The Evil Emperor's Fragile Heart

The foreign merchants with the potential vanilla beans were at the other end of the town, so Mana opted to use the carriage instead of walking, since she wanted to get there early. Once they had seen the beans, they could take their time and wander around on the roads. Besides, Mana was quite eager to sample the street food of this world, too.

It didn't take their carriage too long to reach the temporary stalls set up by all the foreign merchants. Mana quickly located the ones the head cook had told her about. It looked like they had just finished setting up their shops for the day, and not too many customers had come by yet.

"I should wait in the carriage for you," Raven said quietly.

"Why?" Mana asked. "Are you very tired already? Should we go back to the summer palace?"

Raven shook his head with a small smile. "I'm fine," he said. "But these merchants are from the Pearl Kingdom, right? They will….probably be frightened if they saw me."

Mana raised an eyebrow. "If they want to do business in the Emerald Kingdom, they'd better show you proper respect," she said firmly. "We don't tolerate such nonsense here."

Raven hesitated. "I know it is important for you to get those beans…I don't want to be the cause for you not being able to get something you wanted."

Mana huffed. "Didn't I just lecture you? Have you already forgotten?"

Raven shook his head again. "It's just that the beans are important."

"Not as important as you," Mana snapped. "Come on."

She grabbed Raven's hand and dragged him out of the carriage. Then the two of them walked to the first merchant.

"Hello," Mana greeted cheerfully. "We heard that you have vanilla beans and came to see them."

The merchant looked at her doubtfully and then looked at the guards and servants following them. Lastly, his eyes fell on Raven and his face lost all colour.

"Hello," Raven said mildly.

The merchant stepped back in horror. "Don't curse me! Don't curse me!" he cried, covering his face with his arms. He was so frightened that he trembled violently all over.

Raven shot Mana a helpless look.

Mana pursed her lips. "Why would Prince Raven curse you? Have you done something bad?"

"I didn't, I didn't!" the man sobbed.

"Then why are you so afraid?" Mana demanded. "Prince Raven only curses evil people. For normal people, he mostly leaves them alone, and for good people, he rewards them."

The man was so shocked that he stopped crying. He looked at Mana with wide eyes. "Really?" he asked.

Mana nodded. "The first time we met, Prince Raven even saved me from the clutches of a bad man who was attacking me."

"But the Sages of the Moon Temple say…" the man began, but then shut up wisely.

Mana huffed in annoyance. "Are these great Sages of the Moon Temple good to the ordinary citizens? Do they help you when you are suffering?"

The man was taken aback. "They pray for us," he replied. "They don't have to do anything else. We offer most of our earnings to the Moon Temple in return for divine protection, and we pay respects to the Sages of the Moon Temple and their staff whenever they pass by."

"They don't help us at all," came a young voice and a teenager girl came up behind the man. "All they do is take our stuff and our people, and make us suffer!" she said angrily.

"Shut up!" the man scolded.

The girl glared at him. "Why should I? I'm just speaking the truth." She looked at Mana and Raven. "They even took away my mother two years ago because one of the Moon Temple guards thought she was really pretty. She died that night."

The man looked pained at the mention of his late wife.

The girl eyed Raven speculatively. "I heard that you have the intelligence of ten men. Is that why they fear you and called you evil and cursed?"

Mana nodded appreciatively. "You're a smart girl," she said with a smile. She looked at the man. "You should learn from your daughter."

"My daughter's blasphemous words will get us killed," he moaned pathetically.

"This is why I keep telling you that we should move to the Emerald Kingdom, Father," the girl told him flatly. "This time, I'm not going back with you. I'll find myself a job and live here." She turned to Mana. "Were you looking to buy something from us?"

Mana nodded. "We heard that you have vanilla beans. We're looking for them."

The girl raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? They smell weird."

"Can we see them?" Mana asked.

"All right," the girl said. "I'll get some for you to see." She went to the back of the stall and fetched a small basket full of long and thin green beans.

Mana's eyes glowed with excitement as soon as she saw them.

"Was this what you were looking for?" Raven asked her with a smile.

Mana suddenly hugged him and kissed his cheek. "You're really, really my lucky charm!" she said happily. "This is exactly what I'm looking for!"

Raven flushed with embarrassment, and everyone else looked slightly awkward.

The girl frowned. "Are you sure? They don't taste good at all."

Mana nodded cheerfully. "They need to be cured first," she explained. "Do you grow them yourself?"

"Yes," the girl said. "I found them in a forest near our old home. The vines are really pretty, so I planted some. I tried to eat them a few times, but it wasn't very bad."

"Yes, the process of curing them is a bit complicated," Mana told her. She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Will you be able to grow a lot of them and harvest them properly?"

The girl nodded. "For some reason, I'm the only one who's able to harvest them," she said. "Everyone else who touches the vines gets a rash."

Raven was surprised, but Mana wasn't, since she was familiar with it. Her family had owned a vanilla farm in Madagascar, back on earth.

"Do you really want to stay in the Emerald Kingdom?" Mana asked the girl. "I need these beans, and I need someone to farm them for me. I'd be happy to set up a farm and hire you."

The girl looked at her in askance. "You're just a child, though," she said flatly. "Do you have the authority to make such an offer to me?"

Mana smirked. "Indeed," she replied. "I can get you an imperial edict if you want."

The girl's grey eyes became as round as balls. "Who are you?" she asked in hushed voice.

"Princess Mana, younger daughter of King Jaren of the Emerald Kingdom," Mana replied casually.

The man let out a frightened noise and knelt on the ground with a loud bang. "Asking Princess Mana for mercy for my earlier rudeness!" he wept, trembling all over.

"Get up," Mana said shortly. "We don't do all that in our Emerald Kingdom. There is no need for anyone to kneel. You're just running your business honestly, aren't you?"

"Yes, Princess," the girl replied and pulled her father to his feet. "My father is a coward and a simpleton, but he is not dishonest."

"Good," Mana said. "Now, about these beans…how much do you have? Can I buy it all?"

Now, even the girl was startled. "Princess Mana…you wish to pay for the beans…?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Mana asked with a frown.

"The direct line of the royal family in the Pearl Kingdom doesn't pay," Raven told her.

Mana was outraged. "What? They simply snatch whatever they like from the shops of their citizens? Ridiculous!"

"We're sorry, Princess Mana," the man said quickly. "We have never sold to the royal family in the Emerald Kingdom before, so we didn't know the rules."

Mana shook her head. "There's nothing for you to apologise for," she said firmly. "I suppose the ideals of royalty in different kingdoms are different. In our Emerald Kingdom, though, we don't allow any kind of coercion or corruption. If someone buys something from you, they are supposed to pay you – regardless of who they are."

"Do you hear that, Father?" the girl asked the shocked man. "Do you still need a reason to migrate to the Emerald Kingdom? I told you before – even a small, remote town like this is prosperous, and the citizens look happy and content, so the laws and the rulers must be good!"

Mana smiled smugly. "Well, I may be a little biased, but I do think my Papa is the best king ever!"

"As someone who has personally met the kings of all five kingdoms, I can completely agree with Mana said," Raven chipped in.

Mana looked at him in surprise. "You think so? Really?"

Raven nodded seriously.

"Papa will be very happy to hear that," Mana told him. "He already thinks the world of you."

Raven gave her a shy smile.

Mana turned back to the merchant and his daughter. "Now, about the beans…"

Two minutes later, Mana was in possession of six baskets of fresh vanilla beans. The merchant and his daughter promised to visit the registration office in a few days and fill up the necessary paperwork for immigration. They would have to return to their village in the Pearl Kingdom to collect their belongings and the girl said that she would also bring back the vanilla vines she was growing in her backyard.

Mana was very pleased and promised to arrange for a farm and a home for them once the paperwork was done.

When they turned to leave, the girl called out, "Princess! Won't you name the beans?"

Mana frowned. "Aren't they called vanilla beans?" she asked.

The girl flushed. "That's what my parents call them because I'm the one raising these plants. Vanilla is my name."

Mana laughed heartily. "It's a good name," she told the girl. "We'll keep calling them vanilla beans – and if you're able to raise them properly for me, I can guarantee that you'll be a very rich lady in a few years."

Vanilla stared after them in shock.