Chapter 16
The Capital of the Novarens Empire
The Imperial Capital (帝都) - Novaresia.
The most splendid city in the empire, filled with golden decorations symbolizing the emperor's authority, never turned off its lights, even today.
And within the central imperial palace was the Princess's Palace, its most secluded, men-forbidden area.
She was there, inside the large, golden-glowing bathtub.
Her black hair shone brighter than obsidian, and her brown skin was as serene and warm as the dawn over a desert. She bathed alone in the large tub while listening to the news delivered by her maid, laughing merrily.
“Did Hadem really run away!?”
“Yes, Lady Selenia. Word has spread across the entire continent that Lord Hadem of House Ryan retreated after becoming terrified of Sharen, the mage of House Kron.”
“Hahahaha! To think that the man who was always so proud of his ax would show such an ugly side. My brother must be furious.“
“Yes, just as you say, Lady Selenia.”
When her maid bowed her head, everyone present followed suit.
Her name was 『Selenia Lily Novarens』.
As the Second Princess of the Novarens Empire, she was one of the empire's most exalted figures, possessing one of the highest claims to the imperial throne alongside the prince.
From her position, playing a massive game of chess with her elder brother on the empire's stage, what was happening in the south was extremely entertaining.
At first, even she had been flustered when an unheard-of house called House Kron appeared.
The various reforms that had begun in Kron had even affected the territories she supported.
So at first, she had worried that her elder brother, the prince, had extended his reach as far as Kron, but this incident dispelled those worries.
If he had joined her elder brother's side, he would never have humiliated House Ryan like that.“
“What did you say the name of the lord of House Kron was?”
“They say his name is Calix Kron. The people call him ‘The Silver Dragon of Kron.’”
“The Silver Dragon of Kron... That must be the nickname of the great general who helped make our ancestor emperor, wasn't it?”
“Yes, that's right, Lady Selenia.”
Selenia recalled her history lessons from childhood.
When 『Velserion Arc Novarens』, the First Emperor, became emperor, the general who had made the greatest contribution was 『Draygan Kron』, the Silver Dragon of Kron.
As the war for the throne gradually approached, Selenia thought the appearance of the Silver Dragon of Kron was almost like fate.
“I like him! Let's bring him over to our side too!”
“Yes, the lord of Kron will surely be delighted by your proposal, Lady Selenia.”
Splash-!
Selenia emerged from the golden bathtub.
When her beautiful, jewel-like naked body rose from the water, the maids on either side immediately began drying her with large towels.
“Then I suppose we should send him a gift first...Lumiel, whom should we send?”
At Selenia's words, 『Lumiel』, the light-green-haired maid with large round glasses and the princess's right-hand woman, answered with a gentle smile.
“I think the ‘child’ who arrived recently would be a good choice. That ‘child’ graduated from the academy with the highest marks, so the lord of Kron will surely be pleased.”
“Ah! That child!...Hmm...Yes, that would be good. Then please proceed, Lumiel.”
“I shall carry out your orders, Her Highness Princess Selenia.”
With those words, Selenia walked into her room.
Watching two maids struggle to wipe up the trails of water that had not yet dried without disturbing the noblewoman's stride, Lumiel let out a small sigh where no one could see her.
* * *
After the Deep Rock incident, House Kron's territory was peaceful for the first time in a while.
Sharen's power had been a major reason for that peace.
She truly displayed such overwhelming abilities that the description ‘a must-have character, one of the Three Divine Weapons’ suited her perfectly.
Because of her nickname, the Red Mage, people misunderstood and thought she used only fire magic, but she was a candidate for Sage.
The first requirement for becoming a Sage was mastering every existing school of magic.
Naturally, she could use not only fire magic but also healing and earth magic at a level above ordinary mages, and that was a tremendous source of strength for Kron, which had effectively had no mages at all.
She treated people and restored their health, while rapidly removing the salt from the reclaimed land so crops could be planted.
Compared with the time before she arrived, the efficiency of the territory's operations seemed to have doubled.
“This month's territory revenue is up 114% from last month, my lord!”
“It is all thanks to your wisdom in recruiting Lady Sharen, my lord.”
Noah and Hart, who had been suffering headaches over the money spent on the large-scale battle and supporting the immigrants, reported the news to me with refreshing smiles for the first time in a while.
I was pleased by the news as well.
“Yes! That's good. Haha!!...Huh?”
Wait!
This wasn't something to be happy about!!
Looking at the gold lying before me, I realized my mistake.
I had reinvested so much that I was strapped for cash, so I worked the territory harder—and ended up making money again.
Sigh...Where should I spend this money...Should I build an ‘Academy’ or something?
Kron's meager educational facilities brought World Archive's special educational building, the Academy, to mind.
Just as I was wondering how to spend the revenue that had increased once again, I heard a sound from outside.
Knock! Knock!
“Come in.”
At my words, the door opened and a messenger soldier entered.
He came in with an extremely tense expression.
“What is it?”
“Yes! A letter has arrived from the imperial family for you, my lord.”
“A letter has arrived from the imperial family!?”
Damn it! The thing I'd been dreading had finally come!!
In World Archive, when you started as a lord and your fame rose, a letter would arrive from the imperial family and trigger various events.
What event was about to begin!? Please, let it be anything but the 『Capital Invitation Event』!!!
Worried, I received the letter from the messenger soldier.
The letter was sealed with the imperial family's seal.
Since it bore the seal of the imperial family rather than the emperor's, the sender was either the prince or the princess.
Which one had sent it?
Praying that it wasn't the prince, I unfolded the letter. It contained an extremely simple message.
——————————
Let's become friends from now on.
I'll send you a gift as a gesture of friendship!
Second Princess / Selenia Lily Novarens
——————————
“…………”
What? Had I read that wrong?
I was left speechless by a letter so simple it would have been difficult to find even in the internet emails of my previous life.
Since Calix's memories contained no record of ever receiving a letter from the imperial family, I could not help but be flustered.
Was this really acceptable for the imperial family?
Or had the princess simply sent it according to her own whims?
Either way, it was an astonishingly avant-garde letter.
“My lord! What does it say?”
“...The Second Princess is sending a gift as a gesture of friendship.”
“The princess!?”
Noah was startled by my words.
The story of the princess fighting her brother for the imperial throne was famous even this far south.
Noah had done business with countless lords, so she surely knew about the princess as well.
“This is troublesome. If it's a gift from the princess, we can't just send it back.”
“I suppose not. Depending on how we handle it, it could be taken as an insult to the imperial family.”
Although it was a gift the princess had sent personally, without my consent, it had still come from the imperial family.
Whether I rejected it without reason or accepted it, it would inevitably affect my future.
“By the way, my lord, did the princess say what kind of gift she was sending?“
“That wasn't written.”
“...I see.”
Hart's expression darkened, as though he knew something.
Noah also seemed to know something, and she spoke with a dark expression.
“Rumor has it that the princess likes raising things. It is probably that kind of gift.”
“Raising things...”
At Noah's words, I remembered something I had heard in my previous life.
To play as the princess, the character-development portion was said to be extremely important.
However, since I had never played as the princess, I knew nothing more than that.
“Let's wait for now. My lord, it won't be too late to decide how to respond after we receive the princess's gift.”
“Let's do that, my lord.”
“Yes, let's.”
Thus, we decided to determine exactly what the princess's gift was before deciding how to respond.
And a few days later, the princess's gift arrived.
A lavish carriage bearing the imperial crest arrived at House Kron's modest palace, and its door opened.
Then someone stepped out.
“Don't tell me the gift is...”
“It seems so, my lord...”
A maid stepped down from the carriage.
Her blond hair fell just to her neck, and her eyes were sapphire-blue,
and with beautiful, cold features that made one's heart flutter, she approached me wearing a perfectly arranged maid uniform and carrying a large bag that appeared to be her own.
Then she greeted me with a perfect, polite posture that looked as if it belonged in a painting, and said:
“Hello, Lord Calix. I am 『Lana Ansus』, a maid who has come to serve you under the orders of Her Highness the Second Princess, Selenia Lily Novarens.”
She looked straight at me with unwavering eyes and said:
“From today onward, I will demonstrate perfect devotion at your side, my lord. Please command me as you wish.”
I knew her very well.
Her name was 『Lana Ansus』.
Among servant-type characters, she was one of the few SSR characters I owned—and one of the very best-performing SSRs at that, nicknamed 『Super Maid』.
She was a perfect character, but she had one major problem.
It was her 『class』.
In the game, she had two classes.
One was, of course, 『Maid』, and the other was...『Assassin』.
A Trojan horse had been delivered to our territory.
Princess - Selenia Lily Novarens
Maid - Lana Ansus
