Chapter 11 - Volume 01; Behind the Scenes: Part 02 (1/2)
Volume 01; Behind the Scenes: Part 02
Not even a speck of my prayer reached the gods. Is this the curse of not believing in them every day?
“――― Miss Elianna. This is a confection made from brown sugar from the southern continent. It’s very popular with young women from my kingdom right now.”
He gave her an elaborately crafted sweet, and Miss Elianna blinked her eyes in confusion.
They were in the resting area of the royal palace archives. According to a report from Alan, the new ambassador has been enthusiastically attending night parties and tea parties just like all the other ambassadors, but he grew irritated when he couldn’t find the person he was aiming for. ――― Per her agreement with His Highness, Miss Elianna didn’t have to appear in high society unless she needed to.
Then, the new ambassador changed his approach and started showing up at the royal palace archives. His purpose was, of course, Miss Elianna.
From my view of vision, as I felt like getting a headache, Uncle Theodore was flipping through the catalogue of books as if it was someone else’s problem.
It was Uncle who had dragged me away when I only came to pick up some documents. “You’ll see something interesting,” he said. As someone who has to clean up afterwards, this was an act that shouldn’t happen.
“Please try some, Miss Elianna. I would like to hear your honest opinion on it.”
I sighed quietly in my mind. This ambassador seemed to be aiming for Miss Elianna’s extensive knowledge for a few days now. He probably received some useful advice on his own kingdom’s problems during his conversation with the Queen the other day.
It wasn’t bad for him to aim for that, but the tricks he uses to attract woman are ordinary.
Before I could open my mouth, someone had entered the room unnoticed and passed through the side and picked up a piece of sweet.
“――― Tears of the Black Pearl. This looks delicious. Lord Effingham. May I have one too?”
It was His Highness Christopher with his dazzling blonde hair and handsome smile. The ambassador seemed surprised by the Crown Prince’s sudden appearance, but he was advised to leave himself some room and not say a thing.
His Highness nodded calmly and attracted Miss Elianna’s attention, “Elianna.” He bit off half the sweet and pressed the remaining half against her lips.
“…?!”
Miss Elianna’s eyes widened. She loosened her lips, and he pushed the sweet in.
His Highness watched as Miss Elianna turned black and white and mischievously licked the fingers that had touched her.
Fixed concepts of etiquette and behaviour don’t exist here. The people who are watching just want to vomit sugar. Even if you are restraining yourself, can’t you do this when you two are alone, Your Highness?
Miss Elianna had her eyes wide in surprise. She chewed the sweet that was pushed into her mouth, but her emotions were apparent on her face.
“… M-miss Elianna?” The ambassador sounded confused. No matter how you look at her, she had made that expression because of the confectionary, not because of His Highness.
It’s not that there was a problem with the sweets called the Tears of Black Pearl. That is a limited edition foreign confectionery that is also popular with ladies in our kingdom.
It’s just that there’s a problem with the person who is eating it.
“Are you alright? Elianna.”
His Highness, who had done something he shouldn’t have, ordered the maid to bring tea. Miss Elianna quickly washed her mouth with the tea, and the ambassador looked as if he’d received a shocking blow.
I understand how you feel. Because she undermines the three main principles that butter a woman up: dresses, jewellery and sweets. I was also shocked when I saw her act like this for the first time.
… Uncle Theodore. You may be holding back your chuckles, but I recall that you were just like the ambassador a year ago.
“I’m sorry… I’m not good with sweets.” Miss Elianna, who apologised, didn’t like sweets, contrary to her appearance, which looked like she does. How sinful is it that the person who had just shrewdly sat down next to her had the qualities of a devil even though he looked handsome on the outside.
Say, Your Highness. Your office has a mountain of documents waiting to be approved, so why are you lazing around for?
If you have time to smooth things over with a dry laugh, and glare at the ambassador who’s trying to attract Miss Elianna’s attention, then won’t you return to work?
“――― Is this called Tears of the Black Pearl?” Miss Elianna asked with interest, and Uncle looked at her with curiosity. The ambassador’s complexion was restored.
“Yes. Our kingdom’s confectionery artisans did a lot of research and worked hard to make it. It was originally made to spread the name of the black pearl that we had discovered last year, but nowadays, the sweet is becoming more famous,” the ambassador became talkative once he’d recovered. “If you don’t mind…” he invited her with a smile on his handsome face.
“I’ll prepare one for Miss Elianna. The soft colour of the pearls would suit you, and I’m sure that the nobility of the black pearls will shine on you.”
I feel like I had him issue a challenge to His Highness, ‘more than the blue corundum’. My insides went cold.
No man courts Miss Elianna in this kingdom. One, because she has the title of the Crown Prince’s fiancée, and two, His Highness Christopher restrains any man who approaches her with his smile and cold gaze.
The ambassador, who was opposing His Highness, had guts and should be commended, but won’t you stop since his smile is getting wider?
“Elianna. I think that you look better with the sea gems known as the mermaid gems rather than the black pearls. It also matches your eyes… all the more so if you focus on the future. I’ll get a new one made for you.”
The mermaid gems which His Highness had mentioned with a hidden meaning probably referred to aquamarine. It was a gem that had the meaning of 『happy marriage』and I heard it was popular amongst young ladies.
Although the two men were exchanging rivalry gazes, Miss Elianna replied like usual, “No, thank you.”
His Highness’s shoulders fell for a moment. Miss Elianna’s interest seemed to be directed at the sweets on top of the top.
“When I read 『Karly’s Myths』, there was a story about the black pearls. The book is a collection of stories about gods who the southern continent tribes worship… It is said that the incarnation of the Goddess Kahina, who the Marutai sea tribe worship, is a jewel called the Tears of the Black Pearls.”
“Oh. Then, the artisans must have known about this myth, but I don’t know if they named it that because of the myth,” the ambassador responded friendly, but His Highness and Uncle thought for a bit. I predicted that we had just gotten useful information.
In recent years, the pirates have been raging in the seas and have caused problems for southern maritime trade. As a seaside nation, Miseral Dukedom should also be facing this difficult situation, but they were able to minimise the damage that the pirates had done with peculiar tricks.
However, by using the small and rare black pearls that could be harvested in Miseral, and transferring them to the tribes of the southern continent may be a clue to reducing the damage caused by the pirates.
Seaside tribes shouldn’t have suffered much damage from the pirates, and if both continents cooperate, then we might be able to find an effective way to deal with the pirates.
“Lord Effingham. I’ve thought of something that has to do with trade in your kingdom. Let’s move to a different room to talk.”
I can tell that His Highness was using this excuse to send the ambassador away.
“No, I…” I had thought that the ambassador, who was fixated on Miss Elianna, was quick-witted, but I overestimated him since he couldn’t even tell that the story right now had to do with trade in his kingdom.
“I would love to give Miss Elianna the black pearls…” Miss Elianna, the only person who didn’t seem to understand anything, replied in the same manner, “Thank you, but no thanks. It’s too much for me.”
“I have… the blue corundum.”
I could see that His Highness was in a good mood.