chapter 14
Zzzzt—!
Crackle—zzzzzt!
Startled by the loud, grating sound of electricity crackling one after another, I stood there in a daze.
‘Damn it, this isn’t the time to just stand around!’
Snapping back to my senses, I quickly shouted for Her Highness the Princess.
“Your Highness!”
The maid, trembling uncontrollably, couldn’t calm down, fearing something terrible might have happened to the person she served. I reassured her and assessed the situation.
‘There are no signs of intrusion from outside. Then what on earth is happening inside?’
My thoughts grew tangled, and I decided it was better to act before it was too late.
If Her Highness was in danger, I had to rescue her immediately.
“Your Highness, please forgive my rudeness!”
Normally, one could never enter a royal’s room without permission.
But given the urgency, I forced myself to open the door despite the breach of etiquette.
Bang—!
“!”
Inside, thick smoke filled the room, making it hard to see anything.
‘Damn it, I can’t see a thing.’
Covering my mouth with my sleeve, I coughed repeatedly.
‘First, I need to get rid of this smoke!’
Worried the princess might suffocate, I hurriedly flung the windows open and waved my cloak around to disperse it.
‘The smell of burning is awful.’
I focused all my strength on clearing the smoke, flapping the cloak so hard it snapped in the air.
‘Something must have happened to Her Highness.’
Gritting my teeth, I kept at it, and gradually the bedroom—once shrouded in choking haze—began to return to normal.
“Your Highness!”
Soon, armored knights rushed in. Wearing silver armor, they had come running at the loud noise, their faces tense and anxious, clearly suspecting an external attack like I had.
Cough, cough—
‘What a mess this is.’
Still coughing, I turned sharply toward where Essian’s voice came from. He stood beyond the thinning smoke and visibly relaxed upon seeing me.
“Your Highness! What happened here?!”
Seeing me clutching Poppi tightly, frowning from the thick smoke and burning smell, Essian looked completely at a loss.
“Are you alright?”
He approached the bed, knelt on one knee, and placed a hand over his chest in respect.
“…Y-Yeah, I’m fine.”
I trailed off, unable to meet his eyes. After all, I was at the center of this incident.
“Search every corner of the room immediately.”
“Yes, sir!”
After confirming I was safe, Essian gave orders to the knights.
“Your Highness, please do not worry.”
He glanced at the lingering smoke with a serious expression.
“We will quickly find the assassin and punish them severely.”
His face hardened, and he ground his teeth.
“T-That won’t be necessary.”
Please don’t. The violent aura radiating from him made me feel even worse.
“What do you mean?”
Essian’s usually gentle voice grew firm, making the nearby knights swallow nervously.
‘Damn it, was it because I left the window open earlier?’
Hesitating, I glanced toward the wide-open door where more knights stood waiting, and a headache began to build.
‘I never thought a mosquito would get into the room.’
Poppi had fired a beam at the unwelcome guest—the mosquito.
‘More importantly… it recognized a mosquito as an enemy?’
Flash—!
Thinking back to how it wouldn’t stop attacking made cold sweat run down my back.
Zzzzzzt—!
That bright yellow beam shooting from its mouth and hitting the mosquito dead-on was unforgettable.
‘Ahhh, stop! Stop already!’
It was total chaos. Only after the target had been burned to ashes did Poppi finally calm down—drawing far more attention than I ever wanted.
“The one who invaded my room wasn’t an assassin. It was a mosquito.”
I confessed before things escalated further. Causing such a huge incident over a single mosquito was mortifying.
“I guess this little guy was trying to catch it while I was asleep.”
“Gueek—.”
Embarrassed, I squeezed Poppi’s face, and it let out a small cry.
“That over there is the evidence.”
What was done was done. I pointed at the blackened mark nearby.
‘I’ve lived a long time, but this is the first time I’ve seen something treat a mosquito as a lethal enemy.’
Holding back silent tears, I pressed down on Poppi.
‘At least now I know its power is ridiculously excessive.’
Burying my face in its soft fur, I thought:
‘As expected of an alchemical weapon… with this, it might even rival a god.’
Despite the shock, I decided I might as well make use of Poppi’s power from now on.
“Your Highness, if you permit, I will report this to His Majesty.”
Meanwhile, Essian carefully spoke while maintaining eye contact.
“To prevent this from happening again, we will hire pest exterminators.”
He looked filled with guilt.
“I deeply apologize, Your Highness.”
Then he shouted at the knights:
“What are you waiting for? Report to His Majesty at once!”
“Yes, sir!”
They moved quickly with determined expressions.
‘Damn it.’
Report to Jeff? I felt uneasy as things escalated.
‘That guy’s going to make a huge fuss again, isn’t he?’
Even when I had just woken up, Jeff never left me alone.
Back when I couldn’t even move properly, he carried me around all the time. Just imagining his reaction was terrifying.
‘He used to abandon his duties just to come see me.’
This was the same emperor who tossed aside his dignity, crawled on the floor, and pretended to be a horse for me!
‘Once he hears, he’ll probably cry his eyes out.’
Knowing him, I could already predict the disaster to come.
‘I’m already exhausted.’
Even my head seemed to throb as I stared at the door, certain that the moment it burst open, my nightmare would begin.
Thud thud thud—!
Soon, rapid footsteps echoed down the hallway. I swallowed, knowing Jeff would arrive any second.
BANG—!!
“Dazzling!!!”
But Jeff was a little different from what I expected. Instead of his usual over-the-top fussing, his face was pale as he searched for me—looking utterly shaken and terrified.
“Your Highness—ugh!”
Ignoring everything else, he even knocked aside a few knights in his panic.
‘Is he… angry?’
Considering the massive commotion I caused, maybe he would scold me as the emperor.
‘Jeff, you didn’t forget, right? I didn’t even get mad when you broke my favorite vase.’
I doubted he’d actually scold me, but his raised voice made me nervous.
‘I really hate being nagged.’
Not knowing what he’d say, I tensed up.
Suddenly—
He pulled me into a tight embrace.
“Do you know how worried I was? I was terrified something might have happened to you.”
With teary eyes, Jeff took me from the maid and listened to Essian’s explanation.
“I’ll make sure no mosquito ever comes near your room again.”
“Okay.”
He comforted me first, even patting my back. If it were me, I would’ve scolded first. As expected, Jeff was hopelessly doting.
Grrr…
“Shall we eat something?”
Of all times, my stomach had to growl now.
Embarrassed, I kept my mouth shut before reluctantly looking up at him.
“Alright. Let’s go eat.”
‘What a simple guy.’
Was that really all it took? Watching his complexion improve, I almost laughed.
“Tonight’s dinner was specially prepared by the royal chef. You can look forward to it.”
“Really?”
It better not just be potatoes again.
‘I’m already annoyed enough that they keep favoring potatoes at every meal.’
Please, let tonight go peacefully.
Too lazy to walk, I simply used Jeff like a ride.
“Hmm~ actually, today is a special day. It’s an anniversary.”
On the way to the dining hall, Jeff quickly regained his cheerful mood, even humming to himself.
‘If it’s an anniversary, there must be lots of sweet desserts.’
Whatever—if my favorite dishes are coming, I’ll enjoy them to the fullest!
My eyes sparkled with excitement.
‘I can already smell the sweetness.’
Visions of dazzling desserts filled my mind, and my anticipation skyrocketed.
“Your Majesty, as ordered, we’ve prepared specialties from each continent.”
“Good work.”
At last, we arrived at the dining hall.
‘Oh!’
After the chef greeted us and left, my attention was completely captured by the extravagant feast before me.
It felt like witnessing a radiant light shining from behind an angel’s wings in ancient times.
