Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: The First Princess's Visit
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A frail old man sat upon the ornately decorated golden throne.
His back was hunched, his complexion pale, his frame gaunt and skeletal, his eye sockets deeply sunken and devoid of any vitality. The old man seemed plagued by extreme anxiety, his hands trembling constantly, his body flinching at the slightest passing breeze.
This man, who resembled a scarecrow on the verge of being swept away by the wind, was the pinnacle of the empire.
A position where a single gesture could command countless souls, and a mere cough could sever the necks of the realm's highest nobles. A seat boundless in wealth and power. And yet, why did he appear so utterly pathetic?
What could he possibly fear? What tormented him so?
First Princess Elaine, who had just turned ten that year, harbored such questions upon first meeting her father. The old man on the throne looked less like an emperor and more like a slave.
The emperor never once showed his face even when his children were born. The imperial grandchildren were separated from their mothers and raised in the arms of wet nurses and servants. The concepts of "parents" were known only as words. The term "Father Emperor" felt impossibly distant.
Once affection formed with a wet nurse, she was replaced by another. The servants met the same fate. Imperial children were strictly forbidden from forming bonds beyond a certain level with anyone.
No amount of begging—"Please don't go!"—could change it. Attachments led to farewells. Eventually, they stopped forming bonds with the servants altogether.
The sole exception was their fellow imperial siblings.
And so, First Princess Elaine cherished her two half-siblings dearly. In a world of ever-changing faces around them, "family" was the only constant.
Then one day, the emperor summoned his four children to the throne room.
The grand hall was lined with crimson silk leading to the golden throne. Countless knights stood at attention on either side, long swords at their hips. Beside the emperor, a young knight rested his hand on his sword's hilt.
It felt like an interrogation of criminals. First Princess Elaine was only ten, Second Prince Irid seven, and Third Prince Sledo six. Such excessive vigilance seemed overkill for children who could barely swing a stick.
The aged emperor silently gazed down at his kneeling blood kin.
Second Prince Irid read fear in the emperor's eyes. The emperor feared them.
Irid thought: Is descending from that golden throne so terrifying? To fear even one's own flesh and blood? Does power hold such sway over the soul?
Terror gripped Irid. Even this emperor, who grasped so much, feared and guarded against others. Then ordinary people would be all the easier to suspect. The wet nurses, the servants—perhaps even his sister and brother might one day eye him warily...
Thus, the seeds of paranoia took root.
Third Prince Sledo saw tender concern in the emperor's gaze. The emperor worried for them.
Sledo thought: Taking so much from us, replacing the servants we grew attached to, never once showing his face—perhaps there was a reason. Enemies targeting the imperial family, maybe.
Sledo resolved: Even this emperor, who holds so much, remains cautious of something. If such threats exist, I must grow strong. Become a superhuman who can overcome any obstacle, so no one I care for is ever taken away.
Thus, the seeds of martial obsession took root.
And First Princess Elaine... sensed much from the emperor's gaze. A whirlwind of emotions too complex for a single word—sometimes wariness, sometimes sorrow, sometimes concern, love, or emptiness.
She couldn't comprehend it. Even the cleverest princess couldn't fathom why an emperor might teeter on madness. Nor could she discern which emotions were genuine.
Still, Elaine etched that gaze deeply into her memory.
As the audience ended, the old emperor left his blood kin with these parting words of advice.
"Survive... Our bloodline must endure."
Cryptic words.
First Princess Elaine grew swiftly thereafter. She shared affection with her siblings, never neglecting her training. She illuminated the unknown and crushed foes. And now... she was seen as a leading contender in the race for the throne. The golden seat drew near.
She still couldn't grasp the emperor's words or actions, though...
"Irid, my brother."
"...Sister."
"That mage said it wasn't dimension travel magic... but illusion magic all along, right? Tell me, do you really think what you went through was real?"
"......"
Irid's silence stretched long. After much deliberation, he finally replied.
"I've decided to believe it. Even if every bit of it was that mage's trick from start to finish—my love for her remains unchanged."
"Then... I hope it was real. I don't want to see my brother cry."
"That's my line. You're off to experience dimension travel? When it's all over, don't come clinging and bawling."
Irid shot back and strode away. Watching his retreating back, First Princess Elaine recalled that single audience from long ago.
When she'd asked if all those events were fake. Right after.
The anguish flickering in her brother's eyes... gleamed in a hue similar to the old emperor's gaze. The color of a slave in chains.
"I shall demonstrate illusion magic, First Princess."
"Yes, proceed."
"Everything is fiction. A product of imagination, unrelated to any real events."
"Understood."
"In real time, four hours from now, I will summon you back. I'll leave a mark on your wrist so you can check the return time."
First Princess Elaine nodded quietly and lay upon the magic circle. If she had to choose, she suspected it. Illusion magic, spun so convincingly by the mage herself.
This was a test.
Her prior letter had stated she "loved combat." Her reputation as a battle maniac, smashing monster heads on the eastern front, would lend it credibility. The mage had likely bought it.
If this was all—just an illusion conjured by the mage—she'd read the letter and craft a combat-filled fantasy. Elaine could then shatter its head and break free.
Not literally, of course. Fighting the Violet Magic Tower Master would be suicide. Elaine had achieved "feathering," but not yet "sublimation." To bridge that realm gap, she'd need a holy sword from the imperial vault.
Instead, shatter politically. Use charges of imperial blasphemy to negotiate, back the Violet Magic Tower, and solidify her claim to the throne.
If it truly was dimension magic, no loss either.
Irid had changed after his ordeal, like no one else. He'd overcome the trauma from that imperial audience. He trusted others more, acted with greater passion. A joyous turn.
If it granted "trials of fate" as Irid claimed... then she could grow too. Overcome the trial, grasp the key to sublimation—what more could she want? She didn't dwell on failure.
The magic activated. The TRPG began.
A wasteland.
Ashen earth stretched to the horizon. Grit-laden winds scraped across her skin. The sky hung heavy, as if shrouded in a dark filter. Occasionally, massive beasts soared overhead.
First Princess Elaine climbed a towering rock and surveyed her surroundings.
Monsters roamed the plains—creatures amalgamated from multiple beasts or grotesquely twisted. At face value, they evoked the demonic realm, but they weren't that strong. Ogre-level at worst.
Elaine had once taken an ogre's club strike head-on and felled it with a punch to the gut. The monsters she'd faced so far met the same end.
The whipping winds, the musty stench, the sticky ooze from slain beasts. The rough grit under bare feet. Everything felt impossibly real, defying claims of mere illusion.
True to her letter's request, it had been nonstop combat thus far. Suspicion was inevitable. Elaine weighted it slightly toward this world being an illusion.
Would she just hunt monsters till time was up and return?
At least make it a tense fight—
As that thought crossed her mind, a human silhouette appeared in the distance. First Princess Elaine infused mana into her eyes. A boy, about 160cm tall. Goggles shielded his eyes from the grit-filled wind.
Blond hair, green eyes. A cute face, but his expression and gaze revealed a steadfast spirit. And a beauty mark in just the right spot.
"...Oh my."
He was her type.
For a moment, First Princess Elaine hoped this world was real.