Informing the Queen
After lunch, Scarlet picks me up from my seat and we go to leave the restaurant.
“Manya, I can walk by myself…”
“I know but you shouldn’t! Papa talked to me about it and I think he’s right. The strain you put on your body is too much. It’s best if you stop overexerting yourself all the time or else you might get really sick.”
“Okay…”
Rayla interjects, “But surely just walking around shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
Papa answers, “She’s just an infant. Even just sitting up and moving her arms around probably strains her body. If we want to make sure she’s as healthy as possible when her curse gets removed we should strive to create an infant-like environment for her. Even if I understand that some things she’s too used to giving up right now. I don’t expect her to stop supporting her head or just laying around with her eyes closed but casually walking around is definitely too much.”
“Huh…Sorry oko, I don’t know what to say against that.”
“It’s alright…I didn’t expect you to say anything.”
In silence we walk around a prosperous looking city full of Dwarves, some Frigants and Squirrel Beastkin. There are few humans to be seen. Eventually we come upon what looks like a huge post office where papa confidently enters and walks past multiple people waiting in line.
As he gets to the front the post worker seems to try to complain but papa just flashes a rose symbol in front of them and asks, “Where is the communication room for nobles?”
“Floor two, first and second room on the right, your Grace.”
He then puts down a gold coin and says, “That should be enough, right?”
“Yes of course, your Grace!”
“Good, keep the change.”
“I…Thank you very much, your Grace.”
Somewhat dismissively he waves his hand and says, “Please call an intercity carriage while we have our talks.”
“Yes of course, your Grace!”
Completely ignoring the disgruntled looking people waiting in line, papa carries on towards the second floor where he hands me over to Rayla, “Take care of her for the time being. If there is anyone that even looks like they might hurt her, scream and come inside here.”
“Allright, I will.”
“Good, I’m trusting you with this. Don’t squander it.”
“I won’t.”
Papa and Scarlet then go inside leaving Rayla and me to wait on some chairs outside.
“Hey Oko…About everything that’s been going on these last few days-”
“Sorry ane but can we discuss this later? I need to think right now.”
“O-Of course.”
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Both sitting down on a couch the King says, “Blaze, Royal Castle 2413095678.”
Causing an image of a woman in military garb to pop up, “State your name and- Your Highness!?”
“Connect me to my wife please.”
“Of course! Right away!”
The projection then switches to the royal flag of Blaze before changing back to the Queen who looks both angry, annoyed and concerned, “Twelve days. You have been gone for twelve days without contacting me, Carlo. I was about to assume both of you were dead. Tell me exactly what happened!”
A bit meekly he answers, “Yes of course, my love,” before going back to his regular voice and saying, “I found our daughter!”
“I can see that.”
“No, that’s not what I mean. Scarlet actually found another child of ours while resting in the NU.”
“Explain.”
Scarlet speaks up, “It’s thanks to Ifrit that I found her! It’s a bit hard to believe but Ifrit reincarnated Rose into my little sister.”
“So that’s what she meant back then…When you say reincarnated as your sister what do you mean?”
“Rose actually had a life before this one where she was so virtuous that Ifrit personally rewarded her with her greatest wish. She wished for a family that loves her and a home to come back to and Ifrit made that wish come true by reincarnating her.”
“I see…And you’re sure this is true?”
“Yes! I made a family relations test with her that came up positive and her blood was actually what summoned papa, not mine. I even met Ifrit personally.”
“She also has the Emperor’s Voice, so there is no doubt about her being our daughter.”
“I see…How old is she?”
Scarlet answers, “A little over six months.”
“That young!? How did you take care of her without killing her Scarlet!? You even killed the cactus I gave you.”
“That was an accident! I didn’t know you could water them too much, no one told me! Anyways, that doesn’t matter right now. Rose can actually mostly take care of herself.”
“How? I thought you said she was a newborn.”
“Well…So, the thing is she was cursed in her previous life and Ifrit didn’t want to undo Nox’s work so right now she’s still cursed and looks like an adult man.”
“I see so that’s why you asked for the sacrifices. So, I’m assuming she also kept her past memories then?”
“Not quite…So, the thing with her curse is that part of it seals her memories of who she was before. So she only remembers about three years back from now when she was cursed and sent to the slums where her abusive benefactor took care of her. She then became an adventurer and got rewarded with her new life half a year ago.”
“Do you have any information of who she was before she got cursed?”
“Well…Actually…Papa, can you?”
“She was the heir of Tera Flora.”
“Excuse me?”
“She was Princess Eithlynn Pradia Sol in her last life. We only found out recently when her curse was temporarily lifted for her molt. Right now she doesn’t remember that though. It’s also best to not confront her about it now because her curse has a defense mechanism that triggers when she’s confronted with facts about her previous life before the curse.”
Leaning back into her chair the Queen takes a deep breath and asks, “Are you absolutely certain she was the princess?”
“Not absolutely but very certain.”
“I see…During that time of her curse being lifted, did she show any signs of wanting to return to Tera Flora?”
Scarlet answers, “Nope, she was mentally regressing a lot during that time and didn’t say anything of that sort. In fact I don’t think she’d ever want to go back even if her memory fully returns.”
“Why are you so confident in that?”
“Because…”
The king interjects, “Because she was severely abused in Tera Flora. That child…She knows nothing but suffering.”
“By Ifrits locks…For you to say that, what did that child experience?”
“Apparently they were lashing her. Both her father and her maids for any little mistake she did.”
“What!?”
“That’s not all. Apparently her maids were pricking her with needles and telling her she should never have been born and making up lies about her misbehaving so that the headmaid could give her more lashings.”
Completely in shock the Queen puts her hands over her mouth, “If I remember correctly princess Eithlynn was just a little child, correct?”
“Yes, she should be around 120 years old which in Dragon years is about a hundred years.”
“That young…And they were doing all that to her?”
“Yes, apparently her uncle was the one that cursed her and threw her into the gutters of Berk as well.”
Even more shocked than before she stands up from her throne and says, “Give me a minute I need to breathe and collect my thoughts.”
“Of course.”
After taking a short break the Queen returns and asks, “So, what about this curse? Can you tell me more about it?”
Scarlet answers, “Essentially, what it does is turn her into an ugly human man. It also locks her memories of her past but sometimes she does remember small details which she almost instantly forgets again. When you confront her about her past she either just doesn’t remember saying it at all or gets a headache and might even fall unconscious or start having a seizure. It also makes it so her body rejects light magic.”
“This is…Beyond cruel…But I think I’m starting to put the pieces together…So, you probably became an adventurer to join her group and support her, right?”
“Yes.”
“And I’m guessing the reason you summoned your father is because you bit off more than you could chew?”
“Not…Quite. But in a way you’re right.”
“Explain.”
The King answers her, “There is actually another big problem right now. Are you sure you’re prepared to hear it?”
“No but explain it anyway.”
“Well…So it turns out that our Rose is a saintess candidate for the northern pantheon and because of that is being targeted by demons.”
“What!?”
“We’re currently on a mission together with St. Petunia to get the materials needed for her to be ordained so the demons stop targeting her.”
“Damn it…Alright, do you have any more earth shattering news or is that it?”
“Well…”
“Ay cambino… So there is more?”
“Yes but this one isn’t as bad. Thanks to Ifrits reincarnation, Rose isn’t completely a dragon. She is a mix of both her old and new self so she’s a Spiritelf-Dragon-hybrid. A completely new race of people.”
“Wow…So, how does that hybridization manifest?”
“She has two pairs of wings that look a bit like dragonfly wings. They are fully functional and seem very strong. Her polymorphed form while uncursed seems to look like a mix of Scarlet when she was still a young child and her old body. Her draconic form is also a bit more slender than normal but I don’t know more than that.”
“She actually resembles papa a lot in terms of her scales.”
He smiles, “That’s true we have the same shade of pink.”
“So, to summarize. Ifrit gave us a newborn daughter that is a hybrid of Eithlynn Pradia Sol and our blood. She is cursed to appear like an adult man due to her uncle in her previous life cursing her after a life of abuse and letting her out in the slums of Berk. She was then raised by another abusive person for a year or two, became an adventurer, met you Scarlet thanks to her Highness Ifrit and is now being hunted by demons due to her being a saintess candidate?”
“Correct. I intend to get her home the second she has been ordained and is no longer a target for the demons.”
“And what is her opinion on all of this? Why is she not here with you?”
“She’s actually waiting outside the door right now. She asked to talk with you alone.”
“I see. Is there anything else I need to know before talking to her?”
“No, just don’t mention her past as princess Eithlynn Pradia Sol to her and don’t be confused by her appearance. She might look like an adult but she is only a severely abused hundred year old inside.”
“I’ll take that into consideration, you can bring her in now.”
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