Chapter 6 Part 7

‘Was the last time I saw his face when I was fourteen?’ Elia mused, reflecting on the past. The Crown Prince had come of age, but Elia had still been very young. 

Upon recovering from his illness, the Emperor commanded the Crown Prince to survey the empire. Since then, nearly a decade had passed without the Crown Prince returning to the capital. 

‘Sometimes the Emperor and Empress would go to visit him,’ she recalled. Even then, Elia hadn’t gone with them, intimidated by her brother’s cold demeanor.

‘Focus on business,’ she reminded herself. After all, the Crown Prince was still royalty. He must have heard the prophecy that Elia would be sacrificed. Her eyes grew cold. He, too, couldn’t escape her revenge.

Upon arriving at the mansion, Elia immediately called for Risha. 

“Risha, bring me some writing paper. The finest quality,” she instructed.

“Yes, my lady!” Risha swiftly brought several types of paper. Elia selected one gold and one silver sheet. 

‘I gave one of the salon invitations to Dias,’ she recalled. Dias couldn’t attend the opening due to her return to his homeland. That left only two invitations. Elia had already decided who would receive them.

‘One goes to Sevrance of the Spirit Clan.’ Spirits were among the most recognized abilities in the empire. The Sevrance family, known for producing spirit masters, was currently led by Lady Fioni, who could command intermediate spirits and summon even high-level ones.

‘Lady Fioni would be perfect for training Rein and Rena,’ she thought. The twins, who were destined to summon the Spirit King, were still too young. With Fioni’s help, they could grow faster.

‘Lady Fioni herself is formidable,’ Elia noted. Nobility was typically inherited by males, but there was no one in the Sevrance family to surpass Fioni, making her the inevitable heir.

‘She values ability above all, so she won’t refuse the children,’ Elia concluded. Fioni had earned her position through her own power.

Elia had a reason for recruiting such talented individuals. Before the appearance of the Black Hound, the empire experienced an unprecedented phenomenon.

‘Rampaging monsters,’ she remembered. The number of monsters, previously dormant, surged across the land.

‘It seemed like a sign of the apocalypse,’ she thought grimly. The prophet had only said a sacrifice was needed to prevent the destruction, without detailing what would occur before then.

After the sun vanished, the monster attacks intensified. Humans had long struggled to fend off monsters, but without light, they were defenseless, while monsters thrived.

‘There will be immense casualties. We need to prepare to stop the monsters,’ she resolved. Until she turned back time, she hadn’t realized she could help save people.

‘I won’t be the foolish princess I was before,’ she vowed. Just then, Risha knocked on the door.

“My lady, Rein and Rena are here,” Risha announced.

“Let them in,” Elia instructed. The door opened to reveal the twins, adorably dressed in spring clothes.

“Wow, Elia!” they cried, running to her. The well-fed, well-cared-for children glowed with health, a stark contrast to their time in the desert.

“We missed you. Did you miss us?” they asked eagerly.

“Why are we here?” They chatted. Elia hugged each of them tightly.

“I’m finding you a teacher. A very talented spirit master,” she explained.

“Really?” Their eyes sparkled with excitement.

“Will she like us?” they asked.

“No one could dislike you,” Elia reassured them.

“But I like Elia best,” one of them declared.

“Me too!” the other echoed. Children were truly lovable. Elia smiled, patting their heads.

“Why don’t you go play for a bit? I still have some work to do,” she suggested. Although she felt sorry for the brief reunion, she needed to finish her letters.

“Okay! Don’t overwork yourself,” they chimed, showing the etiquette they had learned.

After the children left, the room fell silent again. Elia worried if they had grown up too fast from experiencing so much. She picked up her quill again. 

After completing the silver letter, she moved on to the gold one, addressing it to Ibarena Leviche.

‘Madam Ibarena, the middle-ranking manager of the Magic Tower,’ she wrote. Among the heroes who had sealed the Black Hound was Madam Ibarena. She had skills rivaling the Tower Master but lost in the succession battle due to having fewer followers.

‘But she’s the strongest in actual combat,’ Elia noted. Madam Ibarena’s destructive attack magic was invaluable for dealing with large numbers of monsters.

‘I must bring both of them to my side,’ she determined. They might help prevent the foretold disaster. Elia finished the letter and handed it to Risha.

* * *

A week remained until the salon’s opening. Elia visited the finished site with Aksion. The building was covered with a large cloth. Inside, a mystical light caught Elia’s eye.

‘It’s more impressive than I imagined,’ she thought. The crystal-themed salon resembled a transparent ice palace. Everything, from the stairs to the pillars and display cases, was made of reinforced crystal.

It was stunningly beautiful. There was no comparison to other nearby salons.

‘How is it that decorating this place cost so little?’ she wondered. Elia had insisted on covering the costs related to the interior design herself.

‘After all, that evening, we ended up in a strange bar,’ she reflected with some guilt. After deciding on the concept, she had Rien arrange the interior design. The company recommended by Valunize included renowned artisans.

‘Could they have given me the wrong invoice?’ she pondered, considering contacting Rien again. Aksion, noticing her preoccupation, smiled.

“The invoice is correct,” he said, as if reading her mind. Elia blinked in surprise.

“How did you know I was thinking about the budget?” she asked.

“You seemed preoccupied with it since we arrived. The artisans here wouldn’t make such mistakes,” he reassured her.

“Ah, I must have misunderstood the prices,” she nodded, though still doubtful.

‘The cost of crystal alone should be immense,’ she thought. As she contemplated rechecking the invoices, Aksion touched the crystal handrail.

“Recently, high-quality crystal has been found in large quantities at the Luban Mine. The artisans likely secured a deal on those crystals,” he explained.

“That makes sense,” she agreed. Who wouldn’t love something luxurious yet affordable?

Thanks to Aksion, she set aside her budget worries for now.

“Is this really my shop?” she marveled. Although her main customers would be nobles, their gold would be abundant. Furthermore,

‘I won’t accept just anyone,’ she reminded herself. True luxury isn’t just about money. Elia was meticulously selecting the nobles who could buy Sapphian jewelry. These individuals would also be essential in preventing future disasters, and she planned to enchant their purchases with protective magic.

‘It’s like Noah’s Ark,’ she mused. Choosing and preparing the essential people felt like a mythical task.

‘In this case, I’m saving everyone,’ she thought with a faint smile as dawn approached.