Chapter 57

In the midst of the siege,

I am watching over you.

I don’t know how many days have passed.

Anna comes to prepare tea and meals for me.

The food is simpler compared to when I was in the mansion, but I’m afraid of eating anything made by strangers. I can’t bring myself to eat anything unless Anna brings it or I know she made it.

I know I’ll lose strength if I don’t eat, but my appetite has clearly diminished, and even though I can see Anna is worried, my spoon movements don’t improve.

I spend more days sinking into the bed, sleeping more. But Anna doesn’t tell me to move; she just worries and takes care of me. Even when I’m sleeping, I sometimes have nightmares and Anna wakes me up.

Suddenly, I sense something nearby. I look around, thinking it might be Anna, but there’s a small, pudgy, plushy-like creature in a pale green color, resembling a monster.

...Cute.

Eh, is this something I can touch?

Its slightly slanted eyes are peering at me, a deep green like malachite, sometimes looking like emerald in the light. It has something like a horn on its head, but it’s not sharp. Because of its round belly, it tumbled over when it tried to bend down to look at me more closely.

Then it couldn’t get up and flailed its limbs.

Yeah, it’s really clumsy.

I can relate to its lack of coordination.

When I helped it stand up, it made small, happy sounds like “pii” and “gii.”

What is this, so cute.

When I pet its head, it has a soft, smooth texture like well-used, high-quality leather.

It seems to enjoy being petted, as it closes its eyes.

But how did it get in here?

Did it break through the barrier?

Did Anna bring it as some kind of pet therapy? Even though I love animals, my father never allowed us to have dogs or cats in the Latizche household.

“Miss, I’ve brought your herbal tea—what is that!? Don’t touch it!”

Anna, holding the tea set, quickly placed the tray on a nearby shelf and ran to my bed.

Wow, she’s fast. Is Anna a maid or a ninja?

“...This, troublemaker!!!”

Grabbing the horn-like part on its head, she threw the plushy-like creature out the window, which had been staring at me in the same way as I was.

“...Annaaaa!?”

“Phew, I don’t know what it was, but it’s gone now. Miss, are you hurt?”

“No, I’m not. It was just looking at me. It seemed like a small child. You didn’t have to throw it out the window...”

“...Miss, I’ve lived longer than you, but I’ve never seen such a creature. It might be a monster or someone’s familiar.”

“A monster broke through the barrier?!”

“Yes, low-level monsters can sometimes do that. It’s the only explanation. Miss, your barrier repels anyone you don’t recognize. No one but me should be able to enter this room or the Vayu Palace.”

Oh no! An animal trap instead of a honey trap?!

How did my love for animals leak out? Did it become so obvious that even a slightly unusual creature like this is in my strike zone, indicating my animal hunger?!

As I panicked, Anna warned me not to approach unknown things.

Really, how did it get into this room?

Maybe it’s a pet of a noble or royal family?

I wanted to enjoy that soothing touch more.

Anna, looking at my fidgeting fingers, had a slightly troubled expression. Anna is usually expressionless, but she does show subtle changes.

“Did you like it?”

“Yes, ...it was very cute.”

“...I understand. If it’s harmless, I’ll bring it back later.”

I’m sorry, I’m being a spoiled lady.

In any case, Anna’s tea is getting cold.

Our small morning tea time began.

The Vayu Palace was larger than I expected.

The palace, which could be called a white marble castle, was once used by the queen, crown princess, and princesses, and is grand and imposing.

The current two queens were not allowed to use the Vayu Palace, which is also called the Vayu Palace. Only women who were to become the king’s spouse or were of equally noble royal blood were allowed to use it.

There was an unspoken condition for those who could use this palace.

The royal eyes.

Only those who possessed this irrefutable proof among the royal women were allowed to use it.

By being given this palace, Albertina’s possession of the royal eyes was widely known among the nobles.

Even among those who would become the king, some did not have the royal eyes. In such cases, it was a mandatory condition to marry a woman with the royal eyes. By being here, Albertina’s presence significantly affects the line of succession.

She acts bright, but she has deployed a massive barrier that almost completely isolates her from the outside world. From what I can see, she doesn’t look particularly tired, but her appetite has clearly diminished, and her round cheeks are starting to thin. Even though she looks beautiful even in her haggard state, it’s painful to see.

If she realizes that the line of succession is being forced upon her, her heart will only suffer more. Anna sighed bitterly.

When Albertina was brought to the palace and given the Vayu Palace—essentially placed under house arrest—her exhaustion was severe. For a while, she cried and cowered in fear.

She wouldn’t let anyone but Anna approach or touch her, and even the sight of moving objects made her flinch.

Her panic was so severe that the maids and knights didn’t approach her, and even high-ranking nobles, ministers, and royal family members hesitated to request meetings.

And the complete shutdown by the barrier.

It was good that Albertina, who had been lamenting, finally showed a genuinely happy face, but that strange plushy-like creature was too suspicious.

But if Albertina liked it, there was no choice. She stepped in the direction it was thrown. It’s unclear how it got in, but there are birds and insects in the palace, so it might be classified in the same category.

Slimes sometimes slip through monster repellents because they are too weak to trigger them.

When she found it, she was very troubled.

If Albertina were there, she might have said, “Oh... Skekyo style.”

The creature, impaled head-first in the pavilion, was flailing its lower half slightly. Its small feet were scratching the sky futilely.

It flailed for a while, but then stopped, perhaps from exhaustion. When a bird landed on its foot, it started flailing again in surprise. The bird seemed to find it amusing and pecked at it, making it cry out pitifully, “Piiiii!” It seemed scared to be touched even though it couldn’t see anything.

What to do with that creature. Should she pull it from above or below? When she entered the pavilion, it seemed the structure had a gap between the ceiling and the roof, and only its head and upper body were stuck in that gap. Pulling from below seemed impossible.

Anna was an excellent maid, but she wasn’t agile enough to climb onto the roof of the pavilion like a thief or acrobat.

She decided to look for a stepladder.

Her beloved Miss wanted that strange creature.

Albertina, as a daughter of a high-ranking noble, had a somewhat naive side, but she was cheerful and very cute. In her childhood, she had a cruel and sadistic nature, but after being kidnapped, she became much gentler, almost like a different person.

Anna, who generally has no interest in people, didn’t want her to revert to that cruel person.

Albertina’s current gentle and innocent personality, despite her age, is largely due to the duchess who doted on her.

Gryal, who was completely enchanted by Albertina’s cuteness, lost his usual coldness when doting on her. Fortunately, Albertina didn’t become a monster of desire because of this doting, so this slight deviation is negligible. She was thoroughly educated as a young lady while being completely isolated from the outside world.

Everything related to men and women or bedroom matters was excluded from Albertina’s view.

Even bedtime stories that involved princes and princesses in romantic plots were completely avoided. Even fairy tales were removed.

Occasionally, she would investigate popular trends or discuss love novels with Gryal, but they were very modest and beautiful Platonic stories.

Perhaps because of this, her fear of the unknown worsened her dislike of men and shyness.

On the other hand, she is extremely clingy and trusting of people she feels safe with.

Anna, who generally has no interest in people, even thinks that the suspicious Julius is bad for her education just because the cute Miss is fond of him.

That man, if Albertina weren’t the daughter of Gryal von Latizche, would have already seduced her.

That sharp-witted man, who even Gryal finds bitter, has an unusually strong streak of bad luck. He often returns unscathed from very dangerous missions, looking completely calm. Once, when he came back with his chest stained with blood, Anna thought he had finally been stabbed because of too many enemies, but somehow his body was unharmed.

That man didn’t say anything at the time, but he was unusually quiet for a while, so something must have happened.

While searching for a stepladder, Anna realized how difficult it was in an unfamiliar place. The Vayu Palace was vast. It wasn’t something Anna could handle alone. She should have brought all the servants from the Latizche household.

Suddenly, she noticed another shadow overlapping behind her.

There shouldn’t be anything to block the view here.

“—!?”

“Pikii”

Turning around, she saw a tall, all-black figure standing there.

It was “Shadow,” the guard assigned to Albertina.

A presence that should not appear in public. A presence that should not be seen.

The black figure’s face was hidden behind a black mask. It was tall and imposing, but what caught her attention was the object it held under its arm.

The small creature, with its tail and limbs flailing happily, was making high-pitched sounds like “pi” and “gi,” as if singing a little song. Its toy-like hands were pulling at the Shadow’s loincloth, occasionally tearing it. It seemed to have some strength, but the material might be designed to tear under a certain amount of force. The small creature, in high spirits, was happily pulling at the loincloth.

The Shadow, clearly confused, awkwardly offered the green creature to Anna.

Sensing it was about to be let go, the creature cried out pitifully, “Piiiiii!” trying to cling on. But the loincloth was already too short from being pulled so much. Its small limbs flailed in the air futilely.

But Anna had more important questions.

“Why didn’t you help Miss Albert! Even with you around!!”

She grabbed the front of his black robe, ignoring the suspicious sound the fabric made.

“Even if it were the Duke of Fortuna, you could have done something! Poor Miss Albert was completely terrified!”

Anna’s brown eyes, thinly veiled with tears, glared sharply at the Shadow.

“...There were too many nobles at that place. The Fortuna family is too powerful to oppose.

Even skilled in assassination, the Shadow couldn’t defeat that fierce general without taking significant damage. There would have been heavy casualties on our side.

Even if we had eliminated Gandalf, the next generation, Clift, would have tried to take Miss Albert.”

Anna bit her lip, swallowing the rusty taste in her mouth and glaring even more sharply at the black-clad man.

The tall man continued.

“Then the Fortuna family would have allied with the royal family and called upon the Armandine and Flings families.

Even with the Latizche family’s formidable power among the four ducal families, it would be difficult for the young Kistaria and the others to handle the royal family and the remaining three ducal families.

If the head of the Latizche family were here, it would be a different story, but a full-scale conflict between the Latizche, the royal family, and the three ducal families should be avoided.”

“But...”

“Our top priority is Miss Albert’s safety.

To ensure she is not harmed until Master Gryal returns.

The Duke of Fortuna had no intention of hurting Miss Albert. In fact, he probably protected her because he couldn’t leave his rare granddaughter with the royal eyes in a duke’s house without a head and ravaged by bandits.”

“That’s outrageous! Miss Albert was crying and trembling the whole time! Didn’t you see!? You’re as blind as a rock, that old man!”

“Probably, he thought she was afraid of the attack by Renaria. The rumor was that both the delicate young lady and Miss Albert were weak in mind and body. I’ve heard the same about Miss Christina and Miss Sistina.”

The Shadow spoke calmly, but Anna’s anger didn’t subside.

She had been taking care of Albertina for a long time and had feelings beyond that of a servant. She hadn’t yet realized that it was a kind of affection similar to that for a sister or daughter.

“...The Duke of Fortuna broke through the barrier once. What was that?”

“He was desperate to see his granddaughter and, with the help of the king and the palace magician, broke through the barrier once under the condition that it would be the only time.

It was a very reckless action that put a significant strain on him.

After being clearly rejected by Miss Albert, he has been wandering around the barrier every day.”

It was easy to imagine. The giant, bear-like figure wandering around the palace he couldn’t enter.

Anna knew the Fortuna family had a grudge over Gryal and Christina’s marriage and was concerned about Albertina.

With Albertina resembling her mother and possessing the royal eyes, they had various uses for her.

Whatever they were planning, Anna inwardly cursed them to wander forever.

To Anna, who was deeply devoted to Miss Albert, the Fortuna family was a group she wanted to curse to extinction.

She clicked her tongue sharply, and for a moment, the Shadow seemed to waver, but he remained silent under her glare.

Despite being a representative of the hidden side of the ducal family, Anna refused to believe that a maid’s tongue-click could fluster him.

The Shadow, a master of stealth, assassination, and secret protection, operated in the shadows of all stages.

There were many things she wanted to say, but she took the green creature for now.

“What is this?”

To her surprise, he answered quite easily.

“It’s a type of fairy or spirit. It has no ill intent and accidentally entered because it resonated with Miss Albert... Probably a young one.”

“Can it be kept? Is it dangerous?”

“It tends to fall into ponds and roll down stairs. If you want to keep it, it’s best to keep it in a box.”

The danger is different from what she expected. It’s even clumsier than she thought.

Where did its parents go? Why was it left alone?

Apparently, the Shadow had been aware of this strange, clumsily adorable creature for a few days but ignored it because it seemed so harmless and clumsy.

The creature, now in Anna’s arms, was happily swinging its legs. It seemed to enjoy being held. It had no wildness. It might have been raised with care.

The royal palace has royal magicians who conduct magic research for the kingdom or work as magic soldiers. It might have been a failed experiment or too weak to be kept, so it was left in the garden or the palace.

Such beings are usually found in places with high magical energy or are specially revered, but they are known to the public only through legends and traditions of powerful beings.

Conversely, weak fairies and spirits live in hiding. They are rarely detected unless someone has a very sensitive sense. They often live under the protection of more powerful beings. Anna had heard that weak beings would disappear if left alone for too long. Information about mystical beings is not widely known to the general public, which is why they inspire awe and admiration.

(…If it can distract Miss Albert, anything is fine. Whether it’s a fairy or a spirit, as long as it’s not dangerous.)

At that moment, Miss Albert was smiling.

It was a genuine smile, not a forced one.

Thank you for reading.

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