t call her own daughter “ugly.”
“What are you talking about, Lili? If this beautiful face isn’t considered pretty, then there’s no beautiful women in this kingdom.”
At the time, I thought Arisa’s words were a veiled insult, but I later learned she actually meant it.
And so, I became the princess’s attendant.
â—‡
The princess I served was a bit strange.
She ordered the servants to create a garden in the palace courtyard, read difficult books from the royal library and treasure hall, and sewed unusual clothes herself. Yet, she was bad at embroidery and knitting—an unbalanced person in many ways. She also seemed poor at social dance and poetry chanting.
“Did you see the new attendant of the Cursed Princess?”
“Yeah, yeah, what’s with that ugly girl?”