Chapter 44

“However, one of our elephants has broken away from the group and is wandering the coastline. It’s an absolute troublemaker, just like Nephitia and Zafiri. Its name is ‘Coco’, and it’s still a young female elephant.”

“Does that mean we’re supposed to go bring it back?”

“What makes you think I’d pair those two up again? Go separately. That said, since it’s too much for one person to handle alone, I plan to assign each of you a partner.”

Seneca let out a deep sigh and looked around.

“Tomorrow, Nephitia will go first. Is there any volunteer from the island to catch the elephant alongside the princess?”

“I will do it.”

The words slipped out first, and a hand went up. Arkin slowly raised his hand and looked at the priest.

The moment all gazes converged on him at once, Arkin spoke once more with emphasis.

“I’ll go.”

In truth, it was an impulsive choice. He couldn’t even explain precisely why he had raised his hand.

It was just that when Nephitia raised her head to look at him, his pulse had quickened and a light cold sweat had broken out, making him feel a sudden jolt of reality.

“Prince Arkin has volunteered. As dependable as ever.”

Seneca nodded firmly.

“Tomorrow at dawn, a worker will be waiting in front of your quarters. You can head out after grabbing the necessary tools and feed. The worker will explain how to handle the elephant in detail.”

Petra looked at Arkin as if finding it unexpected, but Arkin did not turn his head toward her.

Having barely managed to pick at her dinner, Nephitia headed toward her quarters with slow steps.

Though she had been momentarily flustered by the punishment given for breaking the rules, the moment Arkin raised his hand without hesitation to say he would come along, her heart had hammered wildly. Looking that exhausted, is he really coming with me just for my sake? And the two of them alone at dawn, at that…

Glancing sideways at Arkin with a mix of worry and fluttering excitement, Nephitia learned that Petra had skipped dinner and returned to her quarters early. What should I do, should I go talk to her?

Heaving deep sighs, Nephitia chewed over the conversation she had shared with Zafiri a little while ago.

“Zafiri, do you happen to know anything about magma stone? Zafiri, you’re older than me and you’re already helping with state affairs, they say. So you must know a lot better than I do. I just really don’t understand.”

Judging by Zafiri’s troubled expression, the answer seemed already decided, but she still wanted to know the detailed truth. She felt that even if her heart was wounded by the cold reality, knowing properly was important.

The reality that the Kepet Kingdom—which she had believed to be strong and steadfast—was actually cornered, and the fact that they ripped off another nation’s resources as if plundering them while packaging it as a gift of goodwill—she found it difficult to accept a single one of those things, which made her want to know all the more.

“To put it simply, Petra’s words are all true, Nephitia. Hard as it is to accept, that’s just the reality…”

So it was all true.

How foolish must I have looked from other people’s perspectives?

“Nephitia, don’t take it too to heart. I just think Petra was far too emotional. She’s overflowing with passion and has a strong sense of patriotism, so she couldn’t hold back and let her resentment show, but in a place like this, it’s also necessary to mutually let bygones be bygones without digging into the past. That’s what Seneca was pointing out, too.”

Finding it pitiful to see her standing there unable to say a word and only blushing, Zafiri patted Nephitia’s back encouragingly.

“Hm? Think about it. If you start going back that far, every single nation fiercely hated each other in the past. Until Arkin’s great-grandfather stepped up and forged the alliance, we were all enemies. So forget about it. Okay?”

“Mm-hmm.”

She didn’t want to redirect the sharp end of her blade toward Petra, who had taught her the truth. However, she could at least feel Zafiri’s warm heart, so she merely smiled weakly in response.

“Thank you, Zafiri. I think I’ll go inside and talk things over properly with Petra.”

“Really? You’re going to talk to her?”

What part of that had surprised him? Staring intently at Nephitia, Zafiri smiled gently.

“What’s wrong?”

“Hmm, well. You’re becoming more and more charming, Nephitia.”

“What kind of nonsensical thing are you saying?”

“I thought you were just the daughter of the almighty Sun God, but I keep seeing new sides of you. After all, stepping forward first is the domain of someone with courage. I’m rooting for you.”

Petra’s rage-filled voice kept stabbing painfully at her ears. Kepet had simply been far too complacent. Had blind faith in the protection of the Sun God blinded everyone’s eyes and ears? Was it wrong of her to have simply assumed that everything they did was right?

Above all, the fact that she hadn’t even realized she was falling behind while the other heirs continuously grew weighed heavily on her shoulders. While the princes and princesses of other countries slowly grew and learned, Nephitia hadn’t even known she was lagging far behind.

“There is no need to learn about politics early on. You will learn soon enough.”

King Mahati, her mother, had always excluded Nephitia from important decisions. She seemed to wish for her daughter to be revered merely as a beautiful and sacred entity. True to Petra’s words, while she rushed so unilaterally into things like acquiring consorts and heirs…

She claimed she had summoned Aunt Shadia to raise her so she would learn about the world and not become isolated, so why on earth did she persistently hide the matters that truly mattered?

Sometimes even Aunt Shadia would tilt her head in confusion, unable to understand such behavior from King Mahati.

Passing down the darkened path and entering the entrance of the quarters only made her heart heavier.

Nephitia carefully looked around the interior of the quarters to find a place where Petra might be. Before long, she spotted Stella and Petra sitting side by side on a bench near the back garden.

“If Elio’s star moves a bit more to the right…”

Stella’s calm voice flowed out. Judging by the looks of it, she seemed to be conducting astrological counseling, as Petra was placing her hand upon a large turtle shell guided by Stella, staring blankly at the rough, bumpy surface.

“Welcome back, Nephitia.”

Stella’s dark eyes found Nephitia first. Since she had ended up looking like she was interrupting the two of them, Nephitia stood awkwardly for a moment before cautiously opening her mouth.

“Um, Petra. If you have time later…”

Nephitia’s voice echoed along the wall. Petra was still turned away, but her shoulders looked minutely stiffened.

“I’ll excuse myself for a moment.”

Stella quietly covered the turtle shell and stood up. She smoothly slipped between Nephitia and Petra and vanished straight into her room.

“U-um, Petra.”

Now only Nephitia and Petra remained in the courtyard. Under the starlight, the two princesses’ gazes persistently crossed paths while desperately trying to avoid meeting each other.

“Earlier… I’m sorry.”

Nephitia slowly continued.

“I didn’t know well. Just like you said, my eyes for the world were blind. I really didn’t know as much as I thought.”

Her heart ached with genuine shame. She had spent her whole life believing she was perfect and blessed by the gods, only to realize how narrow her perspective truly was.

“So what I want to say is…”

Nephitia hesitated before continuing.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know. When I become the ruler later, I’ll try to change a bit then. So that we can have a good… relationship.”

Petra slowly turned her head. For a brief moment, surprise flickered across her face.

Nephitia spoke clearly, pouring her sincerity into the words.

“It’s a past I didn’t understand well. But now that I know, I don’t want to repeat the same mistakes. I want to do better. So… I’m sorry once again, Petra.”

Would her earnest feelings please reach her?

Did her desperate heart get through? Petra slowly turned back to look at her. Opening her lips slightly as if to say something, she finally opened her mouth after a long hesitation.

“I… don’t think people change.”

“It’s not changing. It’s learning.”

“Talk is cheap.”

Petra said in a cold voice. However, no longer did her voice carry a sharp hostility. Rather, it was heavily laden with fatigue and skepticism. Clenching her fists tightly as if making a solemn vow, Nephitia spoke.

“I’m going to keep learning from now on. I’m going to move forward in a good direction. So please watch me.”