It was Prince Cassian’s turn next.
“I will also present a first-visit gift to His Highness the Prince.”
He slowly opened his mouth with a puzzled look.
“An unexpected hospitality. Is it enchanted like beer candy?”
Fortunately, he seemed to guess that I had used magic.
Breathing a sigh of relief inwardly, I shook my head with a smile in my eyes.
“No, please wait a moment.”
I was about to head to the counter on the right side of the stationery store but hesitated. The gifts on the stand seemed to be for children after all.
I felt like I needed to give something different to a good adult.
“I’ll be back from the second floor.”
On the second floor, items were sporadically placed, not found on the counter below.
As I confidently walked up the stairs, I felt eyes piercing into my back.
Regardless, I thought of the items I had left in the living room on this floor.
‘What were Prince Cassian’s traits?’
A good gift perfectly satisfies the recipient’s needs.
I reminisced about Prince Cassian’s character settings.
‘If it goes by the original, Prince Cassian was prone to anxiety. People around him died under mysterious circumstances.’
In the original story, Prince Cassian had a strong perfectionist streak and a strong attachment to those within his circle.
As is often the case with people who are inherently wary and good at drawing lines with a smiling face.
Maybe that’s why, after his nanny died without reason during his childhood, and after he had become attached to his older brother and sisters, and younger sisters, who then one by one met with mysterious deaths, he often had nightmares.
The reason why the royals die mysteriously is unknown to me and even the original characters. It was simply set up that way.
I stroked my chin with my index finger, touching each item one by one on the living room rug and on the table.
Then, my fingertips caught a fluffy dream catcher. I bit my lip.
‘How about giving a dream catcher as a gift?’
A dream catcher is an object believed to filter out nightmares.
It was something I made myself since children going through growing pains often have nightmares.
Moreover, there was an episode related to nightmares in the original story.
‘When young Prince Cassian used to have nightmares, Sheria comforted him. That was the beginning of the prince’s fondness for Sheria….’
I was confident this item would be a special gift for him.
I grabbed the dream catcher.
And I felt the faint magic energy that Dominic had cast into it.
With this, the frequency of nightmares would significantly decrease.
‘Then, would he also have good feelings towards me for giving him this gift?’
I chuckled mischievously.
Descending straight to the second floor, I handed the dream catcher to the prince.
“This is a dream catcher.”
“…What’s a dream catcher, Mel?”
“It’s something that helps you have good dreams.”
“Good dreams….”
Cassian didn’t say anything more, just flicked his lips and silently took the dream catcher.
“Why? Don’t you always have good dreams, brother?”
In fact, for Cassian, nightmares were just opponents to overcome.
So, nobody knew that he had nightmares.
He also never revealed his vulnerabilities to his family and aides.
Thus, I can’t expose his flaws here. I won’t ruin his already low favorability by doing so.
I smiled lightly and said to Aktion and Cassian.
“It would still be nice to have better dreams, though.”
Cassian silently accepted this and expressed his gratitude to me.
“Did you cast a spell?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“There is a strange sensation of magic throughout this place.”
“Yes, this space is enchanted. We hired a junior magician.”
Dominic, who had suddenly become a junior magician, bit his lip.
Indeed, Dominic’s ancient magic was cast on both the stationery shop and the dreamcatcher gifted to him.
A person of Prince Cassian’s abilities should be able to feel the weak mana in this space.
He looked around the dreamcatcher and the interior of the stationery shop as if it were fascinating.
Of course, my alchemy abilities would be revealed someday, but now was not the time to reveal them.
‘It’s also not the time to reveal that Dominic is a hero from the legends and a magic swordsman.’
Revealing it now would just be a hassle.
Then, Dominic moved next to me and whispered very quietly.
“This is all thanks to you and Lord Dominic, what are you talking about!”
I also murmured lowly at Dominic’s silent roar.
“I want to reveal you on a great stage worthy of you. How about it?”
Dominic answered immediately in one second.
“Oh, as expected. You’re a genius.”
Having quieted Dominic with a single remark, I turned my gaze back to Prince Cassian.
“So that was it.”
Prince Cassian quietly nodded his head and then fiddled with the dreamcatcher.
“I’ll put it to good use.”
He always had a kind demeanor, but he wasn’t the type to visibly show a lot of emotion on his face.
So, it was hard to tell for sure whether he was happy about my gift.
‘Well, if he doesn’t like it, there’s nothing I can do about it.’
There are several ways to revive the stationery shop.
I should look forward to the electronic sign walking around with adorable children working hard tomorrow.
I wonder how the academy kids will react?
“I’ll promote it hard!”
Axion was clapping and then grabbed Carat by the shoulder.
Carat nodded his head as if he couldn’t help it.
***
The next morning, the Senior Class A of Axion and Carat’s half academy was very noisy.
During the morning self-study time, the atmosphere was distinctly different from the quiet of other classes.
Of course, at the center of the commotion were the prankster Prince Axion and the cynical spy of the Magic Tower, Carat. They stood in front of the teacher’s desk holding a basket of candies.
Standing in front of about fifteen classmates, Carat thought,
‘Why am I doing this…’
Contrary to Carat’s increasingly cold face, Axion shouted with enthusiasm.
“Okay, take one candy each!”
The children in the class were collectively perplexed by Axion’s lively voice. What Axion handed out were magical candies.
“What is this?”
“It looks magical!”
“Me too! Give me one!”
“Am I the last one?”
The youngest student in the upper class received a beer candy last.
Among them, the youngest was a genius whose baby teeth had not all fallen out yet.
Worried that her baby teeth might fall out if she bites the candy, the girl carefully unwrapped the candy.
“This looks exactly like the drink Lady Marchioness Mariel drinks?”
Originally, the beer business was primarily aimed at commoners.
However, recently, more nobles have been seeking premium beers.
Perhaps because of this, beer candies were familiar to the children here.
The children smelled the beer-flavored candies and popped them into their mouths, muttering to themselves.
“Eating this candy makes me feel like I’ve become an adult.”
“It’s because it’s beer candy.”
“Oh, does it contain alcohol?”
“No, it doesn’t. It’s just shaped like a beer can. The top is jelly, and the bottom is candy.”
Carat answered seriously and without soul. The side Axion had hit earlier was hurting.
‘I was just going to look for a kidnapper, what am I doing now?’
As a result, Carat had effectively become a promotional ambassador for Mel’s stationery store.
“Ah, I feel drunk.”
The child chuckled while eating the candy that contained no alcohol at all.
“Is there no wine candy?”
They were each talking about different things, but all were full of curiosity.
‘Really, they’ve all been thoroughly enchanted. This is serious.’
Especially since he had just reported to the Tower Master that a dangerous witch had appeared in front of the academy.
Soon, when the reply came, he planned to say, ‘Please investigate Mel’s stationery store intensively.’ The incredible woman who had enchanted him so must receive an investigation by the Tower Master!
Carat started to observe the classroom unabashedly with a suspicious gaze.
Thanks to the small ball Axion had launched, the classroom was soon filled with the lively atmosphere of a festival.
“Ugh-”
“Wow, your voice sounds strange!”
The child, munching on beer candies, muttered in a gloomy voice.
“Listen. I am a monster.”
“Really, like a real monster voice?”
The beer candies had achieved their intended effect.
But the problem was that they had achieved a very powerful effect.
The kids banged on the desks excitedly, feeling as if they had encountered an incredible new world.
“My voice sounds weird!”
A low and gloomy voice filled the classroom.
“Oh my!”
The owner of the voice was a girl who usually had a delicate, bird-like voice.
Her voice had changed as if she had inhaled helium gas.
The kid, touching her neck in wonder, laughed heartily. Always quiet, the child burst out laughing at the curious candy.
“Amazing! Did it happen because I ate this candy?”
“Is that so, Your Majesty?”
The children’s eyes widened in amazement.
“Yes, Mel made this candy herself.”
“…that stationery shop?”
“Stationery shop?”
“Yeah! You know, the stone building in front of here?”
“Wow, the haunted ruin!”
Aktion grimaced mischievously. He seemed not to remember calling Mel’s stationery shop a “ruin” before.
“It’s not a ruin!”
“Then, a haunted house?”
The children looked at each other.
Axion shouted with a ferocious momentum.
“No, I’m telling you, it’s the yellow building. The owner of that building is my friend!”
Axion smiled proudly.
The atmosphere in the classroom began to buzz with excitement.
Seeing them, Mirisa opened her textbook with a pale face. She was the only one isolated in this classroom.
Mirisa had been busy finding out about the affair of Duke Hesman during the past period.
The conclusion she came to after days of searching was simple.
“I heard from Carat, as if Prince Axion casually mentioned, that the commoner Mel at the stationery store is Lady Meldenik.”
…I have to go see her. Lady Mel might dislike me, being the sister of the adulterer…
Mirisa tore up the note from her brother that she had kept in her textbook and buried her head on the desk.
Mirisa, get your act together and live properly. If your rebellious phase lasts too long, the family is considering cutting off support to you.
The note, which read as mentioned, crumpled and fluttered to the floor.
“Sending such a note…”
Her brother knew nothing.
He thought threats would suffice. He never cared about Mirisa in the first place.
But Mirisa isn’t being rebellious now. The righteous girl clenched her teeth and muttered lowly.
“Crazy cheating bastard.”
She was certainly angry at the adulterer.
Yayyy i love mirisaaaa