Panting. The child's breath, heated by fever, filled one corner of the room. The moonlight, obscured by clouds, faintly illuminated the child's face as it shone through the window.
[You idiot, Mabel. You don’t know how to hold back.]
The divine creature that the child had named 'Sheep' entered through the window and lightly landed beside the child's pillow. Its fluffy tail swayed gently.
[Why are you wasting divine power like this when you're still just a kid?]
Sheep's foot gently touched the child's cheek, and a faint light flickered on the red cheeks. Soon, the child's breathing became much more relaxed. Sheep, who had been watching Mabel sleep for a while, lifted its head in response to the approaching unfamiliar magical aura. Although it couldn't see the figure, it could sense it. Hop. Sheep jumped off the bed, and its form began to change. It had been the size of a small cat to match Mabel's growth speed, but as Mabel's divine power stabilized, Sheep gained the ability to change its body. Its small frame gradually grew larger, and its cute horns slowly developed. After a moment, a divine creature the size of a predator stood under the dim moonlight.
[Come in. I knew you were going to anyway.]
Surprisingly, Sheep's words in its adult form were clearly heard by the uninvited guest outside the balcony. A moment later, Eidan entered. He asked calmly, showing no surprise at hearing the divine creature's words.
"Mabel?"
[She's sleeping. I infused some of my power into her, so she should be fine now.]
"I see."
Silence fell. After all, they had known each other for a long time, but their relationship was not particularly good. Eidan was indifferent, and Sheep disliked him unilaterally.
[The aura in your body. Is it still Devlin's?]
"…Yes."
[It might just be my imagination, but it seems weaker than before. It's less unpleasant to be around you now.]
Sheep guessed that the strong divine power from Mabel was neutralizing it. However, there was one thing it couldn't understand: despite the similar nature of Mabel's and the divine creature's powers, Mabel didn't find Eidan unpleasant. Looking at Eidan, who was leaning against the railing and gazing at the bed, Sheep suddenly realized something. The long eyelashes that framed his eyes, the faint heat in his red irises, and his mesmerizing features.
'It's just her looks, isn’t it…!'
It had seen the slightest possibility that it was the power of her beauty. *** When Oscar arrived at Esteban's office, he inadvertently overheard the conversation inside.
"Devlin's mage has slipped through our fingers, it seems."
"I am ashamed, Your Majesty."
"That's fine. Even if we had caught him, there would have been nothing to gain. Knowing that the enemy is Devlin is enough."
A series of attacks had almost become a topic of conversation among the empire's citizens, potentially damaging the royal family's prestige, but Mabel's divine rain had cleanly buried the evidence.
'I don't know if that little one did it on purpose or not.'
Sometimes Mabel did astonishing things for her age, and each time, Esteban was taken aback.
"…My daughter is a genius, after all."
Gustav nodded solemnly at the muttered words.
"You're right."
Their thoughts were in perfect harmony. Esteban moved on to the next matter.
"What about the Viscount's son?"
"He has been dealt with as you commanded. He will likely be penniless soon."
The young man who had wanted to propose but feared for his life would now lose his wealth. It was a bitter price for his advances on Mabel.
"Don't let him near Mabel."
"Of course not."
Oscar, who had heard the entire conversation, knocked on the open door.
"Father, you should close the door when discussing important matters."
"Your advice is appreciated, son, but I already knew you were standing there."
As one of the strongest knights in the empire, Esteban could easily sense the presence of others nearby without needing to be on guard. An open door was no threat.
"Still, it's better to be cautious."
Oscar sat on the sofa, and Gustav served him tea.
"Why are you here, Your Highness?"
"I have a question for Father."
Hearing that Oscar had a question, Esteban put down his documents and sat opposite him.
"What do you want to know?"
"I came to ask about the progress of the investigation into the information guild, <Eve>."
"As you know, the knight who was tailing them was caught before he could even start."
"Has there been no progress since then?"
"Well, I've been busy with other things."
Esteban subtly shifted his gaze.
'I can't tell him it's because of the guys who wanted to propose to Mabel during the tournament.'
Seeing Esteban's effort to maintain his authority as a father, Oscar thought:
'It's all because of Mabel.'
He understood, as he too had been so focused on sword practice that he had neglected the investigation into the information guild.
"We need to investigate again. How did a small guild grow so quickly? There are many suspicious points."
"Which is why, Father—"
"Hmm?"
"I will visit the guild incognito and take on a fake information request to conduct a simple investigation."
Oscar's determination was evident. Esteban wondered why his son was so fixated on this task.
"Is there another reason you want to investigate Eve?"
"No, not really. I just… want to do something."
Oscar always strived. To become an excellent emperor. And after that goal disappeared, to become a knight to protect Mabel, who had become the emperor. But even achieving his goal didn't bring him a sense of accomplishment. Perhaps it was because he hadn't protected Mabel. So, Oscar set a new goal: to eliminate one by one the threats to Mabel. The first was the information guild, <Eve>.
"A guild that grows so large without competition could pose a threat to the imperial authority in the future. I think it's necessary to know who's behind it."
"…That's true."
"Please let me handle it, Father. I won't disappoint you."
"Your task is only to infiltrate the guild and place a request. No dangerous solo actions beyond that."
"…Understood."
"Remember that, Oscar."
After repeatedly cautioning Oscar, Esteban suddenly lifted his head and pretended to read the documents seriously. A minute later, Mabel's pink hair appeared at the door of the office. Gustav and Oscar, who had witnessed the emperor's image management, were speechless.
'He's really working hard on his image today.'
That was their shared thought. *** When I entered Father's office, Oscar and Gustav were also there. I glanced at Father, who was pretending to read documents.
'He's faking it again.'
His eyes weren't moving at all. But to avoid hurting Father's feelings, I pretended not to notice and greeted them.
"Father, Oscar, Gustav, hello."
"Oh, there you are, Mabel."
"Yep. Father was working hard, huh? That's so cool!"
Father smiled brightly and sat me on his lap, then gently touched my forehead with his large hand.
"Hmm. Your fever is almost gone."
"Uh-huh. I'm fine now."
"That's not true, Mabel. Even if your abilities are strong, using them so intensely is hard on your body. You created a barrier, healed people, and even summoned a divine rain. How could—"
The nagging resumed. I shouted and covered Father's mouth with both hands.
"…?"
"…I'm sorry, Father."
Even if I could go back in time, I would still use my powers, but I felt guilty for worrying Father. Seeing my dejected look, Father's expression softened.
"Mabel seems to be reflecting, so let's just let it go this time, Your Majesty. Her fever is gone, after all."
I removed my hand, and Father kissed my palm.
"A dejected Mabel is cute, but okay. Let's do that."
That way, I avoided the nagging. I smiled brightly at Oscar, who was sitting opposite.
"What were you talking about?"
Before Father pretended to read, I had overheard a serious conversation between him and Oscar. It seemed Oscar was planning something, and Father was trying to stop him. What exactly was it?
"What were you talking about?"
"Just a simple investigation, Mabel."
"An investigation of what?"
"An organization."
Oscar answered for him. This still didn't fully satisfy my curiosity.
"An organization of what?"
"Um, a very, very suspicious and large organization. I think they're bad people, so I decided to investigate."
"Bad organization?"
"Yes, a bad organization."
It seemed he wouldn't reveal the details no matter how much I pressed.
'Father didn't give him a dangerous task, right?'
There was no need to worry, then.
"Got it. Oscar is going to teach the bad guys a lesson, right?"
"Not exactly—"
"Don't get hurt, and show them what you're made of. Got it?"
"Sure, I got it."
Oscar's smile made him look like a reliable older brother. I enthusiastically supported Oscar on his first mission.
'Whatever organization it is, you're dead!'
*** When I entered Father's office, Oscar and Gustav were also there. I glanced at Father, who was pretending to read documents.
'He's faking it again.'
His eyes weren't moving at all. But to avoid hurting Father's feelings, I pretended not to notice and greeted them.
"Father, Oscar, Gustav, hello."
"Oh, there you are, Mabel."
"Yep. Father was working hard, huh? That's so cool!"
Father smiled brightly and sat me on his lap, then gently touched my forehead with his large hand.
"Hmm. Your fever is almost gone."
"Uh-huh. I'm fine now."
"That's not true, Mabel. Even if your abilities are strong, using them so intensely is hard on your body. You created a barrier, healed people, and even summoned a divine rain. How could—"
The nagging resumed. I shouted and covered Father's mouth with both hands.
"…?"
"…I'm sorry, Father."
Even if I could go back in time, I would still use my powers, but I felt guilty for worrying Father. Seeing my dejected look, Father's expression softened.
"Mabel seems to be reflecting, so let's just let it go this time, Your Majesty. Her fever is gone, after all."
I removed my hand, and Father kissed my palm.
"A dejected Mabel is cute, but okay. Let's do that."
That way, I avoided the nagging. I smiled brightly at Oscar, who was sitting opposite.
"What were you talking about?"
Before Father pretended to read, I had overheard a serious conversation between him and Oscar. It seemed Oscar was planning something, and Father was trying to stop him. What exactly was it?
"What were you talking about?"
"Just a simple investigation, Mabel."
"An investigation of what?"
"An organization."
Oscar answered for him. This still didn't fully satisfy my curiosity.
"An organization of what?"
"Um, a very, very suspicious and large organization. I think they're bad people, so I decided to investigate."
"Bad organization?"
"Yes, a bad organization."
It seemed he wouldn't reveal the details no matter how much I pressed.
'Father didn't give him a dangerous task, right?'
There was no need to worry, then.
"Got it. Oscar is going to teach the bad guys a lesson, right?"
"Not exactly—"
"Don't get hurt, and show them what you're made of. Got it?"
"Sure, I got it."
Oscar's smile made him look like a reliable older brother. I enthusiastically supported Oscar on his first mission.