The Princess Who Receives All the Love
After the contract with the imperial family to secure their favor had concluded, Kyle took a moment to rest in Bellion’s room alongside Arthur. Bellion wiped the cold sweat from his brow and let out a long, heavy sigh. Knowing exactly how much trouble the man had gone through, Kyle grinned and offered him a word of appreciation.
“Good work.”
“……Couldn’t you have gone a little easier on me?”
“If I had, would things have turned out like this? They already have a Master. Would they have gone this crazy over someone who’d lose to the Masters they already possess?”
Bellion fell silent for a moment before nodding. Kyle was right. If Kyle had been defeated by the knight commander or by Myungwol, the reaction would have been far different. They might still have wanted a Master in his teens, but they wouldn’t have shown this level of frenzy. The Second Prince, who lacked a Master of his own, would have been the only one burning with frustration as he tried to recruit him, and the price he offered would have been laughably low.
“In the end, it worked out for the best, but……”
“Yeah. As long as the result is good, that’s all that matters.”
Kyle chuckled softly as he looked at Bellion. But he couldn’t keep smiling forever. There was one more right he had earned thanks to Bellion.
“By the way, what are you going to do about that?”
“About what?”
“You know, the policy thing you mentioned.”
“Ah…… that. I’ll sell it off in exchange for suitable rights. Or I could appoint a proxy.”
“So you’re not planning to handle it yourself.”
Bellion shook his head at that.
“I wish I could do it myself, but…… I don’t have the power for that. I have no nobles supporting me, and it’s not the kind of simple task I could manage alongside the Academy. I’ll probably end up selling it to my older brother Licht or my older sister Ludmilla—”
Knock, knock.
Just then, someone rapped on the door. Bellion, who knew no one should be visiting him right now, tilted his head in confusion and glanced toward the entrance.
“Who is it?”
—Oppa, I’m coming in.
“……Come in.”
The moment Bellion gave permission, a young girl cautiously stepped into the room. The moment Kyle saw her golden hair that looked as if it had been woven from pure gold and her youthful appearance, he realized she was the Second Princess he had glimpsed earlier in the dining hall. Ash Dairos, the youngest of the Dairos imperial family. Several years younger than Bellion, the fourth prince, this girl was doted upon by every member of the imperial family, including the emperor himself.
“Ash, what brings you here?”
“Just……”
“Oppa has some work to do. Can you come back later?”
At Bellion’s words, Ash’s face crumpled as if she were about to cry. Seeing her expression, Bellion scratched his cheek, clearly at a loss. It was unlikely that the still-young Ash had come here for any political reason, but there was a very real chance that whatever she saw and heard here would reach the other royals through her mouth. She was someone who absolutely should not be left in this room—someone who needed to be sent away immediately. Yet in the end, Bellion couldn’t bring himself to chase her out.
“Sorry about this, Kyle.”
“What’s there to be sorry about? The youngest is supposed to be loved and spoiled.”
Rather than scolding her, Kyle called Ash over, sat her on his lap, and began gently stroking her hair. Ash seemed to enjoy the petting; she leaned her head against his chest. Arthur was watching the two of them grow strangely close when she suddenly felt something odd. Arthur’s uniform began to swell noticeably.
“Ah, wait—!”
Riiip—
Starteil burst out, tearing a small hole in the uniform Arthur was wearing, and locked eyes with Ash, who was being adored in Kyle’s arms. The imperial princess who met the baby dragon’s gaze gave a faint smile and spread both arms wide.
“Come here.”
“Ppyuu—”
At Ash’s words, Starteil immediately slipped free of Arthur’s body and flew straight into her arms. Ash hugged the little dragon tightly and broke into a bright, beaming smile. She looked exactly like a little girl who had just received the cutest doll in the world as a gift.
“Ahaha, ahahaha—!”
Watching Ash delight in cuddling Starteil, Bellion turned to Kyle with a stiff expression.
“……Kyle. And Arthur. You’re going to explain what the hell is going on, right?”
“It’s a dragon.”
“……A dragon?”
“That’s right. A dragon. We obtained a dragon egg from the Academy’s treasure vault not long ago. Somehow we managed to hatch it……”
“You hatched a dragon?”
It was an unbelievable claim, yet the living proof was right in front of him, making it impossible to deny. Bellion stared intently at Starteil nestled in Ash’s arms before letting out another deep sigh.
“If something like this had happened, you should have told me in advance……”
“Sorry.”
“At the very least, you should have warned me you were bringing it today. What would have happened if someone else had seen it?”
Bellion glared at Arthur as he spoke. Arthur broke into a cold sweat, clearly flustered. Just as he said, it was practically a miracle that Starteil’s true identity hadn’t been discovered even after they entered the imperial palace. They hadn’t been subjected to a body search because they were the prince’s guests, and the dragon had fortunately stayed quiet. But if Starteil had revealed herself in the middle of the meal?
“Interest in you would have plummeted, and Starteil would have been claimed by the empire on the grounds that she’s a rare creature.”
“B-but Starteil can’t be raised by ordinary methods……”
“You think there’s anything the empire’s power can’t accomplish?”
“……Well, I suppose you’re right.”
Dragons grew by consuming mana. The amount they required was so enormous that only someone with Arthur’s near-limitless mana could sustain one. But if the empire got involved, that problem could be solved with ridiculous ease. If one person wasn’t enough, just use several. The empire was overflowing with knights and mages who possessed mana. They could easily supply enough for a single dragon.
“Ppyat ppyat—!”
“Ahahaha!”
“……How strange. This is the first time I’ve seen anyone Starteil follows so well.”
“That’s only natural.”
“Huh? What do you mean by—”
While Arthur tilted her head in confusion, Ash, who was still hugging Starteil, suddenly looked up at Kyle as he continued to stroke her hair.
“Oppa, oppa. Pet me more.”
“Sure, I will.”
“Ehehe— I like you, oppa.”
At Ash’s words, Kyle began enthusiastically stroking her hair. Watching the scene, Arthur sensed that something was off. Kyle rarely showed this side of himself even to his own fiancée, yet here he was being incredibly kind to Ash, whom he had only just met today. No matter how young she was, this level of affection seemed excessive.
Bellion noticed Arthur’s puzzled expression and explained the reason.
“You see it, right? Ash possesses the Force ability called Beloved by All.”
“Beloved by all……?”
“Yes. The output isn’t strong enough to hypnotize or control someone like brainwashing, but……”
Since she had been born into the imperial family, that modest output was actually more advantageous. Though its power was small, its versatility far surpassed that of other Force users.
“When you combine the imperial family’s natural beautiful appearance with an ability that works unconditionally on anyone—whether they’re a Master or not—the story changes completely.”
Even without such an ability, she would have been a princess who received love from the start. But with her innate Force added on top, she had become someone beloved by everyone. The reason the emperor and the rest of the imperial family cherished her, the reason Kyle—who was meeting her for the first time—found her strangely adorable, and even the reason the dragon Starteil followed her so obediently, all came down to that one fact. The Second Princess, Ash Dairos, had been born with the destiny of being loved by all.
“Ppyuu ppyuu—!”
“Ahaha, that tickles…!”
After playing with Starteil in her arms for a while, Ash looked up at Kyle again and began acting cute.
“Oppa, oppa. I want this.”
“Hm?”
“The dragon. As a pet. I want it.”
As she spoke, Ash instinctively struck a pose designed to be as adorable as possible. She knew from experience that whenever she did this, the maids would squeal and immediately give her whatever she wanted. Having never once failed to obtain something she desired in her entire life, Ash naturally assumed she would get Starteil this time as well.
“No.”
“……Why not?”
But this time was different. At Kyle’s firm refusal, Ash’s eyes grew watery as she asked again. Looking at the teary-eyed child, Kyle once again made his stance clear.
“I can’t give you that.”
“But I really want it……”
“I said no.”
“Hic, I want it so baaad—!”
Watching the sobbing Ash, Kyle slightly furrowed his brow. Before he realized it, a hint of killing intent had slipped into his expression. The faint aura of an Aura Master pierced Ash, and she forgot about crying altogether, letting out a small hiccup instead. Kyle looked down at the now-silent girl and spoke.
“Listen, kid. There are things in this world that you can’t have. Got it?”
“Y-yes…… I understand……”
Arthur and Bellion watched Kyle subdue Ash in a single blow and began whispering to each other.
“……It looks like it doesn’t work on Kyle.”
“Seriously, does that guy even have a heart?”
While badmouthing Kyle behind his back, the two of them began comforting the teary-eyed Ash. Fortunately, she soon stopped crying and left the room.