kscans

Chapter 20 - The Golden King and Little One, Part One

"How did it come to this?"

It was a phrase she had muttered countless times in the past. The Little One felt dizzy at the sight before her.

"That’s why I said I was against taking Chihiro to the royal palace! That’s it, I’m hiding the two of them in Kilfan!"

"There’s no way we can do that! Calm down a little!"

"Well, maybe that’s fine. You know, like sending them to stay with relatives. It happens all the time, right?"

"Please don’t give up, Your Highness the Prince Regent!"

Now, who said what? The answer, from the top: Katsumi, Adonis, Romel, Dorfen.

A new royal family had been established in Kilfan. The head of the regent family had temporarily taken the throne to protect the country, and for some reason, they wanted to pay a courtesy visit to the Count Georges family, so Katsumi had come as an envoy. Then, upon learning that the Little One’s identity was on the verge of being exposed to the Frontier royal family, he had instantly boiled over, and the situation had devolved into a scene of carnage.

"There’s no way it wouldn’t be exposed! Everyone in Kilfan already knew!"

Katsumi’s words were almost a scream. That’s right. When the Drago family visited for the summer festival. The people of Kilfan were captivated by one of the children, a little girl. Because, from any angle, she was unmistakably the Little One. Her cheerful smile, the monsters that followed her, the way she ran around freely. Her unique, free-spirited nature was impossible to mistake. It’s the Little One. The benefactor who had saved them from their predicament and taken the lead in establishing a new country. Even if her appearance had changed, they could never forget. It was a vague feeling, but everyone had apparently seen through her. But they had no proof. They didn’t know her circumstances, and it was possible she was hiding it. Therefore, the people of Kilfan had deliberately kept silent.

Hearing this, the Little One’s eyes widened.

".....No way, dondoko don."

At the feebly muttered phrase, Katsumi couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"You... that’s a foul... buhah!"

Katsumi seemed to have found it hilarious and doubled over, his shoulders shaking. The Little One glared at him with narrowed eyes. Well, okay, that was my fault. I didn't mean to make a joke, it just slipped out.

It was unclear to what extent the royal palace knew. Whether they simply thought a new candidate for the Golden King had been born, or if they had connected her to the Little One of her previous life, even Romel couldn't say. But in the past, only the Golden King themselves and their direct successors had been blessed with an iridescent spirit. That's what was written in the old documents Dorfen had brought.

"Hmm, that’s right. It’s written here."

"I’ve heard that my great-grandfather was allowed to copy these documents as a reward for his military achievements in the great war of his time. I believe it is accurate."

Dorfen’s great-grandfather would have been about three hundred years ago. The average lifespan in Frontier, which was filled with golden magic, was one hundred and fifty years. Calculating backwards, it might have been four hundred years ago.

"She’s sure to be taken in! Chihiro, pack your bags! We’re fleeing to Kilfan immediately!"

The Little One beckoned to the tragic-faced Katsumi with her finger, and when he approached, she gave his head a light bonk.

"Calm down. If I wanted to, I could escape on my own. Besides, what are you going to do, drag Kilfan into this? Don’t underestimate Frontier."

Kilfan was a newly established nation. It was no match for Frontier, which had reigned over the world for a long time. The Little One’s fist spoke bluntly to the flustered Katsumi, telling him to face reality.

"Well, we have no choice but to play dumb. It’s a bit of a stretch to call someone with this appearance a Golden King, don’t you think?"

The Little One roughly combed her fingers through her back hair and grinned slyly. Pitch-black hair and jade-green eyes. Not a single trace of the Golden King.

"I hope it goes well."

Romel shrugged his shoulders in agreement. The others also nodded with convinced expressions, thinking, Now that you mention it.....

"There are exceptions to everything. We’ll push through with the story that I just happened to have all the attributes and was blessed with an iridescent spirit."

The Little One puffed out her chest. The others, smiling wryly, weren’t so optimistic, but they still agreed with Chihiro’s words. At that time, none of them knew that the royal family had a trump card up their sleeve.

"Welcome. It has been a while, Countess."

"To be granted the honor of beholding your noble visage, I am overcome with joy, Your Majesty the King."

Her speech was as splendid as ever. This time, as it concerned a secret of the royal family, everyone except the two families had been dismissed, and the meeting was held in a secluded room. On Drago’s side were the Count, his child, and Romel. On the royal family’s side were their Majesties and the Crown Prince.

After dismissing the maid who had prepared the tea, His Majesty the King got straight to the point.

"I hear you have been blessed with a dun-colored spirit. Might I see it?"

At the expected words, Chihiro summoned a palm-sized lizard. When she twirled her finger, a dun-colored lizard appeared there. The royal family’s eyes widened.

"I have seen Romel’s as well. It truly is iridescent."

Their Majesties let out sighs of admiration at the seven colors that appeared depending on the light. Wilfe simply stared at the spirit, his eyes wide as saucers. With a sigh, His Majesty the King looked Chihiro straight in the eye.

"Are you aware that this is a spirit granted only to the Golden King?"

At that, the Little One put a hand to her cheek as if troubled.

"I have heard as much from His Highness the Prince Regent. But it is impossible. My parents have no connection to the royal family of Frontier."

"But the proof is right before our eyes."

"I was blessed with all the attributes at my Baptism. Perhaps it is because of that."

"There is no such precedent in the past."

"Just because there is no precedent in the past does not mean it cannot happen in the future, does it?"

The little girl smiled brightly. Is this a child who has only just received her Baptism this year? With a certain conviction, the king spread an old document on the table. It was almost the same as the one Dorfen had brought. There were no biases or discrepancies in the content.

"In here, you see. It is written. For over five thousand years, there has been no such exception."

The king’s eyes, as he stared at Chihiro, narrowed with insight. For the usually carefree king, his dark gaze was rare, and the Little One felt a faint sense of urgency. Something is wrong. What am I missing? The king’s eyes had doubted the Little One’s words from the start. She shouldn’t have said anything to arouse suspicion. While feigning a confused expression, the Little One’s mind raced at high speed. Then she realized it. Wasn’t it the other way around? It wasn’t that Chihiro had been suspected, but that the king’s side had some kind of conviction.

After repeating their irreconcilable claims, the king took out a single book.

"This is the original. The one on the table is a copy. It is normally kept deep in the treasury."

I see, so these are copies. Chihiro took the original from the king and opened it without a second thought. The content was almost the same. The original had slightly more archaic phrasing, but the content was no different from the copy. The Little One flipped through the pages, her eyes scanning them. Romel suddenly realized.

"Wait, Chihiro!"

At the same time, His Majesty the King also spoke.

"How is it? Compared to the copy."

"Well, the phrasing feels a bit old, but the content is almost the same."

At Chihiro’s words, the faces of those around her froze. Romel’s eyes were wide with despair. Huh? What?

"I see, it’s not different. So you can read it, that book."

The king’s murmur was tinged with sarcasm. With that one word, the Little One instantly realized she had been tricked. The original kept by the royal family. This was the record of the Golden King, written by the first Golden King himself, and since the words were written with golden magic, it was a book that only the Golden King could read. Chihiro had read it without any trouble. In other words, she had admitted to being the Golden King herself. To others, it looked like a blank book, and while they were tilting their heads wondering what they were talking about, Romel, sensing from the Little One’s gestures that she was reading something, had hastily tried to stop her. This was the king’s trump card. In the past, there had been scoundrels who tried to deceive the royal family by pretending to be the Golden King, and this was the method used to identify them. The secret of this original was passed down orally to successive kings. No one else knew this secret.

"You possess golden magic, do you not?"

"With this hair and these eyes, such a thing could not possibly be."

It was a farce. She had already been checkmated. But there was some credibility to Chihiro’s words. All past Golden Kings had been blond-haired and golden-eyed. A black-haired Golden King was also unprecedented. It was a suspicion that was as close to black as gray could be. To calm herself down, Chihiro reached for the tea that had been set out for her. But someone grabbed her hand. Surprised, Chihiro looked up and saw Wilfe’s astonished face. His eyes were wide open, his golden pupils trembling.

"You... are you Chihiro?"

At the unexpected words, the Little One’s heart leaped.

"Crown Prince, could you please release your hand from Chihiro? It is unacceptable to touch a young lady with a fiancé."

As he said this, Romel gently placed his hand on Wilfe’s arm. Romel’s own heart felt like it was about to explode, but his age gave him an advantage. He skillfully hid his feelings and gave a faint smile. Ignoring him, Wilfe roughly pulled the glove off Chihiro’s left hand.

The Little One, when dressed up, always wore gloves. It was a lady’s etiquette, so no one paid it any mind. She also wore gloves when she started attending the knighthood. This too was part of the knighthood’s uniform, so no one paid it any mind. But those gloves were also to hide her golden thumb. Now, it was exposed to the light of day. Seeing the little girl’s golden nail, the royal family was at a loss for words.

It was unclear why Wilfe had realized the Little One’s identity. Romel looked up at the ceiling, all was lost. With her arm still in Wilfe’s grasp, the Little One let out a small sigh. The people were speechless, as if they had swallowed lead. As expected, peace was far from the Little One’s life. …A moment of silence.