Chapter 72: I’m a Princess!?

(Ava’s POV)

Getting used to living in Krul’s estate, where my mother also lives, wasn’t hard. In fact, it feels like I have lived here, and with my family, for countless years. To this very day, I cry myself to sleep every night.

I could easily blame these tears and crying sessions on the adjustment period, but I know that it wasn’t due to that. Every day is amazing here. There isn’t a second, not counting when I am going to bed, where I am not taken care of.

My other mothers, Mai and Mercedes, all treat me like I am their true blood daughter. And Marinkia’s mothers, Krul and Clare, treat me like I am their real and true granddaughter. It’s not even forced, they just love me like family…

Maid: “Princess Ava, will you be attending breakfast today?” She asked with a bow.

Ava: “Ah, I will. Thanks for informing me!” I reply, quickly getting up from my bed, and getting dress as fast as I could.

Soon, I made my way to the dining room, where my family was waiting for me. Krul tends to be busy most of the time. She is our ruler, after all. But she still always attends breakfast with us, regardless of how busy she was.

Sitting at her usual spot was… Krul? When did she get older!? She can just… do that?…

Krul: “That’s the reaction that everyone else did, Ava.” She said with a laugh.

Ava: “…”

Krul: “My sex life with Clare was burdened by my child-like appearance. So, I aged myself up. This is how I will look from now on, so please get used to it.” She explained.

Ava: “Ah, okay.” I reply with a nod.

It won’t take that long for me to get used to her new adult form. In fact, it was always hard treating her as my elder. Krul looked like a little girl just yesterday, you know… Now; she looks like a beautiful woman.

Ava: “You know… why does everyone call me a princess?” I ask after taking a bite of my food.

Clare: “Because you’re a princess?” She answered with a head tilt.

Ava: “…”

Krul: “As you’re my granddaughter, you’re a princess. Though I will never give up my rule, Mai, Mercedes, Kia, and you are princesses. Do get used to that as well. People will be calling you princess for all of eternity.” She explained.

I am really am a princess, huh… And I thought that Mom telling me about my pension, which I honestly thought was a joke, was shocking when I learned that it was real. Not only do I practically have an endless, eternal, never ending supply of Credits, but I am also a princess!? This feels like a fairytale…

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After Breakfast.

Mai: “Ava, do you want to go out?” She asked.

Ava: “Not really…” I reply.

Mai: “Damn…” She said with a sigh.

Ava: “?”

Mai: “Look… Kia is also a major homebody. She rarely ever goes out, so I was hoping that you’d like going out from time to time, like I do.” She explained.

Mercedes: “It makes sense that Kia would adopt a girl who is similar to herself. Don’t pressure our daughter into doing anything.” She said with a stern tone.

Ava: “I mean, if you just want to spend time with me, I would love to go out with you. I just thought that you meant going out by myself or something…” I say with an embarrassed tone.

Mai: “Yay! Let’s go shopping!” She happily exclaimed.

Grabbing my hand, Mai completely ignored Mercedes’s stern lecture about bringing me home not late, and dragged me outside to the shuttle grounds. Being the spoiled girls that we are, Mai and I took Krul’s personal shuttle.

Ava: “How much does this shuttle cost?” I ask with a curious tone.

Mai: “It’s custom completely, and it is using tech not even available to anyone besides Krul. Frankly, it wouldn’t be surprising to be over 100,000,000 million Credits.” She answered with a nonchalant tone.

Ava: “…”

That’s so many of my yearly pensions… I guess that, when you’re the ruler of a large empire like this one, you can afford to buy crazy expensive things like this. I mean, it’s a very nice shuttle.

Not like I have much to compare it to, as I have ever only ridden in our shuttles. All of which are top of the line. Should a vehicle flying at top speed in the air feel like a cloud to be in? I don’t think so…

A Short Ride Later.

What the hell… Is this a mall? No mall in any piece of media that I’ve consumed was ever depicted to be this large… Unlike what I’ve read lately, it would seem that people actually go outside in this society.

Mai: “You never experienced it, but humans for a long time only kept to themselves. Our people need to interact with others or we will go insane. Amazing public spaces like this mall are needed as such.” She answered my unasked question.

Ava: “What can you buy here?” I ask.

Mai: “Pretty much everything? The better question would be what you cannot buy here.” She replied.

Ava: “What can’t you buy?” I reply.

Mai: “Slaves. Those are outlawed in our society, just as they were in the human society.” She answered.

Ava: “Oh, so I can buy drugs here, huh? Cool.” I say with a deadpan expression.

Mai: “All recreational drugs are legal, yes. And you can buy them here. The humans used ones that were still somewhat dangerous, but all of ours are absolutely safe with no side effects or aftereffects.” She replied with a nonchalant tone.

Ava: “…”

Mai: “But you’re far too young to even get the tamest recreational drug.” She said with a stern tone.

Ava: “I have no intentions of doing any drugs, but what is the age requirement?” I ask with a curious tone.

Mai: “Oh, Mercedes hit it a while back. The age requirement is 50 years of age. Keep in mind, whatever age you were before becoming one of us doesn’t count. In fact, most will probably see you as not even a one year old child.” She explained with a laugh.

Ava: “…”

I am considered to be a child? What even age am I, really? All I know is that the caretakers at the farm said that I would be brewing to taste better for at least twenty more years. It is weird to be considered a child again…

Mai: “Keep in mind, alcohol is regulated as a drug too. Its age requirement is 60.” She informed.

Ava: “Eh, I don’t think that I would like drugs or alcohol, anyway. By the way, is that why my and Kia’s room is pink?” I ask.

Mai: “Kia is around thirty something, so no. You both like pink. Our people do not resist or hide our desires.” She answered.

Ava: “So it’s just personal preference? How did you all know that I liked pink, then?” I reply with a raised eyebrow.

Mai: “…Lucky guess.” She said, not looking me in the eyes.

Ava: “…”

Whatever she was hiding from me, I didn’t really care about. The kindness, pampering, and care that I’ve received from them would easily get me to forgive them for anything and everything. Choosing to ignore that unanswered question of mine, I locked arms with Mai and started to explore the mall with her. Only hours later would I understand that I really, really love shopping with my family, and that this would become a thing that I would do often…