The Imperial Palace
The Imperial Palace
"Rupert, come here and sit for a moment."
There was unmistakable delight in the imperial princess's voice as she stood with her arms crossed and summoned me before her.
'What's this? Why is she so excited? It's making me nervous.'
I was nothing more than the second son of a provincial lord, without even a title yet, so I had no way to resist Dragon-Tongue Magic.
I went before the imperial princess, knelt on one knee, lowered my head, and answered.
"I beg your pardon. Please withdraw your command that I dare sit before Your Highness."
Was that the proper etiquette? I had only crammed it in a hurry, so I wasn't sure, and I glanced over at the head steward, the one person I at least knew by face.
The white-haired head steward had all the air of a stiff, crotchety old fossil, and he watched me with a faintly satisfied smile.
'Looks like my etiquette wasn't wrong, thankfully.'
But I had only just cleared one crisis. There were still plenty of landmines left, so I had to stay on edge.
"I myself grant you permission to raise your head."
"I thank Your Highness the Imperial Princess for her benevolence."
Only after the imperial princess finally gave her permission was I able to raise my head.
And so I finally saw the imperial princess's face in person, which I had only ever seen in photographs.
Black hair and eyes that looked as though a starry sky had been embroidered into them. The characteristic trait of the imperial Bell clan was immediately apparent.
But what caught my eye even more was, of course, her outstanding beauty.
As befitting a member of the imperial family, the imperial princess wore a splendid and dignified dress and ornaments. Most young noblewomen would not even have been able to pull them off.
But the imperial princess overwhelmed the splendid clothes and ornaments with her own beauty, making them look as though she were wearing ordinary garments.
'The title "Flower of the Empire" definitely wasn't given to her for nothing.'
In the original web novel, there was even a scene where men argued over whether she or the female lead, Amelia, was more beautiful.
She truly lived up to being one of the greatest beauties in the setting.
"So, do you know why I summoned you?"
The imperial princess looked at me as I raised my head and immediately asked.
The letter had clearly said she had something to discuss regarding <The Little Mermaid>.
"I understand that you have questions about The Little Mermaid."
"Yes, I did have something to ask about that very story, The Little Mermaid!"
"Please ask whatever you wish, Your Highness."
"After the little mermaid returned to the sea, what became of the prince?"
"Pardon?"
I had assumed she had summoned me because she was unhappy with the ending again, but the sudden mention of the prince caught me so off guard that I even gave an answer that breached etiquette while trying to figure out what she meant.
"I know everything. Surely you, the author, must have thought out the stories that come after?"
No, I didn't have anything like that?
***
"So, the prince probably pined for the little mermaid...."
"Oh ho, is that so! Now that makes sense. Continue."
Edric, the third imperial prince, could only stare in a daze at a sight he had never seen before in his life.
"Who exactly is that man?"
"He is Rupert, the second son of Count Somerset."
"Somerset?"
At Aiton's answer, Edric recalled the name Somerset from the list of noble families in his memory.
"A lordly house of the southern Goldpool Valley region."
An ordinary person would not be able to memorize the names of the hundreds of noble families that existed in the empire one by one, but for the third imperial prince, it was possible.
"But why has that man come here, and why is my sister so excited as she speaks with him?"
At Edric's question, Aiton wondered where he should begin explaining, but soon he carefully organized everything that had happened from the beginning and answered.
"A picture book, is it... I had heard rumors as well, but I never imagined my sister would enjoy such things so much."
It was not easy for Edric to imagine. The imperial princess, with her thorough and exacting personality, was so engrossed in books meant for children that she showed such an enthusiastic reaction.
"I would like to see one as well."
"I will have them brought to you."
When Edric said he wanted to see the picture books, Aiton ordered a lady-in-waiting to bring the picture books from the imperial princess's room.
***
A person's experiences really are important. The time my senior in the military hazed me by ordering me to tell an entertaining story while I was on guard duty was proving useful again like this.
"That's right. That was exactly the part I was curious about! The prince couldn't forget the little mermaid, so this time he went to the witch himself and asked to be turned into a merman."
The imperial princess clapped her hands and said it was truly romantic, and only then did I relax.
When the imperial princess suddenly asked about the story after <The Little Mermaid>, saying she was curious, I couldn't exactly answer, "I didn't write anything like that," so I displayed superhuman ability and hastily made up a story.
'The prince suddenly recalls the memory of when he fell into the sea.'
'And then?'
'The prince realizes that the one who saved him was not the princess of the neighboring kingdom, and recognizes that it was that woman he had failed to recognize....'
The saying that a good storyteller is a good liar was fitting. Who would have thought that being praised since childhood for lying flawlessly would come in handy?
And fortunately, the imperial princess seemed to like the story I had hastily thrown together, as she listened with a smile.
But it was by no means easy to cater to the imperial princess's tastes, as she kept latching onto strange parts in the middle.
'I myself think that the little mermaid has already been hurt, so even if the prince approached her, she would push him away.'
'Indeed, Your Highness the Imperial Princess sees straight through the hearts of men and women. What astonishing insight.'
'But the prince becomes even more obsessed with the little mermaid because of that, and seeing the prince's haggard state, the little mermaid's heart begins to waver again....'
I had sensed it ever since the last time, when this woman said she didn't like the ending. She was absolutely starved for sensational stories.
How on earth someone could read The Little Mermaid and come up with a sequel like that was beyond my comprehension.
But I played along with the imperial princess's imagination and succeeded in creating a story that satisfied her, and as a result, the imperial princess was greatly pleased.
"I had already anticipated your excellent skill, but you please me even more than I expected."
With a satisfied smile, the imperial princess forced me to sit in the chair across from where she was sitting.
Glare
I could feel the elderly head steward glaring at me as he watched the scene, so I didn't want to sit, but I couldn't disobey the imperial princess's command, so I sat there uncomfortably.
'But that guy, he's got to be Edric, right?'
The handsome black-haired young man beside the head steward was absorbed in reading a picture book.
Black hair in the imperial palace obviously meant imperial blood, and a male member of the imperial family around that age had to be one of the imperial princes.
Among the three imperial princes, there was only one reason I thought that guy was Edric Bell, the Third Imperial Prince and male lead of the original web novel.
'He's really disgustingly handsome.'
I had thought Rupert—the body I had ended up in—was much more handsome than expected, but this guy looked like a sculpture.
He was just reading a picture book, but he looked like he was doing a photoshoot.
'But why the hell is he here? Is this the fucking Monkey's Paw screwing with me again?'
Seeing as I kept running into every character I had begged not to meet, this had to be the fucking Monkey's Paw screwing with me.
"Rupert, I was extremely satisfied today, so I would like to bestow a reward upon you."
"No, Your Highness. Rather, if it brought you joy, that alone is an honor to my house."
A reward, sure. It was obvious she would give me something worthless like a plaque of appreciation that couldn't be turned into money.
"No, still, you are a guest I personally summoned, so there must be a reward. Tell me what you desire."
Tch, if I really had my way, I'd ask her to just give me money. But if I did that, I'd only get cursed at as a money-grubber who doesn't know a noble's honor.
Should I ask for something like a flower or handkerchief bestowed by Her Highness? That was what I was agonizing over when—
Something honorable rather than material... Oh, wait. A good idea suddenly flashed through my mind.
"Your Highness the Imperial Princess, if I may, would it be acceptable for me to voice my humble opinion?"
"Speak freely."
"I wish to create a world where all the people of the empire can read the picture books I have made."
"What did you say?"
"My books were originally made for children, and I hope they will help the children who will become the pillars of the empire grow into upright people."
"And so?"
"My own power is woefully insufficient, but if Your Highness the Imperial Princess would bestow her grace, I wish to have books read not only by wealthy nobles but also by the children of poor commoners."
Did it work?
I was impressed with myself for the impromptu idea. Asking outright for something material was absolutely impossible, so that was out. But distributing books?
In my opinion, this was a request that could narrowly pass.
Now that I'd framed it as being for the public good, the imperial princess couldn't accuse me of being rude or say I didn't understand noble honor.
"As expected, you understand my thoughts!"
Huh?
"I myself also think these books should be read by many children. However, unfortunately, there are many commoners who cannot read."
"Yes, it is unfortunate, but that is so."
"Surely what you mean is that we should reduce illiteracy among the people of the empire through your easy-to-read books, is it not?"
"I... Your Highness! That's not...!"
No, I just meant that I would distribute the books, so give me money. I didn't mean some grand goal like eradicating illiteracy.
Why are you suddenly scaling it up like that!
"How admirable that you thought exactly the same as me. Indeed, those who are nobles must always think of the people beneath them."
How on earth does distributing books lead to eradicating illiteracy? There was no way to stop the imperial princess once she started charging ahead.
I looked toward the head steward with a pleading gaze as the matter kept growing, but he only looked back at me with a puzzled expression and offered no help.
'Just give me money!'
No matter how much I screamed internally, it was useless.
***
'Has my eye for people gone rusty?'
Edric looked at the man called Rupert, who was discussing the distribution of books with the imperial princess.
It was embarrassing to evaluate himself, but he had prided himself on having a fairly accurate eye for people.
And in Edric's eyes, Rupert seemed sly and thoroughly avaricious.
When he listened to him talking with the imperial princess, his expression was the very picture of cool rationality, but didn't everything he said sound like a sycophantic toady just agreeing with her?
Of course, his expression was so utterly serious that anyone who didn't know better would have experienced cognitive dissonance.
But Edric's expectation was off the mark.
When the imperial princess brought up the topic of a reward, his eyes suddenly changed, and Edric thought, 'As expected,'
'If this man acts on his greed, I will absolutely not let it slide.'
He thought to himself as he waited for his answer.
"I wish to create a world where all the people of the empire can read the picture books I have made."
Unexpectedly, he brought up wanting to have the people read books, not money or anything material.
His expression as he said that book prices were expensive and that he wanted poor people to be able to read them with the imperial family's help looked more serious than ever.
'I misjudged him. To think he was a man with such grand aspirations.'
Edric decided that from then on, he would not judge people so hastily.