TJTPBFB 11

Chapter 11

“The Adorable Prince”

Could it be that The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter
wasn’t about someone from the moon—
but from another world entirely…?

Now that I think about it,
didn’t Princess Kaguya grow up unusually fast?

Bamboo itself is a plant that grows and regenerates quickly.
If she possessed those same traits,
then the prince’s rapid growth also makes sense.

Looking back, even when I was little,
my injuries healed incredibly fast.

Is that because I carry the blood of the Jewel Kingdom?

No way.
That’s just the kind of thing you read in manga—
a world like that couldn’t possibly exist…

As I thought that, I looked at the smiling prince.

But—wait a second.

If Grandma and Father were sent here
just a few years after the war ended…
then—what? He’d be seventeen or eighteen now?

When Ruri said that aloud,
Lapis explained calmly,

“In the Jewel Kingdom, the first Child Ceremony
is held for princesses between the ages of sixteen and eighteen,
on their birthday.”

“What’s this ‘Child Ceremony’?
That sounds kinda scary,” Ruri said, frowning.

“It’s not scary at all,” Lapis replied.
“In the Jewel Kingdom, there’s a sacred geode that brings forth children.
A chosen princess drops a single drop of her blood into it.
Then, a child is born from the geode.

Commoners, too—only select young women between sixteen and eighteen—
enter the crystal caverns and drip blood onto a glowing stalagmite.
They return home carrying the child born from it.”

“That’s… terrifying,” Ruri muttered.

“It’s not terrifying,” said the girl in purple.
“But what’s unforgivable
is that if the child born is a prince—or any male—he’s killed.”

“What? Why?” Ruri gasped.

“The Jewel Kingdom is a land of women only.
Men are considered unlucky.
And in the past, only the royal family ever produced males—
so the queen made an even greater fuss,
calling them omens of misfortune.”

The red-haired girl spoke with an expression of disbelief.

“It happened over seventy years ago.
During the ritual held when Lady Eris turned eighteen,
a prince was born.
The queen tried to behead him,
but Lady Eris fled, carrying the child with her.”

“We fairies live in a small island territory of the Jewel Kingdom
called Fairy Stone.
Even though the jewels we create influence the neighboring nations,
the queen treats us as her pawns.
It’s infuriating,” the purple girl said bitterly.

“To save the prince, Lady Eris threw herself
into a rift in time and space with him.
We all thought she had died.
In our land, it’s said that anyone who enters such a rift
loses all their magic—and their life,”
the blue-haired one explained, arms crossed.

Ruri listened silently, then said,

“So you were all thrown into a space-time void
where everyone is said to die—
along with a child.
Doesn’t that mean she was ready to die too?
Oh, I get it. You were just her pawns, weren’t you?
People in power are the same everywhere.”

“…”

All fourteen of them looked at one another in shock.

“What? You hadn’t realized that?
Well, I mean, it’s lucky you didn’t die,
but one wrong step and you would have, right?”

“L–Lady Linon is a beautiful and kind person,”
said the silver-haired girl, her voice trembling.
“She truly believed we were the only ones
who could protect the prince.”