Ragweed Princess of the Livitium Imperial Kingdom - CH 12.2

The Sirius cub —well, it was a puppy with wings on its back, so I suppose there was no mistaking it— nuzzled me on the cheek with spoiled affection, and I couldn’t help but hug it tight.

“So… SO CYUUTE!! Too cute! Why are you so cute?!”

There was me, absolutely demolished by the charm of this little one who kept licking my cheeks while whining. There was Regina, sitting back in her easy chair, looking daunted. Then Maya, sniffing the broken-off egg shells, then sniffed at the Sirius pup with a curious look on her face. And then the pup, annoyed by Maya, delivered a puppy punch to her face.

The whole situation was a bit of chaos for a while, but then Regina, the only one who was calm, tossed a question offhandedly.

“—So, have you decided on a name for it? Decide on one already and connect your mana pass with it.”*

“…” That comment brought me back to my senses. Name, name… Well, I said Charlene jokingly, but there should be a fitting name like it… Actually, is this child a boy? —Ah, it’s a girl.

Then it occurred to me that I hadn’t asked the landlady aka my mentor about keeping it. “—Umm, am I even allowed to keep this pup here?”

“Hmph. Getting two or three pets won’t make much of a difference now.”

She, at the very least, gave me her approval, although looking all bitter. Also, did you just count me, your disciple, as a pet?

“As the fourth member of the family, I will name this pup ‘Vier’.” The moment I said that, something that I couldn’t see clicked, and with it, this Sirius cub—Vier and I, connected.

“—?!”

“Hmph. Your master-servant contract is done, then.”

Even if she said that, I couldn’t see anything different… Actually, hold on to that thought! I could feel some warm waves from Vier in my arms. Was this—Vier’s emotion? It conveyed to me some ticklish feelings as Vier was being pampered in my arms. That emotion being—

“Hungry~”

“—!!! Meal! I need to make a meal for Vier! Wh-, what should I feed her?!”

“That’s a demon beast, just feed it some goblin.”

“You can’t feed that to a newborn baby! Oh?! Right, milk. Milk… Aah, there’s no milk here! Oh, there’s a ranch in the village! Maybe I can ask for some milk there. I’ll be going!”

“Hah? What about your chores?”

Regina’s mood immediately worsened, but I was not about to give in.

“I’ll be back!” Without even waiting for a reply, I dashed out of the hermitage. Maya then came running after me, bringing me my robe.

Come to think of it, I was so rushed I forgot to put it on. “Thank you, Maya! Sorry for the trouble!”

I thanked her, put on my robe, and was just about to dash onward, when the Caru stepped in front of me, blocking my way. Without even a warning, she caught the two of us with her tentacles, put us on her back, and started galloping toward the village at the speed of a gale.

We would reach the village in no time at this speed.

(This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)

(Please visit Re:Library to show the translators your appreciation and stop supporting the content thief!)

“You’re taking us! Thank you so much!!” Maya responded with a single vocal sound before she sped up the pace even more.

“Myu!” Vier, in my embrace, also yelped happily.

Thus, having gained a new family member, with me enveloped in the warmth of the two, we ran as one.

♢♦♢♦♢

On this day, in the lord’s villa —with the primary castle being reduced to a mere on-paper location due to the deterioration of transportation path and facilities, the villa was upgraded and became the main residence— in Cultura, Aulanthia Frontier County of the Imperial Kingdom, the “family” was reunited for the first time in a long while.

However, what was taking place was much drearier to be called a Family Reunion, as it resembled more like a slice of a theatrical play, or perhaps a string-puppet performance… With the backdrop stage set for nothing more than mere luxury, with no hint of raw human emotion nor a room for peace and tranquility.

This was a ceremony. A ritual to mimic an emotional reunion of a daughter who escaped death and her supposed family.

Egmond, the head of the Adventurers’ Guild of Cultura, was prostrating and paying obeisance as he was secretly assessing the people in the room —The lord of the villa Frontier Count Corrad, his legal wife, his two concubines, and their children who were present here today due to their opened schedule— and kept his judgment to himself.

Be it Corrad himself who exaggeratedly cried over his daughter’s survival and winced upon seeing her —body riddled with injuries and limp on one leg, making her bound to the wheelchair (she was actually capable of standing up with crutches, but she would favor her good leg too much it made her unable to walk right)— or the princess’ half-brothers and half-sisters who were too pained to look at her, or the chamberlains who verbally offered words of encouragements, or even the attendants, guards, and many others who looked to be of heavy hearts, they were all thinly veiled performances.

It was only the legal wife, Simenotta, who stared daggers at Princess Syltianna —who was some random girl that Egmond prepared— with eyes full of obvious suspicion and occasionally threw challenging glares at Egmond, who looked human and vivid.

(It seems like no one else notices that the princess is a sham. That’s one win in my book.)

For that purpose alone, Egmond went to the trouble of buying a slave girl with features similar to the princess (green eyes, reddish-blond hair, and white skin), fattening her over the course of three months (and even applied magic on her, so she was likely to continue to suffer from a never-ending hunger), changing her face shape, and even giving her nasty scars that made anyone have a hard time giving her a second look, just in case.

Egmond couldn’t help but laugh inwardly at the fact that even her own father and siblings could be so easily fooled. (In the end, she’s so estranged from her immediate family they can’t even see the differences. …Au contraire, only the legal wife who loathes the princess so much she wants her dead, sees through the fake princess in a single glance.)

This was a comedy. Had this been any other place, Egmond would have been laughing to tears with a standing ovation.

It seemed that the comedy had finally reached its peak, as Corrad, who had been staging grief, came over and took his daughter’s hand with a resolute look, lovingly kissed her cheek, and spoke with a smile.

“My poor Syltianna. Rest assured my dear, no matter your shape, I will always make you happy. —Why, indeed! I’ll find you a husband. I shall stop at nothing for your happiness… Come to think of it, His Imperial Highness Eilmer, the son of His Imperial Majesty Gianluca, has a son that is the same age as yours. He has the family background and age that is worthy of you. I shall make an effort to that end!”

The very air of the room froze.

“Y-, your excellency… Isn’t that too far?”

(This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)

(If you are reading this from other sites, that means this content is stolen. Please support us by visiting our site.)

Corrad turned to the person who opposed the idea, raising his voice in displeasure.

“Is there anything wrong, hm?! This land has always been an independent country, and I am still nominally a sovereign of the Imperial Kingdom—no, the God-Emperor of the Super empire! While His Highness Eilmer may be of imperial blood, he is still only a duke, so our standings are equal. First of all, what father wouldn’t wish the utmost happiness for his dear daughter?!”

Those who had been expressing sympathy for princess Syltianna’s misfortune earlier could do nothing but clam up and look at each other, completely baffled… Perhaps they finally realized the circumstances, perhaps they didn’t. Ultimately, they all looked at the ugly figure of Syltianna —sitting in her wheelchair, her vacant eyes fixated on the air— and frowned all at once.

—That would be far too insulting for the other party.

While every single person was desperately swallowing the words, Corrad alone was in good humor and he immediately ordered the chief chamberlain to begin making arrangements.

(Well, well, well… They dance when you least expect it, these clowns) The unexpected turn of events made Egmond chuckle, as he quickly began to rework the script in his mind.

Vier is German for number 4, thus the name! Also, if you want to feed a puppy (wolf cub?) you need to mix the milk with egg yolk or sesame oil or something, because cow milk alone isn’t nutritious enough. Well, Vier is a magical pet, so she’s built differently.