Chapter 86

Lately, the castle has been quite noisy. I wonder if they're having a festival without me, Maria Kudan.

Rascer, who always takes care of me, and Spatifilum, the inspector, are not around. Come to think of it, it's snowing quite heavily today. It has already accumulated quite a bit.

...It must be around the time of the annual Snow Festival. I'll eat as much festival food as I can this year too. Hehehe, the snow is falling just right.

Speaking of which, maybe the children are already preparing for the Snow Festival.

If that's the case, I can't just sit around and do nothing.

I'll go out to the courtyard right away and make a snowman as a preemptive strike. The bigger, the better.

"Princess! What are you doing in the courtyard?"

Oh, I've been spotted by a young guard.

"What you saw here is a secret between you and me, okay?"

If I say this with a wink, most guards will keep quiet. It's a trick I learned from a princess of another country. If Rascer finds out, he'll be a nuisance later. I can imagine his face, exclaiming, "You're still doing such things even at your age!" Hehehe, only because I'm Maria Kudan can I do such things forever. Do you understand, Rascer?

The snowball grows larger as it rolls, getting bigger and bigger. It's moving fast.

Oh, it's already up to my chest. It's become quite heavy. It was so small and cute at first.

Alright, this should be good enough. It's sufficient as a preemptive strike.

Is there anything else fun to do?

There's a cute girl at the edge of the courtyard. I'll call out to her. Maybe she'll help me make a snowman.

"You! What are you doing?"

"Ah, yes! Sorry, I'm not doing anything bad."

She apologized. I'm not angry, but maybe I shouldn't have called out so loudly.

"So, what are you doing?"

"Well, I was walking in the courtyard during my break, and then I found this..."

In her hands, a cute little chick was chirping.

How cute. Especially those bright eyes.

"...What do you plan to do? Are you going to eat it according to the laws of nature?"

"I'm not going to eat it! I don't even have such thoughts!"

"Right. I don't recommend eating it. It doesn't look well-fed."

"Is that the issue!?"

"That's the issue. Even if it's cute, if it were well-fed, it would be dangerous. What's your name? I'll remember it because you're cute."

"...I'm not well-fed."

"I'm not going to eat it!"

"Phew. I'm Iris. I work in the castle only during winter."

"Iris, I remember. I'm Maria... Maria!"

"Maria, right? I remember too. Are you a noble who works in the castle?"

Hmm, it seems troublesome to reveal my status. I just want someone to play with.

"I'm the laundry attendant!"

"In such a beautiful dress! You must be joking!"

"I'm the royal laundry attendant!"

"Oh, such a job exists. I didn't know. I'm just an assistant who does various odd jobs. I travel to many places for work, so I might have seen you a few times."

"Right. Anyway, what are we going to play?"

"No, I'm not playing! My break is almost over, and I need to get back to work!"

"Oh come on."

"Come on, really. Can you go back to work, Maria?"

"It's cold today, so it's fine."

"Is it really okay to be so relaxed!?"

She's quite serious. A Rascer type. She's cute, but a no-fun, rule-abiding person.

"Even if you go back, what will you do with the chick?"

"Well, I think there's a nest in this tree, but it's a bit high... If I climb the tree in the borrowed clothes, I might damage them, so I was thinking of changing first."

"That's not necessary. I'll climb the tree."

"In this dress!? No, I'll climb it."

"It's fine. I'm a genius at climbing trees without damaging my dress."

"Is there such a thing!? But if it gets damaged..."

"I'll wash it!"

"Is the royal laundry attendant that amazing!?"

Hehehe, no one can climb trees better than me.

Here, this smooth movement up the tree. It's so fast, it almost seems to defy gravity.

Look, I'm at the nest in no time.

"Maria! Was there a nest?"

"There was! There are other chicks too. There's one well-fed chick, but are you going to eat it?"

"I'm not going to eat it! Please be careful when you come down."

Hehehe, there's no need to worry about me.

This smooth movement down the tree. It's as graceful as flowing water. Look, I'm on the ground in no time.

"Maria! Your dress!"

"Oh... the threads are coming loose."

"Ahh, such a beautiful dress..."

"I'll get scolded... by the old lady who dresses me and Rascer."

"Maria, I'll go with you to apologize. I might not be much help, but..."

"It's fine. I have plenty of other reasons to be scolded anyway."

"What do you usually do, Maria!?"

"Well, various things. What are you going to do next?"

"Um, polish the floors and clean around the castle entrance because of the snow."

"I'll help you. I'm free."

"You're free...? It's fine, you should enjoy your break."

"It's like every day is a break for me. I'll stay with you today. We'll have dinner together too. I'll eat Taku."

"Do you plan to fatten me up!?"

"Hehehe..."

I've made a new friend. She's interesting and cute, her name is Iris.