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EPISODE 172 – THE CROWN PRINCESS (1)
When you looked at stories centered around the protagonist, whether in games or novels, events that were only indirectly handled were often not described in detail.
Because the protagonist wasn’t there.
Because the protagonist wasn’t involved with that event.
And so on and so forth.
These events were often referred to as background events or background settings, and Legend of Heroes 2 had numerous background settings.
‘Strictly speaking, the annihilation of the royal family is close to a background setting.’
Because there were no playable characters who were directly involved with it.
There were a total of four playable characters from the SĂ€len Kingdom, three were from the north and the last one was from the south.
In other words, there were no playable characters who started in the royal capital.
‘The only ones who could be involved were Lucas and Kajsa.’
At this point in time in the game, Jude had just cured his illness while Cordelia was still wandering in the middle of the north.
And Lucas and Kajsa, the ones who could be involved, only had the event briefly mentioned in the game.
‘The other playable characters are foreigners.’
Therefore, Princess Daphne and Prince Dion, who could be said to be the protagonists of the royal family genocide event, were characters that only existed in the background, and not characters that could actually be met and talked to in person.
‘But they were still popular.’
The genocide of the royal family itself was so important that there were five cinematic movies alone, three of which were about Princess Daphne and Prince Dion.
‘They perfectly chose the characters for the event.’
Perhaps because they were the main characters of the tragedy, Princess Daphne and Prince Dion were perfect superhumans and even had good personalities.
If these two had grown up without any trouble and the Crown Princess had risen to the throne, they would have been the ideal royals who were good, pretty, capable, and had a sense of responsibility.
‘We can save them.’
This was reality and not the game.
Theirs was not a destined fate, but a fate that could be changed.
“For a perfect happy ending.”
Jude whispered as if he was reciting a spell, and he picked up the invitation with Princess Daphne’s seal.
***
King Henry II of the SĂ€len Kingdom was neither a saint nor a tyrant.
He was just an average king.
Nothing much could be said of him, and his rule wasn’t exemplary.
Of course, one could say that his administration of state affairs was pretty good since he smoothly ran it without having much problems, but despite that, the public still viewed Henry II as an ‘ordinary king.’
In fact, he was a person who did not have any particularly outstanding abilities, except for his handsome appearance.
But the evaluation of his children, especially his eldest daughter and eldest son, were different from Henry II.
Geniuses.
Girins.
Children of the century.
Some said that the outstanding blood of the founder king, Lion D. SĂ€len, was awakened again, while others – the rotten waters of Legend of Heroes in particular, said that it was the result of the First Queen’s genes.
Because unlike Henry II who was an ordinary person, the First Queen, Justina F. SĂ€len, was a really outstanding person.
Born in the house of Duke Fable, one of the kingdom’s five dukes, she was a distinguished genius in both scholarly knowledge and martial arts. She was also the eldest child of Duke Fable, so if she hadn’t married Henry II, she would have become the head of the Fable duchy.
However, she chose to marry Henry II who she had been affectionate with since childhood. Thus, the SĂ€len Kingdom was able to obtain a beautiful, wise, and strong queen, as well as very outstanding royal children.
The jewels of the royal capital.
Royal treasures.
And now, one of them – no, the two had shown interest in Jude and Cordelia.
They wanted to meet the two people.
“Are you done?”
“No, not yet.”
Cordelia slightly frowned at Jude’s answer and pouted her lips, but Jude did not care. He just worked hard to trim Cordelia’s hair over and over again.
‘Just where did you learn this?’
His scissoring skills were unusual. No, before that, when she thought about all the things that had happened since last night, Cordelia seriously felt dizzy.
‘Did you run a beauty shop?’
The fired-up Jude said that this was the preliminary match before the founding anniversary ball, and he dolled up and beautified Cordelia with serious enthusiasm and passion.
‘It’s my first time taking a milk bath.’
Why is a bottle of milk more expensive than cola? – was Cordelia’s serious question when she took a bath in a bathtub filled with that expensive milk.
It wasn’t over with that.
When the milk bath was over, she had to take a second bath with rose-scented essential oil while applying something on her body again.
She had to wash her hair again and again with shampoo and conditioner.
‘I think I took a bath for three hours.’
Maja and Dahlia who took a bath with me seemed to be very satisfied.
In any case, as a result of washing herself over and over again, Cordelia’s fair and smooth skin began to glow, and a subtle rose scent was added to her pleasant-feeling skin.
‘Miss! My hair is shining! It’s so soft!’
Having used it for the first time in her life, the shampoo and conditioner received great reviews from Dahlia.
In reality, she had no choice but to do so.
Shampoo could be viewed as something that was just for washing, but the conditioner that softened the hair itself was no different from an out-of-place artifact that would literally cause culture shock if one considered the standards of this era.
Cordelia was then forced to sleep.
And as soon as Cordelia woke up in the morning, Jude was waiting in front of her bed before he grabbed and made her go through a difficult time again.
She was bathed in milk and essential oil again.
Then a chiropractic massage and physical exercise.
Followed by a really long hair treatment.
‘I feel like I became a doll.’
“Yes, you’re indeed a doll. No, you’re a work of art.”
Jude said to Cordelia, having read her thoughts from seeing her eyes in the mirror. Cordelia’s shoulders then drooped as she sighed.
‘Why is everyone else excited?’
Jude had been working hard since morning, and so did Maja and Dahlia.
“You’re so beautiful.”
“Yes, miss. You’re really pretty. Ah
it feels like my childhood days again.”
“You played with dolls?”
“Yes, I did.”
Dahlia always got excited with romantic stuff, and it seemed like she was the kind to get excited with beauty treatments too.
No, she just got excited with everything related to Cordelia.
‘Ugh, alright. I’ll agree to become a doll until the tea party tomorrow.’
Because Cordelia had to impress Princess Daphne and Prince Dion.
Furthermore, it was highly likely that the influential nobles of the royal capital, or to be exact, their children, would participate in the tea party.
Because it was a tea party hosted by the crown princess and not anyone else.
‘You’re going to
 dampen their spirits?’
They were children of influential families who grew up in the royal capital.
But Jude had argued that there could be another person like Lucian, so they should prevent it in advance.
‘I don’t know what that has to do with making me completely pretty or preventing it in advance though.’
But if Jude said so, maybe there are people like that.
Maja and Dahlia were also in agreement with Jude.
‘Can I be prettier than Princess Daphne though? Princess Daphne is the main character of the event, right?’
Isn’t there an unwritten rule that you shouldn’t look prettier than the bride when you go to her wedding?
‘Cordelia is already pretty, but if you beautify her like this, she’ll really become the most beautiful woman in the kingdom
no, she’ll be the most beautiful on the continent.’
The eyes of others might turn cold if they had heard her thoughts, but in the end, they would have to admit that it was true.
Cordelia continued to think quite seriously, and in the midst of that, Jude’s hair styling was finally over.
“Okay, it’s over.”
“Really? Is it really over now?”
“Yes, so we have to choose your clothes now.”
“Eh?”
I’ll be choosing clothes and wearing them?
”Don’t worry. You only have to try on 20 of them, so it won’t take long.”
“Twenty?! No, wait. I only brought three dresses to the royal capital, if I recall?”
When did it become 20?
“That’s because I brought it separately. I bought it in the royal capital.”
“W-wait. With what money?”
It obviously couldn’t be Count Bayer and Count Chase’s money.
Of course, both had a considerable income when compared to the average noble since they were from the 12 northern families, but it was still not enough to buy a lot of expensive dresses.
‘Because dresses are ridiculously expensive!’
The present Cordelia considered dresses as expensive, and if she added the opinion of her previous life too, she regarded those dresses as ridiculously priced.
So when did you increase the number of dresses like that by 17?
“We didn’t have much time, so I had to buy something that was already made
 but I’m satisfied with this arrangement for the time being.”
“Wait, where did the money come from?”
They received a huge amount of money from Duke Spencer in the means of a cheque, but they had only received it two days ago, so they hadn’t exchanged it at the bank yet.
But where did the money to buy all those dresses come from?
When Cordelia asked again, Jude glanced at Dahlia and Maja before he looked back at her and said with his eyes.
‘Pink Bomb.’
‘Pink Bo-
 wait, Rogue Master? From stealing?’
They had only done it twice, but those two times were really profitable.
‘I said to Dahlia and Maja that we’re just selling off the treasures that we got from our travels. But it’s also true to some extent, right?’
‘Euaaaaaah
’
Cordelia fell into even more panic when she found out their source of funds.
She had no choice but to do so.
How much money does it cost to buy twenty dresses?
‘Hey, are you crazy? Did you use all our money for that?’
“Because Cordelia is precious to me.”
‘What are you talking about! And why are you saying that with that tone!’
Jude just smirked at Cordelia’s protest with her eyes, but for Maja and Dahlia who didn’t know their conversation, they only heard ‘Because Cordelia is precious to me’ and began to exclaim ‘kyaa-kyaa’ among themselves.
[You’re crazy, really crazy. That’s an extravagant habit. I’ll have to seriously consider breaking up with you. All the more when you’re a gambler!]
As soon as she sent him a message via magic, Jude lightly shook his head.
[It’s different from gambling. We have a lot of profitable stuff, right? And we can always resell the dresses if we’re in a pinch.]
[Uuuh
 but still
]
A fiancĂ© who spends money for her generously – no, a fiancĂ© who spends money for her like crazy.
Should I be happy with this or not?
[Don’t worry. If it’s this much money, we can earn it again.]
[Ugh
 you’re somewhat reliable yet annoying at the same time.]
She honestly found Jude to be smart and excellent.
She thought that even if he threw off his clothes and became dirt-poor, he was the kind of person who’d make enough money to enjoy a movie a week later.
Moreover, Jude now had a huge amount of money from Duke Spencer.
There was a saying that money begets money, so if Jude really made up his mind to earn money, he’d easily earn enough money to buy twenty dresses.
[Eueue
 But this is too much. Can’t I just wear the Fairy Dress? That’s the best one anyway.]
[No way. You can’t wear a dress you’ve worn once. The Fairy Dress should only be worn at the founding ball.]
[Wait, what did you just say? I can’t wear what I’ve worn once?]
[Yes. Not your everyday wear, of course. I’m talking about the dresses that you wear when you go out, which must be changed every time. Those are single-use only.]
[What?]
What are you talking about?
I’ll wear those expensive dresses only once?
Am I a Mansour?
[Because Cordelia is precious to me.]
[What the heck are you talking about!]
Do you think that I’ll let it pass if you say it in such buttery words with such a smug smile?
Of course, it doesn’t feel bad hearing it, since it honestly feels nice every time I hear it.
[Anyway, Princess, just let me take care of you. I’ll make you the prettiest girl in the world.]
[Haa
 you’re seriously crazy.]
You must have been seriously playing with dolls in your childhood.
Cordelia thought of a little Jude playing with dolls for a moment, and she smiled without realizing it. On the other hand, Maja and Cordelia who were watching her from the side, happily smiled as they misunderstood her.
“Anyway, let’s begin the fashion show.”
They would have to choose what she would wear, and then modify and do some arrangements too.
“Haa
 this is the first time I’ve ever hated Jude being an all-around.”
Frankly, I want to decrease the number of clothes myself.
Cordelia eventually lowered her head in resignation, and she let herself become the doll of Jude, Maja, and Dahlia.
And after four long hours.
By the time Cordelia was completely tired and exhausted from repeatedly wearing and taking off clothes, Jude, Maja, and Dahlia finally chose a dress.
“Because you shouldn’t stand out too much.”
‘Did those words just come out of your mouth?’
If you wanted me to not stand out, why were you so passionate about dressing me up in the first place?
Jude lightly ignored Cordelia’s complaint with her eyes, and he began to alter the soft pink dress.
‘Uh
this is creepy.’
Can’t you just alter it?
Why do you have to look so delighted when you’re altering it?
But in any case, her long suffering that started last night finally ended, so Cordelia hunched her shoulders.
‘I can rest now.’
But she couldn’t.
It was Cordelia’s mistake for thinking that it was really over.
“Then my lady, let’s go take a bath.”
“What?”
“Because the tea party is tomorrow. We have to do some massage and exercise again, right? We also have to trim your nails.”
Dahlia and Maja spoke one after another, and Cordelia blinked her eyes with a stunned face before she was dragged along by them again.
And the next morning.
Cordelia suffered from Jude’s beauty treatments again and was only liberated from her room at around 2 in the afternoon.
“Everyone is crazy
”
“But the results are good, right? Ah, your dress might get wrinkles, so please sit with your back straight. Don’t just lean anywhere.”
“I hate you, I hate you.”
Cordelia cursed at him with tears in her eyes, but she still heeded his words well.
Because she sat with her back upright and did not move much.
“But it’s worth it. It’s worth it. I’m looking forward to how the nobles of the royal capital will react.”
“How vexing. I wanted to dress you up too.”
Cordelia was so busy with being beautified that she didn’t have the time to dress up Jude.
But in fact, she didn’t need to do anything.
Since Maja and Dahlia wouldn’t stay still anyway.
‘In the end, those two seemed to have had the most fun dressing us up.’
Cordelia looked out of the carriage to see the two bidding them farewell, and she looked back at Jude again and said.
“Now then, Jude. All we have to do now is meet Princess Daphne and Prince Dion, right?”
“Yes. There’s still the process of getting close to them, of course, but
 you’re already good at that.”
“Ugh
 meeting with royalty is hard.”
She was also the crown princess and not just some royalty.
The present Cordelia was born and raised as a noble of the SĂ€len Kingdom. She might have memories of her past life, but she still felt nervous meeting royalty.
“Don’t worry. Princess Darianne will be there too.”
“That’s a relief then.”
Cordelia recalled Princess Darianne’s bright smile, and she took a deep breath as she slightly stretched out her arms.
After all, it had already happened.
Moreover, it was necessary to get close to Princess Darianne in order to achieve a perfect happy ending.
“I can do it.”
“Yes, you can.”
There would also be other nobles besides Princess Darianne.
Jude cheered on Cordelia, and he looked out the window of the carriage.
The main palace of the SĂ€len Kingdom, which was much bigger and more beautiful than the Red Rose Castle, came into his sight.
***
“This way please.”
The palace interior was splendid and gorgeous.
The inner palace and courtyard were also elegant-looking, but the person who guided them was mesmerized with Cordelia for a while. However, Cordelia was so confused with all the walking they did that she didn’t even know where they were.
Nevertheless, Jude was escorting her like always, so she maintained a fairly elegant appearance even if she was slightly distracted. And at some point, Cordelia unconsciously exclaimed.
‘Wow.’
At an indoor flower garden.
The appearance of colorful flowers harmoniously placed under the sunlight shining down from the glass ceiling was like that of a painting.
It was unrealistically beautiful.
But it was clearly real.
‘As I thought, the royal palace is in a different level.’
After all, it was the royal palace of the SĂ€len Kingdom, one of the continent’s two great powers.
Like Cordelia, Jude was also amazed at the sight.
But it was only for a while.
When they entered the garden, they strongly felt uncomfortable.
‘There’s
 no one?’
Cordelia and I are the first guests?
That was possible.
But it was not what Jude had thought.
‘There’s only one place.’
To be exact, there was only one table.
If it was a tea party with many nobles participating, there should be several tables, but there was only one small table that could accommodate four people in the place.
‘No way.’
Is the tea party different from what I thought?
I even got a list of the tea party’s participants through the Blue Moon.
Could it be that Princess Daphne had a sudden change of schedule?
But why in the world?
Why?
“Because I wanted to focus on only the two of you.”
They heard a beautiful yet noble and dominating voice, one that was distinct of rulers.
Jude and Cordelia turned to the direction of the voice, and they were able to see a blonde beauty wearing a white dress and a golden tiara on her head.
Princess Daphne.
A woman who was called the jewel of the royal family.