After all, you can never truly read people’s hearts. I’d already thought it through: if the heroine wanted to overthrow the vast Frank Empire, she must have won over some ambitious people. Now my father, Ailante, was holding this country together. Something could happen to him one day—he could be ambushed, for all we knew—and then other families might seize the chance to move in. That sort of thing happened all the time.
I had to nip that possibility in the bud. I didn’t want to become a princess of a fallen kingdom. With a face like mine, some filthy people would surely kidnap me and make me do unspeakable things.
But since none of those plans had run into any trouble, today’s work was pretty much done. Time to go read and keep learning～
“Caro, let’s go! We’re going to read.” After a hearty meal, Elina wiped the chocolate from the corner of her mouth and bounced off toward the library.
“Mm, let’s go.” Caro nodded and followed her.
“Your Highness Alaya, I’ll go with Elina and the others, then.” Eve gave a slight bow.
“Mm, go ahead. I have a few things to take care of.” Alaya stretched and smiled.
Eve glanced at Alaya’s curvy, alluring figure and suddenly remarked, “Your figure is wonderful, Your Highness. Do you think Elina will grow up to look like you? She’ll probably have plenty of boys bothering her then.”
“Haha～ That’s fine. The more, the better—it means she’ll have more choices. I can’t wait to see what kind of boyfriend Elina finds～” Alaya covered her mouth as she giggled.
“Mm. It’ll depend on what kind of boy Elina likes. But if you ask me, I don’t think she’ll fall in love with a prince. She might fall for a hero instead,” Eve mused.
“Mm～ That’s possible～”
……
“Phew～ We’ve finally made it to Frank Imperial City. This place sure is huge!” The boy reached the city gate, his eyes shining as he looked around with curiosity.
“Hey, listen. Remember that time we hunted the third-rank monster, the Redscale Tiger? My whole team went down, but then I stepped in and landed one mighty Shattering Sword strike. Killed it in one blow.”
“Wow, you’re really something.”
“Oh, you’re bragging again. When we hunted the Redscale Tiger, you just showed up at the end to steal the kill. And you’re still running your mouth? Get your ass out of here.”
“Top-quality silver wolf pelt! Need money fast—anyone want it for three gold coins?!”
“Three? Too expensive. I’ll take it for two gold and eight silver.”
“You got it.”
“By the way, brother, did you see Princess Elina this morning?”
“Of course! She’s gorgeous, and she’s so kind. She doesn’t even make us give her presents. Look at the princes and princesses in other countries—they hold some big celebration and waste the people’s money. What’s the point?”
“Exactly, exactly.”
The silver-armored knights standing nearby, the adventurers haggling over their wares, the towering city walls—everything filled the boy with awe and admiration. This was the splendor of a great empire. It couldn’t compare at all to his little mountain village.
But who was Princess Elina?
From what these people were saying, she sounded wonderful—beautiful and kind, too. He wished he could catch a glimpse of her. But he was just a commoner from a little mountain village, so he probably wouldn’t get the chance. He’d better go into the city and find a way to make a living.
After paying a copper coin to enter the city, the boy sadly felt inside his pouch for the nine silver coins and nine copper coins he had left. They were the greatest fortune his mother had left him. He’d started out with ten silver coins, and now the entrance fee had cost him a copper. It was ridiculously expensive—but still, getting to see such an impressive city was enough to make him happy.
……
