Chapter 9

[Prince Tarkan has achieved another feat.]

[Hmm.]

Upon hearing the report from the advisor, King Ailugo stroked his chin.

[You don’t seem very pleased.]

[How could I be? But I’m thinking that this will only make Tarkan more of a target.]

The assassins won’t come from the enemy nation of Sylvanus, but from Tarkan’s own homeland, Ailugo.

[Will you not take action?]

[Why should I? He needs to handle this on his own.]

As he said this, the king picked up a bottle to pour himself a drink.

But.

Clang— The bottle the king dropped rolled on the floor, spilling the amber liquid onto the expensive carpet.

A startled servant hurried over to clean up the mess.

[I’ll bring a new drink.]

Shaking his head, the king replied, [No, that’s fine. Everyone, you may leave.]

The advisor and everyone else in the king’s study silently left the room.

[You said he needs to handle it himself, but you seem worried about Prince Tarkan.]

[Of course, he’s my favorite child...]

[If only His Majesty had been born into a noble family.]

With that, the scene outside the room, where the advisor and the head servant were talking, faded away.

The vision shown by the Imperial Eye ended there.

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

‘You’re wrong.’

Though they had served the king for many years with utmost devotion, they had completely misjudged the situation.

The reason the king dropped the bottle was not that.

“Father, this Pringfrang jelly, Yenikarina loves it so much that she even wants to eat yours...”

It was the moment Yenikarina was giggling and whispering to the king.

“...?!”

Everyone present was stunned by Aristine’s sudden action.

‘W-What is this...’

‘What on earth is happening?!”

Despite her eyes working perfectly, she couldn’t make sense of the situation.

She couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

Even Tarkan, who had been observing the conversation from a distance without interfering, was clearly surprised this time.

“Princess?”

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

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

This jelly, far more delicate and smooth than ordinary jellies, shone invitingly with a light yellow, sweet-sour appearance.

Nefter hadn’t picked up the jelly with his fork, so naturally, someone else was holding it.

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

“Father.”

The sound of “Father” from Aristine’s mouth froze Yenikarina and the other royals.

“F-Father?!”

To my dad!

Yenikarina shouted at Aristine.

“Yenikarina, do you not like it when I call His Majesty 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 His Majesty Father, won’t I? He will be my family, my father.”

“...That’s true.”

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

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

She was a bit afraid that Nefter might be upset or reject her, a look of someone accustomed to being rejected.

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

Willing to risk being coldly rejected to make a change.

Nefter’s lips parted.

“It’s not a 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 he was seeing the true feelings of this young princess who had just entered the world.

The tender heart inside the tough shell.

Aristine’s cheeks flushed slightly.

“I’m happy.”

She muttered suddenly.

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

“No, that is... His Majesty knows my situation, right? I just...”

For some reason, she was genuinely happy to have a father.

She was just getting used to calling him that in advance.

She shouldn’t overthink it.

But a scene from her childhood, seen through the Imperial Eye, came to mind.

The sight of her younger brother feeding Pringfrang jelly to the emperor while sitting on his lap.

Aristine wanted to feed Pringfrang jelly to her father, proud of how well she had learned etiquette.

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

“So, what is this? Are you trying to feed it to me?”

Nefter interrupted Aristine’s rambling.

Aristine’s eyes widened.

“Yes!”

She answered firmly and extended the fork further.

“A~h, Father.”

A heavy silence fell over the tea table, as if not even a pin could drop.

‘No, you were quick to catch on, but you didn’t understand the meaning of “Father” just now, did you?’

Paellamien wanted to grab her hair.

Nefter’s question just now wasn’t “If you’re trying to feed it to me, give it to me quickly.”

It meant, “What is this? You can’t possibly be trying to feed me this, can you? Get it away.”

At least that’s how Paellamien, Marten, and Stalina heard it.

After all, who was Nefter?

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

To try to feed the Iron-Blooded Emperor jelly with a fork and even urge him to “A~h” was unimaginable.

Just watching made one’s heart clench.

Only Aristine, unaware of this, waited for the emperor’s mouth to open.

“A?”

Nefter’s tone was clearly one of disbelief.

He wasn’t opening his mouth because Aristine told him to; it was more like, “A? Did you just tell me to ‘A~h’?”

No, it wasn’t just a feeling; it was clear.

Nefter’s blue eyes were colder than ever.

Paellamien hoped 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.

No matter how well she observed the situation through the Imperial Eye, her experience with human relationships was practically zero.

Learning to converse with people through writing, or in her previous life, through television, was the closest she had to real experience.

Even her previous life’s direct experiences were closer to “seeing” through the Imperial Eye than remembering.

Until now, she had been tense and cautious, but once she got into the groove, she took people’s words at face value.

The moment Nefter’s mouth opened, she quickly inserted the Pringfrang jelly.

His mouth closed reflexively.

“Is it good?”

Aristine asked the king with a smile.

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 sound.

He didn’t seem angry at all, not even a bit.

While everyone was still processing what had just happened,

Clang—!

A sharp cracking sound broke the heavy silence in the tea room.

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

Tea spilled from the cup, soaking the tablecloth.

The red stain on the white cloth grew larger.

It happened because Yenikarina’s hand had knocked 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?”

Startled by the question, Yenikarina forced a smile.

“What problem? There’s no problem at all.”

Aristine’s gaze fell on the mess on the table.

“This... This cup must have been poorly made. It lost balance and tipped over on its own.”

With that, she began to scold the servants.

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

Her voice, usually full of charm, was unusually harsh.

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

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

Aristine watched this and tilted her head.

‘Is this 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 would cramp slightly.

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

Even the nobles of Ailugo and the enemy nation Sylvanus used Pringfrang jelly to practice dining etiquette.

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

‘I can’t pick it up when my wrist muscles are strained.’

This led to a simple cause and effect.

Nefter liked this jelly.

But the pain in his wrist made it hard for him to eat it alone.

Moreover, he didn’t want to reveal his injury.

This led to one conclusion.

‘Someone else can feed it to me.’

It couldn’t be clearer.

But the king’s reaction was unusual...

‘Ah, could he dislike being fed by someone else?’

She hadn’t seen that through the Imperial Eye.

He might be upset at being treated like a child.

“Is it good?”

“...It’s good.”

After a moment of silence, the king answered softly.

His sharp blue eyes focused on the Pringfrang jelly.

‘Does he want more?’

Aristine picked up another one and fed it to Nefter.

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

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

‘Ah, he’s eating more than I thought.’

Aristine continued to feed him, 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 strong-flavored jelly. Its intense sourness and 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?’

Through the Imperial Eye, she had seen him eat a maximum of three.

Aristine carefully picked up the jelly to avoid it slipping, focusing on its smooth surface.

This was the sixth one.

‘It’s a bit troublesome, but I should show consideration for the injured.’

And being able to do this for someone she could call father made her a little... very little, 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 the 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 this one was made in the birthplace of Pringfrang jelly.

The best quality, fit for the king.

‘Ah, well!’

Aristine picked up the last one with her fork.

She had no choice.

She hadn’t come here today to eat Pringfrang jelly.

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

Sometimes, the whole must be sacrificed for the part.

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

Of course, the king ate it with apparent enjoyment.

It must be really good. 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, puzzled, looked at Tarkan.

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

Aristine was actually proud of herself.

She thought she had made a strong appeal to Tarkan.

Winning the favor of a powerful person to achieve her goals.

Wasn’t this showing a crucial 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 strange to him.’

But the king, who hadn’t had his favorite food for years, must be quite satisfied that she had helped him eat it.

‘Moreover, this won’t make him suspicious of me.’

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

Such thoughts would be dismissed as paranoia.

And how could anyone guess that Aristine knew something even the king’s attendant 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.