Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Fixing Aiel's Rumors
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Mayches tapped the paper with his pen. A black ink dot appeared next to each of the four names.
[Count Mayches Rudelriz.
Calipan Jedkaizer.
Bandahen Orelot.
Bamper Orelot.]
Grenji brought a small, opaque square box to Mayches.
Mayches took the box with one hand without lifting his eyes from the paper.
Even as he held the box, he kept staring down at the paper when he suddenly spoke up.
"We may need to correct the rumors about Aiel."
Grenji smiled faintly.
"It does seem about time."
Mayches was aware of the rumors circulating about discord between Aiel and himself.
Those eager to pick sides had left Aiel alone due to that uncertainty.
He figured it was better if such nonsense kept excessive attention away from Aiel.
He was annoyed by Countess Alita casually throwing Aiel's name around as she approached, and by Lady Elnika and Lady Radawen eyeing opportunities to use Aiel.
They gossiped freely about it being the countess's shackles or that the name Panraia had been forcibly attached, but Mayches paid it no mind.
He knew all about it, having been the star of all sorts of wild rumors himself as a child.
If one had power, rumors like that vanished without harming the person involved.
But...
"Now the young lady is starting to hear them."
"She’s already heard. She just thinks it’s theatrical exaggeration."
Mayches leaned back in his chair.
He glanced again at the box Grenji had given him. Just as he was about to open it.
Knock knock—
"Count, it's Doria."
At the knock, Grenji took back the box and stepped away.
In the meantime, Doria entered the study with Mayches's permission.
She quickly checked to make sure the young lady wasn't behind her, then hurriedly rummaged through the crossbody bag the count had gifted her.
"The young lady has placed a new game production request."
Doria handed a paper to Mayches.
"What are we going to do if our lady actually ends up building a game kingdom? Even Vice-Guildmaster of Baltan Catric keeps calling her the Game Queen!"
To be precise, he had said he won Puppy Tickler under the Game Queen's blessing.
"Then I should buy up some land in advance."
Mayches smiled warmly as he read the description Aiel had written.
Her grip strength had improved, making the handwriting neater than before, but it was still crooked and uneven.
Moreover, this production request was much longer than usual, getting harder to read toward the end.
But for Mayches, love for his dear little sister made it flow effortlessly.
After looking over the production request for a moment, Mayches rested his chin on his hand and smiled.
"This toy is a bit big."
Nine out of ten maids working in the Orelot Imperial Palace had dreamed this dream at least once.
"Our Bandahen... I can't believe he's warming up to someone else like this. What's your name? ...What a pretty name. I hope you'll stay by his side for my ailing little brother."
And so, by steadfastly guarding Prince Bandahen’s side, she would grow close to the adorable highness as well.
...Ilreneias’s farms bursting with harvest, fishing boats full to the brim. Clean air, pure water, which in turn made the people kind-hearted.
A year's climate without murderous heat or bitter cold, yet the charm of all four seasons arriving right on time to keep the world beautifully in balance!
By steadfastly guarding Prince Bandahen’s side, growing close to the adorable highness.
Before long, Ilreneias’s farms bursting with harvest, fishing boats full to the brim, clean air, pure water making the people kind-hearted, a year's climate peacefully free of murderous heat or cold, yet the charm of all four seasons arriving right on time!
The dream of forming even a small connection with His Highness Crown Prince Bamper, whose name itself shone brilliantly!
And on one particularly hectic day, the crown prince would arrive with a weary look, gaze at her silently, then break into a gentle smile.
"In this suffocating palace... the only place I feel truly at ease seems to be by your side."
Maids' dreams varied with the trends of the time, but the basic emotional thread never strayed far from this pattern.
However, maids who had worked in the palace longer knew such fantasies were futile.
Not just because abolishing the walls of status was unrealistic.
The very first barrier to forming a small connection with Crown Prince Bamper was something else entirely.
One maid watched as Bamper chatted and laughed with a noble lady.
Gripping the mop handle, the maid gave a wry smile.
The noble lady hid her determined gaze and crafted a face full of melancholy. She turned naturally toward the window and said,
"With spring's arrival, the palace flowers have bloomed so beautifully, thanks to Your Highness's grace."
With that movement, a handkerchief fluttered from her sleeve and fell.
Bamper picked up the handkerchief and handed it back to the lady. Her eyebrows twitched upon seeing his expression.
'He’s playing along exactly as scripted, but...'
"It's thanks to His Majesty's virtue, spread throughout every corner. There’s so much to see in the palace, so please take your time looking around, my lady."
"......"
The lady received the handkerchief Bamper extended with his benevolent, utterly interest-free smile, her hand trembling.
The maid scrubbing the floor muttered as if pitying the lady herself.
"Look at that impenetrable iron wall of His Highness..."
If he had been curt and dry, she might have given up early. If cloyingly moist and sticky, she would have turned away calling him a cad.
But for someone to smile so refreshingly and gentlemanly, only to step back exactly as much as one approached—that technique was masterful.
Unlike Count Rudelriz or Master Friedelric, who retreated all the way to the ends of Ilreneias when approached, he sparked no greed.
He neither pushed away nor pulled in, masterfully keeping people at a distance where they could reach out and touch if they tried.
And that wasn't how one treated a "future marriage candidate." It was how one treated a "future subordinate capable of leading the Orelot."
As the saying went, the only way to breach even a little of Crown Prince Bamper’s iron wall was to hone one's talents and become a true asset.
The lady folded the handkerchief and tucked it back into her sleeve.
She wanted to wipe away tears with it, but it was time to part.
That cursed "5 minutes" had elapsed.
Sure enough, Bamper lowered his brilliant, affectionate emerald-green eyes and bid her farewell.
"Oh dear. By imperial law, I cannot stay with a lady any longer. Regrettably, let's postpone our next meeting. I'm sure you understand."
"...Yes, Your Highness Crown Prince. I pray for your continued health until we meet again."
It was that damned law after all.
About 400 years ago, the 39th Emperor of Orelot had a son—an extraordinary romantic who fell in love once a week.
The prince swore true love at every opportunity, giving the emperor nightmares of the empire's women all blocked from marriage because of his son.
His drastic measure was the "5-Minute Restriction Law."
"Those bearing the name of Orelot may not be alone with the opposite sex for more than 5 minutes, unless they are fiancés or family."
The law had endured for a full 400 years, sternly guarding the imperial family even now under Crown Prince Bamper.
That damned imperial law!
Tears welling, the lady bowed her head to Bamper's retreating back, already far away.
She bit her lip.
"Everyone else finds loopholes, so why only His Highness..."
Even current Emperor Benburo Aquilos Orelot had done it while courting Empress Onjameri.
As crown prince, Benburo had built a needless room in his residence with a window facing inward.
Across the window between two parlors, he pretended to talk to himself while exchanging sweet nothings with Onjameri, barely securing legitimacy by not being in the same space.
Benburo wasn't the only one.
Over the past 400 years, the Orelot imperial family had struggled desperately to find ways around that damned law.
Thanks to them, Orelot imperial romances were the stuff of legendary tales—epic loves for the ages.
"I practiced so much pretending to talk to myself!"
Pondering whether she should get a certification in ancient linguistics to become an eye-catching talent, the lady turned around.
That's when she spotted a carriage speeding down a path in the palace garden.
Placing her hand against the large, latticed glass window, the lady's eyes widened.
"Whose carriage is that?"
Who could be riding in a carriage so sensually and alluringly sleek, yet deliberately rough with the destructive power of a superior being, even the color impeccably black without flaw?
There was only one person on this continent suited to such decadent beauty.
Enchanted, the lady's gaze followed the carriage's rear until the end.
And there, she discovered something that utterly shattered the overall aesthetic.
"A drawing?"
It was a simple sketch of a girl with ash-gray hair in a single braid, smiling with puffed cheeks!
Many features had been omitted for simplicity, but the lady quickly realized who it was.
The carriage door opened, and Crown Prince Bamper approached Count Rudelriz, who alighted first.
The crown prince had been smiling from 50 meters away, upon spotting the back of the carriage, before even greeting the count.
"He’s smiling so happily... He must really be close to the count."
The crown prince patted the count's shoulder and wiped a tear from the corner of his eye.
The count brushed back his hair and turned toward the still-open carriage door.
The crown prince also clasped his hands behind his back and looked at the carriage door.
As the two men said something toward the interior, a small girl with a flushed face soon appeared.
She had a face just like the count's, but unlike the count's decadence, she looked fragile and sickly. Holding the count's hand, she descended the carriage steps one by one.