I Possessed the Villain’s Daughter – Chapter 84

What is a “request”?

To explain that, I should first talk about the work Rey entrusted to me.

As I’ve mentioned before, it was awkward for me to join either the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Mage Corps.

On top of that, Rey thought it would be better not to publicly reveal that I was using magic within the Siwin Kingdom. I agreed with him. After all, given that I had been forbidden from practicing magic, no one would view me favorably if I were openly using it—even here.

So Rey came up with this arrangement:

The title, “Royal Coordinator.” That was my official position.

On the surface, I was someone who listened to petitions and grievances, but in reality, I was also the one who handled the work itself. That made things a little complicated. Other officials divided responsibilities by department, but I had to start from receiving complaints, write up reports, and then take care of the matter myself. To make it manageable, Rey arranged it so that only tasks requiring magical intervention were passed on to me.

Busy though it was, I didn’t mind it. It reminded me of my academy days, when I worked in the student council. Hard work, yes, but meaningful.

In short, I had become the kingdom’s troubleshooter.

Anyway, I bent down to meet the little prince’s eyes.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Prince Elladin. I’m Laila Rosahil. Please forgive my rudeness for not greeting you sooner.”

“N-no, not at all!”

The little prince’s face turned as red as if a poke with my finger would make strawberry juice burst out.

“I heard you are my brother’s honored guest. I wish we’d met earlier—everyone in the palace has been curious about you. Ah, b-but that doesn’t mean I’m not glad to meet you today…!”

“…”

Elladin rambled on, repeatedly stressing how happy he was to meet me.

“…So, everyone in our kingdom welcomes you. I also have a younger sister, and she was very eager to meet you as well…”

“…Is that so?”

“Of course. N-no, please forget I mentioned her. That was careless of me. She’s… very shy, so she wouldn’t like me saying such things.”

Listening to him, I felt a warmth stir inside me.

Honestly, I had been a little anxious.

After all, working alone in a land with no ties to me wasn’t easy.

Rey, as crown prince, looked after me to some extent, but that was still just courtesy toward a guest. In official matters, things would inevitably change.

I knew that people wouldn’t look kindly upon someone who suddenly appeared from another empire and snatched up a royal post. At the very least, I expected jealousy or hostility.

That’s why this small, kind prince, who came to me of his own accord to say such things, felt all the more precious and endearing.

I hadn’t attended a royal banquet or ceremony yet—there simply hadn’t been one since I arrived—so I’d hardly met any of the royal family or officials.

But knowing that there was such a warm-hearted prince in this palace reassured me that life here wouldn’t be so difficult.

And his sister, the princess he mentioned, must be similar. If she was anything like Elladin, she would surely be kind and gentle. Even if she hadn’t come to see me yet, she had apparently been looking forward to it.

So both Elladin and the princess must be shy by nature.

Even now, Elladin’s face was burning red, though it was just the two of us. That he had still mustered the courage to come see me only made me more grateful to him.

“Thank you, Prince Elladin,” I said with a gentle smile.

In the Rosahil family, I was the youngest. Though Luceran and Laon were technically younger than me by a year, they often acted more mature, making them feel more like friends than little brothers.

But I had never had someone with such a big age gap around me. This little prince seemed truly childlike in my eyes.

“Oh! I’ve kept you standing all this time without offering tea.”

Realizing this belatedly, I hurried to lead him to a nearby table. Luckily, I had prepared black tea earlier. It had cooled just enough to be pleasant—perfect for drinking. Too hot would have been harsh for a child anyway.

“So then, what is the request you’d like me to handle?”

I looked at him seriously.

I was curious what his very first request for me would be. Whatever it was, it was still work, and if it didn’t suit my position, I would have to refuse.

“Well, you see…”

Elladin rolled his candy-red eyes as he explained.

Apparently, in his palace, there was a tree planted on the day he was born, one that had grown alongside him ever since. In summer, it gave shade; in winter, it blocked the wind.

Because it had grown with the prince, the royal gardeners tended to it with special care, and the tree responded by thriving.

Until recently.

“It was about ten days ago… that we noticed something was wrong with it.”

At first, everyone thought bare branches were only natural in winter. But when the weather began to warm and no new buds appeared, they realized the seriousness of the matter. The tree, once robust and full of life, had started withering. Its decline was now visibly apparent.

This caused panic within the palace.

After all, it wasn’t just any tree—it symbolized the prince’s life, having grown with him for thirteen years. People began to fear its illness was an ominous sign for the prince.

If the tree rotted or died, someone would certainly be blamed and severely punished.

“…But our gardener is truly a good man,” Elladin said earnestly. “I’m sure he’s never once neglected his duty.”

They had tried fertilizers and pruning, but nothing worked. The tree continued to weaken, worsened by the lack of sunlight in winter.

So the request was this: to heal the tree before it was too late.

“I’ve heard that magic can heal living things and their illnesses. Could you… perhaps… do something?”

He ended his words cautiously, watching me.

I thought carefully.

Was this something I could take on?

Rey had warned me to be prudent in accepting tasks. Only work that specifically required magic, and not things too large or too trivial, should fall to me.

I wasn’t an expert in botany. And surely the royal gardeners were highly skilled—if they couldn’t fix it, could I?

But…

As Elladin had said, there were indeed spells to restore vitality to living things and expel corruption. With the right potion and magic, I might be able to save it.

And since it’s a tree, the risk is lower…

I lowered my gaze. Even if I failed, failing with a tree was far less grave than failing with a person.

Besides…

I glanced at Elladin.

The little prince’s eyes trembled with unease, as if silently pleading: What if she refuses?

Looking at him, I couldn’t help wanting to help. Gratitude toward this child, who had come to me on his own despite my awkward place here, also played a part.

In the end, I made up my mind.

“Very well, Prince Elladin.”

“…!”

“I’ll do my best, though my power is limited.”

Elladin’s eyes curved with delight, his face brightening as though the problem had already been solved. His joy was so pure that it warmed me as well.

“…But before that…”

I pulled out a folder, retrieved a sheet of paper, and handed it to him.

“I’ll need you to fill out a petition form first.”

Bureaucracy was life, after all.

As he blinked in confusion, I offered him a sheepish smile.

Elladin carefully filled out the form with his small hands. Once I had the paperwork in hand, I agreed to visit the tree right away.

On the way to his palace, Elladin chattered cheerfully, explaining everything we passed:

That statue in the palace center had been built to commemorate a past king’s birthday; that building over there was erected by so-and-so for such-and-such reason.

Since I didn’t know much about the Siwin Kingdom, I listened with interest as we walked.

His palace wasn’t far from my office. Compared to the vast Ulysses Imperial Palace, this stroll was no more than a post-meal walk.

At last, we reached Elladin’s “Palace of the Tree.”

And the moment I saw it, I was stunned.

“This… is the tree?”

“Yes.”

“Wow…”

I craned my neck to look up.

Elladin had said it was big, but since he was thirteen, I assumed it was simply large for a decade-old tree.

“…It’s enormous.”

But this was beyond anything I’d imagined.

Like an ancient tree centuries old, its branches stretched far and wide.

Though bare in winter, I could picture how breathtakingly beautiful it must be when covered in spring greenery.

Yet, just as Elladin had explained, it was clearly sick. The branch tips were dry, and the bark flaked brittlely.

Elladin slowly approached, wrapping his small arms around its trunk with a solemn expression.

“…This tree is very precious to me. My mother imported it from abroad just for me. It’s grown with me since I was little… my treasure. But now it’s suffering so much… I almost wish I could take its pain myself.”

Then he looked up at me, eyes full of hope.

“Isn’t there any way to heal it?”

I stood there, thinking hard.

What would it take to save this tree?