I've Gained a Retainer!
In Calian’s office.
Calian was biting his nails, a habit he almost never indulged in.
“Iris worries me greatly...”
Just as he began to reproach himself for not accompanying her, the office door swung open and shattered the heavy silence.
The intruder possessed not a shred of courtesy. Calian’s face hardened into a frigid mask.
Because of the promise he had made to his daughter, he had been trying to restrain his temper of late. This time, however, would be an exception.
Blood vessels rose across Calian’s icy features.
In a voice thick with murderous intent, he murmured darkly.
“Who dares enter this one’s office without so much as knocking? I shall correct your insolent manners at on— Iris!”
The person he had been calling for so desperately was none other than Iris herself.
“Father! We have returned.”
Roclair, Karl, Jack, and Dias.
All faces Calian knew well.
Save for the girl standing timidly beside Iris, shrinking in on herself as though terrified.
“So you are Iris’s friend.”
She looked the very picture of a gentle herbivore.
Soon Liana began to hiccup violently.
“Hic… Y-yes… I am Liana, friend to Her Highness the Princess...”
Calian sank into deep contemplation.
‘Even if she lives in Gray Garden, her station is utterly mismatched with our daughter’s.’
He began to scan every inch of Liana’s form.
Her hair was matted and greasy as if unwashed for days. Dirt clung to her entire body, and her ragged clothes looked so filthy they seemed to reek at a glance.
“Ha...”
To sigh in front of the person herself was rude, yet who was Calian? An existence who stood above the law itself. Most of what he uttered came to pass; he was akin to a god. There was no one who could rebuke him—
“Father! How could you sigh while looking at my friend? That is terribly rude!”
Iris, who stood even higher than such a Calian, scolded him outright.
Faced with his daughter’s attitude, Calian was completely at a loss.
After all, he was an utter fool when it came to his daughter.
He cleared his throat.
“Ahem. I have shown an unseemly side as emperor. I apologize.”
Calian offered Liana a light bow.
Seeing this, Liana waved her arms frantically and shook her head with desperate vigor.
“N-no! Please raise your head, Your Imperial Majesty!”
Watching Calian apologize, Iris smiled with genuine affection and hugged him tightly.
“You seem to have changed. It is wonderful to see!”
“To notice your father’s efforts! Truly, only our daughter could!”
The joyful reunion lasted only a moment before Iris spoke again.
“Father, Liana is also interested in the sword. Could you not admit her to the knight order?”
“That… will be difficult. The knight order is chosen with absolute rigor according to skill. Only those who have proven themselves are granted the qualifications of knighthood.”
It was the conclusion Calian had reached after dozens of internal debates.
Whether to grant his daughter’s request or uphold principle; for the first time in his life, the two demands stood in conflict.
Calian gently wiped the tears from Iris’s disappointed eyes and continued.
“Listen to the end of what Father has to say before you cry. Instead, how about taking her as your retainer? She may learn the sword from me and Roclair.”
Iris turned to look at Liana standing behind her.
At the silent question, Liana nodded firmly.
“Thank you!”
Iris planted a kiss on Calian’s cheek, then left the office with the others in tow.
“Goodness… Still smiling simply because he received a kiss from his daughter...”
Calian chuckled foolishly to himself and returned to his duties.
Accompanied by Roclair, who had become my exclusive guard, and Liana, who had become my retainer, I returned to my bedchamber.
“Liana, remove your garments.”
“S-suddenly?!”
Liana frantically covered herself with her skinny arms.
“Those foul-smelling rags must be discarded! And look at the state of you. Do you not require a bath?”
At my words, Liana brought the filthy clothes she wore to her nose.
“U-ugh...”
I shook my head at the sight of her dry-heaving.
“That stench is emanating from your body at this very moment. I shall assign Roclair to assist you, so go and wash. As for fresh attire, Roclair will prepare it.”
“Yes… Thank you...”
“Please follow me, Lady Liana.”
Liana kept bowing repeatedly as she left the room.
I changed into comfortable clothes myself and dove straight into bed.
Had I done this as an adult, my mother would have slapped my back while shouting, ‘How old are you and still acting like a child?’ But now I was a child.
“Even a little kid has their own set of advantages.”
Lying sprawled on my back, I opened my status window.
Name:Iris Barshain
Position:Legitimate Heir of Barshain
PT:2,000
Skill:Tyrant's Majesty
◆ Novel Setting Collection (Locked)
◆ Empire Status Access (Locked)
◆ Shop
“The remaining two are still locked...”
If I could unlock the Novel Setting Collection and Empire Status Access, they would surely prove useful.
With no other immediate uses for my points, I naturally entered the Shop.
There was only one thing this princess could do.
Effect: Upon use, grants one random item (1pt~1,000,000pt).
Price: 1,000 PT
Probability Table: [View Details]
“Today this princess shall divine her own fortune!”
Immediate gacha pull.
If one hits the jackpot right from the start, the taste is impossible to forget.
‘I only came to my senses after gambling away the house deed.’
However!
This was not real money, and it could grant me beneficial items. Therefore it could be considered legitimate and wholesome gambling.
“I shall purchase two at once!”
Two boxes began to dance with an embarrassingly rustic sound effect.
They landed on the bed amid the sound of bursting fireworks.
“Insolent system! How dare you show such rudeness to this princess who shall become your patron! If either of these is a dud, I shall never look upon you again!”
I huffed angrily and opened the first box.
◈ Wish desperately! It shall surely come true!
◈ Grants the target an item they need most. (※ Living beings excluded.)
◈ Price: 500,000 PT
“O-oh…!”
It was not quite on the level of the Map of Fateful Bonds, yet it was unmistakably a high-value item.
Gathering momentum, I opened the second box as well.
“I have a good feeling about this…!”
With a fluttering heart I checked the contents of the second box.
◈ Handcrafted chocolate made with love! More delicious than any other!
◈ Is this… the flavor of love?
◈ Effect: Increases favorability upon consumption
◈ Price: 5,000 PT
“…This princess is slightly miffed at the moment.”
This was not a dating sim; why on earth was it giving me a favorability item?
Unfortunately, it was a dud.
Still, the second item was not nearly as disappointing as it could have been. At least I had avoided pulling something like a scrap of tissue.
Just then, a knock sounded and Liana returned with Roclair.
Roclair’s gaze fell on the boxes in my hands.
“Your Highness, what are those boxes?”
There was no way she would believe me if I proudly declared, ‘I pulled them from the status window!’
Once again I closed my eyes and told a benevolent white lie.
‘At this rate my nose might actually grow.’
“They are small gifts this princess prepared. First, I bestow this upon you, Roclair.”
“W-what an honor!”
Roclair wiped the tears gathering at the corners of her eyes and opened the box.
“Chocolate…?”
“This princess made it herself! It is delicious, so eat it at once.”
“Hic…”
Roclair was shedding emotional tears over a single piece of chocolate.
“Chocolate that Her Highness made for me… I shall treasure it as a family heirloom until the day I die!”
She was going off on her own tangent again.
“Do not treat it as an heirloom; just eat it!”
“Mmph?!”
I promptly shoved the chocolate in Roclair’s hand into her mouth.
With a gulp, her throat bobbed.
“I didn’t even have time to taste it…”
“This princess shall make you more later.”
With Roclair taken care of, it was now Liana’s turn.
“To Liana I bestow this. It is a scroll that will grant you the item you desire most.”
“The thing I desire most…?”
Liana clutched the scroll to her chest, closed her eyes, and clasped her hands together.
The scroll began to emit a brilliant light.
Liana and I watched the spectacular sight with wide eyes.
Although I had given it to her, the visual impact was the most extravagant of any item I had seen so far.
The scroll radiated increasingly intense light before crumbling away.
The moment it completely vanished, pure white armor enveloped Liana’s body.
“W-what is this…!”
Roclair looked astonished as well.
“H-huh…?”
Liana, who had opened her eyes, was equally stunned.
As she stood there dumbfounded, a black blade fell from above and landed beside her.
‘It must have been a set.’
Or perhaps a small courtesy from the system.
Even while clutching her head and groaning, Liana kept glancing back and forth between the sword and the armor.
“W-wow…”
The sight filled me with satisfaction.
It felt like watching a parent gaze upon their child.
Of course, in my previous life I had neither wife nor girlfriend, so perhaps that was not the right comparison.
Touching my slightly stinging nose, I smiled.
“Liana, does this princess’s gift please you?”
Liana’s shoulders trembled as she sank to the floor and began to cry.
“Hic… Of course… I love it…! I will cherish these for the rest of my life…!”
I gently stroked the head of the girl shedding tears of joy.
“I am glad my gift pleases you. Henceforth, strive to the utmost as this princess’s retainer.”
“Yes, Your Highness! I shall offer my life to you!”
With Liana taken care of, it was time for my next task.
‘I need to speak with Calian about Gray Garden.’
“Liana, Roclair, you may sleep in this princess’s bed. I shall go see His Majesty.”
With those words, I headed for Calian’s office.
Knock, knock.
“Your Majesty, I have something to tell you.”
“Enter.”
Even at this late hour, Calian was stamping documents.
‘A workaholic. What kind of person works until right before bed?’
The moment Calian saw me, his face bloomed into a gentle smile.
“So what does my daughter wish to say?”
“Your Majesty, I have something to report regarding Gray Garden.”
At my words, the smile gradually faded from Calian’s face.
“Speak in greater detail.”