'So basically they are touting the fact that they are the main characters. I'm just a supporting character who is informed after they make the decisions on their own.'
My anger had not subsided by the next day. I couldn't even manage to fall asleep until late last night.
"Are you okay, your highness?"
"Excuse me? Yes. I am okay."
I raised my head after hearing Vice Captain Élisabeth's voice.
She was seated across from me with a concerned look on her face.
To be more specific, she seemed shocked because my notebook had turned black from the ink of my quill pen.
I laughed it off and turned the page.
The picnic area that had been prepared in the corner of the Imperial Palace's outdoor training ground a while ago was occupied by me and some guests.
The training ground was rowdy despite Sir Geens' lesson being already finished.
– Ruuuuuuuumble!
"Demy, wait! Are you twisting your big sis' leg right now? Ahh!"
– Screeeech!
This was because our main characters, Christelle and Imperial Prince Cédric, have been serving as 'playsitters' for the red pandas for the past two hours.
Vines the size of telephone poles were coming out of the ground and wrapping around the two of them.
Christelle was weak against the earth attribute because she had the water attribute and the Imperial Prince was helpless against Rhea and Perry's attacks of love.
'You two need to reflect on your actions.'
"Are you very angry, your highness?"
"I am not angry. It's just..."
I couldn't finish my sentence at the young Countess's question.
If she was asking wether or not I was placed in an awkward position because of the two of them, that was not the case.
The clever and wise Christelle did not say my name even once at yesterday's Annual Prayer Meeting.
'His Royal Highness and I will not partner with any of the bishops here but with that esteemed individual.'
That was right. She only said esteemed individual. She never specified that it was me.
She simply proclaimed that the two of them had decided on a priest partner and that they would not let anybody meddle in their decision from now on.
Thanks to that, the bishops were in chaos but could no longer argue about me anymore.
I thought that it was a bit much if they were just covering their eyes and pretending not to know it was me.
However, what I heard from the Cardinal this morning was different.
'Christelle's backfire was quite effective. Even the bishops who attended the dinner meeting couldn't figure it out.'
'...They couldn't figure it out?'
'Yes, Christelle didn't tell them the name of their partner or their title. There are talks that it must be you, but many believe that it could be a nameless priest.'
My jaws dropped on their own. I didn't know that opinions would be split like that.
I imagined that they were all being quiet despite knowing it was me.
'Holy Knights are naturally inclined to protect their priest, so they are suspecting that she is using anonymity to protect a partner of lower position. It was entertaining.'
'Protect, yes. The two of them phrased it like that to protect me.'
Their intentions were to make it so that other people would not talk about me and then take care of things legally afterward.
The thing that made me angry at myself was the fact that I could understand their logic despite being mad at them.
It would be one thing if I couldn't understand them at all, but it was hard to scold them when I could oddly understand their reasoning.
I was glaring at the map that David handed me.
A portion of the Empire's vast territory was highlighted in red.
"His Royal Highness told me to consider naturalization. He told me to choose one of these places."
"Pffft, my goodness."
Vice Captain Élisabeth, who had been drinking kiwi juice, covered her mouth with a napkin after hearing my comment.
Her face showed both astonishment and conviction after looking at the map.
'See, I knew it would be like this.'
"Certainly... It is the best way to protect you, your highness."
"That is true."
"If you give up your identity as a person of the Venetiaan Holy Kingdom and become a Riester noble, not only would his Royal Highness and her Eminence protect you, her Majesty would actively protect you as well."
Vice Captain Élisabeth commented. I nodded my head.
It was not a bad decision if I only considered my survival.
No, there may be no better decision in that case.
I could be in one piece and live peacefully even during the war if I chose a rural territory far from the border.
However, there were a lot of things for me to consider.
I took a sip of cool chamomile tea and returned to the front of the notebook.
∙ Avoid vs Get involved
– Pros of getting involved: Easy to gather information.
– Pros of avoiding them: Can live until the war.
Those are the notes I took when we went to the Summer Palace. The second line was the important one.
I had thought that the war would start as expected if I avoided the two MCs and didn't interfere with the original storyline very much.
However, I had all sorts of thoughts now that the situation was like this.
Was the war going to start because of me?
It was too late for me to back out now, but what if the war started because of my naturalization?
"...That's eva." (TL: This is slang in Korean for too much.)
"Excuse me? Are you talking about young lady Eva?"
"No, it's nothing."
I waved my hand and smiled.
Vice Captain Élisabeth smiled back before turning around to watch Christelle and the Imperial Prince's struggle.
I could hear Demy's excited cry over sound of two people who seemed as if they were close to dying.
– Squeeeeee
"Big sis is so tired, Demy... Can we take a five minute break?"
– Whimper, kiiiiiii!
"Aww fine, here comes a sprinkler!"
– Shaaaaaaaaaaa!
'The war is happening because of me?'
This was extremely self-centered and at odds with the things I had heard from Eunseo.
Based on what I knew, the Imperial Prince and Prince Jesse were the typical rivals.
'It's nice if handsome dudes get along, but it is just as nice to see them fighting. That is why I have no complaints.'
My little sister's voice echoed in my mind.
I didn't know what she meant by it being just as nice to see them fighting, but it was probably similar to how I felt so proud while watching Christelle and the Imperial Prince.
Either way, the two men of QNW were now close enough to offer or consider naturalization.
That was why it was extremely unlikely that the war originally started for this reason.
'There must have been some political reasons.'
∙ Naturalization
– Is that the cause of the war? : doesn't seem that way, at least not in the original
– Then is it okay to become naturalized?
'This...'
I tapped the paper with my quill pen.
I could not even lie to say that Prince Jesse's family was harmonious.
It was a family where the crazy Prince Consort was even willing to send assassins to another country to kill his adopted son.
Crown princess Elise seemed like a decent person since she hired a guard for her little brother and secretly sent a letter.
However, the entire Holy Kingdom was dangerous territory for me as long as the Prince Consort was around.
I was already safe residing in the Imperial Palace right now, but I would have a completely different sense of security if I became naturalized.
The Prince would be at peace here even when I go back home in the future.
"Mm."
'But changing nationality seems to be too big of a change.'
I was concerned that the prince would not be able to see his older sister ever again.
'And his younger sister too... I wonder if they had a good relationship.'
This was difficult. There had been many difficulties since I transmigrated here, both large and small, but this was really difficult.
"Demy, Rhea, Perry."
I called for the children.
The red pandas, who had been playing with the two MCs as if they were dolls, trotted over to me without releasing the vines.
They dragged the now pale Christelle and the Imperial Prince, whose hair was disheveled, over with them as well.
"Was it fun playing like that for the first time in a long while? Are you happy?"
– Cruuuuuuuuu!
I used a wet napkin to wipe their feet.
The divine beasts were very smart and knew that my body could not handle their strength.
That was why they only grew flowers or used thin vines with me.
It should have been quite a while since they could openly release their powers and play like this.
I looked toward Christelle who was breathing heavily. She flinched.
"I'm sorry, your highness. Please forgive me."
'Look how automatic this reaction is.'
"Do you know what you did wrong?"
"I was so happy when you said you liked us and considered us qualified enough to be your partners that we reported it as us already having a partner without even discussing it with you first. Plus, something like this had happened in the past too. It was when we caused the fire at the Le Siffre inn. You were hurt when you found out about it later because his Royal Highness and I planned without including you. I'm sorry that I made you feel as if your thoughts were not respected again."
'Wow...'
I was stunned by the clear apology.
Even I didn't know why I was so angry, Christelle pointing it out like that made my mind feel as clear as the purest water.
Our conversation flowed without any difficulty in situations like this.
I wiped my face and held back a scoff.
"Someone who is so aware of themselves acted like that?"
I was a bit annoyed as well.
"I won't do it ever again. I mean it."
Christelle urgently added on. She then gently kicked Rhea's vine that was wrapped around the Imperial Prince.
She was telling him to quickly apologize as well. The Imperial Prince bastard scowled.
"...I'm lacking ether."
"Ah!"
Christelle looked up at the sky in anger. I bit down on my lips.
It was so funny that I thought I would burst out laughing.
That was why I quickly lowered my body and hugged each of the red pandas.
I also didn't forget to thank Percy for the random branch he brought over.
'I'm sure he's lacking ether. They had to deal with the three energetic divine beasts for two hours.'
"There will be no ether today. The partnership is temporary as well."
"Excuse me? But…"
"I never confirmed that I would be your partner. I'm sure that you will follow my decision if you respect me."
Christelle closed her mouth after hearing my stern voice.
The Imperial Prince's orange eyes scowled with discontent.
"I will also think more about the naturalization issue and let you know, your Royal Highness. It is not something I can decide on right away."
"Why-"
– Thud!
Christelle kicked the vine around the Imperial Prince again as he tried to talk back.
I bit my tongue to hold back from making a noise.
I could see Vice Captain Élisabeth, who was plopped over on the table crying.
"Demy, go play with your friends again. The two of you have fun."
"Am I in Pororo or something..."
Christelle blankly mumbled.
The red pandas ran over to the center of the training ground as soon as I said that.
The two MCs were dragged and disappeared from in front of me as the vines moved.
"...They probably need a notary to get married here too."
'Should I get a marriage certificate printed and cover the text to trick the two of them into signing it so that they are married?'
I quietly chuckled while thinking about a revenge that would never happen.
"Ahem, ahem. Thank you very much for the housewarming gift, your highness."
Vice Captain Élisabeth, who barely managed to contain her laughter, changed topic.
"I'm glad that you liked it."
"The uniform I am wearing right now is the one you purchased for me, your highness. I received it yesterday and am showing it off today."
She extended her arms saying that she tested it in her kitchen and it really did not catch on fire.
It had already been nine days since I ordered the special fire resistant outfit for her at the Commerce Center.
I became excited seeing her so happy about how I gave her two sets so she could wear them interchangeably.
The young Countess continued to speak.
"My father was shocked to see how the magic stone sprinkler moved. He is not aware of new inventions like that because he is getting up there in age. I almost fainted after seeing that it was made by Mister François."
"Who?"
"You didn't know either, your highness?"
Vice Captain Élisabeth's grey eyes blinked a few times before she smiled.
"I'm talking about Marquis Duhem. He is very interested in portal research and inventions because his specialty is teleportation. I heard that he has recently been creating these daily necessities as well. He definitely doesn't miss out on any way to make money, that's for sure."
She continued to explain.
The magic stone sprinkler that the Marquis invented was like a small portal as well.
Putting one part of it in the water tank and installing the other part in the greenhouse would move water from the tank to the greenhouse whenever the magic formation was activated.
They had explained it briefly to me at the Commerce Center but I had never expected it to be the Marquis' creation.
'Is he a genius?'
"The Marquis really... Is active in many areas."
"Don't even get me started, your highness. He suddenly appears in the east and then in the west. I met him at the Imperial Capital a few days ago and he is apparently creating some kind of crystal board."
"A crystal board?"
"Yes sir. Apparently it is a set with an orb that's created by cutting down a magic stone... Anyway, he says that he is going to make people's faces appear on a large crystal board. I have no idea where such a thing could be used though."
My eyes opened wide. I gulped.
'This must be that thing that Eunseo talked about... Kiss time. No, kiss cam. Is this it?'
*
An uninvited guest burst into my bedroom that night.
I urgently hid the notebook with my 'details of the operation' into my pajamas.
"How long are you going to be sulking?"
"..."
I then glared at the child who walked in through the balcony without any hesitation.
'Do you think that I would succumb because you came to me looking like this?'
"I'm lacking ether."
The little kid, Sadie, looked right at me as he said that. It was the same as what he said earlier today.
His entire forehead was covered in sweat. His cheeks and neck were so pale that they had no color.
When I did not respond, the kid lowered his head as if he was angry.
His little body staggered.
"You."
I quickly sat down and grabbed him.
'Ow! Seriously? This...'
"You damn fire fox."
I grumbled. He was acting like a fox, but he uses fire, so he was a fire fox.
I grabbed the child's arm and slowly started to release ether.
I was sighing becauseI had no other choice since the punk's breathing was unstable.
It sounded almost as if he was chuckling.
—
Translator's Comments
Crapdric is never going to change…