The Reincarnated Count's Daughter Is the Strongest as She Is Loved by the Spirits, Though She Is Only Wishing for Regular Romance!
Chapter 111
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Author Notes:
I realized it's been a while since my last update.
Wait, didn't I just update recently...?
With this post, we start Chapter Three.
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The sky outside the window was bright blue, and the capital city was already enjoying the warm spring weather. The breeze was refreshing, carrying the faint scent of flowers from the courtyard. Days like this made me want to take a walk. A leisurely stroll through the garden of Berisario, all the way to Ruri’s lake, would feel wonderful.
"I understand the Third Prince has been apprehended for the attempted assassination of Duke Eisdale."
But there was no time to daydream now. I needed to do something about the heavy atmosphere in the room. Duke Powell’s voice was lower than usual, and his expression toward the Luftanen delegation was frosty.
This room, one of the most opulent meeting rooms in the palace, was reserved for VIPs. The walls were adorned with a painting of Aaron’s Falls, though I didn't know who painted it. The furniture and chairs were all of heavy, ornate designs, and at my height, my feet didn’t reach the floor when I sat in one of those chairs. A large rectangular table dominated the center of the room. On the right side from my perspective, Prince Andrew sat at the center with dukes and former marquesses of the empire, while on the left side, Camille was at the center with Salomon and the crown prince’s advisor, Count Elliot Stahl. My family and I were seated in the middle, with me at the head of the table.
This setup wasn’t unusual. With our visit to Luftanen scheduled for the day after tomorrow, it wasn’t strange for these members to be gathered here at this time. What was unusual was the presence of four Spirit Kings standing behind me. On the empire’s side, there were Ruri and Amber, while on Luftanen’s side stood Moana and Aina, the Spirit King of Earth who oversaw East Island. Both countries had the Spirit Kings of Water and Earth. What a coincidence... Ha.
"It’s been nearly five years since then, hasn’t it? The trial still hasn’t concluded?"
The former Marquess of Norland, Bartholomew-sama, spoke in a stern tone.
"I’ve heard he was also involved in the assassination of the Second Prince. Why hasn’t he been executed yet? Isn’t this a bit too lenient?"
The former Marquess of Corquette, Dolph-sama, leaned forward on the table, criticizing sternly.
"Our country has its own circumstances. We don’t need to be criticized by another nation."
Elliot responded. His smile was plastered on his face, his voice notably calm, but he was not backing down against the empire’s side. This man was still young. The crown prince was twenty-five this year, and as one of his advisors, Elliot was twenty-seven. He had been a close aide since childhood and was known as the prince’s right-hand man. His presence here signified the importance of this meeting.
"Speaking of leniency... I’ve heard that the former Emperor Eufenia and the general, now a baron, are living together in a region without even being confined. Isn’t that quite lenient?"
Even Salomon joined the fray.
"Aren’t you concerned that if they have another child, the nation could be thrown into chaos?"
Oh, that’s right! They got married at eighteen, so they must be around thirty-three or thirty-four now. It wouldn’t be strange for them to have a child!
"A child! That’s right, they’re a loving couple, so they could have a child, couldn’t they?"
"………"
……Eh?
What’s with this awkward silence?
And these strange expressions on everyone’s faces?
Are they shocked that the Fairy Princess knows about making babies?! Or are they horrified that an eleven-year-old doesn’t know where babies come from?! Someone, please say something!
"Even if that’s the case, they can’t do anything. All the dukes and marquesses have decided that Prince Andrew will be the next emperor."
Oh, thank you, Duke Powell. Yes, that’s right. Even if they make a fuss now, no one would take them seriously.
"Let’s get back on topic. What we’re concerned about is the safety of the Fairy Princess. What does it mean that Berisario has taken on this matter?"
"We’re not worried."
My father, who had been listening quietly, answered the crown prince’s question.
"There is no one who can harm Dia by bypassing her spirit beasts. Moreover, Ruri-sama has promised to protect her, so there’s no issue."
"Rather, we’re worried about collateral damage. You need to be careful not to cause any problems that could lead to accountability issues later."
"I understand, Chris-oniisama. I’ll make sure to lure them to a deserted place before dealing with them."
My spirits are all magic spirits, so I can’t fight like Alan-oniisama. But magic spirits can perform area attacks. If the magic is strong, the range is wide. And I have a lot of magic power. I can set up a strong barrier over a wide area and launch massive area attacks. Of course, I can also focus the magic into a single target. Everyone taught me self-defense because I need to be able to protect myself in case of an emergency.
"Even if she’s strong, there’s still the risk of emotional trauma. Dia is still an eleven-year-old girl. There’s no need for her to come to our country if there’s danger."
"Eh?"
"Huh?"
Camille’s statement elicited stunned reactions from the empire’s side. See, I’ve been saying this from the start. Both the empire’s leaders and Luftanen’s leaders, all the humans, were against my going to Luftanen. Arguing here is pointless.
"Isn’t it your job to protect her? How can you be a candidate for her hand in marriage if you can’t even do that?"
Ugh! Chris-oniisama, what are you saying here? My family, don’t just sit there with those calm, detached expressions! Now everyone on the empire’s side is staring at Camille in shock.
"...I see. So, you’re saying I should stay by her side and protect her at all times."
"If Ruri-sama is there, you won’t have any role to play, will you?"
Hey! No glaring at each other like that!
‘You boys, that’s enough.’
With an exasperated sigh, Amber ruffled her hair and sat on the table with improper elegance. She was sitting sideways with half her butt on the table. It was sexy, but everyone was shocked.
‘This matter was requested by the Spirit Kings of Luftanen to the Fairy Princess, whom we support. Since she agreed to do it, we only informed her family. But Berisario insisted on following protocol, so we reported it to both nations’ leaders.’
‘That’s right. We’re not here to hear your opinions. We understand your concern for Dia, but I would never let her get hurt.’
Yes, this was a task requested by the Spirit Kings. Camille was informed afterward.
It all started in the early hours of three days ago. The Third Prince, imprisoned in the royal palace’s dungeon, escaped with someone’s help. This Third Prince was the child of the former queen from West Island. His claim was that, as the child of the legitimate queen, he should be the rightful heir to the throne rather than the Crown Prince, who was the child of the Second Queen. That’s why he attempted to assassinate Camille and had the Fourth Prince assassinate the Second Prince. It was all to assert his rightful claim.
But even now, no one would support the Third Prince. The Spirit Kings, who had remained secluded for so long, had emerged and expelled the Nicodemus faith from the islands under the Crown Prince’s leadership. The people of Luftanen knew well that the Spirit Kings visited the Crown Prince at the royal palace. So, the Third Prince’s faction came up with an idea. They would capture the Fairy Princess to win the favor of the Spirit Kings.
What idiots!
If they touched me, it would only anger the Spirit Kings. But the Third Prince, lost in his delusions, believed that the Fairy Princess would favor him and help him claim his rightful place as king. He had been saying that even while imprisoned. He had likely spent so many years in the dungeon that he couldn’t distinguish between fantasy and reality anymore.
So, the request was to use me as bait to capture or eliminate the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince, who seemed to have joined him. This request came from the Spirit Kings.
‘This is my personal request. The people of Luftanen are not involved.’
Today, Moana wasn’t her usual cheerful self.
‘While other Spirit Kings secluded themselves and cut off contact, Radek... the Crown Prince, Zol, and Camille were my only conversation partners. I’ve watched them grow since they were infants. Zol was a kind, caring prince. He was always concerned for me in his awkward way. If he had truly repented for his crimes and accepted his punishment quietly, it would have been one thing. But to still claim he deserves to be king? To kill Zol and attempt to kill Camille, such a foolish human cannot be forgiven.’
But Spirit Kings are bound by rules not to interfere with human affairs unless their spirits are harmed or their dwellings destroyed. So, they normally wouldn’t be able to intervene in this matter.
However, there’s one exception.
If a request comes from the Fairy Princess whom the Spirit Kings support, or if there is a threat to the Fairy Princess, the Spirit Kings will not forgive the offender. Ruri had made this clear before, and neighboring countries were aware of
this. The Third Prince was likely waiting for me to make a move, especially Moana.
‘I repeat, this is a matter we, the Spirit Kings, requested of the Fairy Princess. Luftanen has no obligation to feel indebted to the empire. But I will be grateful to the Fairy Princess and Berisario and the empire.’
‘As am I. All the Spirit Kings of Luftanen are grateful to the Fairy Princess. We appreciate the cooperation of the empire’s leaders with Camille. We hope for a continued positive relationship between our nations.’
Aina, despite also being an Earth Spirit King like Amber, had a very different aura. She had the presence of a shaman. Do you know the Ao Dai? It’s the traditional dress of Vietnam. She wore a yellow slit tunic similar to an Ao Dai over thin white trousers. She wore accessories with small stones on her wrists and ankles and sandals. Wait, sandals exist in this world?!
The stone on her forehead looked like a cat’s eye. A large yellow stone with white streaks was held in place by a gold chain.
"Dia, are you really okay with this? It’s dangerous."
The Crown Prince still treated me like a real sister, keeping his promise. Despite the royal circumstances, I believed he genuinely worried about me.
"My biggest fear is my family getting hurt. So, while in Luftanen, I want my family and Duke Powell to act separately from me."
‘I will protect them. Don’t worry.’
Amber assured me with a wink.
"Berisario, are you truly okay with this?"
"We’re not happy about it, but Dia is stronger than we are."
"That’s right. Besides, we must attend the Crown Prince’s wedding."
We had already discussed this matter as a family. We owed a lot to the Spirit Kings, and we wanted to help them.
"I wish I could go too, but Dia would worry and be unable to concentrate. I can at least protect myself."
"Brother, you’ll visit Luftanen next year, so I should go."
"Both of you stop it. Camille will handle this."
"But Mother, he might be in danger."
"If he does anything foolish, I’ll kill him."
Chris-oniisama, your murderous intent is showing.
"It’s reassuring to see Chris is as usual."
No, Crown Prince, you should stop him there.
After the meeting, back at the castle, I checked Wiki-kun once more.
A reincarnated person with memories in Luftanen existed over a hundred years ago. At that time, they didn’t have the practice of connecting with all family members as we do now, so the Spirit Kings had little interaction with humans other than the Wise King. The loss of the Wise King had a significant impact, and the anger towards humans forgetting the importance of spirits led them to withdraw from human affairs.
There are no phones, no TV, and no radio in this world. It takes six hours by boat from East Island to North Island. From North Island to South Island, it takes over ten hours. Now, the spirits protect the seas, but back then, sea travel was dangerous with sea monsters.
People didn’t know what was happening on the neighboring islands. Even if they were told they were the same country, the lack of customs duty was the only impact on their lives. Maintaining a stable life on their island was more important. To address this, the previous king decided to marry women from all four islands.
The island that sought power the most and demanded that the future king be born from their princess was West Island. They insisted on having their daughter as the queen. But the other islands weren’t interested. South Island had strong ties with southern countries and was a major agricultural area with exclusive crops. North Island thrived as the gateway for trade with the continent, being the most culturally vibrant. They found deep ties with the royal family to be a hassle.
So they readily conceded the position of the queen to a lady from West Island. East Island already had royal family members as the queen. But the queen only gave birth to daughters. Meanwhile, the second queen from East Island gave birth to two princes.
Eventually, the queen from West Island gave birth to the Third Prince. If he had been an exceptional prince, he might have become the crown prince. But the Third Prince, spoiled by his mother, was just a selfish prince with high pride. The queen and the Third Prince believed they were the rightful heirs and decided to eliminate the obstructive queens and princes.
The youngest and last to marry, the fourth queen from North Island, was poisoned. It was the queen from West Island who removed Camille from the line of succession and confined him to a remote palace. Despite this, the queen refrained from harming children, unlike the Third Prince.
After the fourth queen was killed, the third queen, fearing for her safety, quickly returned to South Island. However, her son, the Fourth Prince, believed he also had a right to the throne and stayed in the palace, allying with the Third Prince, who was willing to support him. What a fool.
He had been forced into hiding as the primary culprit for the Second Prince’s murder, abandoned by South Island nobles and his family, yet he reunited with the Third Prince. He had no other options left.
I was honestly a bit excited. I know it’s wrong, and I wouldn’t say this to anyone, but we finally get to use the spirit beasts we’ve raised to their full potential. In their full size, not just the small forms they’ve been kept in. It’s my first time visiting a foreign country, so I’m excited about the adventure. I might not be able to sleep tonight.
But this is a problem for Luftanen and Moana. It’s not my place to deal the final blow. Even if they told me to do it, I couldn’t. I don’t want my spirit beasts to kill anyone.
So I just need to stick close to Ruri and Camille, right?
Leave it to me!
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Author Notes:
Next time, I plan to share Chris's perspective.
Thank you for reading.
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