Ball of Nothing

Tea arrived and Zero took time to talk to the princess, easing her into the more difficult topics after gaining her trust and admiration. The doctor soon found out that Princess Dorothy was actually a smart girl who just wasn't exposed to the world thanks to her overprotective family. The lady was a good age of twenty and was considered rather young for a dwarf. However, she inherited her mother's intelligence and would have been a very capable ruler if not for the fact that her father caged her in the palace like a bird.

Fae King Vivian was the only person Princess Dorothy had the pleasure of meeting who paid attention to her as an individual and not a princess of Rocket Mountain. Although Zero didn't understand romantic love, he could understand why the princess had fallen for the Fae King.

Then again, Zero wondered why Princess Dorothy would choose the thorny path. Fae King Vivian was obviously still grieving over the loss of his beloved wife Queen Rihanna twenty years ago. For a Fae whose lifespan was longer than a dwarf's, the memory of losing his Fae Queen was still fresh in his mind. According to logic, there was no way Fae King Vivian would be interested in a toddler like Princess Dorothy who he watched grow up.

The love was doomed and Zero couldn't help but feel pity for the princess. When she explained how Fae King Vivian described his ideal lover, the doctor immediately understood that it must have been a comparison between his unknown ideal lover and his late wife. After all, Fae King Vivian did mention some really strange things when he described them.

"I understand that you're trying to become the ideal lover for Fae King Vivian," Zero started and Princess Dorothy nodded. "I know with some effort you would be able to achieve things like having a waist the size of a young willow and the face the shape of an apricot. However, what will you do about the part when he said shimmering silver wings that reflect the moonlight or even a voice like the chime of bells?"

Princess Dorothy looked down sadly. "My father said that we have one of the best craftsmen in the country and he will figure that out. We've tried several pairs of wings but they're nowhere near good yet. I can drink something to change my voice for a few hours. The thing I struggle most with right now is maintaining my weight. It keeps fluctuating back up if I get even the slightest bit careless."

Zero nodded sympathetically. With the weight of nearly skin and bones, of course it will go back up if the princess ate. It was only natural. At this stage, Zero can safely diagnose that it was anorexia. The extreme dieting was doing more harm than good for the princess' body and if he came any later, she would have dieted herself to death in a few more years without any success at confessing at all.

"This won't do," he told her. "If you keep dieting, you'd end up becoming uglier."

His statement seemed to shock the princess terribly. She trembled like a leaf about to fall from the branch, her sanity barely hanging by the thread. After six hellish months of starving herself and working herself to the bone to achieve this inhuman level of beauty, the elven mistress told her that she was only going to become uglier if she kept it up.

"W-What am I going to do? All my efforts... Are all my efforts in vain?" the princess couldn't help but cry.

Zero watched as she grieved over the terrible news with a poker face. In all honesty, this was the result he was hoping for. However, he was cringing internally for being so direct about what he wanted to say. While it wasn't necessarily a lie, Zero still felt bad for having to play the bad person here even though it was for the princess' own good that he was doing so. Thankfully, there was something he learnt from his days in the abyss. In the past, Zero would have felt bad and even embarrassed. Now, Zero was a master in the art of shamelessness. Although he couldn't win Freya or Buddha in this aspect, the doctor was still confident that nobody on Earth would be able to win his level of shamelessness.

Instead of comforting the princess, Zero took the arrogant approach and scolded her. "How dare you think that you know what's best when it comes to beauty! Your method of dieting isn't incorrect. However, true beauty is more than just external. I promised your father that I will transform you into a great beauty while he helps my brother locate the craft master that we need. You have a choice to make right now. My brother will be taking a month or two to locate and convince Dorgon Flintstock to come back with us to Magnus Hilda for a job. In this month or two, I will be residing in the palace as an official envoy and guest. You need to make a decision to continue your pitiful efforts of dieting to become what Fae King Vivian's ideal lover or to follow my teachings to become a true great beauty of your own makings."

Princess Dorothy's eyes went wide like saucers with Zero's outburst. To dramatise the effect, Zero placed the tea cup down rudely with a loud clang and pointed at the dwarven princess with a huff. "You should have already known who Fae King vivian's ideal lover type is by now! How can he tell a dwarf to grow wings? As a child who grew up observing the lonely king, you would have known who King Vivian is in love with. I can help transform people into beauties but I cannot cure foolishness. That's all I came to tell you today. If you wish to pursue the true road to becoming a great beauty and a reliable princess of Rocket Mountain, you can look for me again tomorrow. If not, I will be at my temporary clinic outside the palace, treating patients who need my attention more. You decide, princess. Have a good day."

As dignified as Zero entered, Zero left the room and the stunned princess to her thoughts. Nobody commented on how rude Zero was to the princess. Instead, the guards and servants started to wonder if Zero was alright. The moment Zero exited the room, he ran and jumped out of a window to climb a tree in the garden and hide among the leaves.

Many patrolling guards saw the strange elven healer up in the tree with her face buried in her hands and talking to herself but they pretended not to notice. It was best to leave the crazy alone.