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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: A Day in the Life of a Princess
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“Why don't you just smile?”
“Ahem.”
As Nordic clicked his tongue, Enoch cleared his throat needlessly.
“Duke, it's embarrassing to admit, but I'm not qualified to teach the young lady.”
“Hmm, is my girl that advanced?”
“Yes. It's common for children who show an aptitude for mathematics to be scouted by the Magic Tower for early gifted education.”
“So I've already contacted the Magic Tower. They said they want to see Lilis's level for themselves.”
As Nordic continued, Enoch frowned.
“Without even asking Lilis? Without a single word of discussion with me?”
“It's just a test to gauge her level. Whether she goes to the Magic Tower or not is her decision. But if the results are good…”
“…”
“It would probably put your mind at ease if the child worked at the Magic Tower in the future.”
He wasn't wrong.
In the Pavilion Empire, all high-ranking ability users were subject to mandatory conscription.
But researchers at the Magic Tower were last in line for the draft.
This meant that unless the world was ending—the earth splitting and the sky shattering—they would never be sent to a blood-soaked battlefield.
“For now…”
Enoch rubbed his forehead, deep in thought.
“…I'll ask Lilis. See if she really enjoyed studying.”
“Do that.”
“A true genius! An absolute genius! A prodigy the world has never seen!”
Mrs. Lena gave a thumbs-up and chimed in enthusiastically.
“Ahem. Well… my princess is something special.”
“Do something about the corners of your mouth. They're itching to curl up. It's undignified.”
Chided by Nordic, Enoch forced his twitching lips into a straight line and spun around.
“I'll be going now.”
Nordic looked on in dismay at the back of his son, who was now leaving with a cheerful spring in his step, a stark contrast to the anger he'd shown when he arrived.
He soon muttered with a sigh.
“…I don't know how he turned out like this.”
* * *
A children's specialty boutique in the capital.
I was whisked away by my aunt as soon as my lesson ended,
“W-woooow…”
and I couldn't stop marveling at everything.
A sky-blue dress made of soft, high-quality fabric. White frills and sparkling jewels…
They say clothes make the man—or in this case, a princess. There was a princess in the mirror.
Ahem. It's a bit embarrassing to call myself a princess.
“Wow, Lilis. You're so pretty. You look just like a princess.”
Theo came up behind me, fidgeting excitedly before gently pulling me into a hug.
“So cute and pretty…”
Seeing this, my aunt, who was sitting at a table nearby watching us with the boutique's madam, let out a chuckle.
“Theo, is your little sister that pretty to you?”
“Yes, Mom. She's like a doll. She's so, so lovely.”
Theo's candid words made me a little shy.
“Haha, she looks like an angel, so it's no wonder your son adores her. Wasn't he always going on about wanting a little sister?”
“He was. Yesterday, he was so excited he stayed up late, pestering me about taking his sister out to play…”
My aunt and the madam started chatting quietly again.
“Hey, shorty! The one you were wearing before was way better.”
Just then, Leon pushed Theo's arms away and spoke bluntly.
The dress Leon was holding was the yellow one I had tried on first when we entered the store.
“You think the yellow one is prettier, big brother?”
“Yeah. The one you're wearing now looks too grown-up. The yellow one is cute, like a little chick.”
“Hmm, I don't think so. Sky blue suits Lilis better.”
“Are you blind, Theo? The yellow one is better.”
“She's pretty in anything, but if I have to choose, I pick sky blue.”
“It's the yellow one!”
They were bickering so much I couldn't decide which one to pick.
I liked them both…
“Umm.”
As I fiddled with the dress in Leon's hand, I suddenly noticed the price tag.
[1,540,000 Terr]
‘What?’
I rubbed my eyes and looked again.
Was that really 1.54 million Terr?
One gold coin is 100,000 Terr, which means this dress costs more than fifteen gold coins.
For reference, Mr. James Brown earned 50,000 Terr—five silver coins—for selling a full load of wood.
‘Th-the price is insane. That's how much my dad makes working a whole month without a single day off.’
As I stood there, jaw dropped in shock, my aunt, who had gotten up at some point, was looking at the price tag on another dress on a mannequin.
“Oh my.”
…It's expensive, right? I know. Even though my aunt said she'd buy it for me, I couldn't help but feel self-conscious.
“Madam.”
“Yes, my lady.”
My aunt called for the madam.
“You said this was a new item. What fabric did you use to make it so inexpensive?”
……?
*Blink.*
Her unexpected question made me stumble.
“Not at all, my lady. Please don't worry. It's the same silk we always use. The price is just a bit lower because distribution has increased recently.”
“Ah, is that so?”
My aunt looked at a few more dresses before smiling and asking me.
“Have you tried them all on?”
“Y-yes! Auntie!”
I quickly checked the price tag on the sky-blue dress I was wearing.
1.66 million Terr. The yellow one Leon picked was cheaper, at least.
“Auntie, I'll take the yellow one…!”
I started to say, but my aunt was already over at the counter with the madam.
“The one she's wearing now seems to fit well enough, so we'll take it with us. As for the rest, please have them tailored to her size and send them over, Madam.”
“Yes, my lady.”
What? I stood there, rooted to the spot, until my aunt called me.
“Lilis, shall we go? You said you wanted cake, didn't you?”
“Um, Auntie. Weren't… weren't we picking out a dress?”
“Hm?”
My aunt tilted her head, then exclaimed, “Ah,” and laughed as if she found me endearing.
“No, dear. I wasn't asking you to choose. It just looked like you wanted to try them on. I've already ordered all the new spring items on display here. We can try on the rest when they arrive at the house.”
“Whaat?”
There were ten dresses on display in the boutique.
If ten dresses cost around 1.5 million Terr each, how much is the total?
“N-no. I…”
As if sensing I was about to say that one was enough, my aunt smiled warmly and said.
“You can't buy just one dress, can you?”
It was a statement that a commoner like me, who owned only two outfits for going out and wore them on rotation after diligent washing, could never comprehend.
I swallowed hard.
‘Is… is this that “ring up everything from here to here!” scene I've only ever seen on TV?’
The scale of it was beyond my imagination.
It seemed the rich could drop tens of millions on a single trip to a boutique without batting an eye.
Sh-she's buying them for me, so I should just accept… Feeling dazed, I bowed my head.
“Th-thank you, Auntie! I'll wear them well!”
* * *
*Melt.*
The soft strawberry cream melted the moment it touched my tongue.
“Haaaaah…”
As I cupped my cheeks and melted in ecstasy, my aunt and the twin brothers laughed.
“Is it that good, Lilis?”
“Uh-huh. It's the best…”
I replied with glazed eyes as Theo wiped some cream from my mouth.
The strawberry cake from the capital's finest dessert shop had a slightly scary price tag, but the taste was heavenly.
‘Can I… can I really eat all of this?’
On the magnificent four-tiered dessert tray, cakes, macarons, and cookies showed off their delectable forms, as if crying out, ‘Eat me!’
“Try this too, Lilis.”
“Ohm.”
“Shorty, this too.”
“Nom nom.”
Finding it amusing how I ate everything they offered, my brothers kept pushing their forks toward me.
My cheeks puffed out.
“Haha, she's so cute. Mom, Lilis looks just like a chipmunk.”
“You look so lovely when you eat well. Just eat slowly, or you might get a stomachache.”
“Okay!”
To think I could eat as many macarons as I wanted, when they were so expensive I was lucky to have them twice a month…
‘This is heaven.’
I'm so glad I came to the capital.
“Oh, is that Countess Valerine?”
Just then, my aunt stood up, looking at a carriage stopped outside the shop.
A plump noblewoman soon stepped out of the carriage and waved happily at my aunt through the window.
“Gasp. Erica's here too.”
“What? Dammit!”
What was that? Leon shot up from his seat and, after flailing about, tried to hide behind my chair.
“What are you doing, big brother? Are you hiding? You're not hidden at all.”
“Ugh, this is so annoying…”
Leon gave up, flopped back into his seat, and pulled me into a hug.
“What's wrong?”
“Leon doesn't really like Erica. A few days ago, when she came over to play, he tried to scare her away with a giant spider, but Erica got hurt, and he got scolded by Mom.”
“Aha!”
Theo's explanation jogged my memory.
So she was the victim of that giant spider incident.
I nodded and watched Erica enter the shop.
“Wow! That girl looks just like a princess…”
Erica was a beautiful girl with fluffy, wheat-colored hair that fell to her waist and fresh, leaf-green eyes.
She was tall and slender, too. She looked just like a pretty child model from a magazine.
“Leooooon!”
Erica, her cheeks flushed pink, came running over but stopped dead in her tracks.
Her bright smile vanished as her eyes flipped, and she glared at me.
To be precise… at Leon's arm, which was wrapped around my shoulder.
“What is this, Leon? Who is this girl?”
?
G-girl? I mean, I am female, but I'm just little seven-year-old Lilis.
Suddenly, the atmosphere turned into a soap opera.
‘Scary…’
Under Erica's gaze, which looked like it could burn me to a crisp, I stealthily removed the fork from my mouth, set it down, and darted my eyes around.
“I asked who this girl is!”
“What's it to you?”
…Hey, why would you say something so misleading? I shot Leon an exasperated look.
