Chapter 10

I heard that the emperor even tapped into the national treasury for me.

After the empress finished getting ready, she held me in her arms for a long time. Wearing a light pink dress that matched mine, she looked more gorgeous than ever.

Beaming, she kissed my cheek. “My lovely daughter.”

With me in her arms, she walked into the reception room. When she opened the white lace curtains at the window, afternoon light poured in.

The spirits that always hovered around me danced in the light. It seemed like they were also aware that today was an exciting day.

“Would you like to take a look?”

The window was closed, but the glass was as clear as water, allowing for a panoramic view of the capital city.

The festivities were in full swing throughout the city. Light pink flower petals floated everywhere. Judging by how thin and light the petals were, they were probably Elmire flowers.

The empress whispered to me, “Everyone is holding a festival for you because it’s your birthday.”

I glanced down. People seemed very excited.

“It’s because everyone loves you.”

I found myself gently grabbing the collar of the empress’s clothes.

“Oh my,” she said with a happy smile.

Looking at her, I wondered…

What is love?

The love of the empress, the emperor, and Ysis was like the best medicine for my wounds. It was healing my injuries, little by little.

I could vaguely hear exciting festival music in the distance. We observed the scene outside the window for a long time, until finally, the empress looked at me and smiled softly.

“Happy first birthday, Aisha.”

It had already been a year since I was born again. I looked into the empress’s eyes.

And just a little, I smiled.

Today, I would be taken to the banquet hall with the empress and Ysis.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that all of the nobles in the capital had flocked to watch the event scheduled for this afternoon.

The front of the imperial palace was filled with carriages, and there was an endless procession of nobles getting out of them. The energy was overwhelming.

Before the banquet began, Ysis came to the reception room to see us. I had become completely accustomed to seeing him come to me like this.

“Aisha!”

He was wearing a light blue suit with gold buttons. Although he was still young, his neat appearance already looked regal and displayed the dignity of the crown prince.

“You look so pretty today! So cute! So lovely!”

But his princely dignity quickly disappeared. He started to circle around me, shouting every phrase he knew that described cuteness.

“My sister is the best,” he gushed. “Happy birthday. You have to stay by my side for a long time, okay?”

Like a baby bird, he kept chattering. The empress watched him while smiling softly.

After telling me how cute I was for a while, he begged the empress, “May I carry Aisha to the banquet hall?”

“To the banquet hall?”

The empress thought for a moment. The distance from here to the banquet hall was quite long, so she was probably wondering if Ysis could handle it.

But soon it seemed like she decided to trust Ysis, who was strong enough to take down a bear.

“Yes, but you must be very careful not to drop her. She’s very fragile.”

“Of course!

In the end, it was decided that I would be carried by Ysis when I entered the banquet hall. Ysis seemed overjoyed.

Soon we were on our way to the banquet hall, leaving the reception room and heading to the ground floor.

Maybe it was because of the countless maids following us, or because of the enormous number of nobles lined up outside the window, but I could feel the tension not only emanating from me, but also the empress.

We walked down a long hallway and stood in front of a large door.

“Okay then, shall we go in?”

At the words of the head maid, the two gatekeepers standing in front of us bowed deeply. Behind the door waited a huge number of nobles wanting to see me.

That was a lot of pressure. Every single thing I did would attract their attention. Just like it had in my previous life.

As the empress’s daughter, I had always strived to behave perfectly in social circles since my presentation at the debutante ball at the age of 12.

Perhaps because of that reason, I couldn’t even take a sip of water all day long whenever a banquet was held at the palace. I couldn’t keep anything down due to the intense nervousness I felt.

Will I be okay?

As I recalled the memory of that time, my body and mind tensed up involuntarily.

As if he sensed my anxiety, Ysis held on to me tightly and gave me a kind smile.

“Aisha, give me a smile!”

I blinked at his sudden suggestion.

Why do you want me to smile all of a sudden?

“I want you to be extremely happy today,” Ysis explained. “The banquet is being held for that purpose.”

“…”

“You don’t have to worry about what other people think. You just have to be here, smiling and enjoying yourself.”

As if to serve as an example, Ysis smiled brightly at me. He probably said that because he knew I was very shy. Even though he knew I wouldn’t understand what he was saying.

Right.

It was funny, but I was touched by his words.

What is there for me to do? There’s no need for me to be nervous.

I was a 1-year-old baby right now. I would receive compliments just for sitting there quietly. There was no need to feel burdened. And this wasn’t a high society event where people would tear each other to shreds.

I would be alright. I decided to relax.

After Ysis finished speaking, the gatekeeper slowly pulled aside the doors to the huge banquet hall. Then he raised his voice and shouted into the room.

“Her Majesty Empress Iris de Elmire. His Royal Highness Ysis de Elmire. And…”

I inhaled softly.

“Her Highness Princess Aisha de Elmire!”

* * *

The nobles were very excited to see Aisha. Until this day, the first princess of this empire, Aisha de Elmire, had rarely been shown to the outside world.

Public appearances of royal family members were limited due to safety concerns, but in the case of Princess Aisha, this was even more extreme. No one other than courtiers had ever even seen the princess.

The nobles were all wondering the same thing:

Why hold such a grand banquet?

Of course, banquets were held for this long for both Ysis’ first birthday and for his coronation as the crown prince. However, that was understandable because he was the emperor’s successor.

Is it just for the sake of fairness?

People couldn’t help but glance at the emperor out of curiosity.

What kind of person is Her Highness the Princess?

The emperor, who knew the answer, sat on his throne and leisurely observed the scene down below.

Soon his empress, his son, and his daughter would arrive. He looked very happy.

Seeing the emperor like that, a sudden question arose in people’s minds. They wondered…

Does the princess resemble the empress, or does she resemble the emperor?

It was a blasphemous thought to have regarding the royal family, but it was inevitable that the nobles were curious.

If the princess inherited more blood from her father, that is, Emperor Tyrion, she probably had golden hair.

They let their imaginations run wild. It was said that Tyrion had killed a bear before he was even ten years old. And she was that man’s daughter.

Naturally, the image of a young hero holding a sharp sword in one hand and overwhelming the crowd with her energy came to their minds.

It didn’t matter to them that Aisha was only one year old. In their imaginations, she looked exactly like Tyrion and proudly swung her sword.

And she was giving stern commands to the nobles…

No.

The nobles trembled. Honestly, the person they were imagining was a little scary. The rumor that Ysis, who was only 9 years old, had killed a bear was already widespread in social circles.

He was a child who was always smiling and whose height barely reached an adult’s chest, but he had swung his sword and cut down a bear…

It was scary to imagine it, but if Aisha had inherited Tyrion’s blood, it was possible that she would be capable of that as well.

When they imagined the two siblings hunting down all animals in the imperial hunting ground, they desperately tried to imagine something different.

But she might look more like her mother!

What if she looks more like her mother?

Empress Iris, who now had spent two years in the palace, was a great beauty with silver hair and beautiful iris-colored eyes.

Her temperament was as quiet and gentle as flowing water. Many of her courtiers had a crush on her.

So they secretly hoped that the princess would look more like the empress. If she was a cute girl who looked like Empress Iris, just seeing her would make them happy.

But, either way, one conclusion was clear. Whether she looked more like her mother or her father, or if she resembled both of them, Aisha would surely be very beautiful.

Special coins with the emperor’s image engraved on them were so desirable, the seller could ask any price, because the emperor was a very handsome man.

Despite his intimidating, dignified air, he had a unique, calming aura. With his dark golden hair and eyes as blue as the fall sky, he captivated everyone.

Of course, so too did Empress Iris.

Her silver hair flowed like the Milky Way, her eyes were a mysterious purple color, and she possessed purity that conjured the image of a flower covered in morning dew.

How beautiful would the princess be if she inherited both of their blood?

The nobles’ chatter continued, and they began to talk about Ysis.

“Ahem, from what I heard, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Ysis is very fond of Princess Aisha.”

“Oh, I heard that too. I heard that he gifted the skin of the bear he caught to the princess.”

“I heard that he collects things like a squirrel—dolls as big as the princess, beautiful flowers, and precious fruits—and gives those to the princess every time he sees her.”

The couriers had commented often about how much the crown prince cared for his younger sister, so the nobles were curious to see that for themselves as well.

“I heard that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has something planned for today. Does anyone know what that is?”

“Well, I’m sure it’s something important. His Royal Highness is a very thoughtful person.”

The mingling in the banquet hall flowed smoothly. The food, which the courtiers had put their hearts and souls toward preparing, was perfect. The nobles lost track of time just admiring how flawless it all was.