Fairy Tale Survival with Ability Copying

Levi looked at her with equal interest. A faint blue glow flickered deep within his eyes as the corners of his lips curled upward slightly.

"My name is Levi."

"Levi, you're incredibly handsome. Come serve as my attendant."

Princess Catherine had apparently taken a liking to him. It wasn't an invitation—it was an order.

As one of the only two future rulers of the duchy, she had both the authority and confidence to make such a demand.

And it wasn't strange that she had set her sights on him. Levi's Charm Attribute was as high as 1.8.

That couldn't compare to someone like Snow White, whose extraordinary Charm Attribute reached 9.6, but among ordinary people, Levi was still a one-in-a-thousand handsome man.

So it was hardly surprising that Princess Catherine fancied him.

Before he could respond, another cool, composed voice came from the opposite side.

"My dear sister, you already have more than enough attendants. You should at least respect other people's wishes."

Another young woman approached, dressed in an elegant white princess gown and surrounded by a retinue of guards.

The people nearby all bowed.

"Good day, Princess Isolde."

She merely gave a slight nod before walking straight up to Levi.

After giving him a brief glance, her gaze shifted to Princess Catherine, and her brows immediately knit together.

The moment Princess Catherine saw Princess Isolde, her own expression darkened.

"My meddlesome dear sister, I'm just recruiting an attendant. What does it have to do with you?"

"He'd be thrilled to accept, wouldn't you?"

She looked at Levi, her eyes carrying both flirtation and an unmistakable hint of threat.

Princess Isolde's gaze settled on him as well, carrying its own silent warning.

They were treating him like a battlefield.

These two women—arguably the most powerful in the entire duchy—had turned Levi into the prize in their contest.

Whether he agreed or refused, he would seriously offend the other side.

An ordinary person caught in a clash between beings of this caliber would probably have legs trembling with fear.

But Levi remained perfectly calm.

One could even say he was completely composed.

That piqued Princess Isolde's interest.

She spoke directly to him.

"You're impressive. Come serve as my attendant instead."

Princess Catherine's face instantly turned gloomy.

"What do you mean by that? He's mine!!!"

"He's talented. Following you would only waste his abilities. Only under me can he truly put them to use," Princess Isolde replied calmly.

"..."

Levi was left speechless.

He was usually the one watching other people's drama unfold.

Now he'd somehow become the drama himself.

He had only come here to find the kind White Wizard Barbara.

Instead, he'd somehow become an object the two lunatic princesses were fighting over.

Yes.

He could tell.

Neither of these crazy princesses saw him as a person.

To them, he was nothing more than a toy.

A possession.

Thinking that this duchy would one day truly fall into the hands of these two women, Levi couldn't help muttering inwardly once again,

This country's completely doomed!

Still, Levi hadn't come away empty-handed.

Using Detection, he had discovered a piece of information on the two princesses that genuinely surprised him.

That was also the reason he continued standing there.

[Isolde Aemon — Supporting Character in the fairy tale instance The Goose Girl at the Well!]

[Catherine Aemon — Supporting Character in the fairy tale instance The Goose Girl at the Well!]

The moment he saw that information, Levi immediately recalled the story.

A young count encountered what appeared to be a frail old woman deep within a forest. She was struggling to carry an enormous bundle of hay along with a basket filled with wild berries. Although born into nobility, the count kindly offered to help out of sympathy.

The old woman accepted without hesitation. She handed him both the hay and the basket, then even climbed onto the load herself, leaving the poor count to carry everything on his back.

The journey was grueling.

The count was drenched in sweat, yet he never once gave up.

When they finally reached the old woman's lonely cottage out in the wilderness, he met a goose girl who was as ugly as a demon. The old woman even teased him, saying she intended to make him fall in love with her.

Though exasperated, the count remained courteous.

As a reward, the old woman gave him an exquisitely crafted little jade box, telling him it would bring him happiness.

After leaving the cottage, the count lost his way and wandered into another kingdom.

The locals escorted him to the royal palace, where he presented the little box to the queen.

When the queen opened it and saw the single pearl inside, she collapsed on the spot.

After regaining consciousness, she dismissed everyone else before revealing a secret she had kept buried for years.

She had once had three daughters.

The youngest had been incomparably beautiful.

Whenever she cried, her tears turned into pearls.

Long ago, the king had asked each of his daughters how much they loved him.

The eldest answered,

"As sweet as sugar."

The second replied,

"As beautiful as fine clothes."

Only the youngest had answered,

"As precious as salt."

Believing she was mocking him, the king flew into a rage and banished her, giving her nothing but a sack of salt.

From that day on, the youngest princess vanished without a trace.

The queen had always believed her daughter had met a tragic end.

Yet the pearl inside the little jade box was identical to the pearls that had once fallen from her youngest daughter's tears.

After the count explained where the little jade box had come from, the king and queen decided to journey into the forest to find the old woman.

Meanwhile, at the lonely cottage in the wilderness, the goose girl shed her rough, ugly skin every night, revealing her true, breathtaking beauty before bathing beside the well.

She was, in fact, the banished youngest princess.

For the past three years, she had been taken in by the old woman and had lived as a humble goose girl.

When the king and queen finally found the cottage, the old woman did not stop them. Instead, she allowed the princess to come outside.

As the family was reunited, joy and sorrow overwhelmed them all, and tears rolled down their faces together with pearls.

The old woman transformed the humble cottage into a magnificent palace and returned every pearl the princess had shed over the past three years while longing for her parents, declaring that those pearls were worth more than the entire kingdom.

In the end, the youngest princess married the young count who had once helped her, and the family lived happily together in the palace.

...

Levi's attention wasn't on the goose girl whose tears turned into pearls.

It was on the old woman.

There was no doubt about it.

She was a witch.

Judging from the abilities she displayed in the fairy tale, she was an exceptionally powerful one.

More importantly—

She was a kind-hearted witch!

That was completely unbelievable!

Looking across the entirety of the Grimm Fairy Tales, he doubted he could find another witch as genuinely kind as she was.

Levi had a strong feeling that the White Wizard Barbara whom Rapunzel's godmother had told him about was none other than that old woman.

So how am I supposed to find her? Levi wondered.

According to the fairy tale, the witch lived somewhere near the wilderness. Rapunzel's godmother had pointed him to the same area, yet Levi hadn't discovered anything.

There were only two possibilities.

Either the old woman wasn't there...

Or she was there, but had concealed herself with some method that blocked Levi's perception, preventing him from noticing her—just like the Land of the Flower Fairies had done.

He had stood right in front of it, yet had never been able to find the entrance.

Had he not eventually found a loophole and transformed into a Nightingale, he would never have entered the Land of the Flower Fairies.

But that was all in the past.

What mattered now was figuring out how to find the old woman.

He carefully recalled the entire fairy tale again and soon noticed one crucial detail.

The old woman—the kind-hearted witch—went every day to gather grass and pick fruit near a village.

That was where the young count had encountered her.

Based on the story, the village could be narrowed down to one near the wilderness, separated from it by a mountain.

After all, the young count had carried the witch over the mountain before arriving at her cottage in the wilderness.

With those clues, finding the old woman would become much easier.

Levi immediately decided to leave.

Unfortunately, Princesses Isolde and Catherine had already argued themselves into a full-blown fight over him.

Their guards were brawling with one another!

The two princesses themselves were also at each other's throats—pulling hair, tearing clothes, slapping faces...

They looked like nothing more than two shrews in a street fight.

Ironically, Levi—the root cause of the whole mess—was the only one nobody bothered to trouble.

This country's completely doomed!

Watching the chaos unfold, Levi couldn't help complaining inwardly again.

He couldn't be bothered to stay any longer and turned to leave.

At that moment, however, an elite squad charged into the scene and swiftly subdued the guards on both sides.

A stern-looking man with graying hair strode forward.

He wore a dark velvet robe beneath a black cloak embroidered with the duchy's crest, and on his hand rested a massive ruby ring that symbolized his authority.

Beside him walked a tall, graceful woman dressed in a dark emerald gown.

Her thick dark-brown hair was usually arranged into an intricate bun adorned with pearls and golden threads.

Her face was gentle, and fine lines had begun to form at the corners of her eyes. Yet rather than diminishing her beauty, they only added the composed elegance of someone who had weathered the years.

These two were none other than the true ruler of the duchy, King Aemon III, and his second wife, Queen Moya.

Princesses Isolde and Catherine were the daughters King Aemon III had with his late queen.

In other words...

Moya was their stepmother.

She had only one biological daughter—

King Aemon III's youngest daughter.

The very princess he had banished.

...

After bringing the situation under control, King Aemon III looked at his two daughters, both disheveled with hair in complete disarray.

His expression darkened.

"You've completely disgraced the House of Aemon!"

The moment they heard that, the two princesses immediately began blaming each other again, each insisting it was entirely the other's fault.

King Aemon III's chest heaved violently with rage. It felt as though his heart might burst.

Just as he was about to severely punish both daughters, Queen Moya gently took hold of his hand.

A warm, soothing power immediately flowed through his body, calming much of his anger.

He shot his daughters one fierce glare before saying, "I'll deal with both of you once we're back at the palace."

Turning around, King Aemon III's eyes fell upon Levi.

He immediately noticed that this brazen young man had been staring fixedly at his queen the entire time.

His face instantly turned ugly.

"You insolent wretch!"

King Aemon III barked coldly.

He immediately signaled his soldiers to seize Levi.