Father, I Won’t Do Anything

Jaina had once heard from Izren that swordsmen usually focus on practicing swordsmanship first, and only begin training to imbue their swords with magic power after attaining a certain level of skill.

Of course, it wasn’t as if Rosian had never practiced swordsmanship at all up to now, but compared to the magic genius Mikael and Jaina herself as a dragon, his affinity for magic power was relatively inferior.

However, Rosian appeared unfazed even before the raging storm at sea.

“Sir Mikael, I think this prank has gone too far…”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. What’s the worst that could happen, he dies?”

Mikael’s indifferent attitude seemed to truly wish for Rosian’s demise.

Worried, Jaina grabbed Mikael’s sleeve as she spoke.

“Do you know how old the Crown Prince Rosian is right now?”

“I know, even my aunt conquered a mountain when she was around his age.”

“But that’s because she’s Princess Elia.”

“My aunt wasn’t always a hero in her youth. And back then, it was an era when people mocked the idea of a princess learning swordsmanship. That fool has had it too easy. He needs to struggle a bit more.”

As Jaina let out a deep sigh, Mikael continued.

“He’s Princess Elia’s son, after all. Let’s see what he can do.”

“…Even if they are mother and son, they are completely different people. Moreover, Rosian will likely be most uncomfortable with the judgmental eyes of others.”

“I know.”

“You know?”

Jaina asked in surprise. Unexpectedly, Mikael’s expression was serious.

“One must overcome even that to earn the right to protect someone. That’s the meaning of the ring.”

Muttering softly to himself, Mikael cheerfully grabbed Jaina’s shoulder as if nothing had happened.

“Come on, let’s have fun on our own. Enough about that kid.”

Upon entering the villa following Mikael, servants stood waiting.

“They say it’s a barbecue for dinner today.”

After changing clothes, Jaina and Mikael observed the food laid out on the outdoor table.

Sizzling sausages and vegetables, appetizingly cooked steaks.

The sun had set, the moon illuminating the darkness, while a cool breeze blew in from the distant sea. Jaina closed her eyes, facing the wind from the dark night sea.

‘To precisely create a thunderstorm only over there…’

While unseen from here, thunder and lightning raged furiously over the sea where Rosian was training.

‘Mikael’s magic truly is remarkable…’

Jaina once again realized why the word ‘genius’ was attached to his name.

“By the way, kid, how’s the teacher? The Tower Lord suddenly told me to find a harpsichord teacher, so I asked my aunt, and her maid sent over a relative.”

Lost in thought, Jaina turned to look at Mikael.

Mikael had a disgruntled expression, as if dissatisfied.

“If there had been time, I would have done a background check to find a proper person, but I feel uneasy having hired someone solely based on their credentials.”

Mikael grumbled as he looked down at Jaina.

Knowing his words contained concern for her, Jaina smiled brightly in response.

“Yes, that’s right. She’s a wonderful person.”

“Well, that’s a relief then.”

After chatting leisurely over dinner, the two returned to their rooms for the next day’s schedule.

Back in her room, Jaina hung onto the hammock in one corner.

While the bed was comfortable, lying on the wall-mounted hammock gave a feeling of floating freely in the air, which was very relaxing.

‘I wonder how Rosian’s training is going?’

Jaina opened the window. In the distance, Rosian could be seen relentlessly practicing. If Mikael had seen it, he would likely have scoffed at Rosian’s precarious state, impressed he hadn’t died yet.

‘It doesn’t seem like he’s eaten dinner either…’

After worriedly watching Rosian for a while, Jaina eventually closed the curtains.

* * *

The next morning.

When Jaina came down for breakfast, she encountered Rosian leaning on the dining table. She then recalled that despite going to bed quite late, Rosian had still been practicing on the waves.

“Your Highness, what time did you return last night?”

“Well, I did return…”

Rosian had a languid expression, as if he hadn’t slept much. His usually vibrant eyes were half-lidded, exuding an odd sexiness.

“Came back a bit late, huh?”

A low, husky voice flowed from Rosian’s lips. Jaina silently watched him. Seeming to sense her concerned gaze, Rosian smiled wryly as he rose from his seat.

“More importantly, there’s something I want to show you.”

“Show me?”

“Yeah, but it has to be a secret from brother Mikael?”

Rosian winked mischievously before leading Jaina out to the beach.

* * *

“Since His Highness skipped his meals, should I arrange for separate dining…”

“Why are you asking me about that brat? Let him do as he pleases.”

Mikael, who had come to the beach early, waved his hand dismissively at the servant’s words, silently watching Rosian and Jaina approach from afar.

‘I had only thought his innate talent was a pity, but perhaps taking after my aunt, he has some perseverance too.’

Unknown to Jaina, Mikael had been observing Rosian’s training from start to finish through magic.

He didn’t know what aspect of Jaina had changed him, but unlike the past, Rosian was exceptionally diligent.

Falling into the sea and flailing about, not just tens, but hundreds of times.

Rosian had finally managed to grasp, albeit crudely, the method of controlling magic power.

-Wow, incredible!

Watching Rosian maintain his balance on the violently crashing waves, Mikael snapped his fingers.

Splash!

The waves grew even more turbulent, disrupting Rosian’s balance.

-Uah!

But Rosian narrowly avoided falling. Seeing this, Mikael snorted derisively.

“Then again, if he had no confidence, he wouldn’t have gone to the beach in the first place? Or perhaps he whipped himself into shape overnight.”

Bringing Jaina to the beach was likely to show off riding the waves using wind magic.

“Hmm, I had thought he would beg for forgiveness… But this is unexpected, I suppose I can give him some acknowledgment…”

Seeing him struggle to protect the kid, it seemed he had a degree of perseverance, and wasn’t a completely hopeless fool by nature.

He was just unnecessarily delicate, with a slight tendency to laze about and fool around.

“Well, that’s something I can keep whipping him into shape for…”

And so, Jaina’s tenth birthday celebration trip came to an end.

* * *

Upon returning from the beach, Jaina was greatly surprised to find an enormous pile of gift boxes in her room.

“Wh-what is all this?”

“Birthday gifts sent by the Crown Prince Rosian.”

When the maid handed her a letter, Jaina opened the envelope and slowly began reading its contents.

[I wanted to give these to you on your birthday, but since it coincided with Grandfather’s birthday, I sent them ahead in case they arrived late. Late gifts are really no good, right?]

Feeling as if she could hear Rosian’s characteristic way of speaking, Jaina smiled wryly as she continued reading.

[Since you said you didn’t want anything, not knowing what you’d like, I sent a bit of everything. I’ve listed them below, so let me know if any of them catch your fancy. I’ll keep it in mind for your next birthday.]

Seeing the list at the bottom of the letter, Jaina was momentarily speechless.

Silk gloves, bonnets, jewels, and more – a seemingly endless array of expensive items.

Jaina wanted to politely return everything, feeling burdened, but she couldn’t bear to disappoint Rosian either.

As Jaina alternated between looking at the gifts and letter, hesitating, the maid standing beside her asked.

“Miss, is there a problem?”

“No, the gift boxes are just too pretty…”

Each box was wrapped with different types of ribbons and fresh flowers.

“You’re right. I also think the boxes are too beautiful. How does His Highness have such good taste?”

While the maids blushed, unsure of what to do, they seemed eager for Jaina to hurry and open the gifts.

‘Just in case, I should carefully unwrap them. If they’re too expensive, I’ll have to return them.’

“Could you help me unwrap the packaging? I want to be as careful as possible to avoid damaging the decorations.”

“Ah, of course! We’ll assist you.”

No sooner had she finished speaking than the maids swarmed around, beginning to remove the wrappings.

Carefully setting aside the fresh flowers from the boxes, untying the ribbons, and opening the lids, exclamations of awe arose from all around.

“Wow.”

“Aren’t those the precious emerald jewels only the imperial family are said to possess?”

“Look at these silk gloves. The texture is so soft, I’d love to wear them to a party.”

There was not a single unexceptional gift. Jaina blankly stared at the jewels, gloves, a seashell-crafted fan, intricate dolls, a beautiful music box, and more.

“Miss, there’s one last box left, why don’t you open it yourself?”

Snapping out of her daze at the maid’s words, Jaina placed her hand on the remaining box.

“This is…”

[It’s nothing much, but since Jaina seemed to really love the sea, I sent a snow globe. You can’t go to the beach every time, so I hope gazing at the sea captured within the snow globe can provide some solace.]

Inside the box was a snow globe containing the very seaside scenery that had left Jaina in awe during their beach trip.

Specifically, it was the image of the sea shimmering red as the sunset dipped below the horizon.

Staring intently at it, Jaina began writing a letter of gratitude to Rosian.