The spotlight was all mine.

Seemed I’d fallen asleep right where I’d been leaning against Van. I rubbed my eyes, searching for the figure I’d expected to be lying beside me—my father.

“…Papa?”

I glanced around the room, but he wasn’t there. A faint loneliness tugged at me as I turned back—and there he was, Van, smiling warmly, having noticed I’d woken up.

“Good morning, Your Highness.”

“Good morning, Van.”

Thanks to Papa and Van, the fog of sadness from yesterday had completely cleared.

I smiled, and Van seemed to relax, pressing his forehead gently against mine, bumping our foreheads together with a soft *tchink*.

“You’re back to your usual self, aren’t you?”

“I’m sorry. I worried you.”

“No!! There’s no need for Your Highness to apologize!! That little brat shouldn’t be forgiven at all!!”

Raffilia had apparently been marked as an enemy in Van’s mind.

“Ah, um! Van-kun, Raffilia’s actually my cousin…”

“…Cousin-sama, you say?”

“Yeah. So, please don’t be so hostile… I really like Sauvel-ji-sama, you know.”

I didn’t want to make things worse after I’d already started crying.

“Muuu… I’ll handle this.”

(That wasn’t “no” was it!?)

I floundered, unsure what to do, when the door creaked open.

“Huh? Did the Sleeping Princess wake up?”

“Papa, good morning.”

“Morning, my princess. Breakfast’s ready. Want to help me set it out? Together?”

“I can do it myself!!”

I huffed and pouted, and Papa looked instantly crestfallen.

I was about to shove my father out the door and reach for the chest when I remembered.

"...Van?"

"Wha—?! I-I'm sorry!!"

I shooed Van, who was sprawled on the bed like a tiger, off the bed with a sigh, then opened the chest.

I fetched undergarments and called for a maid, then headed to the bath together.

After bathing, I asked the maid to handle my hair, then opened the chest set aside for my dress. There, lined up like they’d been stacked just for me, were the clothes Isabella and Lauren had prepared—too many to count.

Every time I opened the chest, I swear it felt like there were more clothes than before. I almost wished I could just escape reality for a bit.

"Miss Elen, what would you like for today?"

"Something for morning, please..."

Ugh. Nobles. Why do I have to change dresses every single day? I don’t even get it.

At least I didn’t have to deal with corsets and such—still too small to need them, thank goodness.

＊＊＊

I changed into my clothes and called out to my father waiting in the hallway. “Sorry I’m late!”

The door creaked open, and there they were—Van and Kai, both in human form, waiting.

“Look at you, all grown up and beautiful.”

Still, I got the usual “adorable” line, and Dad kissed my cheek. I kissed him back, just to be cheeky.

“Good morning, Elen-sama.”

“Good morning, Kai-kun.”

Smiling, I saw Kai relax—his shoulders dropped, like he’d been holding his breath. Was I really that much of a worry to him? I felt a little embarrassed, honestly.

But dredging up yesterday’s mess? Too much. I wouldn’t be the one to bring it up, so I switched gears fast.

“Have you eaten breakfast, Kai-kun?”

“No, not yet.”

“Then let’s eat together!”

“Huh… well, I mean, I guess…?”

Elen suggested it, and Father stopped me.

“Elen, guards eat in a separate room.”

“Eh…?”

I pouted, and Father just chuckled.

Nobles are such a pain. I’d been lounging around in the Spirit World, so sometimes I get sick of human-world rules.

“Then I’ll see you later!”

Waving goodbye, I linked arms with Father and headed toward the dining hall. Kai bowed from behind us.

Van tried to follow, but Kai stopped him.

Something was being argued behind us. Father chuckled at Van’s boldness toward the Great Spirit.

“Don’t worry. Those two—well, they seem to get along just fine, despite the bickering.”

“Huh? Really?”

I blinked, surprised. Father nodded.

“Maybe that’s how it is—fighting means they’re close?”

“No,” I said. “Not really.”

Turns out, yesterday Van showed off his magical prowess, and Kai ended up putting Van in charge of the conversation.

But even spirits have their limits in the human world. Kai pointed that out to Van, and they managed to meet halfway, working together instead of at odds.

"…Kai-kun’s amazing."

At just fourteen, being able to step back and let the other person lead the conversation? That’s not something you pick up easily.

"Been hanging around the knight corps’ training hall with Albert since I was little. Guess I’ve gotten good at navigating those power dynamics."

I blinked, then walked with Father toward the dining hall. This human world really does obsess over hierarchy. Must be some serious training behind it all.

By the time we reached the dining hall, Sauvel and Gadiel had already finished eating.

"Going to talk with the Prince after dinner—okay with that?"

"No problem at all, right?"

"Me, Sauvel, and Lauren will be sitting with you."

"Understood."

While eating leisurely with my father, I listened to the plans for the days ahead.

"You stayed at the mansion, too, Prince?"

"Yeah, well, sort of....Sauvel broke the inn’s door, after all."

"Oh!"

That’s right—I’d been wondering what happened to that inn’s door. Lauren, standing nearby, smiled and explained that she’d sent a repairman over.

Since my father and I don’t eat much, we were given only a small portion of food.

The cook, I suppose, had some thoughts about us eating so little—each meal kept getting more extravagant, almost as if they were compensating for something.

When I was asked by the cook what kinds of things could be eaten, I vaguely taught them how to make it—so good, they managed to perfectly recreate the pudding.

The pudding became wildly popular, praised by everyone. But sugar was too expensive to eat often.

Still, since this steamed dish could be eaten even when unwell, I started serving something like steamed egg custard with broth at the infirmary, and the recipe spread like wildfire.

“By the way, the Prince was surprised by this pudding, you know.”

“It’s delicious, isn’t it?!!”

“He even asked to be taught the recipe.”

“Aha, aha~”

“What now?”

“Can’t just hand it over, now can I?”

I grinned, and Father grinned right back.

＊＊＊

After finishing our meal, we headed toward Sauvel’s study.

They were already waiting there.

“Hello, everyone.”

I bowed and stepped into the room, and everyone rose to return the gesture.

Father motioned me forward, and I took my seat across from the Prince—slightly apart, at a respectful distance.

“Thank you for your assistance yesterday. Thanks to you, Liliana has returned safely.”

“Ah, uh… yes…”

Gadiel managed a reply, his face grim. Right—because they now knew the royal family had been involved in Liliana’s kidnapping.

“Prince, could you explain the reason behind this letter?”

“W-Well… I…”

“What do you make of this letter, Prince?”

“….”

“The letter says, ‘I’ve been assigned to travel to Vanclift territory. Would it be possible to meet, if you’re free?’”

It went on with remarkably detailed instructions—how the mission would be disrupted if I brought anyone else, how many days it would take to arrive, and so on.

"You understand, don't you, that the seal on this wax belongs to the royal family? And the contents of this letter… you’ve already identified the sender, haven’t you?"

"...Only the king could write such detailed instructions about the mission. The timing, the disruptions if you brought anyone else—no one else could specify these things."

"Exactly. Just knowing someone had written letters isn’t enough to know these specifics. Raffilia was retrieved under the king’s direct orders. That’s our conclusion."

"But we—"

"We didn’t know, you’re trying to say. Yes, we know. But isn’t this a matter between our house and the royal family, really?"

"...Yeah. You’re right."

"Delighted to have your understanding. Then, since we’ve already made our agreement, let’s move on to the matter of the medicine."

The shift to the main topic sent a ripple of tension through Gadiel and the others. Sauvel and my father stayed silent.

He probably had something to say, too—if he’d been honest from the start. After all, it was only natural the Raffilia was taken by the royal family’s schemes.

But Raffilia had already had a history of trouble, so Sauvel couldn’t push too hard.

“Given all this, I can’t tell you the details of the medicine to the royal family.”

“Wha—?!”

“But I will hand the medicine over to you, Your Highness, as promised. You can examine it, give it to the patient—do whatever you like. And I’ll keep supplying the medicine from now on.”

“…Can’t you tell me the recipe?”

“I can’t.”

“…Elen.”

“You’re not trustworthy.”

“…!”

“Even if I told you, you wouldn’t understand it anyway.”

“What do you mean…?”

“You can’t make this medicine in this world.”

“…What?!”

"Even if you said a spirit living in the Spirit World could make it, that wouldn’t work either. Spirits and humans are built differently, after all."

"So what the hell *is* this medicine, then…!?"

"I won’t tell you. Why don’t you just ask his spirit? He’s been brought here for that purpose, isn’t he?"

Nudging the Hume forward, I said, and she hesitantly leaned in.

"Papa, the medicine…"

"Yes, of course."

I handed her just two tablets, and she called over Ashth to examine it.

"Kyuu? Kyu?"

Ashth tilted his head. Hume grew flustered.

"Ashth… you don’t know what this is?"

"Hyuu… I think this isn’t from the human world."

"Wait… so it’s a Spirit World medicine?"

"Spirits don’t drink medicine, you know."

"Then… are the ingredients from the Spirit World?"

……no, I think it’s different? I’ve never seen Ash before.

Ash tilts her head, confused. “Huh? Then what *is* it?”

“I’ll prepare the medicine here. You can’t make it yourselves. That’s all.”

“B-but…”

“I’ll continue explaining. This medicine is an antibiotic. It kills the cause of illness, but it also wipes out the source of your vitality at the same time. You have to keep taking it until the illness is gone—but in return, your stomach will be wrecked. That’s called a side effect.”

As I began explaining the medicine, Gadiel and the others had been wide-eyed at first, but quickly pulled themselves together and listened closely.

“Pay attention to handling medicine, and enforce hygiene from now on. Otherwise, no matter how much medicine we have, if we don’t prevent illness in the first place, the demand will never stop growing.”

I declared that this medicine couldn’t be made in the human world. Combined with its rarity, Gadiel and the others were starting to look visibly flustered.

If Raffilia was going to extract information about the medicine by using her as a broth, I might as well ride that wave—on purpose.

But Your Majesty, I smiled sweetly. Please don’t take me lightly.

(You think I’ll just hand over the medicine for free? Think again.)

Just as I was thinking that, I caught my father sitting beside me—perfectly aware.

“Elen’s up to something again.”

“Too late for that, Papa.”

Sauvel, who’d been listening beside us, looked strangely pale—like he was on the same side as Gadiel and the others.