Side Story Chapter 19
‘What did I just see?’
For now, Cloise pretended not to have seen anything and continued his meal.
Evi busily moved her hands, chewing on small pieces of steak and then scooping mashed potatoes with butter and parsley onto her fork, filling her mouth.
Every time her cheeks moved, her round eyes seemed to fold with happiness.
Once, a palace chef had watched Evi eat and said, “It brings me such joy to see Her Highness enjoying the meal so much!” with a beaming expression.
He had then promised that he would continue to work harder and would make sure to serve strawberry pudding twice a week.
That day, Evi had excitedly told everyone she met:
“Wow! I get to eat strawberry pudding twice a week now!”
Everyone who saw that subtly glanced at Cloise.
If the princess enjoys it this much, shouldn’t it appear at every meal?
Eventually, Cloise even called a physician to ask how many times a week it would be appropriate for her to have strawberry pudding.
In the end, he was told it shouldn’t be more than twice a week.
Regardless, Evi ate everything without discrimination, savoring the things she liked the most.
So seeing Evi push away the bell peppers was unexpected.
‘What am I supposed to do in a case like this?’
Hundreds of children’s education books and papers that Cloise had read so far flashed through his mind.
What should one do when a child is a picky eater?
He had read about it countless times, but now that the situation had arisen, he was completely at a loss.
In the meantime, Evi ate the other foods first.
Cloise, pretending not to notice anything, calmly observed her behavior.
By the time Evi finished the steak, the bell peppers were still untouched in the corner of her plate.
Finally, when Cloise finished eating, Evi made a resolute face as if she could no longer avoid it and carefully put a piece of bell pepper into her mouth.
Immediately, she frowned and quickly drank some water.
It seemed she had swallowed it without chewing.
Two pieces of bell pepper remained.
Evi hesitated, slowly bringing the fork to the remaining pieces, and that’s when Cloise finally spoke.
“Evi, do you dislike bell peppers?”
Startled, Evi shook her head.
“No! I eat everything well!”
She then tried to hurriedly shove the remaining bell peppers into her mouth.
Cloise quickly took her hand and said,
“It’s okay. If you don’t want to eat it, you don’t have to.”
“…But you have to eat everything to grow tall and strong, right?”
Evi whispered in a small voice, like someone caught doing something wrong, unable to lift her head.
“….”
He couldn’t deny that she was right.
One of the basic principles of children’s meal education is to eat a variety of foods without being picky.
Unless a food causes physical issues, it’s encouraged to eat a wide range of foods.
But was it truly right for him, her father, to say she didn’t have to eat something she disliked?
What exactly should he do?
While Cloise pondered, Evi muttered in an even smaller voice:
“If I don’t eat bell peppers… Mom would have been upset, right?”
Without hesitation, Cloise replied,
“Absolutely not. But can you tell me why you don’t like bell peppers?”
He wasn’t about to say it was fine to be picky.
Evi’s appetite had increased recently, and she was growing quickly.
Balanced nutrition was important, and in that regard, Evi was perfect.
She always ate everything neatly and deliciously.
This meant she ate almost all vegetables without issue, even those most children would dislike.
So skipping just bell peppers wouldn’t cause any serious harm.
Cloise waited, watching the hesitant Evi for her answer.
Evi, slightly peeking up to check his expression, realized he wasn’t angry or disappointed and mustered the courage to speak.
“Well… bell peppers are spicy.”
“Spicy?”
She nodded.
Cloise remembered the taste of the bell peppers on his own plate.
They were slightly sharp but more of a unique flavor than truly spicy to him.
It seemed the sensation was far more intense for a child.
“I understand. From the next meal, we’ll make sure to remove bell peppers and other spicy items.”
Evi glanced at him and asked,
“Dad, it’s okay if I don’t eat bell peppers?”
“Yes. If there’s something you dislike in the future, don’t hold back—tell me. That way, we can think and consider it together.”
Of course, he couldn’t grant every whim. Not everything in the world works that way.
But letting a child who usually eats everything skip bell peppers was something he could do.
And…
‘This is probably partly Lilian’s fault too.’
“You can grow up just fine without eating things like bell peppers. Look, here’s someone who never ate them and still grew up great.”
A long time ago, Lilian had said this while dumping all the bell peppers from her dish onto Cloise’s plate—a secret they would keep.
The next day, Evi headed to the Academy for Gifted Children to meet Seraphina.
“Um, the new dormitories are also in operation starting this year.”
Aiden, who had explored the academy first, explained how many new students would enroll this year and how many new teachers and students that would entail.
Listening to him, Evi’s heart raced.
At the academy, grades are determined not by age but by when one enrolls.
‘I’m a senior! And this year, younger kids are coming in too!’
The news that the princess continued to attend the academy, combined with its successful first year, made parents who had previously hesitated now eager to send their children regardless of circumstances.
Moreover, when it became known that the princess had applied from the orphanage and was accepted, children across the empire who had thought they had no chance gained courage to apply as well.
As a result, applications to the academy this year were several times more than last year.
This time, Cloise did not delegate the academy’s entrance examination to the ministers, unlike last year.
“Seraphina, I trust you.”
“…Yes…?”
Seraphina’s face fell as if the sky had collapsed.
Of course, to avoid dealing with it alone, she had selected the first round herself, but the second round was sent back to Cloise.
Before the new students arrived, Evi walked past the busy main hall. Everyone working there bowed to her.
It reminded Evi of the first time she had entered.
Back then, no one had paid attention to her.
Later, only a few who disliked her had noticed her.
But now, everyone stepped aside and bowed.
Feeling this subtle change, she made her way to the headmistress’s office.
“Headmistress Seraphina!”
“…You’re here.”
Seraphina, who had been frantically working at her desk, raised her head weakly.
Dark shadows lingered under her eyes.
The pile of work at the academy before the new semester had forced her to sacrifice sleep.
“You look tired. Are you okay?”
At Evi’s concerned voice, Seraphina put down her pen, stretched, and said,
“I’m fine. Moving around with Her Highness like this actually feels like a breath of fresh air.”
Her gaze returned to the desk full of paperwork with a look of both boredom and seriousness, as if daring anyone to know she wanted to magically burn it all away.
“Sir Aiden, please step out.”
Aiden sighed.
“Do I really have to? I want to watch too…”
“Do you think magic is a spectacle? You’re distracting Her Highness, so leave immediately!”
With Seraphina’s sharp glare, Aiden hurried out, closing the door.
Once he left, Seraphina looked at Evi and bowed slightly.
“Shall we start practice today?”
“Yes!”
Evi raised her hand enthusiastically.
For a few weeks now, Evi had been visiting the academy twice a week to learn magic from Seraphina.
At first, Seraphina had come to the palace, but carrying documents each time prompted Evi to say she would come to the academy instead.
Seeing Evi stand confidently in the center of the room, Seraphina’s face reflected pride.
Last year, shortly after the academy opened, she had sensed the flow of magical power in a student.
She had waited for the power to fully manifest during the student’s time there.
‘And that turned out to be Her Highness.’
In fact, teaching a magic-user could have been entrusted to another mage.
Under the current workload, that would have been reasonable, but she couldn’t.
For Evi possessed magical power, ancient power, and the royal insignia—three abilities all at once. Perhaps the first in history.
Evi required exceptional attention.
And if Seraphina’s intuition was right…
‘She might surpass me.’
Perhaps the empire would serve the strongest mage in history as emperor.
