Thank you, Jayde, for the Kofi .
“Uh…?”
The prince blinked his large eyes and looked around. He seemed startled by the voice that came from somewhere. He slowly backed away, looking like he was about to run away.
“Now, now. Don’t even think about running away.”
“…!”
The prince, who had been retreating with innocent eyes, flinched and stopped in his tracks.
“U… uuh… Alfred? Don’t joke around. Sniff.”
Oh, so that servant’s name was Alfred.
Elshnain lowered her voice and spoke ominously.
“Leave the palace quietly.”
“S… Sir…! My brother told me not to follow strangers…!”
“Do you want me to reveal your secret here?”
“…..!!”
The prince, who had been trembling in fear, instantly stopped shaking at Elshnain’s words.
A sharp glint flickered in his once-innocent, blinking eyes. Gone was the whining child from just moments ago as he quickly fell silent and slowly walked toward the palace exit.
He’s avoiding the servants quite well; Elshnain thought.
His steps were so adept, as if he had been slipping past his servants like this for a long time now.
Leaving the long corridor behind, Elshnain followed him through a secluded door to the outside, revealing a small garden tucked away in a shadowy corner.
“Sniff. I came just as you said.”
Despite the impression that she had already figured him out, the prince still hadn’t given up and was wiping away tears as he sniffled.
Elshnain, on the other hand, mentally mapping out the path to fully leave the palace from the garden, snorted in amusement.
“Stop the act in front of me, will you? After all, we’re about to become close business partners.”
“…?”
The prince’s eyes briefly flashed with astonishment at her abrupt mention of becoming close business partners, cutting straight to the point without any preamble.
“W-What do you mean by that?”
“What do I mean? I’m saying I’d like to join you in your double life; The prince who, though cursed to live forever as a child, isn’t actually under a curse.”
“….”
“No, to be precise… it’s more accurate to say that you’re deliberately stopping your growth, isn’t it?”
“…!”
The prince’s golden pupils dilated. And watching his round, innocent eyes widen in shock beneath his soft, white cotton candy-like hair like this, Elshnain couldn’t help but feel like a villain.
Feigning confidence, he straightened his small shoulders.
“Who… are you?”
Unlike his previous whining tone, the prince’s voice was now clear and serious. Elshnain, seeing his change in demeanor, silently recited the word to lift the invisibility spell.
Crackle!
With the sound of something breaking, her once-invisible form became visible. And upon seeing her, the prince cried out:
“…It’s you!”
Has word of me already spread widely through the royal palace?
In fact, Elshnain had deliberately came here wearing the same outfit she wore when she made headlines in the newspaper recently, so she could be recognized instantly. But still, she couldn’t help feeling like a celebrity.
Straightening her shoulders, she lightly ran her hand over her white mask.
Watching her, the prince hesitantly opened his mouth, his voice slightly trembling:
“…Who are you again?”
“…”
“Have we met somewhere before?”
In that moment, my hand that was adjusting the mask fumbled a bit. Then the prince, as if suddenly realizing something, clapped his small hands together and spoke again:
“Oh, you’re that person! I think I saw you in the newspaper a few days ago! Am I right?”
Elshnain frowned at the prince who still couldn’t drop his cutesy act.
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“But… business partner? What does that mean?” The prince asked, tilting his head in confusion.
“It means I’ll be like a partner who helps you make your business succeed,” she answered, folding her arms confidently.
“…How?” The prince asked in a cute voice, but Elshnain didn’t miss the slight twitch of his innocent-looking eyebrows.
You’ll have no choice but to come to me.
In the original story, this prince was a tragic character. To survive the manipulations of the cruel and cunning crown prince, he had halted his growth and pretended to be cursed, all while secretly building his own faction.
And the foundation of that faction was a trading company.
Oddly enough, he’s running a food supply business.
Although the prince was quite sharp, managing the business alone was a huge challenge. Even with all the time in the world, it would have been difficult, but he had limited time and had to do everything in secret.
A character, who in the original story, was sacrificed to emphasize the villainous nature of the crown prince.
That was the prince standing in front of her, blinking his eyes right now.
He was all about money and wasn’t that nice of a person, so the readers barely felt any sympathy for him.
But to Elshnain right now, he was the perfect card to play.
“Hmph. How do I make the business succeed?” The prince muttered with a pouty face.
Despite how far the situation had progressed, he was still acting like a child, making her wonder if he had become so accustomed to his role that he couldn’t control his actions anymore.
“Even if I told you the way to do it right now, you wouldn’t be able to do it on your own.”
“…”
“And the reason you can’t do it by yourself is…”
Elshnain slid her hand inside her robe, grabbing something she had received from the Golden Tower.
It was quite heavy.
She tightened her grip and swiftly pulled it out. A heavy pouch landed with a thud on the floor from the pocket of her magically lightened robe.
“It’s all because of money.”
“…!”
The impact caused several gold coins inside to bounce out; they were the most valuable platinum coins.
Gulp!
The prince’s eyes darted back and forth, seemingly measuring the size of the pouch and estimating how much was inside.
“What… what is this?”
“What do you mean, what is it? It’s money. Money I’m going to invest in you.”
The prince’s mouth dropped open in shock.
Elshnain twirled a strand of her blue hair around her finger as she smirked at him.
“What? Don’t like it?”
The prince hesitated for a moment, his mouth twitching before breaking into a wide grin.
“No, it’s not that. I love it. I really, really love it.”
The childlike demeanor he had just moments ago had completely vanished, and he quickly responded with a very polite posture.
“I will serve you with utmost sincerity, my lady.”
“Oh, come on, ‘my lady’? Don’t be so formal,” Elshnain waved her hand dismissively, but her gesture lacked sincerity.
It was hard not to find it cute as the boy looked up at her with such sparkling eyes.
Even if he is a twenty-two-year-old man inside.
Well, as long as he’s cute, that’s all that mattered.
“Just tell me what to do, and I will!” he said, bowing deeply.
Looking at him being so submissive, Elshunain scratched her head in confusion.
“Didn’t you say earlier that you wouldn’t follow a stranger you didn’t know? Is it really okay for you to accept this offer so readily? We just met today!”
“Huh? When did I say that?”
The prince tilted his head in confusion, and frankly, that look was quite adorable. However, the way he rubbed his hands together like a fly was anything but cute.
“Even though we met for the first time today, you feel so familiar, my lady! As soon as I heard your voice in the hallway earlier, I thought, ‘Ah, this person is trustworthy enough to entrust my heart to!’”
“…”
Well, he was much more of a ass-kisser than she had expected.
***
There was a reason the prince quickly accepted the money and began calling Elshnain “my lady.”
He had chosen economic power as a means to gather enough strength to break free from the crown prince’s grasp, but due to various difficulties, his trading company was cornered. The debts he had incurred amounted to a sum large enough to buy two castles.
And now I’ve just given him a bundle of platinum coins.
It was impossible for him not to be excited.
Once he pays off his debts, I’ll just wrap up the food supply business and fully integrate it into my own operations.
Elshnain hummed happily, satisfied with how easily she had brought the prince to her side today as she lounged in the private room the prince had secretly prepared for her in the Imperial Palace.
With that amount of platinum coins, he could buy five castles.
Dragon scales, now extinct and no longer seen, were noteworthy for a reason, and the Goldmaster earned his title for good reason as well.
After all, she had graced the front page of the newspaper not simply for bringing a rare auction item but for the enormous sum of money she got in return.
What I spent today is about a third of it, right?
The money she had given to the prince today was roughly one-third of the total.
There will be plenty more money needed in the future…
She needed to maximize the remaining funds through the Goldmaster, and the prince as much as possible.
Once I resolve the New Year’s ceremony issue, I should go meet the Goldmaster… oh, no. I mean the piggy bank first.
She had rushed out in a hurry for the New Year’s ceremony, leaving other matters aside. Elshnain thought about her future plans as she slowly drifted off to sleep.
And then, a few days later, the long-awaited event arrived. The purpose of her presence at the New Year’s ceremony. The day when Killian would face a significant crisis.
That morning, Elshnain thoroughly chewed her breakfast, enjoyed a cup of coffee, tidied her outfit, and left her room.
She had already sketched out the outline; now, she just had to watch whether the next player would fill in the colors well.
***
“Woooouhhh!!!”
Cheers welcoming the festival and the sound of grand music echoed everywhere.
“Today, His Majesty the Emperor will personally be in attendance!”
News reporters dispatched from the palace were circulating around the main streets early in the morning to spread the announcement.
Newspapers that had received the news in advance quickly used magic to print the emperor’s face and distributed it far and wide.
“Oh my! Is the Emperor is coming”
“Finally, we’ll be able to receive the Emperor’s blessing in person!”
The blessing from the Emperor, who was the leader of both the church and the empire in the Holy Empire of Aeterna, was extremely valuable.
That’s why it could only be bestowed during the New Year, and the citizens of the empire flocked to the capital with their children in their arms to receive this blessing.
In recent years, he had been unable to bestow blessings due to being bedridden, so the people of the empire were overjoyed by this news.
But the joy will be short-lived.
That joy would soon turn to anger and fear.
For it would be at the hands of the Guardian, Killian Haunbert, that the emperor would face a life-threatening situation.
So, with a stern expression, Elshnain walked down the corridor, heading toward the location where the event would take place.
If you liked this chapter, buy me a Kofi for more.🙃
Tyyyyyy!!!!!