Chapter 12
In the garden of the Imperial Palace, Elaine, accompanied by Alice and two other maids, was eager to make a flower wreath.
Alice crouched down by the small child. Her gaze filled with affection and admiration as she saw Elaine’s tiny fingers weaving the flowers together.
“Great job, Princess. How have you gotten so good at this?”
Giggling, Elaine smiled up excitedly.
“I learned this from someone I knew.”
“I don’t know who they are, but they must’ve been really skilled with their hands. But, who are you making this for?”
“Uh, for daddy.”
“Oh my, for the Emperor?”
As Elaine wiggled her fingers and blushed, Alice covered her mouth and laughed.
Just in case, she told him that the flower crown she made for him before was ruined because he jumped into the water to save Elaine, but she could always make a new one.
“Wow! His Majesty will be very pleased.”
“Really?”
“Of course. He was very fond of the flower crown you made last time.”
Elaine giggled once more.
“I’m glad.”
Smiling, Elaine shifted her feet and held up a small indiscernible object.
“What’s this?”
“A flower ring for Alice!”
“Oh my god! A flower ring from the Princess?”
Alice was touched, and gently caressed the pink flower ring.
At that time, Bailey, who was keeping watch, but still listening to the conversation between the two, ran up to them quickly.
“Princess! What about mine! Don’t tell me you don’t have one for me… ”, she pouted teasingly.
“Oh no, I have Bailey’s and Cathy’s right here. Here you go.”
Elaine picked up a red and blue flower ring respectively.
Bailey, who had been sullen, and Cathy, who had a poker face, were handed the tiny wreaths that Elaine made.
“Ooh! I could die happy right now, what a nice gift!”
Cathy’s blank face softened for just a moment.
“I will cherish it…”
Bailey put her hand over her heart and sighed with happiness. Cathy smiled shyly and carefully put the flower ring on her finger.
Alice saw them smiling happily and slipped hers onto her finger as well.
“But it’s too bad. It’s made of real flowers, so it’ll wither quickly.”
“Can’t you dry it into a bookmark?”, asked Bailey.
“Then it won’t be a flower ring. Well, that’s the best way to preserve it.”
Alice looked at the flower ring in her hand, still in thought.
However, Elaine shook her head, as if implying not to worry.
“That’s a piece of cake!”
“Huh?”
Alice asked, puzzled.
Wasn’t she worried about the flower losing its vitality?
To adults, it appeared like a child’s naive confidence and wishful thinking, but Elaine was serious.
“I made it with The Water Spirit. The flower will last for about a month!”
She was telling the truth. Although it was not visible to the three maids standing in front of her, a Water Spirit floated around Elaine.
Whoosh!
The Spirit twirled round and around, just out of Elaine’s reach. Its soft baby blue shade reflected the sky like a raindrop.
In some ways, it looked like a tiny ball of slime.
“The Water Spirit has a deep connection with all forms of life. With the power of the Water Spirit, the ring can last for quite a long time.”
Elaine was confident. Of course, the royal wreath for the Emperor also had special effects.
However, Alice, who still didn’t believe the child, had begun to adjust the ring carefully, not wanting it to be ruined.
Bailey, who was walking around the garden, clapped her hands together as if she remembered something.
“Oh! I’ve found a way to preserve it for a long time!”
“How? Tell me!”
“It might sound impossible, but we can use magic!”
“Oh…? Come to think of it, that’s right!”
Only then did Alice, who recalled that magic existed, became cheerful. But then, her face turned sullen.
“But Bailey. Will the palace wizards just lend us their magic?”
“Don’t worry about it. Just like the last time we stole a memory recorder, you be the bait!”
“Huh?”
Alice and Elaine exchanged confused glances, oblivious to Bailey’s plans. But soon, Alice opened her mouth and shouted,
“Bailey! What the hell are you planning?”
“Alice! Does magic hurt?”
“Huh? No, it doesn’t hurt at all. You can try the potions made by the Ministry of Magic and check the effect afterwards. I can give you some money.”
Ahh, so that’s what Bailey was planning.
Well, the magic department of the Imperial Palace wouldn’t make dangerous potions.
If anyone tried to experiment on a maid, who was the property of the imperial palace, with a dangerous potion, it was considered a felony.
The thought reassured Alice and she sighed with relief when she saw Bailey’s convincing smile.
But, she couldn’t take any chances.
“I’m still coming with you. Dangerous potions can’t be used, but you still have to be careful.”
“Oh? Lady, you’re worried about me? Wow.”
“I’m just worried that you’ll cause trouble. Listen to me, I’m serious!”
Bailey, chuckling to herself, and responded with a smirk.
“Of course! I always do what Alice says.”
Bailey hugged Elaine with a big smile. Alice, who tried to restrict Bailey’s behavior by threatening her, sighed and said,
“I’ll let you off this time.”
Elaine stayed in Bailey’s arms for a while.
***
It had already been a week since she signed a contract with the water spirit.
With enough practice, Elaine could now summon Undines, creatures produced from water and energy.
There was still a long way to go before summoning the next level of spirits, but her mana was strong enough to preserve the Undine’s life form.
If she continued to increase her mana and interact with the spirits, it would not be long until Elaine could summon the higher level Water Spirits.
Elaine smiled happily and stroked the Undine’s round, smooth head.
Her power grew with each day
“Muu!”
The Undine’s eyes drooped as it moved closer to Elaine, leaning into her touch. If a Master of Spirit Magic witnessed this scene, he would cry out in disbelief.
Unfortunately, there was no such person present to observe the invisible Undine.
Elaine just needed to obtain one more thing. The answer to solving her problem was,
…a subjective measure of human happiness and the gateway to all materialic satisfaction,
money.
‘Create trust funds, that’s exactly what I have to do from now on.’
When she was adopted as the emperor’s daughter, she didn’t have any money. In fact, living in the palace meant that she could eat heartily without a dime to her name.
However, it was better to ensure that she had assets in case of any unforeseen emergencies in the future.
If so, then the world itself would be in chaos.
And having assets to aid her later in life would be convenient.
“But there aren’t many ways to earn money at my age…”
“Hmph!”
Her head felt like it was about to explode. For a child, who’s only concerns were eating and playing, finances were far beyond her mental capacity.
“It’s just about making sure that I can eat and live well in the future. I don’t have to rush now.”
She still had a lot of time before disaster struck.
Elaine, who concluded that she would worry more about the issue later, fumbled for a forgotten treat in her pocket.
To her surprise…
“Mmm. Wow! Macarons are God’s greatest gift to humanity!”
She was so happy that she could die, munching on her sweet macaron.
She felt the stress melt away like the delicate sugar on her tongue. Previously, only one or two macarons were allowed per day, but Alice looked away as Elaine snuck more into her pockets from time to time again.
Thanks to this, the plate was always full of different macarons even after she ate a lot, and both her hands were always full of macarons.
Elaine swallowed a mouthful and felt a sweet happy sensation wash over her.
But at that moment…
“Ouch!”
A sharp pain rang through her gums.
It was as if the wizards had shot lightning into her mouth, for she became insanely dizzy.
What’s wrong with me? That’s not possible.
It was a dizzying and sharp pain in her mouth, not anywhere else. The answer instinctively came to her mind, but Elaine refused to believe it.
But Alice had already seen Elaine’s face.
Alice stopped what she was doing and appeared with a worried expression.
She grabbed Elaine’s shoulders with her eyes trembling.
As she shrugged her shoulders, Alice said with a frown on her face,
“What happened, Princess?”
“Uh, what?”
“What is it? You look like your mouth hurts a lot. Excuse me, but can I take a look in your mouth for a second?”
“Oh, it’s really nothing. I was just surprised.”
“Hoho, you can’t fool me a second time. Open up!”
“Ack!”
Bailey and Cathy stood silently beside Elaine.
They held her arms tightly as Alice inspected her mouth.
“Oh my god!”
“It was just as I thought!”
“Mmm!”
Alice, who squeezed Elaine’s cheeks, used her fingers to make her mouth open.
She was shocked as soon as she looked inside.
“Princess! Both your molars have cavities!”
“Oh my goodness!”
Elaine loosened her hands absently when she heard Alice’s words.
The macaroon that slipped from her hand rolled onto the ground.
***
The palace was turned upside down.
All because the princess had a cavity.
In an urgent situation like this, dental experts rushed to the palace, as per the Emperor’s orders.
Elaine was trembling.
If anyone saw an overwhelming line of unfamiliar people, of course they would be agitated too.
“Come on, come on.”
“Oh, there’s a good girl. There’s no need to worry”
“Your Majesty’s daughter is very brave.”
“Well of course.”
The Emperor nodded his head as if it were natural.
The patient was in that direction, but why did the Emperor excessively glance over at her? Was he worried?
Elaine may be sick, but a person with a toothache will live.
She would try her best to reassure the emperor.
A small amount of anesthetic and an unknown gadget was placed on her gum. Then came a round of medicine. Elaine’s tears welled up when this happened, but she was able to complete the treatment by holding in her pain.
“‘Are you alright?”
“Yes, I’m good!”
Elaine nodded, pretending to be fine.
In fact, the excruciating pain made her want to cry, but she couldn’t do it in front of so many people.
The doctor who took care of her cavities was really skilled and patient. The words of encouragement he said earlier rang through Elaine’s head.
She didn’t want to go through the pain again.
Still, she thought she would die from the pain of pulling out a tooth, but it was a great blessing to not feel extensive pain from her cavities.
This is why money is everything.
There’s no way a normal person could find such a talented doctor in this continent.
The thought gave Elaine a new impression.
Whose daughter had she become?
While she was still recovering from the throbbing sensation, the Emperor, who was talking to Alice, approached Elaine.
And said,
“I heard that you’ve been eating a lot of sweets recently. Is what that woman said true?”
“A little… ?”
She answered his question carefully, keeping her gaze lowered. As if she was being dug up from the ground, she spat out the truth.
“Actually…”
Her voice trailed off.
“Hmm, I think we’re going to have to set some limits for you.”
“Hm?”
Elaine tilted her head.
A limit?
What the hell does that mean?
The emperor stared at his daughter, who blinked her eyes quickly with a puzzled face.
With a very slow and serious tone, he spoke as if his next words were especially important.
“You have to rule out the cause in order to prevent the consequences.”
“Oh?”
“Elaine. You’re banned from eating macaroons from now on.”
DUN!
A thunderbolt pierced Elaine’s heart when she heard such unbelievable words.
At the same time, her legs seemed to lose all strength as she sank to the ground.
“Why…”
“Why a macaroon ban!”
The Emperor turned his head away solemnly, and the servants surrounding them bowed quietly.
Because of this “decree” given by the Emperor, Elaine felt as if her entire world was collapsing.
~To be continued~