Chapter 9

As the advisor reported, King Ailugo stroked his chin.

The assassin would not come from the hostile country of Sylvanus, but from Ailugo, Tarkan's homeland.

Saying this, the king raised a bottle to pour a drink into his glass.

But.

Clang— The bottle the king had missed rolled on the floor, and the amber liquid stained the expensive carpet.

A startled servant approached and quickly cleaned up the mess.

Shaking his head at the butler's words, the king remained silent.

Everyone in the king's study, including the advisor, silently retreated outside.

The last thing seen was the advisor and the butler chatting outside, and the surface of the water rippled.

The vision shown by the imperial eye ended there.

Aristine shook her head inwardly, replaying the scene in her memory.

'He's wrong.'

Though they had served the king for a long time with utmost sincerity, they had completely misjudged the situation.

The reason the king dropped the bottle was not that.

"Your Majesty, Father, this Pringfrang jelly, Yenikarina loves it so much that she even wants to eat yours..."

It was the moment Yenikarina was coquettishly whispering to the king with a charming smile.

"…?!"

Everyone present was taken aback by Aristine's sudden action.

'W-What is happening now…'

'What on earth is going on?'

Despite their eyes working perfectly, they couldn't make sense of the situation.

They couldn't believe what they were seeing.

Even Tarkan, who had been observing the scene from a step back without interfering in the conversation, was clearly surprised this time.

"Princess?"

The king, as expected, was the first to regain his composure.

Nefter looked at the Pringfrang jelly placed right in front of his lips.

This jelly, which was far more gelatinous than ordinary jellies, shone seductively with a light yellow, sweet and sour appearance.

Since Nefter was not holding the fork, it was clear that someone else was.

And the person holding the fork was none other than Princess Aristine.

"Your Majesty, Father."

The sound of "Father" from Aristine's mouth froze Yenikarina and the other royals.

"Y-Your Majesty, Father?!"

To my dad!

Yenikarina shouted at Aristine.

"Yenikarina, do you dislike me calling you Father?"

You, who said I was family?

Aristine's gaze made Yenikarina's mouth shut tight.

"If I marry Tarkan, I will have to call you Father, Your Majesty. You will be my family, my father."

"…That's right."

"Would it be a problem if I started calling you that a few days earlier?"

Aristine's demeanor was calm, but her eyes were trembling slightly.

Perhaps she was slightly afraid that Nefter might be displeased or reject her, a look of someone accustomed to being rejected.

But at this moment, she was mustering her courage again.

Willing to endure a cold rejection to bring about change.

Nefter's lips parted.

"There will be no problem."

At the king's declaration, Yenikarina's face turned as if she were about to faint.

Aristine's eyes wavered.

For the first time, Nefter felt as if he had seen the true sincerity of this young princess who had just emerged into the world.

A tender sincerity hidden within a tough shell.

Aristine's cheeks flushed slightly.

"I'm happy."

She muttered suddenly.

The next moment, Aristine, who had come to her senses, stiffened her face and tried to explain.

"No, that is, Your Majesty must understand my situation. I just—"

For some reason, she felt as if she had really gained a father.

She was just going to call him that from now on, so it was just a matter of getting the title approved in advance.

She shouldn't attach too much meaning to it.

But a scene from her imperial eye came to mind.

The image of her younger brother feeding her Pringfrang jelly while sitting on the emperor's lap.

Aristine wanted to feed her father Pringfrang jelly and show off that she had learned proper etiquette.

So she used to try to pick up clumps of dirt with a fork.

"So, what is this? Are you trying to give it to me?"

Nefter interrupted Aristine's rambling.

Aristine's eyes widened.

"Yes!"

She firmly pushed the fork closer.

"Ah, Your Majesty, Father."

A cold, oppressive silence descended on the tea table, as if not even a needle could penetrate it.

'No, you were so quick to catch on, but you didn't understand the meaning of "Father" just now?'

Paellamien wanted to grab her own hair.

The king's question just now was not "If you're trying to give it to me, give it quickly."

'What is this? Surely you're not doing this to give it to me? Get rid of it quickly.'

That was the meaning, at least to Paellamien, Marten, and Stalina.

After all, who was Nefter?

He was the great ruler who dominated the rough and fierce Masu Plain.

To try to feed the Iron-Blooded Emperor a jelly and even urge him to "Ah" was something that made one's heart race just to watch.

Only Aristine, unaware of the situation, was waiting for the emperor's lips to open.

"Ah?"

Nefter's tone was clearly one of disbelief.

He was not opening his mouth as Aristine had instructed, but rather asking, "Ah? Did you just tell me to say 'Ah'?"

No, it wasn't a question; it was a clear statement.

Nefter's blue eyes were colder than ever.

Paellamien hoped that Aristine would come to her senses and beg for forgiveness for her rudeness.

She had come here lightly, following the queen's order, but now it felt like she was in a deep, treacherous mountain.

But Aristine was not the type to meet Paellamien's expectations.

Despite seeing the surrounding situation through her imperial eye, her experience with human relationships was practically zero.

Her conversations with people were like reading them in text, or in her previous life, watching them on television.

Even her direct experiences from her previous life were closer to "seeing" through her imperial eye than remembering them.

Until then, she had been cautious and thoughtful, but once she got into the groove, she took people's words at face value.

As soon as Nefter's mouth opened, she quickly inserted the Pringfrang jelly.

His mouth closed reflexively.

"Is it good?"

Aristine smiled and asked the king.

Everyone held their breath, waiting for the emperor's reaction.

However.

Contrary to expectations, the king's anger did not strike like lightning.

"Hmm……"

He only made an ambiguous, vague sound.

He didn't seem to be angry at all, not even a little.

While everyone was still trying to process what had just happened,

Clang—!

A sharp cracking sound shattered the heavy silence in the room.

Yenikarina, pale as if she had lost all color, stared blankly at the table.

Tea spilled from the cup, staining the tablecloth.

A red stain spread on the white cloth.

It was caused by Yenikarina's hand knocking over the cup.

Her hand was still trembling.

"Why are you like this, Yenikarina?"

"Ah…"

Yenikarina looked at Aristine.

Her focus slowly returned.

"Is there a problem?"

At this question, Yenikarina's lips curled up.

"What problem? There's no problem at all."

Aristine's gaze turned to the mess on the table.

"This… This cup must have been poorly made. It was unbalanced and fell over by itself."

She then began to scold the palace staff.

"You should have inspected it properly! How dare you bring something like this to the emperor! Are you in your right mind?"

It was a tone devoid of her usual coquettishness.

This was the first time Yenikarina, who always sought everyone's love, had acted this way in the royal palace.

The palace staff, though aggrieved, had no choice but to listen to the princess.

Aristine watched this scene and tilted her head.

'Is it really that shocking?'

She wasn't sure.

The reason the king dropped the bottle was the pain in his right wrist.

It was usually fine, but when he exerted himself or needed to use his wrist muscles delicately, it caused a slight spasm.

Pringfrang jelly, a specialty of Ailugo, was not only very elastic but also smooth, making it difficult to pick up with a fork.

Even the nobles of Ailugo and the hostile country of Sylvanus used Pringfrang jelly to practice proper dining etiquette.

They practiced picking up the jelly elegantly with a single fork.

'When it's difficult to use the wrist muscles, it's impossible to pick it up.'

This created a simple cause and effect.

Nefter liked this jelly.

But due to the pain in his wrist, he couldn't eat it alone.

Moreover, he didn't want to reveal his arm injury.

The conclusion was clear.

'Just have someone else feed it to me.'

There was no clearer solution.

But the king's reaction was not what she expected.

'Ah, could it be that he doesn't like being fed?'

She hadn't seen that in her imperial eye.

Perhaps he felt like a child and was displeased.

"How is it?"

"…It's good."

After a moment of silence, the king answered softly.

His sharp blue eyes focused on the Pringfrang jelly.

'Is he asking for more?'

Aristine picked up another one and fed it to Nefter.

The emperor of the wild nation opened his mouth obediently and accepted it.

Of course, his face remained stern, befitting a dignified emperor.

'Ah, he's eating more than I thought.'

Aristine continued to feed the jelly to Nefter, like a mother bird feeding her chick.

'Even if he likes it, this is too much.'

There were seven in total, and he had already eaten five.

Pringfrang jelly was a stimulating treat. Its strong sourness and intense sweetness made people usually eat only one.

'Even when he ordered it to be brought when his wrist was fine, he only ate two or three. Is it because he hasn't had it in a while?'

From what she had seen through her imperial eye, three was the maximum.

Aristine carefully picked up the jelly to prevent it from splattering, focusing on its gelatinous surface.

This was the sixth one.

'A bit troublesome, but I should show consideration for the injured.'

And the fact that she could do this for someone she could call father was a little… very little, but it made her happy.

Aristine continued to feed the jelly to the king.

There was only one left. Honestly, she was a bit conflicted.

'I want to try it too…'

Pringfrang jelly. She had seen it many times through her imperial eye but had never tasted it.

'They say it's really delicious. The sweet and sour flavors blend so well that it feels like a party in your mouth with just one piece.'

Especially the one in front of her was made in the best region for Pringfrang jelly.

The highest quality, fit for the king.

'Ah!'

Aristine picked up the last one with her fork.

She had no choice.

She hadn't come to this meeting to eat Pringfrang jelly.

To sell medicine… no, to show Tarkan how capable she was.

Sometimes, the ox must be sacrificed for the herd.

She closed her eyes and offered the last jelly to the king.

Of course, the king ate it with relish.

It must be really delicious. To eat seven in a row without even drinking tea in between.

'How nice…'

As she thought this, she heard a sigh of disbelief from beside her.

Aristine, curious, looked at Tarkan.

What was so unbelievable? Why was he reacting like that?

Aristine was actually quite proud of herself.

She thought she had made a strong appeal to Tarkan.

Winning the favor of a powerful person to achieve one's goals.

Wasn't this showing a very core diplomatic skill?

But a sigh of disbelief…

His gaze seemed more directed at the king, but the king and Aristine were sitting next to each other.

'Well, Tarkan doesn't know about the king's wrist, so it must seem a bit strange to him.'

But the king, who hadn't been able to eat his favorite food for years, must be quite satisfied thanks to her.

'And because of this, he won't be suspicious of me.'

Who would think that Aristine knew about the king's injury and was feeding him?

Thinking that much would be considered paranoia.

And would anyone even guess that Aristine knew something the king's own servants didn't?

Even the queen didn't know.

There were only two people in the world who knew.

The king's personal physician and—

'Princess Yenikarina.'

Forget about being a wife, I just want to make money.