A magnificent carriage drawn by four horses proudly made its way through the capital's grand avenue.

At the forefront of the carriage stood the Crown Prince, Yustaf, and Harun.

The people lining the avenue cheered loudly, their voices rising higher and higher in praise.

“Long live the Crown Prince!”

“Hail to the Grand Magician Yustaf!”

“Is that the Empire’s greatest alchemist, Master Harun? They say his title is the Alchemist of Wisdom.”

Among them, the most famous figure was undoubtedly the Crown Prince, and thus the cheers for him were the loudest, followed closely by those for Yustaf.

Yustaf was already well-known, and seeing him in person must have felt like witnessing a legendary hero come to life.

Last was Harun. Though he wasn’t nearly as famous as the other two, his reputation had recently surged, making him a rising dark horse.

This newfound interest in alchemy was largely thanks to the release of The Iron-Blooded Alchemist, which had greatly increased public awareness and fascination with alchemy.

“Who knew alchemy was such a cool profession?”

“They say the Empire’s top alchemist is Harun Coelho. I wonder how powerful he is.”

“Could he perhaps even transmute a dragon in the alchemy circle?”

While the nobles had a better understanding of the limits of alchemy, the commoners, unfamiliar with it, let their imaginations run wild.

Some had even gone so far as to claim that Harun was secretly the strongest figure in the Empire.

— “At this rate, we should all come up with our own titles.”

Not just Harun, but many of the more prominent alchemists in the Empire had quickly gathered for a meeting.

However, the meeting wasn’t to discuss new potions or transmutation circles; the main topic was choosing their titles.

“I’ll take the title of Flame.”

“No, it wouldn’t be right if we all had the same title. How about Magma? Everyone knows magma is stronger than flame.”

“I’ll be the Alchemist of Wine since I love wine.”

“You idiot, that makes you a brewer, not an alchemist!”

After much debate and complications, each alchemist settled on a title. It was decided that those recognized as senior alchemists by the guild would be officially granted their chosen title.

— “To think I’d be called the Alchemist of Wisdom at my age…”

Harun had been reluctant to choose a title, finding it embarrassing. However, since the guild master insisted that he needed one, Harun was forced to adopt it.

Still, judging by the people’s enthusiastic reactions during today’s victory parade, Harun started to think that maybe it wasn’t so bad after all.

The First-Class Meritorious Subjects led the parade, followed by the Second and Third-Class Meritorious Subjects, each riding in carriages drawn by two horses as they marched through the avenue.

However, the atmosphere among them was quite different.

“Bring Nana back to life!”

“Is the protagonist’s father really the mastermind?!”

“Tell us what happens in the next chapter!”

Because Rupert, the Second-Class Meritorious Subject, was a manga author, the crowd was more interested in asking about his stories than cheering or clapping.

The situation was so chaotic that it was hard to tell whether this was a victory parade or a public hearing.

‘If it weren’t for the soldiers guarding us, there might have been a riot.’

Rupert, for the first time, realized how terrifying it was to have thousands upon thousands of people shouting questions at him in unison.

Until now, he had only heard rumors of his work’s popularity while living in the countryside. Apart from the occasional visitors to his estate, he hadn’t fully grasped the extent of it.

Now that he knew just how popular his work was, he made up his mind to never leave his estate again.

Yet, seeing the excited expressions of the crowd, not filled with anger or fear but with joy, Rupert couldn’t help but feel happy.

From fairy tales to manga, it all started for Ada, and later to save his family, but the fact that it brought joy to people was a deeply fulfilling experience.

Now that he had two reliable assistants, he could present more works without overworking himself.

The thought of how the people of this world might react to the masterpieces from Earth filled Rupert with excitement, making him eager to pick up his pen.

“Rupert, did you say you’ll return immediately?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“That’s a pity. I’d love to sit and have a drink with you and talk for a long while.”

“If Your Highness calls for me, I will come running anytime.”

“Good. Now that I am Ada’s godfather, you are like a brother to me. If you ever face any hardship, do not hesitate to come to me.”

Rupert couldn’t help but feel uneasy at the Crown Prince’s declaration, especially his boundless affection for Ada.

After the ceremony in the court, during the celebration banquet, Crown Prince Alex had approached Rupert with the proposal to become Ada’s godfather.

Rupert had been taken aback and begged him to reconsider, but the Crown Prince had already made up his mind. He had even gone so far as to formally request it from the Emperor, and publicly announced at the banquet that he had become the godfather of Ada Somerset, Rupert’s youngest sister.

‘Ada, it looks like marriage will be difficult for you.’

Few people in the Empire would dare dream of marrying the daughter of a count whose godfather was the future Emperor.

Only the most prominent nobles in the Empire might consider such a match, but they had no reason to marry into a mere count’s family.

‘The Crown Prince has blocked all potential marriage prospects for Ada.’

Seeing the Crown Prince’s beaming smile whenever Ada was mentioned, Rupert had the distinct feeling that only a foreign prince would be able to marry her.

“Ada is hungry.”

Woof!

Ada slumped against Rashu like a deflated balloon.

It was about the time her brother would normally sneak her a snack, but with him away in the capital for important business, she hadn’t had a treat in days.

‘Miss! Weren’t we supposed to wear our pretty Elsa dress?’

Her once-lovely Elsa dress had become ragged, practically a set of rags, and so her brother had ordered a new one from the capital’s finest tailor.

However, the new dress was too small, and it looked like it would burst if Ada tried to wear it. From that day, a strict snack restriction was put in place to help her fit into it.

Despite this, Rupert and Count Bradley had taken turns sneaking her treats, out of sight of those enforcing the diet.

‘You should pay more attention and love to your daughter,’ the Crown Prince had remarked cryptically before his departure.

Feeling unjustly accused, Count Bradley, with tears in his eyes, had stopped giving Ada any snacks in an effort to restore her health.

Now that Rupert, the only one left on Ada’s side, had gone as well, Ada was very, very hungry.

“Ada wants to go for a walk with Rashu!”

“No, miss. Both the count and the young master have forbidden you from going outside until the estate is completely secure.”

“I’ll tell on you to Uncle!”

Planning to use her usual excuse of a walk to sneak into town, Ada threw a tantrum when even that was denied. But the new guard, Owen, stood firmly, blocking her way.

However, Owen didn’t realize who Ada’s "Uncle" actually was.

Owen assumed she was referring to either the butler, Alain, or perhaps Sir Mullus, who had recently been promoted to head of the knights.

In fact, Ada’s “Uncle” was none other than Crown Prince Alex.

During the Crown Prince’s last visit to the Somerset estate, Ada had observed how everyone acted carefully around him, and she had decided to use her strongest card.

Unfortunately, no one connected the term “Uncle” with the Crown Prince, so it was of no use.

Feeling dejected, Ada returned to her room.

Normally, she would have gone down to the village and collected a bunch of snacks by now, but unable to do so, she threw herself onto her bed in frustration.

Whenever she went to the village, the townspeople would rush to give her food. They were all eager to feed the young noble girl who ate her treats with such delight.

Not only that, but the local children had become enchanted by the treats Ada shared, and they had come to look up to her as their leader.

Ada thoroughly enjoyed playing the role of leader among the village children.

Unlike the young noble girls who only ever showed off their jewelry and accessories, the village children taught her fun games, and she found it far more entertaining.

Though she used to envy those pretty accessories, now she knew her father or brother would buy her as many as she asked for, so she no longer cared about them.

Instead, she coveted the intricately carved wooden stick one of the village children had.

It looked like a finely crafted sword.

The child who held it was the envy of all the others, and Ada had offered to trade candy for it.

‘If you want it, Miss, I’ll give it to you.’

Seeing the sad, reluctant eyes of the child, as if he were parting with a great treasure, Ada had replied, ‘No, Ada will get her own!’

The child had smiled brightly at her words.

Now, as she thought back on her time playing with the village children, Ada felt both hungry and bored.

Normally, she would have run to her brother, but he wasn’t around. And Sena had also been spending more time drawing, leaving less time to play with her, which made Ada feel lonely.

“Rashu…”

In the end, Rashu was the only one left, so Ada snuggled into his arms and soon fell asleep.

Once he was sure she was sound asleep, Rashu carefully wriggled out from under her without waking her up.

He quietly opened the window and leaped out, swiftly crossing the estate’s walls.

Rashu was heading in the direction of the estate’s forest.

“Ada can eat just a little!”

“Huh? Aren’t you hungry, miss? You haven’t had any snacks today.”

At the dining table, Ada and Count Bradley were seated.

Normally, Ada would be excitedly singing while holding a fork and knife in both hands, but today she declared that she would only eat a little.

The maid preparing the meal cast a suspicious glance at Count Bradley.

“I swear, I haven’t given her any snacks lately!”

The Count, feeling wronged, protested indignantly.

Lately, he had noticed strange rumors spreading about him, and even the slightest hint of suspicion made him overly defensive.

‘What’s going on? The young lady says she’ll eat just a little. And with the young master away, there’s no one to sneak her snacks…’

The maid mulled over several possibilities but couldn’t think of any obvious culprits.

Meanwhile, Ada, oblivious to all this, simply smiled and patted her belly.

If the maid had been a little more observant, she might have noticed the faint traces of fruit peel under Ada’s fingernails.

Unaware of the suspicion surrounding her, Ada finished her dinner and skipped off to Rupert’s study.

Normally, Rupert would have prohibited her from entering, but since he wasn’t around, no one was there to stop her.

Ada had a method for retrieving the manuscripts Rupert had hidden out of her reach.

“Rashu!”

At her call, Rashu trotted over and lay down beneath the bookshelf.

Using Rashu as a step, Ada climbed up and found one of the secret manuscripts Rupert had stashed away.

Her belief that her brother’s study always contained fun stories and drawings was only reinforced.

“Wow! Look, Rashu, this person has a really long nose!”

In her hands was one of Rupert’s concept art sketches, featuring a wooden puppet with an unusually long nose.