The Princess in the Chicken Coop - Chapter 1.6
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Soria’s eyes blazed with anger as she was confined in the chicken coop.
After being caught by Lenok, she resisted desperately, but it was virtually impossible for a chicken to escape from the hands of a robust man.
She was taken into the palace and put in a chicken coop under the strict surveillance of knights, so her current state was literally imprisonment.
Four panels made of woven wire surrounded her on all sides, allowing her to move her body freely, but that freedom was limited to about a span left and right.
She was furious at this unjust treatment. Lenok’s audacity to demand what he wanted while keeping a person confined was truly astounding.
However, Lenok also had much to say.
First of all, the process of getting her into the chicken coop wasn’t exactly smooth.
Lenok swallowed hard as he checked his singed hair. Sitting on the footboard of a small carriage used for loading goods, Lenok wiped his hair with a dry towel and spoke to Soria, who was turning her head away stubbornly.
“Look, I’m telling you, there’s no plan to swallow the entire Kingdom of Syenn. Why on earth are you making such an absurd misunderstanding?”
[Ha! Your Majesty has a talent for making unfunny stories sound hilarious. Is this how all emperors are?]
“…What are you talking about? Ah, fine, fine! Let me hear why you can’t believe me. I need to know the reason to explain, don’t I?”
Soria looked straight at Lenok, who lowered his upper body to meet her eyes, and clenched her beak. She was frustrated, but he had a point. After all, she was the one who had been caught, so it was better to engage in conversation.
After organizing her thoughts, Soria slightly raised her head and asked.
[How can I be sure that your army won’t cross the border after the vines are removed?]
Her voice was sharp.
Lenok’s face showed bewilderment. An angry chicken. He had seen a crying chicken for the first time, but he had also never seen an angry chicken before. More precisely, he had never been close to chickens in his life.
How many times would the emperor of a great empire, a member of the imperial family, have seen a chicken outside of the dining table?
Lenok thought it might be better to close his eyes and talk, and said.
“Alright. Since you’re so angry, I’ll tell you the truth. War with Syenn? Swallow up this tiny country? I’m sorry, but such grand actions aren’t even necessary. As time passes, the Kingdom of Syenn will naturally be assimilated into the empire.”
Lenok continued, trying to calm Soria who was stamping her feet.
“Just listen to the end. If the thorny vines disappear, the people of the empire will naturally migrate to the empty land. They’ll plow the devastated land, plant crops, and establish their homes. Do you think they’ll become Syenn citizens just because they’re in Syenn? Soria, I’m sorry, but there’s no need to mobilize the army. Syenn will naturally become part of the empire.”
Soria’s body trembled. Lenok leaned against the rather cold iron bars and continued.
“As you know, a country can only be called a country if it has people, a king, and land to sustain them. Let’s look at the Kingdom of Syenn. The territory and the king who rules that territory…”
Lenok’s gaze brushed past Soria.
“Let’s say they exist.”
Even though the land is full of thorny vines and the king is a chicken.
Lenok swallowed the words that were swirling in his mouth.
“Then how do you plan to protect and manage this place where there isn’t a single citizen? Shall I put it more bluntly? Princess Soria. With what do you say you can protect the Kingdom of Syenn? You’re the only one who calls this place Syenn.”
[The descendants of the Kingdom of Syenn will return.]
“Can you be sure?”
Soria raised her head. She looked straight at the emperor who was urging her to hand over the devastated land to him.
It had been a hundred years since the curse. Perhaps he was right.
Her kingdom was an abandoned country and a forgotten land. Long ago, it was more fertile than any other place, but now it had become a place that couldn’t even bear a single grain, so talking about rebuilding the Kingdom of Syenn might sound like a dream.
However.
[Yes. There is a king and land, so if my curse is lifted, I believe that the people of Syenn, who grew up hearing about the Kingdom of Syenn from their ancestors and their ancestors before them, will return to find their roots, their homeland. Doesn’t the Emperor of the Crotia Empire believe that when the empire’s fate is over, your people will do the same? Are you saying you don’t think they will remember Crotia and dream of rebuilding it someday?]
Lenok slightly furrowed his brow. It was exactly as she said. He had been hit hard.
He realized it was time for him to back down. It was clear that continuing this argument would only result in losses and no gains.
He roughly threw the soaked towel aside and crossed his legs as he answered.
“Fine. As you say, I’ll let you see if the Syenn people return. In any case, if we can solve the curse that’s blocking the middle of the river, we’ll achieve our main goal. So, if necessary, I’ll even stamp the emperor’s seal on a document guaranteeing Syenn’s complete independence, so could you please remove the thorny vines?”
She stuck her foot out through the gap and grabbed the wire tightly to keep her body from swaying as she shouted.
[How many times do I have to tell you! I can’t do it!]
“You just said a moment ago that you could easily handle that, though.”
[That’s why, I’m saying I can do it when this damn curse is lifted. Right now, my mana control is a mess. Surely you don’t see me as human right now, do you?]
When she was human, she was a genius. Born in an era full of magic and hailed as a genius, her skills were beyond imagination.
She had written enough magic books under pseudonyms to fill a whole bookshelf, and the number of magic circles she had personally devised was countless. She was also the first to come up with the idea of bringing magic into everyday life.
Lenok looked at Soria with a newfound realization. It was because he realized that it was only natural that her abilities would be different when she was human and when she was a chicken.
“I see.”
Soria nodded with satisfaction when it seemed that Lenok had understood her meaning.
She stopped standing up straight and sat down comfortably.
Lenok quietly watched Soria as she buried her head in her lush feathers.
“So we need to break the curse?”
[Finally, we’re on the same page. Who among you is the hero?]
“Hero?”
[Brave warrior or knight, or hero. Whatever works.]
“Does it have to be a hero or a brave warrior to break that curse?”
[Well, I’m not sure about the details. Anyway, if it’s as that damnable magician said, then yes. Don’t you have anything similar?]
At Soria’s question, Lenok, who had been pondering for a moment, turned his gaze towards his knights who were packing their belongings. His gaze resembled that of a predator examining which prey would be the most substantial.
Thanks to this, the valiant knights of the empire instinctively sensed, even in the midst of hurriedly preparing to leave:
That they shouldn’t make eye contact with the emperor.
“A hero…”
His gaze was sharp as he observed the knights who were quick to flee as soon as their eyes met.
