Episode 46

 “N-No, don’t throw et away.”

I snatched the big raccoon doll from Dietrich as I feared that he would throw it back to the pile of glass.

“Remember this, Anissa.”

“What?”

“Money is not a problem for Lagrange.”

If you rob things like this instead of buying them, then money won’t really matter. The cherry light bulbs that were decorating the signboard seemed to have been a little damaged when the window shattered. A huge part of my conscience stung me, so I looked over the broken window and searched for the owner.

“What the hell is this?!”

Perhaps he had been away from the store for a while when all this happened, so the owner scurried over and screamed.

“What are you! What are you doing?!”

Dietrich blocked the mouth of the owner who had been snarling and took out something similar to a coin and held it.

‘It looks bigger than a coin though.’

The flat, iron ornament was engraved with red roses, a symbol of Lagrange. The owner’s face paled when he saw the symbol.

“This is the seal of Derek Lagrange. You can charge everything to him in the future.”

It’s hard to know how Derek’s seal ended up in the hands of Dietrich who wasn’t even a favorite candidate. Realizing that he was no ordinary boy, the owner bowed his head.

“Sorry for making a commotion.  Double the charge for the cost. ”

“Y-Yes, I understand.”

Dietrich, who deliberately added those words to emphasize the fact that it wasn’t his money, began to move again. I hugged the big raccoon doll and waddled, following behind him.

“Detrie, Detrie. How did you get that?”

“I stole it. I thought there will be times where I’ll need it.”

“It’s nowt good to shteal.” 

“Go and say those words in the South.”

‘But it’s true that I was born in the South . . . . . ‘

I couldn’t say that loudly so I shut my mouth and nodded.

“Un!”

‘Can you use Derek’s seal just to get a doll like this though?’

However, before I could even ask, Dietrich quickly went to the castle.

────── 〔✿〕──────

“Look here, Baal. The eyesh are very pwetty.”

“You have already shown it to me a hundred times.”

“Look again.”

I showed the pretty glass eye beads of the raccoon doll once more to Baal who refused to see it. The glass eye beads resembled Dietrich’s reddish black eyes.

‘Of course, Dietrich’s eyes don’t shine like this.’

“Yes. It is pretty. It is very pretty. It looks very luxurious.”

At Baal’s stiff reply, I arrogantly stroke the doll’s head. 

“Ish more expenshive than Baal.”

“Do you know how much I cost . . . . . . “

“Ish more expenshive than Baal becaws ish more pwetty than Baal.”

I hugged the raccoon doll tightly—although it looked like I was the one being hugged because it was about the same size at me—and grinned. . Marilyn stroked my head finding my appearance cute.

“Do you like it that much, Princess?”

“Yes, I like it. The raccoon is the besht.”

“The young master bought it for you, didn’t he?”

“U-Uh-huh . . . . yea.”

Technically, it wasn’t bought but I just nodded my head.

Ever since that time he gave me the raccoon doll, Dietrich didn’t show  up again and Yuric, who was scolded by him, didn’t even visit me but it’s alright. 

‘It’s so fluffy . . . . . ‘

This was how powerful the raccoon doll was.

I was amazed by how this doll could be so fluffy and buried my face on its plump stomach.

Marilyn, who was preparing the meal, held a plate in her hand and said, “Where could Lancel have gone these days?” 

“Huh?”

“Of course, I am not unhappy about taking care of the Princess alone, please don’t get me wrong. It would be nice if people like Lancel just go to Liatris.”

Marilyn added and I burst into laughter. Come to think of it, I really haven’t seen Lancel around either. But even though he goes out to play and doesn’t take care of me like this, I’m sure he still gets a full salary from Lagrange.

‘Disgusting.’

I ate a simple meal of black bread with jam and the recently added thin ham by Marilyn and decided to go out in search of Lancel after eating.

Josef left the estate at Derek’s orders so I wasn’t able to learn more on how to use Eredia’s abilities.

I wasn’t really keen on seeing Lancel, but I didn’t have anyone else to be my target practice for this ability.

‘Marilyn’s aura is too clean to purify.’

Baal’s aura, on the other hand, was so dirty that I couldn’t purify it even if I tried to because he was a demon. 

Lancel, who occasionally carried an artificial dirty aura, was suitable for practice.

With a groggy voice, I  said hello to the raccoon doll then got out of bed. Baal glides behind me as if he was going to be my escort instead of Yuric.

“I can smell you, Baal . . . . “

“There is no helping it. This is His Majesty’s command.”

“Hing…” 

At my words, Baal quivered and buried his face in my body and thump. I wouldn’t have been able to smell him, but I smelled him with his aura instead of his real scent.

Feeling embarrassed, he opened his mouth after thumping for a long time.

“Princess, I washed up today. Truly.”

“Debons wash up too?”

“Not usually, but the Princess keeps saying I am dirty.”

‘I’m going to have to be a little less mean now.’

I shrugged my shoulders and began walking because I thought Baal would cry if I teased him more. I stopped in the hallway and inhaled deeply, sensing Lancel’s aura faintly over the distance.

 ‘Oh, it’s moderately foul and petty.’

It was how I defined the smell of Lancel. I moved along the corridors in search of that foul aura.

‘Hmm? That’s weird.’

Lancel’s aura often felt artificial, but as I focused on smelling it, I felt a much more artificial odor.

‘That’s weird; it’s not Lancel’s.’

I crouched down in the hallway like a dog and sniffed vehemently to locate the cause.

In the past, the smell was so subtle that I could not have noticed it but it seems like my ability to handle aura has developed a little bit.

‘It’s mixed with the scent of roses.’

The garden of withered roses is a garden located in front of Dahlia Palace, but there was also another one in the backyard where even Dietrich did not go. The artificial odor, as if it was made by mixing a lot of strong perfumes, was flowing out from there.

‘Lancel . . . . .?’

The place was messier compared to the garden of withered roses so Lancel lay leisurely on a weeded pavilion, taking a nap.

‘You’re ditching work and playing around again.’

Dumbfounded, I let out a sigh and ran towards him with light footsteps.

In the middle of the pavilion where Lancel lied asleep, there stood a plaster statue of a rose that I have never seen before.

‘I think the smell came from here.’

It wasn’t easy to distinguish because Lancel was close to it, but when I closed my eyes and took a breath again, I was able to clearly identify the smell this time.

“What a strange rowse.”

The stem was white, but only the rose petals were painted black, it appears to be the symbol of Lagrange.

“Ah! You surprised me!”

Before I could reach out and investigate the rose, Lancel woke up with a fuss. I looked down at him with his flaring nostrils.

“Why is the Princess here?” 

“I wash looking for you.”

“Me? Why?”

‘Why, cause you’re going to be my target practice for purification.’

I shrugged my shoulders, pretending not to hear Lancel’s grilling. As I raised my hand and stirred up the air surrounding him, his dark blue aura gradually cleared up. 

‘While doing this, let’s purify the other one too.’

After purifying Lancel’s aura as usual, I placed my hand on the plaster statue of a rose without hesitation.

Touching the damp aura like a gray mist, , which gave off a slightly different feeling from a demon’s black aura, brought a chill down my spine.

It was no easy feat purifying the statue because it was a much darker ‘evil’ than Lancel’s. Lancel, who had been watching me exert my power, extended his arm towards me with a perplexed face.

“Oh my gosh! Princess, why are you trying to do your business here?” (t/n: Business as in pooping. Lmao.)

“No!!!”

‘What kind of child do you see me as!’

The moment I screamed at him in disbelief, a ‘kwang!’ sound echoed as the rose stature broke into pieces. Fragments of the debris bounced in all directions, creating a dust cloud.

“Oh! The rose statue broke because of the Princess!”

“I didn’t bweak it!”

Without even knowing what I had done, Lancel put all the blame on me. Needless to say, it was true that I broke it.

‘What happened? I only purified the aura, but why did the statue break?’

I squinted my eyes at the fragments that had fallen near my toes.

‘Magic?’

The aura rising from the sculpture was so dirty that it made me feel unpleasant. Furthermore, it was very suspicious that the malicious aura that felt artificial completely disappeared from the moment the rose statue broke. 

‘I think there was a time when Josef had spoken of this curse before.’

A curse that corrupts a person’s heart.

“Princess, are you hurt anywhere?”

“ . . . . . Huh?”

“I asked if you were hurt anywhere. Let me take a look.”

Lancel picked me up and looked around my body for injuries, worrying uncharacteristically about me.

“Oh no! You have a graze here!”

“I’m owkay.”

‘What’s gotten into you?’