Oh, that one!
“Ah! I just happen to have a perfectly good spirit stone over there.”
Looking around to distract Masha, I clapped my hands together.
There it was, within reach, glowing with a bright yellow light.
“Okay, let’s dig that out!
I flicked the pickaxe up and started to dig the ground where the spirit stone was embedded.
“Ugh, this thing doesn’t dig very well…….”
Apparently, you have to use a special pickaxe to dig up the spirit stones.
“I don’t have a pickaxe like that, so it can’t help it.
It’s a little hard to dig, but that doesn’t mean it won’t work!
Tap, tap, tap!
“Can I help you, young lady?”
Masha, who had been crying, looked at me, who had suddenly started digging.
“It’s okay, I can do it myself!”
Tap, tap, tap, tap!
“Well, are you sure you can do it by yourself?”
“Uh, yeah!”
Toot, toot, toot, toot……!
“Kaboom!”
I succeeded in digging out the spirit stone in a clean manner.
…Although it took a bit of effort.
But at least I didn’t break anything.
“You did great, young lady!”
Masha complimented me, clapping her hands together.
Wow, a compliment for something like this.
Flattering, hehe.
“Look at this, Masha.”
Proud of my own digging skills, I lifted up the crystal I’d dug.
“Oh my.”
The yellow spirit stone emitted a blindingly bright light.
Masha’s eyes widened in amazement.
“Wow, that’s a really big spirit stone!”
“Yeah. Even this one, woohoo!”
I said, dusting off the dirt on the spirit stone with my breathe.
“It’s yellow, so it’s a high-grade spirit stone.”
“So, there are different grades of spirit stones depending on their colour?”
“That’s right, red is the lowest grade, containing the least amount of magic, blue is a medium grade, yellow is a high grade, and purple is the highest grade.”
Looking around, most of the gemstones in this cave were yellow.
An unusual number of them emitted a purple glow.
They weren’t small, either.
“How much is that?
I shouldn’t be laughing, but I am, hehe.
“It’s pretty because it looks like it’s full of twinkling stars…….”
Unlike me, who was looking at the crystal (and thinking about money), Masha was admiring it purely for its beauty.
“Ugh, yeah, it’s so sparkly, it looks like the night sky.”
“I know, it’s so pretty…….”
At first she was scared to come inside.
Masha couldn’t take her eyes off the sparkling crystal.
After watching her for a while, I dug out a few more.
Pow!
My axe broke before I dig the last one.
I handed the last one to Masha.
“Here, Masha.”
“Ah, yes. Do you want me to put this one in the bag first?”
“No. That’s for you, Marsha. Take it.”
“It’s ……?”
Masha looked at me dumbfounded for a moment, but soon became angry.
“Oh, miss, what do you mean, you’re giving me such a precious magic stone!”
“It’s okay, it’s not that big, you can take it without any pressure.”
“Oh, no, no matter what, miss!”
“…….”
A single yellow crystal was worth 320 pennies, or about three gold coins, wasn’t it?
“That would pay for a year’s tuition at the Royal Academy.
I could understand Masha’s confusion when she received the spirit stone.
‘It even has a price depending on what tool you use to work it.
But.
“Here, I’ll give this back to you-”
“Masha, you’re more precious to me than the gemstone.”
“……, mister.”
At my words, Masha looked dumbfounded.
I turned to her and said.
“You know, Masha. I’ve been giving you a hard time, a little, well, actually a lot, haven’t I? …I’m sorry.”
“……!”
“It won’t happen again, so please keep being nice to her.”
In the original story, when Masha left me, it was the year I turned sixteen.
She left because she was blinded by me…….
“She cared about me until the end.
Good, sweet Masha.
I reached out and took her hand.
Although my tiny hands couldn’t hold all of Masha’s hands.
Pat, pat, pat.
I patted her hand like I did Gabriel’s.
“That’s why I’m giving you this gift, because I want Masha to stay with me.”
“…….”
Ouch, she’s going to cry again, isn’t she……?
I talk to her and gave her a gift to make her not cry, so why is she suddenly in this mood again…!
“Miss.”
Calling me in a slightly emotional voice, Masha bent down.
Then she hugged me tightly.
“Of course I’m going to stay by your side, young lady, over and over again.”
I sniffled unnecessarily in her warm embrace.
“And when you’re all grown up and married, I’ll follow you.”
Marriage?
That’s so far in the future.
At least Masha would be with me until then.
“And when you have children, I’ll be sure to take care of them, too.”
My child.
That’s a long, long way off, even further away than marriage.
And that means she’ll be with me for a long time, right?
…unlike the original.
“So don’t worry, young lady. I’ll stay with you until you tell me to go away now that you’re bothering me.”
“……Yes!”
I giggled, pulling Masha into a face-to-face hug.
* * *
The next day.
“Ugh, I’m so tired of riding in a carriage for six hours.
I held back the yawn that kept trying to come out and followed the imperial palace servant who was leading the way.
Behind me was not Masha-, but Rake, my family’s knight, which was given to me by my brother Gabriel himself.
‘Certainly the Imperial Palace has a lot to see in its corridors.
With the imperial servant in front of me and our family knight behind me, I was now in Sentra, the capital of the Latta Empire.
The corridors of the Imperial Palace, to be precise.
“Oh my, that child…….”
“Judging by his silver hair and turquoise eyes, he must be the youngest of the Cartier family…….”
Everyone’s whispering is a little loud.
“I heard that he made an application to the Emperor today, but instead of a new marquis, that kid was chosen…….”
“Come to think of it, the Cartiers don’t have any mansions in the capital because they don’t have the money…….”
……They’re talking really loud.
“They’re lucky, to have a mine of spirit stones discovered on their dying estate. They’re a bunch of clueless bastards, and their business is failing-.”
“That box in the escort knight’s hand must be a gift for the Grand Duke of Judah…….”
I could hear the voices of the people I passed in the corridor talking about me.
suddenly, a nervous remark slipped in.
I didn’t care.
In fact, I couldn’t be bothered.
“Mister servant, you’re walking too fast!
It was really hard to keep up with a waddling adult on short legs when I was still in my prime…….
“Miss, are you all right?”
Lake, noticing that I was struggling, said quietly from behind.
“Would you like me to carry you if you’re having trouble walking on your own?”
“I, whoa, I’m not a kid, I’m fine.”
Biting her lip, Lake paused and bowed her head at my words.
“Excuse me.”
And then he’s a few steps behind me again.
I pick up the pace a little more than I had earlier.
……A little more, a little more.
A little more ………, a little more.
And, a little more……!
“Huck, huck, huck!”
“Ah, young lady. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Ah! I’m sorry. Dear Cartier. I must have been walking too fast.”
Rake and the imperial chamberlain look bewildered at my shortness of breath.
“I should have picked you up and carried you-.”
“It’s okay, hehehe, ah!”
“My apologies. My dear Cartier. I made a great mistake-.”
“It’s okay, hek, hek, hek, hek, hek, hek, hek, never mind, never mind!”
I’m struggling to pronounce it again!
“I’m making a mess of myself!
I mourned inwardly, but still, the imperial servant slowed down his pace.
I thought to myself as I walked along.
‘It’s not because I have short legs, it’s because I’m still a child….’
…But for the time being, I should drink milk instead of children’s tea.
While I was making up my mind.
The servant, who had stopped walking, opened the door.
“Monsieur Cartier. Please wait for a moment in this room.”
Wow, the room is so fancy, like a guest room.
I stared in awe at the dazzlingly gleaming room.
“Due to His Highness’s other commitments at the moment, you will have to wait for about ten minutes.”
“Yes.”
“And your escort knight will need to stay here until the end of the alchemy. Due to imperial palace security concerns, it is forbidden to enter the alcove with the original knight…….”
After that, the imperial chamberlain continued to tell me a few more precautions.
‘When greeting people, do this.
‘You shouldn’t do this.
‘When you come out, go through the opposite door-.’
I listened to them all carefully and nodded.
“Yes, I understand, and thank you for your kindness.”
I said.
I smiled and bowed as the servant had just informed me-.
“Perfect, sir. That’s exactly what you need to do.”
He smiled and handed me a piece of candy and walked out of the waiting room.
Left behind, I was about to eat the candy as it was, when -.
“Huh? Wait.
I felt strange eyes on me.
‘Is someone watching me…?
