I managed to get Dad, who insisted on sleeping with me because he was worried, to leave and returned to my bedroom. The nanny smiled softly as she helped me take off my outer clothes.
"I've prepared warm water. Since it's your first outing, you must be tired, so take a bath and go to sleep right away."
I entered my private bathroom, and the bathtub greeted me with fragrant flower petals floating in it. After soaking in the warm water for a while, it felt like my fatigue was melting away.
"Still, how Enrique has grown."
For three years, I had been exchanging letters with Enrique through Oscar. In my mind, Enrique was still a pretty boy. Of course, my fantasy was shattered by today's unexpected meeting. When I first met Enrique's younger brother, Emil, he seemed lively and kind.
I was going to have to participate in official activities whether I wanted to or not, but it was a relief to have familiar faces around.
Would I finally have a friend? I was excited to meet a girl my age for the first time. After finishing my bath, my whole body felt drowsy. I rubbed my sleepy eyes, dried my hair, and changed into new clothes.
"Go to sleep soon, Your Majesty."
"Okay. Good night, nanny. See you tomorrow."
The nanny turned off all the lights in the bedroom and left. I tried to keep my eyes open as they involuntarily closed, and I stared at the ceiling. Blink, blink. I repeated opening and closing my sleepy eyes. How much time had passed? I sensed a presence next to me.
I whispered and turned my head to see a faint figure under the moonlight. As I had guessed, it was Aidan. I was amazed at how he could move so stealthily without making any sound from the window or door. He must be skilled enough to bypass the protection of Lisandro and other knights.
I patted the spot next to me, and Aidan, who had been hesitating, sat down. We sat side by side on the bed and started talking. I immediately brought up the main topic.
"Aidan. What about what I said?"
"I confirmed that one of Mirke's subordinates visited the Devlin border area."
For three years, I had done nothing. During the day, I played the role of a baby emperor, and at night, I did what I could, suppressing my sleep. First, I gathered as much information as possible through animals and shook up the social scene. However, it wasn't easy to use the information as the emperor. So, I created a new identity. The information guild <Eve> in the back alleys. This guild, which had only recently been established, had gained considerable power by controlling information. The leader, known as 'Aidan,' was mainly in charge, but the real power was mine. At first, we only extorted money from the nobles, but the scale gradually grew. As a result, we started to have guild members dedicated to information gathering, and the guild grew larger. Before I knew it, we had a vast amount of information! However, there were significant limitations to the information I could obtain. I couldn't send animals to very distant places, and there was no guarantee that all animals would follow my requests. Moreover, the mansions of major nobles were protected by barriers that prevented unauthorized entry, making it difficult for insects or animals to get in. Therefore, Eve operated with half the information I gathered and half the information collected by the guild members.
"Have you found any useful information about the Devlin spies?"
"Be careful. I think there are more."
Since the attack on the rain ceremony procession three years ago, Devlin had been quiet. Although I had been keeping a close eye on them, they hadn't shown any significant movements. I had received some news, but it was mostly trivial, like Veron Arthur Devliska starting to seclude himself in the capital again. If the Count of Dar had been alive, he might have found something, but unfortunately, he was no longer in this world.
'He suddenly died in prison, they said.'
He looked healthy, so it was really strange. Devlin, a country that enjoyed backstabbing, might be quietly planning something sinister behind the scenes.
"How is Duke Javier doing these days?"
"He is looking for gold mines. I received information that he has high hopes for a gold mine that recently went up for auction."
It was a rare opportunity to give Duke Javier a good lesson, and I suddenly felt excited.
"If the auction price is too high, just give up. We'll secretly dig out all the gold anyway."
Hehe. I smiled sinisterly at the thrilling plan. How disappointed would he be when he found out that the gold mine he won was actually just a pile of rocks?
"…The Duke will spit blood again this time."
Daring to mess with me, it was his karma. Now that I had information on both Devlin and Javier, there was only one left.
I groaned and clutched my head. I had forgotten because I had been so busy preparing for the founding banquet. Tomorrow was the day when a priest from the Holy Kingdom would come to give me a lesson!
"May God's grace be upon you. Yellium."
I waved at the gentle priest, who smiled like a saint. Today was the day for my weekly theology lesson. In fact, it was more about learning how to handle divine power. After I awakened during the rain ceremony three years ago and lost consciousness for a long time, Dad eventually requested aid from Abelard. Their condition was to recognize the divine name 'Winter,' and when I woke up, I didn't want to accept it. So, I proposed that a priest be sent to give me lessons. The Holy Kingdom was happy to influence the seed of God, and I was happy to learn how to control my abilities while also keeping an eye on them. It was a deal where I gained more than I lost.
'Learning to control my abilities also helped me run the information guild efficiently.'
"Did you do all the homework I gave you?"
I nodded and stood by the window, staring intently at a dead tree quite far away.
As I shouted and spread my hands wide, leaves sprouted from the dark, lifeless tree. In no time, it transformed into a lush, summer-like tree.
I turned to the priest with a proud smile.
"Watching Your Majesty's achievements has been my joy, but it's sad that I won't be able to see them anymore."
Dad had a condition that a different priest be sent every six months, so I had two new theology teachers every year.
"Thank you for your hard work."
I patted the priest's arm to encourage him, and he looked at me with a sad face.
"Hey, don't cry. We still have a lesson!"
"For the last lesson, I will do my best!"
I consoled the determined priest and proceeded with the lesson.
'Geez. I don't know if I'm learning or teaching.'
I grumbled and fervently prayed to the damned god. I hoped the next priest would be a quiet person. Yellium. *** On the day of the founding banquet, I was extremely nervous and started preparing for the banquet early in the morning. After receiving a massage as soon as I woke up, I took a warm bath with lots of flowers and applied very expensive perfumed oil all over my body and hair. As a result, a sweet scent wafted with every step I took.
"Actually, I'm still not sure. All the dresses are beautiful, so which one should I choose…?"
Larima, who was standing next to the nanny, nodded vigorously.
"That's true. They all suit our adorable Majesty, but having to choose just one is too cruel."
"But yellow dress is really cute, and the pink dress is so lovely. The blue dress is very charming, and the purple dress is subtle, mysterious, and cute, isn't it?"
"Exactly. My thoughts are the same as yours, madam!"
I watched the nanny and Larima debate the dresses with a cold, exasperated eye.
'These people have been choosing dresses for an hour…'
It was already well past the start time of the banquet. I grabbed Xavier's finger, who was standing next to me, with a tired face.
"Xavier, which one do you like?"
The nanny and Larima turned their attention to Xavier. Suddenly, everyone's gaze was on him, and his face turned red.
Great, decided! I ran over and hugged the light pink dress.
"I'll wear this. I like it!"
The nanny and Larima looked at the other dresses with regret.
"Of course, that dress is beautiful, but…"
"But it's a bit disappointing."
However, they couldn't change my mind. The dress chosen by Duke Donovan was indeed comfortable to wear. All the maids who helped me dress smiled like mothers and clapped.
"Charming. Cute. The best…!"
After that, everything went smoothly. I quickly chose the accessories without giving the nanny and Larima a chance to think.
"Of course, they're all beautiful, but…"
"It's fine, madam. Our Majesty can pull off anything."
With that, the preparations were complete.
"Your Majesty. His Majesty the Regent and Duke Donovan are waiting outside."
At the attendant's words, I covered my mouth with both hands in shock.
I ran out of the room without even saying goodbye to the nanny. As the attendant said, Dad and Duke Donovan were waiting for me. Dad's eyes widened as soon as he saw me.
"There's a baby angel in front of me. Isn't it too cute? I feel like my eyes are going to pop out, my baby angel Mabel."
I pretended not to hear Dad's dramatic words and looked at Duke Donovan.
"I'm sorry for being late…"
Duke Donovan, who was looking down at me, nodded and bowed.
"I greet Your Majesty. The banquet has started, so let's move to our seats."
With Duke Donovan's calm words, I placed my hands on my chest and let out a short sigh of relief.
'Phew. I didn't get scolded.'
But the problem was just beginning. The founding banquet. It was an official event where I would reveal myself to all the nobles for the first time. Despite the importance of the event, I hadn't received any special training. Even Duke Donovan, whom I trusted, hadn't taught me banquet etiquette or dancing. It was a bare-knuckle breakthrough.
"Duke Donovan, will it be okay even though I haven't learned anything?"
"It will be fine. No, it will be fine."
"But shouldn't I learn the basics?"
"Those things are meaningless to Your Majesty."
"You'll understand on the day."
I recalled the incomprehensible conversation I had with Duke Donovan and tightly held Dad's hand. When I came to my senses, we were already at the entrance of the hall.
I took a step toward the central hall, which was bathed in blinding white light. *** The central hall, filled with the elegant melody of the royal orchestra, was brimming with the laughter and chatter of the nobles. The founding banquet was also a time for the nobles from various regions to meet and catch up after a long time. For the founding banquet, the regent's order to prohibit the entry of nobles of a certain age was lifted.
"Amazing, you haven't aged at all. You look exactly the same as a year ago?"
"Oh, really? That's a pleasant surprise to hear."
People were giving each other flattering compliments when someone let out a scream.
People frowned and turned to the direction of the sound, annoyed by the uncultured behavior. A young noble was staring at the entrance of the hall with wide eyes.
People's gazes followed his, and a ripple spread through the crowd.
"Everyone, look at the entrance…!"
The first thing people saw was Regent Esteban. Next to him was Duke Donovan. Those who remembered the old days thought they were seeing the time before Prince Oscar was born. They thought time had reversed. However, they realized it wasn't when they saw the wide gap between the two men. A pink head popped up between Regent Esteban and Duke Donovan, known as the Iron Blood Duke.
A fairy? Or an angel? The baby in a light pink dress was holding Dad's hand tightly with both hands and looking around the hall with an anxious gaze.
"His Majesty the Emperor…?"
Most of the nobles were shocked at the appearance of the Emperor, whom they had only heard about through rumors.
'The baby emperor appears at a banquet for the nobles…'
'Too cute. They didn't say he was this cute!'
'Look at those tiny hands holding Dad's hand!'
'I want to swim in those teary eyes!'
While people were floundering over the baby emperor's cuteness, some people were feeling particularly smug—
"Yes, that's right. That's His Majesty the Emperor! I meet him five times a week!"
It was the nobles who attended the regular meetings.