Raising the Princess to Overcome Death

Chapter 374: A Fairy Tale Book

371 - A Fairy Tale Book

"I want you to become the queen of this country."

I did not accept the marquis' proposal. Instead, I told him I would think about it and quickly excused myself.

However, I soon stopped walking, unsure of what to do next.

Is my brother truly planning to abandon me in this country?

Did he concoct a scheme to dispose of his sibling, who might hinder his succession to the throne, after hearing about my absurd dream?

The presence of Sir Wendy and Sir Neil trailing behind me felt unsettling.

"Princess?"

"..."

If my brother truly has such intentions, then I might already be trapped in an irreversible situation.With the royal guards watching me and Marquis Benar Tatian involved, escape would not be easy.

Fortunately, the marquis expressed a desire for me to become the queen of this country. At the very least, he seemed willing to lend me his strength. Yet, since it involved marrying Prince Cleon, the outcome wouldn’t be much different.

Of course, this is only if my brother truly has such intentions.

"I want to be alone. Sir Wendy, wait outside. Don’t start moving yet."

"Understood."

Now, what should I do?

After a brief moment of contemplation inside the carriage, I made a decision.

I needed to confirm things with my brother.

I instructed the carriage to start moving, and soon, I arrived at my brother's location—a noisy tavern bustling even in broad daylight.

The marquis had told me the truth.

Pulling my hood down tightly, I entered the tavern. My brother was mingling with commoners, chatting casually.

I lingered nearby to overhear their conversation. But before I could catch much, my brother suddenly turned his head sharply.

"My dear sister is here! My beautiful sister."

"Eek! W-Who are you...?"

My brother seemed slightly intoxicated. He sprang up and rushed toward me, slipping his hand beneath my hood to touch my face.

Thank goodness I don’t usually wear makeup, or this would have been even more humiliating!

I shouted in protest.

"Hands off!"

"Aw, Lerialia used to look better. My sweet little sister who used to listen to me so well—what happened?"

"Hmph! I'm an adult now! It's weird to be touching the face of a grown lady!"

"...Fine, fine. Here, have a seat. It's shabby, but it'll do."

My brother dragged over a chair for me. It was a small, hard wooden chair without a backrest.

What in the world was he doing in a place like this? Carefully perching on the rough surface to avoid ruining my clothes, I looked around the room.

And then, I saw a familiar face.

"Huh? Aren’t you the knight who escorted Eric?"

"It’s been a while, Your Highness."

Amid the noisy, dimly lit space, a peculiar young man who often appeared in my dreams winked at me. Holding a beer mug, he too seemed quite drunk.

Now that I thought about it, everyone here seemed completely inebriated.

Including my brother, there were five people gathered—three men and two women. The two women were chattering loudly among themselves.

"So what happened? What did you do?"

"What could we do? The Saintess summoned us, so we had to go. Haha! To Kali Toluca, who left after tracking down the demonic beast—cheers!"

"Cheers! So, the demonic beast was captured by just you and Ray?"

"Yup, it was easy.' Its pincers were delicious when roasted. I've never tasted anything better."

"Wow, that's amazing."

"But Priest, didn’t we agree to drop formalities? Why are you still being so polite?"

"It just feels more comfortable this way."

One of the women, despite her gentle appearance, was shouting loudly. Her boisterous behavior was matched by the other woman’s equally rowdy manner.

The second woman, with wild yellow-blonde hair like a horse's mane, was clearly a warrior from the northern regions, based on her rough demeanor.

Suddenly, a large young man sitting beside the northern warrior woman spoke.

"First time seeing her in person."

"Hey, hey, hush."

The young man, his arm wrapped around the warrior woman’s waist, also seemed to hail from the north. His gaze toward me was peculiar, as though he recognized me.

No, it wasn’t just recognition—there was a sense of familiarity, which was even more unsettling because my brother and Sir Rev, the knight, appeared to be exchanging secretive glances with him.

It was so aggravating that I turned my brother around to face me.

"Brother, we need to talk."

"What about?"

The place was loud enough that moving to a quieter spot didn’t seem necessary. I asked directly.

"I just met Marquis Tatian. What are you scheming?"

I wanted to see my brother’s reaction.

It pained and saddened me that I felt compelled to do this. But no matter how much I loved my brother, I couldn’t know his true intentions.

My brother stared at me blankly before smirking and raising his hand. As he patted my head, he said:

"What misunderstanding could my dear princess possibly have now?"

A misunderstanding?

Was it really just a misunderstanding?

You’re not planning to abandon me in this country, are you?

But I didn’t whine or complain. Instead, I glared at him, determined to uncover his true intentions. Perhaps my expression seemed rebellious.

"Hey, why are you two fighting?"

"They're not fighting. Anyway, I should stop drinking now. The toast has gone on too long. Lena! Lena!"

"Whaaat? Why’re you yelling... Ugh!"

"Ugh!"

As the chaotic drinking party began to break up noisily, my brother and I simply stared at each other in silence.

He was surely about to make some excuse.

He would try to convince me of his innocence with his gestures.

I was prepared to scrutinize every move, determined to uncover his scheme...

But then—

Smooch.

My brother kissed my forehead.

My brother gently brushed my forehead with his thumb, muttering softly.

"You’ve grown up so beautifully. I can’t believe you’re an adult already."

"..."

"Go back now. By tomorrow, everything will be over. But just in case, don’t even think about coming to the palace. If something happens, go to Count Peter. He will take you to Cardinal Verke."

"What do you mean by that?"

My brother, who usually rambled nonsensically, smiled faintly.

"Nothing you need to worry about. Your brothers won’t fail this time. Baron Barin!"

"Baron Barin isn’t here, but I am."

"Take Lerialia away. Lerialia, I’ll see you tomorrow."

My brother stood up and strode away, heading toward the room where some commoners had taken an inebriated woman earlier. I sat there, dumbfounded.

When I returned to the Laono family mansion, Baron Barin greeted us.

While I was visiting the Tatian marquisate, he had insisted on staying behind, saying he couldn’t predict what might happen in my absence. In matters of guarding someone, his thoroughness bordered on obsession.

Though his dedication had once felt reassuring, now it left me uneasy.

"Summon Santian for me."

"Understood. I know where he is and will bring him immediately."

As Baron Barin had promised, Santian was brought swiftly. He sighed as he was led in, so I offered some advice.

"Are you worried about Sir Wendy overhearing? Don’t be. Royal guards are bound by their oath never to disclose what they witness while on duty."

"…Understood."

"You don’t sound convinced. But really, isn’t it even worse here at the Laono mansion? The houses are so tightly packed that everyone can see what their neighbors are doing. You wouldn’t even know if someone was sitting outside your window, eavesdropping. There’s no such thing as privacy here, is there?"

"That’s true."

"Then what’s the problem?"

"I never said there was a problem."

Santian replied stubbornly and handed me a storybook.

"Let’s play with this today."

Santian Laono, though a commoner, could read and write—something rare for his class.

Considering he was two years younger than me, it was clear he had received a high-quality education from a young age. Not that it interested me much.

I spoke with all the boredom and disappointment I felt.

"This better not be dull. Today is your last chance to prove worthy of the time I’ve granted you."

If he didn’t understand why I kept summoning a common boy like him to spend time with me, then the situation was truly dire.

Why would a fully grown royal woman stoop to such lengths?

It was practically shouting to his face that I found him interesting, yet Santian merely blushed in response—as he always had.

At least, until now.

"It won’t be dull. This storybook is really fun."

I didn’t expect much.

As expected, the book was insipid, and I dismissed any hopes I might have had. Page after page, filled with juvenile sentences, I flipped through most of the book.

Then, near the end, I found a folded piece of paper tucked inside. At first, I thought it was a bookmark, but as I pulled it out, I realized it was a carefully folded letter. I glanced at the boy seated across from me.

He was also on the final page of the storybook.

"And so, Princess Reisia accepts Banun Laono’s confession, and the two are married, living happily ever after. I like this ending much better than the one in the play. What do you think, Princess?"

Santian Laono blinked rapidly, his expression slightly bashful.

Understanding his meaning, I discreetly slid the letter into my sleeve, hiding it from Sir Wendy.

"It’s interesting."

Of course, I wasn’t referring to the storybook. Its content was ridiculous, as one would expect from a fairy tale.

But I agreed with Santian’s remark that the ending was better than the play’s version.

In the renowned play The Code of Reisia, Reisia and Banun Laono do not end up together.

In the play, Banun—an early noble—fails to confess his feelings to Reisia. Instead, his sister, Baneca Laono, intervenes to help them, leading to a tragic outcome.

Baneca, a sorceress, creates a love potion for Reisia, who, secretly wishing for Banun’s confession, drinks it. But Banun, considering the potion profane, refuses it and smashes the vial. As a result, only Reisia ingests the potion, causing her to lose her ability to feel love.

She becomes a cold-blooded ruler, while Banun, burdened by guilt, remains by her side until his death. This is how the play explains the creation of The Code of Reisia, a harsh and unyielding legal system that formed the foundation of the Arcaea Kingdom.

"So, he thinks I’m Reisia and sees himself as Banun Laono."

After Santian left, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

In both the storybook and the play, Banun is portrayed as shy, embarrassed by his feelings for Reisia because she is the younger sister of his lord, Leonel.

Meanwhile, Reisia, who harbors feelings for Banun, waits for his confession.

This choice of story felt like a critique—Santian seemed to be urging me to act more assertively, like the Reisia in the storybook.

How bold of him.

Unfortunately for him, I had already been as assertive as the storybook’s Reisia.

I played silly string games to draw out his confession. Times may change, but if a woman puts in this much effort, surely the next step—a confession—should be the man’s responsibility.

A flower may offer its nectar, but it does not chase the bee. I only hope that he’s not here just for the nectar.

That night, under the faint glow of moonlight, I read the letter, careful not to let Sir Wendy notice.

The message was simple: he wanted to meet me in a place where no one could see us and asked me to dismiss Sir Wendy.

I could already guess the location he had in mind. It wasn’t exactly romantic.

Reisia’s passive behavior in the play is explained by her responsibilities as regent, ruling in place of her brother Leonel, the king. Historical accounts describe Leonel as a recluse, burdened by his own inner struggles.