Chapter 23

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As Luria's mother, Duchess Amalia of Valois, was writing a reply to an invitation in her room,

"Ahh, Miss Luria has started her sword practice," a young maid informed her after looking out into the courtyard.

"Thank you for letting me know!"

Amalia rushed to the window to peek at the courtyard.

Gilbert and the instructor were not there. It was a day for classroom lessons.

Instead, Luria and Daru were being watched by the governess and many birds and prairie dogs.

"Hunnu! Hunnu! Hunnu! Cha~~" "Wafu, wafu, wafu, wafu~"

Daru, holding a wooden stick in his mouth, was running around Luria, who was swinging a wooden stick. It was more like playtime than sword practice.

"Miss Luria is truly adorable."

An older maid, who was looking at the courtyard with Amalia, murmured.

"Really... I'm so happy she's growing up so well."

Amalia's cheeks relaxed.

"When she was a baby, she never cried, and I was worried..."

Luria was a child who never cried.

Even when she was hungry or her diaper was dirty, she never cried.

It was only when Daru barked that they realized her diaper was dirty.

She would either stare at people as if glaring or try to grab something in the air.

She drank breast milk well and would smile when held, but it was still worrying.

When Luria was born, Amalia nearly died.

She was worried that this might have made her body weak.

"Recently, she's been too energetic."

"Yes, she's like a boy..."

Amalia's words made the older maid nod with a distant look.

"...More mischievous than Gilbert."

"......She really is very mischievous."

There was something Amalia couldn't forget.

It was when Luria was one and a half years old.

Luria had a lot of caterpillars in her pockets.

It was a mystery how Luria, who hadn't been taken outside, had collected them.

She probably asked Daru to gather them for her.

When Amalia noticed something stuffed in Luria's pockets and asked,

"Luria, what is that?"

Luria, with a full smile, showed her the wriggling caterpillars she had grabbed.

Lydia, who was nearby, screamed, and Amalia almost fainted.

Afterward, she told Luria, "You must not collect caterpillars. Lydia and I are afraid of them."

Luria seemed to be reflecting, but she didn't understand Amalia's words at all.

This became clear half a year later, when Luria was just two years old.

Spring came, and the five mantis eggs Luria had hidden under her bed hatched all at once.

From one mantis egg, about two hundred nymphs hatch.

Five eggs, meaning a thousand mantis nymphs filled Luria's room.

"I hope she doesn't hide mantis eggs anymore."

The maids all nodded deeply.

When Amalia entered Luria's room to visit, she fainted at the sight.

Lydia, who heard the screams and rushed in, also fainted.

Even Gilbert, who usually loved mantises, turned pale.

The sight of a thousand mantis nymphs filling the room was truly terrifying.

"At that time, Miss Luria said she had collected them as emergency food."

"Yes. It's good that she has a good appetite, but..."

Luria, as a princess, has an excessive appetite.

Since she was a baby, she drank breast milk greedily.

Even now, she eats everything served to her, and if Gilbert or Lydia try to leave food, she says,

"Brother, if you're leaving it, give it to me!"

and tries to eat it.

Even if she says there isn't enough, she insists on not wasting it.

"Not being picky is good, and valuing food is good, but..."

"But Miss Luria is only three years old. She can learn manners gradually, right?"

"Yes!"

For now, it's good if she eats well and grows up strong.

"Despite the mantis incident, Miss Luria is generally a child who listens when told."

"Yes!"

After the mantis incident, Amalia decided not to scold Luria if she brought in insects or eggs.

Instead, she asked Luria to always report what she had collected.

"Understood!"

Luria, who responded enthusiastically, started coming to report every time.

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Yesterday, Luria came over.

"Mom! Grasshoppers!" "Wafu wafu~"

"Oh, oh, yes, grasshoppers. What are you going to do with them?"

Amalia is not good with insects, so her face tensed.

Still, she mustn't scream or scold loudly, as it could lead to worse if they were hidden and collected.

"I'm going to eat them."

"No, no, you can't."

"Why not?"

"Grasshoppers have parasites. You'll get sick."

"Oh, I see. Then I won't eat them. But, Daru just ate some!"

"Wafu~"

Amalia gently stroked Daru's head, trying to calm him down.

"It's okay for dogs. Dogs have stronger stomach acid than humans."

"Oh, that's good. Daru is lucky!"

"Wafu!"

"Luria, it's not nice to eat grasshoppers. Please release them in the garden."

"Okay! Daru, go!"

"Wafu wafu~"

This way, she prevents major disasters.

Amalia's room is filled with insect and biology books to help her deal with such situations.

Thanks to this, Amalia herself has become quite knowledgeable about insects and biology.

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"Why is Luria... so fixated on food?"

Amalia doesn't know about Luria's past life.

So, she couldn't understand why Luria, who had never experienced hunger, was afraid of it.

As Amalia watched Luria play what she called sword practice,

"Miss Luria, it's snack time."

A maid brought snacks.

"Snacks!" "Wafu!"

Luria's eyes lit up, and Daru wagged his tail, running to the maid.

"Would you like to have them in the courtyard?"

"Yes!"

Luria took a basket full of cookies from the maid and sat on the ground in the courtyard.

Since Luria always eats a lot, the amount of snacks for a three-year-old is also quite large.

"Snacks for Daru too."

"Wafu!"

Daru received a bone and started gnawing on it.

Meanwhile, birds gathered around Luria as she tried to eat her cookies.

The birds were not so much gathering for the snacks as they were gathering around Luria.

"...Do you want to eat?"

But Luria, seeing the birds, thought they were hungry.

"Kuruppo~" "Hohohou" "Kyuikyui"

"I can't help it! I'll give you some. Just a little each."

Luria started breaking the cookies and sharing them with the birds.

There were many cookies, but there were also many birds.

Even with a generous amount for a three-year-old, it was not enough to share with all the birds.

"I'm sorry, I only have a little."

In the end, Luria gave all her cookies to the birds.

"Wafu?"

Daru dropped the bone in front of Luria.

"You should eat it, Daru. Luria isn't hungry."

"Gau~"

Luria licked the cookie crumbs from her hands and patted Daru.

Seeing this, Amalia murmured,

"Yes, it's fine."

"What's fine?"

When the older maid asked, Amalia, grateful for the question, began to explain.

"I was worried. I thought Luria might become a child who would take others' food to satisfy her own hunger."

Amalia looked at Luria with a happy smile.

"But Luria is a kind child who cares more about others than herself. So, it's fine."

Licking the cookie crumbs from her hands.

She loves cookies and was probably hungry.

But she endured for the birds and the prairie dog, thinking they were hungry.

"When I was three, would I have shared my favorite sweets with a friend? ...I'm not sure."

"That's not true. Miss, no, Madam, was kind even when she was three."

The older maid, who had served Amalia since childhood, smiled.

"Thank you."

"Miss Luria's kindness must be like yours, Madam."

As Amalia and the maid chatted leisurely,

"Ahh, it's a caterpillar! Can I eat this?"

"Wafu~?"

"There might be parasites! If you eat it, will you be okay?"

"Wafu"

Luria and Daru started discussing this.

"That's not good. Quickly bring Luria more snacks. Before she tries to eat the caterpillar."

"Yes! Right away!"

Amalia and the maid hurried to bring Luria a lot of cookies.

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