CHAPTER 46…….
. Bestowing Land Upon the Princess! (1)
One summer day, when the green foliage sparkled under the sunlight.
The faces of those gathered in the Hades Palace were tense.
Even Phobos raised an eyebrow.
‘It’s not a regular meeting or an audience day… but all the leaders are here?’
It was especially surprising that most of the heads of the Four Great Houses were present.
The Duke of Ismenios.
The Marquis of Epikus.
The Count of Nestor.
But the last house’s seat remained empty.
‘Looks like the Eunomian family still can’t return yet.’
The house that had founded the royal library had suffered greatly in the last war.
The head couple had died in battle, and the heir was still too young.
Still, when Phobos saw the Marquis of Epikus, he grinned and flitted over.
“Well, well, Marquis Epikus!”
“Ugh. D-Duke Ismenios…”
The marquis was a handsome middle-aged gentleman with neatly swept-back purple hair, the same shade as his daughters’.
But the moment he saw the duke, he paled and stepped back.
“My future father-in-law, how have you been?”
“Ha ha… You do love to joke, Duke.”
“Joke? My feelings toward Sir Minte Epikus have always been sincere!”
“Hah… ha ha ha…”
The marquis glanced up at the ceiling, exasperated.
‘Always smiling, but he’s a terrifying man.’
A man who could be flighty one moment and coldly calculating the next.
The Epikus family also supported the Demon King, of course—
—but the Ismenios family was on a whole other level.
‘Fanatical is the word.’
Before Phobos could torment the marquis further, the office doors opened.
Conversations ceased instantly, and everyone dropped to one knee.
“It was a sudden summons, yet you are all here.”
Erevos was smiling, but no one dared look directly at that face.
Even Phobos clenched his jaw at the anger radiating from his old friend.
‘Who was it? Who the hell made him this mad?’
Who had dared to truly enrage the Demon King?
Still bowing, Phobos rolled his eyes toward those beside him.
But everyone who met his gaze declared their innocence with their eyes.
‘Then what? Why’s he so angry?’
These days, the Demon King was “comparatively” calmer than his predecessors…
But in his youth, he had been one of the three who overturned the monster-infested East.
The other two had been Phobos and Lia.
Erevos surveyed the gathering with a bitter smile.
“Last time, thanks to your support, the princess’s birthday festival concluded without incident.”
At those words, Phobos gave an awkward grin.
‘In the end, we didn’t get any solid evidence on that strange group of humans…’
The only thing they’d confirmed was that the hatred between Tartarus and Halkion still burned.
For now, it was just embers—but one day, it could flare up again like a dragon’s breath.
Still, Erevos didn’t bring that matter up again.
“Now that we’ve introduced the princess to everyone at the birthday festival… I intend to grant Elysion the Veled District.”
“Ve—?!”
The kneeling nobles nearly exclaimed aloud in unison.
At the heart of the capital Kore lay five districts surrounding the center.
For generations, the royal family had granted the heir control over one of them—
—so they could “get a taste of statecraft” before becoming the next Demon King.
“Your Majesty!”
Phobos blurted out in shock.
Since he’d long since thrown away all pretense of etiquette, no one was surprised.
“The princess is far too young! Normally, this is done when they’re at least twelve—”
“Duke. I will never have a child other than Elysion.”
“I know that! But still—!”
“The actual governing authority will be given to her when she’s older. For now, I’m only appointing her as Veled’s representative a little early.”
“Ah… I see. So Your Majesty’s sense of timing is just a little different from mine.”
At Phobos’ reply, the other nobles bowed their heads and ground their teeth.
They were truly grateful that this reckless man was loyal to the Demon King.
Thanks to him, the mood lightened for a moment—
—until Erevos spoke again, and everyone tensed.
“And at the appointment ceremony, Prince Alkyone will be made Elysion’s vassal.”
The demons’ faces froze instantly.
Their own children had no special ties to the princess, yet the prince of a divine kingdom would be the first?
But Phobos quickly understood Erevos’ intent and rubbed his chin.
‘…Not bad.’
His usual roguish expression was gone.
‘It’ll show everyone in Kore just how merciful the royal family is.’
The prince of Halkion, the divine kingdom that had killed the demon queen—
—treated well, not abused. A kind of display.
‘But our princess is still firmly on top.’
Always.
…Once the other leaders calculated that point, Erevos leaned back in his throne and nodded.
“I’ll take that as agreement. Now… Lord Nestor.”
Among those kneeling, the gray-haired count flinched.
A man whose neatly combed hair and square jaw radiated stubbornness—
—but whose eyes now trembled more than usual, darker even than his daughters’.
“How unusual. No objection from you, Lord Nestor?”
“…When have I ever opposed the august Erevos?”
“Is that so? I thought contradicting me at every turn was your sworn duty.”
“That is not the case…!”
“Really? By the way, are your daughters well?”
The heads of the other noble houses slowly turned their gaze toward the count.
The count’s face went completely blank.
Normally, offering remonstrance when something strayed from “proper conduct” was the mission he’d assigned himself.
But ever since his second daughter, Selina, had excitedly told him about what happened at “Madame Clotho’s Salon”…
“Father, the princess was so cool! She even shut up the Ismenios heir!”
“So the brother of that lunatic obeys the princess, huh.”
“Yes! Oh, and… about my sister…”
And when he heard what his eldest had done, the count’s blood had run cold.
‘Theia… No matter how angry you were—!’
He knew well how much his daughter missed the knightly order that had perished.
‘But she doesn’t realize how much the Demon King dotes on his daughter!’
And so the count realized immediately—
This time, he had no logical grounds to oppose the Demon King.
Erevos was smiling as if to say, “Shall we call it even?”
A look that said he was letting the Nestor family off easy this time because he knew their circumstances.
The count grit his teeth, restraining the urge to shout.
‘Even so, Your Majesty! How could you—!’
The Veled District was the fastest-growing area lately, thanks to demon and human merchant guilds.
This was a historic moment—the golden land being granted to a princess who had just turned five.
“My goodness! This is truly… an unbelievable honor!”
In front of me, Rete clasped her hands, eyes brimming with tears.
After reading the royal edict just delivered from the Hades Palace, both Epikus sisters had gone wild.
Rete spun me around in a circle as she hugged me.
“Kyaa! Wait, Rete!”
“This is the first time in Tartarus’ history, Princess!”
“Uwah—g-giving land?”
“Not just any land! The Veled District itself!”
Minte, too, shouted excitedly toward the maids.
“Call for the court painter! We must record this day!”
“Yes, Lady Minte!”
Ah… It had been a while since I’d heard that tone of hers.
But while everyone else was in high spirits, I—the one at the center of it all—didn’t really grasp the gift’s value.
“Is it… really that important?”
“Of course!”
Rete hugged me tightly, like a real mother.
“Do you know how sick I was of hearing those vile things people said?!”
“Huh? Vile things?”
“Ahem, w-well, in any case!”
Perhaps realizing she was too worked up, Rete cleared her throat.
“You were already, of course, the sole heir—but now this publicly proclaims it to everyone.”
“Hmm. Then, Minte, Rete… what should I do in the Veled District?”
“Hehe, no need to worry about that yet.”
“Rete’s right! For now, it’s just a formality!”
Minte, who’d been making a fuss about summoning the painter, hugged both Rete and me at once.
“You could start a business there, or just keep it as it is—either way is fine!”
“Really?”
Still, a sense of duty as a princess stirred inside me.
‘What should I do there? What could I do to make it a paradise—’
…Hmm?
