Chapter 41 · Three Years Later

“Princess, you’ve grown taller! This much!”

Yuz made a fuss and pointed to the line carved into the tree. The large tree sacrificed as a record of my height was covered with lines.

“…I don’t think I’ve even grown one as (three centimeters).”

Other people shoot up a handspan a year, so why am I like this! I eat well and sleep well, so why is my growth so slow!

Of course, I was much bigger than when I was five, but it wasn’t satisfying. At this rate, I would clearly end up far shorter than the Santran average for women!

“…By any chance, was Asha’s mom also short?”

When I cautiously asked with a bad premonition written all over my face, the three priestesses flinched. They tried to avoid the subject, so I hopped up and down.

“She was short!”

“Yeees… She was on the slightly petite side, haha.”

Hngh, there’s no helping genetics. But Paeon is enormously tall! Why is it that I don’t resemble him even in this! If only he could spare me five as of height.

“But she was truly lovable!”

Suddenly Rosa spoke passionately, as if dreaming.

“She was so strong, and yet so cute, and fluffy like a white cloud, like a fairy…”

When Sierra nudged her arm as if to tell her to snap out of it, Rosa’s eyes finally returned to the real world.

“I’m sorry. She’s actually a fan of Princess Beatrice.”

Rosa said, scratching her head as if embarrassed.

“That’s why on the day the princess fell into the water, she pushed so aggressively to be the one to serve Princess Anastasia. Thanks to that, she’s still attending the princess like this.”

I glanced at Paeon beside me, curious about his reaction. Whether he was unbothered by hearing about my mother, or simply a master of controlling his expression, his face was blank.

He truly had not changed by a single bit in three years. That cold face, that stiff manner! Yet everyone around us made a fuss about how he had changed. Especially Shellman, who went around saying Paeon’s atmosphere had softened or whatever—it was absurd.

“Now please take the princess and go. I need to return to training.”

He still has no manners!

“Ah, we were holding Sir Parsiel too long.”

“Yes, you must be busy because of the new knights.”

Not long ago, the Ars Confelo ended, and the apprentice knights selected there were formally knighted. They became new recruits again and were receiving brutally intense training from Paeon.

“I’m not going.”

I declared with my hands on my hips.

“Today’s training is finished, though.”

I also receive training from Paeon every morning. One-on-one divine power lessons from none other than the commander of Veritas.

“I want to watch the training grounds for the first time in a while.”

“You have your next schedule.”

Every afternoon I had magic lessons from the dean of Naritas. Hah, it was something I had wished for, but the schedule was truly, truly grueling.

“There’s still time. If I watch just a little…”

Thud, thud, thud!

The ground shook. I thought a herd of elephants was charging, but then—

“Princess!”

“Princess!”

Rizen and Ark, no longer boys but close to young men, came running in a cloud of dust. Dressed in smart formal knight uniforms, they were much taller and far more solidly built than three years ago.

Rizen especially—that delicate pretty boy was gone, replaced by a handsome youth. He was already just shy of four cubits tall. Perhaps because of that, he suffered from growing pains every day. Still, his smile was as angelic as ever.

Ark had grown just as tall, and his face had become even more dashingly handsome. He had finally perfected the Flamma Gladius. The only apprentice knight who could rival him, across both Dinitas and Veritas, was Rizen. Thanks to that, he had been proudly knighted.

But these fools nearly made me faint at the knighting ceremony, where they were supposed to swear loyalty to God and the king—they caused a scene insisting they would formally swear to me as well. A double oath! It was unprecedented.

Fortunately, the king, who became incredibly lenient in matters concerning me, laughed heartily and permitted it, so I ended up holding a surprise knighting ceremony. There were fierce objections from some nobles, but they were easily ignored. That ritual where I had to bestow protection on their shoulders with a sword—ugh, the sword was so heavy I had to hold it with both hands, so I looked completely undignified. Still, it was a proud experience.

My puppies had finally received knighthoods! And they were my knights! They were now tasked not only with protecting the king and the country, but also with protecting me.

“Rizen! Ark! Or should I call you Sir Tigris and Sir Ellenoa now?”

“Princess, what are you saying? How cold. I definitely prefer my name.”

“If this guy gets to be called by name, then I must be too! I am the princess’s knight!”

Their bodies had grown, but their minds were still no different from children. The two were always bickering.

“Were you measuring your height?”

Rizen glanced at the large tree.

“How much did you grow? Three as? Four as? Princess, you’ve grown enormously!”

“…”

When I just glared at him without answering, he flinched.

“Wh-what is it?”

“Haa, hearing that from a height-rich boy is irritating…”

“!”

“What is the air like up high? Must be refreshing, right? Asha lives stuck to the ground, breathing only bad air.”

Rizen fidgeted, then came close and whispered.

“Princess, cheer up. I’ll do ‘that’ for you.”

“Weally?”

“What, you’re the only one doing that for her again?! This time I’ll do it!”

“Well now, this is a problem… Then let’s do rock-paper-scissors, and the winner gets to do it.”

Paeon, who had been listening silently to this strange conversation, opened his mouth.

“…What is that?”

They exchanged glances and hesitated to answer.

“A shouldew wide! Wizen gave me one a while ago, and it was supew, supew fun!”

When I answered with a bright smile, Paeon’s face contorted sharply.

“You gave her a shoulder ride?”

At his icy voice, Rizen’s face went pale.

“Rizen Tigris! As a knight who swore a loyalty oath, you did something so dangerous with the princess?!”

What’s this, why is he angry?

“It wasn’t dangewous at aww. Wizen is so stwong.”

“She could have been hurt.”

I was dumbfounded by his stern scolding, so I grabbed Rizen and shouted.

“Huwt? Whea would I get huwt? Wizen, do it wight now!”

“Th-that is…”

“Give me a wide, give me a wide!”

Rizen, caught in the middle, looked troubled, then rolled his eyes and spoke to Paeon in a small voice.

“W-wouldn’t it be better for the Commander to do it?!”

Wow, this Rizen! When did he get so sly? He smoothly dumped it on Paeon!

“You’re much taller than me… and stronger too…”

What are you saying, Rizen! That man refused even to pat my head! A shoulder ride isn’t even carrying me on his back—it’s an activity that pursues only fun—there’s no way he’d do it!

But Paeon, who I assumed would naturally refuse, let out a sigh and dropped to one knee.

Huh! What’s this? Now that I see it, maybe what Shellman said is a little true.

Not missing the chance, I hopped over to Paeon and threw myself onto his back. He flinched, then helped me climb onto his shoulders. These days I mostly walk on my own, but his body, which I hadn’t touched in a while, was still warm. I giggled for some reason.

When he gripped my legs firmly and stood, my eye level changed in an instant.

“Whoa!”

It really is incredibly high. I felt like I could catch a passing bird.

“So high!”

Looking down, the three priestesses were watching us with pleased faces. I made a V sign of victory and grabbed Paeon’s head tightly. His sparkling golden hair caught in my fingers.

“Papa’s haiw is weally wike gold.”

He furrowed his brow as if to ask what nonsense I was saying.

“Youw haiw is even bettew than Asha’s!”

“Princess, if you pull my hair like that…!”

Whether he was flustered or not, I pulled his hair and held it up to the sunlight. It sparkled even more in the light, and it was nice to look at.

‘Come to think of it, I should start gathering gold soon…’

It was still a long way to twelve, but you never know how life will turn out, so I needed to prepare in advance.

Until now, I had no time to pay attention to anything else because I was adapting to divine power and mana, but now I had perfectly adapted to both powers! The seizures and pain that used to come from time to time were gone. Paeon’s help had been great in getting there, but since he’s annoying, I’ll credit it entirely to my own efforts.

I was staring greedily at his hair as if it were real gold when a familiar figure caught my eye in the distance.

“Huh? It’s Gwandfathow!”

Paeon turned around in surprise, and I wobbled with him.

“Papa! That’s dangewous!”

“I-I apologize.”

Since I couldn’t face the king in this state, I hopped down from his shoulders the moment he knelt again.

“Your Majesty! Have you been well? What brings you here?”

“Yes, Anastasia. I came because I wanted to talk with you after so long.”

“…I greet the sky of Santra.”

Paeon bowed his slightly disheveled head and saluted the king.

“It’s been a while, Sir Parsiel. I never knew you had such a tender side. Haha!”

“…I apologize.”

He flushed with embarrassment.

“Hahaha! I am always grateful that you treat the princess like a daughter.”

The king still knew none of the truth, but sometimes he attacked Paeon so directly that I wondered if he was doing it on purpose. Thanks to that, his face turned even redder.

I covered my mouth and laughed, seeing Paeon take a hit for the first time in a while. Seeing him tormented by his conscience was always satisfying.

“Here, get in. Anastasia. I’ll take you to Ollentia Palace.”

The king pointed to the carriage. Oh, it wasn’t that far to the palace, but there was no reason to refuse a carriage. I quickly thanked him and climbed in.

“I really should give you a carriage of your own. Hasn’t it been hard using the shared carriages of the temple and the royal family all this time?”

“The shared carriage is enough for me, Your Majesty!”

If I accepted a private carriage, Rizen and Ark would be disappointed. They considered escorting me around as the joy of their lives.

“Truly, you are a child with no greed. Beatrice always said she didn’t need gifts either…”

He grew teary-eyed, recalling his cherished daughter. Unlike in my past lives, the king mentioned my mother much more often now. This was a good sign for my survival.

“But for this birthday at least, I want to do something for you. Tell me anything, Anastasia!”

Hmm… Until now, I had refused gifts for the sake of image-making. If I started accepting jewels and such already, how much would Aquila and Stella and the nobles fuss behind my back… no, rampage. While they themselves indulged in every luxury.

But,

“There is something I want to receive this time.”

“Oh, what is it? A doll? A dress? An instrument?”

“No.”

I smiled brightly and said,

“I want land.”