Chapter 43 Recognition
Because she played until very late the night before, Lonis felt weak and utterly lacking in strength this morning.
However…
This feeling wasn’t unpleasant.
Compared to boys, girls’ bodies were much more resilient to such things, and there was no sign of exhaustion at all.
Moreover, Elus’s actions last night were truly gentle, treating Lonis without any roughness, as if she were truly a princess, carefully cared for on the bed.
(Is being a girl really this comfortable?)
Realizing this, Lonis felt a bit lost. In fact, if she could truly be cared for by Elus like this, it would be a good thing from any perspective.
The happiness and joy of being a soft-hearted girl was something she could never experience as a hero.
However…
The reality wasn’t entirely like that. Although Elus always appeared confident, Lonis hadn’t forgotten that Elus also felt lost when she couldn’t find her, and that this girl would cry when she was at a loss.
If she had the strength, Lonis would forcefully push Elus down and embrace this black-haired girl, cherishing her dearly—this wasn’t just for revenge, but because Lonis wanted Elus to also experience that feeling of being provided for.
But this kind of thing was impossible for now.
Even though she had gained the powers of the Rainbow Abyss, she was still essentially a frail and weak girl. All she could do was provide magic power to Elus.
…
…
“Oh? Princess Lonis, looking at your slightly pursed lips, it seems you’re unhappy with this master’s training last night.”
Elus had changed back into women’s attire… or rather, a maid outfit. Today, she was to act as Lonis’s personal maid and handle some of the Ming Kingdom’s affairs together with her.
“N-no, I’m not… Elus, what else do we need to do today?”
Lonis didn’t realize that her tone had subconsciously softened considerably today, making her sound very much like a trained little wife.
“Mm, Princess Cécile has woken up.”
“Huh?”
“Although she’s still critically ill, she insists on seeing you. Once you’re ready, come with me to the ward.”
…
…
For security reasons, Cécile wasn’t staying in an ordinary room.
Entering it required passing through three guard posts, and Nalonate and other Sword and Shield Guards took shifts day and night, verifying the identity and purpose of every visitor.
“Nalonate, I, Princess Cécile, am here to visit the true Princess Cécile.”
“Mm, confirmed… Please come in.”
The little loli opened the door for the two of them, and the silver-haired girl lying in the sickbed also looked up upon hearing them.
“Is that Miss Fox and Elus?”
Compared to the elegance and confidence she exuded when they first met, Cécile now appeared much more haggard. She was like a finely carved ice flower, which could melt under the scorching sun with the slightest mishandling.
“Ah, it’s me… I’m sorry for wearing Cécile’s clothes without permission…”
When the imposter princess met the real princess, her instinct was to feel guilty, especially since Lonis was originally a boy, and now she felt the shame of being discovered wearing princess attire.
“It’s alright. On the contrary, it’s thanks to Miss Fox that we were able to resolve a great disaster.”
Cécile subtly looked at Lonis. Her eyes held no blame whatsoever; instead, they shone with hope, as if seeing off a hero embarking on a quest to slay an evil dragon.
This gaze made Lonis embarrassed.
“Th-then! Princess Cécile, what else do I need to do later? Do I need to be more serious about the disguise?”
“Mm… I think it’s best if Miss Fox proceeds at her own pace.”
“Huh?”
“Because I probably appear too serious to people usually. So, perhaps appearing a bit weak occasionally might be more beloved by the common people…”
“Is that so?”
“Mm, I’ve heard everything from Sister Gu Yanis. In fact, the decisions Miss Fox made yesterday were excellent, both in terms of municipal affairs and releasing the blood-servant maid. So, from now on, please proceed at your own pace.”
“Ah, ah… Thank you!”
Lonis’s pretty face flushed, and she felt too embarrassed to say that most of the decisions were made by Elus, especially the matter of releasing the blood-servant maid. She had been kept completely in the dark about it.
“However, Miss Fox, please be careful… especially regarding Candelle.”
“Oh?”
“Although it’s difficult to say, Candelle is actually my half-sister. She was born when my father was captured by surprise while disguised as a woman and infiltrating the demon race…”
“Ah, ah?”
“At that time, the demon race was governed by a bloodline countess who took a liking to my father’s appearance and forcibly had her way with him. That’s how that… happened. Since our Kolotia royal family originally has demon blood, Candelle seems to believe that she should be the owner of the Ming Kingdom and reclaim everything that belongs to her.”
“!!”
“I’ve also tried writing letters to communicate with her, but…”
As she said this, Cécile’s pretty face flushed, seemingly recalling many unpleasant words. “But Candelle completely disregards my orders. She also said she wants to capture me and have me bear children with her…”
“Ehh?!!!!”
“Therefore, she will definitely try every means to confirm my current physical condition. Please be careful with the princess disguise from now on.”
After that, Cécile also told Lonis many things about the Ming Kingdom.
For example, who was talented and virtuous and could be entrusted with responsibility, who had talent but lacked virtue and needed careful observation, and who had virtue but lacked talent and could be used for tasks that would appease the public.
Objectively speaking, the study of rulership was indeed not a simple matter.
However, fortunately, the Kolotia royal family’s strength was originally far beyond that of ordinary people, and having strong individuals as the foundation of governance also had its objective merits.
Therefore, the domestic situation was still orderly, and they only needed to be wary of the demon race’s movements.
…
However, on another front, the treatment of Ling Li was not optimistic.
After two days of analysis, Dean Emerald had reached a preliminary conclusion… Black Scale Disease was not a simple viral or bacterial infection, but rather a sudden mutation of the body’s own cells.
Its principle was the same as cancer.
However, this cancer could not be cured by killing the cancerous cells through chemotherapy or radiotherapy—because the patient’s bodily structure seemed to regard the mutated cells as part of the body.
Just like how skin heals automatically after being cut, even if the mutated part due to Black Scale Disease was removed, the body would regenerate it through healing.
Therefore, the current outcome was to leave the diseased area untouched for now, and only through further in-depth research could a method for completely curing Black Scale Disease be found.
