A Blend of Romance and Fantasy - Chapter 25

—————

This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

—————

25.
A moment of silence settled over Aurora’s Reception Room, and both our gazes—mine and Aurora’s—fixed upon Ignis with unmistakable reproach.
“W-what is this look you’re giving me, humans?”
“And yet, Your Highness, you’ve been ordering this child around like a slave despite knowing full well?”
I narrowed my eyes at Leonard Blake in accusation, and he began scrambling for excuses.
“The two of you haven’t witnessed his true form. Once you see his manifestation, we must prevent him from using magic. Moreover, a fully matured dragon form….”
Leonard Blake’s words trailed off abruptly.
“….”
His brow furrowed deeply, and he pressed his fingers against the bridge of his nose.
“What’s wrong?”
“Let’s not discuss dragons anymore.”
Leonard Blake turned his head toward Aurora.
“Then, Saint, all we need to report to His Majesty is that there are no issues with Ignis and that Charlotte’s divine power has awakened.”
“That appears to be the case.”
“Hey! You still haven’t told me how to transform into a dragon!!”
“But leaving this creature as is poses complications. And it would be difficult to call something that keeps spouting ‘female, male’ an ordinary human.”
“Are you ignoring me!?”
“What if Ignis learned magic gradually from Sara?”
“Sara?”
One of Leonard Blake’s eyebrows rose slightly.
“Sara is my friend and a Mage. Even though Ignis is a summoned creature, wouldn’t it be better if he grew stronger to eventually become one of us? And with the binding incantation already in place, there shouldn’t be any concerns, right?”
Leonard Blake didn’t seem particularly pleased, but he nodded nonetheless.
“Since he’s your summoned creature, do as you wish. Besides, if it’s under Elisia’s guidance, it should be manageable.”
“Alright then.”
“Hic… hic-hic.”
What was that?
Hearing an unexpected sound, I turned my head, and there—to my astonishment—Ignis was weeping pitifully.
“Hic-hic. Hic-hic-hic.”
“I-Ignis. A-are you crying?”
“Wretched humans! Despicable humans!! You’re worse than a dwarf’s excrement! You’ve done this to me and now you ignore me!”
Perhaps because of his childlike form, my heart grew unbearably tender.
And his cursing was so mild that it was utterly adorable.
Aurora and I hastily began to console Ignis.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t intentionally cast the incantation. My divine power suddenly awakened and bound you automatically.”
“That’s right. It wasn’t Charlotte’s fault. And wouldn’t it be wonderful if Charlotte were a summoner? She’s always so kind to children…. Probably.”
“Exactly. Probably.”
“What do you mean ‘probably’?”
Leonard Blake pointed out our vagueness, but Aurora and I were already utterly captivated by this adorable Red Dragon.
Then, sniffling, Ignis lifted his head slightly and asked hopefully.
“So you’ll undo the incantation?”
“No.”
“That’s not happening.”
Faced with Aurora’s and my firm refusal, Ignis turned ashen.
“This is too much!”
“But you could attack me the moment I release you.”
“I won’t attack! I swear it on… on Ragnarok’s heart!”
“Rag, what?”
“Ragnarok! The mightiest and most magnificent dragon in all existence! You don’t know Ragnarok? Honestly, you pathetic humans are all the same. Before Ragnarok, you’re nothing but—”
“Enough.”
Just as I was teasing Ignis the way one might indulge a younger sibling, a voice cut through—cold and absolute.
Leonard Blake, his expression hardened into something terrifyingly austere, fixed Ignis with a glacial stare.
“Stop talking.”
“….”
In that deathly silence, Ignis—who had been acting childish moments before—froze, as did Aurora and I, who had been cooing over his cuteness.
The warmth that had filled the air vanished without a trace, replaced by a biting chill.
He had clearly crossed some threshold within himself.
And it was Ignis, who had spent the most time with him, who sensed it first.
Ignis nodded, his voice trembling with hiccups.
“Then give me golden ornaments and golden clothes, a golden bed and a golden room. I love glittering jewels. If you do that… then I’ll be on your side for now.”
* * *
Aurora and I decided to head straight to Erdan’s Office and report everything that had happened so far.
As we walked through the Royal Palace Corridor, Aurora asked as if remembering something.
“About the Sixth Prince. Why was he so angry just now? Do you know anything?”
“I’m not sure. From what I understand, the Sixth Prince deceived Ignis when they made their contract. So Ignis would hate him one-sidedly, but there’s no reason the Sixth Prince would hate Ignis in return.”
“He deceived a dragon? The Sixth Prince is quite remarkable. How on earth did he manage it?”
“That’s what I’m wondering. But I suspect his anger wasn’t directed at Ignis so much as…”
I have good instincts.
Didn’t Leonard Blake seem to harbor something like… disdain toward the dragon?
As I pondered this, we had somehow already arrived at the King’s Office.
We recounted everything that had happened to Erdan this morning.
Erdan was naturally shocked, but having already experienced much while altering the original story, he seemed to quickly accept it with a “That’s Charlotte for you.”
Though he remained visibly uncomfortable with the fact that Leonard Blake and Ignis were the problematic elements.
But what mattered more was that my Saint power had awakened.
“I see… Then it would be best to announce the awakening of your Saint power immediately.”
“No, Your Majesty. I think it’s better to reveal it after we prevent Sincester’s crisis of destruction. As an incompetent Princess going to Blake, it will be more effective at catching Prince Demian off guard.”
“Now that you mention it, Your Majesty.”
Aurora interjected suddenly.
“Charlotte’s hand mark wasn’t of the Sincester Royal Family. Could it become a problem when the kingdom’s people find out?”
“What did you just say?”
Erdan’s face went rigid, and he strode forward with purpose.
“Charlotte, will you demonstrate your sacred power before my eyes?”
“Use sacred power? Even if you commanded it this very moment, I confess I haven’t the faintest idea how to proceed.”
“But the fact that the mark on the back of your hand differs from the others is quite a significant problem….”
Erdan, his brow furrowed in displeasure, suddenly seized my hand.
“No, we must go to the Vault of Destiny at once.”
The Vault of Destiny was the repository of sacred relics passed down through generations of the Sincester Royal Family.
Dressed in sacred vestments that none would suspect, I arrived before the Vault of Destiny unseen.
Before the colossal golden door stood Erdan, Aurora, and two high priests awaiting me.
“You’ve arrived.”
“Yes, Brother.”
As Erdan placed his hand upon the door handle, a rosy light began to seep forth from above it.
Without any physical force applied, the massive door opened with extraordinary smoothness.
The interior of the vault, suffused with the sacred power of every Sincester royal ancestor, was filled entirely with currents of rose-tinted radiance.
“Come here.”
Erdan approached the glass display cases within the vault and beckoned me forward.
Within the fourth and fifth cases lay the sacred relics of Sincester meant for the Princess.
The Purifying Silver Bell—capable of halting the movements of demons for a brief moment when rung once.
The Crystal of Destiny—allowing one to glimpse fragments of time itself.
Erdan withdrew the Purifying Silver Bell from the glass case and extended it toward me.
“Charlotte, take hold of this. If the power of the Princess has truly awakened within you, you should feel something the moment you grasp it.”
I accepted the Purifying Silver Bell with a bewildered sensation and held it gently in my palm.
Yet even after several minutes passed, the bell showed no sign of change in my hand.
The Crystal of Destiny produced the same reaction.
“As I suspected.”
“As you suspected? Then does this mean Charlotte’s sacred power does not belong to the Sincester Royal Family?”
Aurora, her expression even more bewildered than mine, cried out.
“That is not what I mean. Certainly the sacred power has awakened, but the significance of Elisia bestowing this power upon Charlotte differs from the significance of her bestowing it upon me.”
“Different from the meaning of ruling Sincester?”
“Charlotte. Do you perhaps know what the mark inscribed upon the back of your hand signifies?”
At Erdan’s words, I started in alarm and quickly shook my head.
“No, I have no idea.”
“Are you certain? Speak truthfully, and conceal nothing.”
“I am telling the truth.”
Erdan appeared unconvinced, yet he spoke along with a sigh.
“If neither you nor the Saint understands it, then it means you were born to a different destiny than any Princess of Sincester before you.”
Erdan retrieved the Crystal of Destiny from me and returned it to its place within the display case.
He then approached the central case, which was covered with cloth of a pale balsam hue.
“Will you open this one yourself?”

—————

This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

—————