02. The Lonely Princess Beatrice

Beatrice burst into tears, not because she had harmed the empire through a mistaken contract, but because she had disappointed her older sister.

“Ah… Sister, what do I do? I ruined everything.”

Forgetting all dignity befitting a princess, she sat right down on the floor and began to sob.

Trestia scratched his head, then crouched down in front of her. One corner of his mouth curled up, as if he found the situation amusing.

“Beatrice, you came to my lair from the beginning, not to Setentias.”

“What?”

Only then did she find it strange.

She had arrived here by stepping through the portal installed in the imperial palace.

It was something the dragon had created personally for the contract renewal that took place once every hundred years.

Naturally, the coordinates should have been saved to Setentias’s lair.

“Could it be… I came here by mistake? Maybe the portal malfunctioned…”

Trestia shook his head with a bright smile.

“That would be impossible. My lair is sealed. You cannot arrive here by accident. It is far more reasonable to think someone deliberately sent you here.”

“That’s impossible!”

“This world is full of impossible things. At any rate, thanks to you, the seal on my lair has been lifted. I can finally breathe fresh air again. My thanks.”

Trestia gently patted her head before standing up.

Beatrice looked up at him with wide eyes.

“Because of me?”

“Yes, because of you. The condition to break the seal was for me to make a contract with Dragona blood.”

Early morning, in the garden behind the farthest wing of the Scotra imperial palace. Called the Abandoned Court, it was tucked so deep into the palace grounds that no one came by and no eyes ever reached this place.

Because of that, even the servants never tended to it, and new gardeners weren’t even told it existed, truly living up to the name “Abandoned Court.”

Yet, strangely enough, despite being untouched, the garden was filled with beautiful flowers, and fresh green grass covered the ground.

At the center of the garden stood a tree the height of an adult man, its branches spread wide with lush green leaves.

A girl of about ten, her long silver hair trailing down her back, appeared carrying a water jug bigger than her torso.

Groaning and straining, she dragged the jug to the center of the garden, then collapsed onto the grass.

“Ah, so tiring! But it feels good.”

As she lay under the shade of the tree, a cool breeze blew, drying the beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

Her name was Beatrice Dragona, the third imperial princess of the empire.

But her appearance was shabby enough to make one hesitate to call her a princess.

Her clothes weren’t dirty, but they were worn here and there, with several patches.

The toes of her shoes were rubbed smooth, and it looked like they might tear any moment.

Beatrice carefully removed her shoes and set them aside, then lay on her stomach on the grass.

She placed a small seed on the ground and pressed it with her short fingers.

Like magic, the seed sank straight down into the soil.

“Good.”

Whatever she found good about it, Beatrice grinned brightly as she pushed several more seeds into the ground.

They were seeds gifted by Hoho, a maid her age, an incredibly precious gift to Beatrice, who had no friends.

She carefully scooped water from the jug and poured it over the spot where she had planted the seeds.

Then she reached out her tiny fern-like hand, her expression becoming surprisingly serious.

A faint light began to gather in her soft palm, and moments later, green shoots suddenly sprouted from the ground.

The sprouts wriggled as they grew, reaching up to Beatrice’s calves.

She crouched in front of them and stroked the new leaves.

“I’m still not used to growth magic. If I make you grow too fast, things can go wrong. I’m sorry, but we’ll stop here for today!”

Just then, the head maid’s voice rang out from a distance.

“Princess Beatrice! Where are you?”

“Ah!”

Beatrice hurried to her feet and brushed the grass off her clothes.

She set the water jug carefully to one side, grabbed her shoes, and ran toward the direction of the voice.

Turning around the corner of the building, she saw the head maid frowning as she searched around.

For some strange reason, seeing her made Beatrice tense up.

“Nervy! I-I’m here!”

The head maid spotted Beatrice and immediately planted her hands on her hips and shouted.

“Where on earth have you been! I told you to be punctual for meal times!”

Could a head maid really speak this rudely to a princess?

Even with other servants nearby, Nervy didn’t care in the slightest.

“It’s not even mealtime yet…”

Breakfast at the palace was at 8 a.m.

It was now 7:40 a.m.

There were still twenty minutes left.

Nervy stepped close, speaking down to her with an oppressive tone.

“Princess Beatrice must arrive ten minutes earlier than the other princes and princesses. Do you not understand my words?”

Normally, Beatrice would have simply said yes and let it go, but today, frustration welled up inside her.

“We’re all princes and princesses. Why do I have to come ten minutes early? My second sister always comes last.”

For a moment, Nervy’s lips twisted.

“Heh… Princes and princesses, you say? How dare you speak such impudent nonsense?”

“It isn’t nonsense! I’m also His Majesty’s daughter!”

“But your mother is different. The others were born of Her Majesty the Empress. You, however, were born from a woman of no standing. There is a vast difference in class and pedigree.”

The head maid took a deep breath before continuing.

“Besides, Princess Marianne received the oracle of the Dragon Connector. How dare you claim to be the same as her? Come to your senses.”

No matter how she was born outside the palace, Beatrice was still the emperor’s blood.

By rights, the head maid’s words were so disrespectful she could have been executed and hung at the palace gates.

But here, no one ever corrected her behavior.

Everyone knew Nervy was Princess Marianne’s loyal follower.

Looking down at Beatrice, Nervy spat out her words.

“Know your place.”

“……”

“Hurry to the dining hall. Sit there and wait. Now!”

As the head maid turned sharply and strode away, Beatrice clenched her teeth.

Her large eyes filled with tears.

When she remembered how the head maid treated the other princes and princesses with utmost respect, the tears she’d been holding back streamed down her cheeks.

“I wish I were a Dragon Connector too. Then maybe she’d treat me kindly…”

That evening, the head maid suddenly came to Beatrice’s room in the detached residence.

“Princess, here is a new dress. And pajamas as well.”

She tossed the clothes onto the bed without care.

Despite Nervy’s insolence, Beatrice’s eyes sparkled with joy.

Partly because she was finally receiving new clothes after three months, but mainly because she knew the reason behind them.

“Father is coming?”

At the word “Father,” Nervy’s eyebrow twitched.

“Yes, His Majesty the Emperor is expected to arrive today or tomorrow. Conduct yourself properly so you don’t cause him needless worry.”

In other words, put on the new dress and look as though she received the same treatment as the other royal children.

After Nervy left, Beatrice stood before the large mirror wearing the new dress.

It was a size too big for her, but being new, it still looked fairly nice.

“It’s pretty. Hehe.”

She spun around once. The skirt fluttered like petals, and she loved how it swayed.

“Undine.”

At her gesture, a translucent woman appeared in the air.

[Wow, Beth! You look so pretty!]

The water spirit, Undine, smiled brightly as she circled around Beatrice.

“Thank you! I think Father will be here soon. I hope he comes quickly.”

Undine stroked Beatrice’s hair, whispering in a voice like a song.

[Our lovely Beth.]

“Can you take care of the dress I took off?”

[Of course.]

The dress lying on the bed floated up and was sucked into Undine’s body.

A moment later, it popped back out, freshly washed.

Unfortunately, the worn-out parts remained worn.

[Hmm, something’s strange.]

“What is?”

[Your clothes smell faintly of poison herbs.]

“Poison? Ah, no way!”