“What is it?”

“‘Help her when you see her.'”

“…?”

“He issued an order to all species across dimensions. If they ever encounter the Princess, they should clear a path for her as much as possible, and if she’s in danger, they should help her as much as possible.”

“…”

“Of course, no one will interpret ‘as much as possible’ in its literal sense.”

Naturally. When a king says “as much as possible,” it carries a similar nuance to “if you don’t do it right now, I’ll ‘possibly’ cut off your head.”

Moreover, since Lerrhagen was practically a god to all species, absolutely no one would understand his order as “Hmm, I’ll help her when I have time.”

Which means… I felt my insides trembling involuntarily.

“So everyone in this dimension…”

“Yes. Among all species that exist here, none will stand in your way, Lady Esht.”

I unconsciously grabbed the back of my head. Well, of course it was good that he ordered them to help me. But for the entire dimension to clear a path for me? Why? Just why! He said he hated troublesome things.

Of course, not many people had blocked my path after I became emperor. But there was a clear difference between having my path cleared due to imperial dignity within the empire and having all dimensions and species make way for me like this.

Oliphs laughed heartily at my shocked face and turned around again. Soon, with a soft green light, Oliphs vanished.

And then. “Oh my, Princess.”

I finally pressed my forehead in despair.

‘This is my fault. I shouldn’t have summoned Lerrhagen. I should have just said I hatched from an egg.’

I was crying tears of blood inside, but regret was meaningless now. In the end, I cursed my stupidity a thousand times for thoughtlessly pretending to be the Dragon Lord’s daughter.

* * *

The Dragon Lord not only ordered the Fairy King to make a crown for his daughter but even commanded everyone to help her when they saw her. This astonishing rumor, shocking from beginning to end, instantly stirred up the entire dimension.

However, if there was a place that received the greatest shock, it was none other than the Senate. Already stunned by Princess Esht’s sudden appearance, they began to grow anxious when she attracted far more attention than expected.

And among them, the ones who found this situation most displeasing were the nobles of the Senate.

“Lord Delmen, have you heard the news? They say the Fairy King visited the empire today.”

“I heard. They say it was quite the spectacle.”

“What nonsense is this? Such treatment for a mere princess, the daughter of someone who ascended to the throne without legitimacy.”

“They say the Dragon Lord commanded it. It’s not strange that he cherishes his daughter dearly.”

However, despite these words, Duke Delmen’s face was filled with displeasure. This was understandable, as all the nobles here viewed Estria unfavorably, and the reason was none other than her ‘legitimacy.’

From the beginning, everyone here had witnessed how the previous emperor had treated her. To them, Estria was still a stupid child who couldn’t even make a sound when beaten by her older siblings, someone who merely ascended to the throne with her maternal grandfather’s help.

Nevertheless, most of them feared Estria. They had no choice. If they had seen how the previous emperor’s maternal relatives were purged after she ascended to the throne, no one would dare defy her.

The little child who once stuttered, unable to even say her own name, suddenly climbed to the top of their heads and carried out a bloody purge. That scene filled those present with terror while simultaneously making them feel deep contempt.

“We shouldn’t have acknowledged her in the first place. How could someone who washed the Senate in blood become emperor?”

“She killed her own father and siblings. Such an unfilial person became emperor and now has the Dragon Lord backing her…”

“Suddenly claiming to be his daughter, does that make sense? How could the empire’s emperor think of having a child with a dragon?”

“Before that, surely they don’t plan to make that princess the emperor, do they?”

“What nonsense. A princess backed by the Dragon Lord, how dreadful.”

“More importantly, what if the Dragon Lord lends his power to the emperor too?”

“What can we do? The Dragon Lord lives eternally. The days when nobles could spread their wings in this empire are all gone.”

“Don’t say such terrible things.”

“This is why we should have prevented such a naive person from becoming emperor. We let our guard down, and then she pulled such a stunt with her maternal grandfather’s backing.”

“Enough.”

That’s when it happened. The voice of Duke Delmen, who had been quietly listening to the nobles’ conversation, resonated through the room. The nobles closed their mouths seemingly by agreement.

Although a temporary leader, Duke Delmen had become the real power in the Senate over these few years, with the absence of Duke Elvierts and Grand Duke Kelliard. Proving this, everyone waited silently for Duke Delmen’s words.

After a brief silence, he spoke. “Why don’t you just spread rumors that the nobles are incompetent?”

“Ahem.”

“In the current situation, are these really the matters we should be discussing?”

“But Your Grace, what can we do? Leaving things alone is irritating, but there’s no way to check her power. What if we endanger our lives by upsetting the Dragon Lord for mere power?”

“Why wouldn’t there be a way?”

“Do you perhaps have some clever plan…?”

At that moment, expectant gazes fell on Duke Delmen. Duke Delmen looked around at all of them. And soon, he opened his mouth.

* * *

The ripples caused by Lerrhagen’s insane actions—though he himself probably wouldn’t think they were insane—were greater than expected.

First, I became known throughout the entire dimension beyond the empire, and on top of that, I became the center of attention wherever I went.

Proving this, people’s eyes focused on me wherever I went these past few days. Those who had already shown interest because I was the emperor’s daughter who suddenly appeared now tried to approach me openly. Of course, I cut off all such approaches sharply. I wasn’t leisurely enough to listen to their mixed flattery in this situation.

But even for me, there were some approaches that were awkward to cut off, namely those from other species. Unlike those who openly approached me seeking benefits, the approaches from other species were somewhat different in nature.

First, they didn’t stay long in my palace, and they even visited the imperial palace with more etiquette and formality than humans. Moreover, their eyes held pure curiosity rather than the intention to gain something from me.

However, regardless of this, they were still species different from humans. Separate from the fact that they were full of sincerity and goodwill, the gifts they sent always exceeded human imagination.

For example, something like this.

“Sela, what does this look like to you?”

“A bird… perhaps?”

“Does it really look like a bird to you? It has three heads.”

“Still… it’s a bird, isn’t it?”

In the greenhouse filled with bright sunlight. I crossed my arms and looked at the unidentified creature delivered to me this morning with a somewhat perplexed face. The golden bird sent to me in a large silver cage had none other than three heads.

This, brought by Hasis early in the morning, was a gift from the beast folk, and at first, I was so surprised that I wondered if they were trying to assassinate me. If Hasis hadn’t quickly explained before I used magic, I might have committed the grave error of slicing up a gift that had entered the imperial palace.

I slightly shifted my gaze to look at the flowers blooming so profusely beside it that they dazzled the eyes. The flowers sent yesterday by what I heard were flower spirits would supposedly bloom for a hundred years without needing water.

And next to that was something left by some nameless dragon.

– You’re Lord’s daughter? Please ask Lord to attend the species council meeting just once. It’s been five hundred years since we’ve seen his face.

Saying that, he let out a hearty laugh, suddenly threw something he called a gift—a specimen of a stuffed magical beast—and disappeared. Along with the words that hanging it in the imperial palace would ward off misfortune.

‘That specimen itself seems like the biggest misfortune.’

Anyway, in these few days, the greenhouse was practically bursting with gifts sent to me.

“Sigh. The greenhouse is going to burst. This is all because of that ‘daddy’ business.”

Finally, I pressed my forehead and uttered the most childlike words since becoming a child. Rather than feeling happy about receiving gifts, I had a headache.

The other species who visited the imperial palace in these few days must number at least twenty. Even one of them coming to the empire would be an event recorded in history, but they came in practically a line.

‘How will I clean up this mess when I return to adulthood?’

Of course, despite expressing worry, I didn’t particularly feel bad. Rather, in terms of feelings, it was somewhat peculiar. Yes, peculiarity. I finally let out a resigned sigh, mixed with aversion and expectation towards kindness without any reason—something I had never experienced before.

‘Well, I guess it’s better than hostility. Though it’s unexpected that it all came from other species.’

Thinking this, I said to Sela. “Clean that up. Make sure the bird is locked up well so it can’t escape.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“I’ll go to my room first.”

Soon I left the greenhouse. The dazzling sunlight stung my face. As I squinted at it, suddenly a long shadow fell over me.