chapter_0016

16 – The Princess’s Gift

16 – The Princess’s Gift

The Capital of the Novarens Empire

The Imperial City – Novaresia.

In the most splendid city of the empire, filled with golden decorations symbolizing the emperor’s authority, the lights have not yet gone out today.

And in the center, within the most secret area of the imperial palace, the Imperial Princess Palace.

Inside the golden-lit large bathtub, she was there.

With hair shining brighter than obsidian and warm brown skin as calm and gentle as the dawn light in the desert, she was bathing alone in the large tub, laughing cheerfully as she listened to the news delivered by her maid.

“Did Hadem really escape!?”

“Yes, Your Highness Selenia. It has spread across the continent that Lord Hadem of the Lion Family felt fear from Sharen, the magician of the Crones Family, and retreated.”

“Hahaha! To think that the boasting axe would show such a disgraceful sight, my brother must be very angry.”

“Yes, that is correct, Your Highness Selenia.”

As her maid bowed her head, everyone present echoed her words.

Her name was Selenia Lily Novarensia.

As the second princess of the Novarens Empire, she was one of the noblest individuals in the empire, holding the highest claim to the imperial throne alongside the crown prince.

From her perspective, playing a grand game of chess with her brother on the stage of the empire, what was happening in the south was incredibly entertaining.

At first, when the unheard-of Crones Family emerged, she was taken aback.

The various reforms initiated by the Crones had affected even the territories she supported.

So initially, she worried that her brother, the crown prince, had extended his reach to the Crones, but this incident washed away her concerns.

If he had sided with them, there would be no way they could embarrass the Lion Family like that.

“What was the name of the lord of the Crones Family again?”

“It is Calix Crone. People refer to him as the ‘Silver Dragon of Crone’.”

“The Silver Dragon of Crone… surely that nickname belongs to the great general who contributed to making our ancestor an emperor, right?”

“Yes, that is correct, Your Highness Selenia.”

Selenia recalled her history lessons from childhood.

The general who played the most significant role when the first emperor, Belserion Arc Novarens, ascended to the throne was indeed the Silver Dragon of Crone, Draigon Crone.

As the War of the Throne approached, she thought the appearance of the Silver Dragon of Crone was almost fated.

“I like it! Let’s draw him to our side!”

“Yes, the lord of the Crones will surely be pleased with Your Highness Selenia’s proposal.”

Swoosh—!

Selenia emerged from the golden bathtub.

As her beautiful, jewel-like body came out of the water, the maids on either side immediately began to dry her with large towels.

“Then I think we should send a gift… Lumiel, who should we send?”

At Selenia’s words, her maid, Lumiel, who had green hair and wore large horn-rimmed glasses, smiled kindly and replied.

“I think that ‘child’ who just arrived would be good. Since they graduated from the Academy with the highest honors, the lord of the Crones will surely be pleased.”

“Oh! That child!… Hmm… Yes! That sounds good. Then please proceed, Lumiel.”

“I will obey your command, Your Highness Selenia.”

Saying this, Selenia walked into her room.

Watching the two maids working hard to dry the still wet path without disturbing the noble’s steps, Lumiel let out a small sigh when no one was watching.

After the Deep Rock incident, the Crones territory was peaceful for the first time in a long while.

That peace was largely due to Sharen’s influence.

She truly demonstrated overwhelming abilities that fit the description of a ‘human rights character, Three Divine Instruments.’

Due to her nickname as the Crimson Sorcerer, many misunderstood that she only used fire magic, but she was a candidate for sage.

The first condition to become a sage was to master all existing schools of magic.

Naturally, she could use not only fire magic but also healing magic and earth magic better than an ordinary magician, which became a great strength for the Crones, where magicians were practically nonexistent.

She healed people, restored their health, and quickly removed the salinity from the cultivated land so that crops could be planted.

Simply put, the operational efficiency of the territory seemed to have doubled compared to before she arrived.

“This month’s territory revenue has increased by 114% compared to last month, my lord!”

“All of this is thanks to your wisdom in recruiting Sharen, my lord.”

Noah and Hart, who had been troubled by the expenses from large-scale battles and support for immigrants, reported to me with refreshing smiles for the first time in a while.

Hearing that news made me feel good as well.

“Great! That’s wonderful. Haha!!… Huh?”

Wait a minute!

This isn’t something to be happy about!!

I realized my mistake as I looked at the gold in front of me.

I had reinvested too much and was strapped for cash, so I worked hard to manage the territory, and now I had made money again.

Sigh… what should I spend this money on…? Should I build an ‘Academy’?

I recalled the poor educational facilities in Crone and thought of the Academy, the special educational building of the World Archive.

As I pondered how to spend the increased revenue again, I heard a sound from outside.

Knock! Knock!

“Come in.”

At my words, the door opened, and a messenger entered.

He came in with a very tense expression.

“What is it?”

“Yes! A letter has arrived for you from the imperial family.”

“A letter from the imperial family!?”

What the hell! It has finally come!!

In the World Archive, when one starts as a lord and gains fame, letters from the imperial family would arrive, initiating various events.

What kind of event is about to start? Please, let it not be like the ‘Imperial City Invitation Event’!!!

I worried as I received the letter from the messenger.

The letter was sealed with the imperial family’s crest.

Since it was the seal of the ‘imperial family’ and not the ‘emperor,’ it meant that the letter was sent by either the ‘crown prince’ or the ‘princess.’

Which one sent it?

Praying it wasn’t the crown prince, I unfolded the letter, which contained very simple content.

——————————

Let’s be friends from now on.

I’ll send you a gift as a token of friendship!

Second Princess / Selenia Lily Novarensia

——————————

“…………”

What is this? Did I just read that wrong?

I was at a loss for words at such a simple letter, something rarely seen even in internet emails from my past life.

Calix had never received a letter from the imperial family, so I couldn’t help but be flustered.

Is this how it’s supposed to be from the imperial family?

Or did the princess just send it according to her own preference?

Either way, it was quite an avant-garde letter.

“My lord! What does it say?”

“…The second princess says she will send a gift as a token of friendship.”

“The princess!?”

At my words, Noah was surprised.

The story of the princess fighting alongside the crown prince for the imperial throne was famous even in the south.

Noah, who had dealt with numerous lords, would surely know about her as well.

“This is troublesome. If it’s a gift from the princess, we can’t just return it carelessly.”

“Indeed, it could be seen as an insult to the imperial family.”

Even though it was a personal gift sent by the princess without my consent, it was still sent from the imperial family.

Whether I refused it or accepted it, it would inevitably affect my future.

“By the way, my lord, did it say what kind of gift the princess is sending?”

“It didn’t specify.”

“…I see.”

Hart’s expression darkened as if he knew something.

Noah also spoke with a serious expression, as if he knew something.

“According to rumors, the princess is said to enjoy nurturing things. It’s likely to be a gift of that nature.”

“Nurturing…”

At Noah’s words, I recalled something I had heard in my past life.

They said that nurturing was very important if you wanted to play as a princess.

However, I had never played as a princess, so I didn’t know much beyond that.

“Let’s wait and see. My lord, it won’t be too late to respond after receiving the princess’s gift.”

“Let’s do that. My lord.”

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

Thus, we decided to respond to the gift from the princess after it was clearly revealed.

And a few days later, the princess’s gift arrived.

A splendid carriage bearing the imperial family’s crest arrived at the humble palace of the Crones Family, and the door opened.

And she stepped out.

“Could it be that the gift is…”

“It seems so, my lord…”

From the carriage, a maid descended.

With slightly neck-length blonde hair and sapphire-like blue eyes,

And with beautiful and cold features that made one’s heart flutter, she approached me, dressed in a perfectly arranged maid outfit and carrying a large bag that seemed to be hers.

With a posture that seemed like a painting, she greeted me politely and said,

“Hello. I am Lana Ansus, a maid sent by Second Princess Selenia Lily Novarensia to serve you, Lord Calix.”

She looked straight at me with unwavering eyes and spoke.

“I will show perfect devotion by your side from today. Please give me any instructions.”

I knew her well.

Her name was Lana Ansus.

She was one of the few SSR characters I possessed, nicknamed ‘Super Maid,’ with top-tier performance among the SSR types of servant characters.

She was a perfect character, but there was a significant problem.

It was because of her ‘occupation.’

In the game, she had two jobs.

One was, of course, ‘Maid,’ and the other was… ‘Assassin.’

The Trojan Horse had been delivered to our territory.

Princess – Selenia Lily Novarensia

Maid – Lana Ansus

A word from the author (Author’s note)

??? : Receive the gift!!!

Thank you for reading today!!!!