Chapter 141
The Reincarnated Princess’s Negotiation
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The corners of my eyes were hot .
I never thought Father cared about us .
For as long as I could remember, he had always preoccupied himself with politics and only glanced our way when it was convenient for him .
And here I thought I was gonna be frightened to my bones, made to feel stupid, and be given another preposterous task…
Maybe Father isn’t that cruel after all .
With that in mind, I wiped away the tears with my head hung low . However, in that moment, a single sentence shattered the mood .
“Well then, let’s move on . ”
…Hm?
With a bad feeling in my stomach, I raised my face back up .
My gaze met with his . The pair of light blue eyes no longer contained a hint of gentleness from before . As if that version of him before was an illusion, Father had now reverted back into his usual stern self .
“Our meaningless chatter ends here . ”
Meaningless? Did you just say meaningless!
This person practically said he doesn’t want to waste his time on me!
My overflowing tears retreated back up into my tear ducts in an instant . With momentum, in fact . With a bit of a worry that I might have dry eyes now, I faced my father head on .
But he couldn’t care less .
“Get on the main subject and don’t waste my time . ”
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The word ‘waste’ was used without restraint causing a vein to pop on my forehead . My clenched fists shook with rage as they dug into my knees .
Is that right? Fine! Then I won’t waste your time anymore .
Father is still Father, after all .
I was the stupid one to even begin hoping for a normal parent-child relationship!
“Then let’s talk!”
Father simply nodded at my spirited shouting .
“Speak . ”
His quiet voice and cold eyes had immediately stopped my resolve in its tracks . I stretched my back to follow the change in the air .
With my Father reverting back into his politician mode, I couldn’t help but correct my posture as well .
Now here comes the tricky part .
I took a deep breath to clear my chest and peered straight into my father’s eyes before opening my mouth .
“…Do you remember your words regarding myself gaining a feat in my name before Prince Licht of Wind became of age?”
My father’s eyebrows were raised slightly, telling me he hadn’t forgotten .
“Of course . ”
“Would you see my deed of preventing an epidemic in the kingdom of Wind as the feat in question?”
There were now deep wrinkles engraved within my father’s brows .
His eyes bored deeply into mine .
“I doubt your awful negotiation skills will ever be fixed in this lifetime . ”
He retorted with a sigh of amazement .
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“Never let the other party decide the value of your bargaining chips . Or else you’ll be taken advantage of . ”
I was at a loss for words .
I was hoping to steer things my way through taking the initiative and being forward, but it spectacularly backfired .
“Well, I do have to admit that I consider it an achievement, at least . You’re doing quite well for just a little girl, aren’t you?”
When he recognised my endeavor, I felt nothing but sweet relief .
But then my father’s eyes narrowed .
“That . ”
What?
I didn’t understand what he was trying to say and could only tilt my head to one side, my eyes full of confusion . What is it? I don’t understand .
Was I not being vigilant enough just now? Did I so something wrong?
“I do not understand why you turned to your feet right after I had acknowledged your accomplishments . This is where you should exclaim that ‘it wasn’t much’ instead . ”
I couldn’t give him a reply .
Japanese culture touting humility as the greatest virtue wasn’t doing me any favors here .
But there was no helping it .
This success wasn’t mine alone . First of all, I have to thank the Kuas . Secondly, none of what happened would be possible without the aid of many others: Georg, Michael, Klaus, Bianca, and the sailors . And lastly, I also have Johan, Prince Nacht, and Sir Leonhard to thank for being at the right place at the right time .
The idea of taking pride in this achievement alone made me sick right up in my stomach . I couldn’t ask for any more than this . I was too scared to do so .
I was hoping to grow a bit more with this journey, and in less than a year I will turn fifteen, but ultimately nothing has changed .
Maybe what my father said is true; my poor negotiation skills will never be fixed .
My body slightly tensed as I kept those bitter words to myself .
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“In terms of deepening our relationship with Wind, you have done an outstanding job . To say that they are in our debt is no exaggeration . But because of your horrible negotiation skills, all you got out of this exchange was ‘the ability to refuse marriage with a neighbouring country’s prince’ . Are you satisfied with that?”
What?
If I’m hearing this right, couldn’t I have asked for more?
I imagined that out of the two loaves of bread I could’ve gotten myself, only one was thrown into my hands .
It was frustrating .
Normally, I would’ve been satisfied with not being forced to marry anyone at all and left it at that . But it’s different now . I wanted more . I also wanted the other loaf .
“…No . ”
I released my tight lips, slowly delivering my rejection .
‘Oh?’ Father’s eyes shifted slightly .
“I have a different request . ”
“…Different?”
In other words, I do not necessarily need ‘the ability to refuse marriage with a neighbouring country’s prince’ reward just yet .
No good . Really, it’s not good . But still .
“It will still take another half-year before Wind’s crown prince becomes of age . By then, I will give you another feat . So for now, I would like to have another wish come true instead . ”
“I have a bad hunch that this wish of yours will be a monumental task . ”
I think so too .
But at any rate, there are things that I absolutely have to do, and because of that, setting a condition that would only corner me to make me more desperate wouldn’t be so bad .
“Interesting . Go on . ”
My father’s eyes reflected the same enthusiasm in his words .
“An institution . Please create an institution where doctors and pharmacists gather . ”
I promised everyone from the Kuas that I would find them a place in the Kingdom of Nebel .
I am currently a princess so it might be possible to hire them as my personal vassals to achieve the same result . But that’s no good . It’ll be too much of a waste .
What we need is a hospital .
Not just for the aristocrats, but for the general public as well .
Ideally, I’d like this to be a place where we research medicine same as in universities and medical schools .
As I continued explaining in detail, my father’s wrinkles only grew deeper .
Was it because of my poor vocabulary? Is he going to mock me again? Or is it both? It’s both, isn’t it .
“You said all that as if it’s the easiest thing in the world . ”
It was as he said, and I was fully aware what I casually spoke of was nothing but something totally unprecedented .
In this world, doctors were essentially private businesses . The same applied to pharmacists . There was no concept of an institution where numerous doctors gathered at the ready to treat patients .
In other words, the establishment of a hospital will be the first of its kind .
Even so, it should be readily accepted by the citizens .
I want medicine to be researched and at the same time develop our human resources and the like .
Well, it’s reckless, but it has to be .
If we didn’t do at least that, we wouldn’t be able to recognise the Kua who, as pharmacists, would offer their skills and knowledge they have accumulated over the years .
I fixed my line of sight that droned on my feet and put some strength behind my back again for one last push .
“Even if it’s quite the heavy undertaking, a promise is a promise, isn’t that right, Father?”
I gracefully smiled at him while secretly scolding my cramping facial muscles that were starting to twitch .