I recalled Sever’s trembling eyes – a look I had never seen before. So he was capable of making such a face too. Even he could show a human-like expression sometimes. This realization struck me anew.

As I was thinking this, Lerrhagen suddenly broke the garden’s silence. “The crown is complete.”

“That’s a completely random topic, but I’ll try to adapt. You’re saying the crown is complete?” Come to think of it, I had forgotten about the crown for several days. Well, in such important circumstances, who would care about a crown? Anyway, since it was completed, I pushed the complicated issues to the back of my mind and spoke. “Where is it?”

“It will be brought soon.”

“By whom?”

“Oliphs.”

Oliphs? I furrowed my brow at the somehow familiar name. But Lerrhagen disappeared right after finishing his words.

“Who is Oliphs? I feel like I’ve heard that name before. Is it a dragon?” Finally, I turned to Hasis to satisfy my curiosity. And I tilted my head at the shocked and dumbfounded expression that came into view. “What’s wrong? Who is Oliphs?”

“You’re in big trouble.”

“What are you talking about? Speak clearly.”

“The Fairy King.”

“What?” I doubted my ears. But his following words confirmed that I hadn’t misheard.

“The Fairy King. The eldest elder among the fairy folk. The most respected being by other species, except for Master. It seems Master not only ordered him to make your crown but also told him to bring it personally because it would be troublesome otherwise. There’s going to be quite a commotion in the palace. No, the whole world might be in an uproar.”

After saying that, Hasis patted my head encouragingly and left. And in the middle of the garden, now alone—

“Are you insane?” I finally couldn’t hold back and shouted.

In truth, other species weren’t particularly unfamiliar to me. Of course, there were quite a few people who had never seen non-human species in their lifetime. However, Arsis had quite active exchanges with other races, and I too had established friendly relationships with most other species since my coronation.

But the fairy folk were the only exception.

Born to worship nature, they had a strong sense of their own territory. As beings who had existed in this world the longest after dragons, fairy folk didn’t despise humans, but they didn’t get close to them either. It was a different kind of arrogance from dragons, and perhaps because of this, humans often harbored strange fantasies about fairy folk.

But. “Lord, please be reasonable. Let’s think about this seriously. Humanly speaking, does it make sense for the Fairy King to personally come carrying my crown?”

“Why not?”

“It’s just a crown for a mere princess.”

“Mere, you say.”

“Ah, of course I’m different from ordinary princesses, but officially I’m not an emperor but a princess, so it doesn’t make sense to create such a special crown!” I tried to persuade Lerrhagen with passionate arguments.

However, Lerrhagen seemed to ignore my words and casually replied. “Not really.”

“……”

“I think it’s quite reasonable.”

At that, I was left speechless. How is that reasonable? From what I knew, the current Fairy King was an elder-level figure over eight hundred years old, respected even by other species.

To put eight hundred years in perspective, it meant he appeared in the ancient history section of the Royal Academy’s history books. For reference, Lerrhagen appears alongside Gela in Chapter 1, “Creation of Dimensions.” Anyway, this was absolutely not reasonable.

But despite my protests, Lerrhagen didn’t budge, and two days later, I became the first human to have the Fairy King kneeling before me. Let me emphasize again that this was absolutely not my intention.

“This humble king greets the daughter of the great Dragon Lord. May the blessings of nature and the gods be with you.”

I stared at the Fairy King, Oliphs, before me with a somewhat bewildered face. His wrinkled face, testifying to his long life, was filled with truly benevolent smiles. Dressed in a white robe that covered his entire body, with white faded hair swept back, and mysterious pale green eyes resembling leaves, he looked distinctly non-human, perhaps due to his slightly pointed ears.

That mysterious atmosphere gave the impression that he was some sort of natural devotee. Above all, his reverent appearance shocked not only me but also the palace staff who had come after hearing the rumors.

“Did he just say ‘humble’…?”

“Shh. She’s the Princess.”

“But how can the Fairy King kneel…?”

At people’s whispers, I lifted my head and swept my gaze over them. At that moment, whether because I showed the same look I had when I was emperor or because I was a princess, everyone immediately fell silent.

I thought about how best to handle this situation and soon spoke. “I am equally honored by your visit.”

In fact, if things were normal, I would have certainly shown him equal respect as an emperor of a nation. Therefore, even as an imperial princess, I couldn’t speak informally to him. But I was currently standing there as Lerrhagen’s daughter. Of course, I checked Oliphs’ expression after finishing my words. But surprisingly, there was no sign of displeasure on his face.

That’s when it happened. “You’ve come.”

With a small breeze created by the fluttering of his coat tails, Lerrhagen appeared behind me, though I didn’t know when he had arrived. I glanced disapprovingly at him, the source of this entire situation, yet looking completely unconcerned. However, standing beside me, he ignored my look and spoke. “The crown?”

“It is complete.”

Lerrhagen gave a slight nod. Oliphs smiled gently and extended both hands. White light began to gather between his hands. And in the blink of an eye, a sparkling crown appeared.

“…!”

The crown was made just the right size to be pretty without being excessive, but its splendor far surpassed other crowns. This was because it was too intricate to be made by human skill.

The thin platinum strands made of transparent, small diamonds spread gorgeously like rose vines, creating their own elegant curves. Between them, the jewels Lerrhagen had collected last time were set like flowers.

Shining with various colors yet strangely harmonizing with the crown, it was utterly captivating.

But what caught the eye even more was the bright red jewel set in the center of the crown. 

‘What is that? I don’t think I’ve seen anything like it before.’

I unconsciously stared at the crown, entranced, and fell into wonder. Did the fairy folk add it during the crafting process?

As I was thinking this, Lerrhagen, who had been quietly looking at the crown, suddenly reached out his hand. And. “Huh?” Lerrhagen leisurely took the crown from Oliphs’ hands. After examining the crown, Lerrhagen suddenly placed it on top of my head.

“What are you doing…?”

“It suits you well. Just keep wearing it.”

At Lerrhagen’s words, I made an incredulous face. Placing such an elaborate crown so casually and all he had to say was that it suited me? I couldn’t understand his intentions. Why did he do such excessive things so nonchalantly? Was it really because he was Lerrhagen? Was this nothing to him?

Thinking this, I pressed my lips together and fiddled with the crown. As if it had found its rightful owner, the crown remained fixed on my head without wobbling.

“It suits you well.”

“Thank you. Good job.”

Despite my rude tone, Oliphs laughed heartily. I looked around. Everyone seemed already shocked.

‘Well, I guess there’s nothing I can do about this now.’ I sighed deeply in resignation and shook my head. I was only playing the role of a temporary princess, but I might end up becoming a figure remembered throughout history. That was entirely possible at this point. But what’s done is done.

Thinking it would be good to at least exchange pleasantries, I opened my mouth. “Come inside for now. I can’t just send such an honored guest away. Mother would be pleased to see you too.”

“No. My mission was to deliver the crown. I cannot enter a place where I haven’t been invited.”

“It should be fine.” This was sincere. Although it would be a puppet greeting him, I didn’t want to hear that I had turned away the Fairy King at the door. However, Oliphs was surprisingly adamant. Emphasizing that his mission was strictly to deliver the crown, he shook his head while looking at the crown on my head.

“Just as fairy folk do not allow others into their territory, we do not step into others’ territories.”

“Oh.”

“Of course, today I came here on Lord Lerrhagen’s special order, but we are fairies who must harmonize with nature. We cannot leave our land for such a long time.”

At this, I felt somewhat amazed. I actually knew this. The fairy folk’s territorial consciousness was among the strongest of all other species. Yet he came here. Could Lerrhagen have forcibly brought him here? I thought he was the only one who did such things, but perhaps Lerrhagen was good at it too? With such useless thoughts, I nodded.

“Then I’ll formally invite you sometime.”

“It would be an honor. Now I shall take my leave.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Lerrhagen disappeared. At this perfectly timed exit, I made a “figures” face. For now, I thought I should at least show the courtesy of seeing Oliphs off as a princess, so I waited for him to leave. However, as Oliphs slowly turned around, he turned his head back as if remembering something.

“Come to think of it, there is one more thing Lord Lerrhagen commanded.”