I had practiced the engagement ceremony with Acella a few times.
But to have our lips collide out of nowhere like this? I definitely didn’t hear that coming.
For someone who charged in with such momentum, Acella hesitated at the last moment, pulling her shoulders back slightly.
It barely grazed, and I’ve already forgotten what it felt like.
Maybe she got shy from the impromptu performance or had a moment of clarity.
That’s not very Acella-like.
Amid the enthusiastic cheers from the audience, I dashed into the corridor with Acella, hiding away.
The noisy sounds from the party faded into the background.
There were no knights or attendants around us.
“Prince, you’re really late.”
“I don’t remember you mentioning the kiss in advance, did you?”
At my question, Acella froze like a statue before forcing a smile.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m asking why you’re so late.”
Is she pretending not to know?
Maybe she erased it from her memory.
Still, I couldn’t just let it slide, so I decided to nudge a little.
“Your Highness, performances like that need to be practiced beforehand to avoid mistakes. Just think about how awkward it would have been if I had turned my face away in surprise.”
“Oh, come on!”
Acella stamped her foot in irritation at my persistent attitude.
“What do you mean? Should I have warned the prince about that… that thing?”
“Don’t you think so? We should have practiced beforehand.”
“Practice? Don’t treat it so lightly!”
Acella frowned and punched my chest lightly.
“Are you seriously saying that was just a practice for the first time?”
She mumbled a bit, seeming genuinely angry, so I decided to stop teasing her.
It was a typical expression of someone getting angry.
Wait, no, there’s something else about it.
“Your ears are turning red.”
“They’re not!”
Acella quickly turned her head to avoid my gaze and covered her ears with one hand.
“Whew, really.”
Then she fanned herself with her other hand and let out a huge breath.
I’ve seen Acella every day, but I’ve never seen this rare reaction.
It’s kind of amusing.
I bowed my head toward her.
“I’m sorry for bothering you. There was an urgent patient.”
“I heard. There’s been an emergency in the Inner Palace.”
Acella briefly glanced my way, her eyes darting toward me.
“…Did you fix it?”
I flashed a confident smile.
“Of course. Both patients I was responsible for have pulled through. Our healers are providing round-the-clock care, so they’ll regain their senses quickly.”
“Well… that’s good to hear.”
Though Acella was a bit miffed, she seemed to accept it.
It was a somewhat surprising reaction.
“You really do care about other people’s lives, Your Highness.”
“Is that a problem?”
“No, I think it’s a good thing.”
“What I meant by ‘that’s good’ isn’t about the patient; it’s about you, Prince…”
Acella abruptly cut off her sentence and suddenly punched me again.
“Still, being late on a day like today is unacceptable.”
“You’re right. I’ll reflect on it.”
“Your clothes are a mess, and your hair isn’t done at all. Prince, you reek of antiseptic right now.”
“I was in the operating room just 15 minutes ago. Please bear with me.”
“Forget it. Go out and continue with the coming-of-age ceremony. Handle those nobles well.”
After all this work, she was handing me more tasks, the Royal Princess.
I’m so grateful, I could cry.
“Let’s fix that messy hair of yours first. …What’s this?”
Acella reached out toward my neck, looking startled as if she discovered something.
“It’s blood.”
“Must be from a patient. I splattered it earlier, and a nurse cleaned it up.”
“Hmph. Sounds like quite the incident.”
I gently grabbed Acella’s wrist as she reached for me.
She flinched, hunching her shoulders like a crab.
“That ring looks great on you.”
“Oh, um… does it look pretty?”
“Of course. Whose hand is this anyway?”
“Maybe it doesn’t look good since it was picked by the Prince…”
Acella stared at the engagement ring on her left ring finger as I held her wrist.
I guess it’s not impressive.
It was pretty expensive platinum, and it had enchanting magic too.
“It also has a function that calls the other side. If you scratch the gap twice with your thumb, you’ll receive a signal on my side.”
When Acella tested it, the ring on my hand shone brightly.
“Wow, this can do that? Why would you enchant it? It must have cost a fortune.”
“Since you haven’t been sleeping with me lately, it would be a shame if you were late in an emergency.”
Since I dashed off that day, Acella has been sleeping alone in her room again.
I added a function that could be used in case she has a fit.
“…I see.”
Acella’s gaze lingered on the ring.
Our hands reflected in her eyes.
I shrugged.
“I apologize. Next time, I’ll gift you something you’ll like.”
“Next time? It’s too early for that.”
Acella suddenly pulled her wrist away from me.
I guess the next gift will be on her birthday, so it is indeed too early to think about it now.
“Um, Prince.”
“Yes?”
“…How do you feel?”
“I’m relieved that the surgery ended successfully.”
“No, I mean that.”
Acella asked, her tiny lips twitching as she spoke in a soft voice.
“…We had our official engagement ceremony.”
“That’s right.”
“With so many eyes watching… …and we did it.”
“A kiss, you mean?”
“Prince, that word is banned until I mention it first.”
“Understood.”
Are you curious about my impressions of the engagement ceremony?
Honestly, it was just another event that would lead to more annoyances for me.
It also marked the Gothberg family’s deeper ties with the Moonlight Palace.
But, whatever, I’ll think about it later.
“It was quite enjoyable.”
Today’s Acella’s reactions and behaviors were a bit amusing to witness.
Since it was an event closely related to the social circle, she seemed to adopt a bit of a more ordinary girly vibe.
I felt like she was someone other than the Empress Acella I knew.
“You found it enjoyable? That’s all you felt?”
Acella didn’t seem pleased with my answer.
“Isn’t living joyfully important? I hope we can enjoy ourselves every day going forward.”
“Going forward.”
Now Acella completely turned away from me.
A brief silence fell between us.
The lively chatter from the party faintly filled the background.
It was all just talk about me and Acella.
“…Prince.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Still hiding her face, Acella asked me.
“…Do you want to do it again?”
Today’s Acella was really something else.
*
After successfully finishing the coming-of-age ceremony that night, I donned my gown and headed back to the Inner Palace.
I had so many nobles congratulating me and greeting me that I was feeling a bit overwhelmed.
Since they were all trained in etiquette, most of the conversations were superficial.
However, Lau, who I was familiar with, threw a few cheeky questions my way.
How far had I progressed with Acella? When would we get married? Was Acella in a rush to welcome me quickly?
I really didn’t want to lie.
I was glad to see both my father and Neria, and I heard the factory completion was ahead of schedule. It seemed we could start producing and distributing aspirin soon.
I took a step while checking my status window.
―――――――――――
· Normal Ending
· ■■Finger is ■■■ ■■■ 28% → 37%
· ■■■ ■■■ ■■ ■■■ 0.3%
· ■■■ ■■■■■ 0.2%
· Good Ending
· ■■■ ■, back to ■■ 14% → 21%
· ■■■■, ■■■, ■■■■ 0%
· ■■■ ■■ 0%
· ■■■■
· ■■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■■■ 0.1% → 1%
―――――――――――
―――――――――――
· [Solid Credit] Achievement unlocked. The imperial family trusts you significantly.
· [Expert] Achievement unlocked. Many believe you are a specialist in the field.
· [Social Circle Rising Star] Achievement unlocked. Many nobles of the empire want to befriend you.
―――――――――――
The probability of a good ending has significantly increased.
I’ve achieved quite a few achievements due to recent events; it must be thanks to that.
One of the normal endings is also substantially up.
‘The occurrence probability is measured at the point where an ending event happens.’
For example, if there’s a bad ending related to a barbarian invasion and it gets wiped out, it means I would have no risk of dying even if I don’t do anything.
Originally, I would have needed to flip every possible bad ending in 101 attempts, which is almost impossible.
Even if I had all bad endings at 50 percent, it’s as if flipping a coin 101 times and getting heads all the time. That’s 1 in 2 raised to the power of 101.
In other words, it’s practically zero.
‘Probability changes according to my actions, so fate isn’t set in stone.’
After all, probability is just a representation of possibilities.
‘After dodging all that, will I have a normal or good ending waiting for me?’
But right now, only the top one is increasing for both.
Is it possible that they are specifically for healers?
Nevertheless, it’s nice to see progress steadily climbing.
When I arrived at the office, Falkenhayn reported to me.
“Both Princess Wanda and Lady Alberich are stable. Each has two people alternating to provide continuous healing.”
“Good. What about Lady Geda?”
“Well, Father Livio is taking care of her.”
Falkenhayn paused for a moment before replying.
“He succeeded. She’s also pulled through and is undergoing additional healing in her room.”
“That’s a relief.”
I was glad to hear that the patient I couldn’t attend to was safe.
Moreover, since she was a twin, if only one survived, the patient would have suffered a huge loss.
It was fortunate that Livio demonstrated his skills.
It would be even better if he weren’t a villain, but oh well.
Even though it was late, I decided to check on the patients myself.
It was a night visit.
As I approached the princess’s hospital room, a guard stood like a statue, vigilantly guarding the door.
It looked like the emperor was inside.
“Tell them that Teacher Gothberg has arrived.”
After Falkenhayn’s request, the guards cleared the way shortly after.
Entering the hospital room, I made eye contact with the Emperor, who was sitting in a chair for attendants.
“Gothberg.”
“I humbly greet you, Your Majesty.”
Not only the emperor but also two of his other brothers were present.
Our healer was visibly tense as she cast a healing spell on Wanda.
“You’ve worked hard today. It’s a blessing that you’re in the Inner Palace.”
“I’m honored.”
“I’ve heard that the carriage carrying Wanda and Geda was your system as well.”
“That’s correct.”
“Excellent.”
The emperor looked fatigued, but he smiled contentedly.
“Are you returning from your engagement ceremony with Acella?”
“As you said, I am. You knew.”
“I receive reports on all my children’s events, even if I don’t attend the ceremonies. Must have kept you from an important occasion.”
The emperor seemed interested as he inquired.
“So, tell me, did Acella scold you?”
“I received quite a scolding, but once I explain it was for the Princess, she was understanding.”
“Haha.”
The emperor chuckled, appearing quite pleased.
“So you are formally betrothed to Acella now. I never imagined that girl would hold an engagement ceremony.”
Was it because Acella was born as a weapon of the royal family, not a proper heir?
The emperor might not have seen her as his daughter.
“I never expected much from the Moonlight Palace either. Acella has really matured. It must have been after you arrived, Gothberg?”
“I didn’t play any special role. The princess has always had great potential.”
She might literally open a hole in the sky one day.
“I have no objections to humility. In fact, I know much has changed in the Inner Palace since you arrived. My life has also become much richer. These days, I’m not tired even in the daytime.”
That must be because I prescribed a diet and medication to lower his blood sugar.
The emperor must have felt the changes more than anyone.
“Gothberg.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The emperor looked me over, then smiled and asked.
“I shall reward you for your achievements. What do you wish for?”
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