All female characters in this story are adults. If one is written as seventeen, then she is seventeen years and three hundred sixty-four days old, and will be an adult in the very next chapter. If one is written as twelve or fourteen, then she only looks young, but is actually hundreds of years old. That is simply how it is, meow~ Also, please leave your brains here.
"Beautiful miss, I only want to give you an apple. I have so many apples I could never finish them all.
"If you're worried it might be poisoned, I can take a bite first."
Crunch.
The old woman lifted the apple to her lips, scraped off a piece with the single front tooth she had left, then passed the rest to Snow White.
Under the old woman's eager hospitality, Snow White finally failed to resist the red fruit's tempting fragrance.
"It should be fine, since the old granny already ate some."
So she carefully reached out, accepted it, and took a small bite.
What she did not know was that half the apple was poisoned, and half was safe. The moment Snow White bit into the poisoned side, her breathing stopped, and she collapsed softly to the ground.
Snap.
Grin clapped the storybook shut.
The children gathered around him were instantly yanked out of the story.
"No! The princess can't die!"
"That's too scary! I'm never eating apples again!"
"I think my mom is trying to kill me!"
…
Hearing the children's wild cries, Grin could not help laughing to himself.
Then he looked up, and his expression paused for a moment.
At some point, a lavish chair of gold and crimson had been placed among the children. A young girl in a red dress sat upon it, a folding fan in hand, studying Grin with sharp, unblinking eyes.
Behind her stood a sturdy one-armed man, wearing a short earth-yellow cloak and a knight's helmet.
"What a ridiculous story. Is this the most interesting thing you found in the Royal Capital, Aldebaran?"
The moment his full name was called, Al stiffened as if struck by lightning, then shot back with a petty grin, "I think it suits a woman of your age quite well."
After all, you look exactly like the sort who would eat food from a stranger.
Naturally, Al kept that second half to himself.
In truth, the interesting thing he had found was not the fairy tale, but the storyteller.
Aldebaran, a man of unknown origins, knew these stories as well. He had come here mainly to confirm whether Grin was a Transferee.
Priscilla caught the meaning hidden beneath Al's words, her mood souring at once as she said coldly,
"Hmph. I am nothing like that princess called Snow White. Were it me, I would have bitten the safe part with perfect accuracy."
A faint, unreadable smile touched the corners of Grin's mouth as he looked at the master and servant.
He had always known Al would come find him.
After all, the place where he told his stories was not far from Priscilla's temporary residence in the Royal Capital.
Grin slowly walked toward Priscilla, placed his right hand over his chest, and gave her a slight bow.
"Grin, a commoner, greets the Sun Princess."
Priscilla opened her folding fan and covered half her face, as though even that were enough to place distance between them.
"Hmph. You may rise, my future subject."
Without a sound, Al shifted to Priscilla's front-right side. From there, if Grin made the slightest suspicious move, he could draw in time.
"Hey, brother. Aren't you going to finish the story?"
Grin ignored him and kept his eyes on Priscilla.
"I believe the rest of the story should be continued by another princess."
As he spoke, he drew a crystal-clear red fruit from within his loose robes.
"Esteemed Sun Princess, would you like to try a poisoned apple just like Snow White's? As you said, someone bathed in sunlight like you would surely bite the harmless part without fail."
"Brother, what exactly do you mean by that?"
Al's gaze sharpened. His single hand had already come to rest on the hilt of his sword.
Priscilla flicked a hand, signaling Al to step back, then rose gracefully from her seat and walked toward Grin.
"I see longing in your eyes. Could it be that if I eat this strange fruit, you stand to gain something from it?"
"Uh, Your Highness. It isn't a strange fruit. It's an apple."
Grin pressed at his forehead, sounding helpless.
Priscilla took the fruit and examined it for a moment, then said with open mockery, "Poor commoner. You cannot even recognize an apple. Everyone knows an apple is a white fruit."
Grin's mouth twitched.
"Is it possible the skin is red, and it only turns white after peeling?"
Once he said that, he shot a glance at Al.
Al scratched the back of his head.
"The Princess really hasn't seen what an apple looks like before it's prepared. The fruit she eats is always served by attendants."
"Is that so?"
Grin had nothing to say to that. These nobles were pampered to an absurd degree.
The apple turned lightly in Priscilla's slender white palm. There was not a trace of fear in her eyes. Only curiosity toward something new, and mockery toward the fool before her.
"Commoner, poisoning a member of the Royal Selection is a crime punishable by burning at the stake. Though I suppose that would be one of the rare moments in your life when you might truly shine."
Grin gave a shrug.
"It is high noon, Princess, the hour when the sun shines brightest.
"If the Sun Princess were to die of poison at such a moment, then it could only mean Fate has arranged for me to be buried beside you."
The word "Fate" made something flicker in Priscilla's eyes.
As the holder of the Divine Protection of the Sun, she received all manner of favorable corrections during the daytime.
As long as the sun still hung in the sky, her luck would be pushed to its peak.
That was also why she so enjoyed defying fate.
"Heh. Such a crude provocation."
Even so, Priscilla raised the apple to her lips. Her white teeth parted, and she slowly bit off a piece of the flesh, chewing behind the cover of her folding fan.
"It is indeed the taste of an apple. Unprocessed fruit seems to possess its own curious flavor."
The moment Priscilla finally ate it, delight flashed through Grin's eyes.
The fairy-tale book in his hand flipped open by itself and stopped on the section for Snow White.
Words began to appear across the blank page.
"Offer a poisoned apple to a princess, obtain the Queen Snow White entry.
[Queen Snow White]
Abilities: Transformation Magic, Yin Magic, Toxicology
Held Item: magic mirror (Wolgarm)."
On the page, an illustration slowly emerged.
A beautiful woman wearing a golden crown and a deep black dress studded with tiny diamonds stood there, a warped mirror held in her hand.
At the same time, mana began surging out of nowhere into Grin's gate.
Phew…
Grin let out a long breath.
Only when that power settled inside him did the ground beneath his feet feel a little more real.
"As expected of the Sun Princess who stands at the center of the world. You truly found the harmless part with perfect accuracy."
"So the poison was hidden in the other half, was it?"
Priscilla said it almost lazily, then turned the apple around and took another bite.
"Stop!"
"Princess!"
Grin and Al shouted at the same time.
Too late.
Priscilla had already swallowed the poisoned half.
"Mm. It is a little more sour and astringent than the non-poisonous side."
The expected scene never came.
As long as the Divine Protection of the Sun remained in effect, Priscilla was immune to every underhanded method.
If one wished to kill her, then one could only crush her head-on.
"A poison that even an Earth Dragon couldn't endure is only 'sour and astringent' to you?"
Grin was sincerely impressed.
People loved by the world truly could not be judged by ordinary logic.
Priscilla smiled, bright and pure.
"Perhaps the poison spoiled under the sunlight. Very well, Al, the diversion ends here. Arrest this poisoner for me."
"Yes, Princess! Brother, just relax. I'll do my best to be gentle."
Al rolled his sturdy shoulders and approached Grin.
"You attempted poisoning. According to the Lugunica Code, your sentence will be the severing of your right hand. That way, the two of us can truly become a left-and-right-hand duo."
He had expected the princess would not be poisoned. Even so, placing her in that kind of danger was suspicious in itself. He could not rule out the possibility that Grin belonged to another Royal Selection camp.
So the princess's judgment was correct.
Arrest him first.
"Ah, is that really how this should go? Shouldn't you be rewarding me with some minor official post for offering the apple?"