Volume 4, Chapter 19 – The Kingdom’s Nobles and the Eldest Princess’s Many Mothers

Who is this now?

Gazing at the young man before her, with his sword-like eyebrows and piercing eyes, Fia’s mind raced. He had the same red eyes as her, and even a similar spark of wisdom within them. She immediately thought of her younger brother, whom she had never met. But if this was the Second Prince, then the elf princess’s physique was far too petite. Standing before her, this younger brother looked more like an older one.

But then again, although the Second Prince was younger than the princess, he possessed the mana of a Fifth-Rank, on par with Anastasia. If not for the outrageously talented princess standing in his way, the position of crown heir would have surely fallen to him.

Fortunately, the princess was so dazzling that she had extinguished any competitive spirit in others. Otherwise, Fia would now have to be thinking about what kind of attitude to adopt towards the Second Prince. It had to be said, he was remarkably handsome, like a protagonist from a romance game.

Seeing that Fia had not answered, a look of hesitation appeared on the Second Prince’s handsome, well-defined face. He asked in the gentlest tone he could manage.

“Esteemed Sister… have you truly lost your memory?”

“Mhm.”

Although it was a decision she had already made, Fia still found it a bit difficult to admit it in public. The worried gazes of the Second Prince and the young nobles behind him felt like thorns on her back.

Without a doubt, these young nobles all supported the Eldest Princess’s political faction. Although their titles were likely not very high, they were trustworthy people. Now that the princess had lost her memory, they were understandably distressed. No one wanted the person they supported to suddenly forget them, let alone lose the very power that was their pride. Although they didn’t say it out loud, Fia could guess what they were thinking. They probably thought they had bet on the wrong horse.

Fia sighed quietly and snapped her fingers.

[Fairy Fire].

In an instant, the temperature in the spacious magic laboratory soared. Behind Fia, a dense, uncountable number of orange-red fireballs appeared. They floated up and down, maintaining a certain distance from each other like the eyes of a demon. Their piercing light illuminated the nobles’ faces in a red glow, and the searing heat made everyone instinctively take a small step back.

“Although I have lost my memory, my magical ability has only grown,” Fia stated coolly.

She had noticed it back in Aurora City with Count Evan. For these nobles, the most important thing was that the princess possessed unparalleled magical ability. When she had told Count Evan she’d lost her memory, he had looked grim. But when she had added that she hadn’t forgotten how to use magic, his tension had quickly dissipated. ¹ should i say… magic digger? =v=

Of course, she might have been judging a gentleman by her own petty standards. It was possible Count Evan wasn’t afraid of losing his own power and influence, but was genuinely concerned for her future.

But one thing was certain: no noble on her side would want her to lose anything. If they had to choose between her ‘losing memories of people’ and ‘losing memories of magic,’ they would undoubtedly choose the former.

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And the reality was just as she had thought. After she had summoned over a hundred fireballs without chanting, the laboratory, scorched by the blazing flames, fell silent. The only sounds in the air were the crackling of fire and the smell of something burning.

The nobles behind the Second Prince swallowed excitedly, their worried expressions instantly replaced by looks of joy, the corners of their mouths and eyes turning up in unison.

Taking this opportunity, Fia added more fuel to the fire.

“The me of today can not only defeat a Moon Dragon in a one-on-one fight, but even a Despair Demon General is no match for me. You can all rest assured. If anyone suspects I am lying, you are welcome to test my strength at any time. If I find a reason to refuse, no matter what it is, it will mean I am lying.”

“H-how could we possibly think you are lying, Your Highness!”

Without hesitation, a noble from behind the Second Prince stepped forward to celebrate.

“No chanting! And so many fireballs! I don’t know what Rank that magic is, but it’s definitely not low! We can finally put a stop to Schain’s arrogance!”

“I knew Her Highness wouldn’t do something without a plan! I must quickly inform my father and the Prime Minister. They’ve been worried sick these past few days.”

“We must also send people to stop the rumors in the city! We should cut out the tongues of those who are spreading gossip!”

“Everyone, please be quiet for a moment.”

As the young nobles were cheering, the Second Prince stepped forward with an extremely calm expression. He first looked at the fireballs floating not far behind Fia, then lowered his head and asked with concern.

“So, esteemed Sister, is it true that you were injured by the Unsinkable Moon?”

Oh.

Fia couldn’t help but be impressed by her younger brother. In her scenario, as long as she demonstrated enough power to awe these young nobles, everything would be resolved. Violence might not solve the problem, but it was certainly the ultimate fallback. Yet her brother, Kalsey—a name she had picked up from the nobles’ chatter just now—had not been swept up in the joy, but had instead asked for more specific details.

But it had to be said, this question was putting her in a bind.

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For her to have been injured by the Unsinkable Moon meant that Anastasia had failed to protect her. If she admitted it here, the pressure would inevitably shift to Anastasia. Even if she could use her status and power to suppress those who wanted to punish Anastasia, and even get her pardoned, Anastasia would still be blamed by the nobles. It was an unavoidable outcome.

It would be nice if she could lie, but the Imperial Guard at the time had seen her get hit with their own eyes. She couldn’t possibly say it hadn’t injured her. Besides, if it hadn’t injured her, then why had she lost her memory? The objective facts would become inexplicable.

At this point, there was only one explanation that could both resolve Anastasia’s crisis and smooth over the memory loss.

That little booklet—the former princess had reminded her.

If she explained it all as something she had done intentionally, that she had deliberately been hit by the Unsinkable Moon because being injured by it would grant her power far beyond what she had before, then it would be a plausible story.

Of course, to her, who knew everything, this explanation was hard to justify. But these nobles were not her; the information they had was incomplete. The current her was indeed stronger than the former princess. This was an indisputable fact. They had to believe it, whether they wanted to or not. To gain devastating power at the mere cost of one’s memories—few could resist such a temptation. They would eat it up.

After a moment of thought, Fia replied in the cold, authoritative tone of the Eldest Princess.

“That is true. But I did it on purpose. The national treasure of the Milcandis Holy Kingdom is a divine artifact; they have not mastered its true use. As it turns out, I succeeded. More importantly, I no longer remember who any of you are. Could you please introduce yourselves, one by one? I apologize, but I hope you understand.”

“N-not at all! We are overjoyed that you have become stronger. We only hope that next time, Your Highness, you might inform my father in advance, to give him some time to prepare mentally…” a young male noble replied with a wry smile. Following him, another young man spoke with an embarrassed expression.

“I feel like Your Highness has become a little more approachable. In the past, you wouldn’t have spoken to us this much…”

Fia tilted her head.

“Do you need me to be more taciturn?”

“O-o-of course not! The way you are now is for the best, Your Highness! Very beautiful and charming!”

“Hey, what are you saying? Trying to win Her Highness’s favor?”

“Of course not!”

With just a few words from Fia, the atmosphere quickly became lively.

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It seemed she had muddled through. Putting on a serious expression was convincing in itself, and the princess’s past image as a woman of few words had helped a great deal. These young nobles had rationalized it on their own: “The reason the princess didn’t tell us was because she didn’t need to. She’s naturally not one to talk to people.”

The Second Prince, who had remained calm until now, finally broke into a warm smile. He stood before Fia, placed his right hand on his chest, and introduced himself with great formality.

“Then let me begin. Kalsey Alexia Florenst, Second Prince of Silvar, and your esteemed Sister’s only younger brother.”

“Me, me! And me! The eldest son of the Flanglen family—”

Following the prince’s lead, all the young nobles came before Fia to introduce themselves. With her eidetic memory ² also known as photographic memory and total recall, is the ability to recall an image from memory with high precision—at least for a brief , Fia memorized everyone’s names and the families behind them. The process went so smoothly that it felt like the first day of school, when the teacher has students introduce themselves. There was none of the stubbornness or rigidity of the nobility; the atmosphere was very harmonious.

Of course, this was likely related to the fact that they were all young nobles. If it had been the truly powerful nobles around the princess—like the veterans who had served two or even three reigns, and the parents of these young nobles—it certainly wouldn’t have been so relaxed.

As for why only the young nobles had arrived, the answer she got was that they were faster. The older nobles had also heard the news of her return from the palace maids, but they were concerned with tedious formalities and would only set out after putting on the proper formal wear and various ornaments for welcoming royalty.

It was worth mentioning that from the snippets of conversation, she could tell that the former princess had been able to handle herself with ease even among those old fossils, and had even been able to control the conversation. She had shown none of the stage fright a child might have, not acting like an underage elf at all.

Of course, Fia was confident she could do the same.

After that, Fia had a more in-depth exchange with the young nobles, learning about the likes and dislikes of the various nobles and ministers in the palace, the power dynamics at court, and the conflicts of interest. Although time was limited and she could only get a superficial understanding, it was enough for her to form a rough picture in her mind.

Furthermore, the young nobles were extremely interested in her killing the Despair Demon General and fighting the Moon Dragon. Fia picked out the key points of her experiences in Aurora City and the Oro territory to tell them. The result was that the young nobles’ faces were filled with longing and admiration, and they all begged her to tell them more.

Only a few of them had ever left Silvar. Their knowledge of the outside world was limited to books and secondhand accounts. Normally, the experiences Fia described would be on par with heroic legends—stories that could only be seen in plays and books. Now that Fia could describe every detail, and even vividly portray the relationships between the various “supporting characters,” the unprecedented impact naturally stirred the blood of these young nobles in their prime.

Whether it was close combat with a Moon Dragon, or a great battle with a Despair Demon General who could control chaos, or heroically saving a pureblood vampire princess, it was all irresistible to them.

Fia understood their feelings perfectly and patiently recounted her stories. However, just as she was describing the Despair Seed on Estelle being detonated, the arrival of another group of people forced her to interrupt her narrative.

The newcomers were not the parents of these young nobles, but Fia’s mothers.

Or more accurately, several mothers.

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Fia had originally thought that her bond with these Royal Consorts was maintained entirely by the rules set by the Elf King—that is, whichever consort she stayed with would receive a huge stipend. Therefore, she had assumed that now that she could no longer bring them any benefits, they would no longer care about her.

As it turned out, she was completely wrong. These consorts were not nearly as mercenary as she had thought. When they saw her, every one of them showed extreme concern, asking after her well-being like a real mother. Two of them didn’t even wait for her to react; they hugged her and burst into tears at first sight, making it difficult for her to breathe.

“Esteemed Sister’s relationship with the Royal Consorts is as good as ever. They have missed you for a long time, so I will not disturb you. I will come to find you later to learn more details of what happened.”

“Ah, yes, we will also take our leave with His Highness the Second Prince. How wonderful… I wish I could leave Silvar someday and go adventuring. Traveling with a vampire princess or a witch sounds great. And that human girl who destroyed the Unsinkable Moon with a single blow… a legendary figure…”

“Give it a rest. With those skinny arms and legs of yours, you wouldn’t get far before someone broke them.”

“I’m at the Second Rank, at least!”

“The Second Rank is considered strong among us, but it’s nothing on the outside. Think about the Moon Dragon Her Highness mentioned. That’s a Sixth-Rank monster, and a dragon at that. Don’t think about being a hero without that kind of strength. Let’s just honestly try to get a position as a teaching assistant in an Elf Tower. When we’re strong enough to be a formal teacher, then we can think about going outside.”

“If only Her Highness could take me with her on an adventure…”

Chattering among themselves, the young nobles left the magic laboratory, leaving only the five Royal Consorts, their respective servants, and Mizuki behind.

The scene was a bit awkward.

Faced with the five sobbing consorts wiping their tears with handkerchiefs, Fia felt an unprecedented sense of unease.

It wasn’t like with Mizuki, where she had been embarrassed to call her “mother.” These five consorts were, from any angle, much older than her. What truly made her uneasy was that she had no experience interacting with a “mother” figure. She was an orphan; she didn’t know what to do.

Just standing there wouldn’t do. Fia tried to speak, her voice even carrying a hint of timidity that hadn’t been there even when facing the Despair Demon General. Although she had no memories of being with these mothers, she knew that if she told them she couldn’t remember them, it would break the hearts of these women who were so concerned for her.

However, it couldn’t be helped. She had to face it. Fia’s hands unconsciously twisted together in nervousness. She looked down at the floor and said timidly.

“Um… I… I’ve lost my memory…”