Earth’s Doom Starts with… Me?

"… I see, so he didn't have a life as a child." I looked down. Yet another case of failed parenting, huh?

"Yeah. Now that I've seen what it's like to be him, the things he forbade me to do pale in comparison," she sighed, "ah! That doesn't mean I'm justifying his actions, though! It's just that… Seeing the extreme version makes me realize that what he did to me was bad, and could have a negative impact on me."

I smiled upon hearing her thought process and patted her head, "good job. Being able to realize that is already progress. At least now you know why it was wrong."

"I wonder how different it would be if uncle Erenduill had a normal childhood… Not that I know of one, though. Ehe!" Firiell chuckled.

"Sometimes I can't decide if you're super bright or secretly dark." I sighed.

"Oh, one important thing, though. Can you wake me up tomorrow at dawn?" She piped up unexpectedly.

"I can. I always wake up at dawn. What do you want to do, though?" I tilted my head. Didn't she want to rest more? Even for me, today was exhausting as heck. Both physically and mentally. I would loooove to have a whole day for myself, just sleeping. But, there were problems waiting to be solved, hostages waiting to be extracted, and stats waiting to be raised.

"I need to sort out some castle affairs, like managing the treasury… Also, I think I should reorganize the staff now that there has been, uh, a shift in power. Oh, I should take care of the damage, too, especially the ones affecting our forest and village. The castle can wait, also, paperwork—"

"Wait, wait, wait. You just woke up and you're already thinking about paperwork? Do you know how to handle them? Need some help?" I asked, surprised that the first thing she wanted to do after she was free was just… Paperwork and stuff.

"I'm the Queen now, and I can't afford to rest and let my people handle things by themselves… Fortunately, after spending a lot of time watching uncle Erenduill's memories, I got to learn a lot about managing royal affairs. Ehe. I'm still very new at this, though," she nervously scratched her cheek, "but I do have a vision. I want everyone to take part, not just me commanding and deciding everything by myself, since I believe that people have different talents, and I want us to help each other to flourish." She explained with a smile.

Upon hearing that, I opened my mouth a bit in shock. When I looked at Jeanne, she was also doing the same thing. I guess none of us expected this girl to adapt this fast.

With a sigh and a smile, I pinched her cheek and said, "geez, you're becoming a little workaholic, aren't you?" I laughed, "sure, but don't push yourself too hard. Delegate tasks, take proper rest and food. That way you can be more efficient."

"Yup! I plan to do that! I don't want to be like my grandpa, after all. Who valued himself higher than the others. So much that he lived lavishly at the expense of his own people…" She clenched her fists tight until her blanket crumpled, "how could he, as a King, be so blind to his people's suffering?"

"Ahh, you mean the thing where he thinks it's okay to spend money here and there while being in an economic crisis? Tsk, tsk… He probably slept through his lessons," I sighed, "how could he turn out that… Lame? Such a contrast to Erenduill, who's very calculating and strict. Didn't they receive the same training or something, though?"

"Actually, no. The one who taught uncle Erenduill was his mother, the late Queen." Firiell explained.

Ahh, right. Both princes' mothers were dead, weren't they? I remembered Ioriell hating his mother, at least.

"The late Queen was very ambitious, contrary to the late King. And the late King just agreed with whatever kind of pressure she put on uncle Erenduill. It's pretty messed up, honestly… Meanwhile, uncle Ioriell's mother also pushed her own ambition on uncle Erenduill, completely abandoning her own kid." Firiell sighed.

"Sounds like they were forcing their own ambition on a child because they couldn't do it themselves, but what do I know." I shrugged. They did have a really weird family dynamic. Who would've guessed that one lazy king could kickstart all this mess?

If only that old bastard properly did his duty, probably he would be able to actually use his brain to manage the economy properly so their whole race wouldn't starve. And then, the pressure on Erenduill would be less, and he would be able to properly grow as a prince, as a child.

Maybe Erenduill and Ioriell could even be inseparable brothers. Probably they would be able to convince the king so they wouldn't be tricked by that bitch Edmond, heck, maybe even the king could've figured it out himself if he'd just try.

And then, this whole mess wouldn't need to happen…

I quickly shook my head. No, Chae. There was no use dwelling in the what-ifs. Reality wasn't that peachy, and I had gotten used to it. The most important thing right now was to make do with what we have.

"Alright. Enough with the chit-chat. There are only a few hours left before it's dawn. You should sleep, Firiell," I patted her head a few times, "and Jeanne, let me check your wounds first. I brought some supplies."

"Hoaaam… That's a good idea… I'm very sleepy already. Good night, big sis Chae, big sis Jeanne…" Firiell yawned as she curled up again to sleep. In no less than a few seconds, her breathings had stabilized and her eyes were tightly shut. I guess she really was tired, despite her enthusiasm.

"… She really has progressed so far, hasn't she?" Jeanne said as she stroked Firiell's cheek.

I gazed at the peacefully sleeping kid, and remembered our first encounter with her.

"True. She was so timid and hesitant. It was almost like she was suffocating, like she was being tied by something invisible," I agreed as my lips curved upwards, "but now she's able to converse freely with us, heck, she's even eager to immediately start governing." I chuckled.

"And she's starting to use complex words, too. Perhaps that's also due to the crest?" Jeanne giggled like a proud mother.

"Mm-hmm. I think my vocabulary is worse than her now," I sighed, "I spent like a whole day watching the crest's memories, and I only blacked out for a few seconds, meanwhile she blacked out for a solid few hours… I bet she had spent months looking at memories."

"That sounds gruesome. I—I don't think I'll be able to take it if I had to see someone I care about coming back to life in a dream, and then…" She looked down, "… Disappearing again from my sight, when the dream is over."

I stared at her for a while, observing the way her bangs cast a shadow on her fair face as the moonlight framed her beautiful figure. Although the scene in front of me looked stunning, her gaze was just screaming anguish.

Seeing that, I felt a little ashamed for being so nosy.

"Jean-jean, let me see your wound," I quickly shifted the topic and organized the supplies I took from the clinic on the table, "here, come and sit down." I pulled a chair and motioned her to sit down.

"Ah, alright," she stood up from the bed and obediently sat on the chair, completely upright, "thanks for your help."

"Hey, Jean-jean. Take a deep breath," I gripped her hand and massaged it gently while smiling at her, "do it ten times. Go on."

"Huh? O-okay…"

Although she seemed unsure, she followed my words and did just what she was instructed to do. As she was taking deep breaths, I continued to massage her hands and her shoulders, until her back eased into the chair's backrest.

"There you go. Relax, Jean-jean. You're allowed to chill," I spoke softly at her as I saw her body slowly losing its tension, "rest your mind for a bit. You've worked hard today. Let's continue working hard tomorrow, okay?"

She stared at me with a shocked expression, before finally beaming me a sweet, sweet smile, "… Yes."

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'Knock, knock.'

"Open up, eel! And fast!" I yawned as I waited in front of their door with a pile of blankets and new clothing for them. After I was finished patching up Jeanne's wounds, I told her to go to sleep first, while I washed up, changed my clothes and bring some for the boys.

I yawned and rubbed my eyes while I heard the door slowly creaked open. I seriously needed some sleep…

"Little cub? What do you need?" General Zhang answered the door, shirtless.

As I eyed him from top to bottom, admiring his stunning sleepy face and enviable abs, I finally opened my mouth to say, "… You sleep like a pervert." I deadpanned.

"Huh? You came here just to say that?"

Honestly, I couldn't deny that I could feel my heart race, but my mind was already too hazy and too sleepy to care. So, I just threw the goods at him and turned around, "here. Use them. I'm too tired to argue with you."

Just as I was walking away from the door with my eyes closed, further emphasizing my fatigue, I felt something looming over me.

"Thanks, little cub."

I heard his voice near my ear as I felt a hand hugging me from behind. Ah, his body sure was warm… Wait, what was I thinking!?

"Hey, eel…"

"Hmm?" He snuggled into my neck.

"Set up a lightning net around our rooms and go to sleep." I flatly said, ignoring his unfortunately godly charm.

"Eh?"

"Hurry up, or I'll sell you off at our auction tomorrow." I yawned and stretched my body. Ahh, at this rate, I might as well drop down and sleep on the floor.

"Huh? Auction? … You're going to host an auction here?"