My teacher smiled as if she saw right through me.

“Don’t worry. It won’t take long. It isn’t as tricky to handle as a divine item.” She slowly added on.

It made sense now that I thought about it. Divine items tended to have their unique wills and went through their own form of assessment before choosing a master. For example, the Sword of Wisdom from the Flaming Star did not budge for a long time until the Imperial Crown Prince appeared. Percy, the Ark of the Wind Deity, still did not have a master while the Blessing of the Blue Sea, which was absorbed into Christelle’s body, had become one with her. On the other hand, the Cardinal’s Holy Staff was an item created not by the Almighty God but by a human being. It would be difficult for such an item to have such…subjectivity.

“How can I become its master?”

“It’s simple. You just have to get stronger than me.”

“Ah……” I sighed in despair.

I didn’t expect the process to be easy, but my teacher was one of the top Cardinals in the entire continent. Becoming stronger than her seemed extremely distant. Although I was overflowing in ether, my Divine Power was at the level of a child. Forget 30 years, it might even take me 50 years. Wasn’t she basically saying that she would never let me go to the neutral region?

“You have mighty talent, my little prince. Don’t get scared at all,” he gently explained. I tightly clenched the staff and looked at her.

“Thank you very much, your Eminence. However…… I truly believe that I should go to the neutral region. I believe that the crown princess would have headed there. She was the first to say that she wanted to see me, after all.”

“My little prince.”

“You know it as well, your Eminence. The crown princess is not someone who would take on such a danger. She has no reason to create such an explosive situation. She is cautious, and……”

I trailed off. I had only seen Elise once until now. I knew that she was a good older sister and had the potential to become a great Queen, but that was it. I didn’t know how she would act if she was pushed to her limits, what kind of people she had around her, and who she received advice from. Count Palatine Roosegaarde, the Queen’s confidant who claimed to have delivered the message, was someone I didn’t have much information on either. It was the Riester Imperial family and not the Venetiaan Royal family that I knew.

After thinking to that point, I felt like my justification was getting even weaker. I completely understood Empress Frédérique’s position, so it was hard to keep whining about it. I subconsciously started to look upset.

“……”

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” The Cardinal immediately caressed my head. She continued to speak, almost in a whisper. “In Sand’s situation, nothing has been decided. It is true that the person willing to vouch for his identity is from a family even the Empire accepts, but it is difficult to send him so easily because of the situation. We plan on calling little Bacary over soon to ask his opinion.”

“Little Bacary?”

“Yeah. That child is one of Frédérique’s advisory team members. Maybe he had a revelation.”

My jaw dropped. Now that I thought about it, Modeste Bacary was there. The young boy came usually once every two to three days to Juliette Palace to eat some bread. The youngest leader of the Fleur-de-lis, the Empress’s personal mage advisory team. The twenty year old who was slowly starting to open his heart to us. The prophet who could see into < I quit my job and ended up as a noble young lady in another world >.

I quickly asked my question. “Then what if the Captain says it is okay? If he says there aren’t any ill omens about Sand-”

“Then we will send him. Definitely not alone, but we can trust the Viscount’s House of Rambouillet’s caravan.”

“Jackpot.” My face immediately became brighter.

My teacher lowered her eyebrows as if this put her in a complicated situation and scolded me, saying that a person of the Imperial family could not let their expression reveal their intentions like this. But the way she warmly held my hands made it seem as if she didn’t hate it either. I immediately felt better, thinking there was even the faintest of hope. I could absolutely trust little Bacary. Why?

*

“I did not see anything special. Priest Sand Roos is an extremely average person.” For this wise person who can foresee the original work, Sand’s appearance was not an issue. The priest is innocent!

“Alright!”

I shook Demy’s front paws and cheered. Of course, I couldn’t be loud while observing this lesson, so I just happily whispered.

The interior training ground, which went through large or small fixes every time the Holy Knights came here, was almost as sturdy as an air-raid shelter now. The red panda didn’t know what was going on but still went ‘kiiiiiiiiiii, kiiiiiiiiii’ with joy on my knees.

Little Bacary’s face turned odd while looking at our excitement. I quickly put on a poker face.

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to use you, little Bacary. I simply asked because I was concerned about Sand who said he needs to go to the neutral region.”

I did not lie at all. In the original, crown prince Cédric and Christelle were not Holy Knights, so Sand was originally not fated to be dispatched to the Empire. Basically, it was extremely unlikely for him to suddenly become a ‘major character’ to get swept up in something big. I was extremely happy to have my hypothesis confirmed by teacher Bacary. He wasn’t the type to lie so he would tell the Empress the same thing. Sand would be allowed to go to the neutral region.

The young boy stared at me for a bit before turning his head away. His silver glasses sparkled under the magic light. “That is not a problem, your highness. I am simply paying for the bread.”

“……”

‘You see that?! “Being used is my duty.” He isn’t saying things like that anymore!’

My mood was inflated like a souffle as I cut a large slice of bûche de Noël and placed it on the seer’s plate. Ganael would normally be helping out, but the boy was currently busy off to the side, pushing a flower cart for the little troublemakers.

It was always this chaotic whenever the kids came to watch with me. Benjamin, who remained back in Juliette Palace, was busy decorating everything with gold and purple with the rest of the staff. The log-shaped roll cake, which had blueberries and golden leaves on top, gave off a strong scent of chocolate rather than the coffee buttercream. This was apparently a special dish that was eaten on the continent during the celebration of the Advent of the Almighty God.

The young boy cautiously picked up a fork and waited for me. I smiled and gave him the signal.

“Please eat a lot.”

“……Thank you very much.”

The kid looked like an adult as he first drank some café Chris (Iced Americano) then stabbed the cake into his mouth. He made sure to eat the mushroom-shaped meringue as well. His always clean and tidy dark blue robe did not get the tiniest of crumbs on it. He seemed extremely uncomfortable the first time he came here, but he seemed to be eating enough and would even rest for up to thirty minutes if the weather was nice.

Just seeing him like this filled my snack stomach. But continuing to look at him like this was rude, so I quietly looked away. A spar was happening at the center of the training ground.

– Swish!

– Thump!

‘Oh dear.’ Christelle, who was flung back from the impact, slammed into a corner. Her pink hair that was tied up fell down and covered her eyes. Her ripped cravat rolled on the ground like a rag.

I moved my legs out from under the table, ready to run over at any moment. The crown prince turned his shoulder and stood up straight. The main character slowly got herself up.

“Ow, why I oughta……” Her eyes sparkled like will-o’-the-wisps as she groaned.

It would probably be bad if I asked her to explain what she meant by that last sentence. Sir Johann was standing seriously like a coach, with his arms crossed, as he watched the two show off their skills.

Since last week, the two of them had been fighting using the typical mercenary’s physical arts. The captain did not seem used to such an atmosphere as his shoulders curled forward. I smiled and whispered to him.

“Thank you for coming today. The two of them look so good together, don’t you think?”

His silver eyes opened wide. Little Bacary slowly peeked at the two of them before nodding his head without making it too noticeable.

‘He really does know something. What a talent of the Empire.’

“As people who will share a future, it is only natural for it to be so harmonious and beautiful, seeing them together. Although they are currently hostile toward each other, they cannot avoid the ties of fate.”

‘Man, I feel great! This is it!’ I may even exaggerate a bit and drop a single tear. I was extremely happy and placed three fruit firands on the young boy’s plate. I wanted to give him a hundred cups of cidre as well, but I could not offer it to the kid because he was currently working.

Demy grumbled as if he was uncomfortable.

“However, there is a condition.”

“The future is only possible if I distance myself from the two of them. I heard you clearly last time.”

“……Yes, your highness.”

Little Bacary affirmed it without much hesitation. I was about to happily continue, when-

– Baaaaang!

A loud explosion struck my ear. I quickly stood up.

‘Haaa, they’re rolling on the ground in the middle of the day again.’

“Aaaaah, Dame Christelle! Please hold back!”

Sand was nervously tapping his feet while shouting that she couldn’t kill him. On the other hand, Sir Johann showed no reaction. Grab! The crown prince, who was now on the floor, had a face as cold as ice as he grabbed the main character by the collar. I almost shouted but managed to quickly cover my mouth. The two of their faces were so close that they probably couldn’t even see each other clearly. Christelle’s eyes were shooting out some flames. She immediately slammed her forehead forward.

– Pow!

The crown prince used his fist to stop the headbutt!

“Ow.”

– Squeeze!

Christelle was unable to overcome her rage and grabbed the charcoal-black hair underneath her nose. The handsome man ended up scowling. ‘Holy shit, not his head!’

“Christelle!”

The hair of a romfan’s male lead is precious! I quickly put Demy down and ran as fast as I could.

‘Kiiiiiiia!’ The divine beast screeched happily and chased after me. Sir Johann finally moved to handle the situation and our female lead, who could not hold back in that short instant, quickly raised one knee.

Sand gasped. My mind suddenly went cold with fear.

‘W, where are you trying to kick?!’

“Dear lord!”

– Thump!

I shouted in despair and threw my whole body to grab her leg.

“Huff, huff.” Only heavy breathing filled the area around us. But we couldn’t tell whose breathing it was.

I peeked out to see the crown prince’s gloved hand. He didn’t miss the opening and roughly grabbed Christelle’s body. Her thin waist was almost covered by his large hand. My cheeks instantly flushed! The punk then started to pick Christelle up and made eye contact with me-

“……”

– Thud!

“Ahhh!”

And ended it by just pushing her off to the side. But as I was holding her leg, I was flung along with her and the two of us rolled.

‘Ow, my hip……’

“Ow, that hurt my back.”

Christelle, who had been flung like a suitcase, twisted her body. I looked at her with concern and she made a sad face that made my heart sink before offering me her hand. I quickly grabbed her elbow, thinking that she might need ether. The back of my shoulder felt hot.

‘Mm, is he glaring at me to say something?’

“Christelle…… That was a bit overboard just now.”

This was the truth. Little Bacary was gasping with astonishment over there at the table as well.

“But your highness, his Royal Highness ripped my clothes first. It hurts here because he hit me. Over here too.” Christelle complained in an extremely weak voice.

Honestly, her clothes were not ripped very much, but seeing her innocent baby beagle-like eyes made me go weak. I just plopped down next to her and opened up a healing circle.

“Are you okay, your highness?” Sir Johann asked from behind me.

I thanked the nice Holy Knight for asking and answered that I was fine. The crown prince punk was still silent.

– Shaaaaaaa……

“You do have a bruise but the ‘Blessing’ has such a strong healing power that I don’t think I need to do anything. Christelle, your power is one that gets stronger the more you use it. I’m sure it will be good to train it.”

“Yes, your highness, I will do so. What is that, by the way? The box you brought in earlier.” The main character, who quickly became fine, asked with curiosity. It was difficult to tell the difference between her sparkling blue eyes and the sky-colored ether pebbles.

I chuckled and answered.

“It is something her Eminence has bestowed upon me. She gifted me the Holy Staff she used during her Archbishop days.”

“Wow!”

“How marvelous. I heard you usually pass these things on to your children.” Gerrit’s dad spoke in a rare surprised tone.

I didn’t know there was such a tradition, so I could only gasp internally and smile as I brushed it aside. The crown prince, who was quietly standing next to him, still had a fierce gaze. David brought him a cold towel but the heat of the battle did not seem to have dissipated yet.

I decided to finish scolding Christelle. “Anyway…… Please practice while avoiding each other’s vital points. His Royal Highness needs to sire an heir, and Christelle, you too, uhh… Well, you never know what will happen in the future.”

The MC then glared at me. I got scared, wondering if I said something wrong. The next sentence suddenly burst out.

“Of course, I respect your decision if you do not want to have kids. But if you change your mind in the future…… Mm. Anyway, it would be great if both of you are healthy. Since his Royal Highness will soon be looking for a suitable lady to marry-”

“Excuse me?!” Christelle raised her voice.

I shut my mouth despite knowing it was already too late. I made eye contact with David, who looked as if he had expected this.

‘This is not what I was thinking about saying! He asked me not to leak this news. I did make up my mind to discuss it with my friends, but not like this!’

“Christelle, please listen to me. What I mean is……”

“Ahahaha! He’s getting married! Ahh! Then he won’t be able to pull away from his tasks, hehehe.” The MC rolled on the ground clutching her stomach and her face scrunched like a red bean bun.

Demy hopped into her arms and Sir Johann let out a laugh-mixed sigh. Sand, who was right next to me, as well as Ganael in the distance, both looked shocked.

‘The flow is a bit weird……’ I became anxious and expanded my circle toward the crown prince.

‘This punk has no problem consuming these healing ether despite the situation.’

– Click!

“What is going on? Why is Dame Christelle crying?”

To make matters worse, the person who walked in was Vice Captain Élisabeth.

A big smile was already on her face. ‘No, this is not the development I imagined……!’

—
Translator’s Comments

Oh boy, the cat is out of the bag.

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