Chapter 56: Arrived at friend’s house Part 3
by fnovelpia
Two days after Ellie hide the letter in the system.
Princess Hanna sneaked out of her room on a day when the guards (and surveillance) were lax.
Following the specific wavelength of mana they had agreed upon as a code during their last meeting, she placed her hand on the alley wall and whispered:
“Aparetra.”
Instantly, the hidden letter revealed itself from within the wall.
Hanna caught it before it could fall and carefully tucked it into her bosom.
‘Sister Ellie…!’
She didn’t know what words Ellie had written, but she couldn’t wait to read them.
‘If they were from Sister Ellie, even the most trivial daily updates would feel precious.’
And for that very reason, she didn’t want to open the letter in this dark, filthy alley.
Hanna immediately returned to the imperial palace.
Normally, when she sneaked out like this, she would wander outside for at least a few hours, sometimes even half a day.
‘I’ll read it secretly in my room!’
Of course, Hanna knew she couldn’t let anyone discover this letter—she had already devised a way to hide it.
That night, she slipped past the palace’s ineffective security spells and returned to her room.
Just as she lit the lamp—
***
“You’re back early.”
A voice as calm as the stars in her eyes.
The master of the imperial palace—no, the master of the entire realm—was waiting for her.
“Father.”
Hanna immediately bowed in greeting.
The Emperor raised a hand to stop her.
“Enough. There are no eyes watching, nor does anyone even know I’m here.”
“If you say so.”
The Emperor smiled faintly.
“Come here. It’s been a while since I’ve held my daughter.”
“I am honored.”
Hanna cautiously stepped into the Emperor’s open arms.
‘The letter hidden in my bosom—’
‘What should she do? Use magic to muffle any sound?’
‘No. This was none other than the Emperor—her father.’
No matter how slight the fluctuation of mana, he would notice.
So instead, Hanna boldly threw her arms around him in a tight embrace.
“Haha!”
The Emperor was startled, but no father would be upset at his daughter’s sudden affection.
And so, Hanna succeeded in keeping the letter hidden.
***
After that, the imperial father and daughter exchanged small talk.
“Your tutors frequently report that you’re so outstanding, they have little left to teach you.”
“You flatter me.”
“I know how to filter such praise. Even accounting for that, the reports are frequent enough.”
On another topic:
“Don’t sneak in and out too often.”
“Doesn’t Father sometimes go out as well?”
“That’s why I said ‘moderately.’ Besides, half the time I go out, it’s incognito.”
“I, too, go out to observe the people’s lives. Half the time.”
“Heh, fair enough.”
Finally, the father of the two princesses seemed satisfied and stood up.
“Well, rest well.”
“May you also sleep peacefully, Father.”
Hanna bowed deeply.
Only when the sound of his footsteps had completely faded down the distant hallway did she finally exhale.
‘…That was too close.’
She scolded herself for her carelessness.
‘Stupid, stupid, what an idiot I am…!!’
‘Did she care if she got scolded? Not at all. But she had nearly put Sister Ellie in danger because of her own recklessness.’
‘From now on, I’ll have to prepare even more thoroughly.’
After setting up a spell to alert her if anyone approached her room, Hanna finally took out the letter she had successfully protected.
She opened the seemingly blank envelope.
“…Huh?”
Inside was a sheet of paper with nothing written on it.
Hanna blinked in confusion, then muttered, “No way…” and gently channeled her mana into the paper.
Where her mana touched, letters began to bloom.
‘……Sister Ellie.’
Hanna marveled.
As expected.
She’s amazing.
She had prepared for this exact scenario.
***
[To my little sister. Have you been well?]
The letter began with a simple sentence, and the rest of the content was similarly ordinary—small, everyday things.
Stories about her days at the academy, her friends, and how she would spend the holidays in the northern duchy of Shuker.
The next letter wouldn’t be sent or received until the end of the holidays, around late February.
Yet, the handwriting was elegant, the tone affectionate, and the letter itself was long.
‘Sister Ellie…’
After reading the several-page-long letter, Hanna read it twice more from the beginning, then carefully folded it and placed it back into the envelope.
The moment she let go of her hand, the writing on the surface had already begun to scatter.
No matter what happened, the contents would never be revealed to this world unless she infused her mana into it again.
But just in case, Hanna placed it inside a box she had prepared herself.
Then, Hanna lay down on her bed and muttered, “…I miss you.”
The girl recalled the first time she had met Ellie unnie.
From that moment on, she had grown uncomfortable with the title of “Crown Princess,” the one who would become the next emperor.
‘How can I see Ellie unnie more often?’
Of course, Ellie unnie would soon ascend to the throne.
‘Surely, a coup would happen within the next few years, right?’
And when that time came, Ellie would surely assign Hanna a role—whether it was paving the way inside the imperial palace or subduing those who couldn’t read the situation and acted recklessly.
If the tutors who taught Hanna the art of rulership could read her thoughts now, they would weep tears of blood and lament that they had failed as educators.
‘An excellent student? What nonsense! They would cry out in outrage—since when does the world have a future emperor who volunteers to be the second-in-command of a rebellion?’
But what could she do?
She knew.
If she had only realized it, she might have resisted, but the truth had sunk deep into her bones.
Which of the two sisters was truly worthy of the exalted throne?
But that aside.
Does that mean she won’t be able to meet Ellie unnie until she enters the imperial palace?
‘Should I just enroll in the academy instead?’
She could come up with plenty of plausible excuses—networking with future talents who would be active across the nation, and so on.
She had never been interested before… but should she really bring it up next time?
Of course, just because Hanna wanted it didn’t mean she could actually enroll.
As the one destined to be the next emperor, both the sending and receiving sides would find it burdensome.
“Hmm…”
For now, she’d just talk about it. Since failure was possible, she’d think of other methods too.
Hanna was also exceptional.
Not as much as Ellie, but still.
***
The day after the banquet, Ellie was wandering alone around Isabel’s mansion.
‘After looking around for a while, it does have its own charm.’
At the very least, it was undeniably a one-of-a-kind place in this world.
“Good morning, Lady Ellie.”
“Good morning!”
By chance, she ran into the head butler—the old man who had handed out maps and guided them to their rooms the day before—who bowed his head to Ellie.
“Are you looking for a particular facility?”
“No, I’m just wandering around to familiarize myself with the place.”
The head butler’s eyes reddened as if moved.
“How long has it been since we’ve had a guest like this…?”
“…So most people don’t really walk around, huh?”
The head butler glanced around and whispered.
“To be honest… half the guests don’t even bother memorizing the way from their rooms to the dining hall and just call for assistance every time.”
“Ahaha…”
“If only I didn’t have my duties, I’d love to personally guide you around and explain everything… Would you like me to assign someone to accompany you?”
“No, it’s fine. I’d rather explore alone.”
“Then I’ll have an guidebook and commentary sent to your room.”
‘Was this a tourist attraction or something?’
After parting ways with the head butler, Ellie continued wandering through the mansion until she reached the wing where the guest rooms were clustered.
***
‘This must be where all the mages are staying.’
Two men came to Ellie’s mind—Prince Millian and Marquis Sengby.
‘Are those two here too?’
Ellie pondered for a moment.
“「Enhanced Hearing」.”
The conversations inside the rooms reached her ears.
Snoring, pages turning, the rustling of blankets…
And voices.
In fact, she could hear those two speaking right now.
“—Your Highness, so what should we do about the new distribution channel issue?”
“The one we talked about… what was his name? The one from the central region who said he’d join…”
‘Oh.’
Ellie smiled.
‘This might be easier than I thought. What are those two hiding?’
But not long after she began eavesdropping…
The smile vanished from Ellie’s face.
***
To be honest, Duke Shuker had already realized that Ellie was someone beyond his control.
At first, he thought she was just a very capable child.
After exchanging a few letters, he realized she was far more competent than he’d expected.
At this point, he still believed he could bring her under his wing—though the terms would have to be exceptionally favorable.
But after meeting her in person…
He couldn’t even imagine her working under someone else in the future.
Not only that.
The duke recalled the look in Ellie’s eyes yesterday as she scanned the banquet hall filled with nobles.
‘It was the gaze of someone heading somewhere.’
Then, ‘where were Ellie’s steps leading?’
And when she stopped, just how high would she be standing?
Perhaps…
Even he, a duke, would have to look up at her—
“Your Grace!”
“!?”
The sudden intrusion of the girl he’d been thinking about into his office made the duke flinch in front of his daughter’s friend.
“Why, why are you—”
Then he froze.
Because Ellie’s eyes were burning with an emotion he had never seen before.
“Those two guests in this mansion—their filthy business.”
Her gaze pierced through him.
As if daring him to even think of lying.
“Are you involved in it too?”
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