"YOUR HIGHNESS is so cute today!"
Alesteria looked at the maid who was assigned to be her nanny bored as the nanny smiled warmly in return, holding a rattle in one hand and clothes on the other.
She looked at her, dead in the eye, and clenched the bottle that she was holding very firmly.
The cute act made the nanny squeal for a moment before cooing to her.
"Now, now, your highness. I know you like your food but I have to dress you up."
Alesteria knows that she needs to changes. She felt the milk sliding off her cheeks as it soaks into the bed, her hair, and her clothes.
The milk was watery and sticky, so she wants to change her clothes too but even so, she was very hungry.
And hunger won the war.
'I won't let you take away my food!'
It has been a week now since she had woken up from the process and it felt as though she had woken up from a long-familiar dream.
She felt groggy and hazy then.
That dream was about when she was still in the mountains as she danced with her beloved friend and the fairies.
It was serene there, where only the noise made from their laughter can be heard as they play all day. It was the same as before she left, but she doesn't know why she dreamt about it.
She does admit that it was fun and she does miss that atmosphere.
It was one of those experiences wherein she truly felt happy, but living like that for thousands of years and being secluded was not what she planned
Nevertheless, that same dream made her think that she didn't really use magic to separate her soul.
'Well, seeing the people in front of me and knowing the touch of affection, I can't be mistaken.' She thought to herself as she vigorously sucked on the bottle.
The moment Alesteria realized what body she now owned and what her situation is, she was immediately showered with love and affection from both the emperor and the people in the castle.
Apparently, she was the only princess of the empire and she was very treasured since having a girl is rare in this royal bloodline.
And also, she is said to have no mana so she was treated like a fragile glass.
'What do they mean no mana?! This body has an enormous amount! In addition, I am the great witch of the mountains!'
That's right. The body of Alesteria has an enormous amount of mana within, even more than the witch. It was glowing within her in bright gold and silver threads, almost similar to the clouds of dust that the fairies have but much more vibrant.
Alesteria couldn't help but pout to herself as she held a grudge against those fake mages who examined her.
'One day, I will get my revenge and show them my power.'
Alesteria laughed evilly in her mind.
"Kyaaaaaa~! Her highness will look so pretty in that!"
"Of course, she will! Her highness is extraordinarily beautiful!"
'What the heck are they talking about now?'
Alesteria glanced at the maids arguing, or agreeing, with each other as the nanny continued to find a way to get the bottle from her.
She wanted to speak and tell them to cut it out but her body is that of a baby. She could only babble in her own language and give them stares as they act idiotically.
"Look! Even her eyes are so pretty~ The princess is truly his majesty's daughter!"
"Who else would she be if not his majesty's?"
"…You do know that those words can be interpreted that the late empress had an affair, right?"
The maids who seem to be praising me a while ago fell silent as my nanny looked at them coldly, her warm figure that she showed me was gone.
She is not wrong though.
In Alesteria's time at the mountains, she seldom heard from the travelers that cross there that people talked like that as if they have good intentions but underneath it, they are spouting such evil words.
She even encountered one gentleman who seemed lost so she wanted to help him out.
Throughout the trip, he did nothing but speak such flowery words and as it turned out in the end, he was such an ass so she never did that again.
That is also why she secluded herself in the mountains. This world has such useless communication.
When Alesteria noticed that the nanny was busy reprimanding the maids about their words, she immediately finished the bottle and threw it to her side, sighing heavily while trying to burp for herself.
"Abu!"
'Gah! Why is it so hard to burp?!'
The nanny, who finished scolding the maids, seemed to notice Alesteria's frustration as she placed the rattle and clothes in the crib momentarily.
She reached her hands towards her and carried her while patting her back.
"There, there your highness. You ate so well that you will grow up healthy." She cooed.
If Alesteria was the same witch as she was before, she would have probably cursed this woman because of her words.
'I will not burp! I cannot endure this humiliation…!'
BURP!
'Kill me.'
"Good job, your highness!"
The nanny placed Alesteria on the crib after that and she, with tears in her eyes after burping, glared at her.
'My pride… My dignity…'
She removed Alesteria's clothes as gently as she possibly could, making Alesteria comfortable, and made her wear another one.
It was the one she was holding earlier.
Alesteria glared at her the entire time she was dressing her up and when she finished, she gave Alesteria the rattle to entertain herself.
As much as her dignity has been lessened by the event earlier, she was not that evil as to throw this at her.
She is a witch but not a spoiled brat.
'However, I'm gonna use all my strength and anger in this rattle!'
SHAKE! SHAKE! SHAKE!
"Ah~ she is playing so cheerfully!"
"Look at those chubby arms! Kyaaaaaa~ I want to bite them!"
Alesteria ignored the maids who kept saying nonsense beside her as the nanny only smiled at her, misunderstanding Alesteria's actions.
She sneered at them and shook the rattle violently, imagining that she was choking someone.
The only noise that can be heard in the room is from her and even that, she gets irritated by.
She suddenly stopped shaking the rattle, exhausted, as she sighed and accepted her defeat towards the rattle.
'You won this time you damn rattle.'
After that, Alesteria became bored and stared at the ceiling with blank eyes. Even here, she felt like she wanted to leave and wander around the palace just for some fun but she wasn't allowed to leave the room yet.
Not at least she is 4 months old.
'Damn this. I'm bored! If only there is something going on, like an explosion of something.'
She commented that in her mind as she continued to stare up, her eyes following the reflection of light on the ceiling.
It was a beautiful shade of blue and it makes the room livelier. She turn her head and looked at her surroundings, noticing that she was in a fairly large and luxurious room.
"Are you not sleepy yet, princess?" The nanny asked.
Another maid beside her interjected, "She must be bored because the baby mobile is not to her liking."
She turned to that maid and her eyes twinkled.
'Yes! She noticed that I'm bored!'
The nanny nodded, "I see. Then, hurry and get a new one!" She ordered as all the maids rush outside.
'...What the hell!'
Upon hearing such a ridiculous matter, her eyes widened at what the nanny said as she wanted to shout for them to stop but her young body is still incapable of getting words out.
She grumbled incoherently and kicked her feet but the nanny seems to understand this as her getting annoyed because of boredom.
"Hurry!"
The maids soon came in with a much nicer baby mobile. The color was pretty and it looks like it came straight out of a fairytale, with air balloons as its main toy.
'Pretty, but that's not it!'
She decided not to throw any tantrums or else, they will misunderstand her again.
'No, we should calm down and think. What could a baby do?'
Alesteria wanted to facepalm at her question, already knowing that there was nothing a baby could do.
Still, in deep thought, she didn't notice that the nanny already carried her in her arms and was rocking her to sleep.
The soft humming followed by the warm embrace of the nanny made her feel loved, something she never once felt in her past life.
However, there is still something else that annoys her to the bone.
She just couldn't put her finger on it.
'Well, it is probably not important anyway. Besides, I do feel sleepy so I will...'
Alesteria's eyes slowly closed as her body relaxed, her little mouth slightly open as her soft breathing can be heard through her mouth.
The soft and plump pink cheeks were also pushed against the nanny's chest so they look plumper, it was tempting to pinch them.
The maids all cooed lowly as they were afraid to wake the princess up.
They were planning to move quietly and leave the room when suddenly, they heard familiar steps loudly ringing outside the door.
They all paled as they looked at the door, waiting for it to burst open and see the source of the noise.
Not long after, the door surely did open with a loud bang.
Waking Alesteria up from her sleep.
"Alesteria!"
"ALESTERIA~!" "Alesteria~!" "Alesteria~!" 'Ah, now I know why I feel irritated minutes ago. It was a premonition.' Alesteria looked at the boy who interrupted her sleep and saw a boy with light blonde hair and deep blue eyes, there is even a dimple on his cheek as he smiled brightly at her. Even though he is smiling like that, Alesteria knew that this boy looks like someone who causes trouble. Alesteria looked at the boy once again as she is still in her nanny's embrace and gave the boy a blank look, clearly displaying her irritation towards him. "Wow, Ales is staring at me! Do you find your brother handsome?" 'I find you annoying.' The boy, who is also the first prince of the Vlatka kingdom, is named Aldrich Thaddeus Alaric. Obviously, he is Alesteria's older brother. Alesteria remembered the first time he saw this boy and it immediately reminded him of one of his friends in the mountains. He was the same in terms of they may look innocent but they cause trouble whenever th
'ARE YOU kidding me?!' That is what Alesteria cried in her mind as everyone in the room became silent by the emperor's command. Everyone simply froze when they heard his command, and they were wondering if they had heard him correctly, but when they saw the emperor's expression, they knew they had. 'A-A ruby emerald…!' It is regarded as one of the world's most valuable gems. One stone of it may cost half of the budget of a lesser kingdom, and as it matures, it becomes stronger than metal. All of the people know this, it is just basic knowledge. So, it's understandable that they were taken aback when they heard the emperor's decree. 'Getting a ruby emerald is near impossible! And he wants it by the time of the princess' banquet!' Tristan, who is the emperor's aide, already knew who would be tasked to get the ruby emerald. It was inevitable for him, who decided
CONTRARY TO Tristan's and Bastian's wishes, after Xerxes visited Alesteria, he pushed through with his command to have the ruby emerald be placed on the princess' tiara. The job of finding the ruby emerald fell on both Tristan and Bastian. Tristan was entrusted to seek nobles who may have a piece of the ruby emerald whilst Bastian scours the east, where the ruby emerald originally came from. They can use all means and methods, even the imperial knights and the teleportation scrolls are at their disposal because their deadline is only by the end of this month. That is why Bastian can't help but scream out his frustration. "SON OF A GOAT! JUST THROW ME INTO A PIT AND LET ME FIGHT WITH LIONS INSTEAD!" The echoing of Bastian's scream pierced through Tristan's ears as they finally exited the main palace. Tristan rolled his eyes at Bastian's rough behavior while the people passing by stared at them for a mom
'HE IS crazy, very crazy!' A ruby emerald is one of the rarest and most exquisite jewels known to mankind. It has a combination of both ruby and emerald whilst the color mixes with each other, creating an infusion of both colors, also considered rare because of the quality of mana that it contains. It can even hold up to a dragon's lifeforce and can withstand all disasters, but within the early stage of its formation can it be considered as fragile. If it reaches maturation, it can never be crushed nor broken. 'That crazy emperor! Doesn't he know how hard it is to find a ruby emerald?! That thing is the rarest of them all! What's worse, he wants to put it on my head?!' Alesteria knew what the ruby emerald can do. It was, after all, her own creation. The ruby emerald was just an accidental jewel created when she was beginning to control her powers centuries ago. It was a combination of her raw mana and the mana of a dragon, her friend. That is the reason why it can hold a dragon
IN A faraway land near the east, where the southern border is located, a man who is on a mission to save his life and lineage is desperately clinging on the side of the door as he hurls his guts out. 'I don't know why but I knew that I was never good with traveling. Why did I decide to ride a carriage instead of using the scrolls?' He regretfully thought as he hurls again. Tristan was regretting his choice right now but this was all because of Bastian, who had a bet with him that he will never be able to make it to Duke Versormer's territory alive. Bastian knew of Tristan's severe motion sickness. 'Why did I even agree to that stupid bet…!' The bet wasn't worth it if Tristan is being honest, but it would hurt his pride not to accept it. 'His house isn't even worth it, but I'll show him…' Tristan thought as he wiped his mouth. "Are you done emptying your stomach? If you want to be the
AFTER TRISTAN closed the door, he let out a shaky sigh as he clutched the book tightly.He knew what he did, but it was what he had to do. He thought of letting Bastian know and explaining, but he was not ready if ever Bastian will hold a grudge against him.'Ahhh! Whatever happens, happens!'Feeling frustrated, he turned to the left to go to the room assigned to him and get his bags so he can leave immediately, but before he could take a step, a small boy blocked his path.This young boy is no older than 3 years old, standing upright like he is older than his age, and soft gray eyes looking at him in the same way Saxon did.Tristan instantly knew who this boy is."Young lord Nicholae." He greeted him, bowing his head a little.The young boy named Nicholae nodded at him, his posture is similar to Saxon's as his eyes landed on the book in Tristan's hand."I see. So, you made a deal with father."
WORDS HAVE already spread throughout the kingdom that the emperor, who they knew was cold-hearted, issued a command to get the ruby emerald for the princess' tiara.Alesteria, who is the hot topic in the capital right now, was unaware of this rumor and is living peacefully...No, rather, she is just waiting for the moment to strike.'That emperor hasn't visited me for a week! Is he that desperate to obtain a ruby emerald for me?!' Alesteria spouted in her mind as she frowned.She was definitely not happy with the emperor right now, and if possible, she wouldn't be finding him.But the issue with the ruby emerald was a rock in her path.'If only I can speak, then I can...'Alesteria's thoughts trailed as her eyes landed on the drawer where the brooch was kept. The gem was priceless, but she wondered if the emperor has more.A painite can be conducted with mana and experimented with many types o
'HOW DID he get that so fast?!'Alesteria was dumbstruck, seeing the ruby emerald in front of her as it glistened from being hit by the sun, as she slowly realizes that the emperor has some strong connections.Very strong connections.'I might've underestimated him a little.'Another reason why Alesteria was so adamant about not having the ruby emerald is not just because it was her past mistake, but it will react to her mana as it is the same.She is the creator, of course it will react to her!Besides, a ruby emerald reacting to a baby? That is unprecedented in the last centuries.Alesteria knew that no one has ever made the jewel glow nor activate it using mana, and it is speculated that if you have the same wavelength as the source of the jewel, then it might react to you.And Alesteria, being the witch of the mountains and the creator of the jewel, will no doubt activate it.