Chapter 5

"Let's have something to eat. Please wait a moment."

With that, Agatha stepped out of the doorway and asked someone who seemed to be nearby to bring food.

(There's someone outside... Maybe a guard.)

I'm just a suspicious person, after all.

Probably because I was in the form of a child, I'm being treated kindly like this.

(Prince Sarian, thank you so much!)

I thanked him in my heart.

May fortune smile upon the prince... Prince Sarian is my benefactor.

Prince Sarian, with his lustrous golden hair and blue eyes, is a boy as cute as an angel.

Just thinking about how he treated me like an older sister makes my heart warm.

By the way, I should look about the same age as Prince Sarian now...

I suddenly noticed a full-length mirror a little away from the wooden bed.

"Excuse me, can I look in the mirror?"

"Of course! Can you stand?"

With Agatha's concern and a slightly large pair of slippers, I stood in front of the mirror.

Ah, my hair seems to have been washed.

It's back to its original pinkish color.

Comparing myself to Agatha, who was standing behind me, I seem to be about the same age as Prince Sarian, just as I confirmed in the puddle.

I'm not a very small child, but my face has a youthful look and large eyes. My body is also slender.

If I say I'm 12, I think they'll believe me.

But with this, I don't think I'll be called a fake saint of the Rafen Kingdom.

After all, the age difference is obvious.

If I say I'm 17, no one will believe me. They might think I'm a crazy child.

If that's the case, how should I explain it? They'll probably ask why I was being chased.

Hmm.

What if I say I was a saint's attendant?

It's not uncommon for a girl to be a novice priestess and serve as an attendant. Since I was close to the saint, I was also suspected and almost killed, but the saint helped me escape...

But in the end, I was almost caught by the kingdom's soldiers who were trying to kill me.

How about that?

It seems like a good setup.

Anyway, it's strange to keep staring at me in silence, so I decided to talk to Agatha.

"Excuse me, where are we?"

"It's a fortress on the border."

So, we're inside a fortress!

But since we're in the Einveil Kingdom, at least I won't be killed by the people of the Rafen Kingdom.

The rest is to explain it well...

Even if I'm sent to an orphanage, I can survive. I can live a modest life with alchemy.

Just then, Agatha approached the fireplace.

"Oh dear, it was about to go out."

The fire in the fireplace was almost extinguished. Agatha put her hand near the wood and used magic to make the fire bigger, then added more wood.

(......?)

At that moment, I felt a strange sense of discomfort, but I didn't realize it.

Soon, the food arrived.

Round bread, potage soup, and chicken.

The seasoning was quite good.

But because I had been under a lot of stress and hadn't eaten much for a while, I couldn't finish the meat.

When I was having trouble eating, Agatha noticed and took the plate away.

"It was too much for Liz. Are you full?"

"Yes, I've had enough."

Enough to the point where I couldn't digest any more.

"Then, His Grace the Duke is calling for you, so let's go."

"Y-Yes..."

I swallowed.

I'm finally going to talk to the cruel duke.

While repeating the setup I thought of earlier in my mind, I followed Agatha.

The corridor was typical of a fortress, with the floor and walls made of square stones and only a few windows at the ends, making it quite dark.

Candle holders were placed at regular intervals on the walls, with flames flickering.

As I walked along, we soon arrived at the room where His Grace the Duke was.

It was the fourth room down on the same floor.

(For a room to put a stranger in, it's too close to where the duke is... But it's because I'm in the form of a child, right?)

However, there are child assassins. Even if being chased was an act, I couldn't possibly be a match for the duke.

I'm thinking all this because I'm so nervous.

I still want to avoid reality, but Agatha knocked on the door.

"It's Agatha. I've brought the girl I found."

In response to her voice, the door opened slightly.