All female characters in this story are adults. If written as 17, they are 17 years and 364 days old, and will be an adult in the next chapter. If written as 12 or 14, they just look young, but are actually hundreds of years old. That's just how it is, meow~ Also, please leave your brains here.
"Beautiful girl, I just want to give you an apple. I have so many apples that I can't possibly eat them all.
If you're afraid the apple is poisonous, I can take a bite first."
Crunch!
The old woman brought the apple to her lips, scraped off a piece with her only remaining front tooth, and then handed the rest to Snow White.
Under the old woman's hospitality, Snow White finally couldn't resist the red fruit emitting an enticing aroma.
"It should be fine, since the old grandmother has already eaten it."
So she carefully reached out to take it and took a gentle bite.
Unexpectedly, the apple was half-poisonous and half-safe. Having eaten the poisonous half, Snow White immediately stopped breathing and collapsed limply to the ground.
Grin clapped his hands together, closing the storybook with a "snap."
The children gathered around were immediately jolted out of the story.
"No! Don't let the princess die!"
"That's terrifying! I'm never eating apples again!"
"I suspect my mom is trying to kill me!"
...Hearing the children's outrageous remarks, Grin couldn't help but find it amusing.
Looking up, Grin felt a bit dazed.
At some point, a luxurious gold-and-red chair had been placed among the children. A young girl in a red dress, holding a folding fan, sat upon it, scrutinizing Grin with a piercing gaze.
Behind her stood a sturdy, one-armed man wearing a short, earthy-yellow cloak and a knight's helmet.
"What a ridiculous story. Is this the most interesting thing you found in the Royal Capital, Aldebaran?"
Al, being called by his full name, stood at attention as if struck by lightning, then teased back vengefully, "I think it's quite suitable for a woman of your age to listen to."
After all, I feel like you're the type who would eat things from strangers.
Of course, Al did not say the second half of that sentence out loud.
In truth, the interesting thing he had found wasn't these fairy tales, but the storyteller himself.
Aldebaran, whose identity was a mystery, also knew these stories. He had come this time mainly to confirm if Grin was a Transferee.
Priscilla, sensing the underlying meaning in Al's words, felt a bit annoyed and said coldly:
"Hmph, I am nothing like that princess named Snow White. If it were me, I would certainly have eaten the non-poisonous part with precision."
Seeing this master and servant pair, a mysterious smile appeared at the corners of Grin's mouth.
He knew Al would eventually find him.
After all, the place where he told stories was not far from Priscilla's temporary residence in the Royal Capital.
Grin walked slowly toward Priscilla, placed his right hand over his heart, and gave her a slight bow.
"Grin, a Commoner, sends his greetings to the Sun Princess."
Priscilla opened her folding fan, covering half of her face as if to distance herself from Grin.
"Hmph, you may rise, my future subject."
Al quietly shifted his position to Priscilla's front-right. This way, if Grin did anything unfavorable, he could draw his sword in time.
"Hey, brother. Aren't you going to continue the story?"
Grin ignored him, keeping his gaze fixed on Priscilla.
"I believe the rest of the story should be continued by another princess."
With that, Grin pulled a crystal-clear red fruit from his wide robes.
"Esteemed Sun Princess, would you like to try a poisonous apple just like Snow White's? As you said, for someone like you who is bathed in sunlight, you would surely bite into the non-poisonous part without fail!"
"Brother, what do you mean by this?"
Al's gaze turned unfriendly, and his single hand was already resting on the hilt of his sword.
Priscilla waved her hand, signaling Al to step back, then stood up gracefully and walked toward Grin.
"I see longing in your eyes. Could it be that eating this strange fruit will bring you some benefit?"
"Uh, Your Highness. It's not a strange fruit; it's an apple."
Grin massaged his forehead, explaining somewhat helplessly.
Priscilla took the fruit and looked it over for a moment, then said mockingly, "Poor Commoner, you don't even recognize an apple. It is common knowledge that an apple is a white fruit."
Grin's mouth twitched. "Is it possible that the skin of this apple is red, and it's only white after peeling?"
After speaking, Grin glanced at Al.
Al scratched the back of his head. "The Princess really hasn't seen what an apple looks like originally. The fruits she usually eats are prepared by servants."
"Is that so?"
Grin was speechless; these high-ranking people were coddled to an absurd degree.
The apple turned in Priscilla's slender, fair palm. There was no fear in the princess's eyes, only curiosity for new things and mockery for the clown.
"Commoner, poisoning a member of the Royal Selection is punishable by burning at the stake, though that would be one of the few opportunities in your life to truly shine."
Grin shrugged and replied:
"It is high noon, Princess, the moment when the sun is most brilliant in the day.
If the Sun Princess were killed by poison at this time, it could only mean that Fate has arranged for me to be buried with you."
Priscilla was slightly moved by the word "Fate."
As the owner of the Divine Protection of the Sun, she received various action corrections during the day.
As long as the sun remained up, her luck would be pushed to the peak.
This was also why she enjoyed defying fate.
"Heh, such a low-level provocation."
Having said that, Priscilla still brought the apple to her lips, opened her pearly teeth, and slowly bit off a piece of flesh, chewing it behind the cover of her folding fan.
"It is indeed the taste of an apple. It seems that unprocessed fruit has its own wondrous flavor."
Seeing Priscilla finally eat the apple, a flash of joy appeared in Grin's eyes.
The fairy tale book in his hand flipped open on its own, stopping at the section for "Snow White."
Words began to emerge on the blank pages.
"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 (wolgaroth)."
An illustration of a beautiful lady wearing a golden crown and a deep black dress studded with fine diamonds faded into view on the page, holding a distorted mirror in her hand.
At the same time, mana began to surge out of thin air within Grin's magic gate.
Phew~
Grin let out a long sigh of relief.
The sense of security brought by this power made him feel a bit more grounded.
"As expected of the Sun Princess who stands at the center of the world, you accurately found the non-poisonous part."
"Meaning the poison is hidden in the other half, correct?"
Priscilla asked back, then turned the apple to the other side and took another bite.
"Stop!"
"Princess!"
Grin and Al shouted almost simultaneously.
But it was too late; Priscilla had already swallowed the poisonous part.
"Hmm, it's a bit more sour and astringent than the non-poisonous part."
The expected poisoning event did not occur.
As long as the Divine Protection of the Sun was in effect, Priscilla was immune to all underhanded methods.
To kill her, one could only crush her from the front.
"A poison that even an Earth Dragon couldn't withstand is merely'sour and astringent'?"
Grin was truly impressed; these people loved by the world could not be viewed with common logic.
Priscilla gave a pure smile.
"Perhaps it deteriorated under the sunlight. Alright, Al, the diversion ends here. Arrest this poisoner for me."
"Yes, Princess! Brother, please relax, I'll try to be as gentle as possible."
Al stretched his sturdy arms and approached Grin.
"You attempted poisoning; according to the Lugnica Code, you'll be sentenced to have your right hand severed. This way, we can truly become a 'left and right hand' duo."
Although he anticipated the princess wouldn't be poisoned, placing her in such danger was suspicious; he couldn't rule out the possibility that Grin was from another Royal Selection camp.
Therefore, the princess's judgment was correct—arrest him first.
"Ah, is this right? Shouldn't you be appointing me as some minor official for offering the apple?"