Taming Her Highness the Princess

21 – Past and Future (4)

“I was somewhere here… ….”

Revera, who was able to get out of the islands after a lot of hard work, wandered hard in the forests of the continent’s backcountry. He came to see the head of the enemy Wolseong to report the plan’s failure.

However, no matter how many times you visit this forest, you will never get used to the geography. The more I walked, the more I felt like I was falling into a pit, and I couldn’t get rid of the thought that I was going round and round in the same place.

If you keep going like this, you will get lost and wander. Around the time I had such an ominous thought, a crow flapped its wings and approached me from somewhere.

Caw—

For some reason, Levera seemed to be telling the crow to follow her. When Revera nodded her head bewildered, the crow turned around and started flying towards one place.

The appearance of crows flying freely between the trees seemed to say that this forest was very familiar to them.

Levera, who was worried but followed the crow, soon came across an empty lot where several trees were cut down.

The only thing in the clearing was a handmade dugout and a bonfire piled with ashes. It must have been a while since he had eaten, judging by the few brass bowls lying by the campfire.

Somehow, it looked more shabby than the last time I saw it. While thinking that he couldn’t understand why he was doing this kind of eccentricity, the door of the dugout house opened and a middle-aged man with unkempt hair came out.

“Oh. Is it Levera?”

The men’s attire was as bad as a shabby house. It was embarrassing to see her wearing tattered cotton clothes like rags, even though she had no eyes to see.

“Verdagon, please order the brothers to build a new house. It’s hard to watch.”

“hahahaha. I appreciate her advice, but that’s not going to work. Because I can’t use Jeokwolseong’s money for self-interest.”

Caw! The crow that guided her Revera to this place flaps her wings and lands on Verdagon’s shoulder. As if that seemed familiar, Verdagon tickled the crow’s chin and continued.

“More than that, the fact that Revera, who is supposed to be carrying out her duties in her island, is here, as expected, seems to have gone awry.”

With a low moan, Revera lowered her head.

“Sorry. I never expected that there would be such fierce resistance even before the first button of the cause was put in place.”

“Ah. I don’t mean to punish you, so there’s no need to react so violently. I’m just curious. The man named Jeniel Malaig who thwarted our plans.”

Revera lifted her head with her whisper.

“…… Did you know?”

“Yes. Because you’re not the only one who came here. Crows are also giving me more news than I thought, right? So, even if you don’t report separately, I know about the situation in the system right now.”

Revera bowed her head again. She felt guilty that she had failed the mission and that she was late to report.

However, Verdagon did not place any significance on that. What Verdagon is thinking about now is not ‘why’ but ‘why’ he failed.

“I have no doubt about the faithfulness of our brothers. So obviously no one was leaking information, but how did Jenial know about our plan? It’s very curious, but…… There must be a limit to finding out the truth by reasoning.”

Ver Dagon, who carelessly stroked his chin, shrugged his shoulders in an expression of how he felt.

“Since the first plan went awry, I guess I’ll have to move on to the second one. This one might be a bit tricky, but right now there is no way. I guess we should make the prince, not the princess, on our side.”

“You mean the prince?”

“Yes. Originally, he planned to inject a small amount of poison to fake the death of the prince from the same chronic disease as his father, and then control the princess. Thanks to Jeniel, it doesn’t seem easy to approach the princess in the future, so I guess I’ll have to aim for the prince.”

Ah. Levera opened her mouth softly at her low realization. Certainly, with that method, it wasn’t impossible to overthrow the imperial family yet.

Although the borders of the island became stricter and many brothers were arrested, there were still quite a few brothers in Jeokwolseong waiting for orders with bated breath in the imperial family.

“The prince…… You intend to make him emperor.”

“Right. Although it won’t be easy to manipulate that self-righteous prince.”

The plan went awry, but it didn’t break. Relieved, Revera knelt down on one knee and bowed her head deeply.

“Then I will continue to monitor Jeniel’s behavior. Everything…….”

Verdagon smiled benevolently.

“For the wishes of the old gods.”

*

The sun high in the sky warmly illuminates the ground. The wind was cool and the air was pleasant, so the weather was not too good to conduct classes outside.

However, Irea’s condition as she waited for class in the front yard of Lotus Palace was not so good. The fact that he had been fidgeting with his arms crossed since earlier was full of tension.

Right now, Leah Ireah has taken Jennie Earl’s advice, ‘because there will be a practical class today, so pay attention to what you dress for,’ and is wearing her long hair tied back in a ponytail that hangs down.

She seemed to be able to see the trembling of her body more than usual, perhaps because her top was her short sleeves and her bottom was a short tracksuit that showed off her thighs.

‘Why are you doing that… ….’

Originally, Irea was more than twice as nervous as everyone else when she went out, but now it’s that much. It must have been that he couldn’t calm down at the thought of meeting Jeniel soon.

If I keep going like this, it might break down when I meet Jeniel. Ruinel sighed and approached Irea because she wanted to refrain from her lord showing such rudeness.

“Your Highness. Calm down. It won’t work if you’re trembling like this.”

“Huh? Yes! Hey, don’t worry Because I’m not nervous at all!”

I’m already showing the extreme tension with my voice, but can I really believe it? Although she was not the only one worried, she couldn’t keep holding on to Ireah.

Kikiiik─

A luxury sedan stops in style at the entrance of the front yard. Soon after, the back seat door opened and Jeniel Malaig, whom I knew well, got off.

It was Jennie Earl as usual, except for the splints on his arms and the bandages wrapped around his shoulders to hold them in place. However, Irea could not treat Jeniel as usual.

‘It’s coming… ….’

Jenny Earl hasn’t arrived yet, but his hands are shaking and his saliva is dry. In her head, the scene of Jenial hugging her at Mandel’s mansion kept replaying, driving her crazy.

I wanted to run right away and ask if her wounds were okay and talk about this and that, but her cold reason managed to restrain Ireah’s impulses.

This is the Lotus Palace and there are many eyes around. In addition, since it was open-air in all directions, people in the imperial palace could have glanced this way while passing by.

So she had to keep her dignity as the princess of the empire. Ireah, who tried to calm her tickling heart, waited for Jenny Earl to come to her with the most calm face.

‘When are you coming… ….’

A second of waiting passes as slowly as a minute. I was so anxious that I wondered if Jenial had always been this slow.

Jeniel, who had no way of knowing Irea’s feelings, walked leisurely while looking at the flowers blooming in the front yard of the Lotus Palace.

Eventually, Jenny Earl, who reached Ireah’s side, raised her intact hand and placed it on her chest. Despite the injury, as always, it was an instructional move.

“Your Highness the Princess. Sorry for making you come out first.”

“Gwa, it’s okay. How about a little bit more than that?”

“Thanks to Your Highness’ care, I’m almost healed. According to the doctor, she will make a full recovery before long, so don’t worry too much. Then, from now on, I will explain the lesson for today.”

Thanks to Jennie Earl, who naturally tried to explain the contents of her class, Irea involuntarily closed her hands. She still had a lot more to say, but she didn’t want to go straight to class.

It’s too cold even if it’s cold. Maybe Jenial has no feelings for saving her? While thinking about this and that, a low realization passes through his mind.

“Ah! Wait.”

Come to think of it, I decided to give a present to Jeniel. As Ireah gives her glance, Ruinel, who has been waiting near her, approaches with one of her staffs and her magazine.

Irea took her wand first and held it out towards Jenny Earl. Her gilt-covered handle, in soft outlines, was made of oak.

When I handed out the seemingly expensive cane as a gift, Jeniel was puzzled. At that, Irea gave a rather cruel smile.

“Whoops. It’s a gift. The professor sacrificed himself for me, so it’s only natural to give him an award, right?”

“…… Are you talking about a present?”

She was bewildered because it was the first time she had ever received a gift from Ireah so directly. Jenny Earl, who had been absent-minded for a moment, got down on one knee and bowed his head, accepting the staff Irea handed to him.

“Your last name is indescribable.”

Anyway, it was a gift directly from the imperial princess. Jeniel, who had no reason not to accept it gratefully, held the staff in his arms.

Now that she has received a gift, Ireah picks up one more of her as she is about to get up. She then, with a dash of self-confidence, she held it out to Jennie Earl.

“This is also a gift. I thought Jenny Earl would like it, so I asked her lady-in-waiting to get it for me.”

Jeniel looked up at the idea that there was another present. And what she discovered was…… It was an adult magazine wrapped well with a red ribbon.

The cover wasn’t sensational, but the ‘no adult viewing’ phrase at the top of the magazine let me know that it was an adult magazine.

Thanks to that, Jeniel was very confused. Because he couldn’t figure out the intention of giving this one in the slightest. On top of that, it was all the more confusing that I gave it to you ‘because I thought Jenial would like it’.

‘…… Are you floating?’

Or did he decide to make fun of us? Jeniel, who was completely unable to understand, opened his mouth cautiously.

“Your Highness. Can you explain what this magazine is all about?”

“Huh? As you can see, it’s an adult magazine. She heard from the lady-in-waiting that this is something that cannot be easily obtained in her system.”

In short, it is an illegal publication. The reason why it was designated as an illegal publication was, of course, highly likely because the level was high. The cover is normal, but…… It must be the world of Sura.

“…… Has Her Highness ever looked at the inside of a magazine?”

“I’ve never seen it before. It’s a gift, but I can’t open it before the person in question sees it.”

“Is that so… ….”

Fortunately, it didn’t seem like he gave it to me knowing what the contents were. If so, it would be right for Irea to collect it before checking the contents.

In addition, no matter how much it was an adult magazine, it was a gift given directly by the princess, so I couldn’t help but accept it. So, Jeniel did his best to accept adult magazines.

“Sungsung is…… It’s embarrassing.”

Jeniel stood up after receiving the magazine, looked around, and whispered low enough for only Irea to hear.

“Your Highness. If you don’t mind, can I leave this magazine in the car?”

Because it was an outdoor class, there must be many people in the imperial palace who come and go and see this way. Holding an adult magazine in front of such people is sure to bring your prestige to the ground.

It was like social assassination. At Jennie Earl’s request, who wanted to avoid that, Ireah nodded her head to mean that she knew.

Thanks to that, Jeniel, relieved, went back the way he had come. Irea, who was watching the back, looked back at Ruinel as if she was in a good mood.

“How is it, Luinel? Do you think the professor has come to like me a little bit?”

Ireah thought that Jennie Earl’s favorability rating would have increased because she gave her a gift she needed and a gift she liked.

However, Contrary to Ireah’s expectations, Jeniel was busy organizing his confused thoughts. Ruinel, who vaguely knew this, broke into a cold sweat and bowed her head deeply toward Irea.

“Your Highness. I have sinned to death.”

“Huh? What?”

“Just everything…… It’s my fault.”

Ruinel begged for an apology with tears in her eyes, but Irea just kept her innocent innocent eyes on her face as if she didn’t know what she was talking about.