CHAPTER 49……..
. Granting Land to the Princess!
Calion’s smile was faint, but when he saw Ares shielding Sion, the corner of his lips twisted.
“Lady Sion, please go inside. Lady Epikus is waiting.”
And then, the two boys glared at each other, their movements bristling with hostility.
From their perspective, Sion’s head barely even reached into their line of sight, so she had to jump up and down in frustration.
“Calion, when did you even grab a sword? Wait a second!”
“Today, let’s finally settle this, you little gnat.”
“Fine! You die, I die—today’s the day. You blue-eyed punk. How dare you covet Sion?”
“Both of you, pleeease stooop!”
While Sion was desperately bouncing between them—
A dark shadow fell over the three.
“Prince Alcyone, Young Master… are you enjoying yourselves?”
The world froze into ice in an instant.
There stood Lethe with a sullen face, and Minte with a wicked smile.
“Ugh. Master, why are you here?”
“……Why do you think?!”
When Ares asked, a vein popped on Minte’s temple.
“Because you’re pestering the princess again and picking fights with Prince Alcyone!”
“Waaah! Wait, why only me?!”
In the end, Ares was punished for his rudeness to Lethe by having to run five laps around the training ground.
“Hmmm, hm hm hm…”
A faint humming drifted from a salon in the city of Kore.
Madame Clotho was so pleased with today’s earnings that her belly practically sang.
When the salon had been wrecked before, she’d nearly collapsed in despair.
‘Hehe, I guess this is what they call a blessing in disguise. Things actually turned out for the better.’
Not only had the salon been restored to perfection—
The demon princess herself had bought a mountain of clothes, apologizing for “ruining the salon.”
‘If such a lovely princess wears clothes from here, my future is guaranteed!’
And noble children would continue to use this place for their social gatherings.
From behind the humming madame, a human tailor spoke with a smile.
“Madame, you seem in high spirits.”
“Ah, Andvari. Yes, both because the princess herself visited, and because festival orders have increased.”
“Oh my. A festival, you say?”
Andvari tilted her head with languid eyes.
She hadn’t lived here very long, so she’d rarely seen a demon festival with her own eyes.
Madame Clotho eagerly began to explain.
“Yes! Do you remember the princess who came by recently?”
“Ah…”
“Well, Her Highness has already been entrusted with the Veled District!”
“…Even though she’s so very small?”
“Hehe, she’ll grow quickly. Anyway, from the palace, through this very street, all the way to Veled—that’s the route she’ll take.”
“I see. That’s exciting.”
Andvari gave a faint smile.
As she spoke animatedly, Madame Clotho added carefully:
“Andvari, if you’d like, you could take leave and go see it?”
“Oh, Madame.”
“You’ve worked so hard, coming all the way here from Akidalia.”
“……”
At her words of comfort, Andvari only gave a bitter smile.
Her homeland, Akidalia, lay north of Tartarus.
Known as the “Land of Snow,” the northern region’s political climate had grown unstable.
So many humans had crossed the border, fleeing down into nearby Tartarus.
Even if, because of Halcyon, Akidalian humans were sometimes despised along with the rest…
The madame bit her lip in pity.
‘She works so diligently… Crossing the perpetual snows must have been so hard.’
With sympathy and gratitude mixed in her heart, Madame Clotho spoke again.
“…Andvari.”
“Yes, Madame.”
“Because of the war with Halcyon, we’ve been on edge toward humans. Like last time, when those noble children came by…”
“……”
“It’ll get better with time. Still, if anything bad happens, you’ll tell me, won’t you?”
At her words, Andvari smiled sweetly.
“Thank you, Madame. But I’m fine.”
“That’s a relief, but…”
“Really, no need to worry. Then, I’ll take my leave now. And thank you for the vacation!”
“Yes, good work today!”
Andvari smiled politely to the very end.
But once she stepped out of the salon, the smile vanished.
She slipped into a dark alley.
Making sure no one was around, she pulled out a cloudy emerald gemstone.
Pressing the engraved magic circle, she waited.
A man’s voice immediately flowed out.
—Andvari. What is it?
The man’s voice alone carried an oppressive weight.
“I have something to report, Priest Talos.”
Andvari’s gentle impression disappeared in an instant.
Her face turned icy, curling into a mocking smile devoid of warmth.
In Akidalia, the “Land of Snow,” few humans were born with “special powers” like the demons or the humans of the Sacred Kingdom.
Instead, with their hardy bodies, many took up mercenary work, handling the dirtiest tasks.
Andvari too was one such mercenary, contracted by Talos and planted in Kore.
Leaning against a shadowed wall, Andvari spoke languidly:
“There will soon be a festival in Kore. They say the Demon King will appear. And the demon princess as well.”
—……
“So, shall we just sit back and watch politely? Or… is there something you’d like me to do?”
Silence stretched, as if Talos were considering.
—……Will representatives of the human kingdoms be present?
“Yes. Plenty of merchant guilds will be coming and going.”
—Good. Then create a pretext—something to ruin relations between them and the demons.
Right now, Halcyon was bowing low before Tartarus.
Unless something drastic occurred, setting foot in that land was impossible.
But if the excuse was “because of other human kingdoms”…
Understanding his intent, Andvari chuckled.
“Yes, I’ll see the contract through. I’ll report again if anything unusual arises.”
—I’ll be expecting it, Andvari.
The spell cut off, and the gemstone’s glow faded.
When she returned to the bright street, the assassin’s face was gone—replaced by the polite smile of a human tailor.
‘I hold no grudge against the demons… But I have to make a living.’
Andvari looked up toward the distant, majestic Erebos Palace.
And she thought of the little girl who must be inside, whispering softly:
“Adorable demon princess. Please forgive me.”
After all, too many people in this world seemed to want it to burn.
Blink, blink. Blink, blink.
Even though I wanted to sleep in a little longer, my eyes popped open from nerves.
Today was the day I would be granted the Veled District.
I could almost feel the excitement of the people seeping all the way into Persen Palace, and my stomach churned.
‘Wow. Why am I even more nervous about this than my birthday festival?’
At least the birthday festival had been inside the palace, with only dignitaries watching me.
But today’s festival was different.
Today, I’d go out into the streets and meet the demons of Tartarus directly.
‘It’s the very first day I’ll be recognized as a princess by all demons—regardless of rank.’
When I first heard about the value of the Veled District, I’d nearly fainted.
Of course, the other districts were prestigious and wealthy in their own ways.
But Veled, located in the southwest, was especially unique.
‘It’s the place where not only demons but people from every kingdom gather most easily…’
Merchants from Illyod, the southern kingdom of mages, always reached Veled first.
And people from Akidalia, the Land of Snow, drifted into Veled seeking warmth.
Thus, the Veled District was a place where cultures mingled and flourished rapidly.
‘If not for the war, Halcyon’s guilds would surely have passed through often as well.’
…If only it were a peaceful age.
But I had no time to dwell on regret.
The moment my four-wheeled chariot, decorated with peonies, passed through the palace gates, flowers showered down from all directions.
“Princess! Your Highness, please look this way!”
“Her Highness Elysion!”
I stared in awe at the cheering spectators.
People revered the Grand Saint when they needed her.
‘But… was there ever this kind of fervent affection?’
