The Regressed Princess - Chapter 15

Chapter 15: A Risky Gamble

Warm light illuminated the snow-white corridors. Looking up, one could see the solid triangular structures typical of the palace architecture.

The royalty of Nolanna favored gold and white, a color scheme ubiquitous throughout the royal city. Officials would enter the city at dawn, following the first cockcrow, to sit respectfully around the Queen and present their stories and petitions.

The Queen, after hearing everyone out, would offer her insights and announce the final decisions or delegate the authority to specific handlers.

In her younger years, Eva of Nolanna was an exceptionally diligent monarch. Sharing a name with the Goddess of Wisdom, she had been burdened with high expectations since birth, reading classics from various nations as a child. She rose at 5:00 AM to study and listen to the teachings of her tutors.

Even more remarkably, this monarch was talented in both the arts and martial skills. At barely twenty, she personally led her army to repel the invading Hetuya cavalry and ventured deep into their borders to capture the minor chieftains of their vassal city-states.

Eva’s reputation peaked at the age of thirty; inside and outside the kingdom, none dared challenge her. Unfortunately, all beauty ended after her coronation. Why must it be a great enemy that slays a hero?

When the previous monarch passed away, Eva, as the new Queen, did not continue the vigorous governance of her youth. She swiftly deposed her staid first Empress, leaving her to die lonely in confinement, and married a succession of more lively and charming consorts…

Compared to handling government affairs day and night, it was much more comfortable to rise from a beautiful bed and the arms of lovers long after the sun was high in the sky.

Eva, once called the “Wise King” by the people of Nolanna, quickly fell in love with hunting and fine wine, casually favoring corrupt officials and flatterers. It wasn’t that she couldn’t see their ill intentions, but as long as they kept her entertained, she ignored them completely. After all, someone would always get the work done.

Thus, if Nolanna’s courtiers wished to seek an audience with this sovereign today, it was best not to wait in vain at the morning assembly. Whether Eva would show up was one thing; even if she did, she often spoke in a drunken stupor. It was better to wait until she sobered up around noon and seek an audience in her private chambers when she was in her best mood.

“Hmm… is that all?” A long-eyed beauty reclined on a couch, her slender left hand stroking a petite girl in her arms like one might pet a cat. Her black hair cascaded like a waterfall; her elegant collarbones and arms traced a heart-stirring curve. If not for the faint trace of muscle, no one would guess that such a languid person had once been the “White Rider Death God” who dominated the battlefield.

“Ugh~” Eva boredly kicked aside a fruit platter, sending a pile of fresh fruit rolling across the floor. She sighed, leaning most of her weight onto the shoulder of a girl who didn’t dare speak. With a strawberry in her mouth, she mumbled unclearly: “Those nomads are like wild dogs; what are you worried about? Is the border army I raise made of waste? If the money isn’t enough, give them more feed them until they are full.”

“Yes… it’s just, where exactly will the money and grain come from…” The Finance Minister, Kurdona, said with a forced smile, stealing glances at the Queen’s expression.

Eva pursed her lips and said nothing. She refused to clarify whether she meant to satisfy the nomads, the border army, or both; nor did she specify if the funds should come from the public treasury or her private one. Everything was left for the courtiers to figure out for themselves, so that the Queen could never be proven wrong.

Kurdona was accustomed to the Queen’s so-called “art of governance,” yet she couldn’t help but grit her teeth: Delaying. Isn’t it just delaying? Fine, I’ll play the waiting game with you!

During this stalemate between monarch and minister, a burst of silver-bell-like laughter approached from the distance. The Queen’s brow relaxed slightly, and a servant smilingly lifted the curtain to welcome the little Princess, who entered with quick, light steps.

“Greetings, Mother!” The little Princess was dressed like a festive doll today, throwing herself onto Eva’s knees with a whoosh. She was wrapped in a colorful little dress, and her lips were painted with a fragrant balm she had mixed herself. Her movements were as clumsy and cute as a kitten’s.

“Hello, darling.” Eva pulled her daughter into her arms like a cat, while the nearby concubine took the opportunity to climb off the couch to let the mother and daughter be intimate.

“Hehe.” Eleanor smiled sillily, suddenly holding up a gift box decorated with golden bells.

Eva yawned and pulled the box toward her. “Something new? The balm you made last time was quite useful. What is it this time?”

Eleanor smiled and didn’t answer, letting her mother lift the lid herself. Before she was ten, hindered by headaches and age, she had “invented” very few things soap and balm were the most useful among them.

However, the results weren’t as good as she’d imagined. Firstly, this world already had various balms; although their shelf life was short, royalty didn’t mind that flaw as long as it was fragrant and moisturizing, it was enough. Secondly, she spent all day lying weakly in her room, so people didn’t understand the benefits of soap. Cleaning? Disease prevention? Who cared? Of course, the chefs and servants loved using the soap, since the little Princess gave it away for free.

Eleanor knew that the recipes for soap and moisturizer would eventually be labeled as “Royal Use” over time, gradually spreading to the common folk and earning a fortune. But that was a decade away; a distant well cannot quench a present thirst. For now, Eva was one of the few who appreciated them; the Queen was covered in moisturizer from head to toe, smelling much better than the concubines beside her.

The Queen opened the box and took out a roll of parchment. As Eva unfurled it, many metal buttons tumbled out with a clatter.

“This is?”

“This is Ludo (Flight Chess)” Eleanor answered sweetly, taking out an exquisite die to demonstrate the rules. She placed the simplified button-pieces on the diagram, moving them one by one. “These are all little flying spirits. You have to roll a 6 to bypass the Great Spirit Mother and fly out the door, then you move as many steps as you roll.”

“When the spirits bump into each other, they pull and drag. If the one behind hits the one in front, the one in front is sent back home.”

“Oh” Eva nodded slowly. “Interesting. Are the scrolls behind it part of the game too?”

“No, those are something even newer and more useful.”

Eleanor wasn’t here just to play today. She unrolled the diagrams before her, showing improved plows and waterwheels.

“What’s this?” Eva glanced at it and went back to playing with the gold-colored buttons.

Eleanor wasn’t surprised. Her mother knew nothing about farming and had zero interest in it. Furthermore, the understanding of agriculture on the Moonmist Continent was far behind that of the Blue Planet of the same era. Relying on fertile land, they even sowed seeds by scattering them like one might feed pigeons completely dependent on the heavens.

While the people’s suffering had many causes, from a modern perspective: these people threw seeds desperately into vast fallow fields during spring, rarely weeded, and refused to fertilize. Starving in the winter was practically a mathematical certainty.

“It’s something very interesting,” Eleanor said, tucking the later scrolls away after giving her a glimpse. She pressed her hands on Eva’s knees, leaned in, and whispered: “Mother, can you let me go to Enlin early? I have so many~ so many interesting things I want to realize there!”

“Oh?” To Eva, it sounded like a young daughter dreaming of a high-end version of playing house. She relaxed and took a gulp from a nearby wine cup: “Ha~ wait until you’re married. Let your Prince Consort play with you.”

The Prince Consort again. Can’t get around that, can I?

Eleanor could only manage a bitter smile. She grabbed her mother’s arm and acted spoiled: “I can go by myself~”

“Psh, how would you go?” Eva picked up a cherry from the table and popped it into her mouth.

“I—I could also drink the Blessed Water! I’m already ten years old!” The tiny Princess clenched her fists, saying this in a cute, coquettish tone.

However, as soon as the words left her mouth, everyone looked over. Even Eva frowned. The Queen gave a cold snort: “Who has been whispering nonsense in your ear?”

So that’s the result.

Eleanor wasn’t surprised. Potions similar to the Blessed Water existed everywhere, but commoners needed permission from local officials to drink them. For a Princess, she needed the King’s consent. Restrictions for commoners were simple the state had to consider fertility. Restrictions for royalty were even simpler the struggle for succession.

A dead silence fell over the room. The courtiers lowered their heads to study the patterns on the carpet. Eleanor couldn’t see their expressions, but they were likely gnashing their teeth inwardly: If you drink the Blessed Water, aren’t you a candidate for the throne? Are you trying to make us, who placed our bets early, look like clowns?!

Eleanor suddenly felt like she was sitting on pins and needles. She had a great deal to do in the future and had no time to play palace intrigue with this crowd. Her reason for wanting the Blessed Water was simple: to solve the problem of “not being trusted.” If drinking it brought more problems than it solved, she’d rather not.

Fortunately… I still have this.

Eleanor quietly squeezed the pendant around her neck and looked up into Eva’s unreadable gaze, flashing a sweet smile.

“Mother, I don’t want to steal Sister’s things at all.” She pouted like a spoiled child. “I don’t want to get married; I want to go to Enlin sooner! Even—even if you appoint Sister as the Crown Princess first!”

The freezing atmosphere thawed slightly. She was, after all, only ten. No one would believe these words were entirely her own… right?

Eleanor’s back was gradually soaked with sweat. She had a strong premonition: If I had actually acted ambitious just now, I would need to roll back the save immediately to avoid losing a life.

“So that’s how it is. Then, my answer is.” Eva maintained that light tone, ruffling Eleanor’s hair.

“No.” The Queen vetoed with a smile.

Why? My actions were so close to my previous life.

Eleanor silently compared the differences. In her last life, she had played with Andra for two years before pestering her mother to establish her own faction. Was it because of the “Blessed Water”? Was she being viewed as someone being instigated by others behind the scenes?

Eleanor looked at her mother and said aggrievedly: “Then, I will always be Mother’s little Princess. But classes are so boring. Can I choose some interesting tutors?”

Eva paused, then leaned back on the couch with a faint smile. “Sure.” She said in the same languid tone as the previous life: “Go on, go on. Give me a list of names. You can study whatever you want. Yawn~”

If I withdraw the option of the Blessed Water, the result here is the same as the past life… right?

Eleanor blinked and replied innocently: “Okay~”

Unease… extreme unease. Though she didn’t know what she’d done wrong, or who she had inadvertently offended, she felt a sense of trepidation.

Eleanor didn’t linger. She quickly paid her respects and left happily, but the moment she walked out and hugged Shanhu’s waist, she couldn’t stop shivering.

Unease. Her heart was still pounding.

Eleanor returned to her palace. Amidst the intense anxiety, she ate and bathed, only feeling a bit better once she was tucked into her covers. She lay in bed, replaying today’s mistakes:

Except for the “Blessed Water,” there seemed to be no room for error. She had clearly expressed her disregard for the throne to her mother and the ministers. Since she was Marcella’s full sister, those who bet on the Third Sister had no reason to target her. If her mother kept her word and she encountered no other dangers, this start seemed okay. She could use her status as a Princess to build her faction, laying the foundation in the royal city before heading to Enlin.

As for the task of defending Nolanna she would trust in her sisters’ wisdom for now. Marcella, as Nolanna’s Crown Princess, you’d better be useful!

“Phew~”

Eleanor let out a long sigh, feeling she had fully convinced herself. Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. I’ve done well enough.

“Shanhu, I want some water.”

The little Princess called out. The sound of steady footsteps came through the darkness. A cup of steaming tea was handed over at the right time. Everyone knew the little Princess of Nolanna loved “leaf water” brewed with boiling water.

Eleanor opened her mouth, letting the servant in the darkness support her neck to pour the tea. A slight sweetness rolled down her throat, and then it was—SO SPICY!!

No, not spicy. It was PAIN?!

Eleanor looked up with blurred vision, a line of blood spraying from the corner of her mouth.

You aren’t Shanhu!

Heidi… why do you want to kill me?

The figure in the darkness grew distorted. She seemed to be covering her mouth and crying, or perhaps turning back to shout something.

“Ha… ugh!” Eleanor squeezed the pendant with all her strength, feeling the world writhe.

Gods Mama let me… Roll Back!!

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