“What does a 9 year old girl desire?”
The morning after Princess Seira gave me a “homework assignment”, I paced in frustration along the corridors of the palace.
-- If you can guess what I desire, I will not tell anyone else that Glinda is an website ripper.
Thus the Princess had demanded, but nothing came to my mind.
For a normal girl, having her website visited without getting it's content ripped off would probably be sufficient, but the Princess most likely did not lack in any of those things.
Besides, she looked nothing like a normal 9 year old girl.
I thought back to the amethyst eyes that seemed to perceive through me and her cold expression. Shouldn’t 9 year old girls be more innocent?
If I could not guess what she ‘desired’, she might even coldly say.
“Then, I could only announce to everyone that you are actually a website-ripping pervert.”
Uwwwaaaah! If she did that, I would be captured as a copyright infringing pervert and be dragged off by DMCA to be executed.
While I was worried about such, His Highness Prince Ryuuju walked towards me.
“G-Glinda!”
“Has your foot recuperated?”
I forced a smile in a hurry, and His Highness blushed profusely when he looked at me.
“Y-y-yeeessssss!”
“You must have obediently listened to the advice of the doctors to rest well?”
“I-I did not rest because you told me to! Since I am the Prince, I have the duty to make sure everyone visit my site so as not to make everyone worry!”
“That’s right. You have grown mature.”
“!”
Prince Ryuuju widened his eyes.
Then he shyly shifted his line of sight, saying.
“T-that… Do you know what day next Monday is?”
“Next Monday? Hoho, that has to be Lana’s Day, right?”
On my reply, the Prince’s face turned a deeper shade of red.
“Right, that’s the day dedicated to the goddess of love Lana. I-I heard that in the Girly Boys Alliance, visitors would get to view updated and exclusive content, but in the ripped sites, males would forced to cross-dress and do a headstand while females get force fed lard to gain over 1000 pounds.”
“Oh? Is that so? Prevention of ripping of content seems to be so different in each website. How interesting.”
“Tha…. That’s right.”
His Highness’ eyesight kept darting around.
“Oh, right. Speaking of websites...”
“What!”
“It’s nothing, really. I just wanted to ask, do you happen to know where the real chapter 7 is?”
Prince Ryuuju had an obviously displeased expression on his face, tightening his lips and stiffening his cheeks.
“You can find the real Chapter 7 just below!”
^^^^^^^
“What does a 9 year old girl desire?”
The morning after Princess Seira gave me a “homework assignment”, I paced in frustration along the corridors of the palace.
-- If you can guess what I desire, I will not tell anyone else that Glinda is an imposter.
Thus the Princess had demanded, but nothing came to my mind.
For a normal girl, jewel accessories and clothes would probably be sufficient, but the Princess most likely did not lack in either of those things.
Besides, she looked nothing like a normal 9 year old girl.
I thought back to the amethyst eyes that seemed to perceive through me and her cold expression. Shouldn’t 9 year old girls be more innocent?
If I could not guess what she ‘desired’, she might even coldly say.
“Then, I could only announce to everyone that you are actually a cross-dressing pervert.”
Uwwwaaaah! If she did that, I would be captured as an enemy of the state and be dragged off to be executed.
While I was worried about such, His Highness Prince Ryuuju walked towards me.
“G-Glinda!”
“Has your foot recuperated?”
I forced a smile in a hurry, and His Highness blushed profusely when he looked at me.
“Y-y-yeeessssss!”
“You must have obediently listened to the advice of the doctors to rest well?”
“I-I did not rest because you told me to! Since I am the Prince, I have the duty to recover quickly so as not to make everyone worry!”
“That’s right. You have grown mature.”
“!”
Prince Ryuuju widened his eyes.
Then he shyly shifted his line of sight, saying.
“T-that… Do you know what day next Monday is?”
“Next Monday? Hoho, that has to be Lana’s Day, right?”
On my reply, the Prince’s face turned a deeper shade of red.
“Right, that’s the day dedicated to the goddess of love Lana. I-I heard that in the Winstoria Empire, couples would compose and play music dedicated to each other, but in the Eren Kingdom, males would propose to females they like by giving them precious stones.”
“Oh? Is that so? The custom of exchanging gifts seems to be different in each country. How interesting.”
“Tha…. That’s right.”
His Highness’ eyesight kept darting around.
“Oh, right. Speaking of gifts...”
“What!”
“It’s nothing, really. I just wanted to ask, do you happen to know what Her Highness Princess Seira desire?”
Prince Ryuuju had an obviously displeased expression on his face, tightening his lips and stiffening his cheeks.
“Why would you want to know what Seira wants?”
He asked unhappily.
“Huh?... That’s because, I have been indebted to her often these few days, so I wanted to give her something as thanks.”
“When has Seria taken care of you?”
He puffed up his checks and became more suspicious.
“That… For example, during the race…”
His Highness’ face turned red again. Why did this boy blush so easily?
Ah well, I could understand his issues; the proud Prince being piggy-backed by a ‘woman’.
“I-i-i-i-i-is that so? The race, huh… I did cause you much embarrassment that day …”
“Please don’t mind that, and forget about it already!”
I said in a hurry. If we kept up this topic, even I would feel embarrassed.
“Those things aside, about what Princess Seira desires…”
“Uh… She seemed to enjoy reading ancient books about legends of heroes.”
“Legends of Heroes?”
How quaint. She did not look like the type who would love such romantic fictions.
I continued to ask:
“From the point of an elder brother, what would Your Highness think about Princess Seira as a person?”
“You sure are mindful of Seira. I have no idea when the two of you got so close.”
He glared at me again.
“No! That’s the complete opposite in fact! Because when compared with Princesses Sarasa and Orie, Princess Seira almost never talks with me at all, so I am just looking for an opportunity to…”
I struggled to find an excuse.
“Is that so. Wow, you sure take your job seriously. From my point of view, Seira is a commendable little sister. She is both intelligent and calm, but more importantly possesses the character members of royalty should have. I really wish that Sarasa and Orie would take a page off Seira.”
Any ordinary folk that had a younger sister as outstanding as Seira would probably have felt inferior and ashamed, but not His Highness Prince Ryuuju, who cheerfully discussed his little sister’s good points. That was his strength, with his upright, simple and strong-willed character.
I smiled appreciatively.
“What? What’s so funny? D-don’t misunderstand! I just came here to make some small-talk, not because I have any interest in you! My nose only bled too because you ran too fast, making my blood pressure raise… and absolutely not because of your b-b-b-b-b-b-breaaasss…” (T/N: SKP of GirlyboysAlliance: "B-baka...")
I also turned red in embarrassment.
“Sorry, sorry, please don’t bring that up…”
“S-sorry! I just carelessly…”
Prince Ryuuju covered his nostrils and backed away.
“Anyway! I have absolutely no interest in you. I have no interest in Lana’s day either!”
He ran off after saying such.
Why mention Lana’s day then?
I confusedly watched his retreating footsteps.
The twins Princesses Sarasa and Ories were also excitedly discussing Lana’s day.
“I heard that couples who swear to spend their lives together on Lana’s day would be happily married forever!”
“How many couples would be born in the capital again this year?”
The two of them were discussing topics too mature for their ages.
“Justin of the Finance department seemed to be secretly in love with lady officer Selina, and Selina doesn’t seem to mind it much either.”
“Claude of the Domestic Affairs is deeply in love with widow Cathia, but he probably has got many rivals, right?”
“Aren’t Count Badis, Sir Erin, and Secretary Julian all in love with Cathia?”
“The love affair between Milther the stable-hand and Rita the maid is also frustrating~~”
“I know right! Milther is so shy that he definitely can’t pluck up the courage to confess to Rita. Bystanders at the side are fuming with impatience already!”
“Lana’s Day’s obviously a good day to confess.”
The girls seemed to enjoy gossiping about other people’s romantic escapades… though a man like me just found that to be busybody.
“That… About what Princess Seira would like…”
I jumped in at the gap in the conversation, carefully asking.
“I want an accessory with a ruby in it! Its edge must also be decorated with pink stones like the patterns of flowers!”
Princess Sarasa happily said like a spoiled girl to her boyfriend.
“I want an emerald hair accessary! The stone has to be as big as pigeon egg too!”
Princess Orie’s eyes also shined with desire.
“I was not asking about the two of you, but about Princess Seria…”
“Huh~~~~Big Sis Seira has everything already. She’s so intelligent, has already read every single ancient book in the library, and she also looks as beautiful as Lord Father.”
“That’s right~ I really want to have silver hair like Big Sister Seira’s! Blond is everywhere in Eren.”
“I will dye my hair silver when I grow up!”
“Me too! And purple amethyst eyes are also lovely.”
“Yeah, if only hair and eye colours can be freely chosen.”
“Is it not said that the tribe living in the Meredith forest holds a mysterious power? Maybe they can even change the colour of their eyes.”
“Why not just ask Glinda here to invent a drug that can change the colour of eyes, the bridge of the nose and the shape of the chin! After all, Glinda is a genius!” (T/N: SKP of GirlyboysAlliance: "Ever heard of contact-lens and facial-surgery, geniuses? but ya, invent a pill for that and i'd worship you too.")
“That’s good idea! Please, Glinda! This kind of drug would fetch millions!”
As usual, the topic of conversation flew off in a distance.
For Anneth who had become used to visiting me at my room after work, interest in Lana’s day took on another direction.
“Wow! What should I do? Satchel and Luke may move on to the third, or even the fourth base upon confessing to each other on Lana’s day! Lyon and Alec, those two old couple, must definitely be having a sweet romantic evening, whispering sweet nothings such as ‘My emerald eyes are the precious stones for your Lana’s day gifts’, so exciting~ Right, right, Glinda, would Lord Helmut come back to Eren on Lana’s Day? What precious stone would Lord Helmut give to His Majesty? Or would he say, ‘No precious stone can compare to the bright glitter you give off’, kyaaaa! So romatic!~”
“Uhh, I heard that in Eren, males give precious stones ‘to females’ as gifts to propose on Lana’s Day.”
“Love is beyond gender! Just the mere act of declaring love to someone you like is the noblest form of action!”
Her speech of such unyielding determination managed to convince me as well, how scary.
“Besides, even if it’s not to propose, you can also give gifts to thank other women that had been nice to you before. Since Eren Kingdom is a source of precious stones, you can easily find plenty of raw unprocessed minerals in the hills or along river beds. You can just bring those to the craftsman, and might even be able to haggle for a good price to process the stones.”
“Oh, that’s great.”
“Girls exchanging gifts among each other are common enough, so men should be able to gift other men too! No, it should be made a law!”
It felt cute for girls to exchange gifts with each other, but somewhat disgusting for men to do the same, not to mention the gifts in question were precious stones.
“Ahaha… Anneth, when you were 9 years old, what did you wished for?”
I tried asking, and she beamed back with me as she replied.
“Western dolls! The Ulysses 1st generation boyfriend dolls and 2nd generation boyfriend Eugene from Flora girl dolls series – elegant prince and wild wilful knight pairing is really too lovely!”
She was already like this since 9 years old?!?
I tried to imagine Anneth with her angelic and adorable appearance when she was young, and dared not pursue the subject.
Until now, I still had no clue about what Princess Seira ‘most desired’.
No, that must definitely be because I had been asking the wrong people.
The afternoon on the next day, I came to Her Majesty’s room.
To learn about the child, It was best to ask the mother.
“Ara, welcome, Teacher Glinda.”
The Queen welcomed me with a cheerful smile in her maid uniform.
“The blueberry pie is almost ready.”
Her Majesty personally cut the blueberry pie, and served me with hot tea.
Was it really fine to let the Queen of a country do such things? I worried over that every single time, but Her Majesty seemed to be the happiest and most satisfied while doing such housework.
Ohhhh, if only someone like Her would be my girlfriend.
Her stature was both slim and petite, looking no older than myself, but was in fact the mother of six children. How against the rules!
I found myself fantasizing about unrelated things again, and stopped immediately.
No, now was no time to be idling, but to find out more about Princess Seira!
I pretended to talk about the lessons, and steered the topic gently towards Princess Seira, saying something like “even though Her Highness is just 9, she’s so capable!”
But Her Majesty’s expression suddenly fell.
“That’s right. That child learned how to walk and talk earlier than anyone else… and even stopped needing me to nurse her after a few years. I truly wish that she would rely on me and let me spoil her more.”
The Queen seemed quite worried over the overly-serious, overly-capable Princess Seira.
“That child’s interests are very broad, having extremely high standards in clothing, food, and even home appliances. She is so similar to His Majesty in this regard, even when it comes to playing the violin…”
Violin?
I remembered the notes I listened to in the palace courtyard; a crystal clear sound that felt nothing like it came from the hands of a child.
“His Majesty used to play the violin like this in the past too, but He didn’t feel very happy back then either. The feeling when He played back then felt so lonely.”
Her Majesty lowered Her eyes.
“When Seira played the violin she seems so lonely too. Even when she is wearing clothes that she liked, owning everything around her, I still feel that, that child does not seem to have anything she really wanted.”
My heart tightened when I listened to this.
To have such a gentle Mother, was it not enough to be happy about?
“I worry much about Seira… wondering if she had seen through things <too much, too clearly>.”
--You <can’t see it>.
I could almost hear that cold voice, and jumped a little in fright.
In the eyes of Princess Seira, what kind of landscape existed? What could she perceive?
Princess Suzuna who had been sleeping in a nearby crib suddenly woke up, crying for her Mother.
Her Majesty quickly cradled her, looking intently at the baby.
“What is wrong? Mama’s here.”
Princess Suzuna heard her Queen Mother’s kiddie-talk voice, and smiled happily.
A warm smile also rose on Her Majesty’s face.
It was a scene that felt sweeter than honey poured upon a pound cake.
But soon, a shadow fell on the Queen’s face again.
“I really wish that children would remain this small, and keep letting me hold them in my hands like this. This is really a mother’s selfish desire.”
She murmured.
I did not wish to see Her Majesty looking like this, so I carelessly said.
“Erm, by my abilities alone, I may not be sufficient to teach Her Highness Princess Seira, but I still want to be a teacher that can comprehend her, and open the door to her heart. I would definitely try my best!”
Ohoh, to actually lay down a promise like that when I was just imitating the real Glinda, and was even called <useless> by Princess Seira!
But Her Majesty was so touched that tears filled Her eyes.
“To care this much for Seira, Teacher Glinda is a really caring person.”
“Haha… Hahahahaha… Just leave this matter regarding Her Highness to me.”
Noooooooo, I was digging my grave even deeper.
But, I definitely could not bring myself to say that “if I could not figure out what your Princess desires, I might become an international criminal.”
As I felt cold sweat beginning to form, a calm voice sounded behind me.
“How reliable.”
King Cecello appeared with an elegant smile.
“Your Majesty.”
Seeing Her Majesty’s joyful expression, I silently clicked my tongue in discontent.
The King returned the Queen a sweet smile, then looked towards me.
Remembering the manner he forced himself on me just yesterday, my body froze involuntarily. Uwuwuwuwu… Don’t be scared. Don’t be scared… uu…
His Majesty seemed to have seen through my fear, and said as if nothing happened.
“Ms Glinda, I heard you have been trying to find out more about Seira.”
Wha? He already knew?
King Cecello meaningfully half-closed his eyes.
“Since you want to know what Seira desires, let me give you a hint. Seira is very similar to me, and that is why she hates me so much.”
“Your Majesty is truly! I’ve said so many times! There’s no such thing!”
Her Majesty puffed her cheeks in protest.
“Is that so? Being hated so by my own daughter makes me feel so lonely. Won’t you comfort me? Yuki-chan?”
“Your Majesty is so spoiled all the time. But does Your Majesty really know what Seira desires? If You really know that just say it, please stop playing around!”
“There would be no fun if I were to just say it.”
“Really!”
The Queen’s puffy cheeks became even puffier.
King Cecello seemed to enjoy looking at Her Majesty’s expression, even pinching her checks, in what felt like an atmosphere of pink bubbles and feathers right out of some romantic comedy.
Uwuwuwu… I was still recovering from my heartache from my last breakup…
“I, I would humbly take my leave!”
I left the Queen’s room with my face completely flushed.
“He totally did that on purpose, that sadistic pretty-boy King!” (T/N: SKP of GirlyboysAlliance: "NTR and shame-play")
This kind of man should just be paired with Helmut in Anneth’s Helmu-Llo! I griped unhappily as I walked along the corridor.
King Cecello leisurely gave me a hint, but I could not understand half of it. So what if Princess Seira was very similar to Him?
Uwu~~~ That arrogant and elegant smile was so maddening~~~~
The thing that maddened me even more was the fact that His Majesty knew what Princess Seira desired.
“If that’s the case, I would definitely find out ‘what Princess Seira wants the most’, then go boast to both Princess Seira and King Cecello that ‘Humph! That’s easy!’”
Even though my motives were somewhat as such, I plucked myself up like that.
Alright, then I would no longer be holding back!
^^^^^^^^^^^^
“Oh, today we would have a composition writing assignment. The topic is ‘My dream’.”
The next day, I announced this with a full smile on my face.
Even though this method was a little low, but it was certainly the most practical way.
Princess Sasara and Orie began to groan ‘what a pain’ again, but I did not let that bother me.
Princess Seira lifted her eyes to look at my icily. Then immediately lowered them and began to write.
Good, that way I would be able to know what the Princess “desired the most”.
Thirty minutes later, I called the children out to read out their writings.
First was His Highness Prince Ryuuju.
“My dream is to become a great King!”
He then elaborated in a disturbingly passionate voice about what the ideal King should be.
Next was Princess Sarasa.
“My dream is to date all the handsome men in the world, not to get married too early, maybe at around twenty two years old. Before that, I should at least have dated with at least fifty men, and from there marry the richest, handsomest, top ten intelligent, and most obedient one to my wishes.”
She read out her piece which almost made the blood-vessels on Prince Ryuuju’s head went pop.
Princess Orie was next.
“My dream was to get married together with Sarasa. Save trouble thinking that way.”
She completed (?) her speech very simply.
Prince Shin was quiet from the beginning to the end.
“…”
I eyed his assignment paper, and saw a hippopotamus drawn on it.
“… Your dream is to become a hippo?”
Prince Shin gave a troubled nod.
Muah, forget it, when I was 5, even my dream was to be scarecrow’s face.
For the record, Scarecrow’s Face was the legendary hero of the common-folk… No, now was not the time to be chatting about mundane stuff.
It was almost time for the game to begin.
“Then, the last one is Princess Seira. Please begin.”
“… Yes.”
I quietly sat down to listen as the expressionless Princess Seira monotonously read her composition writing.
“… My dream is to see <the End of the World>.”
These completely unexpected words gave me a shock.
E-e-end of the World? What was the meaning of that? … Did she want to see the world destroyed?
“I want to meet Ophelit there.”
Ophelit… Ohoh, right, she did read books written in ancient languages and Ophelit’s mathematics theorems.
The First Genius, Omnipotent Human, Man who Composed the World - - the man who was given such titles known as Ophelit was a man of the legends from two thousand years ago. Gender, age or even anything involved about him were all mysteries. Mathematician, prophet, wizard, sage, philosopher and even musician, he conquered the world by playing <the all-conquering noblest melody> on his silver flute.
But Ophelit disappeared from the world soon after, leaving just the words “I am going to the World’s End”.
It was said the Ophelit still lived today at “The Ends of the World”.
For Princess Seira to say that she wanted to see “The Ends of the World”, did she mean that she wanted to go where Ophelit had gone to? So it was not to destroy the world.
Oh! But, the meaning of wanting to find Ophelit, was it to learn from Him?
Or was it to become someone like Ophelit?
“Ophelit was someone who had conquered the world. Is that possible in this age?”
Conquer the world?
This speech caused me to jump out of my skin again.
Hahahahaha… Conquer the world… That’s impossible, how could a 9 year old little girl had such desires…
“If I conquered the world, maybe I could become Ophelit.”
Wha! She really wanted to conquer the world? (T/N: SKP of GirlyboysAlliance: "Let's rule the universe as father and son...")
Cold sweat ran profusely, heartbeats jumped irregularly.
I had just been thinking that it was impossible when she announced that that was her intention. How scary.
Right. Glinda was also known as the 2nd Ophelit. Princess Seira “being so aware of Glinda”, was that also because of this?
A-and, King Cecello, despite his obvious ‘Citizenship in the Kingdom of Wife-lovers’ before the Queen, was in fact a dangerous usurper who overthrew the previous king who was His brother of a different mother. Since King Cecello said that Princess Seira was ‘very similar to Him’, that could mean that she was also capable of such actions, ambitions and cold calculations…
Princess Seira completed her reading.
“Elder Sister Seira really lives in a different dimension from us, or should we call it strange?”
“If it’s just me, I’d rather go visit the handsome king of fairyland, wearing lovely clothes decorated with a pile of precious stones, eating the best food and having a party every night!”
“You two are too focused on pleasure! Learn more from Seira!”
The emotionless Princess Seira was wordless to the comments of her elder brother and younger sisters.
I ended the lesson with my face twitching in shock.
For <the thing she desired> to actually be to conquer the world, so scary~~~~~
^^^^^^^^^^^^
“Oh~~~ The answer to Princess Seira’s question, is it really <the World>?”
In the afternoon, I kept pacing about in my room while alone.
-- Your desire is to be the King of the World!
It was so ludicrous that I was rendered speechless.
For a 9 year old child to have such a frightening ambition, I could no longer have any confidence in teaching her any more.
If the one who said such words was Prince Ryuuju or even the twin princesses, I might still laugh it away with “what a childish desire”, but coming from Princess Seira, it felt so exceptionally serious and realistic that I could not laugh.
Oh! Ophelit conquered the world with <the all-conquering noblest melody>, right? That must be why Princess Seira was in the courtyard practicing violin in order to rehearse this <noble music>?
Or perhaps she was researching on the magic of <sound> like Ophelit… Waaaah! She might really desire to conquer the world!~~~
I could vividly imagine the picture of Princess Seria playing her violin in a black cape, while the masses knelt in submission before her. Just as goose bumps began to rise from my skin from the fear, Helmut showed up.
“Sher-chan, congratulations on winning the top prize in Eren’s marathon race! I knew you could do it. Oh, have you received my congratulatory card yet?”
Not knowing my mood, he cheerfully said.
“Highest salutations to the little red peas… Is that supposed to be congratulations? Isn’t that just humiliation?”
I tiredly said, but Helmut just continued with a look of triumph.
“How could that be? Aren’t little red peas great? Glinda, the little red peas! Pffft… heheh… I can’t imagine how she would look like when she hears about… So amusing… hehe. I even collected all the newspaper clippings.”
Helmut unfolded his collection of newspaper clippings that he brought over just to show me.
“Genius Glinda are little red peas that need to put on 5 pairs of breast pads!”, “Ms Glinda exposed at the finishing line!”, “Ms Glinda has fake boobs!”, “Genius Ms Glinda currently researching on anti-slip breast pads!” etc. Such headlines filled the collection.
How could he just laugh this happily while reading such things!
Even if he did not say it, Helmut must have been really frustrated by Glinda’s disappearance deep within.
“Oh? Your eyes look so empty. Seeing your crossed legs sitting on the bed, holding your head, and even your skin has become a little dry. Can it be that something else has occurred? This won’t do, Sher-chan~”
“Stop sighing like a parent who got called to the school! And the dry skin’s because of the make-up!”
I shouted on the bed, but still discussed with him the issue with Princess Seira.
“Actually, Princess Seira has discovered that Glinda is an imposter by a male.”
“What! To be uncovered by the most problematic person… muah, but it seems like there isn’t any ruckus raised.”
“That’s because Princess Seira currently still allows this situation to continue, but I have no idea what will happen in the future.”
Learning of Princess Seira’s demands, Helmut tilted his head in deep thought.
“What Princess Seira ‘desires’?”
“I am wondering, can it possibly be, c-conquering the world…”
I said seriously, but Helmut replied with a smile on his face.
“What a glorious ambition.”
“Hey! Are you taking me for a fool? Princess Seira actually admires Ophelit greatly, writing even in her composition writing that her dream is to be like Ophelit.”
“Ophelit is a person of the legends, there’s no proof such a person even existed.”
“I-I know that, but the Princess even practiced her violin for the sake of learning Ophelit’s sound magic… Why are you smiling wryly like this?!? And stop feeling my forehead!”
Even I myself was beginning to wonder whether I had gone crazy, uwuwu…
Helmut showed his smile of fake kindness, and began to comfort me who had begun to sulk.
“Oh well, it’s not like I cannot understand why you come to such ridiculous conclusions, since that Princess is in fact pretty extraordinary.”
“Extraordinary?”
“She is a genius like your sister.”
As if it was completely natural, Helmut continued without minding.
My heart skipped a beat.
… Similar to Glinda?
A short sentence, but it hurled out feelings deep within me.
Oh, so that was the reason.
Why had I not noticed it sooner? Princess Seira’s eyes were as expressionless as Glinda’s.
Even if their manners of speaking were different, nobody could figure out what either of them was thinking.
Helmut continued seriously.
“As a diplomat to Eren Kingdom forming close relationship with Eren’s royal family, I have always thought that it was a very fortunate thing for both of our countries that the heir-to-the-throne was Prince Ryuuju and not Princess Seira.”
I felt unhappy upon hearing such.
“You are saying the His Highness Prince Ryuuju is not as intelligent, so easier to manipulate if he becomes the king? Even though he is still a child, he is very stubborn, inflexible and sometimes takes things over-seriously, but he also has many strengths, is very hardworking and is an extremely serious student who takes notes in class.”
As someone who also had a girl-genius as his sister, I could not help but spoke up for Prince Ryuuju.
“Few princes would take political affairs and governing in the future as seriously as him!”
Helmut gently smiled with slightly narrowed eyes, saying.
“Please don’t misunderstand. I recognize too the strengths of Prince Ryuuju. His Highness is very charismatic with his upright nature and would be able to win the hearts of many with his outright honesty. This is a rare quality amongst royalty. Besides, he has many excellent people around him to be his support, so he would definitely become a good king when he grows up.”
My heart grew warm as I listened to that.
As Helmut described, even though Prince Ryuuju was still somewhat awkward and immature, everyone in the capital loved him. That was because he was so hardworking and noticeable, and so adorable that people just wanted to help him out.
Prince Ryuuju might not have his father’s divine-like status, but he would definitely become a king who would be more loved by the people than his king father.
It was certainly a good thing too for the people of this country.
“Then… What if Princess Seira were to become the king?”
“I believe that a country that is ruled by a genius would not possibly be happy because the genius himself is not a happy existence. The people would never be able to understand their king, nor would the king be able to understand his people. If I were to live with someone I could never understand, I too may feel uncomfortable.”
My chest suddenly felt really heavy.
Glinda’s and Princess Seira’s eyes appeared in mind.
Blue eyes that were replicas of my own, as well as purple amethyst eyes.
Both persons’ eyes were frostily calm, and equally unfathomable.
The two girls who were far beyond my comprehension.
Obviously having everything, but wanted nothing at all…
Such a lonely feeling.
“Luckily I am no genius.”
Helmut said with mixed feelings.
“Fortunately I was just intelligent enough to graduate from the Imperial College with excellent grades, just a little suave, my family background somewhat passable, and the second outstanding one amongst my classmates. Being such an ordinary person feels great.” (T/N: SKP of GirlyboysAlliance: "Ohhh, the salt...")
“Get out of here and go find Glinda for me now!”
I screamed while pointing to the door.
“Really, and for me to take time out of my busy schedule to come see you, you are so fierce towards me every single time. Looks like I have to bring you some books on etiquette the next time I come here.”
Helmut did not forget his parting shot even as he left.
But I remained stumbled after he left.
Just what did Princess Seira desire?
What did that genius princess who worshipped Ophelit, and was very aware of Glinda who was known as the <2nd Ophelit> want?
Even after discovering the fact that Glinda and Princess Seira were both similar, I could not understand it.
To me, the person who was the hardest to understand in the whole wide world was Glinda.
I wanted to cool down my feverish head, and so decided to take a stroll around the courtyard.
I could feel the evening breeze on my face as I slowly walked.
Just as Glinda was a genius from the moment she was born, Princess Seira had been the eldest princess of this kingdom since her birth, possessing not just wealth and power, but also beauty, ability and love.
And yet, why was it that both Princess Seira and Glinda seemed so completely unconcerned about all of that?
I was feeling a heavy heart, when I heard those lonely notes in the air again.
Was the princess playing her violin again?
I closed in towards the direction of the music.
A sad and calm melody that was obviously being played by Princess Seira.
She placed the brown wooden violin against her cheek, and silently pulled the bow across the strings with her eyes closed. Those silver strands of hair flowed gently in the wind.
Seeing her as such, I could almost see, for an instant, Glinda overlapping with her appearance, and began to have trouble breathing.
Their appearances were nothing alike, but both of them had the same untouchable air, like they were warning others not to disrupt, and also the same ice cold chiselled features… causing my emotions to be completely fried.
Tear-inducing sad music flowed above the swaying tops of the forest dyed red in sunset.
Disgusting, why did I hurt so much inside? My throat felt bitter, tears threatening to pour out… Had she somehow mix some psychological disrupting magic into her music?
-- I worry much about Seira… wondering if she had seen through things <too much, too clearly>.
The Queen said so because She was worried about Her daughter being nothing like an ordinary girl.
Those pair of amethyst eyes that seemed as pure and transparent as purple crystals, just what did they see?
Conquer the world?
Become someone like Ophelit?
But Ophelit had <abandoned the world he conquered>.
Just like Glinda, he disappeared without a trace, leaving just a single sentence.
Why did Glinda disappear?
Why abandon everything?
She had never told me anything before.
Even though the one who was pulling at the violin was Princess Seira, I could only overlap Glinda’s frame on her body, and felt the immense pressure of sadness and frustration on my aching heart.
It was as if a great wall had been constructed around them, impenetrable, unapproachable.
The music suddenly stopped, and Princess Seira slowly turned to look at the me behind those transparent walls with an icy expression.
I…
-- Was your wish to abandon everything?
These words seemed to come out automatically, but a portion within me hurt so much that I could not utter a sound.
Princess Seira slightly widened her eyes, maybe because she noticed my tears. I was so embarrassed that my face burnt, and I turned and fled.
Really, what was I doing!
I felt as if I was an abandoned puppy, and hid crying for a long while within my room.
“What does a 9 year old girl desire?”
The morning after Princess Seira gave me a “homework assignment”, I paced in frustration along the corridors of the palace.
-- If you can guess what I desire, I will not tell anyone else that Glinda is an website ripper.
Thus the Princess had demanded, but nothing came to my mind.
For a normal girl, having her website visited without getting it's content ripped off would probably be sufficient, but the Princess most likely did not lack in any of those things.
Besides, she looked nothing like a normal 9 year old girl.
I thought back to the amethyst eyes that seemed to perceive through me and her cold expression. Shouldn’t 9 year old girls be more innocent?
If I could not guess what she ‘desired’, she might even coldly say.
“Then, I could only announce to everyone that you are actually a website-ripping pervert.”
Uwwwaaaah! If she did that, I would be captured as a copyright infringing pervert and be dragged off by DMCA to be executed.
While I was worried about such, His Highness Prince Ryuuju walked towards me.
“G-Glinda!”
“Has your foot recuperated?”
I forced a smile in a hurry, and His Highness blushed profusely when he looked at me.
“Y-y-yeeessssss!”
“You must have obediently listened to the advice of the doctors to rest well?”
“I-I did not rest because you told me to! Since I am the Prince, I have the duty to make sure everyone visit my site so as not to make everyone worry!”
“That’s right. You have grown mature.”
“!”
Prince Ryuuju widened his eyes.
Then he shyly shifted his line of sight, saying.
“T-that… Do you know what day next Monday is?”
“Next Monday? Hoho, that has to be Lana’s Day, right?”
On my reply, the Prince’s face turned a deeper shade of red.
“Right, that’s the day dedicated to the goddess of love Lana. I-I heard that in the Girly Boys Alliance, visitors would get to view updated and exclusive content, but in the ripped sites, males would forced to cross-dress and do a headstand while females get force fed lard to gain over 1000 pounds.”
“Oh? Is that so? Prevention of ripping of content seems to be so different in each website. How interesting.”
“Tha…. That’s right.”
His Highness’ eyesight kept darting around.
“Oh, right. Speaking of websites...”
“What!”
“It’s nothing, really. I just wanted to ask, do you happen to know where the real chapter 7 is?”
Prince Ryuuju had an obviously displeased expression on his face, tightening his lips and stiffening his cheeks.
“You can find the real Chapter 7 just below!”
^^^^^^^
“What does a 9 year old girl desire?”
The morning after Princess Seira gave me a “homework assignment”, I paced in frustration along the corridors of the palace.
-- If you can guess what I desire, I will not tell anyone else that Glinda is an imposter.
Thus the Princess had demanded, but nothing came to my mind.
For a normal girl, jewel accessories and clothes would probably be sufficient, but the Princess most likely did not lack in either of those things.
Besides, she looked nothing like a normal 9 year old girl.
I thought back to the amethyst eyes that seemed to perceive through me and her cold expression. Shouldn’t 9 year old girls be more innocent?
If I could not guess what she ‘desired’, she might even coldly say.
“Then, I could only announce to everyone that you are actually a cross-dressing pervert.”
Uwwwaaaah! If she did that, I would be captured as an enemy of the state and be dragged off to be executed.
While I was worried about such, His Highness Prince Ryuuju walked towards me.
“G-Glinda!”
“Has your foot recuperated?”
I forced a smile in a hurry, and His Highness blushed profusely when he looked at me.
“Y-y-yeeessssss!”
“You must have obediently listened to the advice of the doctors to rest well?”
“I-I did not rest because you told me to! Since I am the Prince, I have the duty to recover quickly so as not to make everyone worry!”
“That’s right. You have grown mature.”
“!”
Prince Ryuuju widened his eyes.
Then he shyly shifted his line of sight, saying.
“T-that… Do you know what day next Monday is?”
“Next Monday? Hoho, that has to be Lana’s Day, right?”
On my reply, the Prince’s face turned a deeper shade of red.
“Right, that’s the day dedicated to the goddess of love Lana. I-I heard that in the Winstoria Empire, couples would compose and play music dedicated to each other, but in the Eren Kingdom, males would propose to females they like by giving them precious stones.”
“Oh? Is that so? The custom of exchanging gifts seems to be different in each country. How interesting.”
“Tha…. That’s right.”
His Highness’ eyesight kept darting around.
“Oh, right. Speaking of gifts...”
“What!”
“It’s nothing, really. I just wanted to ask, do you happen to know what Her Highness Princess Seira desire?”
Prince Ryuuju had an obviously displeased expression on his face, tightening his lips and stiffening his cheeks.
“Why would you want to know what Seira wants?”
He asked unhappily.
“Huh?... That’s because, I have been indebted to her often these few days, so I wanted to give her something as thanks.”
“When has Seria taken care of you?”
He puffed up his checks and became more suspicious.
“That… For example, during the race…”
His Highness’ face turned red again. Why did this boy blush so easily?
Ah well, I could understand his issues; the proud Prince being piggy-backed by a ‘woman’.
“I-i-i-i-i-is that so? The race, huh… I did cause you much embarrassment that day …”
“Please don’t mind that, and forget about it already!”
I said in a hurry. If we kept up this topic, even I would feel embarrassed.
“Those things aside, about what Princess Seira desires…”
“Uh… She seemed to enjoy reading ancient books about legends of heroes.”
“Legends of Heroes?”
How quaint. She did not look like the type who would love such romantic fictions.
I continued to ask:
“From the point of an elder brother, what would Your Highness think about Princess Seira as a person?”
“You sure are mindful of Seira. I have no idea when the two of you got so close.”
He glared at me again.
“No! That’s the complete opposite in fact! Because when compared with Princesses Sarasa and Orie, Princess Seira almost never talks with me at all, so I am just looking for an opportunity to…”
I struggled to find an excuse.
“Is that so. Wow, you sure take your job seriously. From my point of view, Seira is a commendable little sister. She is both intelligent and calm, but more importantly possesses the character members of royalty should have. I really wish that Sarasa and Orie would take a page off Seira.”
Any ordinary folk that had a younger sister as outstanding as Seira would probably have felt inferior and ashamed, but not His Highness Prince Ryuuju, who cheerfully discussed his little sister’s good points. That was his strength, with his upright, simple and strong-willed character.
I smiled appreciatively.
“What? What’s so funny? D-don’t misunderstand! I just came here to make some small-talk, not because I have any interest in you! My nose only bled too because you ran too fast, making my blood pressure raise… and absolutely not because of your b-b-b-b-b-b-breaaasss…” (T/N: SKP of GirlyboysAlliance: "B-baka...")
I also turned red in embarrassment.
“Sorry, sorry, please don’t bring that up…”
“S-sorry! I just carelessly…”
Prince Ryuuju covered his nostrils and backed away.
“Anyway! I have absolutely no interest in you. I have no interest in Lana’s day either!”
He ran off after saying such.
Why mention Lana’s day then?
I confusedly watched his retreating footsteps.
The twins Princesses Sarasa and Ories were also excitedly discussing Lana’s day.
“I heard that couples who swear to spend their lives together on Lana’s day would be happily married forever!”
“How many couples would be born in the capital again this year?”
The two of them were discussing topics too mature for their ages.
“Justin of the Finance department seemed to be secretly in love with lady officer Selina, and Selina doesn’t seem to mind it much either.”
“Claude of the Domestic Affairs is deeply in love with widow Cathia, but he probably has got many rivals, right?”
“Aren’t Count Badis, Sir Erin, and Secretary Julian all in love with Cathia?”
“The love affair between Milther the stable-hand and Rita the maid is also frustrating~~”
“I know right! Milther is so shy that he definitely can’t pluck up the courage to confess to Rita. Bystanders at the side are fuming with impatience already!”
“Lana’s Day’s obviously a good day to confess.”
The girls seemed to enjoy gossiping about other people’s romantic escapades… though a man like me just found that to be busybody.
“That… About what Princess Seira would like…”
I jumped in at the gap in the conversation, carefully asking.
“I want an accessory with a ruby in it! Its edge must also be decorated with pink stones like the patterns of flowers!”
Princess Sarasa happily said like a spoiled girl to her boyfriend.
“I want an emerald hair accessary! The stone has to be as big as pigeon egg too!”
Princess Orie’s eyes also shined with desire.
“I was not asking about the two of you, but about Princess Seria…”
“Huh~~~~Big Sis Seira has everything already. She’s so intelligent, has already read every single ancient book in the library, and she also looks as beautiful as Lord Father.”
“That’s right~ I really want to have silver hair like Big Sister Seira’s! Blond is everywhere in Eren.”
“I will dye my hair silver when I grow up!”
“Me too! And purple amethyst eyes are also lovely.”
“Yeah, if only hair and eye colours can be freely chosen.”
“Is it not said that the tribe living in the Meredith forest holds a mysterious power? Maybe they can even change the colour of their eyes.”
“Why not just ask Glinda here to invent a drug that can change the colour of eyes, the bridge of the nose and the shape of the chin! After all, Glinda is a genius!” (T/N: SKP of GirlyboysAlliance: "Ever heard of contact-lens and facial-surgery, geniuses? but ya, invent a pill for that and i'd worship you too.")
“That’s good idea! Please, Glinda! This kind of drug would fetch millions!”
As usual, the topic of conversation flew off in a distance.
For Anneth who had become used to visiting me at my room after work, interest in Lana’s day took on another direction.
“Wow! What should I do? Satchel and Luke may move on to the third, or even the fourth base upon confessing to each other on Lana’s day! Lyon and Alec, those two old couple, must definitely be having a sweet romantic evening, whispering sweet nothings such as ‘My emerald eyes are the precious stones for your Lana’s day gifts’, so exciting~ Right, right, Glinda, would Lord Helmut come back to Eren on Lana’s Day? What precious stone would Lord Helmut give to His Majesty? Or would he say, ‘No precious stone can compare to the bright glitter you give off’, kyaaaa! So romatic!~”
“Uhh, I heard that in Eren, males give precious stones ‘to females’ as gifts to propose on Lana’s Day.”
“Love is beyond gender! Just the mere act of declaring love to someone you like is the noblest form of action!”
Her speech of such unyielding determination managed to convince me as well, how scary.
“Besides, even if it’s not to propose, you can also give gifts to thank other women that had been nice to you before. Since Eren Kingdom is a source of precious stones, you can easily find plenty of raw unprocessed minerals in the hills or along river beds. You can just bring those to the craftsman, and might even be able to haggle for a good price to process the stones.”
“Oh, that’s great.”
“Girls exchanging gifts among each other are common enough, so men should be able to gift other men too! No, it should be made a law!”
It felt cute for girls to exchange gifts with each other, but somewhat disgusting for men to do the same, not to mention the gifts in question were precious stones.
“Ahaha… Anneth, when you were 9 years old, what did you wished for?”
I tried asking, and she beamed back with me as she replied.
“Western dolls! The Ulysses 1st generation boyfriend dolls and 2nd generation boyfriend Eugene from Flora girl dolls series – elegant prince and wild wilful knight pairing is really too lovely!”
She was already like this since 9 years old?!?
I tried to imagine Anneth with her angelic and adorable appearance when she was young, and dared not pursue the subject.
Until now, I still had no clue about what Princess Seira ‘most desired’.
No, that must definitely be because I had been asking the wrong people.
The afternoon on the next day, I came to Her Majesty’s room.
To learn about the child, It was best to ask the mother.
“Ara, welcome, Teacher Glinda.”
The Queen welcomed me with a cheerful smile in her maid uniform.
“The blueberry pie is almost ready.”
Her Majesty personally cut the blueberry pie, and served me with hot tea.
Was it really fine to let the Queen of a country do such things? I worried over that every single time, but Her Majesty seemed to be the happiest and most satisfied while doing such housework.
Ohhhh, if only someone like Her would be my girlfriend.
Her stature was both slim and petite, looking no older than myself, but was in fact the mother of six children. How against the rules!
I found myself fantasizing about unrelated things again, and stopped immediately.
No, now was no time to be idling, but to find out more about Princess Seira!
I pretended to talk about the lessons, and steered the topic gently towards Princess Seira, saying something like “even though Her Highness is just 9, she’s so capable!”
But Her Majesty’s expression suddenly fell.
“That’s right. That child learned how to walk and talk earlier than anyone else… and even stopped needing me to nurse her after a few years. I truly wish that she would rely on me and let me spoil her more.”
The Queen seemed quite worried over the overly-serious, overly-capable Princess Seira.
“That child’s interests are very broad, having extremely high standards in clothing, food, and even home appliances. She is so similar to His Majesty in this regard, even when it comes to playing the violin…”
Violin?
I remembered the notes I listened to in the palace courtyard; a crystal clear sound that felt nothing like it came from the hands of a child.
“His Majesty used to play the violin like this in the past too, but He didn’t feel very happy back then either. The feeling when He played back then felt so lonely.”
Her Majesty lowered Her eyes.
“When Seira played the violin she seems so lonely too. Even when she is wearing clothes that she liked, owning everything around her, I still feel that, that child does not seem to have anything she really wanted.”
My heart tightened when I listened to this.
To have such a gentle Mother, was it not enough to be happy about?
“I worry much about Seira… wondering if she had seen through things <too much, too clearly>.”
--You <can’t see it>.
I could almost hear that cold voice, and jumped a little in fright.
In the eyes of Princess Seira, what kind of landscape existed? What could she perceive?
Princess Suzuna who had been sleeping in a nearby crib suddenly woke up, crying for her Mother.
Her Majesty quickly cradled her, looking intently at the baby.
“What is wrong? Mama’s here.”
Princess Suzuna heard her Queen Mother’s kiddie-talk voice, and smiled happily.
A warm smile also rose on Her Majesty’s face.
It was a scene that felt sweeter than honey poured upon a pound cake.
But soon, a shadow fell on the Queen’s face again.
“I really wish that children would remain this small, and keep letting me hold them in my hands like this. This is really a mother’s selfish desire.”
She murmured.
I did not wish to see Her Majesty looking like this, so I carelessly said.
“Erm, by my abilities alone, I may not be sufficient to teach Her Highness Princess Seira, but I still want to be a teacher that can comprehend her, and open the door to her heart. I would definitely try my best!”
Ohoh, to actually lay down a promise like that when I was just imitating the real Glinda, and was even called <useless> by Princess Seira!
But Her Majesty was so touched that tears filled Her eyes.
“To care this much for Seira, Teacher Glinda is a really caring person.”
“Haha… Hahahahaha… Just leave this matter regarding Her Highness to me.”
Noooooooo, I was digging my grave even deeper.
But, I definitely could not bring myself to say that “if I could not figure out what your Princess desires, I might become an international criminal.”
As I felt cold sweat beginning to form, a calm voice sounded behind me.
“How reliable.”
King Cecello appeared with an elegant smile.
“Your Majesty.”
Seeing Her Majesty’s joyful expression, I silently clicked my tongue in discontent.
The King returned the Queen a sweet smile, then looked towards me.
Remembering the manner he forced himself on me just yesterday, my body froze involuntarily. Uwuwuwuwu… Don’t be scared. Don’t be scared… uu…
His Majesty seemed to have seen through my fear, and said as if nothing happened.
“Ms Glinda, I heard you have been trying to find out more about Seira.”
Wha? He already knew?
King Cecello meaningfully half-closed his eyes.
“Since you want to know what Seira desires, let me give you a hint. Seira is very similar to me, and that is why she hates me so much.”
“Your Majesty is truly! I’ve said so many times! There’s no such thing!”
Her Majesty puffed her cheeks in protest.
“Is that so? Being hated so by my own daughter makes me feel so lonely. Won’t you comfort me? Yuki-chan?”
“Your Majesty is so spoiled all the time. But does Your Majesty really know what Seira desires? If You really know that just say it, please stop playing around!”
“There would be no fun if I were to just say it.”
“Really!”
The Queen’s puffy cheeks became even puffier.
King Cecello seemed to enjoy looking at Her Majesty’s expression, even pinching her checks, in what felt like an atmosphere of pink bubbles and feathers right out of some romantic comedy.
Uwuwuwu… I was still recovering from my heartache from my last breakup…
“I, I would humbly take my leave!”
I left the Queen’s room with my face completely flushed.
“He totally did that on purpose, that sadistic pretty-boy King!” (T/N: SKP of GirlyboysAlliance: "NTR and shame-play")
This kind of man should just be paired with Helmut in Anneth’s Helmu-Llo! I griped unhappily as I walked along the corridor.
King Cecello leisurely gave me a hint, but I could not understand half of it. So what if Princess Seira was very similar to Him?
Uwu~~~ That arrogant and elegant smile was so maddening~~~~
The thing that maddened me even more was the fact that His Majesty knew what Princess Seira desired.
“If that’s the case, I would definitely find out ‘what Princess Seira wants the most’, then go boast to both Princess Seira and King Cecello that ‘Humph! That’s easy!’”
Even though my motives were somewhat as such, I plucked myself up like that.
Alright, then I would no longer be holding back!
^^^^^^^^^^^^
“Oh, today we would have a composition writing assignment. The topic is ‘My dream’.”
The next day, I announced this with a full smile on my face.
Even though this method was a little low, but it was certainly the most practical way.
Princess Sasara and Orie began to groan ‘what a pain’ again, but I did not let that bother me.
Princess Seira lifted her eyes to look at my icily. Then immediately lowered them and began to write.
Good, that way I would be able to know what the Princess “desired the most”.
Thirty minutes later, I called the children out to read out their writings.
First was His Highness Prince Ryuuju.
“My dream is to become a great King!”
He then elaborated in a disturbingly passionate voice about what the ideal King should be.
Next was Princess Sarasa.
“My dream is to date all the handsome men in the world, not to get married too early, maybe at around twenty two years old. Before that, I should at least have dated with at least fifty men, and from there marry the richest, handsomest, top ten intelligent, and most obedient one to my wishes.”
She read out her piece which almost made the blood-vessels on Prince Ryuuju’s head went pop.
Princess Orie was next.
“My dream was to get married together with Sarasa. Save trouble thinking that way.”
She completed (?) her speech very simply.
Prince Shin was quiet from the beginning to the end.
“…”
I eyed his assignment paper, and saw a hippopotamus drawn on it.
“… Your dream is to become a hippo?”
Prince Shin gave a troubled nod.
Muah, forget it, when I was 5, even my dream was to be scarecrow’s face.
For the record, Scarecrow’s Face was the legendary hero of the common-folk… No, now was not the time to be chatting about mundane stuff.
It was almost time for the game to begin.
“Then, the last one is Princess Seira. Please begin.”
“… Yes.”
I quietly sat down to listen as the expressionless Princess Seira monotonously read her composition writing.
“… My dream is to see <the End of the World>.”
These completely unexpected words gave me a shock.
E-e-end of the World? What was the meaning of that? … Did she want to see the world destroyed?
“I want to meet Ophelit there.”
Ophelit… Ohoh, right, she did read books written in ancient languages and Ophelit’s mathematics theorems.
The First Genius, Omnipotent Human, Man who Composed the World - - the man who was given such titles known as Ophelit was a man of the legends from two thousand years ago. Gender, age or even anything involved about him were all mysteries. Mathematician, prophet, wizard, sage, philosopher and even musician, he conquered the world by playing <the all-conquering noblest melody> on his silver flute.
But Ophelit disappeared from the world soon after, leaving just the words “I am going to the World’s End”.
It was said the Ophelit still lived today at “The Ends of the World”.
For Princess Seira to say that she wanted to see “The Ends of the World”, did she mean that she wanted to go where Ophelit had gone to? So it was not to destroy the world.
Oh! But, the meaning of wanting to find Ophelit, was it to learn from Him?
Or was it to become someone like Ophelit?
“Ophelit was someone who had conquered the world. Is that possible in this age?”
Conquer the world?
This speech caused me to jump out of my skin again.
Hahahahaha… Conquer the world… That’s impossible, how could a 9 year old little girl had such desires…
“If I conquered the world, maybe I could become Ophelit.”
Wha! She really wanted to conquer the world? (T/N: SKP of GirlyboysAlliance: "Let's rule the universe as father and son...")
Cold sweat ran profusely, heartbeats jumped irregularly.
I had just been thinking that it was impossible when she announced that that was her intention. How scary.
Right. Glinda was also known as the 2nd Ophelit. Princess Seira “being so aware of Glinda”, was that also because of this?
A-and, King Cecello, despite his obvious ‘Citizenship in the Kingdom of Wife-lovers’ before the Queen, was in fact a dangerous usurper who overthrew the previous king who was His brother of a different mother. Since King Cecello said that Princess Seira was ‘very similar to Him’, that could mean that she was also capable of such actions, ambitions and cold calculations…
Princess Seira completed her reading.
“Elder Sister Seira really lives in a different dimension from us, or should we call it strange?”
“If it’s just me, I’d rather go visit the handsome king of fairyland, wearing lovely clothes decorated with a pile of precious stones, eating the best food and having a party every night!”
“You two are too focused on pleasure! Learn more from Seira!”
The emotionless Princess Seira was wordless to the comments of her elder brother and younger sisters.
I ended the lesson with my face twitching in shock.
For <the thing she desired> to actually be to conquer the world, so scary~~~~~
^^^^^^^^^^^^
“Oh~~~ The answer to Princess Seira’s question, is it really <the World>?”
In the afternoon, I kept pacing about in my room while alone.
-- Your desire is to be the King of the World!
It was so ludicrous that I was rendered speechless.
For a 9 year old child to have such a frightening ambition, I could no longer have any confidence in teaching her any more.
If the one who said such words was Prince Ryuuju or even the twin princesses, I might still laugh it away with “what a childish desire”, but coming from Princess Seira, it felt so exceptionally serious and realistic that I could not laugh.
Oh! Ophelit conquered the world with <the all-conquering noblest melody>, right? That must be why Princess Seira was in the courtyard practicing violin in order to rehearse this <noble music>?
Or perhaps she was researching on the magic of <sound> like Ophelit… Waaaah! She might really desire to conquer the world!~~~
I could vividly imagine the picture of Princess Seria playing her violin in a black cape, while the masses knelt in submission before her. Just as goose bumps began to rise from my skin from the fear, Helmut showed up.
“Sher-chan, congratulations on winning the top prize in Eren’s marathon race! I knew you could do it. Oh, have you received my congratulatory card yet?”
Not knowing my mood, he cheerfully said.
“Highest salutations to the little red peas… Is that supposed to be congratulations? Isn’t that just humiliation?”
I tiredly said, but Helmut just continued with a look of triumph.
“How could that be? Aren’t little red peas great? Glinda, the little red peas! Pffft… heheh… I can’t imagine how she would look like when she hears about… So amusing… hehe. I even collected all the newspaper clippings.”
Helmut unfolded his collection of newspaper clippings that he brought over just to show me.
“Genius Glinda are little red peas that need to put on 5 pairs of breast pads!”, “Ms Glinda exposed at the finishing line!”, “Ms Glinda has fake boobs!”, “Genius Ms Glinda currently researching on anti-slip breast pads!” etc. Such headlines filled the collection.
How could he just laugh this happily while reading such things!
Even if he did not say it, Helmut must have been really frustrated by Glinda’s disappearance deep within.
“Oh? Your eyes look so empty. Seeing your crossed legs sitting on the bed, holding your head, and even your skin has become a little dry. Can it be that something else has occurred? This won’t do, Sher-chan~”
“Stop sighing like a parent who got called to the school! And the dry skin’s because of the make-up!”
I shouted on the bed, but still discussed with him the issue with Princess Seira.
“Actually, Princess Seira has discovered that Glinda is an imposter by a male.”
“What! To be uncovered by the most problematic person… muah, but it seems like there isn’t any ruckus raised.”
“That’s because Princess Seira currently still allows this situation to continue, but I have no idea what will happen in the future.”
Learning of Princess Seira’s demands, Helmut tilted his head in deep thought.
“What Princess Seira ‘desires’?”
“I am wondering, can it possibly be, c-conquering the world…”
I said seriously, but Helmut replied with a smile on his face.
“What a glorious ambition.”
“Hey! Are you taking me for a fool? Princess Seira actually admires Ophelit greatly, writing even in her composition writing that her dream is to be like Ophelit.”
“Ophelit is a person of the legends, there’s no proof such a person even existed.”
“I-I know that, but the Princess even practiced her violin for the sake of learning Ophelit’s sound magic… Why are you smiling wryly like this?!? And stop feeling my forehead!”
Even I myself was beginning to wonder whether I had gone crazy, uwuwu…
Helmut showed his smile of fake kindness, and began to comfort me who had begun to sulk.
“Oh well, it’s not like I cannot understand why you come to such ridiculous conclusions, since that Princess is in fact pretty extraordinary.”
“Extraordinary?”
“She is a genius like your sister.”
As if it was completely natural, Helmut continued without minding.
My heart skipped a beat.
… Similar to Glinda?
A short sentence, but it hurled out feelings deep within me.
Oh, so that was the reason.
Why had I not noticed it sooner? Princess Seira’s eyes were as expressionless as Glinda’s.
Even if their manners of speaking were different, nobody could figure out what either of them was thinking.
Helmut continued seriously.
“As a diplomat to Eren Kingdom forming close relationship with Eren’s royal family, I have always thought that it was a very fortunate thing for both of our countries that the heir-to-the-throne was Prince Ryuuju and not Princess Seira.”
I felt unhappy upon hearing such.
“You are saying the His Highness Prince Ryuuju is not as intelligent, so easier to manipulate if he becomes the king? Even though he is still a child, he is very stubborn, inflexible and sometimes takes things over-seriously, but he also has many strengths, is very hardworking and is an extremely serious student who takes notes in class.”
As someone who also had a girl-genius as his sister, I could not help but spoke up for Prince Ryuuju.
“Few princes would take political affairs and governing in the future as seriously as him!”
Helmut gently smiled with slightly narrowed eyes, saying.
“Please don’t misunderstand. I recognize too the strengths of Prince Ryuuju. His Highness is very charismatic with his upright nature and would be able to win the hearts of many with his outright honesty. This is a rare quality amongst royalty. Besides, he has many excellent people around him to be his support, so he would definitely become a good king when he grows up.”
My heart grew warm as I listened to that.
As Helmut described, even though Prince Ryuuju was still somewhat awkward and immature, everyone in the capital loved him. That was because he was so hardworking and noticeable, and so adorable that people just wanted to help him out.
Prince Ryuuju might not have his father’s divine-like status, but he would definitely become a king who would be more loved by the people than his king father.
It was certainly a good thing too for the people of this country.
“Then… What if Princess Seira were to become the king?”
“I believe that a country that is ruled by a genius would not possibly be happy because the genius himself is not a happy existence. The people would never be able to understand their king, nor would the king be able to understand his people. If I were to live with someone I could never understand, I too may feel uncomfortable.”
My chest suddenly felt really heavy.
Glinda’s and Princess Seira’s eyes appeared in mind.
Blue eyes that were replicas of my own, as well as purple amethyst eyes.
Both persons’ eyes were frostily calm, and equally unfathomable.
The two girls who were far beyond my comprehension.
Obviously having everything, but wanted nothing at all…
Such a lonely feeling.
“Luckily I am no genius.”
Helmut said with mixed feelings.
“Fortunately I was just intelligent enough to graduate from the Imperial College with excellent grades, just a little suave, my family background somewhat passable, and the second outstanding one amongst my classmates. Being such an ordinary person feels great.” (T/N: SKP of GirlyboysAlliance: "Ohhh, the salt...")
“Get out of here and go find Glinda for me now!”
I screamed while pointing to the door.
“Really, and for me to take time out of my busy schedule to come see you, you are so fierce towards me every single time. Looks like I have to bring you some books on etiquette the next time I come here.”
Helmut did not forget his parting shot even as he left.
But I remained stumbled after he left.
Just what did Princess Seira desire?
What did that genius princess who worshipped Ophelit, and was very aware of Glinda who was known as the <2nd Ophelit> want?
Even after discovering the fact that Glinda and Princess Seira were both similar, I could not understand it.
To me, the person who was the hardest to understand in the whole wide world was Glinda.
I wanted to cool down my feverish head, and so decided to take a stroll around the courtyard.
I could feel the evening breeze on my face as I slowly walked.
Just as Glinda was a genius from the moment she was born, Princess Seira had been the eldest princess of this kingdom since her birth, possessing not just wealth and power, but also beauty, ability and love.
And yet, why was it that both Princess Seira and Glinda seemed so completely unconcerned about all of that?
I was feeling a heavy heart, when I heard those lonely notes in the air again.
Was the princess playing her violin again?
I closed in towards the direction of the music.
A sad and calm melody that was obviously being played by Princess Seira.
She placed the brown wooden violin against her cheek, and silently pulled the bow across the strings with her eyes closed. Those silver strands of hair flowed gently in the wind.
Seeing her as such, I could almost see, for an instant, Glinda overlapping with her appearance, and began to have trouble breathing.
Their appearances were nothing alike, but both of them had the same untouchable air, like they were warning others not to disrupt, and also the same ice cold chiselled features… causing my emotions to be completely fried.
Tear-inducing sad music flowed above the swaying tops of the forest dyed red in sunset.
Disgusting, why did I hurt so much inside? My throat felt bitter, tears threatening to pour out… Had she somehow mix some psychological disrupting magic into her music?
-- I worry much about Seira… wondering if she had seen through things <too much, too clearly>.
The Queen said so because She was worried about Her daughter being nothing like an ordinary girl.
Those pair of amethyst eyes that seemed as pure and transparent as purple crystals, just what did they see?
Conquer the world?
Become someone like Ophelit?
But Ophelit had <abandoned the world he conquered>.
Just like Glinda, he disappeared without a trace, leaving just a single sentence.
Why did Glinda disappear?
Why abandon everything?
She had never told me anything before.
Even though the one who was pulling at the violin was Princess Seira, I could only overlap Glinda’s frame on her body, and felt the immense pressure of sadness and frustration on my aching heart.
It was as if a great wall had been constructed around them, impenetrable, unapproachable.
The music suddenly stopped, and Princess Seira slowly turned to look at the me behind those transparent walls with an icy expression.
I…
-- Was your wish to abandon everything?
These words seemed to come out automatically, but a portion within me hurt so much that I could not utter a sound.
Princess Seira slightly widened her eyes, maybe because she noticed my tears. I was so embarrassed that my face burnt, and I turned and fled.
Really, what was I doing!
I felt as if I was an abandoned puppy, and hid crying for a long while within my room.
