Chapter 44

The Villainess Is Being Doted on by the Crown Prince of the Neighboring Country 44

Aishira wanted Pearl to serve under her. She requested that this be the punishment–Grail listened to this quietly. But he answered with a clear rejection.

“Aishira Pearland. That is not something I would find acceptable.”

“! I, I…misspoke. Please forgive me.”

A cold wind flowed through the room.

Aishira immediately realized that it was coming from Grail, and she frantically lowered her head. But Grail’s eyes were colder than ice, and she shivered.

The warm and friendly Grail from the tea party was nowhere to be found.

“Allowing a human to deal with Pearl. How could you think that I would allow it? And to a descendant of Pearland.”

“Gra-rail…?”

He was smiling, but his voice was tense.

On the surface, he pretended to be normal, but even more than Pearl–he thought very ill of the Pearland family.

Indeed, while Grail did like humans, he still felt like it was important to draw a line between Fairy Kings and them. And so he was not pleased with Aishira’s assumption that this line could be crossed.

Grail said ‘And besides…’ and continued.

“I have already discussed it with Keith. I will decide what Pearl’s punishment will be.”

He grinned and looked at Pearl.

She felt a chill at that smile and tried to move, but he caught her easily. Pearl had nothing but a sinking feeling about what it might be, but the two Fairy King’s had made the decision. And it would do her no good to rebel.

Especially, as Pearl knew in her heart, that she was in the wrong.

“And so, you may return now. Aishira Pearland. Pearl has already returned Elliot and… Speaking of which…”

“Wh-what?”

“Where did you send Elliot?”

“He said that he wanted to confess. So of course, I sent him to that Tiararose.”

“…”

An uncomfortable silence filled the room at these words.

“To Tiararose? But why?”

“…”

“What do you mean, why? Is it not Tiararose who he loves?”

Grail tilted his head, Aishira pretended to act calm and kept silent. Both of them were quite certain that Tiararose was not the woman Elliot was in love with.

But why had Pearl made this assumption? Grail asked her.

“I thought that everyone liked that woman…”

“That is your own prejudice against her. I do not think that Elliot has any feelings towards her. Well, other than as someone he must serve.”

Aishira was of the same exact opinion, so she nodded quietly.

He had said there was a difference in status. So she must be a noble lady. Aishira wondered–but Grail’s voice interrupted her thoughts.

“Well, never mind. It is no matter to me who these humans are united with.”

Grail snapped his fingers to call a wind. It surrounded Aishira as if it had a will of its own–and she immediately teleported away.

A small scream escaped Aishira’s lips, but Grail ignored it.

“…Now, what is my punishment?”

“So you will accept it willingly, Pearl?”

“If I must be punished, I prefer that it is from you. Will you seal my magic? Will I be confined for hundreds of years?”

Pearl was the Fairy Queen of the Sea.

She had an idea of what kind of punishment would await her.

But at the same time, while she had caused a tsunami, the damages weren’t so high. So the punishment wouldn’t be too harsh.

“It is confinement, isn’t it? But I am used to being alone. One hundred years, one thousand years. Sentence me as you like.”

“Well, that would be appropriate. Sealing your magic would be too harsh. And I take no pleasure in tormenting women.”

However, Grail added a ‘but’ as he continued.

“What…? It is not confinement?”

Pearl scowled when it was not the punishment she had anticipated. And yet, if it was Grail’s decision, she would accept it.

Pearl had decided that she would no longer say no and throw a fit.

Grail looked at her with a smile and told her.

“As the Fairy Queen of the sea, you Pearl, will send your blessing to Aquasteed and Tiararose. That is the punishment I have decided for you.”

“What! You must be joking!! I have already decided that I will never give my blessing to humans!!”

Pearl had blessed a man once, and it ended in a tragic separation. Pearl had sworn in her heart to never repeat that mistake.

And Grail knew about this.

This kingdom that was Marinforest, was peaceful and overflowing with nature.

Grail, the Fairy King of the sky, had blessed the crown prince, and Keith had blessed Tiararose, the princess. It was all very well balanced, but it was also true that they had misgivings about this third force that was the sea.

There were none in this country that would defy Aquasteed, but that could change. In that case, it would be for the best for them to receive the blessing of the Fairy Queen of the sea in advance.

“And by the way, you will bless them with all of your power.”

“No! If I did that, it would leave me empty of my own magic!”

“Yes. After all, this is a punishment, is it not?”

If Pearl blessed them with all of her power, it would take her a hundred years to recover it.

She would not be able to use magic until then. Well, she could always stay in her palace and wait it out, but it did not make her feel good.

Had she been sealed instead, she would be able to escape if she used all of her power. But that would also make her empty, and she would be able to do nothing.

Pearl hissed angrily, but Grail would not back down.

Finally, she sighed and said ‘I have no choice’ and nodded. She would just give her blessing, then stay inside her palace. Serving under Aishira was ridiculous. At least now she would not have to stay near the humans that she had blessed.

“It is a good punishment, and it will help this country grow. I see nothing wrong with it.”

“Grail, you like this country too much…”

Pearl looked at him with exasperation. Then she said the words.

“O rippling, weaving sea, give your highest blessing to the two who shoulder the future of Marineforest. To Aquasteed Marineforest, a blade of water that cuts everything. To Tiararose Marineforest, a wall of water that protects against everything…”

◇ ◇ ◇

They moved away from Aishira’s beach, and to the town.

Aquasteed rode his horse. While the town had not been harmed, he did his best to calm down its citizens, as there had been much confusion caused by the tsunami.

But as nothing had been damaged, the town was not too chaotic.

Tiararose and Philiane had gone ahead to the castle, where they were currently waiting. Keith decided to stay at the beach in order to study the new flowers that Tiararose had made.

“…!?”

As Aquasteed was working to calm the town’s people, he suddenly felt the rush of Pearl’s blessing enter him. The power entering his body caused him to feel dizzy, and he nearly fell over.

But he stood firm and looked towards the sea, wondering what on earth was happening.

“Your Highness, has something happened?”

“–No, it’s nothing. In fact, I have business to attend to. The people seemed to have regained their calm now. You stay and continue to let them know that everything is fine.”

“Yes!”

He ordered the knight, then Aquasteed decided to rush back to the castle.

He quickly understood that the magic that had poured into him was the blessing of the Fairy Queen of the sea. And he knew that it was likely that Tiararose had received the same blessing. It would not be good to be left alone and uncertain though, and so he wanted to hurry back to her.

“I had heard about the punishment being a blessing–but, couldn’t he have sent a word to me in advance…”

He grumbled at the absent Grail, but it was in the past, so there was nothing he could do.

◇ ◇ ◇

Aquasteed road back to the cast and arrived at his own room–but, for some reason, it was not only Tiararose and Philiane who were there, but Elliot and Aishira as well.

While it was clear that they must have been teleported, he could not understand why both of them were here.

Aquasteed wondered at this, but then he saw that Elliot’s face had regained its normal state, and he understood.

–The potion’s effects had worn off, and so he has returned.

Now that he knew it, Aquasteed decided that there was no problem with Elliot being here.

“I am back, Tiara. How are you doing?”

“Welcome home, Prince Aqua. Yes, it was surprising at first–but there is nothing wrong now.”

He tightly embraces his beloved wife. Her soft and sweet scent filled his nostrils.

Just like him, Tiararose had been blessed by the sea. She had been hated so much, and yet now she had its protection.

It seemed like Tiararose’s blessing was related to defense. And he could sense a thin layer of the sea’s magic surrounding her. With this, any physical blows, impact or even health-related problems would be softened.

As for Aquasteed, the blessing that he had received was the exact opposite. His was specialized for the offensive. The Fairy Queen had accepted him in the role of protector of the country, and the one who would lead them to new heights.

That being said, he would not do anything so horrible as fight a war.

“That is good, as long as you are okay. The town was also not too chaotic. The only thing left to do is clean up the ravaged shore.”

“Yes.”

He was relieved when he saw her nod in her adorable way.

He had used up all of his magical energy in order to stop the tsunami. But just seeing her smile had a mysterious effect on him. It made him feel like he could keep going on.

And then he suddenly remembered the flower that her magic had created.

The large pink flower would be named after her and became the national flower. He thought of this and amused himself with the idea that she was taking the kingdom from him.

“Prince Aqua?”

“…Oh, it’s nothing. I am glad to see the Lady Aishira and Elliot are back safely.”

He hugged Tiararose one more time, before looking at the two.

“I am fine,” Elliot told him. But Aishira showed signs of restlessness.

She would occasionally look at Elliot.

–Did something happen then?

But he didn’t think that Elliot would have laid a hand on her. Aquasteed tilted his head to the side and observed them–Elliot was almost exactly as how he always was.

As Aishira had come late, she was itching to know whether or not Elliot had confessed, but she could not ask about it now.

And while she did not think that it was likely, what if Pearl had been right, and Elliot had feelings for Tiararose… She was quite worried about this.

They heard the clinking of cups and saw that Philiane was preparing to serve tea.

“Thank you, Philiane.”

“It is nothing. Would you like to have some sweets with your tea?”

“Yes. Could you bring some of those macarons…”

She prepared some tea for Aquasteed and took out the macarons that Tiararose had requested.

When everyone had finally sat down on the sofa, Aquasteed decided to give a simple explanation about what had happened.

“The Fairy King of the sky, Grail, has decided what the punishment for the Fairy Queen of the sea will be for causing the tsunami. The punishment was that she would send me and Tiara her blessing of the sea.”

“…!”

Aishira gulped when she heard this.

How foolish she had been for her previous suggestion…she looked downward.

“As for the rest, it is not for the Fairy Kings to involve themselves in. Us humans will clean the beaches, and we will continue to act as we always have. The flower that Tiararose’s magic created shall be moved to the castle and raised here.”

“I understand.”

Tiararose nodded, but Aishira’s face looked pained, and she shook. She slowly opened her mouth–and asked about the management of the sea and beaches.

Currently, it was Aishira who took care of the beach. But, now that there were two who had been blessed by the Fairy Queen of the sea herself–there was little doubt that it would be better for her to put it in their hands.

After all, Aishira was only ever blessed by the sea fairies.

“No, I would want you to continue taking care of the sea, as you always have.”

“But, I…”

“It is you, Lady Aishira, who knows the sea best. And besides, Tiara has the forest, so she does not have enough time. We will be busier than ever in the future.”

Aquasteed also had no desire to allow the Fairy King’s to control Tiararose any further.

–In truth, he wanted to keep her in the castle as much as possible.

This princess had become a favorite of the Fairy King of the forest–but as her husband, he wanted her to be close to him as much as possible.

“If that is your wish, Prince Aquasteed, then I will gladly accept it. But, I promise that I will willingly give up my position to you if anything should happen.”

“Yes. Thank you, Lady Aishira.”

–And so things were settled, for now at least.

He drank his tea and looked at the calm room. There did not seem to be any problems, so he would rest today. From tomorrow on, he planned to have the beach escleaned up, and the trees moved.

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