The real knows the real. Feeling a similar energy, the two began to slowly circle clockwise, keeping each other in check. Their appearance was as solemn as knights about to duel.
“This is Princess Resilia of the Kingdom of Shattonil.”
As the atmosphere grew gloomy, Prince Norton introduced Princess Resilia to his concubines.
“Meet Princess Shattonil.”
Embarrassed, Rosie greeted her first. Princess Resilia motioned for Rosie to wait a moment, continuing the standoff with Melanie. Embarrassed, Rosie took a step back and observed Melanie's expression. Melanie must have heard who she was circling with, but she didn't seem to care at all.
"You are the Princess of the Kingdom of Shattonil?”
Finally, when Princess Resilia had made her way around the circle and was back where she started, she shouted at Melanie nervously. Melanie nodded briefly and responded confidently.
“I am the concubine of His Majesty the Emperor of the Lapion Empire.”
“What, what? A concubine? A concubine... a concubine?”
“What the hell is this?”
I couldn't raise my voice as much as I was angry because the servants were waiting outside the bedroom. Prince Tesla took advantage of this fact and smiled faintly, responding leisurely.
“I’ve never seen a bottle of a magic potion that can remove burn scars before, so I took it out to take a look, but then...”
“How did you know that this was... behind the dresser drawer?”
I asked, nodding to the dressing table. Then he took something the size of his palm out of his bosom. It was two silver sticks connected to each other. There was a transparent bead at the end of the stick, and liquid was sloshing inside.
“If you put the magic potion you’re looking for and the location-tracking potion into these two beads, it will find where those ingredients are. It acts as a kind of detector.”
Prince Tesla kissed the bead and put the silver detector back in his bosom. If he had threatened me with a grimace, I wouldn’t have felt this disgusted. Seeing him threaten me with a smile made my stomach turn. What a mean and petty bastard. If I had known this would happen, I would have strangled the wizard at the clinic that day and gotten more magic potions!
I, too, wanted to snicker and respond to Prince Tesla, but I couldn't even laugh.
“That’s why I left two behind just in case.”
Prince Tesla was very good at saying things that I couldn't relate to at all, saying that he was weak-hearted and that was the problem.
“Can’t you just get that potion from Wizard? Please relax your eyes, Your Majesty the Empress.”
Yes, I just need to get another magic potion from Wizard Big. That's why it was even weirder. If that's true, then there was no need to do something like this, right? It's too weak as a warning. I had a bad feeling that there was something else going on.
“Oh, and here’s a word of advice.”
“What a bountiful morning. After receiving an unfair warning, I now receive advice.”
Prince Tesla burst into laughter at my words, then looked at me with a pitiful expression for a moment. His expression was so fake that it made my hair stand on end.
“A man’s heart is not to be trusted. But there is something that is even more untrustworthy. What is it?”
I didn't bother asking the question because I didn't want to know. When I tilted my head and looked at him, the prince opened his mouth again.
“These are the eyes of a man. These eyes.”
Prince Tesla emphasized, tapping the side of his eye with his finger.
“What do you mean?”
“If Emperor Linel saw Your Majesty the Empress’s true appearance, would he give her a foam kiss with such affectionate eyes as he did just now?”
“...”
“It’s lucky he's not so surprised that he start foaming at the mouth.”
He chuckled. I almost asked him if my burn scars were really that bad.
“You have to meet someone who loves you for who you really are. The party ends when the time comes.”
Prince Tesla's words were as painful and bitter as a blade cutting through my flesh. I couldn't help but imagine Linel's surprised face as he looked at my burn scar.
“During the mask party, enjoy yourself to your heart’s content. Instead, when the party is over, please come home.”
The Prince spread his arms like wings as if his embrace was where I should return.
Playing around.
“Wasn’t I free once my duties as Acting Empress were over? I will decide where I will return.”
Knock knock.
“This is Princess Resilia of the Kingdom of Shattonil.”
As the atmosphere grew gloomy, Prince Norton introduced Princess Resilia to his concubines.
“Meet Princess Shattonil.”
Embarrassed, Rosie greeted her first. Princess Resilia motioned for Rosie to wait a moment, continuing the standoff with Melanie. Embarrassed, Rosie took a step back and observed Melanie's expression. Melanie must have heard who she was circling with, but she didn't seem to care at all.
"You are the Princess of the Kingdom of Shattonil?”
Finally, when Princess Resilia had made her way around the circle and was back where she started, she shouted at Melanie nervously. Melanie nodded briefly and responded confidently.
“I am the concubine of His Majesty the Emperor of the Lapion Empire.”
“What, what? A concubine? A concubine... a concubine?”
“!”
“!”
Rosie and Prince Norton were equally taken aback by Melanie's short and intense self-introduction.
'What the hell is that?'
Princess Resilia couldn't take her eyes off Melanie.
“The Empress of the Lapion Empire has really messed up the discipline?”
The Princess, who had a blank expression for a moment, snorted and mentioned Zelda.
'If she had seen Catherine's sideburns, she wouldn't have said that.'
When Rosie looked at the Princess with a pointed expression and retorted inwardly.
“You-.”
Melanie smiled, snapped her index finger, and spoke to Princess Resilia as if scolding her.
"What?"
“It should be said, ‘Empress of Lapion,’ not ‘Empress.’”
Rosie, who was standing next to Melanie, quickly pursed her lips as she heard her words, which seemed like she was scolding a child. It seemed like it would be best not to even smile a little in the tense atmosphere.
“The concubine keeps talking so little? How can you treat a noble guest like this?”
Princess Resilia asked with a very excited face. Melanie answered with a stern face and made an X with both arms.
“I’m not being informal.”
“...Huh? Then what does that mean?”
Princess Resilia asked back with a bewildered expression.
“It’s an abbreviation. Like who. Huh!”
Melanie, who had answered bashfully, turned her head away and suddenly started humming. Princess Resilia, who had been insulted for the first time in her life, strangely, was very excited and tried to approach Melanie.
“Everyone, calm down.”
Prince Norton grabbed the Princess's arm and stopped her actions.
“And, Your Highness, you must not lower your voice either.”
“Note... Your Highness!”
Princess Resilia spoke to Prince Norton in a whiny tone, and when he noticed, she belatedly called him by his title.
“Your Highness Melanie, please be courteous to the Princess, too.”
Instead of answering Prince Norton's question about the situation, Melanie stared at his face and exclaimed, "Ah!"
“This is the person! Right? The one that Your Highness Rosie was talking about.”
Melanie looked back and forth between Prince Norton and Rosie, then smiled broadly.
“Did Your Highness Rosie mention me?”
Prince Norton asked Melanie curiously. Rosie tilted her head at her fuss.
'What on earth did I say about the Prince to make him do this?'
...The moment she thought that, she thought, ‘oh, no’ and raised her hand to cover Melanie’s mouth,
“She said you were handsome.”
It's already too late.
“She said he was as handsome as His Majesty the Emperor?”
Melanie giggled, adding a little more exaggeration than Rosie had said.
“When did I ever say that?!”
Rosie immediately flared up. She felt like jumping into the lake in front of her to cool her burning face.
“Well, it’s true that she said you were handsome, Your Highness, even though I added some flesh to the words. Hohoho!”
Melanie laughed so hard at Rosie's embarrassed face that she threw her head back. Princess Resilia glared at Melanie with displeasure, then glared at Rosie with a look that was even more unpleasant.
'Who the hell are you to go around telling people how handsome they are?'
How dare you covet what is mine. The Princess's eyes were saying that. Princess Resilia, who had been frowning, spoke in a pitiful voice, different from her faintly smiling face, as if trying to say something.
“It’s really amazing. I should at least offer some consolation to the Empress. How can all the subordinates be so messed up...”
The Princess whispered to Prince Norton, but not so much that the two concubines could not hear.
“Oh my, Princess Gesilia! Have you met Your Highness Catherine yet?”
Melanie clapped her hands together and asked.
“It’s not Gesilia, it’s Princess Resilia...”
Rosie quickly corrected the Princess's name, poking Melanie on the back.
“Aha, sorry. Anyway, have you met Concubine Catherine?”
"Who...?"
Princess Resilia was about to get angry at Melanie's deliberate rudeness, but she found herself asking back at her unexpected question.
“I guess not? What, I thought you were going to say something like you’d meet Catherine again...”
Melanie crossed her arms in front of her, mumbling quietly to herself.
“What is that concubine that you are asking me?”
Princess Resilia couldn't contain her curiosity and asked.
“I wish you hadn’t met her yet. I was just saying this because among His Majesty's concubines, there is one who is the most messed up.”
Melanie waved her hand and mumbled as if she didn't want to bother explaining.
“You two... It seems like you’re communicating pretty well. Next time, let’s go boating together on this lake.”
Prince Norton, wanting to get out of this situation quickly, tried to end the situation by promising to meet the two later.
“No, I don’t want to. What if a shark comes out?”
Sharks in the lake? Are you kidding me? Prince Norton and Rosie opened their mouths at Melanie's words and looked at her.
“Puhahaha, are you serious about that?”
Princess Resilia also burst into laughter and mocked Melanie.
"Why?"
“Would there be sharks in the royal lake?”
“Isn’t there any?”
Melanie asked sharply. Princess Resilia snapped at her with an expression that said, 'I don't want to talk to someone as senseless as you anymore.'
“Of course not. I’ve already filtered them all out!”
“...”
“...”
Melanie looked slightly intimidated by the princess's tone of voice, which sounded like she was scolding her, while Rosie and Prince Norton blankly stared at the two with indignant faces.
'These two are real! They're really weird.'
Rosie also wanted to get out of this place quickly. She was trying to gather up her books and lap blanket and put them in the basket, but she dropped the books. Prince Norton picked them up instead.
“Oh, thank you.”
Rosie held out both hands to him. Prince Norton, who had been smiling and handing her the book, absentmindedly opened the folded part of the book and raised one eyebrow.
“Incarnation Sword?”
Rose was startled by Prince Norton's soft muttering.
“I... Your Highness, do you know... the ancient language of the Parsha Empire?”
“!”
Rosie and Prince Norton were equally taken aback by Melanie's short and intense self-introduction.
'What the hell is that?'
Princess Resilia couldn't take her eyes off Melanie.
“The Empress of the Lapion Empire has really messed up the discipline?”
The Princess, who had a blank expression for a moment, snorted and mentioned Zelda.
'If she had seen Catherine's sideburns, she wouldn't have said that.'
When Rosie looked at the Princess with a pointed expression and retorted inwardly.
“You-.”
Melanie smiled, snapped her index finger, and spoke to Princess Resilia as if scolding her.
"What?"
“It should be said, ‘Empress of Lapion,’ not ‘Empress.’”
Rosie, who was standing next to Melanie, quickly pursed her lips as she heard her words, which seemed like she was scolding a child. It seemed like it would be best not to even smile a little in the tense atmosphere.
“The concubine keeps talking so little? How can you treat a noble guest like this?”
Princess Resilia asked with a very excited face. Melanie answered with a stern face and made an X with both arms.
“I’m not being informal.”
“...Huh? Then what does that mean?”
Princess Resilia asked back with a bewildered expression.
“It’s an abbreviation. Like who. Huh!”
Melanie, who had answered bashfully, turned her head away and suddenly started humming. Princess Resilia, who had been insulted for the first time in her life, strangely, was very excited and tried to approach Melanie.
“Everyone, calm down.”
Prince Norton grabbed the Princess's arm and stopped her actions.
“And, Your Highness, you must not lower your voice either.”
“Note... Your Highness!”
Princess Resilia spoke to Prince Norton in a whiny tone, and when he noticed, she belatedly called him by his title.
“Your Highness Melanie, please be courteous to the Princess, too.”
Instead of answering Prince Norton's question about the situation, Melanie stared at his face and exclaimed, "Ah!"
“This is the person! Right? The one that Your Highness Rosie was talking about.”
Melanie looked back and forth between Prince Norton and Rosie, then smiled broadly.
“Did Your Highness Rosie mention me?”
Prince Norton asked Melanie curiously. Rosie tilted her head at her fuss.
'What on earth did I say about the Prince to make him do this?'
...The moment she thought that, she thought, ‘oh, no’ and raised her hand to cover Melanie’s mouth,
“She said you were handsome.”
It's already too late.
“She said he was as handsome as His Majesty the Emperor?”
Melanie giggled, adding a little more exaggeration than Rosie had said.
“When did I ever say that?!”
Rosie immediately flared up. She felt like jumping into the lake in front of her to cool her burning face.
“Well, it’s true that she said you were handsome, Your Highness, even though I added some flesh to the words. Hohoho!”
Melanie laughed so hard at Rosie's embarrassed face that she threw her head back. Princess Resilia glared at Melanie with displeasure, then glared at Rosie with a look that was even more unpleasant.
'Who the hell are you to go around telling people how handsome they are?'
How dare you covet what is mine. The Princess's eyes were saying that. Princess Resilia, who had been frowning, spoke in a pitiful voice, different from her faintly smiling face, as if trying to say something.
“It’s really amazing. I should at least offer some consolation to the Empress. How can all the subordinates be so messed up...”
The Princess whispered to Prince Norton, but not so much that the two concubines could not hear.
“Oh my, Princess Gesilia! Have you met Your Highness Catherine yet?”
Melanie clapped her hands together and asked.
“It’s not Gesilia, it’s Princess Resilia...”
Rosie quickly corrected the Princess's name, poking Melanie on the back.
“Aha, sorry. Anyway, have you met Concubine Catherine?”
"Who...?"
Princess Resilia was about to get angry at Melanie's deliberate rudeness, but she found herself asking back at her unexpected question.
“I guess not? What, I thought you were going to say something like you’d meet Catherine again...”
Melanie crossed her arms in front of her, mumbling quietly to herself.
“What is that concubine that you are asking me?”
Princess Resilia couldn't contain her curiosity and asked.
“I wish you hadn’t met her yet. I was just saying this because among His Majesty's concubines, there is one who is the most messed up.”
Melanie waved her hand and mumbled as if she didn't want to bother explaining.
“You two... It seems like you’re communicating pretty well. Next time, let’s go boating together on this lake.”
Prince Norton, wanting to get out of this situation quickly, tried to end the situation by promising to meet the two later.
“No, I don’t want to. What if a shark comes out?”
Sharks in the lake? Are you kidding me? Prince Norton and Rosie opened their mouths at Melanie's words and looked at her.
“Puhahaha, are you serious about that?”
Princess Resilia also burst into laughter and mocked Melanie.
"Why?"
“Would there be sharks in the royal lake?”
“Isn’t there any?”
Melanie asked sharply. Princess Resilia snapped at her with an expression that said, 'I don't want to talk to someone as senseless as you anymore.'
“Of course not. I’ve already filtered them all out!”
“...”
“...”
Melanie looked slightly intimidated by the princess's tone of voice, which sounded like she was scolding her, while Rosie and Prince Norton blankly stared at the two with indignant faces.
'These two are real! They're really weird.'
Rosie also wanted to get out of this place quickly. She was trying to gather up her books and lap blanket and put them in the basket, but she dropped the books. Prince Norton picked them up instead.
“Oh, thank you.”
Rosie held out both hands to him. Prince Norton, who had been smiling and handing her the book, absentmindedly opened the folded part of the book and raised one eyebrow.
“Incarnation Sword?”
Rose was startled by Prince Norton's soft muttering.
“I... Your Highness, do you know... the ancient language of the Parsha Empire?”
***
I hoped not... The drawer where I kept my magic potion bottles was slightly open. And on the dresser, there was a pouch containing the magic potion bottles. I ran to the dresser and picked it up. What the? Part of the pouch was soaking wet. I quickly opened the pouch’s mouth and checked the magic potion bottles inside.
Damn it! Of the three magic potions I had received from the ‘Dignified Night’ clinic, one of them had its cork open.
'That kid is not human, really!'
I approached Prince Tesla, clutching the opening of my pocket tightly in one hand. He shrugged his shoulders with a calm expression and opened his mouth.
“I’m just going to look around.”
'That kid is not human, really!'
I approached Prince Tesla, clutching the opening of my pocket tightly in one hand. He shrugged his shoulders with a calm expression and opened his mouth.
“I’m just going to look around.”
“What the hell is this?”
I couldn't raise my voice as much as I was angry because the servants were waiting outside the bedroom. Prince Tesla took advantage of this fact and smiled faintly, responding leisurely.
“I’ve never seen a bottle of a magic potion that can remove burn scars before, so I took it out to take a look, but then...”
“How did you know that this was... behind the dresser drawer?”
I asked, nodding to the dressing table. Then he took something the size of his palm out of his bosom. It was two silver sticks connected to each other. There was a transparent bead at the end of the stick, and liquid was sloshing inside.
“If you put the magic potion you’re looking for and the location-tracking potion into these two beads, it will find where those ingredients are. It acts as a kind of detector.”
Prince Tesla kissed the bead and put the silver detector back in his bosom. If he had threatened me with a grimace, I wouldn’t have felt this disgusted. Seeing him threaten me with a smile made my stomach turn. What a mean and petty bastard. If I had known this would happen, I would have strangled the wizard at the clinic that day and gotten more magic potions!
No, even if I had, that bastard would have found them in the end. The potion I drank in the ‘Dignified Night Clinic’ examination room the day before my national wedding was a bit too much, and the effects were supposed to last for about three weeks. The magic potion I received was smaller and lasted about a week per bottle. He also said that the time it took for the burn scars to reappear could vary slightly from person to person. Of the four magic potions I received from the clinic, I drank one this morning. It was time to take them again, and I felt a high fever from my right burn scar last night, so I needed to drink them. So there were three magic potions left, but that son of a bitch just threw one of them in his pocket. Now, I'm only left with two magic potions.
“I don’t know what I did wrong. I thought I was faithfully carrying out my duties.”
I asked in a voice that seemed as calm as possible, but my eyes were already bloodshot.
“You are performing your role very well...”
Prince Tesla looked me up and down in admiration, then his expression quickly turned serious.
“But, there is something that confuses me.”
“What are you suspicious of?”
“I wonder if you are becoming increasingly greedy for the position you are temporarily occupying instead of Resilia. I wonder if that is why you are in the good graces of the Emperor. Is that why the cold-hearted Emperor began to feel affection for the Empress? Something like that.”
I can't count how many times I swallowed my curses while listening to Prince Tesla. You're mistaken. Emperor Linel Guardion Edpa. Because I wanted to fall asleep next to that man, because I was happy when he called my name and hugged me, because I loved the look in his eyes as he told me ridiculous jokes in a serious, deep voice and waited for me to laugh... That's why I started to become greedy for him. Not because I wanted the position of Empress. You stupid idiot.
“I don’t know what I did wrong. I thought I was faithfully carrying out my duties.”
I asked in a voice that seemed as calm as possible, but my eyes were already bloodshot.
“You are performing your role very well...”
Prince Tesla looked me up and down in admiration, then his expression quickly turned serious.
“But, there is something that confuses me.”
“What are you suspicious of?”
“I wonder if you are becoming increasingly greedy for the position you are temporarily occupying instead of Resilia. I wonder if that is why you are in the good graces of the Emperor. Is that why the cold-hearted Emperor began to feel affection for the Empress? Something like that.”
I can't count how many times I swallowed my curses while listening to Prince Tesla. You're mistaken. Emperor Linel Guardion Edpa. Because I wanted to fall asleep next to that man, because I was happy when he called my name and hugged me, because I loved the look in his eyes as he told me ridiculous jokes in a serious, deep voice and waited for me to laugh... That's why I started to become greedy for him. Not because I wanted the position of Empress. You stupid idiot.
“It’s unfair. You’re tampering with our terms of trade just because you have suspicions.”
I, too, wanted to snicker and respond to Prince Tesla, but I couldn't even laugh.
“That’s why I left two behind just in case.”
Prince Tesla was very good at saying things that I couldn't relate to at all, saying that he was weak-hearted and that was the problem.
“Can’t you just get that potion from Wizard? Please relax your eyes, Your Majesty the Empress.”
Yes, I just need to get another magic potion from Wizard Big. That's why it was even weirder. If that's true, then there was no need to do something like this, right? It's too weak as a warning. I had a bad feeling that there was something else going on.
“Oh, and here’s a word of advice.”
“What a bountiful morning. After receiving an unfair warning, I now receive advice.”
Prince Tesla burst into laughter at my words, then looked at me with a pitiful expression for a moment. His expression was so fake that it made my hair stand on end.
“A man’s heart is not to be trusted. But there is something that is even more untrustworthy. What is it?”
I didn't bother asking the question because I didn't want to know. When I tilted my head and looked at him, the prince opened his mouth again.
“These are the eyes of a man. These eyes.”
Prince Tesla emphasized, tapping the side of his eye with his finger.
“What do you mean?”
“If Emperor Linel saw Your Majesty the Empress’s true appearance, would he give her a foam kiss with such affectionate eyes as he did just now?”
“...”
“It’s lucky he's not so surprised that he start foaming at the mouth.”
He chuckled. I almost asked him if my burn scars were really that bad.
“You have to meet someone who loves you for who you really are. The party ends when the time comes.”
Prince Tesla's words were as painful and bitter as a blade cutting through my flesh. I couldn't help but imagine Linel's surprised face as he looked at my burn scar.
“During the mask party, enjoy yourself to your heart’s content. Instead, when the party is over, please come home.”
The Prince spread his arms like wings as if his embrace was where I should return.
Playing around.
“Wasn’t I free once my duties as Acting Empress were over? I will decide where I will return.”
Knock knock.
The moment Prince Tesla snorted at my words, a knock was heard outside the bedroom. Startled by the knock, I exchanged glances with the Prince. I gave Prince Tesla a look, telling him to quickly hide somewhere. I hesitated in confusion for a few seconds...
Knock.
The bedroom door opened.
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