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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Five Years Later
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‘God, it hurts! My lungs feel like they’re tearing apart!’
Jusi wailed.
“Grrrrowl!”
From then on, the wails of the White Tiger Princess from the Penterin Empire frequently echoed across the emperor's training grounds.
It was a cry mixed with anguish and sorrow.
“Kyahng……” (Dad…….)
「Hmm? My daughter? Why do you sound like that?」
After her training, Jusi returned and collapsed in front of the magical communication device sent by Ritain.
A call had already come from the Penterin Imperial Palace, and though she could hear Ritain's voice, she had no energy to speak.
Jusi replied weakly.
“Kyahang, kyahang.” (Tired, want to sleep.)
「Tired? What on earth did you do?」
“Kyaheung……, zzz……” (Did some runn… snore……)
「Jusi? Jusi? Are you asleep?」
And just like that, Jusi passed out.
Only Ritain's bewildered voice echoed from the other side of the magical communication device.
The next day, training began again without fail.
Ekiel smiled brightly.
“A light fifty laps today, too?”
“You monster!!!”
“I saw you yesterday. You’re a really good runner.”
Through tears, Jusi gritted her teeth and took off running.
As she was relentlessly drilled by Ekiel, Princess Jusi's time flew by.
***
Five years later, in the early spring of the Rilberg Empire.
Delicate buds burst forth from the trees that had endured the harsh winter, blooming into a breathtaking profusion of flowers.
The weather had grown warm, and delighting in the sight of the blossoms on the trees planted throughout the Rilberg Imperial Palace, everyone in the palace offices had opened their windows.
Most were lost in the scenery outside, smiling at the fragrance of the flowers.
“Hmph.”
Only one person in the imperial palace.
Regent Jetar’s expression alone was grave.
As if completely uninterested in the dazzlingly beautiful spring scenery outside, he sat at his desk, engrossed only in reviewing documents.
After reading the document over and over with a grave expression, he pushed up his glasses.
Then, he shot a sharp look at his aide, Baron Curtson, who stood waiting before him.
Baron Curtson, already on edge, flinched in terror when he met the regent's gaze.
“Baron Curtson.”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
“So, according to your report, Princess Jusielia must return within one or two years, and we must begin preparations?”
“Yes. That is correct.”
Baron Curtson swallowed hard and continued.
“To summarize the current situation in the Penterin Empire, as reported by the Penterin Imperial Family and the Council of Elder Nobles, the outlook is that it will be stable enough for the Princess to return within one to two years. Therefore, it would be best for our side to also begin preparations for her return……”
He trailed off, deliberately avoiding Regent Jetar's eyes, which had turned menacing.
‘Because His Excellency will also need at least a year or two to prepare for his farewell to the Princess!’
Regent Jetar's aide, Baron Curtson, squeezed his eyes shut.
He was the regent's loyal subordinate.
His Excellency the Regent, who had only ever loved himself, had two people he truly cherished: His Majesty the Emperor and the Princess of Penterin.
But while their Emperor was naturally meant to be here, the Princess of Penterin was someone who had to leave.
‘I must help him prepare his heart in advance.’
Baron Curtson clenched his fists, his loyalty burning.
Meanwhile, Jetar stroked his chin and raised an eyebrow.
“Hmph.”
His face was as pristine as ever, showing no signs of change or aging from five years ago.
‘I don't like this.’
Jetar clicked his tongue as he read the report.
Truthfully, even without his aide submitting such a report, he had heard about the rapidly stabilizing situation in the Penterin Empire and had guessed as much.
That the time for the Princess to return home was approaching.
Jetar rested his chin on his hand, suppressed a sigh, and gestured to his aide.
“Understood. You may leave now.”
“Yes! Understood.”
It was a cold dismissal, but Baron Curtson was relieved that the reaction was milder than expected and quickly left the office.
Jetar glanced apathetically at the document, then finally looked out the open window.
It was a fantastical scene of spring blossom trees, shining brilliantly white in the morning sun.
Jetar thought.
Those pure white cherry trees rippled as softly and shone as beautifully as Princess Jusielia's fur.
‘Gently swaying.’
In truth, Jetar had it bad.
The White Tiger Princess.
Could he send her away?
*I couldn't send her away if I tried. How could I ever let her go.*
“I must be getting old.”
Jetar mocked himself for his lingering attachment, for how he was slowly losing his mind.
‘What does it matter? At least I'm going mad gracefully. Many of my contemporaries are already showing signs of senility.’
He crossed his arms and snorted.
Jetar was now over sixty.
Honestly, if he had known he would become so obsessed with and pour so much affection into ‘something,’ he would have married when he was young, had children, and met his grandchildren.
It was too late to get a pet now.
Because unless it was a perfect white tiger like Princess Jusielia, nothing could ever move his heart.
“I'm doomed.”
Jetar took off his glasses and set them down.
Then he rubbed his face, which was taut and wrinkle-free due to a potion he had mistakenly consumed in his youth, and let out a deep sigh.
He wanted to marry a woman of a similar age.
But what sane woman of that age would marry him with a face like this?
“Haaah. For five years, watching our princess grow has been this old man's only joy.”
From a drawer, Jetar took out the princess's growth diary, which he had been secretly writing all this time, and opened it.
It was already the sixty-fifth volume.
“I wanted to fill a hundred volumes.”
The diary meticulously recorded her daily diet and snacks, playtime, and sleep schedule.
“Hehe, well, I should go fill it out for today, too.”
The sight of Princess Jusielia growing bigger and healthier every day was a joy for Jetar, whose daily life had become tedious.
Meanwhile, around Princess Jusielia, everything was being steadily prepared.
The White Tiger Princess grew up safely in the Rilberg Imperial Palace.
Emperor Ekiel had consistently trained Princess Jusielia for the past five years.
The princess had certainly grown stronger. Her supernatural ability had stabilized, and she had become more flexible in its use.
But she still couldn't take human form.
It was said that Penterin royalty usually did so before the age of five.
They surmised that the reason the now eight-year-old princess was later than average might be due to the repeated treatments to discharge her supernatural ability.
Usually, beastmen were said to take human form when they became proficient in possessing and using their supernatural abilities.
But since Princess Jusi repeatedly had her vast supernatural ability drained from her body, it was thought that this phenomenon might be a side effect.
‘It's only a guess, but that's what His Majesty the Emperor said. He also mentioned that since she is the reincarnation of Anash, there might be other variables at play.’
Jetar recalled Emperor Ekiel's words and fell deep into thought.
‘The princess's home has become safe, too.’
During that time, the situation in the Penterin Empire had also improved significantly.
When he recently had a meeting with the Penterin Emperor via a magical communication device alongside Emperor Ekiel, he was told that the group of followers they had found had been annihilated.
They had deliberately cleaned them out completely, leaving not even a remnant behind.
Other than that, there were no traces of the Dark Divine Beast to be found anywhere.
They had swept through the Eastern Empire once more in cooperation with mages sent from the Rilberg Empire, but they could not find any more followers of the Dark Divine Beast.
Also, during that time, the Penterin and Rilberg Empires had shared their respective strengths and weaknesses to complement each other.
The Penterin Empire strengthened its military power by dispatching beastman knights to the Rilberg Empire for training and deployment.
The Rilberg Empire sent magitech engineers to the Penterin Empire.
With their magitech skills, they built defensive bases throughout the Penterin Empire, spread magical techniques, and delivered magical tools.
And they established an emergency contact network to immediately notify each other if the Dark Divine Beast attacked anywhere on the Eastern or Western continents.
They also meticulously prepared countermeasures to help each other and switch to a special emergency defense system.
“The Dark Divine Beast must be watching all of this, so it won't dare to attack recklessly.”
Jetar let out a short laugh.
“I wish it would just stay quiet and lay low forever.”
He heard that the internal situation in the Penterin Empire had improved even more.
They had found the heir to Iteloz, who was thought to have been lost.
