kscans

Chapter 195 - Scribblings, The Legacy of Our Predecessors

"Funding difficulties?"

"Yep."

As the Little One stuffed snacks into her mouth, Romel presented a ledger to her with a solemn expression. It detailed the construction costs for the Arts Theater. They were at the count's mansion. Having returned from her pilgrimage, Chihiro was finalizing the plans for the soon to open Arts Theater with Romel.

"It’s fundamentally a national project. The royal family will cover any shortfall, but the problem is the Castle of Sweets."

The Little One pushed the sweets and tea on the table aside to spread out the ledger. There were no issues with the Arts Theater or the forest park. However, it seemed the construction costs for the Castle of Sweets, which Chihiro had shoehorned in at the edge of the property, were insufficient. It was something that hadn't been in the original plan. On top of that, it was also the most structurally complex building of them all. A confectionery workshop and a hands on kitchen. The Little One’s dream castle was even packed with a live cooking area. Furthermore, the interior decorations were designed to change in real time with the seasons and events, and it seemed building something unprecedented in Arcadia was costing more than expected. Romel gave a wry smile at the girl who was staring intently at the ledger with a pout, and he quietly sipped his tea.

"Well, I don’t mind paying for it myself, but there are many influential people who wouldn’t remain silent if I did. What will you do?"

The amount was more than the Little One’s current pocket money could cover. She had spent the small fortune she had saved in Claudia a short while ago, so Chihiro was currently quite short on funds. If she had that money, this amount would have been nothing. It seemed Romel was covering the costs for now, but if they didn’t sort this out, it couldn’t be passed on to accounting. The royal family and the count’s family would surely not stay quiet if they learned Romel was fronting the money. He apparently wanted to resolve the matter before it turned into a dispute. There were more than enough people who would do anything to grant Chihiro’s wishes. To them, Romel, who had already paid in advance, must seem unbearably enviable. The Little One could only offer a wry smile, as she could easily imagine the Bear in the Kitchen secretly lamenting that she hadn’t relied on him.

"If we frame it as something you desired, I think both the royal family and the count’s family will keep quiet. I am your fiancé, after all, so it wouldn’t be unnatural."

"What should I do... Ah."

As if struck by a sudden idea, Chihiro ran to her closet. Stored there were all the outfits she had worn in the past.

"Is it okay if I part with this?"

In her hand was a champagne gold dress. It was the dress Romel had given the Little One back when she was Fatima. Romel’s eyes softened at the sight of the nostalgic outfit, and he gave a slight nod.

"You’re nine years old now, you can’t wear it anymore. I don’t mind, but…"

What on earth did she plan to do with it?

Chihiro had also thought of repurposing it for something eventually, but the material was silk and the color was champagne gold. Whether for small accessories or clothing, it was too lustrous and would stand out unattractively, so it had been gathering dust in her wardrobe until now.

"Nfuu, I just had a little flash of inspiration."

Seeing her grin, Romel made a face that said, "There she goes again," looking resigned.

And so, the next day, a large sign was erected at the theater project tent managed by Chihiro.

"Win some, lose some, the lottery is on! The grand prize is a dress from the Golden King's first public appearance, fit for royalty. Plus many other items from her highness."

Reading the sign’s content, a stir went through the crowd. An outfit from a noble was a fortune in itself. It was worth at least a few gold coins, perhaps dozens, or even more. People began to drift toward the theater tent, and before they knew it, a colorful mountain of a crowd had formed. Peeking at the scene from the edge of the tent, Chihiro smiled smugly.

Heheheh, it’s a rehash of Mother Teresa’s idea, but it’s fine, right? Our Mother in heaven. I thank you for your idea.

The Little One secretly looked up at the sky and pressed her hands together in prayer.

Her prediction was correct, and many commoners went wild for the lottery. People were in an uproar over the lineup of prizes, which went far beyond generous. And why wouldn’t they be. Receiving an item from the royal family was something that could not be achieved without considerable merit or accomplishment.

And they might win it? For just a single silver coin? There was no option but to buy a ticket.

This sign was put up not only in the royal capital but in all of Frontier’s major territories. Furthermore, people rushed to buy the lottery tickets, of which only fifty thousand were sold in each region. The commoners scrambled to be first. The nobles joined in later, but it was already too late. Most of the tickets had been bought by the townspeople. Arriving even later than the nobles who were covering their faces in despair was the royal family. The lottery had started suddenly without any rumors. The time lag for the information to reach them was just too great.

Naturally, the enraged dignitaries stormed the count’s mansion.

"What is the meaning of this, Chihiro!"

The Crown Prince’s agitation was palpable.

"What do you mean? I just made my clothes into prizes, nyan."

Wilfe gritted his back teeth with a gugigi sound at the little girl who looked up at him nonchalantly.

"But, isn’t that, in a sense, Fatima’s property? I mean, it was a gift to the count’s family, but…"

It was Romel who answered the stammering Theodore. With a look bordering on insolent courtesy, he glared down at his nephew who had not yet even had his coming of age ceremony.

"I gave that to Chihiro. Not to anyone else. In fact, that dress has Chihiro’s name embroidered on it. On what grounds do you claim it belongs to Lady Fatima?"

His throat tightened, and Theodore’s face twitched. However, a figure pushed past the two sons, not to be outdone, and Romel felt a wave of dizziness.

"Brother…"

You too…?

With the same thought in their minds, Romel and the Little One looked on with exasperation.

"I am not your brother! Allowing a princess of the royal family’s possessions to be bestowed upon commoners is unthinkable! Stop this at once!"

Oh? How unusual, a valid point.

His face was as red as a boiled octopus, but his argument was not wrong. Hmm. At the same time, Chihiro and Romel brought their fingers to their lips and glanced at each other.

"A part of the theater project ran short of funds. Since this is a facility being built for the people, I thought it best to ask for the people’s cooperation. Most of the tickets sold in each region are losing tickets. We are selling a dream to everyone. It was started with a theme common to our theater project. That is why…"

The Little One implied that this was an event unnecessary for those of high station. This was entertainment for the common people, not something to satisfy the vanity of royalty and nobility.

"Besides, these are all items from my childhood, are they not? They may be a treasure beyond reach for the common people, but for the royal family, they are useless clutter, wouldn’t you agree?"

"No! But, these are mementos of my child! You would want to keep them safe, wouldn’t you?"

The Little One sent a dubious look toward the king, who was waving his hands about in a fluster.

Who’s your child? Who? We’re not even genetically related in this life.

The dresses, hair ornaments, and so on. They were all items Chihiro had used as a child. She had also mixed in some of Chihaya’s things for good measure, so it seemed both men and women were looking forward to it. The main prize dress alone was worth several hundred gold coins. For a commoner, it would be a windfall. The other small items were also worth at least several gold coins. The Little One added a sharp explanation that the lottery business was a job of selling dreams, not a tool to satisfy personal whims.

In fact, people close to Chihiro like Drago, Adonis, and Zack did not participate in the event and simply enjoyed the atmosphere.

"Please distinguish between what is necessary and what is not. You are all fine adults."

She could somewhat understand the psychology of wanting any item related to one’s favorite person, but for Chihiro, it was hard to grasp. Before the Little One, who let out a dramatic sigh, His Majesty the King hung his head dejectedly.

"At the very least, if only we could have bought a ticket… Don’t you think you could have told us?"

Chihiro offered an involuntarily cruel smile to the king, who looked at her with the eyes of a soaking wet puppy, and she spat out her words with annoyance.

"...And? Were you planning to buy up all the tickets with your money?"

Perhaps struck by her sharp words, not only the king but also Wilfe and Theodore averted their eyes.

Oh, you guys…

"It was because I feared such a thing that I deliberately did not inform you! Reflect on your past actions!"

They would commit acts that snatched away public entertainment without any malicious intent. Such was the nature of royalty and nobility. Chihiro, who had learned this lesson time and again in her past and present lives, detested their innocent tyranny from the bottom of her heart.

The three returned home, dejected after being thoroughly scolded by the Little One. The retainers accompanying them all wore wry smiles. This, too, was becoming a characteristic scene at the royal palace in the peaceful land of Frontier. The king, walking dejectedly, kept muttering things like, "My daughter’s first formal dress… the first dress… it lasted for two generations…" for the entire way back.

"He says that, but as soon as he has children or grandchildren, he’ll be puffing his chest out and making them a new dress anyway."

"...It is tradition to wear new clothes for the New Year. He has also held a grudge for a long time about not being able to give you a baptismal gown, so perhaps this is an extension of that."

The Little One looked up at Romel, who was smiling with a troubled expression, and she too gave a wry smile. Even when they acted up like this, she couldn’t hate them. While finding them troublesome, the girl couldn’t help but indulge them. Feeling a certain kinship with them, Romel gazed at Chihiro with a gentle smile. The royals did not know. They did not know that the Little One was endlessly indifferent to people she didn’t care about. The current environment where she scolded, yelled, and placated them was by no means a bad situation. He could glimpse within her just enough affection to help the members of the royal family if they were ever in trouble.

Romel found the existence of that affection, which Chihiro herself might not have noticed, to be very pleasant.

And so, the storm passed.

With the sales from over a million lottery tickets, the Little One became instantly rich. There had been no advance publicity, and a ten ticket per person limit had been imposed, so there was no major buy up. The people who won prizes were overjoyed. Those who lost were disappointed, but they rejoiced when they heard at the prize announcement that losing tickets could be exchanged for a participation prize. The participation prize was a limited edition lottery strap featuring the Mononoke. It was an item with a small iron charm mass produced from a mold. The string part was a braided cord made in Kilfan. Since the charm was removable, people enjoyed it by attaching multiple charms to one strap, or using them as pendant tops or hair ornaments in various creative ways.

The item cost about a single copper coin to produce, but it was unexpectedly well received, which made the Little One happy.

Even on Earth, lotteries usually had prizes of about a hundred yen, so she had made it a limited edition strap that anyone could wear to avoid the feeling of having lost out. Even so, after deducting expenses, she made a profit of seven copper coins per ticket. Chihiro bowed her head in gratitude.

A large part of her life was supported by the legacy of her predecessors from the past. This lottery, the theater project, the cooking and sweets, and everything else. All of it was knowledge from the predecessors who had researched, refined, and spread it in the past.

While deeply appreciating the importance of recording, passing down, and conveying things to future generations, the Little One is doing just fine today.♪