Baby Princess’ Survival Diary - Chapter 51

“Yes?”

 

When I asked him out of reflex, the Prince’s expression quickly returned to normal.

 

“The story seems like it will be a little long, but is it okay if I ride in the Young Lady’s carriage on the way to the campsite?”

 

“Ah, yes.”

 

I checked quickly to see if the inside of the carriage was messed up.

 

I heard Serina rushing Driane to close the luggage bag. I was relieved.

 

“Then I’ll explain it to Sir Adhan.”

 

“Yes.”

 

While I was thinking about it, the preparations for moving to a good campsite had already been done for a long time.

 

As soon as the Prince moved away, I quickly entered the carriage.

 

Driane put all the clothes I hadn’t dealt with into my luggage and closed it.

 

It was fortunate that the carriage was smaller than the room.

 

Knock, knock. 

 

“Yes!”

 

“It’s me, Young Lady.”

 

“Yes, come in!”

 

When I opened the door, the Prince entered carefully.

 

“We’ll be leaving soon.”

 

“Yes.”

 

As soon as the Prince had finished speaking, the carriage started moving at the right time.

 

The inside of the carriage quickly became quiet.

 

I sat in a corner to avoid Nadia, who was sleeping in a chair, and Driane was lying on my head as usual.

 

Serina, who had a hard time finding a seat because the Prince was sitting on the other side, climbed up the carriage.

 

There was no Serina who would throw me a word when the silence continued, so I had no idea what to say.

 

“I’m sorry. I was thinking deeply.”

 

“Ah. It’s fine.”

 

I thought I should say something, and just as I was about to say anything, fortunately, the Prince opened the conversation first.

 

“Based on the information you gave, it is believed that the person who woke the golem was Jenia Poniel. No, I’m almost certain.”

 

“Is that person a wizard from the Wizard Tower?”

 

“No. She’s—”

 

The Prince let out a long sigh.

 

– Why are you taking so long?

 

Serina said, sticking out only her upper body from the ceiling.

 

Serina didn’t usually pass through walls or objects, but she seemed to be curious.

 

I almost flinched for a while, but fortunately, I was able to show nothing because of the years of hard work.

 

“As you know, there are six wizards in the Empire, including me. Among them, five wizards belong to the Wizard Tower. I belong to the imperial family.”

 

“Yes, I know.”

 

“The Wizard Tower— much more closed than it is known externally. As a wizard, they rarely reveal what’s inside.”

 

Serina settled down with her half-stretched body after seeing the Prince who continued his explanation for a long time.

 

“A year ago. There was an incident where even such a closed Wizard Tower could not escape the forced investigation.”

 

“….”

 

“This is because it was revealed that one of the wizard’s disciples from the Wizard Tower did a human experiment.”

 

“….!”

 

My mouth naturally opened at the unexpected event.

 

– Crazy—.

 

Serina’s mouth also opened. I heard the curse that Serina used to say often.

 

She got a lot of attention from Driane, and now she rarely does it, but I guess she was very surprised right now.

 

“I can’t tell you in detail because only the Dukes and the Chancellor know, but Jenia Poniel is the person who conducted the human experiment.”

 

“How can—”

 

“I’m ashamed to tell you this, but we learned about human experiments after Jenia Poniel left.”

 

The Prince cleared his throat slightly before continuing his words.

 

“Jenia Poniel is not such a brilliant wizard in the first place. Although she had a little mana, it was enough to use one circle of magic.”

 

“One circle is the most basic, right?”

 

“Yes. That’s right. No matter how much magic was lost, it was not enough to enter the Wizard Tower as a disciple—. Jenia Poniel was able to enter the mart as a disciple because she showed great talent for research.”

 

– That’s why you have to take a personality interview.

 

I nodded unconsciously at Serina’s words.

 

“In the meantime, she has shown quite good results in large-scale research. According to the testimony of colleagues, she had a significant complex about her mana. The purpose of human experiments was to increase the amount of mana.”

 

“The number of victims—”

 

“It is estimated that there are 15 people in total—. None of them survived.”

 

The Prince bowed his head with a mournful expression.

 

“The mana of Jenia Poniel, who touched black magic, gradually got darker, and the last time I saw it, it was half-black.”

 

“That’s strange. Nadia said it was muddy gold, not black.”

 

“That’s why I assumed it was Jenia Poniel. There is a blind spot in the stigma given to the fallen wizard.”

 

“Blind spot?”

 

“Yes, what if new mana kept coming in? It’s as if new water keeps coming out of a well or a pond and purifying the existing dirty water.”

 

“Yes? Isn’t mana not fixed until it reaches a high class circle of 6 or more?”

 

“That’s right.”

 

The Prince, who sighed, continued.

 

“This is what I learned from the experimental journal that I found in her hiding place while tracking down Jenia Poniel. Her experiment was half successful. The mana has increased, but it’s gradually decreasing, and then it’s completely gone, and then it’s filled up again after a certain period of time.”

 

“That’s… Is it possible?”

 

“Theoretically, it is possible. If I explain it in detail, it is complicated, so I will explain the conclusion in a simple way.”

 

“Yes, thank you.”

 

“Jenia Poniel absorbs the mana surrounding her to increase her mana. Although there is a limit, it is much more than her mana originally. But in the end, the mana without an owner gradually scatters, and once every half a year, for about a week. She will live as a human without mana.”

 

“That’s a big risk.”

 

“Given her situation, it’s not a huge risk. Because she uses mana that doesn’t have a master, it’s difficult to track, and she’s also good at removing the stigma of using black magic. Besides, it takes a while for the mana to turn completely black, and by the time it’s all dyed, all the mana is drained out of Jenia Poniel’s body—and it doesn’t turn black in the end.”

 

“Then—”

 

“Yes, it’s a little murky, but not as much as the corrupt, so if someone looks at her mana, it’s not easy to tell who’s corrupt.”

 

I understood what he said was a blind spot.

 

“Is there any other reason that you are convinced that the person Nadia saw is Jenia Poniel?”

 

“Yes. I was convinced when I heard about the red and black robe. Jenia Poniel had her black robe embroidered with red thread on the underside, making it appear red from a distance. The robe was worn when she entered the Wizard Tower from the beginning.”

 

“Then I think it’s almost certain.”

 

“Yeah. I missed tracking her about two weeks ago. It has been a week since she lost her magic, so she should have moved as soon as she got it back.”

 

By the time the delegation departed, I understood the situation of the Prince, who had been buried in documents and reports.

 

But I didn’t understand about Jenia Poniel.

 

“Why did she do that?”

 

“I have that question too.”

 

The Prince sighed so many times that he lost count.

 

“I’m part of the tracking team, but my job is to track her mana, so she moves three months after she regains it. That’s how long it takes for her mark to stay on the magic.”

 

“How do you track it before that?”

 

“My brother has a tracking team on track. I should have caught her this time—”

 

“If you don’t mind, may I ask how you missed it?”

 

“After a search and finding her traces, I and the rest of the team were close to finding where she was hiding—. But it suddenly disappeared.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“At the end of the trace, there is a country village, and the whole village has been searched down to the smallest detail—. No trace of her has been found.”

 

The Prince washed his face dry and avoided my gaze.

 

“Did she have a helper?”

 

“Yeah, we’re looking in that direction. If she sent us a golem, it might be a helper’s order, not her will.”

 

“Isn’t it possible that she was targeting the Prince?”

 

“Her ultimate goal is to escape the Empire and go east to continue her research. We and the Eastern Empire are not on good terms, so unless she stole the divine powers, the pursuit team will not be able to pursue them.”

 

Even the same person who had fallen was treated in different ways.

 

According to the Prince’s words, if it was Jenia Poniel, the Eastern Empire would not easily let the pursuit team in.

 

“The road to the Eastern Empire is completely blocked, but there seems to be no reason why she, whose goal is the opposite, would have to target me here. She is also a wizard, so she knows my abilities well, I don’t think she’d be able to kidnap or do anything like a golem.”

 

There was a point.

 

“Then we can find a helper.”

 

“Young Lady, do you have any doubts about someone?”

 

I looked at Driane reflexively. Driane still seemed unwilling to give an answer.

 

“A little more— I’ll tell you when it’s clear.”

 

If it’s a doubt, it was definitely the Duke of Enotis.

 

To be exact, the fake princess.

 

But there was no evidence and reason to suspect, and the Duke of Enotis was too important to say that it was just a speculation in that situation.

 

I looked away from him, hoping he would understand.

 

“If that’s the will of the Young Lady, I will follow it.”

 

Contrary to my worries, the Prince nodded as if it were natural.

 

The carriage stopped before I could say thank you.

 

“Looks like we’re here. It was late at night because the journey took longer than expected.”

 

The Prince rose from his seat.

 

There was a lot more to talk about, but people might talk about the fact that they were in a carriage together that stopped late at night.

 

When I was about to get up with him to say goodbye and promise to see him again, the Prince stopped me.

 

“It’s all right. Please take a rest.”

 

Thanking for his kindness, I sat down again and watched the Prince leave.

 

The Prince, who was about to close the door, turned and looked at me.

 

“…..?”

 

As for what he was trying to say, the Prince hesitated a little before opening his mouth.

 

“…I hope you have a peaceful night. Young Lady.”

 

“Thank you. I hope you have a peaceful night, too.”

 

“Young Lady.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“I hope that one day, Young Lady will let me help you carry your burden.”

 

“…Yes?”

 

“Young Lady sometimes— has the same expression as my older brother. An expression that shows a lot of things alone.”

 

“….”

 

“When I was young, I couldn’t see the face of Young Lady, so I couldn’t help but look at you.”

 

I wiggled my fingers at the Prince’s words.

 

Maybe it was because I saw that the Prince’s face was getting red.

 

“If possible, I want to be the ‘one existence’ who can share that burden together. If Young Lady is okay with it—. I ask that you consider me as a potential candidate for such a relationship.”

 

His face reddened helplessly at the words that followed carefully.

 

Serina whispered softly that it wasn’t about wanting to be friends. I also had that kind of sense.

 

“Then have a truly peaceful night.”

 

I barely nodded my head. It was disrespectful, but I couldn’t help it.

 

The carriage was full of laughter from Serina and Driane, who laughed spontaneously.