Chapter : 51
I could understand their reaction to some extent.
After all, what I had given them was none other than photographs of the Crown Prince and his wife!
‘Articles about the imperial family are subjected to strict censorship to begin with, and even a single trivial photo has to be handled with extreme care.’
And in that kind of situation, I handed them photos—not of just any royal, but of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess.
The reporters were already completely drained from the enjoyable but exhausting Tardivna retreat they’d had with me.
Now they were being forced to handle an overwhelming heavyweight on top of that, so it was obvious they were tense enough to break out in cold sweat.
‘They look pitiful, but what can I do?’
It’s not like I could afford to throw away an opportunity I’d barely managed to obtain.
I recalled the conversation I’d had with the Crown Prince.
—What did you say?
—Just as it sounds. In addition to granting us the usage rights to the new photo-printing technology, I’d like the two of you to serve as “promotional models” for our resort~.
—Haha. Using me as a promotional tool… That easily ranks among the most absurd things I’ve heard in my life.
—It might sound absurd, but it’s not such a bad proposal. Didn’t Your Highness also feel the need to present a new image of yourself to the imperial citizens?
At my words, the Crown Prince crookedly lifted one corner of his mouth.
‘That “I hate dealing with my own kind” kind of look.’
It wasn’t hard to see the situation he was in.
At present, his public image among the imperial citizens wasn’t very good.
‘Thanks to the pointless death of the Second Prince, he’s now seen as the “incompetent Crown Prince who seized power after assassinating his capable younger brother.”’
Naturally, this was not the image the Crown Prince wanted.
In the original story, he genuinely cared for the people of the Empire.
‘So I figured he might want to appear more approachable and trustworthy as a ruler.’
Whether my guess was right or not, the Crown Prince laughed as if he couldn’t believe it—and then accepted my proposal.
Not long after, he sent several photographs through the magical mailbox.
Along with this letter.
“Lady Nacel.
Since we have the looks, shouldn’t we use them to give the imperial citizens a friendly impression?
I’ve enclosed the photos where my wife and I came out best.
For the record, this is the one and only time I’ll allow myself to be used as a private promotional tool.
Well—unlike Harten, you’re a perceptive young lady, so I suppose you already understand without me having to say it?”
‘Of course I understand.’
Using the Empire’s top influencers—the Crown Prince and Crown Princess—was something I only needed to do once as well.
The bigger the name, the heavier the burden of using them.
‘So I plan to squeeze out the maximum cost-performance~.’
With that thought, I picked up one of the photos laid out on the desk.
It showed the Crown Prince and Crown Princess leaning against a resort balcony, peacefully gazing at the sunset over Tardivna.
Looking at how perfectly composed the Crown Prince looked, I let out a quiet snort.
‘When on earth did they take photos like this?’
The Crown Prince and Princess hadn’t returned to the island after their engagement ceremony.
Which meant this photo had been taken while they were staying at this resort that day—
‘If I hadn’t set the condition about using them as models, were they planning to keep this as a private souvenir of their trip?’
What troublesome people.
Staying at someone else’s resort for free and still trying to get their money’s worth.
As I browsed through the absurd photos, I muttered softly.
“Since you’re all professionals, I’m not too worried… but since the model is that kind of model, if you cross the line, I can’t guarantee your lives~?”
At my casual, almost muttered words, the reporters’ faces went pale.
“We’ll do our absolute best!”
“We’re prepared to die for this!”
“No—actually, we’ll just die right here!”
After shouting that, the reporters gulped down stamina recovery potions and plunged back into writing advertisements.
Watching them, I curled my lips in amusement.
‘Still, the Crown Prince is being unexpectedly useful~.’
From their perspective, my backing didn’t stop at the Duke of Seind—it extended all the way to the Crown Prince himself.
People like that were undeniably weak before power.
I’d seen plenty of those kinds of reporters back in my modern life too.
‘They glare greedily at anyone weaker than themselves, looking for something to squeeze out—but become endlessly meek in front of those in power.’
Since they were no different, they were actually easy to handle.
The fact that their previously slippery attitudes had snapped into perfect discipline was proof enough.
“You’re coordinating closely with the magazine publishers too, right?”
“Yes! They’re preparing a Ladiv special edition according to your instructions, Lady Eani!”
“We’ve emphasized that it received the Imperial Premium Mark, so the public will be extremely curious about the fruit!”
“We’re also planning to reinsert the mention that it’s the Crown Princess’s favorite fruit! At this rate, a Ladiv craze will sweep across the entire Empire!”
“And don’t forget to include that this fruit is sold exclusively at Tardivna Resort~.”
“Yes, Lady Eani!”
Perhaps they’d been influenced by the resort staff.
At some point, the reporters had stopped calling me Lady Nacel and were calling me Lady Eani instead.
Satisfied by the sight, I soon left the room.
When I entered my office, Canaria—who had been dozing on a cushion in the corner—flew over to me.
Piyo.
“Rere, were you sleeping?”
At my gentle question, the canary, Rere, perched on my shoulder and rubbed its head against my cheek.
I gladly accepted the bird’s affection.
‘At first, it approached me easily enough, but it never acted this cute.’
Even when I was busy, I made time to look for it, talk to it, and show it affection—and gradually, the bird changed its attitude.
It clearly recognized me as its owner now and spent more time clinging to me.
‘If I’d known it would follow me this well, maybe I should’ve given it a more thoughtful name.’
“Rere” meant “yellow” in the southern native language here.
“Rediv” was also derived from that word.
Since the canary was yellow too, I’d simply named it Rere…
‘Well, it doesn’t seem dissatisfied.’
I gently stroked Rere’s head and body with my index finger.
The bird enjoyed physical contact so much that it completely relaxed into my touch.
Then, as if it suddenly remembered something, it fluttered over to my magical mailbox and came back with something clutched in its beak.
“Harten’s letter.”
I took it and praised Rere for a good job.
Not only did it understand human speech, but sometimes it even seemed like it could read.
Otherwise, how could it ignore every other letter and selectively bring me only the ones Harten sent?
‘And whenever I read his letters, it always does this—.’
Piyong.
Perching on my shoulder, as if trying to read along with me.
When I glanced at the bird, Rere urged me to open the letter with an impatient look.
I smiled faintly at the not-at-all-annoying gesture and tore open the envelope.
‘I don’t know why I’m especially weak to this bird.’
With that thought, I quickly read the contents.
“Eani.
I’ve completed the modified four-wheel-drive carriage you requested.
It moves using magical power without horses, and I made sure the speed isn’t too fast.
It shouldn’t consume too much mana.
The problem is transportation to the island.
I originally planned to send it via the Mage Tower’s teleportation circle, but they refused.
It looks like we’ll have to load it onto a steam locomotive instead.
Because of this, it will take some time for the carriage to reach Tardivna Island.
Still, I’ll make sure it arrives safely, so don’t worry too much.
—Harten.”
“That’s strange.”
The words slipped out before I could stop myself.
But it really was strange.
“Why are his letters like this lately?”
Harten’s letters always used to start the same way.
“My Eani.”
So why had that possessive disappeared recently?
Every letter he’d sent lately contained only my name, written plainly.
The content was overly businesslike, and all the affectionate phrases that didn’t match his sharp handwriting were gone.
Even the frequency of his letters had noticeably decreased.
‘Could it be…?’
Could it be that his obsession with me had disappeared?
It was a ridiculous assumption, but still—
The thought suddenly crossed my mind.
‘The obsession… is gone?’
As I stared silently at the letter, Rere cautiously watched my expression.
I looked away from the letter and smiled gently at the bird.
“Rere.”
At my smile, Rere tilted its head.
I whispered softly to the small canary.
“Would you like to take a little trip to the capital with me?”
