Chapter 8

4. The Princess Is Studying

“So, you set the clock alarm because you wanted to wake up before the maids arrived. Then that rascal Licht heard it first, reached out his hand, and punished the clock for daring to disturb the Princess’s peaceful sleep. Is that what happened?”

“I’m sorry! It happened in an instant!”

The Hero had already caused trouble first thing in the morning.

He had smashed the clock sitting on the bedside table!

According to him, I had been making too much noise, and the moment he slightly furrowed his brow, his hand moved reflexively.

The problem was that the broken clock was actually a work of art protected by a defensive magic spell.

Apparently, it was sturdy enough that ordinary impacts wouldn’t even leave a scratch!

I nearly broke into a sweat trying to come up with an excuse to give the maids.

“Well, it should return to its original state once restoration magic is used. I’ll have Licht pay the mage’s labor costs. In any case, from midnight until morning… it seems you’ve had one disaster after another.”

Emperor Payton promised to help me.

Until I moved to the Grand Duke’s residence, he would reduce the number of guards and attendants around me as much as possible.

“Licht has particularly sensitive senses, so he normally doesn’t keep many people around him anyway. A few days should be fine.”

The Hero had also urgently contacted the Grand Duke’s residence and ordered them to have the annex where I would stay ready within a week.

Our belongings could be transported using artifacts, while people could use short-distance teleportation, so the entire move could be completed in a single day.

After our discussion was over, the Emperor hesitated before telling me something that felt like a bolt from the blue.

“Princess, this is only my guess, but I think Licht has started developing another side effect besides the required four hours of contact.”

“What? Another side effect?”

“Yes. That boy is extremely good at controlling his strength. He’s almost never broken anything before.”

Yet today, he’d punched the clock so hard that he’d even shattered its protective magic.

All because I’d been disturbed while sleeping.

“So, you mean that whenever something has to do with me, the Hero’s patience becomes as small as an acorn?”

“Smaller than an acorn, I think. The fact that the damage was done to an inanimate object like a clock makes me feel relieved.”

“Your Majesty, please contact the temple and have them perform the contract termination ritual as quickly as possible. As soon as possible! Please!”

“Understood. Princess, you must also keep a tight rein on that boy so he doesn’t go out of control.”

“Yes!”

I firmly shook Emperor Payton’s hand in a solemn promise.

After a simple breakfast, I headed toward the Crown Prince’s palace.

The dress I was wearing today was Dress Number 122, one of the five candidates the maids had selected—and the one the Hero himself had chosen!

The hem reached my ankles, making it easy to move around in, while the design was formal enough to be worn even when meeting members of the imperial family.

“Shall we go, Princess?”

I took the arm he politely offered and walked slightly faster than usual.

The Crown Prince’s palace was somewhat far from here, so we’d have to hurry if I didn’t want to be late for class.

Fortunately, all that diligent walking paid off, and we arrived without being late.

As soon as we entered the palace, I saw several people standing at the entrance.

Several maids and attendants, and in the center, a tiny child.

The adorable little boy, who looked like a doll, smiled brightly and ran toward us.

“Uncle! Uncle Licht!”

Wow.

How could he look so much like someone had stamped him out of the same mold?

The Crown Prince running toward us was the spitting image of his father, Emperor Payton.

Even the color of his eyes and hair was identical, to the point that he looked like someone had simply shrunk the Emperor down to child size.

Naturally, I assumed Licht would pick up his nephew and hug him.

But he didn’t change his posture at all.

He simply stood there calmly.

“Your Highness.”

Just one sentence.

That was all.

But the Crown Prince understood what his uncle meant and turned toward me to greet me.

“Legendary Princess, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Crown Prince Wayln Groxdel.”

So well-mannered!

His posture was perfect, and his pronunciation was crystal clear!

And his chubby cheeks and fidgeting little fingers were so cute!

I wanted nothing more than to scoop him up, spin him around in the air, and play with him.

But even though he was only five years old, he was still His Imperial Highness, the Crown Prince.

Touching him without permission would cause serious trouble.

“I am Pluur Madel Aeterna. Your Imperial Highness, Crown Prince Wayln.”

I grasped one side of my dress with my left hand and placed my right hand over my heart.

Slightly bending my knees and lowering my body was the traditional Aeterna greeting.

After straightening my posture, I met Crown Prince Wayln’s eyes and smiled.

As a reward for properly greeting the Legendary Princess, the Hero thoroughly ruffled his young nephew’s hair.

That’s right.

Even if you have to be strict when necessary, you should praise a child when they do well.

That’s how you help a child grow up properly.

Apparently, Crown Prince Wayln adored his uncle, the Hero.

Whenever they met, he would cling tightly to Licht and usually refused to let go.

Obviously, there was no way a lesson could take place if Licht remained there!

So he escorted us to the study room and then left the Crown Prince’s palace.

“Please sit here, Princess.”

“Thank you.”

Normally, he would pull out the chair so that I could sit comfortably, but the large, luxurious chair was far too heavy for a five-year-old.

Therefore, the Crown Prince’s task was simply to take my hand and guide me to the desk.

One of the knights who had been silently standing guard politely pulled out the chair for me.

Come to think of it, I understood why the Hero had felt comfortable leaving the palace despite being so sensitive about my safety.

There were guards and maids stationed everywhere.

At the entrance to the room, by the windows, and even directly beside the Crown Prince.

It was an absolute fortress.

As soon as I finished looking around the room, an elderly scholar entered.

He had a magnificent long white beard.

“Congratulations on your return, Legendary Princess. My name is Giorgio Piole.”

“My teacher is a Sage!”

I’d already heard the basic information from Licht on the way here.

The Emperor and Empress had brought in a Sage who had retired after teaching students at the Imperial Academy for many years.

Apparently, education for young members of the imperial family was normally handled by close relatives, but the current imperial family was so small that they had no choice but to bring in a renowned scholar.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Sage Giorgio.”

“You must have many questions, Princess. This old man shall do his best today.”

The Sage clenched his fist with enthusiasm, and his passionate lesson began.

“Now, all the countries on the continent currently use the same currency. There are three types of coins: bronze, silver, and gold.”

Ten bronze coins made one silver coin, and ten silver coins made one gold coin.

Those were the basic forms of currency.

For larger transactions, people used jewels or checks, or conducted transactions through banks or guilds.

“You can’t buy anything with a single bronze coin. With five bronze coins, however, you can buy a donut from one of the food stalls beside the city gates.”

The wise teacher used snacks as examples so that a five-year-old child could easily understand.

“Teacher, then how much does my favorite strawberry cake cost?”

“Hmm. At an ordinary café, perhaps five to six silver coins. At a high-end café, a single slice would probably cost more than one gold coin.”

As the coins were neatly stacked in front of him, Crown Prince Wayln’s eyes widened.

He carefully touched them with his tiny hands.

“In the era when you lived, Princess, didn’t each country use different currencies?”

“Yes. In my homeland, Aeterna, we used Ter gold coins, silver coins, and copper coins.”

A copper coin was worth 1 Ter, a silver coin was worth 10 Ter, and a gold coin was worth 100 Ter.

But even in the village where I’d lived, people mostly relied on bartering, so I’d only seen a 100-Ter gold coin a handful of times myself.

The Sage taught us that the currency had been unified 350 years ago.

Apparently, the leaders of the various countries across the continent had reached an agreement because they were struggling to pay the soldiers of the Demon King subjugation army, who had gathered from all over the continent.

“All right. Let us move on to the next step.”

Now that we’d learned about the value of money, it was time to learn how to earn and spend it.

Since this was a lesson for the Crown Prince, I expected him to explain something related to the education of a future ruler, such as how to manage the national budget.

But instead, the Sage took a piggy bank out of the bag he’d brought with him and gave it to his student.

“One must learn how to handle small amounts of money before one can easily learn how to handle large amounts. Ho ho ho!”

The Sage’s approach to economic education was entirely practical.

And the Crown Prince’s elderly teacher also assigned a mountain of homework to me, the Legendary Princess.

“Princess, first you need to go to the Adventurer’s Guild and register yourself, as well as open an account. If your homeland has disappeared, you will be considered stateless until you obtain citizenship in another country…”

“Ahh! I’ll write it down, so please speak a little more slowly!”

My mind was becoming hazy under the Sage’s explanations, which poured down like a sudden rain shower.

The lesson continued for more than twenty minutes straight.

It was extremely useful, but it was also brutally intense.

The classes I’d attended back when I went to an all-girls’ school seemed like child’s play compared to this.

“Princess? You don’t look well.”

“I-I’m fine. Hahaha.”

“I heard today’s lunch was also part of the lesson. Could it be that the food wasn’t to your liking…”

“The food was delicious.”

Beef stew packed with tender meat, chewy white bread, and even a salad topped with strawberries and oranges.

I ate everything without leaving behind even a single piece of lettuce.

Apparently, the meal was meant to give the Crown Prince an experience with commoners’ food.

But honestly, the meat was bursting with flavor and tasted so refined that I couldn’t help thinking it was a bit of a scam.

The Crown Prince’s study sessions weren’t very long because he was still young.

Once lunch was over, classes were finished!

After that, everything was free time, including taking a nap and playing in the playroom.

The nanny and childcare maids took the Crown Prince away, while I drank tea and chatted with Sage Giorgio.

Then I returned to my quarters with the Hero, who had come to pick me up.

“How were your lessons?”

“Extremely useful.”

The Sage, who possessed sharp insight, had accurately pointed out a problem with me that most people hadn’t even noticed.

Namely, the Legendary Princess was currently in a strange position on paper.

I didn’t belong anywhere.

And not belonging anywhere meant that I had no protective fence around me.

He also told me the fastest way to escape my current situation as a stateless person who couldn’t legally prove her identity.

Register with the Adventurer’s Guild as soon as possible!

And at the same time, open an account for paying taxes.

Once those two things were taken care of, I could at least breathe a sigh of relief.

Even if I was registered at the lowest guild rank, as long as I was properly registered and consistently paid the taxes imposed on the money I earned through quests, I would receive the same legal protections as the people of the country where I resided.

Of course, there were other options.

I could find at least three people willing to act as guarantors of my identity and apply for citizenship, receive sponsorship from a noble, get married, or be adopted as someone’s daughter.

But every single one of those options was currently impossible for me.

They were nothing more than pie in the sky!

The Sage understood that perfectly well.

So he simply told me that if I ever got the opportunity to go out, I should head straight to the Adventurer’s Guild first.