Ch. 13: Bad Ideas

I'm worried that Finn will go flipping through the books he's carrying and realize that there is some inappropriate material for children, but he's whistling a tune I've never heard before as we stroll out of the library. It's almost lunchtime, but I'm already tired and I reach my arms out to Marie so she can carry me. She obliges instantly with a warm smile and I once again enjoy the perks of being tiny.

My eyes drift shut at their own accord before we reach my palace, but I'm still somewhat conscious when I hear the conversation between Finn and Marie. They spoke in hushed voices so as to not wake me.

"Sir Amarelius wants an update on how the princess is doing," Finn says cautiously from my left. Huh, the Mad Dog is curious about me? Marie gives me a little shake to check if I'm asleep and my head lolls to the side like a doll.

Marie lets out a long sigh. "She is adjusting as well as can be expected of a young child. It's just..."

"Just what?" Finn prompts when she pauses in the middle of her sentence. She has stopped walking as well.

"Her highness is so young, yet she has been through so much. She often sits for long periods of time and doesn't talk to anyone other than me. She never wants to play with any of the toys I bring her. The only time she acts like a normal child is when she's eating. She never cries, except for yesterday after the incident."

Finn is silent for a minute after her words.

"Is there anything else?" he asks.

"Well, I would like for the royal physician to take a look at her highness. She is a bit small for her age and too skinny. She tires quickly nor does she enjoy walking around much. If it isn't too presumptuous of me, please tell me, Sir Finn, where did you find her?" Marie asked, the pain evident in her voice. I'm touched, even though I'm too drowsy to show it.

"You are being presumptuous," Finn said in a steely voice that sharply contrasted his easy-going personality I'd previously seen.

"Just because the young princess has taken a shining to you doesn't mean you are entitled to information above your station."

Don't be mean, I want to yell. You're talking to my Marie, you ass!

"Yes, sir," she replies meekly. I'm over the conversation so I burrow deeper in Marie's neck, startling them out of the conversation. I can feel Marie frantically check whether I'm awake or not so I let out a slow, sleepy breath and didn't move again.

"Go on and put her to bed. I'll arrange for someone to send the physician. It is best you nurse her to health quickly and don't let her leave so often. The Spring Ball is approaching and she will be unofficially presented to society then." Finn ordered seriously. Finn the Fox was not in the building at the moment.

"Wait, Sir Finn!" Marie cried, the sudden loudness making me wince. It seems Finn must have been walking back to his post.

"What about the library? I think her highness really enjoyed leaving the palace today. What should I do if she wishes to leave again?" Marie asked hesitantly. Only Marie ever worries about me like this. She really reminds me of Maria's mother and it makes my heart feel all gooey with love.

"Erm... if she really wants books that much, then I'll just bring the librarian over to get a list of the books she wants and deliver them here," Finn says sheepishly. The hard feelings I felt towards Finn soften a little and I decide to give him a pass, just for today.

Marie gives him a pass as well. "You are a kind boy, Sir Finn."

"B-Boy? I'm not a boy, I'm a man!" Finn whines almost childishly. I was slow to realize it since I'm so small at the moment, but now that I think about it, Finn actually looks a bit younger than I was in my past life, easily still in the last of his teenage years. I chuckle inwardly, already planning to rib him on it later.

When I come to, I can see that the sun is still high through a sliver of my curtain that is open and I'm relieved I haven't napped too long. I'm still wearing the cute day dress Marie chose for me, but she took my shoes off before tucking me into bed.

"Marie!" I yell from my bed. The door of my bedroom instantly opens and I assume that the motherly maid has been hovering outside but in walks a man. I instinctively shrink back, but a quick look confirms that he is just the royal physician. He has a white coat with the emblem of the Empire on his sleeve and a pair of wire-rim glasses sit on his nose. He reminds me of Dr. Strobum and I don't like it.

Marie rushes in quickly behind him, but it does little to ease my apprehension.

"Your highness," they say in unison, dropping into a bow and a curtsey.

"Your highness, the physician is here to inspect your health," Marie informs me. I rub my head and my eyes widen as I recall the conversation between Marie and Finn. I have half the mind to ask my maid about it right away, but she might find it suspicious if I inquire about the Spring Ball right after she talked about it in my presence. I'm going to have to put the question away for a day or two so I can just use the excuse of overhearing a few maids whisper about it.

"Your highness," the physician says, all business. "Please lie down so I may perform a physical examination."

I nodded and lay back down, but my anxiety only increased as the physician held his hands out over me and closed his eyes. I squinted at him, confused by his outstretched arms then looked at Marie but she seemed perfectly calm. Perhaps it is normal for a doctor to pray over his patients before examining them.

But then I heard the music. Soft, twinkling notes that bore great similarity to what I had heard when the holy mage was inspecting me. His hands glowed a reassuring blue color as his hands moved from the top of my head to my toes. I grinned, impressed once more. This world's magic is truly unlike anything I've seen or experienced before. My inner kid is clapping with joy at the unbelievable sight.

Just as quickly as it started though, it is over. The doctor opened his unfriendly eyes once more and looks down at me as if I'm a bothersome pest. I frown back at him. Would it hurt him so much to try to be nice to a young child?

"Am I sick?" I ask as he goes rooting through the bag he had brought with him.

"Malnourished and underdeveloped," I heard him say under his breath as he starts scribbling onto a notepad. My frown deepens. I'm fairly certain ignoring royalty is a crime but this man doesn't seem to care about that. It reminds me of the days in the shack with Bianca, who barely acknowledged my existence.

"Sir," Marie says in a stiff voice, "Her highness was speaking to you." It is the harshest tone I've ever heard her speak to someone with since I've arrived at the palace. I adore how she just stuck up for me, even as the rude doctor just harrumphs where he sits and begins to acknowledge me.

"Your highness," he says grudgingly as if someone is holding a gun to his head. "You are suffering from long term malnourishment and your body is underdeveloped as a result. However, as long as you sufficiently eat 3 meals a day and get several hours of sleep at night, you will recover within a few months to a year."

I resist the urge to roll my eyes at the doctor just repeating information I already knew, but his next words took me by surprise.

"You also possess a natural barrier to magic. It's nothing to be concerned about, but it means that you will have a more difficult time performing magic and having magic performed on your person," he finished in monotone. The doctor, who I realize now never even bothered to introduce himself, stood from his chair ready to leave. There is no way I'm going to let him run away after dropping that bombshell on me.

"Can you please explain the barrier to me, doctor?" I whimper, trying to look frightened. It didn't sound like anything to be overly concerned about from his vague description, but this is a goldmine of information I can't resist excavating. My next library books are definitely going to be about magic.

"Your body just has a natural resistance to magic, which is why I had to stand over you and perform your physical with more power behind it," he says dully.

"So, you don't normally use your hands?"

"... No." Getting answers from this doctor is like pulling teeth. I eventually leave him alone altogether and he hands Marie some pills for me to take to reduce my internal magical barrier. It's a small jar full of little red pills and they forebodingly remind me of peppermints. I eye the bottle with distrust as Marie tucks it into a drawer of my vanity.

The next few days pass by unremarkably, outside under the tall apple tree in the middle of my rose garden. Marie carries out my stack of books and the sun rises and falls through the relatively blue sky as I plow through the centuries of the advent of the New Continent, the establishment and growth of the Erudian Empire, and the rising influence of the Holy Church. At the end of each day, I tucked the books inside the toy chest I never use so no snooping individuals find it. Marie, who was upgraded to my nursemaid since I'm still young enough to have on, was sworn to secrecy after a clumsy tumble down the stairs revealed the sensitive subject matter I'm researching.

My eyes feel a little sore from squinting at the itty bitty letters all day long, but I'm just grateful they speak English in the Empire as well and I won't have to learn a whole other language. This is my last day of freedom since my etiquette teacher will begin coaching me for the upcoming ball.

I snap the last book shut, my head swimming with information. While I already had a decent idea of the history of this world courtesy of the webnovel, everything was colored with Clara's perspective. Her story doesn't require her to have a lot of knowledge about the Erudian Empire, so most of what I knew was perfunctory or the random tidbits the crown prince, my older brother whom I've yet to meet, told her.

Marie has briefly gone inside to fetch me a coat and I feel a bit melancholy and stir crazy. It was through the webnovel that I learned of the significance of the Rose Palace, but now that I live here, I can feel the past love my father had for the previous empress. It is said that the crown prince's mother was the only woman Emperor Helio ever loved, a fact that must irk that awful Empress Katya to the bone.

The entire place is well-maintained, but the spark of life within it is gone. If I were a pickier girl, I would hate it but it's a roof over my head and has a warm bed. Only a fool who hasn't lived in poverty before would complain. It is always so quiet in my palace, with the only stirrings of life coming from myself and the birds that occasionally visit the flowers.

There are tall hedges with roses surrounding the apple tree and my eyes wander to the small gap I've been eyeing in the few days I've been seated under the tree. Today, I specifically requested a dress that isn't as full since all the stuffing underneath makes it uncomfortable to sit on the floor. Brushing a few leaves off my skirt, the cogs in my head turn as a terrible idea starts to become more appealing.

I can see the central palace where the emperor resides in the distance, a tall spire adorned with a phoenix on top, his representative animal. And I can only blame my underdeveloped frontal cortex and extreme boredom due to lack of internet for the shitstorm that happened after I followed my impulse.