Chapter: 761
The Earth Spirit King’s declaration crumbled in just three days.
– Spirits have started appearing in the National Cemetery.
“Eh?”
Not great news, right? The National Cemetery, which should be a tranquil resting place for the deceased, has turned into a playground for spirits.
I was flabbergasted. It was the Earth Spirit King’s word, after all, and I had trusted him because his reasoning was solid. Who would’ve thought that belief would crumble like this?
Furthermore, the lilies taken by the Emperor were a gift for the late Empress. So right now, that grave has become a hotspot for spirits more than one could imagine!
‘No way.’
Cold sweat trickled down my back. It was the Emperor’s choice to take the lilies, and the appearance of spirits was their will. My involvement in this situation is nonexistent.
But even if the Emperor was the one in question, the matter regarding his deceased mother would likely make rational thinking difficult. If he held the thought that the spirits were disturbing her rest, he might give me a furious order: “You handle this!”
I mean, I can talk to Konstantina and the spirit kings!
‘The Earth Spirit King assured me this wouldn’t happen with other flowers.’
I found myself biting my lip, feeling frustrated. I was almost tempted to blame the Earth Spirit King for misleading me. If I knew this was coming, I would have delayed my conversation with Teresa during the squeezing!
– I’ve heard the spirits also appeared in Tailglehen’s Count estate.
“Yes, that seems to be the case.”
– Then we have the World Tree, the Academy’s flowerbeds, the Minister’s residence, Tailglehen’s Count estate, and the National Cemetery. That’s five spots where spirits are residing in our Empire.
The Emperor calmly stroked his chin, but my heart was anything but calm. With his composed demeanor, he might casually say, “Let’s narrow that down to two places instead.”
– Minister.
“Yes, Your Majesty. What can I do for you?”
– If this continues to escalate, the spirits might leak into strange places. No need to mention it; I trust you’ll manage things, but let’s make sure a sixth doesn’t come into existence.
“…Of course, Your Majesty. No need to worry.”
It was a fairly routine command, so I responded a beat too late.
Just like the Emperor said, I don’t want a new spirit playground popping up anywhere. Even if the spirits are fine floating around different parts of the Empire and continent, the humans encountering them might develop odd sentiments. Unfortunately, humans tend to seek out ways to exploit anything new.
And that can lead to some rather troublesome situations. It’s a far cry from having awkward encounters with spirits in the bathroom!
‘It would be way better to just control contact from the start.’
Honestly, no matter the coincidence, it was my own resurrection of the World Tree. Spirits should be tightly regulated by the imperial family and the Krasius household. I have no intention of letting this precious resource leak anywhere else.
“Your Majesty?”
– Speak.
“The Earth Spirit King assured me that no anomalies would occur after my castle, but with these abrupt developments, I am quite at a loss. Might Your Majesty know why spirits have manifested in the National Cemetery?”
Thus, I asked the Emperor, hoping he might have insight into why spirits decided to pop up there.
Understanding the reason is key to preventing future incidents. I need to know what happened at the National Cemetery and what variable triggered the spirit’s appearance. That way, I can definitely ensure we don’t end up with a sixth spot.
– That…
The Emperor furrowed his brows slightly at my question,
– It’s something that’s difficult for me to talk about with you, Minister, but it’s something that could only happen at the National Cemetery. I can assure you of this.
He was avoiding my question and mumbling.
That was unusual. While he might mince words here and there, he has never withheld critical information related to work. He knows keeping quiet only brings him trouble later.
Yet the fact he remained tight-lipped indicates one of two situations: either revealing it could tarnish the Emperor’s or royal family’s authority, or it’s a classified secret that can’t be shared with anyone.
‘Time to drop it.’
In either case, it would be inappropriate to pry further. There are truths in this world that are easier to bear when one remains ignorant.
– Still, if I may offer some advice, just refrain from distributing the flowers. It’ll keep things comfortable.
“I’ll keep that in mind, Your Majesty.”
Given the sincerity of his statement, I nodded quickly.
Well, if the flowers don’t spread, none of this would even happen.
*
The sparkles I saw at Grandpa’s house. Even more sparkles than I saw on that giant tree.
Those sparkles appeared in other places too.
“Mom! Mom!”
“What is it?”
“What’s the Princess Cemetery?”
There were apparently sparkles at the Princess Cemetery. The maids definitely said so.
Grandpa said you can’t see sparkles unless you’re in his house or by the big tree, but he must’ve been wrong! Because there are sparkles somewhere else!
“Our Charlotte, do you want to go to the National Cemetery?”
“Yeah! They say there are sparkles there! I wanna see!”
“I see.”
My mom hugged me and patted my head.
Mom’s hands are always warm! Dad’s and Grandpa’s hands are nice too, but mom’s are the best!
“It’s a bit tricky. I’m not sure if it’s okay to go to the cemetery yet…”
Mom said something, but I was too excited to hear it clearly.
“Charlotte.”
“Yeah!”
“Do you really want to go?”
“I wanna go! I want to see the sparkles, and I’m curious about the Princess Cemetery too!”
“Then do you want to go with Grandpa?”
“Grandpa?”
I blinked at mom’s words.
Grandpa. Our grandpa who lives a bit far from us. The grandpa who takes care of lots of animal friends.
He’s the grandpa who secretly gives me chocolates when mom isn’t watching.
“I wanna go!”
“Then let’s go when Grandpa goes to the cemetery. Should I come along too?”
“Wow! That sounds great!”
Me, mom, and grandpa! It’ll be awesome if we all go together!
“What about Dad?!”
“Dad is busy, so he can’t come.”
“Aww…”
That’s kind of sad. It would be nice if we all could go together…
*
I went to the Princess Cemetery with my mom and grandpa.
It was a magical place! There were so many stones I’ve never seen before, and tons of sparkles! Not just the little ones I saw at Grandpa’s, but there were some much bigger!
This big tree was there! It felt like it had to be the same here!
“Crown Princess. Be careful not to trip.”
“Okay!”
I walked carefully with mom, just like grandpa said.
If I fell, it’s definitely gonna hurt! This isn’t as cushy as Grandpa’s house, and there are lots of rocks! I don’t want to get hurt!
“Your Majesty.”
As we walked, I saw someone approach for the first time.
A sister who looked just like dad, with the pretty face like mom’s and aunts.
“Have you come to see the late Empress?”
“That’s right. This time, I brought my daughter and granddaughter, so the Empress will surely be pleased.”
“I see.”
The golden-haired sister, who was talking with grandpa, bowed respectfully to my mom and me.
“I am the manager of the National Cemetery, Line. It’s an honor to meet you, Your Highness and Crown Princess.”
“Lift your head. The dead who have dedicated themselves to the Empire can find peace thanks to you. Rather, it’s us who should be thanking you.”
“I’m honored by your words.”
“Now, Crown Princess, greet her. She’s a person to be grateful to.”
“Okay?”
I looked at the golden-haired sister as mom prompted me to greet her.
Okay, okay, I’ll say something nice.
“Hi, Sister!”
“Come on, just call me Line, Your Highness.”
“Is that Artel Uncle you’re talking about?”
“…Huh?”
The golden-haired sister, who was meeting me for the first time, suddenly reminded me of Uncle Artel.
That’s weird! They don’t look alike at all, but I thought of Uncle! Is this sister part of the same family as him?
“Um, who is that exactly?”
“Super big! Super cool! Super black uncle!”
“I don’t know. If you think he’s cool, it means I probably haven’t met him.”
“Hmm, is that so? I guess Charlotte might’ve made a mistake.”
“I guess so?”
Since they said it so, I guess it’s true!
“First, let’s head over to where the Empress is. There are quite a few spirits, but they’re minding their manners near the gravestone out of respect for the deceased.”
“That’s a relief. I was worried spirits might not mind their manners like humans.”
Leading the way, grandpa walked along with the golden-haired sister. My mom and I followed Grandpa toward where the Empress is.
“Mom, Mom.”
“What is it?”
“Who’s the Empress?”
I know the Emperor and the Empress, but this Empress is new to me!
“Why, that’s our grandma Charlotte.”
“Grandma?”
“Yep. Grandma.”
Thinking about seeing Grandma made me feel really good! Dad is with Mom, so I’m curious why grandpa is by himself!
*
Grandma is a magical stone.
“Now, Charlotte, greet your grandma.”
“How?”
How do I greet a stone? I’m not really sure…
“Grandma is up on this stone. She’s watching our Charlotte from the sky.”
“From the sky? Really?”
“Of course. This stone is a marker for when Grandma went to heaven. So our Charlotte can come to a place where Grandma can see you easily.”
I looked up at the sky.
“Hi Grandma!”
Then I waved hello to the sky.
“Grandma! Hi! Can you see me?!”
“Hehe, yes, you did great.”
“Yeah! I did a nice job saying hello!”
Since Mom said I did well, Grandma must’ve seen my greeting!
“Is all this just spirits, then?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. The red ones are fire, the blue ones are water, the green ones are wind, and the yellow ones are earth spirits.”
“It’s like they are guarding the Empress.”
“Spirits can know a precious person. Whether alive or dead, she deserves all the respect.”
As Grandpa went to greet Grandma, he touched the stone.
Weird. Mom said Grandma is in the sky? But this stone is supposedly Grandma’s marker?
‘Does grandpa also go up to the sky?’
How unfair! I want to go too, but only grandpa gets to go!
‘Huh?’
I wanted to touch the stone like Grandpa, but then I noticed a flower in front of it.
‘So white!’
It’s beautiful!
“Mom! That flower! Can I take it?”
Then Mom patted my head.
“That flower belongs to Grandma. It wouldn’t be right to take it from her, would it?”
“Aww…”
If it’s Grandma’s, then I can’t take it. Dad, Mom, and Grandpa all told me not to take other people’s things.
“Is it really Grandma’s?”
“It is. No matter how much you want it, you cannot. Do you understand?”
“Yeah…”
This time, Mom hugged me.
Now that I’m held by Mom, I don’t need to be sad! And if it belongs to Grandma, that makes it even better!
“Mom.”
“What is it?”
“Grandma. She was super pretty, right?”
When I said that, Grandpa looked at me.
If Grandpa is looking, that means I’m right! Grandma must’ve been a pretty lady!
“Grandpa said so! He told me that pretty people have pretty things! If something is pretty, it means the person is pretty too!”
“…Your grandpa said that, did he?”
“Yep!”
“Your grandpa said well. His words are true. The Empress was indeed a beautiful lady.”
Grandpa smiled!
###
Upon waking up, I found a gift had arrived from the Royal Palace.
To be precise, it was a gift sent via the royal outskirts in the name of an online event.
‘What’s this?’
A rather bizarre gift—a rabbit.
Is this for raising…? It couldn’t possibly be food, right?
‘Seems like I could just let it roam in the garden.’
I couldn’t help but chuckle at the rabbits looking up at me with perked ears.
It’s a strange gift for a present, but the sudden delivery is even weirder.
‘Did I dream about something nice?’
Maybe I dreamt of rolling around like a dog? Then I would’ve presumably been satisfied enough to send out a present!
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