The Seven-Year-Old Village Chief in Exile - Chapter 115

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 115
Pereus, the Crown Prince—legitimate son of the Legitimate Empress, yet with a character so corrupted it defied reason.
Aidelos, the Imperial Prince—child of the Adulteress Imperial Consort, and yet raised with genuine kindness.
‘It’s obvious without even looking.’
This tea gathering was surely meant to restore the Crown Prince’s wounded pride after his spectacular failure in Deste Territory.
And Aidelos had been summoned as the sacrificial lamb for that purpose.
I was already dreading what humiliation the prince would suffer there.
‘Whoever came up with this idea, it’s truly vile.’
With nothing but mad adults suggesting such schemes at court, how else would the Crown Prince turn out?
‘Or maybe he proposed it himself?’
The Crown Prince had a track record of attempting to kill even his own grandmother. It was just as likely the other adults were too afraid to speak against him and simply obeyed.
“Hebenia.”
At that moment, Modi called out to me.
“Won’t it be dangerous if the Crown Prince is attending this tea gathering?”
“I agree with Modi on this.”
Ian chimed in.
“Even if you change your appearance with Magitech, there’s still a real chance you’ll be exposed. Looking back, we were genuinely lucky in Deste Territory.”
“And the Crown Prince has shown interest in you.”
“More precisely, he took an interest in ‘Verity.'”
But that interest had vanished the moment his own crisis emerged.
‘I was just a convenient piece to use.’
And already at his age.
I could only sigh.
My plan to savor the role of a noble young lady—like some sort of career experience program—had failed without even being attempted.
‘But what can I do? I can’t let the prince who celebrated my survival lose face for nothing.’
Even if I don’t remember it, we’ve been friends since childhood.
The young prince wasn’t my main concern.
‘The real problem is the adults.’
I understood why they’d deliberately held this tea gathering at the ruins to counterbalance the Sacred Shrine. It seemed petty and low-minded vandalism, which I thoroughly disapproved of.
‘But what exactly are they trying to accomplish by gathering the regional lords?’
The southern territories surely harbored deep resentment toward the Imperial Court over the medicinal herb issue.
I could piece together their intentions from a conversation I had a few hours later with Komer, the head of the Merchant Guild.
“A trade port?”
“Yes.”
But why was this elderly man speaking to me formally?
‘I think he was using casual speech at first.’
Still, I didn’t mind it, so I decided not to dwell on it.
“You’re saying they want to propose an expansion project for the trade port docks.”
“That sounds like a good thing, doesn’t it?”
More imports and exports would surely be economically beneficial.
But Komer shook his head and explained, point by point, why this proposal was dangerous.
First.
“Trimari is famous for tourism and leisure. If the trade port becomes too large, it will harm that industry.”
“I see…”
I recalled the history of Trimari Territory.
‘They even went so far as a fake divorce.’
As a result, Trimari became known for tourism, while Intrimari developed into an industrial hub.
It was a clever, balanced development that leveraged regional strengths.
And second.
“Simply expanding the number of berths doesn’t guarantee profit. The odds of failure are higher, and all that achieves is mounting maintenance costs.”
“We’re not entirely opposed to this.”
Keveilis spoke.
“We’re only asking that it be done systematically and with careful deliberation.”
But it seemed the Count Reten’s faction, who had proposed the port expansion, wanted to push it through as quickly as possible.
‘Hmm, this is complicated.’
Honestly, to my ears it sounded like nothing but a power grab over profits.
‘But the Emperor’s side must have a purpose behind such rhetoric.’
And it was surely a rather sinister one.
‘It looks like Arun and Kanna have sided with them.’
If this were someone else’s family drama, I’d have mocked how entertaining it all was—but since it involved people I knew, I found myself deeply unsettled.
But it was a thorny problem, and I abandoned my worries just as quickly.
Such specialized matters were better left to the adults—I’d decided not to weigh in unnecessarily.
‘What if it fails?’
I’d simply make the Izel Merchant Company prosper!
I turned to the head merchant of Komer’s guild.
“I’m just curious about something, if you don’t mind.”
“Of course.”
“The other day, when I went to the guild building, didn’t you have a terrible row with Keveilis?”
“I’m afraid I did show you an unsightly scene. We were quarreling over which child to bring to the tea gathering.”
“I rushed ahead and said I’d take one of the orphans with me, and got scolded rather severely for it. I deserved it, mind you.”
“Well, that makes sense.”
It was far less dramatic than I’d imagined.
I nodded absently, then suddenly a new question struck me—I let out a small sound of realization.
“Actually, this is just a personal curiosity of mine.”
I asked.
“The Imperial Court still hasn’t seized Clavis’s assets, have they?”
“Ah, that matter?”
“Why is that?”
“Because the bank belongs to Clavis.”
“I’m sorry?”
Oh my heavens, was this music to my ears?
So sweet that my mind felt as though it might melt entirely.
“Grandfather, your lips look like ripe strawberries. Could you whisper that one more time near my ear?”
“Oh dear, this is truly a grave matter…….”
Verity quickly took my hand. I gripped it back firmly and steadied myself with a deep breath, reining in my excitement.
“So what you’re saying is, all the finances of this nation belong to you?”
“Not quite.”
The merchant guild master continued.
“The central bank—the largest in the empire—was originally nothing more than Clavis’s personal vault.”
Moreover, all the financial networks and security magic used by banks across the empire were developed by Clavis and the Magic Engineering Academy.
‘……Wait.’
The Magic Engineering Academy?
“Did you just say the Magic Engineering Academy?”
“Yes. Clavis and the Magic Engineering Academy are renowned for their close relationship. The academy’s founding was entirely facilitated by Clavis in the first place.”
Goodness.
“They developed everything—from long-distance deposit and withdrawal magic to various financial magic and magitech. We benefit greatly from their work.”
So that was it.
‘That’s why the Emperor wanted to seize the Magic Engineering Academy!’
To get his hands on Clavis’s assets!
‘Good God, how far ahead did this mad family plan?’
Before the clan extermination even happened, how many moves ahead were they thinking?
‘With that kind of strategic mind, they should have overthrown the Emperor!’
Though I understood the Emperor couldn’t create a vessel to inhabit and so had to flee.
Still, I was grateful. Because of that, the remaining subsidiary companies were operating smoothly.
‘And the inheritance waiting for me is intact.’
But I couldn’t use it.
‘The moment I did, I’d be broadcasting my location to the Emperor.’
The richest daughter in the empire.
By all accounts, raised like a princess in a golden cradle.
‘And here I am, suffering like this…….’
I wished tears would at least blur my vision in sympathy.
“Damn that Emperor to hell.”
Only curses fell from a princess’s lips.
* * *
But what could I do about it?
‘At least I’ll savor a taste of a noble young lady’s life at this tea gathering.’
So I began preparing for the gathering with the full support of the merchant guild master.
“These are the summer dresses that are fashionable these days.”
“I’ll take all of these, and these, except that one!”
The vast quantities of clothing I’d purchased were soon transported to Izelium Village.
“Nema!”
A noblewoman of refined tastes wore nothing but bespoke gowns, so I handed the summer dresses to Nema, my personal seamstress, and made my request.
“These are the latest fashions from the south, I hear. Could you use them as reference and make me something to wear within four days?”
“Of course. Well, well—so this is what’s in vogue these days.”
“Village Chief, you’re here? Where on earth did these clothes come from?”
“Tapeuh, look at this. Apparently they’re all the rage in the south.”
Not wanting to disturb the two sisters bent over their work, I slipped quietly out of the shop.
Back at Intrimari, I sat down with Ian and Verity to discuss which hair and eye colors to change via Magitech.
“We’ve already done wheat-blonde and silver, so what about gold hair this time……?”
“That’s identical to the Crown Prince. Better to go with something inconspicuous—plain brown?”
“But your natural hair color is already in that family—that deep auburn—so it might give away that you’re Clavis.”
“What about dark blue hair, like our mother’s?”
“The Dowager’s quite famous. There might be noblewomen who’d recognize her.”
“Ugh. Do I really have to live like some fugitive fleeing justice?”
“Well, technically we’re all still accused criminals with our names not yet cleared…….”
The heated debate stretched all the way to the day of the tea party itself.
And so the day of the tea party arrived.
Keveilis beamed when he saw me with my appearance altered by Magitech.
“Pink really is the finest choice.”
I wore a white Summer One-piece Dress with light blue ribbons and collar trim as accents, created by Nema and Tapeuh together.
My pink hair was split in half and tied back, leaving the nape of my neck uncomfortably warm.
‘I wish I could pin it up…….’
But Ian objected, reminding me that ‘you wore your hair in two braids all the time at Deste.’
The Crown Prince seemed terribly worried I’d be recognized.
‘If he does recognize me, I can just knock him out and make him forget.’
To be safe, I’d obtained three Anesthetic Injections from Verity.
“How do I look, Keveilis?”
“Adorable.”
“No, I mean—can you still see my real face?”
“You look like a completely different person.”
“Then that’s good enough.”
Looking in the mirror myself, the stranger staring back at me felt uncanny.
“Well, I’m off!”
“Woof!”
“Woof-woof!”
As I was climbing into the carriage, two furry bundles—one white, one black—dashed past me.
“Huh?”
I turned to see Ppoppi and Chutchu already settled firmly in the carriage.
“Hey, you two get down……!”
“Just take them with you.”
Verity stopped me from shooing the dogs out.
“They might prove helpful, you know.”
“These two?”
At my words, the pups whimpered as if wounded, their tails drooping.
But the tea party would have the Crown Prince, who had visited Clavis before—if he recognized them, it would be a disaster.
Yet Verity just smiled reassuringly, as if there was nothing to worry about.
* * *
‘I did bring them, but…….’
I watched the two chihuahuas with complicated feelings as they rested their front paws on the window frame, peering out at the passing scenery.
‘Well, what can you do.’
If anything goes wrong, I’ll just use my ability and run.
I rode the carriage to Trimari, met with Komer, the chief merchant of the Okto Merchant Guild, and from there proceeded to the Divine Water Sacred Ground.
‘Wow.’
The Divine Water Sacred Ground was the ruins of an ancient temple, surrounded by vast forest.
The air here felt remarkably clean and cold. The solemn atmosphere unique to ruins weighed heavily upon the spirit.
Yet here of all places, a private gathering was being held.
‘I’m definitely going to be cursed for this.’
I was thinking that when I got home, I’d need to mix coarse salt with red pepper powder and sprinkle it all over my body.
Just then, Ppoppi and Chutchu leapt from the carriage and bolted into the forest of the Divine Water Sacred Ground before anyone could stop them.

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