“Are you really going to do this, Sister?”

“Yes, I really am.”

Prince Edric felt frustrated. He wasn’t asking for an unreasonable favor, just the illustrations. Yet, he didn’t expect his sister to refuse so bluntly.

“I’m not asking for the book itself, just a copy of the illustrations included.”

“You really don’t understand, do you? If that were the case, who would buy the limited edition instead of the regular one?”

Princess Iolyn’s sharp retort left Edric speechless.

He couldn’t argue because it was his own ignorance at fault.

“What? The limited edition includes illustrations drawn by the author himself!”

Hearing about the limited edition of Frozen Kingdom, Edric felt that he absolutely had to get it.

Surely, those special illustrations drawn by the author would include Elsa, and with the author’s artistic skills...

“Elsa, just wait a bit longer. We’ll meet soon.”

Ever since reading the manga, Edric couldn’t stop thinking about Elsa, and this was an opportunity he couldn’t miss.

But thinking that 50 copies would be enough was a mistake.

On the day of the limited edition sale, he sent his attendant to buy a copy, only to hear that the queue had already reached over 200, leaving him astonished.

He had sent them out at dawn, hoping to be early, but it was still far too late to believe.

However, there was still hope.

He heard his sister Iolyn had successfully purchased a limited edition, so he went to see her immediately.

But she showed no intention of giving up the illustrations.

His sister usually had no material desires, and she often gave him things willingly as the youngest sibling, so he thought it would be the same this time.

That was a completely ridiculous assumption.

“I sent my personal attendant two days ago to secure one, and I got a single-digit number limited edition.”

She didn’t intend to give it to him, yet seeing Iolyn taunt him by boasting about the limited edition she clutched in her arms made Edric burn with anger.

The limited edition book had the number “No. 7” inscribed on it.

In the case of custom editions, he could have ordered a special copy for the royal family, but the limited edition was numbered up to 50 and sold on the spot.

Even as a member of the royal family, the only option was to purchase it directly.

“Damn it, why did the author only sell 50 copies? They should have just sold hundreds of them!”

Hearing Edric’s angry outburst, Princess Iolyn thought to herself.

‘If they had done that, you wouldn’t want it as badly as you do now.’

Having purchased previous fairy tale books, Iolyn knew how fierce the competition was.

Especially this time, she prepared as soon as she heard they were changing to a first-come, first-served method for fairness, allowing her to secure a limited edition.

Without looking at her sulking brother, Iolyn returned to appreciating her limited edition of Frozen Kingdom.

While she liked fairy tales, this manga was much more to her taste.

It progressed through illustrations, making it easy and refreshing to follow.

‘I wonder what the next work will be?’

As her anticipation for the next work grew, she wanted to call Rupert immediately to discuss this manga and its sequel.

‘No more! Absolutely not, Your Highness!!!’

But she was blocked by Aiton, the chief attendant, who was adamantly opposed to her going to or calling on an unmarried young nobleman, saying it would only lead to bad rumors.

So Iolyn reluctantly held back her longing and returned to her book. Just then, her brother, who was leaving, turned around and spoke to her.

“Oh, by the way, did you hear that our eldest brother went to the throne room this morning? Do you know what it’s about?”

Brother? Iolyn tried to recall if there had been any incidents related to the Crown Prince recently, but nothing came to mind.

However,

“If he went to the throne room, he’ll probably be in a foul mood for a while. Be cautious for the time being.”

With Iolyn’s warning, Edric quietly nodded and left her quarters.

“Are you not ashamed? Your sister Iolyn’s literacy project for the Empire’s citizens has achieved great success.”

Isn’t this something the Crown Prince should have done?

With the Emperor’s compassionate gaze and tone filled with frustration, Crown Prince Alex could only hang his head and remain silent.

At first, he felt a surge of anger.

If Iolyn wasn’t going to compete for the throne, she should have stayed quiet. Why did she keep acting in ways that made him look incompetent?

The Emperor, his father, knew he wasn’t fit to be Emperor but still kept him as the Crown Prince, always telling him he could do well.

Who would want to be born as the Crown Prince? It was maddening, wanting to escape this position dozens of times a day.

Today, too, he thought his sister’s literacy project was a veiled jab at him, and when he tried to criticize it to the Emperor, he was scolded instead.

Now, all that remained was resignation.

Anger is an emotion that arises when there’s something to fuel it.

Crown Prince Alex felt nothing even when rebuked; he just hung his head, repeating apologies like a parrot.

“Hah… It seems you are under too much pressure. Take a tour of the provinces to see the post-war recovery efforts and clear your mind.”

“…Understood. I shall take my leave.”

After bowing and greeting his father, who pressed his temples as if Alex was a headache, Alex left.

He thought he had no anger left to burn, but seeing his father’s pitying expression again made his chest tighten.

In his eyes, it was clear the Princess made that thing to make a fool of him.

Why couldn’t anyone around him, even his father, understand how significant that thing was?

A name flashed through the Crown Prince’s mind.

The one who had sent him a letter in response to his warning, maintaining decorum in words but essentially telling him to take his grievances up with the Princess.

‘Rupert Somerset.’

Recalling that insolent letter, the Crown Prince found a target for his frustration.

“Fine, let’s see how impressive these comics are when I meet the creator myself.”

Perhaps it was bad luck for the one involved with him, who already had a tarnished reputation, but it was their own doing, so they had no one else to blame.

“Hey, I have a place to visit soon.”

“As you command, Your Highness.”

“By order of the Emperor, I’m to visit various provinces on a tour. First, arrange a visit to the southern region.”

“I will make the necessary arrangements.”

The Crown Prince’s mood seemed to lighten slightly as he imagined the face of that arrogant author twisting in discomfort.

“Damn, what rotten luck to encounter an Earth Snake!”

The dwarf, Krun, was in a predicament.

Running into an Earth Snake, which was as rare as dragons in the western mountains, during mining was incredibly unfortunate.

All his fellow dwarves had already scattered, fleeing from the mine in a panic.

Krun also found himself running desperately from the Earth Snake, eventually emerging above ground. Even after reaching the surface, he continued to run, trying to escape the vibrations caused by the Earth Snake.

“Where on earth am I?”

While dwarves can navigate the underground blindfolded, above ground, maintaining a sense of direction was difficult for Krun.

In the mountainous terrain of the west, he couldn’t tell which mountain housed the mine they were working in. After wandering aimlessly for a long time, his strength was completely spent.

‘My legs ache, I’m thirsty, and a mug of black beer would be heaven.’

A cut on his thigh from the Earth Snake’s attack was also a problem. Blood was trickling from the wound, and his frantic running had worsened it, causing a considerable amount of blood loss.

The combination of his thigh wound, thirst, and hunger made it hard for even a hardy dwarf to remain conscious.

‘Ah... I can’t collapse here.’

While the underground was the domain of dwarves, the surface belonged to other races.

If a monster found him, he would become its meal. Worse yet, if those damned pointy-eared ones found him, they would make sure he was dead and, if not, finish him off.

‘Humans? They’re the most dangerous of all.’

Humans, the most numerous of the surface races, were even more dreadful.

They were the ones who used to kidnap dwarves and make them slaves.

Dying would be preferable to being enslaved to make weapons.

Fortunately, since the Great Species War, laws forbidding slavery of other races had been enacted, but the distrust and resentment towards humans remained deeply rooted.

“Damn, is this the end?”

His vision began to blur. His whole body was weakening, and standing was becoming a challenge.

“Oh! It’s one of the seven dwarves!!!”

The last thing he heard before losing consciousness was a voice.

It sounded like a child’s voice. Turning around, he saw a human girl smiling brightly at him.

“No... no, humans...”

But Krun’s consciousness faded there.

Amelia had recently taken to sitting on the terrace with a book during her leisure time.

Of course, the books she read were all works by one particular author.

Frozen Kingdom

This was the most recent book she was reading. This fascinating book, called a manga, was filled with the illustrations she loved, drawn by Rupert.

However, reading this book made her thoughts chaotic.

‘Why does it feel like every story is pointing at me?’

Amelia felt she could sense Rupert’s feelings through this book.

Elsa, the older sister among the two sisters in the story, who relinquished her throne to her younger sibling, mirrored herself and her own younger sister.

It felt as if it was telling her to cast off the heavy shackles of her ducal family and join him, but she stopped herself, thinking it was just her imagination.

Amelia envied Elsa’s ability to leave everything behind so freely in the manga.

She couldn’t do the same as Elsa.

Her younger sister, Evelyn, was only five years old, and she couldn’t burden her with the responsibilities of the ducal family.

Suddenly, she recalled the time she met Rupert at the last banquet.

Rupert had greeted her with a warm smile.

He, who she thought was cold, had seemed surprisingly kind with his bright smile.

Was it too much to think that it was a smile just for her?

‘At the academy... only at the academy.’

She knew these feelings couldn’t be resolved, but at least during her time at the academy, her last period of freedom.

Could she share these feelings with him then?

Remembering Rupert’s intention to enroll at the academy as well, she felt her heart flutter with excitement once more.

It was winter.

“Achoo!”

I had been holed up in my studio, avoiding going out in the cold winter, yet here I was, sneezing. Did I catch a cold?

A sudden sneeze escaped.

“Wow, even I think I drew this really well.”

My concern about the cold vanished as I admired the completed design with satisfaction.

I had been pondering how to improve the lackluster alchemical transmutation circles when I discovered runes in the basic magic book Ada was holding, which proved immensely helpful.

By integrating a few runes into the bland transmutation circles, I created something that anyone would find convincing.

Of course, as a complete novice with no real knowledge, I had only drawn what looked cool, so it had no actual effect, but aesthetics were what mattered.

Moreover, since I had skillfully blended both transmutation circles and runes, even someone knowledgeable in both would find it impressive on the surface.

“Now, if I just sketch some characters and finalize a few settings, I can start working on it right away.”

The thought of creating a new work inspired by alchemy excited me, but it also filled me with fear.

If I were simply recreating the manga that inspired this new work, it would be one thing.

However, I was recreating a new work for this world based on my faint memories.

Would it be well-received?

Moreover, unlike my previous works, which concluded in a single volume, this story couldn’t possibly fit into just one.

It would be my first series.

I could only suppress my worries and fears and continue working diligently.