Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the Royal Palace of Salt was darker than ever
“How dare you make such a mistake?”
The Salt King Virga's angry cry echoed throughout the Sapphire Hall.
The officials were summoned by order of the king early that morning, and they stood with their heads bowed in shame.
Even Limia, who was standing next to her angry father, couldn't hide her gloomy expression.
“Are your heads just decorations? You are unable to even correctly distinguish the design of a single seal!”
rupture!
The document, crumpled beyond recognition and thrown to the floor by Berga, was the trade certificate that Grand Duke Blair had shown to April
A man who had rarely shown such anger, preferring to criticize with dignity, now seemed powerless to restrain his anger.
This is entirely justified – this was a typical case of irreparable loss caused by a fundamental but catastrophic omission.
The root of the problem lies in officials who used to exchange documents with two colleges, so they accepted a seal from an unknown trade guild without proper checking.
The goods disappeared without a trace while being transported to Kletan. What is a lost shipment? It is wheat, the price of which has recently risen significantly.
This detail only added to the mounting pressure on Verga.
“Your Majesty, Kletan has promised to do its best to track down the culprit...”
“And when will that happen? After a year? After three years?”
“Well, they're a great empire, so sure—”
“Aren’t you trying to tell me that this ‘great empire’ isn’t trying to starve me and my people?”
The middle-aged official, who was trying to appease the king, was silent and could not regain even an iota of his dignity.
Unfortunately, the Salt King was not wrong.
Although Kletan had made a big announcement to catch the culprit, there was no guarantee that they would not be involved in this scam.
“...Idiots.”
King Birga's anger reached a critical point, and his voice became strangely calm
“We...we have committed an unforgivable crime!”
Bang!
Feeling that there was no escape, the officials began to kneel and beg for mercy one by one
If they accepted the blame calmly, perhaps the king would reluctantly pardon them for Limia's sake.
But there is always one person who lacks awareness.
“But this is unfair! Princess Lemia herself approved the document!”
“Gasp!”
"What?!"
The speaker was a young administrator who had previously asked Limia to review the document
Thus, a terrible silence prevailed in the air.
It was clear to everyone that this inappropriate statement would only lead to a greater disaster.
"You idiot! Don't you know when to shut up?"
Although the higher-ups quickly silenced him, it was already too late.
King Berga strode forward, his eyes burning as he approached the young man.
"Limia? You dare to dishonor my daughter, the Salt Jewel?"
His cold voice was like a sharp blade. As the officials watched the scene unfold before their eyes, they closed their eyes tightly.
Finally, Virga's cold command rang out.
“This is high treason to the royal family. Take him away.”
“I am innocent, Your Majesty! I only followed the wise orders of Princess Lemia—”
Fortunately, the guards managed to get him out before Berga's patience ran out completely.
Bang.
When the doors closed, there was an even more deafening silence.
“If there is anyone else who shares his opinion, come forward now.”
No one dared to speak, even though everyone knew the truth.
This whole disaster had happened with Limia's approval. Everyone also realized that this chaos was the result of their collapsed system.
But officials, who had long ago learned that power trumps justice, remained silent.
Berga took one last look at the room, then let out a deep sigh.
"I don't know when my school administrators became so incompetent. Can you even read properly? Should I start hiring private tutors for you?"
“No, Your Majesty. We will ensure that such mistakes do not happen again, and we will implement strict internal training programs.”
Although the person most in need of training was someone else entirely, it was not explicitly stated.
King Berga looked exhausted, so he waved his hand dismissively.
“I don't want to see your faces. Get out.”
After officials narrowly averted disaster, they rushed out.
Limia tried to blend in with them, then turned to leave too – or tried to.
“Princess Limia, stay back.”
“Yes, Dad...”
Caught right before she walked out, Limia stood in front of Verga with a frustrated expression
“Limea Salt.”
Berga's keen gaze pierced her.
“Do you understand what you did?”
“I'll try harder, Dad.”
“This is not a problem that can be solved with mere promises!”
When Berga's voice rose, Limia's face crumpled into a tearful expression.
But Berga's resolve remained unwavering.
“The magnitude of this loss is significant. Do you understand what this means?”
"I'm sorry, Dad. I think I made the wrong decision because I've been putting so much pressure on myself lately."
Tears sparkled in Limia's aquamarine eyes.
With her innate knowledge of how to elicit sympathy, she showed an expression of profound sadness, even though her inner thoughts were disturbed.
“This never happened when April was around.”
Limia was fully aware that Berga's previous attack on officials was partly directed at her.
She also realized that he refrained from mentioning her name directly to protect her image as a “genius princess.”
“I felt so exhausted... I wanted to do well, but...”
“Hmmmph.”
Berga suppressed his rising anger once again.
Despite his dissatisfaction, he chose to protect his daughter from taking full responsibility
“Don’t repeat this mistake, Limia.”
“Sure, Dad. I will study harder and work harder.”
After a long period of appeasing him with playful gestures, Limia finally left the audience hall long after lunchtime.
If it had been another day, she would have taken her beauty nap, but that seemed like a minor problem now.
The further she moved away from the Royal Hall, the fewer people around her, and the expression on her face became rigid.
When she reached a secluded corner of the garden, she burst into tears that she had suppressed all day.
“Waaah!”
Transparent drops fell on the grass.
“Why is this happening to me?”
Limia thought she had done her best.
But how can she become April?
After all, she was too beautiful and lucky to live as hard as April.
If she had freckles on her face and a mother who was a lowly maid, she might have had to work harder without realizing it.
But none of that applied to Limia. Her reality was different, and she knew it.
“Oh my God, I'm so pathetic.”
She sat on the grass and cried bitterly.
While it was the officials who were humiliated and expelled, Limia now presented herself as the world's most tragic heroine.
At that moment—
“...Princess?”
Someone found Lemia crying.