The Imperial Princess's New Obsession
Morgan Arcadia was enough to drive anyone insane. In her life, she had obtained everything she ever wanted. No, it would not be an exaggeration to say she had possessed it all even before she was born. After all, she had entered the world as the First Imperial Princess of the Arcadia Empire—one of the two great powers of the continent, boasting overwhelming military strength and economic might. She was the very definition of a diamond spoon. Though she possessed no talent for magic or swordsmanship, it did not matter. In a world that bent to her every word, what possible use could magic have? She could acquire anything simply by speaking. The power to obtain whatever she desired with a mere command—that was Morgan’s ability, something akin to magic itself.
But there was one exception. The Garcia jewelry was different.
“Luna, why can’t we obtain it?”
“The supply is simply too limited, Your Highness. That is what they say.”
“Then why not just capture that Garcia fellow and make him produce it?”
“Dwarves cannot be forced into labor, considering our relations with the Dwarf Kingdom. Besides, Garcia’s whereabouts are a complete mystery. It is almost as if the man never existed at all.”
The Garcia jewelry had become a heated topic among the nobility lately. Morgan had not seen it with her own eyes yet, but she wanted it. How could she—the center of high society—possibly be without Garcia jewelry? And so she decided to attend the auction in person. With so many nobles gathered there, her winning the bid would also create an excellent promotional effect.
Morgan arrived at the auction in high spirits.
But.
“Thirteen thousand for lot thirteen!”
The Baekya Duchess and her acquaintance had ruined everything. She had thought his handsome face looked cute, but this was crossing the line. To dare block an imperial princess was unforgivable. Was he really retaliating so severely over a little prank? Filled with irritation, Morgan sought out the Baekya Duchess and her acquaintance.
Yet the moment she saw the Garcia necklace, her mind went completely blank. She could not tear her eyes away from it even for a second. It was the most beautiful and elegant necklace she had ever seen in her life. The impulse to sell everything she owned just to possess it surged through her.
After that, her memories grew hazy. She had simply done everything in her power to obtain the necklace. She seemed to have acquired a ring just as beautiful as the necklace along the way, but she lost all interest in it. The necklace was superior after all.
“Do you want this?”
Then came the offer. It appeared they were willing to transfer the necklace to her.
“I-if you’re offering, then yes?”
Morgan smiled inwardly. Yes, they had finally understood. They had realized who the true owner of this necklace should be.
She reached out and received the necklace. Morgan was delighted. The man seemed to have ordered her to do a few things before handing it over, but what mattered was that she had obtained it.
“Here, I’ll give it to you. Instead, heal—!”
Yet now that she actually possessed it, her interest in the necklace cooled almost instantly. It was pretty enough, but that was all. When she compared it to the rest of her collection, it was simply another common necklace. She could not even understand why she had been so obsessed with it in the first place.
“Do you like it?”
It was the man who had given her the necklace asking the question.
And only then did her eyes truly open. The man standing before her came into sharp focus. In a world of black and white, he was the only one with color. Looking at him again, he was not merely handsome. He was devastatingly, impossibly attractive.
‘No way. There was a man like this?’
Morgan had met countless men and possessed plenty of experience with them, yet this time she felt like a maiden encountering a man for the very first time. It was the same reaction her younger sister showed whenever she stood before a man—shrinking back.
And in that instant, she found something she wanted more than the Garcia jewelry or whatever it was. This man. She wanted the one currently sponsored by the Baekya Duchess.
“Are you okay?”
Sieg examined Morgan carefully. Until a moment ago, she had given her hand when told to give her hand, sat when told to sit, and waited obediently while staring at the necklace. But after receiving the healing magic, her reaction had become slightly strange. She looked dazed, as though the curse had not yet been lifted.
But it could not be the curse. Just to be sure, he had cast the healing magic several times.
‘Maybe she’s holding a grudge.’
No matter how out of her mind the curse had made her, his actions had crossed a line. He had openly trained her like a dog, after all. Still, toying with the provoking Morgan as if she were a dog had been enjoyable, so he felt no regret. If anything, he felt a twinge of disappointment that he had not enjoyed it a little longer before healing her.
“I will accept the necklace. And I shall pay the promised amount as agreed.”
Recalling her promise with Sieg, Morgan spoke. As an imperial princess, her words carried special weight; keeping what she said was one of Morgan’s ironclad principles.
Looking around, it seemed something had happened, but she had no time to worry about it. Morgan tried to leave the room in a hurry. Just looking at Sieg made her heart pound so violently she could not calm down. Strangely, although part of her did not want to be near him, another part wanted to stay. What was this feeling? It was confusing. On top of that, she kept feeling as though she should continue holding Sieg’s hand. What was that about?
“Is that so? Understood, Lady Morgan. Please send the payment to our Baekya Ducal House. I will make sure it reaches the right hands.”
Daeho Baekya spoke after noticing the unusual look in Morgan’s eyes. Morgan had a notoriously bad reputation when it came to men. She was clearly eyeing Sieg. Call it a woman’s intuition—Daeho was certain of it and promptly chased Morgan out.
Since she had been planning to leave anyway, Morgan exited the room without protest, but ‘Why does this feel so unpleasant?’ Daeho’s haste in ushering her out left a bad taste in her mouth.
The moment she turned to leave, Morgan paused.
“By the way, what is your name?”
Now that she thought about it, she had not asked the man’s name. Realizing this, Morgan asked with genuine earnestness.
‘Should I tell her the truth?’
Sieg hesitated. But it was a fact that might come to light someday anyway. Besides, the name Sieg was incredibly common. There should be no harm in telling her.
“My name is Sieg.”
“Sieg? I see. Sieg. Well then, let us meet again when the opportunity arises.”
Morgan walked away with light steps. Now that she thought about it, Sieg. Where had she heard that name before?
‘The Sword Master’s teacher?’
It seemed like that. But this had to be a coincidence. The Sieg she had just spoken with was a man. The Sword Master’s teacher could not possibly be male.
“Nero, why is the world so beautiful? Do you know?”
“Because the One God created it? Be grateful to the One God.”
“Nero, there’s someone who comes to mind every time I look at the night sky. What do you think that means?”
“Were you thinking about that person instead of actually looking at the night sky?”
“Nero, there’s someone I want to see. What should I do?”
“Ha….”
Nero Arcadia, the Second Imperial Princess of Arcadia, had been suffering lately. The reason was her older sister Morgan, who had begun visiting her room far more frequently than usual.
Her sister, who was normally too busy chasing after men to pay attention to anything else, had apparently been struck by some strange wind. She came by every hour and made a nuisance of herself.
‘What kind of illness has taken hold of her? Could it be a curse?’
Just in case, Nero had secretly examined her with magic, but there was nothing wrong. If anything, Morgan was healthier than before. Her body was as robust as if she had bathed in healing magic.
‘There may truly exist mental illnesses that cannot be cured by healing magic.’
It was a thesis published by the Magic Tower discussing the limits of healing magic. The argument was that humans could go mad even without curses, and that such conditions could not be fixed with healing magic. The church had come forward to refute it, and Nero—being part of the Arcadia Imperial Family—had sided with the church. But after seeing Morgan’s current state, she was beginning to suspect that mental illness might actually exist.
“It would be burdensome if I suddenly went to see him, wouldn’t it? Don’t you think so, Nero?”
“No, seriously…!”
Having her sister chatter nonstop beside her was driving her insane. This should only happen once or twice at most. No matter how many times she explained things, Morgan only heard what she wanted to hear and imagined the rest. Just what exactly had happened?
Honestly, even if she lashed out and called her sister crazy—
“That’s it, Nero. It’s because you don’t understand love yet. Love is such a beautiful thing.”
—Morgan, who should have received curses in return, was instead speaking in an oddly docile manner.
‘Is she nearing death? That crazy bitch really seems like it.’
Nero decided she had to drive Morgan out somehow. At this rate, she would not be able to continue the research she was focused on.
“If you want to see him that badly, just call for him! It’s what you’re good at, sister—summoning men to your bedroom.”
“That’s true, but… isn’t doing that on the first meeting a bit much?”
Then how did she explain all her past behavior? Nero’s anger shot straight to the top of her head, but she forced it down. She could not lose her reason and get dragged into this.
“Then why not invite him to the upcoming banquet? Since he is an acquaintance of the Baekya Duchess, he should qualify to attend.”
“Y-yes! That’s it! Nero! As expected, my little sister is brilliant. Hehehe. Here, I’ll give you this ring as a gift. This is that famous Garcia jewelry! Well then, goodbye!”
Startled by Nero’s suggestion, Morgan vanished in an instant. It was as if a storm had swept through and left.
‘What was that about?’
Nero had never shown any interest in jewelry or adornment in her entire life. Her sister Morgan knew that perfectly well, so why the sudden ring?
Nero tried to toss it into the corner as she usually did with such things. But at that moment—
“Rune characters…?”
She had discovered ancient traces whose information had been lost, making them rarely used. She could not tell what the characters meant, but she understood that this ring was no ordinary piece of jewelry.
And there was one more strange thing. An inexplicable phenomenon.
“It disappeared?”
The rune magic that should have been maintained permanently had vanished completely. As if only the empty shell had been left behind. An existence capable of perfectly erasing magic—did something like that truly exist?
Nero remained trapped in shock for quite some time.
“So Sieg Barbary is hiding in this place?”
“Y-yes, Viscountess Brook. After tracking him, we reached the conclusion that he is here. The information was confirmed through a reliable informant, so it should be accurate.”
At the entrance to the Arcadia Archipelago, a massive woman with rolls of plump flesh appeared. Her face was heavily wrinkled from constant frowning, giving her a venomous expression. It was Viscountess Brook.
“If he’s a man, he should stay quietly shut away in the house. Why does he have to make things so troublesome? Damn it.”
Viscountess Brook’s irritation was immense. She had finished negotiations with the Barbary Barony, thinking a quiet and cute boy would make the perfect concubine. Yet he had run away. By the time she learned of it and began tracking Sieg, it was already too late. He had left the Brook territory, and his whereabouts became unknown. Fortunately, Sieg’s name had been circulating in Merhen territory. Using that as a trace, she had barely managed to reach this place.
“I won’t let him get away with this.”
She planned to attend the banquet soon to be held by the imperial family and turn the entire archipelago upside down searching for Sieg. Although her territory was in a remote corner, she had accumulated many connections over the years. She would be able to wield influence in the capital. As long as the imperial princesses did not interfere, there would be no problem.
It still lingered vividly in her mind.
“Hehehe.”
The fragrant scent of the boy named Sieg.
“Slurp.”
Viscountess Brook decided she would thoroughly punish him for making her wait this long.