Surprisingly Relied Upon?

I left Lady Anatia's room and headed to Princess Tianis's chambers.

I had wanted Lady Anatia to come along for a smoother persuasion, but she said she had unavoidable business, so I gave up on that.

I knocked on the door and entered after receiving permission. Princess Tianis was sitting in a chair, swinging her legs idly.

Apparently she had finished some work and was at loose ends.

"It's unusual for you to want to meet with me. Though I suppose it's just because you happened to visit Anatia-neesama."

"That's not the case at all."

"Is that so? Well, whatever. What do you need?"

Princess Tianis stood up to prepare tea, so I hurriedly took over.

Normally there should be at least one maid waiting in the room, but none were present.

It smelled wonderful. She was using good tea leaves.

"You're well practiced. It has a lovely aroma."

"I often brew tea as a hobby. Don't you have a maid to attend to you?"

"I had some, but they suddenly quit. Several of them, too. It was so sudden that I'm short-staffed. Not that I mind. I can take care of myself."

… This was not good. Royalty existed to employ people.

Employing people was necessary for the sake of employment itself.

Princess Tianis should understand that much.

She might be using it as an excuse to keep people at a distance, but this couldn't continue.

This was serious.

I had been wondering how to broach the subject, but I steeled myself and decided to proceed.

"Princess Tianis."

"Huh? Wh-what?"

My voice came out louder than expected, startling Princess Tianis slightly.

I cleared my throat and pulled out Finn's report to show her.

I didn't want Princess Tianis to become an emperor with no clothes, so I decided to report everything without holding back.

While I was at it, I might as well get her to open up. For the sake of my own peace of mind.

"First, please read this."

"What's this…?"

As Princess Tianis read the report, her shoulders began to tremble.

By the end, she slammed the report down on the desk.

Being told "You were nearly assassinated without your knowledge" would be hard to accept.

"Explain this to me. Depending on what you say, I won't forgive you."

"Understood. I'll explain from the beginning."

I explained everything in order.

In situations like this, it was important not to skip or gloss over anything.

Integrity was built through accumulation.

The same was true for both business and personal relationships.

Princess Tianis glanced at Finn.

Finn met her gaze without looking away.

"Don't enter my private chambers without permission again. It's unpleasant."

"Of course. Please understand that this was an emergency."

"Honestly I find it hard to believe, but Anatia-neesama's signature is on this. Well, I'll accept that it was to help me."

I had asked Lady Anatia to sign it when she reviewed it to add credibility.

It seemed to have worked.

There was also a possibility of being punished in a fit of emotion, so I was relieved.

"But why tell me this? If you'd kept quiet, I never would have known. I didn't know anything."

"Because I thought you would hate that, Your Highness."

"Well, you might be right. But I didn't really want to know that a minor noble had fallen so low as to become an assassin… knowing they were targeting me makes me feel sick."

Princess Tianis added more sugar and drained her tea.

Nobody likes having things happen over their head.

For Princess Tianis, who had trouble trusting others, it must be even harder.

"There are things better left unknown" was also a common excuse used by those who didn't want to tell.

Kind lies weren't for the other person's sake.

"Besides, you needed to know this for the main topic."

"Main topic…? There's more?"

Princess Tianis braced herself.

The shock must have been significant. She was more passive than usual.

I was glad Kanon wasn't here. If she had been, I might have been thrown out by now.

"Please gather people you can trust. Otherwise, you could die at any moment. I don't want to spend my days worrying about Your Highness either."

"You're very blunt, aren't you? Looking at this, I can't say you're exaggerating…"

"Honestly, I wonder how you've managed to stay safe until now. For everyday matters, I suppose Kanon-san has been protecting you with her life."

"Hehe. You know, don't you? Until recently, I wasn't even worth assassinating. Nobody had any expectations of me. That's why the only things left in my hands were the agriculture department, which was safe to neglect, and the drug enforcement department, which existed in name only."

Princess Tianis leaned back in her chair.

She seemed to be somewhat aware of her situation.

Though she apparently hadn't thought she'd actually be assassinated, she was no ordinary child.

"Well, both of those ended up getting better results because of you."

"Was that wrong?"

"I'm not saying it was wrong. Honestly, it was helpful, and when I learned about that candy, I felt relieved. I rely on you more than you think, you know… And you'll help me gather people, right?"

"If that's my job, then gladly."

Just as Lady Anatia had said, I seemed to be more trusted than I'd thought.

A commoner who had earned the trust of a princess with trust issues.

Put that way, I'd certainly be a nuisance from the nobility's perspective.

After all, it meant she was more likely to value a commoner's opinion over a noble's.

The prouder the noble, the more unacceptable it would be.

How troublesome. I was just doing business that seemed profitable.

"All this thinking has tired me out a bit."

"Then I'll take my leave."

"How inconsiderate. I'm saying I want something sweet."

"Oh, I see."

It was hard to tell, but perhaps this was the princess's way of being spoiled.

Oops. Unfortunately, I hadn't brought any gifts today.

"I hear you're quite good at cooking. Anatia-neesama told me."

"Reasonably so, yes."

She must have heard about the sweets I'd shared when I visited.

"There's a small kitchen nearby where you can do some light cooking. Go make something. You can use any ingredients you want."

"You're fine with something I make myself?"

"That's what I said. Now hurry up."

I was practically pushed out of the room.

Was it alright for her to be alone with Finn?

Well, it should be fine.

I found the small kitchen Princess Tianis had mentioned.

It was a place for preparing light meals or boiling water.

The space was small but had decent ingredients.

I sifted flour through a strainer, mixed it with eggs and sugar, then gradually thinned it with milk.

Being careful not to form lumps, I created a smooth batter.

I spread it thinly in a pan, and when it was done, I flipped it.

It had a nice brown color.

I spread whipped cream on it, dusted it with powdered sugar, and placed plenty of crushed nuts on top.

Then I rolled it up, and a simple, easy-to-eat crepe was complete.

It had been popular with Azu and Kazusa, so Princess Tianis, being close in age, would probably like it too.

When I returned to the room with several crepes, Princess Tianis was sprawled on the bed while Finn gave her a massage.

Princess Tianis's expression was completely melted.

What happened to lead to this…?