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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: The Blue Mana Stone
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The feeling of regret and sadness, of not knowing what to do when you have to part with someone.
He'd never felt it before.
He didn't want to let her go.
He knew Jusie had to return to Penterin to grow stronger.
Now that the Princess of Penterin could humanize, there were things she needed to learn there.
It was the only way for her to become strong.
That was why Ekiel was so conflicted.
Hating the way his selfish emotions clashed with his reason, Ekiel chose the defense mechanism of ‘avoidance’ for the first time.
He avoided Jusie.
He believed that if he just kept his distance from Jusie for a few days, these volatile emotions would subside.
Once again, he trusted his own judgment.
Because that was the kind of person ‘Ekiel’ was.
A man whose emotions had been dulled, his mind developed toward reason from mastering magic and knowledge at a high level.
Therefore, emotions could be suppressed.
So…
“Your Majesty should focus on your own affairs! Just give me my access pass. I can take care of myself.”
While Ekiel was lost in thought, Jusie held out her hand in frustration and demanded it again.
Ekiel stared blankly, his gaze shifting between the girl's pale hand and her face.
Jusielia Brianna Penterin.
Could he really suppress these feelings he had for her?
No, in the past five years, he had never once managed to suppress his emotions.
If anything, they had become more colorful because of this girl.
He had failed.
He knew it himself.
The sadness of having to send her away would never disappear just by avoiding her for a few days.
*‘Then, I have no choice but to keep her by my side as much as possible before she leaves.’*
Ekiel changed his mind.
He decided to become a gentle collaborator who would be helpful to Jusie.
All his resolutions crumbled because of the cute tiger who chased him down and poked him for not paying attention to her.
The corners of Ekiel's lips crept up unconsciously.
“What are you smiling at?”
Jusie grumbled, looking Ekiel up and down as if she were displeased.
“No reason. I just missed you.”
How could he not look at her?
Ekiel now admitted it.
From dreams to reality, he had spent over eight years by her side.
He didn't know how it was for Jusie, but to him, she was more than a simple collaborator or partner.
*‘Our friendship is more precious.’*
Ekiel met the girl's prim gaze and came to a conclusion.
His world was both complex and simple.
To those outside his boundaries, he was moderately merciful yet indifferent.
But to those who entered his circle, he would push them harder, show his possessiveness, and become obsessive as a sign of his endless affection.
Because he didn't want to lose those he considered his own.
The loss of his precious family had been a great trauma for the young Ekiel.
And realizing only now that Jusie had entered deep inside those boundaries, Ekiel clenched his fists tightly.
*I don't want to lose you.*
“Why aren't you saying anything, Your Majesty! Ugh, this is so frustrating.”
Ekiel gave a faint smile to Jusie, who was still prodding him with formal speech.
My audacious White Tiger.
What was it she said earlier?
Had she asked if he was avoiding her now because she was cuter in her tiger form?
*‘What a pointless question.’*
He lifted his arm, which had been stiff as a statue until now, and reached for the girl's head.
Jusie's eyes widened in surprise, but she didn't avoid his touch.
That was how accustomed they were to each other.
“Jusie.”
Ekiel neatly tucked the girl's long, soft, snow-white hair behind her ear.
Looking down at the pretty young girl's plump, fair cheeks, a smile bloomed on his lips.
Her rosy cheeks were lovely.
She had complained, asking if she was cuter as a White Tiger.
*‘Of course not. You're just as pretty either way.’*
Ekiel gently stroked Jusie's head again and again.
“What are you doing?”
Seeing Ekiel act kindly like he used to, Jusie pouted and grumbled in a sulky voice.
Ekiel whispered softly.
“Jusie is Jusie.”
“…What's that supposed to mean? Of course. I'm me.”
“Right. Nothing has changed between when you were a White Tiger and now.”
At his whisper, Jusie looked up at Ekiel with a blank stare.
What on earth did that mean? What was he trying to say?
Jusie frowned, looking down at herself before spinning around in a circle.
Her pale legs, her long body—no matter how she looked at it, a lot had changed.
Jusie pursed her lips.
“Ekiel, are beasts more your type? You pervert. If you want me to bite you like I did as a tiger, I can.”
Jusie's eyes twinkled playfully, and she approached Ekiel, giving his arm a light bite.
But Ekiel simply smiled.
He didn't retaliate at all, only watched Jusie quietly as she bit his arm.
With Ekiel remaining so still, it was Jusie who felt awkward.
*‘What the!’*
Jusie let go of his arm and stepped back.
Then she scratched the back of her neck and muttered.
“Well… yeah, something like that. Anyway, hand over my mana stone access pass, Your Majesty!”
Watching Jusie make her demands, Ekiel felt like a debtor.
Staring at the cute loan shark, Ekiel let out a sigh-like laugh and opened his subspace.
From it, he took out the access pass bracelet he had made for Jusie before.
*‘Huh?’*
Spotting the bracelet, Jusie's eyes went wide.
Her pouting lips quickly receded as she broke into a grin.
“It's a blue mana stone! That's mine, right, Ekiel? Huh? Huh?!”
Ekiel smiled, thinking how Jusie, clinging to his arm and firing off questions with an excited face, was exactly like a little White Tiger cub.
*‘Honestly.’*
Her bright blue eyes, full of anticipation, sparkled.
Even as a human, Jusie had a special aura.
Her looks were beautiful, of course, but that bright, pure, and refreshing feeling she gave off would draw people to her.
There would be many who held not pure goodwill, but wicked desires.
A shadow fell over Ekiel's crimson eyes.
That was why he was worried.
Ekiel didn't give her the bracelet right away and asked seriously.
“Jusie.”
“Hm?”
“Where are you planning to go with this? I know you're not making this fuss just to wander freely inside the palace.”
When he narrowed his eyes and asked accusingly, a startled Jusie strongly denied it at first.
“N-No! First, I'm going to look around the Rilberg Imperial Palace freely. The palace is huge! You know my mana stone level. How pathetic was it? I couldn't even go where I wanted. Hmph!”
Jusie deliberately acted angrier, speaking resentfully.
As she did, she thrust out her left wrist.
“I couldn't go anywhere because of this!”
A green mana stone bracelet.
It had been five years since she came to the Rilberg Empire, yet she still only had a low-level access pass.
The great Lady Jusie, no less.
Jusie was now genuinely getting angry. The pent-up resentment from the past five years was about to explode.
It was like a soldier who'd never gotten a day of leave, gearing up to defy their superior officer.
“I definitely tore your clothes during the evaluation this time, didn't I? Huh?! I really deserve it. Give it to me now!”
“…Alright.”
Even the sight of her raising her eyebrows and fuming was so lovely that he grew a little worried, but he was a man who kept his promises, so he decided to give her the bracelet.
Jusie had indeed grown, and it was rare for anyone to inflict that much damage on him.
It was a remarkable growth, befitting the reincarnation of the White Tiger Anash and a princess of the Penterin imperial family.
Ekiel held up the blue mana stone access bracelet for Jusie to see clearly.
Jusie's eyes widened.
It was a deep blue mana stone.
Seeing that it was darker than Sophie's, Xaviet's, or Uni's, it was clearly the highest level among the blue-tier access passes.
This meant there were far more places within the Rilberg Imperial Palace she could go freely compared to her three attendants.
Except for the Emperor's bedroom and other private areas, she could go anywhere—and she could even leave the palace as she pleased!
An excited Jusie stomped her feet.
“Hurry up and give it to me!”
“You should say 'please,' shouldn't you?”
Finding her adorable, Ekiel teased her lightheartedly.
But Jusie spread her hands and said without batting an eye.
“Please!”
“…Yes, valued customer. Here you are.”
Taken aback by Jusie's compliant response, Ekiel had no choice but to hand over the bracelet.
If he didn't give it to her now, he felt like he would truly become the villain.
Watching her excitedly inspect the bracelet from all angles, Ekiel's heart ached with a pang of regret.
*‘Maybe I should have given it to her sooner.’*
