Black-Haired Dad Isn’t Something You Reap - Chapter 113

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

Chapter 113. When People Rush, They Can Go Too Far (1)
“Waaah, waaaaaah.”
I am a Princess drowning in sorrow. That’s why I’m sprawled across the sofa in the Emperor’s Office, wailing my heart out.
Around me, producing those pitiful sounds, were Father working at his desk, the Chief Chamberlain assisting him, and Choco, Croa, and Shirley who had come to witness my despair.
“This was a high-risk venture from the start. Stop your pathetic whining, Your Highness.”
“Waaaaaah.”
“Those two newspaper companies have built up their image and credibility over years. Honestly, even if you gave me your newspaper for free, I wouldn’t read it.”
“Waaaaaaaaaah!”
Choco, you have this terrible habit of using facts as an excuse to wound me! When I cried even louder from my sorrow, Shirley and Croa patted my back in what I suppose was meant to be consolation.
“Don’t worry, Pisha. With the Princess Palace’s current finances, a hundred billion in debt is barely a scratch.”
“Even if we take out a bank loan, the interest alone would exceed that amount—wouldn’t it actually be profitable?”
“Quiet, you fools! Is that what you call consolation?!”
“Not particularly consolation, no.”
“We’re simply stating facts.”
Ugh! I hate this! You two! The way you shred my heart to pieces, and the worst part is you do it without a shred of malice! I screamed at Croa and Shirley that I absolutely despised them both, then continued my wailing.
“It was like a sparrow trying to follow a crane. I should have changed direction toward the gossip section.”
“Still, there’s dignity to consider. How could I put news about the Princess in a gossip column?”
“That man’s dignity.”
Father is an idiot. An idiot who doesn’t understand the Princess’s heart. In the Kisomalos Empire, the Imperial Family values propriety and honor above all else.
“Waaah.”
But Shirley and Croa are right too. What does it matter if I fail, fall, and break? Father will cover it with money anyway. This is the privilege of the privileged. Now that I have the Chiron Duke’s House backing me, shouldn’t I enjoy what I can?
“It will take time for people to recognize it as a proper newspaper. If I pull out now, it will damage Father’s dignity further, so we have no choice but to continue investing.”
When Father says to wait and see, he means at least one or two years. At this rate, the Princess Palace’s debt will reach two trillion. How did I end up like this? Why did I become a ten-year-old Princess with two trillion in debt?
“Today, I want to be alone.”
“Take Emily with you.”
“Of course.”
I can’t wander about by myself and risk something happening. I’m always aware of my position and noble status. I assured the Chief Chamberlain not to worry and waved goodbye to Shirley and Croa.
Today I truly want to sit alone with my solitude. I had prepared for this newspaper venture with such ambition, but I never expected the market share to be this abysmal.
“Sigh.”
I set out with the Emilys, letting my feet guide me wherever they wished. As I left the Main Palace and followed the Walking Path lined with digitalis flowers, I naturally found myself heading toward the Empress Palace.
But those flowers are poisonous—is it really all right to leave them there? When Mother was alive, she used to come here often and cultivated them in this spot.
“Let me see… Mother’s room was…”
“Your Highness.”
“No, wait a moment. Let me try to find it myself.”
I stopped Emily from stepping forward and searched for Mother’s room by memory alone. Let’s see—the morning light was so bright, so this direction must be right. It seemed quite high up, so perhaps the third or fourth floor?
As I wandered from door to door, relying only on memory and intuition, I could hear the Emilys stifling their laughter. From the sound of it, I must be searching in completely the wrong direction…
After wandering for quite some time, I decided to rest in a suitable room and flopped down on the sofa. The places Mother frequented must still be cleaned regularly, but the unused rooms had accumulated dust. It seems I’ve wasted my steps. Fine particles drifted up, making my nose itch.
“Achoo!”
“I’ll open the windows, Your Highness.”
“Very well.”
But what exactly is this room? It doesn’t look like a Reception Room. It doesn’t look like a place where palace staff would work. It’s not a library, and it’s certainly not a recreation hall.
It looks like one of those rooms from mystery novels—the kind where a detective gathers everyone together in a remote mansion on a distant island when a murder occurs, ready to begin his deductions.
“Books? What are these?”
These aren’t for publication. The pages inside are completely blank. Some of them aren’t even books—just empty boxes.
As I pulled books from the shelf one by one, something clicked and shifted. I instinctively gripped the bookcase with both hands, and the books slid inward before the wall suddenly swung open.
“Your Highness!”
“Your Highness! Are you unharmed!”
“No, no! I’m fine!”
What in the world did Lurutia Lorowi build inside the Kisomalos Imperial Palace!
The wall swung shut with a whoosh.
I was wondering which mechanism would open the wall again when lights flickered across the wall surface and a descending staircase came into view.
“Huh?”
This feeling… I think I know what this is. Is this Lorowi’s divine power?
“Emily! Lorowi has descended! You’re under her protection, so summon people to break down or demolish the wall!”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
Though I’d never been here before, with Lorowi present, I had nothing to fear. I bounded down the stairs and entered the Secret Workshop. It appeared to be an exact replica of the workshop at the Lorowi Marquis Residence, but as a sign of Lorowi’s descent, something unidentifiable was bubbling away in a cauldron.
“My, the fortune of Kisomalos is truly remarkable.”
“Lorowi!”
Without a physical form, I couldn’t embrace her, but we made embracing gestures to show our affection. Then I fired off questions in rapid succession—why was there a special workshop of Lorowi’s here, and how could she even descend? Lorowi answered everything in a single sentence.
“Well, Lurutia was my legitimate heir, after all.”
“Ah…”
Mother couldn’t go all the way to the Marquess Estate when she practiced alchemy, so she must have set up this mobile workshop. The lights in the workshop probably activated in response to the workshop key I possessed.
“Shall I show you the way back?”
“Yes!”
It was better to return the proper way than to demolish the wall. When I asked Lorowi to teach me how to open the wall again, she said that since she’d already descended, it would be wasteful not to use her divine power, so I should make at least one item before leaving.
“But even if you tell me to make something, I don’t know what I could create.”
“Or perhaps there’s something you’d like to have right now? Anything is fine.”
Wow, she sounds so confident. Can alchemy really make anything at all? I felt intrigued and decided to share the concern that had been weighing on me.
“Well, the thing is… could you make something that would make people want to buy items I’ve created, or something that would give my products credibility?”
“Hmm… just a moment. Credibility enhancement, credibility enhancement…”
Lorowi put on a pair of spectacles and made a motion as if retrieving something, then pulled out a book and flipped through the pages with a rustle.
“Found it! A charm for ‘Please trust me just a little more!'”
“Wow… what an embarrassing name.”
“Sapphire! Garnet! Ginger flower! Sweet potato noodles! Shiitake mushroom!”
Wait, this is starting to sound like a recipe for japchae. At first, there were gemstone names and flower names, so I thought this was finally real alchemy, but the ingredients kept getting more chaotic. If we stir-fried this in a wok, it would turn into jeweled japchae.
“Today is complimentary! From next time, gather the materials yourself!”
“Yes…”
I doubt there will be a next time, but that’s not something I need to say out loud. As a sensible Princess, I kept my mouth shut and added the ingredients to the cauldron. As I stirred the mercury-colored liquid with a staff, something went pop and a beautiful accessory flew out.
“Wow, it’s beautiful.”
“Charms are usually beautiful things.”
True, the lower-grade fortune stone Hisperon gave me was also beautifully lustrous. This talisman blended the sapphire’s deep blue and the garnet’s crimson in such an exquisite way that it looked as though gemstones had been melted down, kneaded together, and remade. Truly beautiful.
“How do I use this? Do I just carry it with me?”
“Bury it on the grounds of the production facility, and replace it with a new one after a week.”
“The instructions are quite clear.”
It’s like an electronic device.
Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. I figured out how to open the door again, said my farewells to Lorowi, and stepped out of the workshop. The wall—I just had to reverse the procedure I’d done initially to rotate it back.
As I swung the bookcase open and stepped outside again, I could see Father among the workers demolishing the wall. I explained to Father what had just happened, and he suggested we go back inside together, but unlike before, Lorowi didn’t appear this time, perhaps because I was accompanied by Father.
The workshop that had been there moments ago was now an empty room. Only a vacant kiln sat there, forlorn and alone.
“We’ll investigate this place further. Don’t enter it again from now on.”
“Yes, Father.”
And so, that secret workshop in the Empress Palace became a restricted area. Now then, perhaps I should go bury a talisman in the Newspaper Office’s foundation.

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