Chapter 16

The Baron, who hadn’t expected his question to draw so much attention, flinched and darted his eyes nervously.  

“Well, what I mean is…”  

The Emperor understood.  

Ultimately, the most pressing issue wasn’t whether she was truly of Michael’s bloodline.  

The real question was whether the child was the offspring of the Master of the Mage Tower, the hero of troubled times and the living legend of the present.  

No matter how much effort the Imperial Family had poured into solidifying its authority over the years, it all paled in comparison to the name of the Master of the Mage Tower.  

The Emperor knew this all too well, even as he loathed it.  

If she had wanted, the throne could have been hers.  

The peace that had been barely achieved after the Demon King’s death, like all peace, did not last long.  

The only reason even a semblance of peace had persisted was that Kanis Riventi had continued to survive.  

Even as the glories of that day faded into history, and others retired from their lives, she remained unparalleled and endlessly powerful.  

Why had the World Tree granted so much power to a mere human?  

Why had it given her the authority to control the lives of countless people on the continent?  

Was it so everyone would be forced to depend on her, to owe her, to revere her, and ultimately fear her disappearance?  

Though she seemed to respect the Imperial Family, her very existence rendered the Empire incomplete.  

The world appeared peaceful, but as long as she existed, that peace could never be complete.  

Thus, she was both a hero and a traitor at every moment.  

The Emperor despised Kanis Riventi.  

As an Emperor and as a man.  

Ever since twenty years ago, when she had chosen to save one city while abandoning another during a demon attack.  

For a brief moment, without realizing it, the Emperor had thought of someone.  

A small, composed child who bore a striking resemblance to Kanis Riventi.  

But he quickly twisted his lips into a bitter smile.  

Did she even deserve to have her own bloodline?  

In the end, she would ruin everything.  

That child showed no signs of hope either.  

She was not someone who could—or should—be a parent.  

The Emperor didn’t believe the rumors of the Master of the Mage Tower’s death.  

If she were truly dead, it would mean she had abandoned her duties.  

If she had forsaken all responsibilities and refused to fulfill the obligations of the powerful,  

Then for the sake of this incomplete peace, the Emperor was willing to use anything and everything.  

He would not allow everything to collapse during his reign.  

The Emperor opened his mouth to speak.  

***

“Where did you say you were going?”

“To the Princess’s Palace.”

“I couldn’t hear you. The restroom?”

“No, I said I’m going to the Princess’s Palace.”

“Oh, you’re saying the weather is nice.”

“The Princess’s Palace, Jehel.”

“Oh my, you’re curious about my nephew’s face, aren’t you? He’s a year older than you and quite handsome, Miss Kanna…”

“Jehel, now you’re not even close.”

“….”

Jehel looked at Kanna with a deeply displeased expression, as if desperately wanting to avoid the topic.

“Do I really have to go?”

“I won’t ask you to come along.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

“Stay here, Jehel.”

“But.”

Despite her words, Jehel dutifully stood up and brought one of the servants to Kanna.

“Remember? The one who hit the back of my head with a pillow earlier.”

“And?”

“I’m assigning this person exclusively to you starting today. I’ve been entrusted with acting as the Crown Prince’s deputy.”

“So you’re telling me to take them along.”

Kanna glanced up at the servant.

This was the same person who usually couldn’t even meet Kanna’s eyes and mumbled nervously but had shouted fiercely while hitting Jehel’s head with a pillow earlier, which had honestly surprised her a bit.

“If you don’t want to, you can say no.”

Kanna cautiously said this while looking up at the servant.

Jehel, confident there was no way that would happen, scoffed.

“…Please.”

“Hm?”

“Let me! Let me go with her!”

The servant clenched their fists and cried out earnestly. Kanna blinked.

“Well, alright.”

Jehel, unnecessarily butting in, added with a knowing tone.

“This person actually comes from a great family. A descendant of the Demon King Expedition, just like Kanis Riventi…”

“Eek!”

The servant quickly covered Jehel’s mouth.

Kanna’s expression changed.

She stared intently at the servant.

The servant, whose ears were now red, darted their eyes around nervously, unsure of what to do.

“Well… um… that is…”

While trying to pat Jehel’s back, who was choking from the attack, and simultaneously gauge Kanna’s reaction, the servant looked utterly flustered. Kanna, after staring at the servant’s face for a long time, finally muttered.

“You’re a descendant of Prandia Sylan.”

At those words, the servant froze.

“How did you…”

“Cough! This person, cough! Their last name is Sylan! Ahem! Did you know that?”

“They resemble them.”

Leaving only that comment, Kanna walked past Jehel and began to move.

“Does the Mage Tower have portraits of the expedition members, cough, hanging somewhere? Huh?”

The servant, taking a deep breath, quickly followed behind Kanna with short steps.

“I’ve been to the Mage Tower a few times with His Highness the Crown Prince, but I never saw anything like that…”

As Jehel’s muttering filled the room, unanswered, her expression gradually darkened. Her ambiguous gaze lingered on the door through which the two had exited.

“…I wonder if this is really okay.”

***

The head servant of the Princess’s Palace looked down at Kanna, who stood before him, with his head slightly bowed.

Although his face was mostly expressionless, there was a faint trace of bewilderment in his eyes.

“You said you’ve come to see Her Highness the Princess.”

“Yes. So, notify her and guide me to her.”

“…May I ask what business you have with her?”

“I don’t think I’ve come to a place I shouldn’t be.”

“More than that, it’s just that someone like you… wouldn’t normally…”

As if unable to finish such a statement as the person responsible for the Princess’s Palace, he trailed off.

In the end, he stepped back.

“Well then, please come in.”

The servant who had accompanied Kanna clenched their fists tightly and spoke in a low voice.

“Miss Kanna, I’ll protect you no matter what happens.”

Kanna glanced at the servant, shrugged her shoulders, and gave a faint smile.

This young Sylan didn’t seem to resemble the Sylan from the expedition three hundred years ago aside from their outward appearance.

For one thing, their genders were different.

The hall of the Princess’s Palace was generally dim, and when someone tall suddenly emerged from behind a tapestry with strange patterns hanging between the pillars, the young Sylan let out a brief scream.

Kanna, being sensitive to presences, simply furrowed her brows to check the face of the newcomer, while the head servant of the Princess’s Palace didn’t even blink. Embarrassed, the young Sylan quickly adopted an awkward expression.

“Oh ho.”

The person who had appeared so ghost-like was, of course, the Princess.

The Princess raised both hands toward Kanna and spoke in a resonant, majestic tone.

“Welcome, young daughter of the Master of the Mage Tower.”

“…”

“I was quite curious to see if the love of the World Tree had also blessed you.”

Behind her, Sylan frowned.

The phrase about being blessed by the love of the World Tree might not seem problematic on the surface, but for those who knew its deeper meaning, it was an unsettling statement.

However, showing displeasure was not an option, as Kanna’s mother, the Master of the Mage Tower, was the most famous individual known to be “blessed by the love of the World Tree.”

It should have been a matter of pride, but…

While Sylan hesitated, the head servant calmly and familiarly corrected the Princess’s words.

“Your Highness, that is an inappropriate greeting for a first meeting with your great-niece.”

“Am I already of an age to have a great-niece? Michael is the one being rude to me.”

Clicking her tongue, the Princess turned to Kanna and asked.

“Shall we go to my room?”

“I heard you were interested in my… mother.”

“So the rumors about your curt speech were true.”

The Princess clicked her tongue lightly, almost dismissively, then turned with a swish of her skirt.

The sound of her cane tapping against the marble floor was lively.

“Well, since my great-niece is so eager to see my research lab, it’s only right to show her, isn’t it?”

“I’ll go ahead and tidy up a bit.”

When the head servant tried to move ahead, the Princess blocked his chest with her cane.

Her expression had already turned cold, her eyes narrowing sharply.

“Can’t you tell by looking at her eyes? She won’t be swayed by such trivial things, so you may withdraw.”

“…Understood.”

The Princess smiled in satisfaction, her face now filled with smug contentment.

Kanna didn’t feel particularly afraid or threatened, but she did reasonably suspect that the Princess might lock her up in some underground lab.

The way the Princess had been scrutinizing her from head to toe was unsettling.

It was an experience akin to being licked all over by a feline predator.

Fortunately, the Princess’s research lab turned out to be above ground.

On second thought, it made sense. The Princess had difficulty walking, so there was no reason for her to place her lab underground.

As soon as Kanna entered the lab, she let out a low murmur of admiration.

For a “normal person’s” research lab, it was remarkably reminiscent of a mage’s dwelling.