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“Your stomach is round.”
Tak tak tak—
Heinricion lightly patted the fox on the belly.
‘Aaaaaaa!’
Eristella was horrified, and jumped high enough to float in the air for a second.
Then she promptly dropped back down into Heinricion’s arms again.
‘What are you doing!’
Eristella freaked out, and motioned to bite off Heinricion’s arm at any moment.
However, Heinricion did not care about the fox whose eyes were burning with anger and continued to walk.
It was like a battle between fire and water, spear and shield.
The scuffle was likely to continue until the walk was over.
Unlike Eristella, who was still agitated, Heinricion, who had remained calm the whole time, opened his mouth and spoke in a low voice.
“These days, you’ve been living only as a fox…”
Heuk. Eristella’s back trembled, unable to keep her composure.
“Ignoring all the people who come looking for the princess…”
It had been a few days since Heinricion had to send back those who came to visit Princess Eristella.
That’s right, he had done it far too many times. And so, he decided he was going to question her properly.
‘I can’t just keep going to the door to deal with them.’
He didn’t really like that kind of course.
With the exception of essential work, Eristella used to avoid external activities.
However, this time, as the situation was as such, she actively showed up here and there.
She had done what she needed to, so she could rest a little.
[What we really need to focus on is not reassuring the nobles.]
Eristella excuses came out easily. Besides, they were pretty decent.
[Now I have to hold my breath while chasing Declen.]
Actually, these weren’t excuses. It was really something that had to be done.
That’s why, even if it wasn’t for her physical condition, it was good for her to reduce her external activities as much as possible from now on.
This was how she could focus on one thing without paying attention to anything else.
“Since we are pursuing him together…”
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‘…….’
“You shouldn’t be hiding anything from me, right?”
Heinricion’s eyes narrowed.
‘Huh? What are you talking about?’
‘I’m not hiding anything. Hahahaha…’
“Since when?”
The corners of Eristella’s mouth, which had been smiling shamelessly pretending not to know, slowly descended.
‘Did you notice?’
In fact, this wasn’t the first time Heinricion had noticed Eristella’s abnormality.
When he transferred her illness with magic, the symptoms he felt for himself were serious.
At that time, he thought there might be something wrong with her body.
‘You already knew it, yet you still tried to get me to say it?’
It was when Eristella was arguing with her eyes.
“After that, you seemed fine, so I thought it was my misjudgement.”
But clearly, it was a mistake to be relieved.
Heinricion’s face darkened as he regretted, to the point that Eristella’s conscience was pricked.
‘…Oof.’
‘I have nothing to say.’
Eristella’s head slowly turned downward.
Heinricion held out some medicine.
“Make sure to eat this. It will protect your body.”
What he handed her was the magic protectors made by the Grand Duchy of Adelasia. Eating it would calm the flow of magic, which would help the body to control it more easily.
“Especially… this is my improvement. It should work just fine.”
It was made by Heinricion himself for Eristella, working all night over the past few days.
‘Wow. it’s impressive.’
With shining eyes, Eristella poured it into her mouth eagerly.
Both cheeks bulged, but she chewed it thoroughly without spilling anything.
‘I have to digest it well.’
Gulp. Eristella swallowed hard and tapped her stomach.
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“From now on, press down your magic power when you don’t really need it.”
Heinricion firmly warned Eristella.
“All you should do is stay back.”
Eristella was always the first to step out and run amok.
Needless to say, she consumed a lot of magic power in the process of doing so.
[That’s just because the body reacts on its own.]
“Suppress your instincts. Do you think you’re a real animal just because you look like a fox?”
‘Ugh. How can you say such harsh words?’
Too bad. It was when Eristella was pouting.
“Don’t pretend to be hurt.”
Heinricion resolutely cut off her acting before it could even start.
‘I knew it wouldn’t work.’
The second Eristella’s expression returned to normal and she regained her calm.
“Take care of yourself.”
Suddenly, serious and sincere words flowed.
“In the end, you are the only one the empire and I can rely on at the last moment.”
‘I want to say that you don’t have to step out, but the bitter fact is that I can’t.’
Right as Heinricion’s face darkened in frustration…
Eristella suddenly lifted her head and struck Heinricion on the chin.
“…Ugh.”
Heinricion grabbed his chin and stared at her, asking what she was doing.
[I have to go see Charlotte’s performance! It’s been a while since she sent an invitation, but I forgot.]
It was clear that Charlotte would be resentful if Eristella didn’t go this time.
Hence, with her eyes wide open, Eristella hastily wagged her tail and pleaded.
*******
The next day, Eristella and Heinricion went to see Charlotte’s performance.
“The title is ‘Hero’s Savior’. It must be the one I saw last time.”
Recalling the script she saw lying around when she visited Charlotte in the waiting room last time, Eristella had a question.
The venue was crowded with people, like a testament that it was the most popular performance these days.
The whispers and murmurs of the people who spotted them could be heard. Thinking that she might as well give more weight to the rumors, Eristella linked her arms with Heinricion’s and headed to the special guest seats.
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The content of the performance was an adventure story depicting friendship and betrayal of a hero.
However, as the performances continued, Eristella’s face became more and more profound.
“Heinricion. Aren’t you familiar with this content?”
Eristella asked meaningfully in a low voice.
“It’s similar to the founding tale.”
“Mhm.”
“But there aren’t just a few works with motifs from the founding tale.”
It was a heroic story loved by all citizens of the empire.
Since it was a story that was guaranteed to succeed to some extent, it was common for people to create and perform works that twist the founding tale in various directions.
‘But this is slightly different from the usual twist on the founding tale.’
The golden eyes watching the performance were dissecting every detail.
‘I’m sure.’
As soon as the performance was over, Eristella headed to Charlotte’s waiting room.
“Who wrote this performance?”
Unlike most of the previous stages where old masterpieces were performed, this was ‘Hero’s Savior’’s premiere.
“Well. I don’t know who wrote it. It was sent by a theater sponsor.”
“Sponsor? Have you ever seen him in person?”
“I’ve never seen him before. I don’t think I’ve even met the owner of the theater in person.”
For some reason, Eristella was suspicious of the identity of the sponsor.
The content of the performance also seemed to imply something cleverly twisted in the founding tale.
“There is a sponsor who has invested a huge amount of money since the theater was first built. Sometimes there are weirdos like that, who satisfy personal greed in this way.”
As Eristella wondered, Charlotte commented casually.
“But the script was better than I thought. It’s fun to perform.”
So did you see me singing well? How was it? Charlotte went on to ask, her eyes shining.
Eristella had to put her doubts aside for a moment and line up her impressions of Charlotte’s performance.
The silver-haired singer was satisfied only after hearing the reviews of Eristella and Heinricion.
*******
While Eristella and Heinricion were at the theater, the emperor was constantly checking the family tree of each family until late at night. Suddenly, he frowned; he had just read something bothering.
‘I must check it out.’
The emperor sent his knights away and moved stealthily.
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And he checked the well-sealed national treasure.
‘This…!’
Astonishment appeared on the face of the emperor.
*******
Just in time, the four people who had gone to investigate at Eristella’s request came.
“I think it will be hard to pursue Declen’s tracks. There should be some sort of trace, but there is none at all.”
Jake shook his head, saying that no matter how much rumors and information he gathered, he couldn’t see the way.
Actually, this was what Eristella expected.
“I guess we have no choice but to start by looking for Viscount Diaclen.”
“All right.”
“However, you have to really pick at even the smallest things. If it’s not that much, you’ll end up not finding anything.”
She had already looked into him once. At the time, she found nothing suspicious.
“I’ll shake out everything, even if the person concerned can’t remember.”
Such reliable and confident words. Jake was determined to do it well.
“And I’ve been bothered by it before.”
Eristella was about to nod and inquire about something else.
Eugene, noticing her question, spoke up first.
“I looked into Emmet Sianne, which was one of the things Your Highness requested last time.”
“You found him?”
Eristella’s eyes widened.
It had been a concern ever since she saw him when she was hypnotized.
“Yes. But the Sianne family is already extinct.”
“…I see.”
There was a time when Eristella thought that might be the case.
“Then what about Emmett Siane? Is he alive?”
This was what Eristella was most curious about. If he was alive, she wanted to meet him.
“Unfortunately, he died.”
“…….”
Ame: Hahahaha for real, my dog gets visibly upset when I say my culture/country’s equivalent of ‘your stomach is round’
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“Your stomach is round.”
Tak tak tak—
Heinricion lightly patted the fox on the belly.
‘Aaaaaaa!’
Eristella was horrified, and jumped high enough to float in the air for a second.
Then she promptly dropped back down into Heinricion’s arms again.
‘What are you doing!’
Eristella freaked out, and motioned to bite off Heinricion’s arm at any moment.
However, Heinricion did not care about the fox whose eyes were burning with anger and continued to walk.
It was like a battle between fire and water, spear and shield.
The scuffle was likely to continue until the walk was over.
Unlike Eristella, who was still agitated, Heinricion, who had remained calm the whole time, opened his mouth and spoke in a low voice.
“These days, you’ve been living only as a fox…”
Heuk. Eristella’s back trembled, unable to keep her composure.
“Ignoring all the people who come looking for the princess…”
It had been a few days since Heinricion had to send back those who came to visit Princess Eristella.
That’s right, he had done it far too many times. And so, he decided he was going to question her properly.
‘I can’t just keep going to the door to deal with them.’
He didn’t really like that kind of course.
With the exception of essential work, Eristella used to avoid external activities.
However, this time, as the situation was as such, she actively showed up here and there.
She had done what she needed to, so she could rest a little.
[What we really need to focus on is not reassuring the nobles.]
Eristella excuses came out easily. Besides, they were pretty decent.
[Now I have to hold my breath while chasing Declen.]
Actually, these weren’t excuses. It was really something that had to be done.
That’s why, even if it wasn’t for her physical condition, it was good for her to reduce her external activities as much as possible from now on.
This was how she could focus on one thing without paying attention to anything else.
“Since we are pursuing him together…”
Sponsored Content
‘…….’
“You shouldn’t be hiding anything from me, right?”
Heinricion’s eyes narrowed.
‘Huh? What are you talking about?’
‘I’m not hiding anything. Hahahaha…’
“Since when?”
The corners of Eristella’s mouth, which had been smiling shamelessly pretending not to know, slowly descended.
‘Did you notice?’
In fact, this wasn’t the first time Heinricion had noticed Eristella’s abnormality.
When he transferred her illness with magic, the symptoms he felt for himself were serious.
At that time, he thought there might be something wrong with her body.
‘You already knew it, yet you still tried to get me to say it?’
It was when Eristella was arguing with her eyes.
“After that, you seemed fine, so I thought it was my misjudgement.”
But clearly, it was a mistake to be relieved.
Heinricion’s face darkened as he regretted, to the point that Eristella’s conscience was pricked.
‘…Oof.’
‘I have nothing to say.’
Eristella’s head slowly turned downward.
Heinricion held out some medicine.
“Make sure to eat this. It will protect your body.”
What he handed her was the magic protectors made by the Grand Duchy of Adelasia. Eating it would calm the flow of magic, which would help the body to control it more easily.
“Especially… this is my improvement. It should work just fine.”
It was made by Heinricion himself for Eristella, working all night over the past few days.
‘Wow. it’s impressive.’
With shining eyes, Eristella poured it into her mouth eagerly.
Both cheeks bulged, but she chewed it thoroughly without spilling anything.
‘I have to digest it well.’
Gulp. Eristella swallowed hard and tapped her stomach.
Sponsored Content
“From now on, press down your magic power when you don’t really need it.”
Heinricion firmly warned Eristella.
“All you should do is stay back.”
Eristella was always the first to step out and run amok.
Needless to say, she consumed a lot of magic power in the process of doing so.
[That’s just because the body reacts on its own.]
“Suppress your instincts. Do you think you’re a real animal just because you look like a fox?”
‘Ugh. How can you say such harsh words?’
Too bad. It was when Eristella was pouting.
“Don’t pretend to be hurt.”
Heinricion resolutely cut off her acting before it could even start.
‘I knew it wouldn’t work.’
The second Eristella’s expression returned to normal and she regained her calm.
“Take care of yourself.”
Suddenly, serious and sincere words flowed.
“In the end, you are the only one the empire and I can rely on at the last moment.”
‘I want to say that you don’t have to step out, but the bitter fact is that I can’t.’
Right as Heinricion’s face darkened in frustration…
Eristella suddenly lifted her head and struck Heinricion on the chin.
“…Ugh.”
Heinricion grabbed his chin and stared at her, asking what she was doing.
[I have to go see Charlotte’s performance! It’s been a while since she sent an invitation, but I forgot.]
It was clear that Charlotte would be resentful if Eristella didn’t go this time.
Hence, with her eyes wide open, Eristella hastily wagged her tail and pleaded.
*******
The next day, Eristella and Heinricion went to see Charlotte’s performance.
“The title is ‘Hero’s Savior’. It must be the one I saw last time.”
Recalling the script she saw lying around when she visited Charlotte in the waiting room last time, Eristella had a question.
The venue was crowded with people, like a testament that it was the most popular performance these days.
The whispers and murmurs of the people who spotted them could be heard. Thinking that she might as well give more weight to the rumors, Eristella linked her arms with Heinricion’s and headed to the special guest seats.
Sponsored Content
The content of the performance was an adventure story depicting friendship and betrayal of a hero.
However, as the performances continued, Eristella’s face became more and more profound.
“Heinricion. Aren’t you familiar with this content?”
Eristella asked meaningfully in a low voice.
“It’s similar to the founding tale.”
“Mhm.”
“But there aren’t just a few works with motifs from the founding tale.”
It was a heroic story loved by all citizens of the empire.
Since it was a story that was guaranteed to succeed to some extent, it was common for people to create and perform works that twist the founding tale in various directions.
‘But this is slightly different from the usual twist on the founding tale.’
The golden eyes watching the performance were dissecting every detail.
‘I’m sure.’
As soon as the performance was over, Eristella headed to Charlotte’s waiting room.
“Who wrote this performance?”
Unlike most of the previous stages where old masterpieces were performed, this was ‘Hero’s Savior’’s premiere.
“Well. I don’t know who wrote it. It was sent by a theater sponsor.”
“Sponsor? Have you ever seen him in person?”
“I’ve never seen him before. I don’t think I’ve even met the owner of the theater in person.”
For some reason, Eristella was suspicious of the identity of the sponsor.
The content of the performance also seemed to imply something cleverly twisted in the founding tale.
“There is a sponsor who has invested a huge amount of money since the theater was first built. Sometimes there are weirdos like that, who satisfy personal greed in this way.”
As Eristella wondered, Charlotte commented casually.
“But the script was better than I thought. It’s fun to perform.”
So did you see me singing well? How was it? Charlotte went on to ask, her eyes shining.
Eristella had to put her doubts aside for a moment and line up her impressions of Charlotte’s performance.
The silver-haired singer was satisfied only after hearing the reviews of Eristella and Heinricion.
*******
While Eristella and Heinricion were at the theater, the emperor was constantly checking the family tree of each family until late at night. Suddenly, he frowned; he had just read something bothering.
‘I must check it out.’
The emperor sent his knights away and moved stealthily.
Sponsored Content
And he checked the well-sealed national treasure.
‘This…!’
Astonishment appeared on the face of the emperor.
*******
Just in time, the four people who had gone to investigate at Eristella’s request came.
“I think it will be hard to pursue Declen’s tracks. There should be some sort of trace, but there is none at all.”
Jake shook his head, saying that no matter how much rumors and information he gathered, he couldn’t see the way.
Actually, this was what Eristella expected.
“I guess we have no choice but to start by looking for Viscount Diaclen.”
“All right.”
“However, you have to really pick at even the smallest things. If it’s not that much, you’ll end up not finding anything.”
She had already looked into him once. At the time, she found nothing suspicious.
“I’ll shake out everything, even if the person concerned can’t remember.”
Such reliable and confident words. Jake was determined to do it well.
“And I’ve been bothered by it before.”
Eristella was about to nod and inquire about something else.
Eugene, noticing her question, spoke up first.
“I looked into Emmet Sianne, which was one of the things Your Highness requested last time.”
“You found him?”
Eristella’s eyes widened.
It had been a concern ever since she saw him when she was hypnotized.
“Yes. But the Sianne family is already extinct.”
“…I see.”
There was a time when Eristella thought that might be the case.
“Then what about Emmett Siane? Is he alive?”
This was what Eristella was most curious about. If he was alive, she wanted to meet him.
“Unfortunately, he died.”
“…….”
Ame: Hahahaha for real, my dog gets visibly upset when I say my culture/country’s equivalent of ‘your stomach is round’
