Chapter 12

“Princess, it’s getting late.”

“Oh, I’ve finished reading. I’m coming.”

I closed the book and hurried over to the bed where the Hero was lying.

I wanted to get the subordinate contract解除 as soon as possible so that the Hero could sleep independently, but I had no idea why there had been absolutely no word from the temple.

The Grand Ducal residence was the Hero’s home—in other words, a place where the Hero could do as he pleased.

So I’d secretly hoped that perhaps the effects of the contract would weaken here.

But we’d underestimated forbidden magic far too much.

Since the maids took care of everything for me and Richt did nothing except sleep beside me, the side effects had become even worse, as though the forbidden magic were telling us not to try any tricks.

Goodbye to the days when simply holding hands was enough.

Now, when we sleep, the Hero has to hold me tightly with his entire body for the side effects not to appear even after midnight.

Aaaagh!

“This is driving me crazy. On weekdays, it’s difficult for the two of us to spend time together unless it’s nighttime. I’m taking lessons, and the Hero has his duties as Grand Duke.”

“For the time being, I think we have no choice but to endure it like this.”

To describe our current position, I was nestled in the Hero’s arms beneath the same blanket.

With us this close together, using two blankets was actually more uncomfortable.

For the record, getting an arm pillow and having my hair arranged properly came as part of the package.

According to the Hero, his arms and body simply moved on their own so that I could sleep comfortably.

Apparently, if I frowned in my sleep, he would unconsciously start wondering what was wrong, and if he didn’t immediately solve whatever was causing it, all his sleepiness would disappear.

So, in order to sleep properly himself, he had no choice but to keep an eye on me sleeping beside him.

The problem was that this situation had an enormous potential to cause trouble if anyone else saw it.

We might be a princess and a Hero, but we’d known each other for less than a month.

Would anyone who didn’t know about the forbidden magic reasonably understand why an adult man and woman were sleeping in the same bed every single night?

Of course not!

Among the servants at the capital’s Grand Ducal residence, only Baron Delmarc, the butler, knew the circumstances.

So every morning, I desperately made sure to get out of bed first.

“Dr. Riepart said she was delighted by how quickly the Princess is progressing.”

“I need to learn basic knowledge quickly so that things will become easier for both me and everyone around me. Honestly, my fast learning speed is also largely thanks to having such an excellent teacher.”

Elmaren was extremely knowledgeable about history and tailored her explanations so that I could understand them easily.

Naturally, acquiring knowledge became much easier.

“There are a lot of things I have to memorize all at once, so it is a little exhausting, but compared to fighting the Demon King, this is nothing. It’s like drinking cold soup.”

“I hope you won’t push yourself too hard. We have plenty of time.”

“I’m working hard because it’s frustrating being a complete idiot myself. Don’t worry, Hero. You know how it is, right? I currently lack so much general knowledge that even going outside alone is difficult for me.”

It hurt to have to say such a sad reality out loud, but that was genuinely my situation.

The Hero couldn’t bring himself to deny it either, so he simply pressed his lips together.

“But tomorrow, I’m not studying. We’re going to the Adventurer’s Guild. On the way back, I’d like to look around the streets of the capital.”

“That’s the most welcome suggestion I’ve heard from you today. Since we’re going anyway, let’s purchase the equipment you’ll need for doing quests. We could use the equipment rented by the guild, but it’s rather hit-or-miss. Buying our own would be much better.”

“Have you registered with the Adventurer’s Guild too, Hero?”

“Yes. Most nobles register when they’re young, just in case. You don’t have to use your family name. You can register under your first name or even a nickname.”

“I heard about it from Elmaren, but I didn’t know you’d done it too.”

“Having a guild account has many advantages. Even if you travel to another country, you can immediately withdraw money from the guild branch there, which is convenient.”

That was true, but the real reason nobles registered with the Adventurer’s Guild was because it was useful in emergencies, such as fleeing the country or going into hiding.

Since they didn’t have to use their family names, it was perfect for concealing their identities. Furthermore, the guild handled the taxes on quest rewards, allowing them to build up a legally clean emergency fund.

And because no one other than the account holder could withdraw the money, even if the family’s entire fortune were confiscated, they could potentially protect the money stored in their guild account.

Of course, if someone brought proof that Adventurer A and Noble B were actually the same person, then the authorities could still take everything.

“What rank are you, Hero?”

“B-rank. I wanted to raise it further, but I haven’t had enough time…”

No, it was already impressive that he’d gotten that far.

Elmaren had told me that most nobles stopped at D-rank. That was because, starting from D-rank, they no longer had to complete a mandatory quest every month.

Apparently, the reason the Hero’s rank was relatively high was because he frequently went out to gather materials needed to create the sword used to defeat the Demon King.

“Didn’t anyone suspect that you were the Hero when you were doing guild quests?”

“Among people my age, the name Richt is fairly common, so none of the guild receptionists ever recognized me.”

“Oh. That means other people did recognize you.”

“S-rank Adventurers frequently enter the Imperial Palace, so it was difficult to conceal my identity perfectly.”

According to Elmaren, there were only ten S-rank Adventurers across the entire continent.

Given the nature of being an Adventurer, they traveled frequently, so encountering an S-rank Adventurer probably wasn’t easy.

Looks like we could go without worrying too much!

I was beginning to feel sleepy.

When I gave a small yawn, the perceptive Hero immediately turned off the lights.

“Good night, Richt.”

Wrapped in his warm body heat, I fell into a deep sleep once again.

What did people in the Empire generally imagine when they thought of the Princess of Total Victory?

According to the maids, they pictured a woman wearing a white dress with short hair fluttering around her face.

Her portraits also depicted her with short hair, and nearly every illustration in fairy tales and novels showed her with a bob haircut.

But my hair was long.

It had become inconvenient to live with, so I’d used an artifact to adjust its length, but it still reached down to my waist.

The Princess of Total Victory had plenty of uses for her hair, so I couldn’t cut it!

The maids divided my hair into two sections and braided it, deliberately choosing dark-colored clothes for me.

Sturdy leather shoes that were comfortable to walk in.

Long trousers.

A short, easy-to-move-in dark-brown robe.

They also changed my hair to brown, the most common hair color on the continent, and once I put on the glasses, I really looked like an entirely different person.

After slinging the bag the maids had prepared for me over my shoulder, I boldly opened the door and stepped outside the annex.

“Whoa, Hero?”

The Hero, who had been standing beside the horse, turned toward me.

Black hair tied into a single long ponytail.

A leather armor set that was the very definition of an Adventurer.

A sword strapped to his back.

And even that slightly roguish posture.

Even Emperor Peyton, his own family member, might have had trouble recognizing him.

“Are you all ready?”

“Yes. Am I supposed to ride this horse? Should I sit in front or in the back?”

“You should sit in front.”

I hopped onto the gentle-looking white horse.

Richt mounted behind me and took the reins, and the horse began trotting toward the gate.

“What is the horse’s name?”

“White Moon.”

“That’s a pretty name. She’s a mare.”

Horseback riding was a basic skill on the battlefield.

So naturally, as the Princess of Total Victory, I knew how to ride a horse as well.

But the reason I was riding with the Hero today was because I didn’t know the geography of the capital yet, and more importantly, I hadn’t learned the Empire’s traffic laws.

The Imperial capital, Brookran, was a massive city with a population of more than five million.

To ride a horse on the roads, you had to attend classes at the Academy or take an examination and obtain a license.

If someone without a license was caught riding a horse, the fine was a whopping 500 gold!

Elmaren had warned me that the laws were extremely strict, so I had to be careful.

I felt a little sorry for White Moon, but today, there were going to be two riders.

“Have a safe trip, Princess.”

With the maids seeing us off, we left the Grand Ducal residence.

At long last, my long-awaited outing had arrived!

Yaaay!

“It’s such nice weather. The sun is shining brightly.”

“They say it will remain sunny all day. There should be a lot of people at the Adventurer’s Guild as well.”

“It’s a good day for quests that require going outdoors.”

I discreetly turned my head from side to side, eagerly taking in the sights of the streets of the capital, Brookran.

Architectural technology had advanced tremendously compared to the past, so most of the buildings were much taller and the roads were much wider.

More than anything, I found it fascinating that many shops had large windows made with expensive glass, allowing people to see inside.

“It’s so splendid.”

“This area is mainly occupied by shops that deal in high-end goods.”

“Does it feel different if we go toward the outskirts of the capital?”

“There are many street vendors and market stalls, and it’s much more crowded.”

Even after all these years, people’s lives were still the same.

For some reason, that made me feel a little reassured.

We hadn’t even been on horseback for a few minutes when we quickly arrived at the Adventurer’s Guild branch.

However, the entrance was crowded with people and carriages, apparently because they were bringing in some kind of large shipment.

Richt guided White Moon across the street.

“We should leave her at the horse rental stable.”

“Okay.”

The horse rental facility had a large stable. Its main business was renting horses, but for a fee, they also took care of people’s horses.

The owner, who had been grooming the coat of a magnificent black horse, came outside and took White Moon’s reins.

As he wrote in his ledger, he informed us that the guild branch’s own stables were already full.

“It’s a good thing we came here right away. We almost would have wasted time.”

“Let’s go, Lady Flur.”

We carefully made our way past the pedestrians and entered the building.

It was just as chaotic inside, but fortunately, there was no one waiting at the reception desk.

“Hello. How may I help you?”

“I’d like to register with the guild.”

“You’d like to open an account as well, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Please fill out this form.”

The registration form the receptionist handed me was extremely simple.

All I had to do was write down my name and special skills.

I couldn’t use divine power at the moment, so healing magic was out of the question.

I had plenty of experience handling medicinal herbs, so I was somewhat confident in that area.

As for monsters, I could easily take down one or two goblins.

I wrote down the things I could reasonably do and handed the form back.

The receptionist’s expression brightened.

“Thank you for being so detailed. When an applicant is vague about their abilities, it’s difficult for us to recommend suitable quests! You can register at a higher rank by taking an examination. Would you like to apply? The examiner for the combat test is currently available, so you could take it right away.”

“No. I’m fine with the lowest rank.”

There was an examination fee for taking the rank test, and it wasn’t cheap.

Besides, there was no reason for me to obtain a high rank immediately.

More importantly, the Hero standing behind me was wearing an expression that clearly said:

Absolutely not!

So there was no way I was taking the test!