Chapter 12
“Yesss, success!”
Cha-ching!
The happy sound of money ringing in my ears made me grin wickedly.
[♡Quest Completed♡]
“The Energy-Boosting Drink for Knights” quest has been completed!
You have received a reward of 10 gems!
In addition to the 10 million gems I got earlier!
[♡Quest Completed♡]
You have completed the quest “Give Energy-Boosting Drinks to Knights.”
You have received a reward of 10 gems!
Actually, just now.
Apart from the quest to lower His Highness the Prince’s tension, I also remembered a quest to give energy-boosting drinks to the knights as soon as I saw them.
Since the plum drink helps with energy, I generously gave drinks to all the knights and secretly earned gems.
“Thanks to that, I’ve collected quite a lot of gems.”
I’ll have to visit the knights more often in the future!
“If it’s a medical-related quest, I’ll have to go where patients are… But…”
Upon reflection, it seemed like the knights’ compound was the best place for quest opportunities.
They’re always training, so they might get injured.
I felt really excited looking at the quest completion window.
I had collected quite a number of gems by now.
Although my debt wasn’t absurdly low, now that I roughly understood how the game progressed, I felt I could collect gems at a faster pace.
“By the way, Sophie, where are we going?”
“You will go to the 4th floor.”
“Seriously?!”
This afternoon’s activity turned out to be a tour of the White Night Palace interior.
I greeted the maids I met along the way while wandering around with Sophia hugging me tightly.
Though I had seen this place a lot during the game in Idsys and Gergys, the 4th floor?
I’ve never heard of such a thing.
“This is a secret, but the 4th floor is a magical space specially created by His Highness.”
“Really?!”
“There are many beautiful things there. Princess can take whatever she wants.”
As Sophia whispered this to me, my ears tickled, and I couldn’t help but giggle.
I wasn’t laughing because she said they’d give me jewelry or anything.
“Well then, we’re here. This way.”
From the 3rd floor, Sophia navigated the path quite intricately. It was confusing even for me.
When we finally arrived, it was a room filled with portraits, and the path to the 4th floor…
“Me?”
I was behind a full-body portrait of a girl who looked remarkably like me.
“Oh, right. Princess is seeing this for the first time.”
“No way…”
“Yes, this is Her Highness’s mother, Kienna. It’s a portrait from her childhood.”
“Wow.”
Her mother in the painting looked about ten years old.
She seemed to dislike something, judging from her chubby expression.
She probably didn’t want to come out that day but was forced to.
The most different thing about her was her expression.
“Arrogant and haughty.”
I felt that vibe coming from the painting.
“So cool.”
I blinked and gently touched the portrait. I did it very carefully in case I damaged it.
“My mom looks really nice.”
I intentionally stood up straight and adjusted my chin in front of the portrait, trying to mimic her.
It was an attempt to imitate her.
I quickly got tired and stopped.
“Kienna was great in her own way, and Cherishe is cute in her own way. You don’t have to imitate them.”
“Got it. Sophie, how do you know so much?”
“Hehe, shall we go in now?”
Sophia seemed to be in a good mood as she smiled.
To go to the 4th floor, you had to put a special key into the birdcage held by the mother in the portrait and turn it, which was really fascinating.
Because once you climbed the stairs and turned around, the door behind you disappeared.
“When you enter, you come in through here, but you can come out anywhere.”
“Magic, amazing!”
“Isn’t it? Creating a magical space of this magnitude is something only His Highness the Prince can do, apart from Emperor Raerhod, the Absolute Emperor.”
What about South Emperor?
When Sophia talked about Emperor, it was probably referring to Emperor Raerhod, the Absolute Emperor.
They seemed to omit South Emperor, who was Alexandra’s Dad.
Maybe they were competitors.
I wondered why His Highness the Prince, who seemed incredibly strong and would be recognized by anyone, didn’t go to South and become Emperor.
“Was it too much of a hassle?”
I speculated while shaking my head.
Meanwhile, Sophia unveiled and led me inside.
“This is the first level of the 4th floor.”
“…!”
What is this?
All my previous thoughts vanished completely.
I was completely blown away.
Instead, my mind was filled with sparkling things. And not just a few, but an enormous amount of sparkle.
“Here are rubies, over there are peridots, and there’s blue sapphire… Oh, this shelf is filled with pearl items.”
His Highness the Prince is really rich.
I quickly grasped the status of being the Prince of the Grand Empire Castalia.
Oh my.
I wished I could take just one thing from here back to reality.
“I’d buy a cat tower, cat pole, and cat wheel for my cats.”
It was an unattainable dream, but dreaming isn’t a bad thing, right?
I wiped away the drool that threatened to fall with the back of my hand and started looking around.
The floor was covered in white carpet.
Each wall was adorned with meticulously crafted tapestries made from the finest leather.
The glass shelves, meticulously arranged like a library, were full of gems that looked so precious that touching them felt intimidating.
And on another shelf, there were more than a hundred tiaras and crowns.
“Wow, I’ve always wanted to try something like this.”
I carefully took out a small tiara within my reach and tried it on my head.
Sophia clapped her hands at me doing so.
“Sophie, what’s all this? It’s full of baby stuff.”
“Oh, that’s… His Highness the Prince intended to give these to Kienna.”
“But they couldn’t?”
“Yes, that’s what I’ve heard.”
“I see…”
The jewelry that was supposed to belong to mom.
Why couldn’t they give them? Were they too busy?
I looked at the tiny baby ring and diamond bracelet that fit perfectly on a baby’s finger, ensuring they wouldn’t hurt their delicate skin.
The gem-studded ribbons for shoes were pretty, and the heart-shaped necklace caught my eye too.
I picked up various items and tried them on or inspected them carefully.
When I reached for another shelf, unlike the neatly arranged ones, I found a shelf full of curves and extravagance.
They were hidden behind several shelves, so they weren’t very visible, but there were gaps big enough for a child to fit in.
Even though Sophia couldn’t come in, she seemed to recognize the items behind the shelves from three steps back.
“That… um. His Highness the Prince was planning to gift those to Kienna.”
“But they couldn’t give them?”
“Yes, that’s what I know.”
“Ah, I see…”
They were supposed to be mom’s possessions.
Why couldn’t they give them? Were they too busy?
I took out tiny baby items like a baby-sized mano ring and a diamond bracelet and inspected them.
They were delicately crafted in round shapes to ensure they wouldn’t hurt tender skin.
The jewel ribbon for shoes looked pretty, and the heart-shaped necklace caught my eye.
I tried on various items and examined them carefully.
As I gazed blankly at the shelf, I murmured without realizing.
“I wish… I had… too.”
“Your Highness?”
“Ah, no! I didn’t say anything.”
I wish I had a family like this too.
I swallowed those words.
“Do you like those accessories?”
“Um.”
If mom doesn’t use them, I’ll use them.
I chuckled and tried to get up… only to trip and fall flat on my face.
I was wearing too much.
“Oh my, let me take them off for now. I’ll bring them back later.”
“Ugh.”
I had been too greedy.
I carefully placed the rings, bracelets, and necklaces back in their place.
But why would His Highness the Prince give me all these?
They look so expensive!
As I crawled out from between the shelves and hugged Sophia again, I realized I hadn’t taken off the tiara I’d been wearing since earlier.
“Sophie, I…”
“You can wear that now. It really suits you!”
“Am I a Princess too?”
“Yes, of course. Princess Cherishe, you are also Your Highness.”
I was relieved.
With those kind words, I ended the day happily once again.
And the next day.
I had two new maids.
Shami and Hanna.
They were personally selected and brought by Sophia from the Everbille family to take care of me.