Chapter 23

Chapter 23

There were a lot of different macarons that she hadn’t seen yet before.

“Macawon!”

As she approached the table quickly, waddling over there excitedly, she saw a chocolate macaron that she’s been craving since last time. Siervian, who was so happy at this moment, took one in her hand and smiled.

A real macaron…!

“So macarons are better than cakes.”

Alderuan said this as he watched the princess, speaking in a somewhat certain tone.

But that wasn’t right.

As she was purely delighted, Siervian looked up carefully at her father. Even if he was her father, she still had to muster a lot of courage just to look at him.

“Both are yummy.”

“Then I’ll prepare both for you next time.”

[ Alderuan Erveldote ]

Thoughts: …Both are yummy.

The Emperor paused for a while, then he eventually nodded. If his daughter says so, then that’s that.

“Yeah!”

Really, it was such a happy moment that she couldn’t even dare dream about.

Until she came here, she was worried that he’d be disappointed in her. But today, she learned that sometimes, far from what she was expecting, things would be much more fun.

The next day, as soon as Siervian finished eating lunch, she went to the Emperor’s private garden because she wanted to run around there while the sun was still high up.

Of course, her father wasn’t in the garden because he was busy. Thanks to this, she was able to fully enjoy the quiet scenery.

‘I don’t know until when I’ll be allowed here, so I’ll come here a lot until then.’

And after spending a leisurely time there, she went back to the Princess’ Palace, only to find an unexpected guest.

The Crown Prince was sitting at the drawing room as calmly as he did the last time.

“I brought some chocolate mousse cake today.”

[ Damian Erveldote ]

Thoughts: I can’t lose.

What did he mean by he ‘can’t lose’? Did he have a fight with someone today? In the middle of a strange situation once more, even before she had time to get confused, the Crown Prince held out what he had in his hand.

It was a small cake.

“Choco?”

“Yeah.”

It was a cake that had an unusual appearance.

The cake looked like a normal saucer, and there wasn’t any visible chocolate outside the pastry.

While carefully approaching him after hearing the word ‘chocolate’, Siervian had no choice but to look at him dubiously.

“I’ll show you something amazing.”

“Amashing things are nwice.”

Last time, she got some animal sculptures. She couldn’t hide her anticipation and sat next to her brother with sparkling eyes. She was going to sit across from him, but this side was closer to the cake.

“……”

But when she sat down, she got too close. She carefully gauged her brother’s demeanor if ever he hated being this close to her.

[ Damian Erveldote ]

Thoughts: Why so cute??

However, my brother was busy looking at the cake.

Even if she looked at it again, the cake really looked ordinary. It wasn’t cute at all.

…Her brother surprisingly has very simple tastes.

“Look over here. Can you see what’s in the middle?”

“Yeah!”

The cake, which looked like a normal saucer from the distance, seemed to have an opening in the middle. Was there something inside?

At that time, a blurry light shimmered through where Siervian looked. She’s seen that light before.

Magic!

“Oh…!”

Soon, chocolate sprang out in the middle of the cake like a fountain, so much that she had to wonder where all this chocolate was coming from.

“Choco!”

Decadent chocolate soared high, and as if to support this, a group of bright lights hovered around the fountain. It left the saucer-like cake empty, then it soon flowed down to the cake.

The ordinary pastry was covered with chocolate in an instant.

“Amashing!”

“Haha.”

Siervian was so astounded. She didn’t know who it was who had the idea to make a cake like this, but it was a really good idea.

When she was captivated by the sight, she forgot to act gracefully and dignified, but her brother didn’t look down on her or berate her. Rather, he smiled broadly with his eyes curved up into crescent moons.

Whenever she saw her brother like this and realized how handsome he was, she thought that he really looked like their father.

“Come on, you can try it. This one’s delicious, too.”

The chocolate that had been poured over quickly hardened into a layer because of the magic over it a while ago. Perhaps because the chocolate had soared through the air earlier, but there was a sweet scent that lingered on the tip of her nose for a long time.

When the fork was held to her mouth, Siervian felt that it was a waste to eat it up like this right away, and when the prince saw her reaction, he burst into a smile again.

“Noo, it’ll be a waste…”

By the way, when did she grab the fork? Why was it in her hand?

“I’ll bring some more to you next time.”

“Next time? Weally? When?”

She asked with her eyes wide open.

When her gaze met with her brothers’ as he looked at her affectionately, she thought, when did he start looking at her with such a soft expression?

“Mm. After you sleep three nights.”

“Thwee nights.”

That’s a long time. Three nights.

But Siervian nodded with determination. If it was for a chocolate fountain cake, there’s nothing she can’t do.

“So go ahead and eat a lot, okay?”

“Thwank you for the food!”

To express her gratitude, she folded her hands over her tummy and bowed to him. There’s no harm in behaving politely.

[ Damian Erveldote ]

Favorability: +100

Favorability: +100

As expected, there really was nothing bad about behaving well.

Before the chocolate would harden further, she scooped up a slice of cake and tried it. Topped with the chocolate, the moist cake was incredible.

Damian stared at his younger sister happily as she ate the cake, then he asked casually.

“Siervian, can I have breakfast with you tomorrow?”

The question sounded light as if there would be nothing wrong with refusing him. Thanks to this, Siervian didn’t think much before answering.

Now that she thought about it, he came to breakfast last time and said that he was there because he wanted to have breakfast with their father.

‘Oh, but why are you asking me?’

That train of thought was dissolved anyway as she looked around the drawing room. He must be asking if he could have breakfast at the Princess’ Palace from now on, or something like that. So this was probably only for courtesy.

“Okay!”

Savoring the sweet cake that melted so exquisitely in her mouth, she nodded vigorously. He must be doing well in his etiquette lessons to be so courteous like this.

After seeing that the Crown Prince had joined them for breakfast once more, the Emperor said nothing. As expected, the prince seemed to have only asked for her opinion after already getting permission in advance.

It went smoothly for days.

‘Will I get in trouble if I come here too much?’

Siervian had been going in and out of her father’s private garden a lot, too.

She might feel some regret in the future once she’s not allowed to come here anymore, so she felt like she should go look at the pretty flowers in advance.

But was it too much to come here everyday?

“……”

She was sitting at a corner of a flowerbed and basked in the scent of the flowers. When the bright sunlight touched the foliage, everything around her looked like heaven.

Then, she felt an insistent gaze on her, so she carefully looked behind her.

[ Alderuan Erveldote ]

Thoughts: Do you like flowers?

And she saw the Emperor sitting faraway at a table.

As she was observing the flowers, he was observing his daughter. She sat with the skirt of her dress splayed around her in such a cute way that resembled a flower.

‘I guess it’s still okay.’

She intended to disappear as soon as she saw a sign that he was starting to get annoyed with her, so Siervian would look back at her father from time to time just to check.

‘When will the hydrangeas bloom?’

In this garden, there were many of the hydrangeas that she liked on one side. After discovering this flower bed, she liked this place even more.

‘I hope I can continue coming here until they bloom.’

While Siervian admired the flower bed, she heard the sound of approaching footsteps over the grass. The grand chamberlain of the Emperor’s Palace politely asked the Emperor of an urgent request for his audience.

“Come in.”

After permission was granted, it was Chancellor Hex who rushed in.

“Your Majesty, I have something urgent to tell you.”

“What is it?”

Hex had already opened his lips and was about to speak, but he belatedly discovered the princess sitting nearby. He looked over to the Emperor again as if asking if it was still alright to say it.

Noticing this, Siervian rose from her seat with the intention to leave immediately. She couldn’t hinder the Emperor.

“Just say it.”

However, the Emperor casually waved his hand and ordered Hex to speak anyway.

Did this mean that she could stay? This would be important business since the chancellor came in a hurry.

“The Kingdom of Garambell is urgently asking for help.”

“Garambell? Explain in detail.”

Originally, there were four empires on the continent, but as time went on, only the Erveldote Empire continued as the others collapsed. Each of the other three empires were divided into small kingdoms.

Among them, Navafal, which succeeded the southern empire, was the most powerful of the kingdoms.

‘My father has the ability to unify all those kingdoms under the empire though.’

During the last continental war two decades ago, her father—who was still Crown Prince at the time—chose to rule over the continent with moderate governance rather than making them all kneel down by force.

This was because his predecessor, the previous Emperor, suddenly died and the war would bring him far away.

‘I was told that my grandfather was already very old.’

In order to inherit the throne, her father had to return to the north. Since then, he’s been stabilizing the empire through trade and diplomacy rather than war.

The kingdoms, who could still feel the ravages of the terrible war, followed under the new Emperor, who was a strong mage. It was better to do this rather than to push through with fighting and end up with a fallen kingdom.

“There has been a setback in securing Pharim medicinal herbs that were supposed to be sent to Garambell.”

“Pharim? Isn’t that Marquis Farim’s responsibility?”

“The merchant guild was attacked. Most of the bandits had been caught, but they set fire to all the herbs and burned it all down.”

The Garambell Kingdom was on the west coast and was not a place with many herbs.

The kingdom’s commerce revolves around tourism and their seafood since they were surrounded by the wide ocean, but there were endemic diseases on the west coast that were fatal to humans.

Garambell’s endemic disease took away human vitality. It was a very frightening disease in which the patient’s body would gradually lose energy, starting with the loss of ability to breathe.

‘Pharim herbs are used for Garambell’s endemic disease.’

It was also a necessary medicine for nobles who wish to travel to the west.

The endemic disease was a problem because it had a high mortality rate, yet the mana treatment for it wasn’t that effective. However, as long as there were Pharim herbs on hand, it could be cured.

The reason why Siervian, who hadn’t even learned about the Garambell Kingdom, knew all this was because it stuck to her.

‘I’m sure I’ll learn in history class… that the Garambell Kingdom was destroyed.’