Chapter 32: The Lost Child (2)

Inside the carriage, swaying up and down, a fiercely cold atmosphere flowed.

‘How should I bring it up? Would it be better to apologize for what I said back then?’

Grand Duchess Judith Edmund stared out the window with cold, sharp eyes.

Her gaze, narrow and shallow, fixed on the window, seemed as cold as it had been back then.

‘She’s definitely still angry about what happened then… That’s why she told me to ride in a different carriage…!

It would have been better to ride with the Grand Duke; this place was a bed of thorns. Even if I spoke, I only got curt replies. We didn’t have a proper conversation unless we were all together outside the carriage.

I was the one who provoked you back then, but you were the one who was cold to me from the start, even though I’m a princess…!

The more I thought about it, the more I felt like I was getting worked up. So, I decided not to be so considerate anymore.

“I was sorry about back then. You were so cold that I was just joking. Won’t you please stop being angry now?”

“…”

“…Are you ignoring me right now?”

As soon as I spoke, the Grand Duchess glared at me as if telling me not to talk to her, then looked back out the window, making me chuckle in disbelief. Why is she being like this? Does she hate me that much?

“This is an insult to me, a princess—”

“Ugh.”

“Huh?”

The Grand Duchess’s face had turned blue, almost deathly pale. Even an undead wouldn’t look that pale.

Then I realized. She hadn’t been ignoring me all this time, but…

“Are you getting motion sickness right now…?”

“…I’m sorry.”

I was dumbfounded by the Grand Duchess’s small nod and her return to staring out the window.

Staring out the window was just her trying to bear the motion sickness by looking at the distant mountains. She wasn’t ignoring me; she was just trying to endure the motion sickness, which brought a slight sigh of relief.

‘So, it’s not because she hates me…’

My heavy heart felt a little lighter. To be honest, I wanted to get closer to the Grand Duchess. I had to befriend the Grand Duchess now for the future.

Because she needs to work harder to break off my marriage. There would be no harm in getting close to her.

‘Come to think of it… carriage sickness… my sister had it too.’

My sister, who is now far away. My sister, who was ruined as a marriage tool for Father, left the empire and went to a place out of my reach.

“Well… Grand Duchess. May I have your hand?”

“…?”

“Quickly, I won’t do anything bad.”

I took the Grand Duchess’s outstretched hand and pressed hard on the center of her palm with a force filled with ulterior motives.

“Ugh!”

“Endure it. This is a good way to relieve motion sickness.”

-Press, press-

I pressed hard on the center of her palm with my fingernail. As I slowly massaged the area on her wrist joint, the Grand Duchess’s sharp expression seemed to soften.

“My sister also had severe motion sickness. Whenever that happened, I would relieve it with my hands like this, and it would get better to some extent.”

“…Thank you.”

“What… If you’re that grateful, I hope you’ll stop being angry now.”

“I was… sorry about then.”

The Grand Duchess squeezed her eyes shut, quietly turned her head, and apologized.

It’s a step forward. It’s hard to talk to someone who is motion sick, so I should try talking to her again when the carriage stops.

Looking at her still pale and groaning, it was as if I was seeing my sister, whom I might never see again.

If I want to see my sister again… unless my sister dies and becomes a corpse, she will not be able to return here.

Then what about me…? If the Grand Duchess gets rid of the forced marriage with the Grand Duke…

Where will I go?

---

Thanks to Anna’s introduction, I came down to the village on my day off.

Anna confidently headed to a lewd shop from broad daylight, without even a shred of embarrassment.

Compared to her, I was so embarrassed that I even brought a cloak I didn’t usually wear and wrapped myself up in it…

“You don’t have to be so embarrassed, you know? They won’t say anything if you go in wearing a maid uniform.”

“No, why a maid uniform instead of casual clothes? If they find out we’re maids of the Edmund family…”

“It’s okay~ It’s actually safer this way?”

Anna sighed softly, grabbed my hand, and entered the alleyway.

Perhaps it was because of the slightly shocking experience in the alleyway. Whenever I enter such a narrow alleyway, my heart doesn’t stop pounding.

Anna walked slowly through the alleyway as if she was used to it. The security must be bad in a place like this… Her confident stride made me feel relieved.

“Um… explain it to me now. Why is a maid uniform safer?”

“In a place like this, they understand if you say you came on an errand for the noble lady you serve.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Usually, noble ladies are very interested in these things. But they can’t go themselves, so they secretly send their maids. So, wearing a maid uniform is a tacit rule that lets them know you’re here on an errand for a noble lady…”

“Hee, hee…”

How does Anna know about these things? Did she learn this from her previous job? Her experienced tone allowed me to feel safe and walk through this narrow alleyway.

“So… try looking around this time. I’ll come with you again later. You have to tell me if you buy something I recommend today and it works well, okay?”

“H-How can I talk about that…”

“Hey… you’ll end up talking about it if it’s good.”

How long did we wander through the alleyways? Just when I thought I wouldn’t be able to find my way back, we found a shop with a sign hanging up.

Seeing this shop with obscene pictures on the sign, I thought, ‘So there really are adult stores in this world.’

-Ding-

“T-Thank you…”

As we were about to enter the shop, the door opened, and a girl in a maid uniform came out, hiding her face.

She seemed to have bought a lot, as the bag in her arms was thick. Seeing that, Anna looked at me and winked.

“See?”

“Y-Yeah…”

Leaving the girl who passed by behind us, we entered the shop, and I couldn’t hide my surprise at the lewd scene that unfolded before me.

Mosaics everywhere I looked. Looking at the inside of the shop, which was full of mosaics, I couldn’t find a place to put my eyes and lowered my head.

“G-Goodness…”

“How is it? Do you see anything you like?”

“C-Can I look around a little…?”

Anna, with a sly smile, went to pick out what she wanted to buy first.

The shop was filled with items for women than I thought. There were hardly any men’s items, and there were plenty of women’s underwear and such things.

“Wow, wow, wow, it’s like this? Wow… No, this isn’t… covered at all…?”

I couldn’t come to my senses at the spectacle of clothes that didn’t function as underwear at all.

‘Would Judith really like something like this…? What if she thinks I’m too much of a slut? Wouldn’t she despise me…?’

Worry preceded excitement. They were such terrifying items that I wondered if she would really like it if I wore something like this.

“Ah, Chloe, not that way. It’s too early for you.”

“R-Really? I thought so too.”

Thank goodness. It wasn’t something like that. When I followed Anna to where she called me, I was able to find clothes that I liked.

They seemed less lewd than before, but they were still attractive enough. I liked these more than those earlier ones.

“And… this. This is a gift from me.”

“T-This is…!”

“Do you know? This is how…”

I opened my eyes to something new thanks to Anna’s introduction.

-Ding-

“T-Thank you…”

Today was a really rewarding shopping trip.

It was more expensive than I thought, but so what? If Judith likes it, these items will be worth a fortune.

Anna’s expression also looked very good as she left the alleyway. The bag filled in her arms was full of dreams and hopes.

“How was it? Was it okay?”

“Yeah… it’s okay… it’s expensive, though…”

“It’s worth the price, so don’t worry.”

“O-Okay…”

I only chose items that were guaranteed by the perverted Anna. Then… the value of these items must be really great.

I felt my steps getting lighter at the thought of Judith coming back soon.

-Thwack!

“~~~!!!!”

As I was about to go back the way we came and get out of the alleyway, someone grabbed my skirt, and I was so surprised that I couldn’t even scream.

“Judith’s scent…”

“Judith…?”

When I turned my head to check, a young elf girl with eyes like grass was holding onto the hem of my skirt and looking up at me with sparkling eyes. Is she an orphan living on the streets…?

“Judith…? Could she be talking about my Milady? Anna?”

“…That can’t be. How would Milady know such an orphan? It must be someone else.”

Certainly, how would such a young child know Judith? Is she a child she saw when she went out for inspection without me?

The child, who smelled the hem of my skirt, raised her head and looked at me, her green eyes sparkling.

“Human who smells of Judith… Do you know where Judith is…?”

“M-My scent?!”

“Ah. This might mean that the person this child is looking for is Milady.”

“Anna!”

My face felt hot at Anna’s teasing tone. My, my scent…? Does Judith’s scent come from my body that much…?

I couldn’t help but smile as I felt the muscles in my face relax.

“Little one. Is the person you’re looking for perhaps a woman with blonde hair and red eyes?”

“Yes! That’s who I’m looking for!”

“The appearance is right, but…”

Even if this child is looking for Judith, it wouldn’t be easy to bring her into the Grand Ducal Castle. Since this child’s identity is not certain, it would only be troublesome if something happened.

“I have a request. Jim must meet Judith. Jim has something to tell her, and Jim must receive the reward for the promise.”

“Reward for the promise?”

“That is…”

The child hesitated and couldn’t open her mouth. It would be difficult to take her even if she said this. And the way she spoke was very unique. A child who introduces herself as Jim… Could she be an elf noble or something?

“…First, why don’t we take her with us? Let’s talk to the Head Butler first. If this child really has a promise with Milady, we’re the only ones who will be in trouble if we ignore her.”

“…But how can we take a child whose identity is not certain? What if this child is lying?”

“I’m worried because her tone is a bit aristocratic. There’s no way an orphan would speak like that.”

“That’s…”

I turned my head and looked at the green elf child. The child’s green eyes, like healthy leaves holding sunlight, were full of tears. As if she was about to burst into tears.

“Little one… what’s your name?”

I made eye contact and asked her name softly. The child, swallowing her tears and making a sniff, slowly began her introduction.

“Jim’s name is Gloria Dryad.”

I turned my head and looked at Anna, but Anna shook her head as if she didn’t know. Since I had never heard of the Dryad family, it was clear that she wasn’t a noble from around here.

“…Let’s take her for now? If we talk to the Head Butler, we’ll get an answer somehow.”

Then, seeing the child holding my hand tightly and smiling brightly, I felt my guard relax a little.

If this child is really a noble, why is she wandering in this alleyway? Did she lose her way? Where are her parents?

Although she didn’t understand at all… If she was a noble, Edmund would find her family. If she was an orphan, they would just throw her back out on the streets.

Anna must have suggested taking her in with the same thought as me, right?

She took the child’s hand and came out onto the main street.

What on earth was this promise with the child, and what was the price? Was it because it was Yudith’s business? The thoughts wouldn’t stop.

Yudith wouldn’t be here for a while yet… If the child found her parents, she would come back later.