Axion jumped up. I also carefully stood up and bowed to him.
"I finally met the Emperor."
I greeted the Emperor as he walked towards the table where we were. "I meet Your Majesty the Emperor, the Sun of the Empire. This is Princess Meldenik Babyloa." It was the Babyloa surname that I had put in my mouth for the first time in a long time.
"It is a violation of the law of the country to speak without the surname when the excommunication has not yet passed through the Emperor's hands."
I raised my head again to check the Emperor's face, and I was surprised.
The Emperor, isn't he a complete bear?
The Emperor had the impression that he looked warm. In addition, he had white hair, a plump belly, and a loving mouth… The cheeks of the well-fed man were round, as if Winnie the Pooh had stolen a jar of honey.
The Emperor, with his bear-like appearance, stared at me with a stern gaze. Sitting on the chair prepared for him, he opened his mouth and asked, "Yes, sit down. But why are you here?"
I thought I could meet the Emperor quickly, but it didn't seem that Axion had told him that I was with him.
What should I do?
I didn't know what to explain, and while I was stiff for a moment, Prince Axion, who was the only one unperturbed in this situation, spoke up.
"Your Majesty, Mel is my friend! The best friend I've ever made at the academy! That's why I invited her!" A little boy cutely intervened.
"…Is Princess Meldenik Babyloa growing exceptionally fast? I didn't know she was in the academy." Cold sweat ran down my spine. It was similar to asking if I had intentionally approached his son.
I decided to respond calmly. "I'm doing a small business in front of the academy. His Highness Prince Axion is my client."
"It's a huge, huge project! The Stationery Store of Memories! Oh, brother?"
"Yes." Axion turned to the side and tugged on his brother's collar. Cassian, who seemed unresponsive, nodded quietly.
The Emperor nodded quietly, looking at his most trusted son as if puzzled. "That's right. It's strange that the daughter of the Duke of Babyloa runs a small business called a stationery store of memories."
He's suspicious of me very smoothly. It will look like I approached the princes completely intentionally.
If the Emperor liked me from the beginning, that would be even stranger. It was a time when the imperial power was weak compared to the rights of the nobility. The Emperor was not an incompetent type, but he had little real power. Moreover, after his children died one after another, he did not show his face much at official appearances. In the meantime, great nobles such as the Duke of Hesmann and the Duke of Babyloa took control of the commercial sphere and threatened the power of the imperial family even more. And the Emperor was in a situation like a candle in front of a storm, trying his best to protect the few remaining imperial powers.
Still, the Emperor is the Emperor.
His eyes were wary of me. It was similar to the worries I had at the beginning. So I definitely started at a negative level of favorability. The situation was very heinous, as the heroine Sheria started with a max liking state wherever she went, even in a potentially static Imperial Palace.
But it didn't matter.
I'd rather have a negative likability.
"Yes, I brought a small gift to present to Your Majesty." I carefully handed the items I had brought to the servant.
Breaking the serious atmosphere, Axion said with a wide smile, "Your Majesty, Meldenik is the hand of God! Gacha, gacha, brother? I'm really looking forward to it!"
Was he possessed by a gacha game? Cassian, who had been holding onto a few sheets of 'miss' paper in his hand, reacted a little late.
"…Yes, it's amazing. I think it's the hand of God."
"After all, brother too!"
The Emperor stared at me with a puzzled gaze. 'How did you win the favor of my sons?' I felt like that was what he was thinking.
"I don't know if the hospitality of Axion and Cassian will work for the better." With even more nervousness, I put my hand on my dress. I wasn't so nervous that my dress got wet. It was just a moderately pleasant palpitation.
The principle was to release gifts immediately in private settings. However, there was a procedure for gifts presented to the Emperor to be unpacked in advance and inspected with magic tools in case of unforeseen dangers. It was the same this time.
The servant who received the gift unwrapped it and placed it on the table. When the servant removed the red wrapping, a small gift was revealed. Inside the box were dozens of long, flat, black and reddish rectangular objects in the shape of squares.
People's expressions were puzzled.
That's right. It's surprising. It's improvised.
The gift I prepared was homemade herbal caramel. Of course, there were still many people who knew caramel. However, foods like peanut-flavored caramel had become a memory of the past. However, middle-aged and older people with poor health still used to look for caramel. According to what I shared with Dominic last night, caramel sold secretly regardless of the era. That's why everyone was soaked in memories and looking for food to remember.
That's why I stimulate the memories in the caramel and help them take care of their health at the same time.
I read the original work, so I know it well. What kind of food is usually rewarded by the Emperor? Most people would offer the Emperor tasteless and healthy foods such as ordinary hemp root. At that time, Sheria presented a unique canary for the Emperor. From then on, the Emperor became quite valuable, albeit quietly. This was because it was a unique gift that he had received for the first time. Judging from the setting of the original work, it was certain that the Emperor would be more interested in unique gifts. I'm not sure if he'll like it just because it's unusual, but that's something I needed to find out now.
"Is it caramel?" Axion, who was still too short to touch the floor, exclaimed as he stomped his feet.
"Yes! Uh… I saw it at the Academy Museum! It's like caramel, Your Majesty!"
I looked at Axion in surprise. Seeing caramel in a museum was a big shock in a different way… But it was not the time to be surprised. I quickly turned my gaze towards the Emperor.
"Caramel…" The Emperor looked into the air with a face wet with memories and shook his head. It seemed as if he was remembering something. Certainly, the Emperor was bound to have memories related to caramel. When he was a child, caramel was more popular than sweet candy. Peanut-flavored caramel, caramel with almonds chewed inside, milk caramel, orange caramel, etc.
The dice have been thrown, and I have no choice but to wait.
After checking the herbal caramel with magic tools, the attendant whispered to the Emperor. It seemed to say that there was no poison.
The Emperor softened his eyes and opened his mouth quietly. "It's definitely a unique gift."
"Yes, it's not just caramel, it's caramel made from Salie root. Although the root is bitter, it is made in the form of caramel to make it feel sweet when it touches the tip of the tongue. I made it with the idea of taking care of my health and taste."
"Oh…" When the Emperor winked at the servants, the attendants carefully placed caramel on the plate and offered it. Soon he took a bite of the soft herb caramel.
I whispered softly so that only he could hear as he sat right next to me. "The handmade caramel I made is good for eye health, improves concentration, and…"
"…"
"Because Salie root is used as a raw material, it has the characteristic of being good for virility."
Hearing my whisper, the Emperor immediately opened his eyes wide. With a nervous heart, I summoned Dominic to my mind.
Dominic, does the Emperor really like that? In fact, it's not a safe gift like a simple tonic or ginseng…
If I don't like it, will I be arrested?
Nervous, I swallowed my dry saliva and looked at the Emperor with his eyes wide open. The Emperor's eyes were so wide open that everyone's eyes were focused on him. However, the Emperor did not care about the gaze of others, and asked lowly, his eyes fixed on me.
"That's good… Is it true?"
I replied with a serious nod. "Yes."
The answer of 'yes' may be somewhat insufficient. I lowered my voice and began to "sell" the medicine to the Emperor again.
"I spent a lot of money to save the thousand-year-old Salie roots."
"Oh…" Yes, it was surprising. The thousand-year-old Salie root was an extremely rare treasure that even the Emperor might not easily acquire. But I did it.
I remembered Dominic's stern expression.
'Is it good for virility?'
"Yes, it's like a Salie root."
…That's what I have.
I looked at Dominic with suspicious eyes.
You have it? Why is that?
'…I received it from an old man to commemorate the birth of a hero.'
My god.
'It's going to be inside the sword. It must have been in the sword for about a thousand years. By the way, I've never used it. Don't get me wrong.'
The thousand-year-old Salie root was a huge treasure. But before that, there was something that needed to be corrected.
…Didn't you misunderstand me?