Chapter 74
The current emperor had been bitten by a venomous insect when he was very young.
The venom of that insect was a dreadful type that caused hives starting from the bitten area.
Once the hives appeared, they itched unbearably, and even scratching until it bled did not relieve the pain or the foreign-body sensation.
If the body’s temperature rose by mistake, one could lose their life in an instant—but the emperor endured it all alone, without any antidote.
In the end, it left terrible scars on his body.
“That potion… it really removes scars?”
“Yes!”
The emperor hated showing those scars to anyone.
Even now, decades later, he insisted on wearing long sleeves at all times—it was obvious.
‘Well, no one really admires scars on a royal body.’
But I pretended not to notice the scars as I closed the lid of the medicine.
“I’ve heard Your Majesty enjoys hunting, just like our duke! So you might get scratched by branches or injured by your prey.”
“……”
“That’s why I prepared a wound ointment for such situations, and a scar-removing potion so any scars would disappear quickly!”
I bowed again, embarrassed, and stepped back.
I even made sure to give a small, cheeky scratch to my own cheek while smiling.
A look of genuine surprise spread across the emperor’s face.
There was an awkward silence for a moment.
“…By the way. You said you removed a scar with medicine as well.”
“Huh?”
“Just now. You said you removed the large scar on your back with this potion, didn’t you?”
I blinked and then nodded.
“Y-Yes… I had a bit of an accident long ago…”
The emperor turned his gaze to Sharon Abner.
“Is that true?”
Sharon Abner spoke.
“A few months ago, there was an attack on the ducal estate. An assassin targeted the child…”
“So a large scar remained on the child’s back.”
“Yes. It was my oversight.”
“Indeed. It was your oversight. As an imperial asset, you should have been more vigilant.”
My eyes widened.
But Sharon Abner nodded without a hint of protest.
“You speak rightly. I still regret it now. I will take extra precautions from now on.”
“Good. You should.”
The emperor, speaking as if reprimanding, turned his gaze back to me.
“The gift from my princess pleases me greatly.”
Then he looked at me, blinking in disbelief, and said:
“Princess, what is it that you want? Wealth, land, people—whatever it is, I will grant you one thing you desire.”
Meanwhile, the Elder Council of the Abner territory.
Hermann, holding the agenda, looked completely serious.
“Election of the estate manager, huh.”
For the first time in a long while, the Elder Council was holding a constructive meeting.
It wasn’t about plotting to remove Sharon Abner from her title, but about how to support her and the family.
“Lord Jayden is still inexperienced, so perhaps it is better for the council to select someone for now…”
“If there’s a suitable candidate nearby, wouldn’t it be better to bring them in?”
“Then at least they must be a branch member of the Abners. But among the branches…”
When one elder trailed off, the meeting fell silent.
Indeed, among the Abner branches, very few were capable enough to manage the estate.
Including all the elders themselves.
The reason was the karma they had accumulated over the past ten years.
“How about Count Peros? He was at least less hostile to the head of the house, wasn’t he?”
“No. Six years ago, during the council meeting, he questioned the duke’s dignity just because the head sneezed.”
“Then what about Viscount Nocturne…”
“That man shouted loudly calling her a witch when the head first received the dukedom.”
“Marquis Hans?”
“His son was caught trying to secretly put thumbtacks in the head’s shoes…”
In the end, all remained silent.
The more they remembered, the more shocking their own misdeeds seemed.
“We… we must have been insane.”
The youngest elder muttered grimly.
“How could we even think of doing such things? In retrospect, even if we had all been hanged, it would have been deserved!”
“Hanged? Even beheading would be justified.”
“It’s amazing we’re still alive.”
Recalling the council meeting from a few months ago sent shivers down their spines even now.
That day, the head’s legitimacy was completely verified through ancient documents and legal records.
They even found letters from the previous duke expressing his intentions, leaving the elders no excuse had they been imprisoned and executed on the spot.
‘Better to write out the legal codes five times!’
If it weren’t for Annelia, now a princess, saying that…
“If it weren’t for the princess, we…”
Just imagining it made one elder shudder.
“We all owe our lives to the princess. Though Viscount Cayntan went missing, he wasn’t particularly aggressive.”
In fact, the branches’ hostility toward Sharon Abner had largely originated from Cayntan.
When Sharon inherited the dukedom, there was a group of retainers in the Abners who opposed her.
What they constantly insisted—Cayntan included—was always the same:
Sharon Abner had no legitimacy.
She was a dark mage aiming to destroy the family.
If Jayden inherited the dukedom—or failing that, a branch member should become the heir.
Even the previously neutral branches began dreaming vain dreams because of these claims.
“Thanks to the duke and the little lady, we survived.”
“Obviously! Do you think they ignored our mortal sins out of ignorance?”
Lady Larien, who had the loudest voice, changed her stance first, and most of the branch members came to their senses.
Now, with Cayntan missing and Sharon Abner’s opposition fully gone,
They were doing their best to repay their debt of life.
Shortly after Cayntan’s disappearance, Annelia visited the Elder Council and said:
“Grandfathers, does it hurt if you press your fingers? The inked fingers are fine, you know?”
“F-Fingers?”
Some elders grimaced awkwardly in front of the child, others fidgeted.
But Annelia chattered on unconcerned.
“Even if it hurts a lot, bear it. It’s much better than going to heaven feeling nothing!”
Despite her young voice, her words were chillingly precise.
Naturally, the elders couldn’t respond.
Everything the child said was correct.
“Grandfathers, rotten pillars, they said.”
“R-Rotten pillars?”
“Yes! Pillars that must be destroyed!”
“……Eek.”
“But even if they’re rotten, if you take them down all at once, the roof will collapse. Because of gravity! You know gravity, right?”
Annelia made eye contact with each pale elder and smiled brightly.
“That’s why the duke forgave us! Taking all down at once would be satisfying, but the roof collapses. And it takes so long to rebuild new pillars.”
“New pillars, you mean?”
“Yes! Try repairs first, and if it still doesn’t work, take them down one by one!”
Then, casually, she asked:
“Hmm, but grandfathers, aren’t you the repair pillars?”
The elders had no choice but to nod vigorously at the child, who barely reached their thighs.
“Y-Yes! We are the repair pillars! We will firmly uphold the Abner roof like never before! Believe us!”
Though she was a commoner from an orphanage, the child had already proven her presence.
It was remarkable enough that the head spared their lives because of her words.
Moreover, Sharon Abner had subtly hinted to the elders that she wished to adopt Annelia as a ward.
So they tried even harder.
To prove they were the repair pillars.
And, in the process, they gained confidence in Annelia.
The child’s suggestion of pressing ink in the council wasn’t just childish mischief.
“We must select an estate manager worthy of the princess’s satisfaction!”
“Exactly! Didn’t the princess also suggest moving the residence according to protocol?”
The elders’ eyes gleamed with determination.
“Let’s appoint a young, intelligent, and capable estate representative so she can trust the move!”
“I want a house!”
I blurted it out without hesitation, and the emperor’s eyes widened.
“A house?”
“Yes! I want just one small house in the capital! Oh, and it would be nice to have a tiny greenhouse…”
The emperor looked at me intently and asked:
“Why do you want a house? I thought you’d ask for a toy at most.”
“I will enter the gifted pharmaceutical program as the youngest student, and I want to commute from home then.”
The emperor parted his lips slightly.
