Chapter 33: The Lost Child (3)

“…”

“…”

‘How did this happen… I clearly came to chase after the child who smelled like Yudith…’

The frills on the shoulders fluttered delicately. A black uniform dress and a pristine white apron. A maid uniform from the Edmund family, tailored for children. The green-haired elf staring at the mirror looked at his own reflection with a face of despair.

“Wh-What is the meaning of this… Jim is…”

“Gloria… Hmm… That’s long. I’ll call you Ria.”

“…No, don’t go changing Jim’s name as you please…”

The Head Butler, looking down with pitiful eyes, chuckled and stroked his head. He had clearly come to receive the price for his promise with Yudith, and the explanation had already finished…

‘…Milady said that if an elf calling herself Gloria came looking for her, she should definitely be let in.’

‘Huh? When did she say that?’

‘Hmm… It hasn’t been long. She said it after returning from the Earl Renard’s estate.’

Chloe stared at the Head Butler in surprise, as if she had never heard of it before.

Gloria simply nodded, saying, ‘As expected of Yudith. Her response is certainly thorough.’ But after hearing the next words, his face was filled with despair.

‘She said to accept you as a maid.’

‘Huh?’

‘Ah, so you’re the child she met in the Black Forest. She went alone to subjugate the Magical Creatures, you see.’

‘Huh?’

‘Hmm… First, it would be right to do as Milady says. Chloe, don’t we have a maid uniform for children?’

‘Yes! I’ll go get it right away!’

‘Huh?’

Gloria looked back and forth between the Head Butler and Chloe with wide eyes, as if he couldn’t understand what was happening. Use Jim as a maid? Yudith ordered that?

Before he even had time to collect himself, Chloe, who had brought a maid uniform for children in an instant, forcibly stripped him and changed his clothes in less than a few minutes, and before he knew it, he was standing in front of the mirror, dressed in a maid uniform.

“From now on, you must call Milady ‘Milady’, not by her name.”

“No, Jim is… Yudith…”

“Milady.”

“Ah… Aaa…”

He could only tremble at Chloe’s forceful gaze and lowered voice.

Her lips held a smile, but her wide, downward-looking eyes were filled with a madness that seemed to never allow him to call Yudith by her name.

“M, Milady…”

“Yes! Good job!”

“E… Eheh…”

He was surprised by the laughter that leaked out without him realizing it. Was it a reflex that occurred when the fear subsided?

His strength was almost gone, and now he needed to conserve his energy… He had the feeling that if he went against this human in front of him, something terrible would happen.

“First, let’s learn the basics. And, there are many things I want to ask.”

“Wh-What is it…?”

“…How do you know Milady’s scent?”

…

Ah, I’m going to die.

---

The capital was approaching, and they had gotten off the carriage to rest and set up camp for the last night.

As the carriage journey, which was truly only a little bit left, was coming to an end, I let out a sigh of relief, looked at the bonfire, and calmed my motion sickness.

Not long after, the maid Erina, who had prepared the food, came running with quick steps and handed me warm soup.

“Princess! Be careful, it’s hot!”

“Ah, yes… Thank you, Erina.”

“Ehehe! You’re welcome! Ah! Should I taste it for you?”

“…It’s alright. There’s no one here who would poison me.”

“…Still, I’ll try it once.”

Despite the Princess’s refusal, she picked up a spoon, put a mouthful of my soup and the Princess’s soup into her mouth, chewed it, swallowed it, and smiled as the Princess didn’t know what to do.

“…It’s okay! Enjoy your meal!”

After some time passed and there was nothing wrong, the Princess simply stared at Erina’s back as she smiled and ran away with quick steps, warming her hands with the warm soup she had given her, unable to take her eyes off her.

Even a fool could tell by looking at that figure. That the Princess was caring about someone.

-Crackle crackle

After getting off the carriage, my motion sickness gradually subsided, so I was able to put something in my mouth. At first, I really felt like the food in my stomach was rattling along with the carriage, and I almost made a mess in front of the Princess…

But now, thanks to the acupressure points the Princess taught me, I feel much better.

“Is your motion sickness alright now?”

“…Yes, it’s much better thanks to you, Princess.”

“Puhuhu… That’s a relief.”

The Princess, who was sitting right next to me and looking at the bonfire, didn’t look good. Perhaps it was because of the bonfire, but the Princess, who was slightly frowning, seemed to open her mouth with difficulty.

“…We’ll arrive in the capital tomorrow.”

“Yes, we’ll finally arrive.”

“You must be happy. Since you don’t have motion sickness.”

“…I won’t deny it.”

Finally, tomorrow, we will arrive in the capital. In a little less than a week, I wanted to quickly meet the Emperor, exchange some greetings, and then quickly return to Chloe.

After staring at the burning bonfire for a while, the Princess opened her mouth again.

“…The Emperor won’t say much to you, greatly.”

“…?”

“To forcibly remove you from the family register, he would eventually have to reinstate Grand Duke Edmund into the Imperial Family. The Emperor won’t go that far.”

I had never heard of Damian’s past. But the Princess seemed to know about it. Why Damian was removed from the family register in the Imperial Family and acting as Grand Duke in such a remote place.

“…I envy you.”

“Yes…?”

“Do you have any thoughts of getting married?”

“If you mean a political marriage, I have no intention of doing so.”

At my sharp answer, the Princess chuckled and turned her head to look at me. With a bitter, tired expression, as if she was having a hard time.

“Right… There’s no man in the current Empire who can take you, and if you have no intention of doing so, you don’t have to. If there’s a successor, you can just make one like you. The Edmund family is a family that has been cut off from the Imperial Family, so what does bloodline matter?”

-Crackle crackle

Only the sound of sparks flying from the bonfire was heard. The Princess, who had pulled her knees together and showed a weak side for the first time, buried her face in her knees and said in a small voice.

“I… can’t do that…”

I knew from Damian that the Princess had lived to marry him. Because of me, the marriage was canceled, and I could easily imagine what would happen to her when she returned to the Imperial Family empty-handed.

‘…She’ll find another person and get engaged.’

The Emperor’s impression, which I heard from Damian with his emotions mixed in, was that he was a thorough egoist. A human who would not hesitate to do anything if it benefited him, even his own daughter.

That was the Emperor.

“Where… will I go?”

Having lost her place to go due to the cancellation of her marriage with the Grand Duke, she was a lost child. A pitiful doll-like person who wandered around without finding her own path, walking only on the path that someone else had created.

That was the current state of the Second Princess.

I don’t usually give this kind of advice… Is this a slight sense of guilt? For some reason, I couldn’t help but sympathize with her.

“…Princess, I don’t have much to say. Please dismiss what you’re hearing now as the ramblings of a madman.”

“…?”

“I think there are two ways for someone in your position to avoid marriage.”

“…What are they?”

“Lower your own value, or…”

The Princess, as if she understood without hearing the rest of the words, raised her head and gave a bitter smile.

“Lower the value of the other person. And then, thoroughly ruin the other person so that they can never touch what’s yours.”

Just like what I had been doing for Chloe.

When Chloe said she was going to go on a blind date, I ended up chasing the guy whose name I don’t even remember out of the Grand Ducal Castle.

In addition, anyone who lingered around Chloe and got close to her was thoroughly excluded.

That’s how I was able to get what I wanted…

But how will the Princess act?

“Thoroughly… what’s mine… thoroughly…”

“Yes, thoroughly.”

I grabbed the Princess’s hand, which seemed to be trembling slightly. Yes, if you want to have what you want, you have to put in that much effort. What does it matter what others say? It’s enough if I get what I want.

“Princess, you’ve already done it before.”

“I, me…?”

It wasn’t hard to guess that she had given advice to Erina, whom the Princess liked, and made them break up.

While I was in the Grand Ducal Family, Erina was the only one around the Princess. There must have been a lot of talk. The reason Erina broke up was clearly due to the Princess’s influence.

“Haha…”

The corners of the Princess’s lips went up as she thought about it, and she covered her mouth to stop the laughter. It seemed like she was only now realizing what she had unconsciously done.

“Thank you… Thanks to you, I feel like I know what to do.”

“…I’m glad I was of help.”

The Princess smiled happily. Her smile as she turned her head to look at Erina looked truly bright and happy.

Like someone who had cleared the fog that had been clouding their mind.

“…Then, can I assume that I have your permission?”

“Of course… You can take her.”

“Huhu… Hahahaha…”

Her red-hot smile as she looked at the bowl someone had handed her was truly beautiful.

Is this what it looks like to see someone in love from the side? I felt like my desire to see Chloe was only growing bigger.

“Okay… First, to prevent my marriage, the top candidates…”

Her eyes were shining brightly, as if she had made a promise while muttering something.

Indeed, the eyes of someone who has made a decision shine the brightest.

‘I think I could be good friends with the Princess.’

This was the first time I liked someone this much since Damian.

Even if I became close to her, it wouldn’t harm Chloe, and she was someone who seemed like she would give me benefits.

The Princess was exactly like that.

The Princess didn’t seem to be thinking about marriage anymore. Her figure, protecting what was hers and pioneering her own path, was no longer a lost child.

Only her laughter echoed in the dark forest.

I also happily watched the Princess, who was laughing happily.