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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: A Reluctant Departure
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Even though he was physically much younger than her. Right?
Mentally, she was quite a bit older.
Jusielia glared at Ekiel with her bright blue eyes.
‘Hmph.’
In this situation, she couldn't even trust Ekiel. Why was he so insistent on taking her, a beastman, to the Rilberg Empire?
Was he planning to experiment on her? Mages were said to be very curious, after all.
Or perhaps he had belatedly struck a deal with the Dark Divine Beast…
Jusielia's mind spiraled with one bad thought after another, and her expression darkened.
“Hmm.”
Ekiel, slightly taken aback by Jusielia's rejection, straightened up from where he had been leaning.
“Grrr.”
As Ekiel cautiously backed away, sensing the white tiger cub's mood, Jusielia also got up and looked around for someone.
‘There!’
Ritain was talking with Sophie near where the last of the luggage was being inspected for the airship, while Uni and Xaviet were carrying the bags.
Jusielia was dumbfounded.
It was really happening.
The magical airship that Uni and Xaviet were diligently loading was emblazoned with the crest of the Rilberg Empire.
‘I heard the Rilberg delegation arrived in it. They kept it hidden with invisibility magic.’
Jusielia knew this because Uni, who was fascinated by mages and had a friendly disposition, had found it out from one of them.
‘But am I really going to ride this to the Rilberg Empire?’
Normally, the airship, which should have remained docked high in the sky under an invisibility spell, would have had no reason to descend to the imperial palace.
Ekiel and the other mages could travel using levitation or teleportation magic.
But since non-magic users—Jusielia and her entourage—had to board, the magical airship had come all the way down here.
When Ritain's words about sending her to the Rilberg Empire to study abroad became a reality, Jusielia was overcome with sorrow and burst into tears.
“Kwwaaaaang!!!”
As Jusielia wailed hysterically, Ritain, who had been some distance away, rushed over in alarm.
“Oh, Jusielia.”
“Kahahahang!”
“You have to be brave and go.”
“Kyaaaang!”
“If you cry this much, your throat will hurt.”
“Kwaaaang!”
Was it because her body was young?
Jusielia was utterly heartbroken.
She hated the thought of leaving her home, the Penterin Imperial Palace, and being so far away from her family, Ritain and Ijeten.
“Jusielia, I'm sorry to ask this of you at such a young age, but this is something you must do as a princess of Penterin.”
“Hmph.”
“The Rilberg Empire has graciously agreed to have our princess receive magical training to commemorate the exchange between our two empires.”
A beastman with a supernatural ability cannot learn magic.
However, it was necessary to test whether a beastman's supernatural ability could be formulated in the manner of magic, and if they could handle such a modified magical formula.
The princess was to take on that role.
Jusielia pressed her lips together and glared at Ritain.
Fine, a princess's duty.
If it was something she had to do as a princess, she would do it. If the emperor commanded it, she had to obey.
But it was a matter of the heart.
She had never realized how much she would hate leaving home.
Of course, Sophie, who was like a mother to her, and Uni and Xaviet, who were like family, were coming along, but Ritain and Ijeten would not be there.
‘I don't want to be away from Daddy.’
She was even genuinely grateful that Ijeten, who couldn't even come to see her off because he was currently confined to the Crown Prince's Palace, had tried to kidnap her and run away.
‘Sob, I miss my brother, too.’
“Whimper, whimper.”
Jusielia whimpered, biting the hem of Ritain's trousers as she cried.
“Your Highness.”
“*Sob*.”
“Oh, my.”
The employees of the Penterin Imperial Palace who were watching felt their hearts ache and sniffled back tears.
‘Sigh.’
Ritain felt as if his heart were being torn to shreds.
Who could understand the heart of a father forced to send his young, adorable child to a strange place?
But he had to send her nonetheless.
Studying abroad is just an excuse. It's for your safety.
Ritain steeled his heart and lifted Jusielia into his arms.
He then showed her the white jadeite tiger pendant hanging from his sword belt, trying to soothe his daughter.
“Jusielia, you see this?”
“Kyang…”
“Daddy will send you lots of allowance.”
“Hmph.”
“Buy lots of interesting magical tools there, even better than this one, and send them to me as gifts.”
“Kyahng…”
Jusielia glanced sideways at the magic-tool-obsessed Ritain and lifted a paw to smack him on the cheek.
Ritain chuckled at the weak punch, which didn't even leave a scratch.
“And it would be even better if you sent me a greeting card with our Jusielia's paw print on it.”
“Grrr!”
He looked lovingly at his pouting child and gently tapped her nose.
“And get strong quickly in the magic empire and come back. Then you can spar with Daddy. And you'll become such a powerful princess that your brother will never dare to kidnap you again. Got it?”
“Grrr.”
As a slightly mollified Jusielia grumbled under her breath, Ritain wiped her tear-stained cheeks and gave her a kiss.
*Smooch.*
“I love you, my daughter. I'll miss you. I'll contact you every single day.”
Unaware that Ritain had packed one of the magical communication crystal orbs in her luggage, Jusielia glared at him as if he were spouting nonsense.
“Now, let's hurry. They say we have to be on board before the sun is fully up.”
Ritain narrowed his eyes as he looked at the dawning morning sky.
According to the mages, the magic circle activated for departure is usually affected by the solar wind.
Therefore, they needed to ascend and fly when the sun's influence was weak.
“Grrr.”
“This way, Your Highness.”
Sophie approached Jusielia, her arms outstretched in a gentle gesture.
Jusielia was passed from Ritain's arms to Sophie's and looked down at the stairs leading up to the magical airship.
Jusielia found it strange that Sophie seemed so calm, even though it must have been her first time on a magical airship.
Boarding the airship with Sophie, Jusielia spotted Ekiel, who was already on the aft deck with the archmages.
He had slipped away from her side earlier and disappeared; it seemed he had boarded the airship in advance to prepare for departure.
‘For some reason, I don't like him.’
Jusielia, still in Sophie's arms, pouted and then sharply turned her head away from Ekiel.
She signaled to Sophie to put her down.
“Will you be all right?”
“Kyang.”
Jusielia stood on the airship's deck and looked around at the Rilberg Empire's magical vessel.
The magical airship that would take her to the Rilberg Empire.
‘Studying abroad? No. There's another reason.’
Jusielia recalled the suspicious movements of Ritain, Ijeten, and the mages of the Rilberg Empire over the past week, how they had all been busy while leaving her out of the loop.
It was clear there was a more important reason than simply studying abroad.
It meant there was something ‘dangerous’ in the Penterin Empire. That's why even Ritain and Ijeten had gotten involved.
And at some point, she realized.
They were keeping this whole situation a secret only from her.
It was obviously to separate her from that ‘dangerous something’!
Convinced her guess was correct, Jusielia nodded to herself and then glanced toward Ekiel.
The young emperor was in a serious discussion with the archmages.
For a child, he looked cool, naturally fulfilling his roles as both emperor and the highest-ranking mage.
A new wave of disappointment washed over Jusielia.
Why wouldn't Ekiel give her a proper explanation?
‘Ekiel doesn't seem to have told anyone that we encountered the Dark Divine Beast in our dreams, but…’
Still, we've met several times now.
Aren't we on trusting terms?
Just then, her eyes met the vivid crimson ones of Ekiel, who was talking with the archmages.
Ekiel gave Jusielia a gentle smile, but she scoffed and turned her head away.
“Hmph.”
The atmosphere froze as the Penterin princess openly ignored the Rilberg emperor.
The mages, who had been gathered around the emperor fawning over the White Tiger Princess, were startled and began to whisper amongst themselves as they watched Jusielia ignore Ekiel and turn her back on him.
But Jusielia paid them no mind, turning away and heading off somewhere.
‘Ekiel is an idiot.’
She grumbled inwardly.
