Episode 3
“Uh, well…”
I tried to brush it off, but Phoebe’s eyes grew round.
“Oh my! Are you admitting it now? You always insisted it was nothing, saying there was only friendship between you two!”
Ah, really?
Was him expanding my room also friendship?
‘If that’s friendship, then Louise from South Korea didn’t have a single friend.’
It was only then that I waved my hands dismissively.
“Stop with the nonsense and get out, Phoebe.”
After Phoebe giggled and left the room, I looked down at the box and took a deep breath.
The box was a dazzling gold color, the tied ribbon looked extremely luxurious, and overall, it appeared very expensive and large.
‘I wonder what’s inside?’
Carefully, I untied the ribbon and opened the lid.
Inside the box, brilliant velvet was laid out, filled with trivial trinkets and snacks.
‘……It’s less impressive than I thought?’
But soon, that thought felt inadequate as I discovered a very suspicious-looking glass orb.
‘A magic tool. It’s a magic tool.’
That’s right. This is a world with magic.
Not wanting to carelessly touch the suspicious sphere, I searched every corner of the box, but aside from the orb, there didn’t seem to be a single important item.
“Sigh…”
I let out a sigh and peered into the orb.
The orb changed from white, to purple, to orange, and even light green.
‘It’s just a communication device.’
One that I, no less, had devised.
Gathering my courage, I carefully took out the glass orb. The light burst out as if exploding and clung to the wall.
Soon, a large face filled the wall.
‘So… so handsome…’
Skin as white as winter, hair that shimmered fantastically, silver eyelashes as if lightly dusted with snow, eyes bluer than the sea, pale lips…
“Hoo…”
I forgot to breathe at the sight of Callisteon’s face, which I was seeing for the first time, until I remembered that this body was pregnant and slowly exhaled.
‘Sorry, baby.’
A smile appeared on Callisteon’s lips reflected on the wall.
“Seeing you after so long, have you fallen for me all over again? You should have visited sooner.”
His low voice was quiet but had a captivating power.
“Se-, Senior…”
It was the first time in my life I had spoken to a man this handsome, causing me to buffer.
‘Plus, his face is so large it fills the entire wall, it’s like talking to a movie protagonist.’
Callisteon frowned.
“Senior? Lou, are you angry with me?”
It seemed the term wasn’t ‘Senior’ after all.
Even though the letters clearly said ‘as your senior’ multiple times.
“That’s not it, Cal.”
I corrected myself, remembering the signature he had added, and it seemed right this time.
Callisteon finally relaxed his expression and spoke.
“I’ve decided to attend the victory banquet next week. That day, I will properly petition His Majesty the Emperor.”
“Wha-, what are you going to say?”
When I asked blankly, Callisteon’s brow, which had barely smoothed out, wrinkled up again.
But he was so handsome I couldn’t look away.
“Are you joking with me right now?”
No, you said you weren’t my senior, so why this tone?
Before I could question him, Callisteon declared.
“I can’t wait any longer. I will propose to you that day.”
After a moment of silence, I reflexively cried out.
“……You can’t!”
Callisteon let out a sigh.
“I can.”
Why, why is he so resolute?
‘I still can’t be sure if you’re the father or not, you know.’
I might have spent the night with another man!
“N-, no……”
He sighed again, watching me stammer.
“Your birth brother, His Majesty the Emperor, Her Majesty the Empress, or the other princesses… if it’s about things like that, I’m tired of it too. If it’s about some minor kingdom’s prince or that crazy mage, I don’t even want to hear it.”
Yes, you mean Ernst and Ren?
‘So they are also obstacles to your proposal?’
Which means I need to meet them too…!
“And not only that…”
Just then, a clear, distinct knocking sound was heard from somewhere, and an unfamiliar knight in uniform appeared behind Callisteon.
“Your Excellency, my apologies for interrupting your personal time, but I have an urgent report…”
Callisteon casually raised a hand towards the knight and looked forward again.
“Louise.”
“……Yes?”
When I reluctantly answered, he chuckled.
“Let’s talk when we meet. You just stay right there as you are.”
A bright light enveloped the wall again, and his face slowly disappeared.
The light from the glass orb also completely went out, and it no longer responded even when I touched it.
‘Right, I set this as a single-use item…’
My next thought was ‘This must have been incredibly expensive,’ but since I didn’t buy it, what did it matter?
That man is the master of Babenberg, where money springs from the ground.
‘Of course, in reality, it’s magic stones, not money, but in this world, those are even more precious than money.’
That’s why when Rurik devoured Babenberg, ignoring all treaties with the Grand Duchy, the imperial officials were secretly satisfied.
‘They used one madman as an excuse to accumulate inexhaustible wealth.’
I took out the pile of letters from the drawer again and started looking through only the ones from Callisteon.
If until now I had been agonizing over ‘Who is the father?’, now it was time to find out what kind of man Callisteon was.
‘Wait a minute… Now that I think about it, he’s a Sword Master, right?’
So I wonder if he’s usually violent.
I saw you running frantically down the hallway earlier; what was that about?
Your legs are delicate, so you must handle them carefully.
As your senior, I gift you a pair of soft-soled indoor shoes…
……Well, he doesn’t seem particularly violent.
Then, since he’s a Grand Duke, I wonder if he’s too authoritative.
I’ll need your help at this academy charity event.
I’m supposed to blow soap bubbles for the refugee children; we don’t have such games in the North.
But if you teach me, I’m willing to learn.
He has a willingness to learn… so he doesn’t seem authoritative.
And the fact that he’s thinking of ways to play with children…
‘Wouldn’t he be a pretty decent father?’
I shook my head back and forth, having such thoughts.
‘Get a grip, self.’
But maintaining sanity while thinking about a man that handsome might be a bit difficult for a woman from South Korea…
‘Anyway, since he plans to propose, he’d probably be happy about the pregnancy too, right?’
Of course, that’s assuming he acknowledges the child as his… but surely I, a princess, wouldn’t…
‘…be so foolish as to carry another man’s child while being courted by the Northern Grand Duke.’
Thinking that, I felt a little relieved.
‘Ugh.’
Still, the morning sickness remained unchanged.
Incidentally, among the letters he sent, there was this one:
You said you felt unwell after going out with that guy Ren?
See, I told you not to blindly follow him to the restaurants he frequents.
How can the stomach of a lowly Magic Tower Master be the same as that of a noble imperial princess?
As your senior, I’ve summoned some doctors; go for a check-up after school.
I called six, so at least one of them should be able to cure your stomachache.
That ‘as your senior’ refrain again.
‘But the fact that he summoned six doctors just to cure a stomachache means he could probably cure morning sickness too, right?’
I anxiously fidgeted with the extinguished glass orb, but the light did not return.
“Blegh.”
The next day, I secretly vomited everything I had eaten for breakfast in the bathroom.
My face in the mirror was so pale that anyone would think I was sick.
‘At this rate, it will be impossible to keep the pregnancy hidden.’
In a hurry, I tried biting my lips to redden them and nearly bit my tongue in surprise.
‘Damn, she’s disgustingly pretty.’
The pale, pink-haired princess with rose-red lips was seriously beautiful, looking as if she could wake up from a dream at any moment.
It felt that unreal.
Of course, it’s a thought I’ve had every time I fell asleep these past few days, but I’m still here.
‘If I could contact Callisteon again… just smiling at him once would probably make him fetch medicine that doesn’t even exist.’
However, there seemed to be no way for me to contact Callisteon first, and the day of Rurik’s arrival was now imminent.
‘If I look like this, it’ll cause a commotion.’
I wondered who could help me.
Naturally, the first person that came to mind was the female protagonist, Helena.
‘Because Helena has healing powers.’
But Helena should still be unaware of her abilities, working as a maid in a convent.
If Rurik might run amok exactly as in the novel I wrote, there’s no benefit in disrupting the original plot of his redemption.
‘Let’s leave Helena alone for now.’
Then the next is Ren…
‘But Ren isn’t just some mage; he’s the Master of the Magic Tower.’
The Magic Tower is far away, set at the foot of some mountain.
I barely mentioned the information, so I can’t remember.
‘What mountain was it again…?’
I started sifting through Ren’s letters to find the exact location of the Magic Tower and soon noticed something strange.
‘The sender locations are all different.’
Unlike Cal’s letters, which only came from the academy dormitory or Babenberg, Ren’s letters came from everywhere.
From the Magic Tower at the edge of the Empire, from the Kingdom of Flavi, and sometimes even from within the capital city itself.
‘The capital city…’
I searched through the star-covered map Ren had sent me, found that address, and realized it was quite close to the imperial palace.
‘If Ren is here right now, maybe he can help me before Rurik arrives.’
Even if he can’t cure the morning sickness, he could probably at least use magic to make my complexion look healthy.
‘Ren is the genius Magic Tower Master, after all… someone with such a title.’
So, I wrote a letter to the unfamiliar address in the capital city.
Ren, I’m sick.
Of course, I had no idea the effect of that letter would be so immediate.
