Chapter 6

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 6

Chapter Title: Remeia's Burden

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The incident of unidentified assailants infiltrating the heart of the Salt Kingdom spread across the entire land in the blink of an eye.

The King of Salt deemed it the work of those harboring treasonous intent against the nation and ordered their pursuit, but he revealed no specific details.

Such as the identity of the kidnapped individual, for instance.

Crash!

The finest porcelain, crafted with the artisan's utmost care, toppled from a mere gesture and shattered into pieces.

It was blatantly intentional, yet no one noticed.

The startled maid looked up with a worried expression.

"...Your Highness, are you alright?"

Remeia, her abundant brown hair like a wheat field ripe for harvest swept back once, finally raised her head a beat late.

"Oh, I suppose I'm just a bit tired. I felt a little dizzy for a moment."

"You're really going to collapse at this rate. The palace atmosphere is already so tense, and if something happened to you..."

"Amber."

"...Yes?"

"I'm fine. So, could you clean up the floor?"

"Ah, yes, of course. I'm sorry, Your Highness. I was just worried..."

"I know. Thank you."

Remeia, her pale face adorned with a gentle smile, remained ever merciful and kind even amid the sharpened tension.

'She's truly a wonderful person.'

The maid gathered the shards of glass from the office floor, unable to hide her heartfelt pity.

How shocked she had been upon hearing that intruders had breached the palace interior.

Though everyone hushed it up, rumors openly circulated that the Crown Prince of Kletan had ultimately sent men to kidnap Remeia.

If this gentle-hearted princess were captured by that shameless imperial crown prince, the Salt Kingdom would surely plunge into profound sorrow.

The maid Amber earnestly hoped such a thing would never come to pass.

"Then, please call if you need anything."

The maid withdrew soundlessly and closed the door.

As soon as the watcher vanished, Remeia's soft expression hardened rigidly.

Honestly, the stress lately was driving her mad.

'This is all because of April.'

By custom in the Salt Kingdom, the king's eldest child—regardless of gender—was actively involved in state affairs.

In a kingdom that had grown through commerce and trade, a royal's resourcefulness was one of the key qualities.

Unfortunately, Remeia's abilities were distributed in extremes.

For example, she boasted impeccable management in outward matters like appearance, eloquence, dance, and image—unrivaled by anyone.

But her 'academic aptitude' was innately poor.

To what degree? Reading text for more than ten minutes a day brought a splitting headache.

Her comprehension was below average too, so even when someone reported on duties, processing it and drawing conclusions took considerable time.

Had her siblings not died off one after another before they were even weaned, Remeia—who had not the slightest talent for governance—would never have been so cherished and coddled.

'If it weren't for that girl, things wouldn't have escalated like this!'

Yet the Salt King had no desire to reveal that the missing person was April.

He seemed wary of any revelation that April had been kidnapped while acting as her proxy.

Unable to hide his vexed demeanor, he had summoned Remeia and sternly commanded her.

"Now is the time for you to fulfill your role. You've had plenty of time, so it shouldn't be too difficult, should it?"

"Yes, Father. I'll do my best."

Remeia could only bow her head, unable to refuse the order outright.

But.

To reiterate, Remeia was dim-witted, and all problems stemmed from there.

Thus, it was only natural that she directed all her resentment toward April.

Despite every effort, Remeia simply couldn't fill April's void.

Even staying up all night reviewing documents and organizing opinions rendered them worthless scraps by the next day.

The Salt King's pitiful gaze was the icing on the cake.

If she were merely slacking or treating matters lightly, she wouldn't be this furious.

Slide.

Opening a drawer, Remeia pulled out a single letter.

The paper, coated in thin gold leaf, bore the vivid emblem of the soaring dragon of the Kletan imperial family.

"Raiden..."

Reading the letter once more—though she'd perused it countless times—her indignant face softened tenderly as if it had never been.

As always, the contents brimmed with praise for the wise and beautiful Remeia.

Even rereading this recycled letter took her ages, but surely the affectionate Raiden would understand and forgive her truth if he knew.

Lost in the fantasy, Remeia pulled out the half-written reply from yesterday.

This was the third day working on it.

Writing more than two lines caused her brain to throb as if shattering, so even her painstaking efforts barely filled a page.

It wasn't raining now—the sun blazed—but Raiden in the empire wouldn't know anyway.

Knock knock.

At the knock, Remeia, who had been pouting her lips, hastily hid the letter.

"Come in."

"Y-Your Highness... I apologize for interrupting while you're busy."

A young administrator entered the tidy office cautiously, bowing deeply as he spoke.

"Th-The documents I submitted a few days ago still await approval, so I came to check."

"Documents from a few days ago?"

"Over there... those ones."

She checked the papers the administrator pointed to on the desk, but soon set them down as a headache already brewed.

Still, mustering superhuman focus, she discerned one key point amid the complexity.

"The Kletan Empire is requesting a wheat trade."

"Ah, yes. That's right. However..."

Scratching the back of his head awkwardly, the administrator continued.

"It's wheat we bought from the empire, and now they're offering to buy it back. It feels a bit odd, so I came to confirm."

Huh?

What's odd about that?

Remeia tilted her head inwardly.

'Don't the people of Kletan need wheat too? They can't live on bread alone.'

Having reached her conclusion, she replied lightly.

"Give them as much wheat as they want."

"Pardon?"

"Just charge them a higher price instead."

"How much should we ask?"

"Hmm. Double? Or maybe triple?"

"Ah..."

The administrator sensed something amiss but didn't show it.

'Her Highness must have some plan. She's handled things brilliantly so far, after all.'

Settling on that, he swallowed his lingering doubts and bowed.

"Th-Then, we'll quote triple."

"No, wait."

Remeia pondered, then lowered her voice slightly.

"Somewhere between double and triple...?"

"Do you mean 2.5 times?"

Aren't double and triple averaging to quadruple?

Remeia cocked her head, but for some reason, voicing it felt wrong, so she simply nodded.

"We'll proceed that way."

The documents in the departing administrator's hand bore the princess's seal.

Left alone once more, Remeia pulled out the letter again.

Not recalling where she'd left off, rereading her own draft brought throbbing pain, but...

'Hang in there! Add exactly four more lines by tomorrow and send it.'

She needed to contact Raiden soon.

The pen nib in her white hand dipped deeply into the black ink.

Thus began Remeia's reply-writing ordeal, concluding precisely one hour later with exactly two more lines added to the original.

"...Honestly, I thought it was a lie."

"What?"

After April was dragged away, Liam—who had maintained a long silence—glanced at the duke's expression before speaking.

"That April Salt was acting as the princess's proxy."

"We can't be entirely certain yet."

"If she truly was the princess's proxy, will you keep her alive?"

Kaian placed little value on human life. He took it when needed and discarded it without hesitation otherwise. Liam, who had witnessed countless prisoners perish in the duke's underground dungeons, was proof of that.

However, if April really was Remeia's proxy, she would at least gain enough value to cling to life in the duke's domain.

"That's the plan. She'll be useful in many ways."

If keeping her alive made her work like a slave, there was no need to discard such a slave.

Moreover, April had thwarted Raiden's plans one by one, as if foreknowing them. He needed her close to uncover the source of her information.

"To the crown prince... yes. Better to inform him of the failure."

The deal he had planned through Princess Remeia with Raiden had fallen through—a regrettable outcome, but not urgent.

Wiser instead to monitor the crown prince's next moves.

"I'll dispatch a messenger to the imperial palace."

Liam bowed deeply and hurried away.