"You can do it, Princess Nova! Believe in yourself—you'll definitely succeed!"
After spending the entire evening building up the little princess's confidence, the willful yet insecure girl finally, timidly, activated the Spirit Eyes on her arm.
"Aisha, you have to watch me closely! Don't look away, Aisha!"
Sitting properly on the soft royal carpet, Aisha nodded seriously. "Mm, I'm watching closely, Princess Nova!"
The Spirit Eyes in the princess's hands had never been truly used since birth.
By the usual growth pace of a Duelist on the Spirit Continent, at her age, Nova should at least be able to scrape together her own Deck.
Children's spiritual power was weak, so the monsters they summoned tended to be weak too—mostly Normal Monsters.
Regardless, even lowly Normal Monsters didn't matter; one still had to gather at least 40 cards to qualify as a Duelist.
"I'm going to do it, Aisha! I really am!"
Miles said, "Why does this feel familiar? Has the princess caught it from you, Aisha?"
Just days ago, in her Summoning Final, Aisha had been the same—nervously saying the exact same words.
And ended up summoning The Winged Dragon of Ra (summoned, but not fully summoned).
"—Please, give me a cute monster! I want…the cutest Duel Monster!"
Clutching her Spirit Eyes tightly as she prayed for a summon, the princess's incantation was either straight from the soul or simply laying bare her desires… Either way, the cards would respond to a Duelist's hopes.
"I heard someone call for the cutest Duel Monster—that must be me!"
A flash of summoning light—and to Miles's surprise, Nova's first monster summon was a humanoid monster with enough intelligence to speak.
But… shouldn't the cutest humanoid monster be Dark Magician Girl?
Instead, it was…
A proper Laundry Dragonmaid—not the cosplay version Aisha had once worn.
Princess Nova's first-ever summoned monster wasn't a lowly Normal Monster, but Lan-maid—an actually decent Effect Monster compared to typical small fry.
As it transformed into a card in the princess's hand, Nova's brow furrowed in dissatisfaction despite her successful first summon.
Aisha quickly praised her, "That's great, Princess Nova! Lan-maid is cute, and she's got the maid attribute—isn't that nice?"
Nova blinked. "What's so nice about maids? If I wander the palace, I can run into over twenty maids easily."
Well, that was a difference in social class. The Carlos family had a few housemaids, but they were nothing like the palace's highly trained, beautiful, and graceful staff.
Aisha said, "What's going on, Miles? Didn't you say all Duelists like Lan-maid?"
Miles replied, a bit awkwardly, "First off, she's not really a Duelist yet. And secondly, people who like Lan-maid don't necessarily have Lan-maid…"
Unsatisfied with her first summon, Nova looked to Aisha, almost pouting.
"What should I do, Aisha? Should I try again? I want one like yours… the soft, fluffy monster that's so nice to hug!"
"Of course you should keep going, Princess Nova! To summon Lan-maid as your very first monster is impressive!"
It really was—perhaps a testament to her royal blood, her first summon had already set her far above the average person.
"But I only want a soft, fluffy monster!"
The Spirit Eyes had clearly stored more mana over the years.
Clutching her hope in both hands, the little princess once again gripped her Spirit Eyes and recited her… NOT summoning chant but HER heart's desire.
"I want a fluffy monster! Fluffy! Summon!"
Pale blue light flared again, and the second monster of her life appeared—
Another Lan-maid.
Miles scratched his cheek, "Uh…"
Aisha said, "Miles, I think Princess Nova's petrified."
The double Lan-maid blow left Nova frozen, still clutching her Spirit Eyes.
If not for the occasional blink of her golden eyes, Aisha would've worried she'd fainted.
Miles thought for a second before he said with a snap, "Wait, Aisha… this one's different."
In the summoning light, the smug, hands-on-hips Lan-maid wiped her nose and said, "A fluffy monster? I can do that!—Lan-maid, henshin!"
She transformed from her half-dragonmaid form into a full dragon—cute and sleek, with soft blue fur shimmering in the light.
"How's that? Is this fluffy enough for you?"
The petrification broke instantly—Nova dove in without hesitation.
"This is exactly what I wanted! Mm, so soft and warm! I did it, Aisha!"
"That's wonderful, Princess Nova!"
Held tight and rubbed all over by the little princess, the dragon-shaped Lan-maid blushed.
Miles said, "Told you—no card lover can resist Lan-maid. But if both her first summons are Dragonmaids… this princess has serious potential."
Lan-maid was one thing, but if Nova went on to summon more Dragonmaids, she'd surpass most Fusion Academy students before even starting.
She was the perfect example of being born in Rome.
"Princess Nova might become a great Duelist."
Miles's remark made Aisha as excited as Nova.
"Keep summoning, Princess Nova—there's still mana left in your Spirit Eyes!"
"Zzzz… So cute and soft… this is wonderful, Aisha…"
But before Aisha could finish, she realized Nova had already fallen asleep on the fluffy Lan-maid.
It was late, and indeed, two summons in a row had drained the inexperienced princess.
Contentment and exhaustion together lulled her to sleep atop the dragon.
The adorable image of a little girl with a little dragon made Aisha smile like a doting aunt.
Aisha said, "How nice. I hope the princess can always stay this carefree."
Miles' brows furrowed.
"Why do you sound like you're jinxing her? Well, still… living in the palace as the third princess, she probably has nothing to worry about."
...
If you want to support, please consider Patreon, and read advanced chapters! Your support keeps this series going!
[Patreon.com/RedZTL]