Chapter 36 - The Princess's Heart is Fluttering
Chapter 36 - The Princess's Heart is Fluttering
Ever since the day she was saved by Edric, Camilla felt that she had become strange.
Camilla could not forget a single moment of that day.
The moment she was betrayed by the Cardinal and Lumiel, Edric had smashed through the stained glass and saved her.
And... to bring her to her senses, Edric had slapped her cheek.
Slap—!
'Pull yourself together, Your Highness!'
That day, the stinging sensation that touched her cheek.
Born as a princess, she had never once been rejected or struck by anyone.
But toward her, who was unable to pull herself together and was wavering amidst the conspiracy of the Dead King worshippers, Edric had swung his hand without hesitation.
Along with that cold shout, the thrilling pain that flowed down her cheek.
Among the polite and stiff nobles, he alone seemed to treat her as a 'human' and had shaken her soul.
Strangely, it was from that moment on. That Camilla's heart began to pound uncontrollably...
Stare—
"Team A, align the 3 years of income for the Livia territory by year on the horizontal axis! Team B..."
After that, her eyes kept drifting toward Edric.
That strange expression, where she couldn't tell what he was thinking behind his squinted eyes, and that firm touch that had struck her, made her lose sleep at night.
'Why... why am I like this?'
Clutching her pounding chest, Camilla thought about her strange condition.
Even she herself did not understand why she was like this.
However, one thing was certain.
'Just once more... I want to feel that shock from back then just one more time...'
She wanted to feel that pounding of her heart she felt the moment she was slapped by Edric that day... once again.
After that, Camilla had her attendants ask about Edric's recent status.
Because he was a man of upright living who only commuted between his home and the Imperial Palace on weekdays, she couldn't find an opening at all.
But... an opportunity arrived.
It was that he was trapped in the paperwork hell called the Ministry of Finance and was repeating all-night overtime shifts.
That news was like salvation to her.
"Prepare a late-night snack. Something very neat and delicious. I will go to the Ministry of Finance myself."
Camilla, having packed the late-night snack made by directly ordering the Imperial Palace chef, headed to the Ministry of Finance.
In front of the Ministry of Finance, she said to her attendants.
"I will go up alone."
"But, Your Highness."
"It is an order. You all wait here."
"Yes... understood."
Shaking off the attendants' dissuasion, she climbed the dark hallway of the Ministry of Finance while holding the basket.
Every time she climbed a step, her heart rate increased.
And finally, she faced Edric's haggard face. Seeing him chewing on a pie deliciously, Camilla solidified her resolve and executed her plan.
"Just like that time... slap my cheek."
The moment I heard Camilla's words, I looked around.
What is this, a fantasy version of a hidden camera show?
Or is it a new trap by the Princess?
Thinking my ears were failing me, I asked Camilla once again.
"Excuse me... Camilla-nim? I think I misheard you, could you say that one more time?"
"I said to relieve your stress by slapping my cheek."
"........."
Hmm... so my ears were normal.
To think such crazy talk was normal... Now that the Prince has come to his senses, has the Princess lost hers?
As all sorts of thoughts came to mind, Camilla stepped one step closer to me with the eyes of a beast.
Sc... scary... let me run away.
"Ca... Camilla-nim, I think your joke is a bit excessive."
"It's not a joke. Edric, I am very serious."
I backed away from her pressure.
But soon, I was blocked by the desk, and there was nowhere left to run.
"I... I don't understand what my stress has to do with slapping Camilla-nim's cheek."
"I read it in a book. It said that when a person is under too much pressure, if they commit violence against a being of higher status than themselves, the brain feels catharsis and stress is relieved all at once."
"There's a book like that!?"
In a world where the class system still exists and there is an Imperial family, such a book exists!?
I shouted in astonishment, wondering what kind of book the Princess had read.
Toward me, Camilla said with unwavering eyes, breathing roughly.
"I hope you don't misunderstand. This is, after all, a service. You are currently dedicating yourself to the Empire without even being able to sleep. So, use my cheek as a sacrifice to relieve that stress. Come on, hurry."
It is being misunderstood as fuck, Your Highness.
Camilla's crazed gaze was now enough to make me feel fear.
No... did she really go crazy after being slapped by me that day?
I said, trying to escape from this situation somehow.
"I just ate the late-night snack and my stress is completely relieved. I feel completely refreshed, Camilla-nim."
"Liar. The dark circles under your eyes have come down to your chin, so what do you mean you're refreshed?"
"I... it's true..."
I wanted to leave the spot somehow, but Camilla didn't seem to have any intention of leaving until I slapped her cheek.
I looked straight into her eyes and said.
"Really... may I really slap your cheek?"
"Yes, of course."
"You won't say anything else later, right?"
"I promise on the honor of the Princess."
"You won't hold me accountable for the crime, right?"
"Of course."
I swallowed dryly.
While wondering if the Princess's actions were sincere, looking at the Empire's greatest beauty who wanted to be slapped by me...
Honestly, I couldn't hide that my heart was pounding.
'Screw it, I don't know. She asked to be slapped, so I have to slap her!'
I took a deep breath and raised my right hand high.
Watching me, Camilla closed her eyes softly, filled with anticipation.
Her eyelashes, beautiful like a goddess's, trembled.
Just as the hand-slap that would cut through the wind was about to explode—!
"Your Highness! You were delayed for so long that I was worried and came up... Oh my?"
The door opened, and Camilla's attendant burst in.
With lightning speed, I moved my raised hand behind my head and twisted my whole body.
"Urrgh-cha-cha-cha! Ah! My body feels a bit loose after stretching once! Stretching is the best, indeed!"
I hurriedly did some stretching.
While I was doing that incredibly awkward acting, Camilla opened her eyes wide and glared at the attendant.
"... Kanna! Why are you coming in without permission?"
"That is... the time was delayed so much that I was worried something might have happened."
Camilla checked the clock and was surprised.
The time was already past 2 AM.
It was this late. Because such crazy talk was going back and forth, I didn't know how much time had passed.
"It's a shame... that it's this late."
"Indeed. It is a shame."
I said with an expression that was not at all shameful.
Camilla looked between the attendant and me, and perhaps sensing that today was not the time, she sighed and said.
"Edric... it's a shame, but let's stop here for today. Anytime is fine, so if you have any thoughts, please contact me. I am prepared to sacrifice myself for the Empire."
"... Yes, understood, Camilla-nim."
As Camilla crossed the threshold, she whispered softly enough for only him to hear.
After seeing her off, I came to the finance office and slumped into my seat.
"... I must have worked too much. Seeing such vivid hallucinations... There's no way the Princess would say such crazy things... Yes, absolutely not."
Edric thus entered a state of denial and grabbed his quill again.
It was a late night.
A month had already passed since I wrestled with the old ledgers of the Ministry of Finance and spearheaded the 'Excel Revolution'.
The Empire's administration faced a change that was truly earth-shattering.
The annual tax revenue settlement, which used to take at least three or four months even with dozens of officials working on it, was now calculated without error in just one week thanks to the 'magic table' Edric had imparted, and it was placed on the Emperor's desk.
The results were phenomenal.
As the missing taxes, duplicate expenditures, and traces of clever embezzlement hidden in every corner of the ledgers were revealed one by one, the Empire's national treasury revenue surged by a whopping 『12%』 compared to the previous year.
At this unprecedented event, Emperor Theodore laughed heartily, his mouth stretching to his ears, loud enough to shake the entire palace.
"Hahaha! Edric Noel! This child is truly a treasure bestowed upon the Empire by the heavens!"
In the end, before the lingering impression of the medal award ceremony had even faded, the Emperor summoned me before the throne again.
The Imperial Palace Grand Reception Hall. I knelt before the Emperor with eyes even more hollow than usual.
Due to the overtime work of the past month, my soul was already half out of my body.
"Edric Noel. You have found the Empire's lost wealth and set the foundation of administration straight. Therefore, I commend your achievements and bestow upon you the position of 『Imperial Special Advisor』!"
At the Emperor's solemn proclamation, the ministers gathered in the banquet hall let out exclamations in unison.
However, my expression, as the person in question, turned pale like a prisoner who had been sentenced to death.
'...Imperial Special Advisor?'
Imperial Special Advisor, this title that sounded good, was a special position created to summon outstanding talent in the Empire at any time.
Looking at the people who received this position, such as Marcel, the Elf Grand Sage who reached the pinnacle of magic, and Walburg, the Empire's best blacksmith Dwarf, one could tell what kind of people received this position.
In other words, it was a legal lifetime slave contract issued by the Empire.
"Your Majesty... that is an excessive title for me. For someone like me to dare to take on the position of Special Advisor......."
"Hoho! Don't be humble! Minister Bartolo was crying and clinging to me, saying that if it weren't for you, the Empire's finances would return to the dark ages."
At the Emperor's confident voice, I despaired and dropped my head.
I felt my simple dream of rolling around in the fluffy bed of my 72 billion-won mansion and draining my pension slowly drifting away forever.
Prince Leopold, who was watching this scene from the side, approached me with a brighter smile than anyone else and squeezed my shoulder tightly.
"Edric, congratulations sincerely! Your talent shines so brilliantly that my heart is overflowing."
"... Thank you, Your Highness. Truly... I am so happy that I am on the verge of tears."
Edric replied, wiping away the moisture gathered in the corners of his eyes.
However, Leopold's inner thoughts were extending in a completely different direction from Edric's wishes.
'As expected, my judgment was not wrong. Edric, you are not a talent who will end as a mere aide.'
Thinking of the day he would ascend to the throne in the future, the Prince was imagining a future where Edric would become the Prime Minister and be his strength.
He was convinced that if he, who possessed reliable loyalty and ability, became the Prime Minister and helped him, he could create an Empire as great as, or even greater than, his father's.
In the Prince's eyes, along with a fierce trust toward Edric, there was a monarch's firm desire to work him to the bone for the rest of his life(?).