Chapter 156

Birthday Party
"Now, let’s go, my dear."

As I walked, I felt like a prisoner being sent to the execution platform. Knights stood on both sides of my path, blocking any possible escape route.

The 107 escape-use magic tools I had prepared for emergencies had all been removed from my room. My room was practically overflowing with escape tools. But Madame could read my thoughts. No matter where I hid them, she would find them immediately.

I wanted to run away. I hated troublesome events. I just wanted to celebrate with my family like we did every year. It’s not like I didn’t want to celebrate Father’s birthday.

The moment I tried to pull something out with Quick Draw, Madame grabbed my arm.

"Stop thinking unnecessary things. Escaping is not allowed. This is also part of a royal’s duty, my dear."

Madame’s firm grip on my arm crushed my spirit.

Something was wrong. I was supposed to have become the strongest. Madame shouldn’t be able to ignore me. I was a key figure in the kingdom and the driving force behind the Viceroy household’s trade alliance. Shouldn’t I be allowed a little selfishness? If I said no, shouldn’t that be the end of it?

The ministers shouldn’t be able to force me either. I had made sure to hold influence over the kingdom so that such a thing wouldn’t happen.

"This is too unreasonable."

"Alice, just give up. Normally, the more important you are in the kingdom, the more these kinds of events become mandatory.

Though… yeah, the ministers did look extremely troubled."

Of course they did. If they made me angry, things would get very bad for them. They had lost the power to coerce me because they were all benefiting from the rights I had granted them. Besides, Father and BVig brother always spoiled me, so they would have let me off. Things were supposed to go according to my plan.

"I won’t allow it. No matter how cunning you try to be, if it’s just to escape your duties as royalty, I won’t permit it.

You are the head of the Viceroy household, Princess. That means public duties are mandatory for you."

Mandatory… what an unpleasant word. There was no helping it. I would give up for now. But don’t think this is over. No matter what, I will find a way out of this. These kinds of events should be attended by my brother instead.

"I’ll let it go this time because I have no choice. But don’t underestimate me. I will find a way to escape these events. I’ll use every possible method until both the nobles and the citizens agree that I don’t have to attend."

"Yeah, they are just plain wrong. But if it means I get to dance with you, I might just get in your way. I mean, when else do I get the chance to dance with you?"

"You’re going to harass me just for the sake of a dance?"

"It’s not like I hate you or anything. But you can’t keep running away from public duties. Given your position, it’s unacceptable. The best I can do is reduce the frequency to just enough that you won’t get mad.

If you keep avoiding high society events, more and more people will complain. They’re already wondering why you don’t attend when it’s supposed to be mandatory. Right now, a lot of the nobles are holding back, so I’d like you to participate just enough to avoid trouble. And your partner is me. I won’t let you choose another man."

Big brother’s eyes were deadly serious. If I were to pick someone else as my partner, I had the feeling that person might end up in an unfortunate "accident" the next day. Please stop threatening a delicate young girl like me. My legs are trembling.

Well, not that I had any candidates for a partner to begin with. For some reason, there were no noble children my age.

But there was a problem. Some nobles were bound to cause trouble. The ones in books were almost always rotten, and even in reality, there would be at least a few who tried to approach me.

If they waited patiently like a loyal dog for a treat, I might have considered giving them one eventually. But I wasn’t softhearted enough to feed stray dogs that shamelessly demanded food.

How should I deal with this? Come to think of it, animals puff up their fur to make themselves look bigger and intimidate opponents.

Humans are animals too.

"In other words, it’s only natural that giants are feared."

"Okay, that’s terrifying. What are you suddenly talking about?"

"Big brother, stay put."

The blubbery, orc-like nobles couldn’t defy Father because he was over two meters tall and more muscular than an ogre. So, if I projected the same kind of presence, wouldn’t that keep them away?

However, my body was small and childlike. I couldn’t suddenly turn into a two-meter-tall muscle monster. And if I did, that would be a massive problem. If I were a Beastfolk, I could puff up my tail to intimidate people…

Wait! I do have something I can puff up!

With a smug smile, I entered the hall.

"Puff."

I puffed up my cheeks, clearly expressing my displeasure, and glared at the nobles in the room. The effect was immediate. The moment they noticed my slightly delayed entrance and saw my face, they recoiled. Some even turned pale.

"Too cute!"

It seemed my intimidation tactics didn’t work on my brother.

Arland’s parties were quite modest. They lacked any real extravagance. Near the walls, the noble assembly members were gathered together. Their uniforms made them easy to spot. The surrounding nobles were ridiculing them. The noble assembly was basically a dumping ground for the incompetent. The only ones refusing to acknowledge that reality were the assembly members themselves. They should just admit it already. Somehow, they still saw themselves as capable individuals.

For now, I needed to greet Father. If I didn’t, it could be seen as disrespecting the royal family, and I might face consequences.

"Your Majesty, happy birthday."

"Alicetia~~!"

Father, who had been having a meal with the ministers, apparently hadn’t been informed of my attendance. He must have assumed I would only show up for the private family celebration after the party.

Lifting me up, he spun me around.

"Wait, I’m getting dizzy…"

"Oh, sorry about that. I didn’t expect you to attend, Alicetia. I thought you’d avoid an event like this. That dress looks good on you… Gil."

"Yes, Father. I’ve already eliminated most of the nuisances… Now, Alice, let’s dance!"

Father and Big brother exchanged a brief glance that seemed to convey something unspoken. Then, as if I was no longer of use to Father, he handed me off, and I was dragged to the center of the hall.

"You’ll dance with me later too."

Father’s reservation came from behind. Despite his appearance, he was an excellent dancer, so that wasn’t a problem. And since he was family, I didn’t have to worry about anyone making strange remarks.

With gentle music playing, dancing was actually quite difficult, but thanks to Madame’s retraining, I had improved. Big brother subtly covered for any small mistakes I made. He was a good dancer. Incidentally, Father was even better. He was a man of many talents—he could even repair the castle himself… though, to be fair, he was usually the one breaking it.

Still, the high tension of the event left me exhausted.

After dancing for a while, I took a break and grabbed some refreshments.

"Alice, do you like the sweets?"

"There were some sweets I hadn't seen before. These are mine."

There were cookies with unfamiliar fruits and various other treats. Thanks to trade with foreign countries, it's easier to obtain goods from other nations. However, foreign guests were not invited to this party. If they suddenly participated, some people might become wary. It was decided that interactions should be built gradually before attending each other's social gatherings. Apparently, if Beastfolk nobles suddenly appeared in front of them, the other side might panic.

Still, these sweets are wonderful. The kingdom should become wealthier so that more of them can be imported.

As I munched on the treats, the dance time ended, and the socializing session began. Here, nobles interacted with each other, formed factions, and provided opportunities for young men and women to meet freely.

Many nobles were watching my brother and me. They crept closer little by little, but when I puffed out my cheeks to intimidate them, they backed away just as gradually. Was this some kind of comedy sketch?

Among them, for some reason, one of the Noble Council members approached.

"Pardon me, but—Guh!"

The moment the unknown Noble Council member tried to speak to me, two Beastfolk nobles suddenly appeared and hit him with a lariat from both the front and back, sending him crashing to the ground. He foamed at the mouth and rolled his eyes back—clearly in a dangerous state.

"Oh dear, did we bump into him?"

"How shameful to faint from mere contact. Well then, let us tend to him."

"Princess, we apologize for showing you such an unsightly scene."

The two Beastfolk nobles bowed and then grabbed the fallen Noble Council member by the legs, dragging him away. Were they really planning to take care of him? Also, when they turned around, their profiles looked like demons. Meanwhile, the other Noble Council members were now surrounded by nobles, who seemed to be saying something to them. Their faces turning pale. The ones surrounding them were mainly Beastfolk and Dwarf nobles.

"What were they trying to do?"

"Well, those guys lost access to privileges because they picked a fight with you, Alice. They're probably trying to mend relations with you to regain them… Maybe I should cut them off a bit more."

Big brother, I really think we should just clean them all out. Decisions are important. Also, could you stop releasing such killing intent? Some of the Noble Council members have already fainted.

"They just keep coming closer."

Even as my brother intimidated them, people kept creeping toward us. I should probably surprise them and divert their attention.

"Big brother, I made a present for Father."

"He'll love that. The things you make are always unique."

I glanced around. Madame was chatting with acquaintances while occasionally sneaking glances at me. No problem there.

Alicia had been behind me since entering the hall, her presence almost faded, but her protection was necessary. Big brother also had his steward with him.

I made my way to Father. He was busy discussing work matters, despite it being his birthday. Well, I was the reason his workload increased.

"I made a birthday present for you, Father."

"For real?! Damn, I'm really looking forward to this!"

Father, your kingly mask is slipping. You need to show more dignity.

I took out a card. Inside it was a magic vehicle.

The card storage function turned out well. In the future, if magic vehicles could be stored in cards, parking lots wouldn't be needed, and car theft would be impossible. The card could only be unlocked by its owner… unless the spell was cracked. Of course, I could unlock anyone’s card at will. After all, I created the magic.

"Card unlock."

The dance had ended, leaving the center of the hall empty. I summoned the magic vehicle there. What appeared was a Toyota 2000GT. Now that I thought about it, the roads still needed to be fully developed, but the streets in the royal capital were already well-paved, with some areas even having asphalt. It should be usable soon.

"This is my invention, the magic vehicle. You can think of it as a horse-drawn carriage that doesn't need a horse. However, its speed and endurance are incomparable to a regular carriage."

The engine, developed through fire magic for fighter planes, was already practical. This worked the same way. Mana stored in magic stones was used to create explosions via fire magic, moving the pistons. Plus, it was far more eco-friendly than gasoline. It produced only a small amount of carbon dioxide. Fire magic generated even less CO₂ than normal combustion.

"Ohhh, what a powerful-looking design. Can I ride it right away?"

"It's not automatic, so you'll need some practice, but it's easier than riding a horse."

Excited murmurs spread through the crowd. The nobles’ eyes were glued to the magic vehicle. Commander Albert was wagging his tail furiously. He probably wanted to introduce it to the military, but that was out of the question. I wondered if I should also develop trucks.

I continued explaining.

"So as long as it's properly maintained, it's far superior to a carriage. The only issue is mana supply."

"That’s covered in the New Royal Capital Plan, so it won’t be a problem. At least not within the royal capital."

Normally, magic tools required magicians to supply mana. However, the Royal Capital would have a magic furnace installed, providing a stable supply of mana. Simply put, the magic furnace functioned like a power plant, distributing magic throughout the city. In the future, magic tools would become even more widespread. Stationary magic tools wouldn't even need magic stones anymore—like electricity, mana could be supplied directly, eliminating the need for a separate power source.

Eventually, I planned to install them throughout the kingdom, but first, the monsters had to be eradicated. Magic tools attracted monsters since they consumed mana.

"Hmm… But it certainly has a strong and appealing look. I like it! Thank you, Alicetia!"

Father beamed as he admired the magic vehicle. The nobles sighed, keeping a bit of distance while eyeing it. For the rest of the party, no nobles dared to approach me. Mission accomplished.

The next day, a petition from the citizens and a plea from the nobles arrived, asking for a birthday party for me. My birthday was five days after Father’s.

From the citizens, it was: "We want to drink and have fun! *glances expectantly*"

From the nobles, it was: "We want connections! *glances expectantly*"

I rejected it. I hated frilly dresses.

An announcement was made that *this year* my birthday would be a private family affair. Next year, though, they wouldn’t let me off the hook. So this was what they called a compromise.