Chapter 215

After wrapping up my chat with Kanna, I headed outside.

Behind me, she stood still as an exhibition doll once more.

Come to think of it, Sorrindiges and Kanna are just one grade above me. Polaris and I are in the same grade. If Aurora comes to the Royal Academy next year, she’ll technically be a second-year by age, but we don’t know which grade she’ll enter yet.

Aurora fell into Maleficent’s curse-induced sleepless slumber right after New Year’s. It lasted over half a year. By the time she woke up, we had accumulated quite a bit of studying to do, but now she’s catching up within the palace.

Sorrindiges insists that instead of going to the Royal Academy where there are boys, he should just receive education within the Royal Castle. But King Highpion firmly denied that.

Since this was said in front of Aurora, I assume it was all for show.

If he had any real intentions, he wouldn’t have said it in front of her, right?

Why did we suddenly start noticing royal family members? Well, it’s because we caught sight of some kids gathered together.

Of course, “kids” here means students of the age to attend the Royal Academy – high school aged but equivalent to college students in status.

In this world, compulsory education doesn’t even exist yet. Most children under ten already work, and those over fifteen focus on raising families.

The concept of child abuse doesn’t exist either. While there are classical morals about childcare, they don’t apply to all children.

In some regions, orphans are killed so they won’t grow up unhappy. Actually, it’s the opposite – if a child comes from a family with assets and good community connections, neighbors might kill them out of kindness.

Conversely, poor children without such support become expendable resources – used as magical fuel, monster fodder, or forced into combat.

That said, not all villages operate like this. In fact, most don’t. The larger the city, the less common these practices become.

Even by this world’s standards, those places are pretty primitive.

But I don’t see them as customs that need reforming. To me, they’re simply part of the cultural landscape.

Anyway, we’ve got people who aren’t exactly “children” by general societal standards but still considered kids in upper-middle-class circles.

They seem to be laughing and having fun, but both the boys and girls carry obvious discomfort on their faces while talking to each other.

Hilarious.

Polaris is surrounded by peers of similar or higher status, occasionally glancing at me with envious eyes.

Kanna?

Her overwhelming aura keeps everyone at bay. Anyone who approaches gets a condescending stare from above, and no one dares to approach further. Plus, her duchess rank creates additional distance.

Aurora watches both Polaris and Kanna alternately.

Her gaze focuses particularly on skin and hair, probably seeing them as fellow Harvesting Systems.

Similar appearances create a sense of kinship.

Will someone make contact?

As I watch, Aurora chooses – not the busy Polaris surrounded by people, but the solitary Kanna standing proudly alone.

Oh, contact incoming?

Unfortunately, it fizzles out when Sorrindiges grabs Aurora.

He warns her not to approach since Kanna seems upset, but does Kanna notice his expression worsening?

According to Kanna’s memories, she dislikes Sorrindiges. On the surface, they seem fine.

Actually, judging from Polaris’s memories, Kanna appears to be one of the girls who gets along well with Sorrindiges.

However, due to deep personal resentment, Kanna has always disliked Sorrindiges. This goes back to when they were both under ten.

Sorrindiges once mocked Kanna for being disabled and never apologized.

Though upon reviewing my own memories, Sorrindiges did apologize – just not satisfactorily enough for Kanna.

Human relationships are complicated.

It’s not about giving and receiving equal amounts. Sometimes you give 10 and get 20 back, other times you give 10 and only get 5.

Emotions are subjective.

That’s why I can relax while creating Harvesting Systems. Subjective differences lead to conflicts, and strong-willed individuals spread their version of events everywhere.

So I look forward to watching dramatic collisions unfold.

Ideally, if Kanna married Sorrindiges, their union would naturally attract contractors without me needing to separately create a Harvesting System.

That’d be ideal…but today’s drama ended anticlimactically.

Maybe because I was standing too conspicuously, none of the foreign guests approached me. Perhaps King Highpion was controlling things behind the scenes.

Finally, as midnight approached, the banquet concluded and I could return to my accommodations.

***

The king’s study within the royal castle.

Despite the late hour, lights remained on in the room where King Highpion leaned back in his chair.

The international corporate sanction meeting had just ended.

While foreign officials thought the banquet followed the meeting, in reality it was all part of one continuous event.

Ignoring foreign assumptions, Highpion hadn’t merely mingled during the banquet as they presumed. He had gathered select nobility to declare his intentions.

Not all nobility were present – only those of sufficient stature capable of wielding influence in surrounding regions.

He wasn’t just announcing sanctions against three companies, but previewing legislation to control all future enterprises.

This gave powerful noble families time to adjust while also serving as a warning.

It also tested how much control Sorrindiges could exert over the next generation of nobility.

Additionally, it served as an introduction for the girl Bell.

And yes, as foreigners assumed, it was partly about testing whether Aurora was ready to be introduced to society.

Highpion wasn’t an incompetent king who could only handle one thing at a time. He managed multiple objectives simultaneously, mostly within his planned parameters.

Relations with the nobility remained positive, allowing for smooth negotiations.

Sorrindiges competently led the younger generation, and Aurora continued functioning normally despite her blue-tinged skin.

Most things unfolded as expected.

The sole exception was Bell.

The miracle-working girl.

Most people think her miracles refer to healing, but King Highpion uses that term for another reason.

There was a witch deemed impossible to defeat.

No matter what information was gathered, breaking the curse foretold at Aurora’s birth seemed impossible.

Awakening Aurora from her cursed slumber proved equally futile.

Watching her weaken and die slowly became inevitable without drastic life support measures.

At the point where euthanasia seemed kinder…

A miracle arrived.

An ability to fully restore anyone nearing death, though with significant physical changes.

Experimental results showed survivors even gained strength afterward. Any ethical concerns were conveniently buried following an accident.

Thus Aurora was saved, and they even captured the witch.

Odd.

Even with an optimistic outlook, this felt too contrived. Giving an irresistible gift before demanding something more valuable is a common tactic.

So the king grew suspicious of the outsider.

He placed her under thorough investigation in a controlled environment.

All they discovered was that she’s a genuinely good person.

She stays quietly in the mansion provided, careful not to disturb the staff.

Whenever she senses suffering, she rushes to help regardless of location.

Even her actions in Bern City during a potential large-scale disaster remained consistent.

She moves solely to save people.

The only exploitable weakness found was her dislike of being called a goddess.

Strangely, Bell takes no pride in her actions. Honestly, it’s irritating.

But it’s usable. Not using it would be strange for a king.

With her consent, of course. But since she says nothing, he prepared a situation that would make any decent person uncomfortable.

He boasts about her powers as if they’re his own, sells them to other countries, acts like her master…

Highpion knows she’s intelligent enough to understand what’s happening through her academic records.

So he created a situation where she’d have no choice but to react…

And she didn’t.

Not even a hint of displeasure. She complied completely with his requests. Had she protested, they’d have analyzed her objections, but nothing came.

So Bell alone deviated from Highpion’s plans.

Yet calling her merely an easy-to-use tool feels wrong – she’s too humane.

Marriage…

As a father with son and daughters, he understands this too. Ideally, royalty should use children strategically in political marriages.

But affection developed.

For a second daughter originally expected to die due to the curse…

Both Sorrindiges and Lunashi feel the same way.

Knowing they’d lose her eventually, he treated them lovingly. What started as pity transformed into love reciprocated many times over.

Thus attachment formed.

Strong enough to search desperately for solutions when parting time came.

The witch’s prophecy tragically came true – the beloved flower that received everyone’s affection couldn’t bloom, preserved forever.

After the queen passed shortly after Aurora’s birth, King Highpion took no concubines.

He’s always been deeply affectionate, a trait shared by his children.

So he wants to repay this mysterious girl who saved his precious child.

King Highpion decided to fully accept her into the country as she is, despite her peculiarities.

---