Chapter 9

I thought I would be bedridden for a few more days, but when I woke up the next morning, I felt very energetic.

I felt incredibly refreshed.

When I reported this to Ryoukaon, he said, "That's good," but for some reason, he had a strange look on his face. Why?

However, it seems I did oversleep.

When I looked at the clock, it was already past the time when the maid would bring breakfast.

"You really overslept. But you didn't even notice the maid coming in at all."

"No one has come today yet."

"Oh, maybe they thought I was still tired and didn't want to bother me."

... Up until now, they would come at the right time, see me in poor condition, and leave without showing any reaction. Did they change their attitude because I became the empress? No, no, that's not likely.

"Ryoukaon, I have a bad feeling."

"Coincidentally, I do too."

I jumped out of bed in my pajamas and, together with Ryoukaon, checked the entire palace.

--- As it turned out, my bad feeling was spot on, and it was even worse than I had imagined.

"No one is here..."

"Unbelievable."

All the servants who had been working in the palace until yesterday were gone.

I walked through the empty palace corridors and returned to my room. Then I sat on the bed, which had lost its warmth.

I put my hand to my mouth and said to Ryoukaon,

"Does this mean I can do whatever I want in this palace...?"

"You're so positive. I almost respect you for it."

Ryoukaon praised me. When I smiled, he gave me a look of exasperation.

Well, I know. This is a boycott... right?

I don't know if it was an order from above or their own decision, but I doubt the servants will come back on their own. After all, I checked the servants' quarters, and all the rooms were completely empty. The rooms weren't even cleaned. The sheets and blankets on the beds were still messy, and the trash cans were full. If they knew someone else would come to take over, they would have cleaned up before leaving, right?

This means it's unlikely that new servants will come. Ryoukaon thought the same. He was even surprised that I came to this conclusion. How rude.

As a royal, my behavior and common sense might be a bit off, but I have been trained in various things by the maids.

I'm not sure if they left on orders from above or by their own will. It seems unlikely that all of them would leave by their own will, but there's a saying, "If everyone crosses the road together, it's not scary." They might have all decided to leave together because they disliked me so much.

After all, the servants who will be assigned to me in the near future, considering I will become the empress, are all super elites. If these elites can't hide their dislike for me, they must really hate me.

I really don't remember doing anything to deserve such hatred.

Even if it was an order from above, I don't understand the reason. What's the benefit of removing all the servants as soon as I become the empress? They are now my fellow citizens, so it's not like they can be treated poorly. I don't think it's that simple.

... Since I don't understand politics, thinking about it further might be pointless. The fact is that all the servants have left.

I fell back onto the bed and spread my arms out.

"Hey, Ryoukaon, did I do something so terrible that everyone hates me?"

"Shannon hasn't done anything wrong. It's just a misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding?"

"Yes, it seems that in this country, divine beasts and the ancient sacred kingdom people are revered. As a result, various legends are believed to be true."

Ryoukaon lay down next to me and started talking.

"In this country, it is believed that only those with silver hair and sky-blue eyes can be the contract partners of divine beasts. Your hair color fits the condition, but your eye color is completely different. Also, it is commonly believed that divine beasts no longer exist in this world. They probably can't even imagine a divine beast appearing before their eyes."

"... But, Ryoukaon is real, right? Can't the misunderstanding be resolved?"

"Getting them to believe that I am a real divine beast is difficult. It's frustrating. No holy beast can talk like a human."

That's true. I've never seen a holy beast that can speak like a human.

"I am a member of the Uranos royal family, so they might think I'm pretending to be a divine beast by using a special holy beast that can speak human language."

"That makes sense. The blood of the Uranos royal family is said to be compatible with holy beasts, so it's not surprising that they think I can contract with a special holy beast that can speak human language."

"... I don't think it's surprising..."

I feel defeated.

A matter of faith. Of course, they would be angry. From their perspective, a young girl from an enemy country is trampling on their beliefs.

They might think I'm pretending to have a contract with a divine beast to easily control the imperial citizens! I just found out that divine beasts are revered.

Resolving the misunderstanding... It seems impossible unless they believe Ryoukaon is a divine beast. I'm sorry, Ryoukaon! You're just a holy beast!

If they had seen Ryoukaon heal me and defeat that many monsters, they would have believed it right away. Healing me from near death and easily slaying that many monsters is something a single holy beast can't do. I judged that even ten holy beasts couldn't handle those monsters, so I transferred.

But I don't want to be on the brink of death again or be surrounded by monsters. If I can't have servants, I'll choose a life without them.

... By the way, can you only contract with a divine beast if you have silver hair and sky-blue eyes? I already have a contract, though.

"Divine beasts, like holy beasts, contract with those they like. Most divine beasts only contracted with people from the sacred kingdom because they preferred them. Since most people from the sacred kingdom had silver hair and sky-blue eyes, it became a belief that divine beasts only contract with those who have silver hair and sky-blue eyes. However, there were a few divine beasts that contracted with people of other colors."

"Hmm. Did Ryoukaon contract with me because the ancient sacred kingdom blood in me awakened in a crisis?"

"That's part of it, but there are other reasons for Shannon."

Ryoukaon smiled mysteriously. From his expression, it seems he won't tell me the other reasons.

"--- I see, I understand the situation. But first, I need to find someone to take care of me."

After all, I was raised as a princess in the depths of the palace.

I can't live alone.