The Reincarnated Princess Attends a Meeting

A woman showed up as if to answer my prayer. Her shoes clicked against the floor, and the sound echoed in the corridor. Slim and attractive, she wore black robes above a chic, dark blue dress, and high-heeled pumps on her feet. She carried a heavy pile of books in her slender arms.

The beautiful woman with tied-up, lustrous black hair pivoted her head around to look at each of us in turn, then squinted a monocle-clad almond eye. The corners of her painted lips twisted upward.

“My, isn’t this a rather interesting state of affairs?” she commented.

Teo and Lutz grimaced and froze at the arrival of Irene von Altman, the head sorceress. They let out a whimper, and Miss Irene treated them both to a sweet smile.

“You two must have an overabundance of energy if you’re starting fights in the hallways. You should’ve let me know, and I could’ve prepared a nonstop stamina-building training regime for you both. How about we go back this instant and get an immediate start on that? What do you say, my silly students?”

“We’re very sorry!” Lutz and Teo bowed their heads at once. They bent over, forming right angles at their hips, and held their arms straight by their sides. Their splendid posture would’ve awed even the sportiest of people.

You guys are sorcerers, right? I thought as I looked on, eyes vacant. “Klaus, you can put that nasty thing away too,” I ordered after languidly dragging my head up to look at him. I was already feeling exhausted, and the discussion hadn’t even started yet. He begrudgingly sheathed his sword.

You look nonplussed, but for the record, drawing your weapon in the palace when there isn’t even a crisis is way more problematic.

“Really now,” Miss Irene said, “the issue with these creatures we call ‘men’ is that, however old they get, they still act like children. Don’t you agree?” Miss Irene smiled gently at me after shooting a chilly glare at the men present. Her expression toward me held such warmth and was in direct contrast to how she spoke about the boys.

I didn’t want to crush Lutz’s heart by agreeing, so I just put on a vague smile and dodged the question.

“Hm?” Miss Irene dropped her gaze from me to the black cat that I held in my arms, then widened her eyes slightly. Nero was friendly, so her intense stare didn’t spook him. He tilted his head and looked up at her. The stern look in Miss Irene’s expression vanished when Nero meowed softly.

“My, how adorable,” she said. “Is he yours, Princess?”

“Yes,” I replied. “His name’s Nero.”

Still holding the books in one arm, Miss Irene reached toward Nero with her free arm and tickled his chin with one of her knuckles. Nero let her, looking pleased. Perhaps she liked cats since she was acting more warmly than usual. I perceived that now would be the perfect time to have her listen to my request, although I did feel a little ashamed for taking advantage of Nero’s cuteness.

“Excuse me, Miss Irene. I’m sorry for bringing up my private matters, but could you give me permission to take Nero in with us?” I asked timidly.

As soon as I asked, she nodded without a moment’s hesitation. “I don’t mind. After all, everyone in attendance is an acquaintance of yours, and most importantly, this cat looks to be quite smart and well-behaved. I don’t think he’ll be any trouble.” Then, glancing sideways at Lutz and Teo, she added an insult. “I wish I could say the same for my foolish students.”

The two of them held their mouths tightly shut, eyes fixed on the floor.

“Neither of you have any objections, I take it?” she asked, although her tone could no longer be called inquiring.

That was pretty much an order camouflaged as a question, I thought.

“None whatsoever,” the two boys stood up straight and answered, speaking in unison. It was an exemplary display of coordination. Their desperate attempt to avoid Miss Irene’s wrath felt like a breath of fresh air.

Lutz was scrawny, so I could understand him shying away from the stamina-building regime, but I was very curious to find out what the regime entailed, since even Teo, who was quite well-built, showed such stubborn opposition to it.

But right now, I’ve gotta prioritize the guests waiting for us.

Though we’d faced delays from one surprise after another, we were now headed for the meeting room.

The living room where the meeting was to be held was about fifty square meters in area. Three of the walls were decorated with paintings, and there were intricate engravings of ivy on the ceiling. Beneath an extravagant dangling chandelier, George and Michael stood up from their chairs.

When I apologized for keeping them waiting, they both forgave me with smiles. George shot me a confused look upon seeing the cat I’d brought with me, so I gave a rundown of what had happened.

Beside him, Michael recognized Nero and quietly mumbled, “Oh, it’s that cat.”

“That’s right,” I said. “It’s the one you saved.”

“I’m glad he looks well,” Michael remarked.

Nero stretched from within my arms and looked up with great interest. When Michael saw that, the corners of his eyes dropped contentedly. I broke into a smile too, understanding that the tender tone in Michael’s voice meant that his words were heartfelt.

I kept my smile in place, and to reassure him, I said, “His wound took no time at all to heal. He’s actually on his feet and walking around already.”

However, for some reason, Michael’s expression stiffened. He held his breath, grimacing as though he’d swallowed something he shouldn’t have. His hand had been outstretched to stroke Nero, but he stopped midway and snatched it back.

“Michael?”

He was acting strangely. I stared at him, but he turned his face away from me; when his head sank, I grew apprehensive.

Was it something I said?

“Shall we begin, Princess?” Miss Irene called out to me.

“Oh, uhh, yes, let’s.” I took my seat.

Michael had never met Miss Irene, so they introduced themselves to each other, but not once during that exchange did Michael look my way.

I’m a little shocked... Okay, maybe a lot.

“Well then. Miss Irene,” I began. I put on a brave face as I brought up the main topic. “About the medicine I delivered to you—could you tell us the results of your investigation?”

I can feel upset later, but right now, I’ve got more important things to do, I told myself.

Miss Irene opened and spread the paper containing the medicine across the top of the mahogany table. The pills had been crushed into a powder.

“A close examination of the finely ground medicine revealed a faint-red tinge,” she explained. “Judging from this texture, the medicine was likely developed from tree bark or something similar.”

“Bark?” George repeated Miss Irene’s conclusion as he stared fixedly at the medicine.

“The grind is too rough to have come from leaves or roots,” Miss Irene replied. “I expect that they added a runny substance and a thickener to the bark and then kneaded the mixture to solidify it. The smell is faint, and the taste rather bitter.” Miss Irene opened one of the thick books that she’d brought along. “Medicines derived from bark aren’t particularly common. The only ones that have been recorded in Nevel are...”

She tilted the book toward us. Her pale fingers pointed to various illustrations of trees and explanatory descriptions which filled the page—there was a tree festooned with small blooming gold petals, one growing large glossy leaves, and another with yellow inner bark. Miss Irene guided us through the effects of each variety in detail.

“But none of them have the same function as this medicine,” she said. “Unfortunately, the only sample at our disposal has already been refined into pills, so it would be difficult to perform a comparison, even if we conducted a very thorough investigation of each individual tree. As such, I’m afraid to say that identifying the medicine is infeasible at this point in time.” After concluding the main points of her explanation, Miss Irene lowered her beautiful eyebrows and exhaled a little sigh.

I’d been unpleasantly reminded of the scarcity of leads, and I was, as could be expected, in low spirits. Silence had enveloped the room. In the midst of that atmosphere, Teo, who’d been keeping quiet as though he’d been in deep thought, raised his hand.

“Can’t we use magic to find out what it is?” he asked. “Sorcerers often borrow nature’s power, and we’re adept at tracking down natural phenomena that match our own affinity, right?”

“Correct,” Miss Irene responded. “Just as a water-affinity sorcerer could locate the source of a river, and a wind-affinity sorcerer could read the flow of the air and the weather—in the same way, an earth-affinity sorcerer might be able to discern what this medicine is and locate its origin. However, as you are well aware, no earth-affinity sorcerers reside in the palace.”

There were apparently some sorcerers earning a living by administering medicine in the countryside, but Nevel’s government hadn’t taken custody of them, which spoke volumes about how little power the sorcerers wielded. According to Miss Irene, an ordinary person with a talent for gardening could match their abilities. They might be able to bring in the harvest a day or two earlier or give plants some resistance to withering, but that was about it. Chances were that enlisting the help of these sorcerers would amount to nothing.

“We have a few clues, so it seems that all we can do is diligently look into them, one by one,” George said.

He was right. The prospect seemed daunting, but at present, we had no other options.

The inquiry into the port admission records had already finished, and it’d been discovered that the ship carrying the medicine had belonged to the Kingdom of Flanmer. We’d so far ascertained that the ship had departed from a port town along the coast of the western sea, but we’d then entrusted the rest of the detail gathering to Lord Julius.

Some intel could still find its way into his hands, so let’s keep at it and not give up hope.

The meeting came to an end for the day, and we all stood up.

I was having a pleasant conversation with Miss Irene after thanking her for her time, but then I heard someone calling me from behind.

“Sorry... Mary?”

“Yes?” I answered. When I turned around, I saw George standing there, his face drawn in a nervous expression. I tilted my head slightly, puzzled at what there was to be anxious about now that the meeting was over. When I showed my confusion, his expression stiffened even more.

What in the world’s the matter with him?

“Do you need me?” I asked.

“Umm... I...” George stuttered and stammered and broke eye contact.

The way he was blushing and staring at his feet gave me the impression of a sweet young girl. His features had developed in a masculine way, but he still pulled certain facial expressions that reminded me of Emma.

Look at you, girl!

“C-Could you show me around the greenhouse? O-O-Only if you don’t mind, of course!”

“The greenhouse?” I inadvertently questioned. I didn’t mean anything by it—I was just surprised to hear George express an interest in plants.

However, he began to fret and suddenly submitted a rapid-fire defense of himself. “I, umm, don’t have any ulterior motives! I’d heard that the palace cultivated a large number of rare medicinal herbs in the greenhouse, so I just thought...that I’d love to have a chance to see them!”

“R-Right.” I took a step back, overwhelmed.

Realizing that he’d spooked me, George cleared his throat and mumbled a quiet apology. I saw that his cheeks were flushed with embarrassment, so I shook my head to tell him not to worry about it.

George’s intensity had taken me by surprise, but it had also cleared up my misapprehension. After spending time as Lord Julius’s assistant, he must’ve been naturally drawn toward precious items...which is to say, items that could be marketable.

Generally, only authorized personnel are allowed access to the greenhouse, but maybe George could be let in?

I looked to Miss Irene for her decision, and generously, she nodded. Now that I’d received her permission, I turned back to George.

“You can. I’ll take you there mysel—”

But just before I could smile and agree to take him, I was cut off mid-speech.

“Stop right there!”

At first, a pale hand obstructed my vision. Next, a body squeezed its way into the space between myself and George. The figure’s black robes were made of exquisite fabric, and the hem flapped up a moment later. This boy was facing away from me, so I could only see the back of his head. Even so, I wouldn’t have needed to see his face to recognize him, not when his silver, almost-white hair was so distinctive.

“Lutz?” I called.

“I’ll show you the greenhouse,” Lutz said.

“Huh?” I was stumped.

How’d it turn out like this? Lutz is going out of his way to volunteer to be George’s guide...but why? They’ve only just met. And Lutz, of all people! He’s as shy as can be! I just don’t get it.

And I also don’t understand why he had to elbow his way between us. Why couldn’t he just join the conversation like a normal person would? These questions darted through my mind, one after another, leaving me perplexed.

Teo lined up beside me. He gazed into my eyes and a gentle smile pulled at his lips. “Princess, you gotta take that cat back to your room, right?” Teo asked this while staring at Nero in my arms.

He had a point—it wouldn’t be fair to drag the cat all over the palace. Nero was asleep and must’ve nodded off at some point out of boredom.

“You’re right,” I admitted. “Very well. Could I leave George to you, then?”

“Huh?”

Lutz turned to look over his shoulder, then grinned and nodded. “Of course. We’ll get it done.”

I could’ve sworn that I’d heard George’s voice as well, but my vision was impaired to my front and side by Lutz and Teo, so I couldn’t see his face. The two of them had begun their growth spurts, and so they loomed ever taller over me by the day. Their bodies formed an insurmountable wall.

I poked my head out from behind Lutz and looked at George. “Is that all right with you too, George?”

He frowned, fell silent for a while, and then agreed. “Sure.”

“Why don’t you go along too, Michael?” I asked, turning my gaze to the other boy.

He was still in his seat, and his face lurched up when I called out to him.

“Oh, er, yes? What’s the question?”

“Lutz and Teo are going to show George the greenhouse. Would you like to join them?” I explained in simple terms since it seemed that he hadn’t been paying attention to the conversation.

“I, uhh.” Michael’s voice faltered, and he bit down slightly on his lip. His gaze flitted around the room as though in hesitation before he affixed it to Miss Irene. She’d been gathering the books on top of her desk.

“Do you need something?” she asked after noticing his gaze.

“Umm, Head Sorceress...could I have...a moment of your time, please?” Though stammering desperately, he managed to get all of his words out.

His surprising request made my jaw drop, but Miss Irene simply blinked a few times. She peered at Michael, and beneath her monocle, he was reflected in her jet-black pupils, which gleamed with intelligence. She was staring straight at him, and his shoulders squirmed and flinched. For all his trembling though, he didn’t look away.

Miss Irene glanced down and let out a single sigh. “You may,” she said.

She picked up her books, instructed Michael to follow, and then began to walk away. Michael snapped out of his dazed state and followed Miss Irene from the room.

Is Michael going to confide in her about his magical powers? I wondered, watching him exit. He’s kept it a secret all this time, so if that’s the case, then what prompted his sudden change of heart?

“What’s the matter with Michael?” George asked.

He sounded confused, but I didn’t know how to answer his question.