Symphony for the Insect Princess

As he spoke, he glanced at Sandi Nia with a sharp gaze. The young boy immediately shuddered and shrank behind Lillian.

Although York Zelah lacked talent as a magician, he excelled in other areas, and the head of the family had been training him as an heir. Furthermore, he seemed to be the only normal male who could resist Lillian's unparalleled charm, which was particularly commendable.

After he finished speaking, he stepped aside, revealing the man standing behind him.

Near and I immediately straightened our backs, and Lillian smiled her brightest smile.

He was a burly, middle-aged man with a square face and short, dark brown hair like a lion's mane. He had an aura of authority that made everyone respect him, including us.

"Hello, father."

"Father! Ah... um... hello..."

The head of the family, Krafa Zelah, looked at us, glanced at me briefly, and glared fiercely at the third young master, scaring him so much that he trembled.

It wasn't until he saw Lillian that a smile appeared on his face.

"I'm back, Lillian."

"Welcome home!!"

Lillian threw herself into Crafa's arms like a young swallow, and the arrogant, wanton and talkative look she had just shown disappeared completely.

"My dear daughter, how are you at home? Do you miss your daddy?"

"Of course! I love dad the most!"

"But...why get involved with Nia again?"

Seeing Crafa's serious expression, Lillian hurriedly explained, "Dad, you're such a fool! You can't even think positively! I just happened to run into Nia in the garden. That's why I didn't do anything shameless!"

"Yeah……"

"Never mind that, Dad, look!"

Lillian smiled sweetly and left his embrace. She narrowed her eyes, spread her hands, and chanted a spell with a clear voice. Even the most difficult and obscure spells became melodious when she chanted them. A large amount of extremely pure fire elemental transformed into a dazzling fireball in her hand, like a small sun.

"go with!"

She raised her hand, and the fireball immediately flew into the sky, exploding into countless small fireballs that fell like raindrops, covering the entire garden. Just as the rain of fire was about to fall on everyone's heads, she waved her hand again, and the rain of fire immediately dissipated without a trace.

"How's it going, Dad?"

"Fire Rain, the control of power and range is superb... Lillian, have you become an intermediate magician?" Crafa was surprised.

"How could that be? I'm not that good yet, Dad. But at this rate, I'll definitely pass the Intermediate Magician exam in less than half a year!"

"As expected of my good daughter!"

Crafa ruffled his daughter's hair, a look of pride on his face. Young junior mages were common among the nobility, but most intermediate mages were over thirty. Lillian was still a young girl, and wouldn't be seventeen in six months. The fact that she was a sixteen-year-old intermediate magician would definitely bring him honor.

"Very good! But remember not to be proud. Look at your eldest and second sisters. They are already high-level magicians in their twenties!"

"Don't worry, Lillian, I'll definitely keep working hard! My sisters have always been my goal! Oh, except for someone, of course..."

As she spoke, she glanced at me, and Crafa also looked at me in the direction she was looking, his eyes becoming much more indifferent. I immediately bowed and saluted again.

"Nelris...how are you doing lately? Are you still a magic apprentice?"

"It's my daughter's stupidity that has disappointed my father."

"What about the statistics work at the Magic Crystal Mine?"

"It has been summarized into a table, please take a look." I took out a file bag from my coat and handed it to Crafa. He opened it, glanced at it, and nodded slightly.

"Well, the harvest is okay."

Then he looked away and stopped looking at me.

It’s not so much that I was hated, but rather that I was simply ignored.

This is the normal situation. My father and brothers and sisters all treat me like this, except for Lillian, of course.

"Alright, everyone go back and get ready. It's almost time for dinner, and Zane and the Forion children will be here soon."

""""yes.""""

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"Thank you, just put it over there."

Hearing Nylis's instructions, the flying insect placed a pile of thick books in the corner. This flying insect was large in size, like a small snake with insect wings. Its underside had many small claws suitable for grabbing things, making it the perfect tool for carrying things.

She stretched and looked around the room—books, books, books, so many books that the large bookshelves against the wall were completely occupied, and pages piled up like a small mountain in the corner. Reading was one of her few pleasures. The books here were mostly academic works with a wide range of content, and she spent most of her free time reading them.

The furniture was much simpler. A single bed, a desk, a chair, a nightstand, a small wardrobe, a simple dressing mirror, and a fish tank. That was all. The style was simple, and the color scheme was all black, white, and gray—all of Nellis's favorite colors.

After washing off the dirt on her body and changing into a dark grey turtleneck sweater and a plain long skirt, she was finally able to meet outsiders.

"Um……"

She looked at herself in the dressing mirror.

Unlike her siblings, her silver-gray hair reached her shoulders, with only a long tuft hanging down at the back. Her eyes were azure, slightly upturned at the corners, with long lashes. Her skin was pale, and her lips were a light shade of pale. Her features were exquisite and beautiful, perfectly complementing her face. Nelris wasn't a narcissist, but from an objective perspective, her appearance did possess a dreamlike, piercing beauty. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call her a one-in-a-million beauty.

Looking down, she revealed a slender figure compared to her peers. The shoulders, arms, and waist were all quite slender, her legs were long, and her chest and hips could barely be described as "plump." While this figure wasn't exactly charming, it was still quite respectable for an upper-class aristocrat.

But she still had little presence and no appeal to others. The miners also whispered about how "Miss San's charm as a woman was completely unattractive" and that she was completely different from Lillian.

The gap wasn't just in charm or popularity, but also in talent. Lillian was only one step away from becoming an intermediate magician, while she was still just a magic apprentice who hadn't even taken the exam.

But of course it doesn't matter, it's better this way.

The progress of magic lies in the accumulation of knowledge, the perception of the world and the heart, and the communication with nature. Compared with these three, the reserves of magic power or the proficiency of spells are secondary.

This is something that every elementary magic textbook mentions, but few people care about it nowadays. After all, with a mature grading system, friendly meditation methods, and a formulaic promotion process, who would still spend too much time exploring the world and their inner self?

Today, Nellis Zelah also spent her free time before dinner reading.

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Lillian was dressing herself up seriously in the room.

Although this was just an old and boring festival and all the people who came were acquaintances, Lillian would never allow her appearance to have any flaws.

(I am so perfect today~?)

Lillian chuckled at the thought of the fanatical admiration from men and even some women.

However - although she really liked the feeling of being admired by countless people, the more popular she became, the more unhappy a part of her heart became.

Even publicly humiliating a certain silver-gray-haired guy couldn't calm this inexplicable rage.

(Should I add more... No, it shouldn't be related to the dosage, right?)

After finishing her makeup, Lillian touched her clothes while thinking about something.

Today, the book is also well kept in the lining of my clothes.

It’s not safe to put it anywhere, so it’s best to carry it with you.

Chapter 2 The World in the Cocoon (Part )

The annual Ansuna Festival, commonly known as the Harvest Festival, has arrived as scheduled this year.

It is the harvest season every year. People will count the harvest of the past year on this day, take a long holiday, and worship Ansuna, the great and benevolent goddess of fertility.

...Although, today, those three days of holiday are what people really care about, and worshiping the goddess and the like are just formalities.

Local laws clearly stipulate that every year during the Harvest Festival, everyone, regardless of status, has the right to enjoy three days of complete freedom. No one, whether a respected sage or a street vendor, can be forced to do any work they don't want to do during these three days.

The Zelah family, a prominent noble family, was no exception. Every year, during these three days, all of the Zelah family's guards, servants, craftsmen, gardeners, pharmacists, miners, farmers, and herders enjoyed three days of complete freedom without worrying about missing out on wages.

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Zelah Mansion, first floor, restaurant——

The dishes on the table were noticeably out of place. According to Harvest Festival tradition, everyone had to prepare at least one dish on the first day's dinner, demonstrating that they weren't wasting the food gifted by the goddess of abundance. Of course, this tradition had long since lost its former solemnity and became more entertaining. Usually, during this time, the nobility would have their chefs prepare the meals before they went home for the holidays, and cooking their own meals was just a formality, given that most nobles' cooking skills were appalling.

Ten people are sitting around a round dining table, hands clasped together, silently chanting praises to the goddess of abundance, which is of course part of the tradition.

Sitting in clockwise order by age, they are:

Middle-aged man with short dark brown hair – the head of the family, Krafa Zelah;

The eldest son, York Zelah, 25 years old, is a brown-haired young man with an intellectual appearance;

The fit and short-haired woman—Eldest daughter Ellen Zelah, 23 years old;

The long-haired woman in a long robe – the second daughter, Chloë Zelah, 21 years old;

The tall, thin young man with dark brown hair—the second son, Luke Zelah, 19 years old;

I am the only one in the Zelah family who does not have brown hair - Nellis Zelah, 17 years old;

The fourth daughter, Lillian Zelah, is a 16-year-old girl who is as beautiful as a fairy.

Nia Zelah, a thin and weak boy, 15 years old.

These eight people are direct descendants of the Zelah family, and the remaining two are from other families.

A young man and a young girl were sitting in two special seats.

The young man was tall and slender, with a very handsome face and rare light blue hair. His name was Anhans Forion.

The girl was petite, with a slightly chubby face and a harmless appearance, but her hair was bright red. Her name was Molly Zane.

While this vast territory was governed by the Zelah family, this didn't mean there were no other nobles. Numerous minor nobles existed, most of whom were dependent on the Zelah family. However, the Forion and Zane families were different; their wealth and status were formidable. The Zelah ancestor had been a significant contributor to the founding emperor, and the ancestors of the Forion and Zane families had served as his right-hand men, naturally benefiting from the Zelah family's rewards. For centuries, the three families had maintained a harmonious relationship, with both elders and younger generations frequently interacting and working together to manage this vast fiefdom.

It is for this reason that every harvest festival, the heads of the two families would visit the Zelah family for dinner and chat and laugh together.

Anhans Forion and Molly Zane—until a year ago, they were the eldest son and daughter of the Forion and Zane families, respectively. Just a year ago, the previous heads of both families retired early, and these two officially became the new heads of the families. Although still somewhat inexperienced, they were rapidly learning the necessary knowledge. Claffar Zelah, on the other hand, was a conservative person and did not favor passing the throne of headship so early, so our eldest brother was still a "prospective head of the family."

Since everyone knew each other, there were no rigid etiquette restrictions and everyone was chatting freely.

The four daughters are Lillian and Molly, Ann Hans, the eldest daughter Ellen and the second daughter Chloe, the eldest son York and the second son Luke, the head of the family Crafa and the youngest son Nia.

And I sat there alone, observing them.

"...And then, guess what? The Fourth Prince suddenly gave me a huge bouquet of flowers! I was so surprised!"

"Eh hey hey!? Really? And then?"

"I was completely panicked at the time. After all, he was a prince! In the end, I refused with deep fear and trepidation without even thinking."

"Ah... what a pity... the Fourth Prince is the idol of countless girls..."

"I can't help it~~ It's my fault for not being mentally prepared~"

The one bragging excitedly about her trip to the capital was naturally Lillian, and the one listening intently to her story was red-haired Molly Zane. Molly was a good girl, and her earnest expression showed that she was genuinely attracted, not just being polite.

As for them,

"Well~ Anyway, now I can only learn various things and practice magic at the same time. I really shouldn't have agreed to take over my dad's position so early." The blue-haired young man - Anhans Forion shrugged and sighed. Although he sighed, there was a hint of pride in his eyes.

"Hahaha, Anhans-chan is pretending again. You are obviously enjoying it, aren't you? If you want to talk about being busy, I in the Knights' Order are really busy with training every day!" The one who laughed and drank the wine in the glass was Ellen Zelah, our eldest sister. Her tone of voice was as refreshing as her short brown hair.

"Your tone of voice is too rude, Ellen. Anhans hates rude women, right, Anhans?" The one who smiled like a lady with her sleeve covering her mouth was Chloe Zelah, our second sister. She was wearing a simple but fine fabric gown and had long brown hair, a typical lady's style.

"I hate it, but—" Anhans rolled his eyes and noticed that the smile on Ellen's face had frozen. He immediately changed his mind at the most appropriate time, "—Ellen is an exception. This kind of temperament would be considered rude in other women, but it is generous and magnanimous in Ellen. A woman like this is very suitable to be the pillar of the family."

"Tsk, what nonsense are you talking about!" Allen patted Anhans' shoulder angrily, but the smile on his face was obviously even more intense.

"Hmm~~~~~~"

Seeing that Chloe next to him was unhappy again, Anhans immediately turned his head and started to use his meaningless sweet words on her.

Well...it's an obvious relationship.

Ellen, a high-ranking magic warrior, and Chloe, a high-ranking magician, were both blessed with talent, considering their ages. Yet, these two geniuses had long shared a mutual crush on Anhans, constantly vying for his affections and engaging in even the most open and covert rivalries. And Anhans, in turn, fully displayed his playboy side, enjoying himself to the fullest.

It's no exaggeration to say that this triangle relationship is ridiculous in the eyes of others, but the three of them seem to be immersed in it. Perhaps this is also a kind of happiness.

On the other side——

"So, big brother, you plan to reduce the export volume of magic crystals next month?"

"Considering the demand in neighboring markets and the recent market conditions, reducing exports is likely to bring greater benefits."

"But high returns always come with high risks. I think it's better to be cautious..."

Even at festive dinner tables, the two men's discussions revolved around the family business. The older, handsome brother was York, while the younger, taller, thinner, and somewhat rigid brother was Lukes. Both were passionate about their careers. York, the future head of the family, possessed exceptional talent for managing the estates and properties. Lukes, on the other hand, was a meticulous and conscientious person, always considering everything before acting. He and York complemented each other perfectly.

The only ones left are the head of the family, Crafa, and the youngest son, Nia.

Sitting clockwise, the two people are right next to each other.

"..."