episode_0088

Development of mountain village territory (1)

While Prinz and Heinrich were preparing to fight, Diane and her party, who left Adria, reached Yuno’s territory through a store run by the Alchemist Guild Association instead of using a space movement magic circle, which could reveal their movements.

After passing through the gates of Chiese Castle using disguised identity badges, they parted ways with the company they had been with so far and headed to the lord’s residence.

“Unni Hiria~ Rachel~ We’ve arrived, so wake up! I had a hard time riding the carriage for two months”

“Phew~ Is this Yunone’s territory? The castle is really small? Still, the air is very clean and nice~”

“Ugh~ Even though I slept like that, I’m still sleepy~ Sister Diane. You mean Eliza lives here? Now, I followed my husband to the Monster Mountains”

“Yes. They say Yuno collapsed and can’t come out because she needs to be nursed. My life isn’t in danger, but I feel like I can’t move. I’m going to ask Yuno’s agent for more details. Hyria and Rachel, you are waiting here. I don’t want to be caught in case ”

“Haaam~ I understand. Since His Majesty the Third Prince is not there anyway, we can use the official residence, right? I want to sleep a little more…”

“Ugh~ That Jamsun… I’ll ask you that too~ By the way, Hiria no longer treats me like a princess and just calls me Diane and only calls Yuno her Highness the Third Prince? Tsk!”

When Diane got off the carriage and headed towards the lord’s residence, grumbling, Hiria grumbled that it was like that again.

“Anyway~ Why is he doing that again? Rachel, please do something to Diane”

“Sister! How can I handle Diane? If you cry and say you miss your little brother and have a mental breakdown, it’s only for us that it’s hard. Kick kick kick”

Despite being an awkward combination of the Empire’s first princess Diane, her brother’s ex-wife Hiria, and her sister-in-law’s older sister Rachel, the two months of travel made the three women become like sisters.

That’s why the girls, who had been cautious at first and called each other “Your Highness” and “Princess”, now called each other by their names instead of their titles and spoke informally to each other, and they became friendly friends who laughed while throwing playful criticism at each other.

Diane also grumbled but headed to the official residence with a smile on her face, and she asked the guards standing guard if she could meet the lord’s representative.

“Hey~ Go away. Our Baron is so busy… It’s hard to meet him if we don’t make an appointment”

“Hmm~ Then what should I do to make that appointment?”

“Ugh~ What kind of baron is this country lady? If you want to meet her, write your name on the application form here. And when you come back tomorrow morning, I’ll let you know when we can meet”

The guard tried to chase Diane out based on the clothes she was wearing, but as soon as he saw her beauty, his attitude changed to friendly and he told her the procedures for meeting Baron Kimberly.

“Yes. I wrote down your name here, so you can come back tomorrow, right?”

“Let’s see, Diane… The purpose is to report moving in… If I’m registering to move in, I guess I should meet the Baron. Since you are also doing the administrative work… Anyway, hmm, hey~ Miss Diane? If it’s your first time here, I’ll have dinner at a delicious restaurant…”

“Later~ Mr. Guard~”

“Oh hey, you mean uncle? I’m still a bachelor in my 20s!!”

Leaving behind the guard who was flirting with her, Diane returned to the carriage and informed the group that she would not be able to meet the magistrate until tomorrow.

“Well… if you reveal your identity, we can meet right away…”

“That’s impossible. You have to be prepared for anything just in case”

“But can’t Hiria and I also remove our facial camouflage like you? This is so frustrating. Anyway, in this rural area, there is no one who will recognize our faces”

“I guess so. I’m a bit frustrated too”

“I understand. Instead, why don’t you just wear the same clothes?”

After agreeing to that, they headed to an inn and decided to stay for a day, then left the carriage and went to see the manor.

However, the three women who were watching soon became angry and entered the only teahouse in the castle.

“Wow~ There’s at least one teahouse in this crappy town? It’s amazing, but why does the tea smell so bad!”

“Really, people are too thin. The stores are not active either… ”

“There seems to be a significant proportion of people who cannot eat well. After taking a quick look, it seems like they rely more on hunting for food than dairy farming? There were still quite a few people at the butcher shop”

“No, this is the center of the territory, but if this is the case, what are the standards of the surrounding villages? Is this what the administrator is doing?”

“So… I can see a lot of room for improvement here and there. It is clear that the person Yuno appointed as his agent is not doing his job properly”

If Baron Kimberly, who worked overtime every night because he had no civil servants to help him with his work, heard about it, it would have been enough to grab the princess and princess by the collar and shake them, but they could see many problems with the Tessidanikana estate in their eyes, and they My head was spinning, thinking of ways to improve this place.

As the women were discussing various options in the teahouse, they heard the sound of the teahouse door opening and a pretty woman wearing armed clothes came inside.

“Owner~ Here, please give me a cool cup of coffee or tea”

“Hey~ Driver~ I’ll get you there soon~”

Thinking that it was a voice she had heard somewhere, Diane raised her head to check who the voice was, and Diane inadvertently called her name.

“Lord Cordelia?”

“Hmm? uh? uh? This… Her Imperial Highness?”

As soon as Cordelia entered the teahouse and saw Diane’s face, she ran forward. As soon as Diane came in front of her, Cordelia saw the faces of Hiria and Rachel and bowed down in front of them and bowed.

“Cordelia, the senior knight of His Majesty the Third Prince! The Eupeupeup of Her Majesty the First Princess”

“Shhh!! Quiet, quiet!!”

Diane held Cordelia’s mouth shut and lifted her head to make sure no one was listening. Luckily, the owner of the tea shop had gone into the kitchen to make the tea, and only after confirming that they were the only ones in the shop did she release her hand covering Cordelia’s mouth.

“Ah… no… precious people here… how? ”

“It appears that the situation in the capital has not been properly communicated up to this point. Well, I guess there’s no one worth coming and going here”

They told us about what happened in the capital and their situation.

“Whew~ Something like that… It was also known here about a month ago that His Majesty Karl III had passed away. I also reported to His Highness Yuno, who is recuperating in the elf territory… But due to circumstances, His Highness will not be able to move for another half a year…”

“I see… Just how injured is Yuno? You said there was no harm to your body?”

“Yes… his body is fine… but it’s a mental problem, so he’s only conscious for about 6 hours a day. Still, it was said to be about 4 hours at first, but now it has increased to 6 hours, and I am seeing improvement”

“Really? I wish I could see it…”

“I also entered the elf realm to heal from an injury sustained during the last monster invasion, and thanks to that, I was granted entry permission. It will be difficult to just rush in”

Diane, who was nodding at Cordelia’s words, tilted her head every time she looked down to see a red light shining through Cordelia’s armor.

“But Lord Cordelia? What is that on your lower stomach? I think I saw something red… Could it be that the injury hasn’t completely healed? Then I will give you the potion…”

Cordelia was startled by Diane’s question.

“Ah…no!! Her Royal Highness!! This…is…what is it…oh that’s right!! I’m here for a moment on my way to report to Baron Kimberley… so I’ll leave!”

Cordelia, who was talking gibberish in embarrassment, quickly got up and ran out of the teahouse without even saying goodbye.

“Driver!! You must bring the coffee truck you ordered!!”

The owner of the tea shop ran out, but Cordelia was nowhere to be seen, so he placed the coffee Cordelia had ordered on Diane’s table, asking her to at least taste it.

“What car is this?”

When a black tea, which I had never seen before, was placed on the table, Hiria, who usually likes tea, showed interest.

“Ah! I guess you are a foreigner? This time, the driver brought coffee from the elf realm. If you grind it and drink it, the scent is perfect! Some people don’t like it because it tastes bitter, and some people don’t like it because it can make it hard to sleep at night, depending on your constitution”

The owner strongly recommended coffee, saying that it can be drunk warm or cold, so they each got a cup and tried it.

“Oh my, is it really true? It smells so good! The taste is a bit bitter, though”

“So now I have started cultivating it in my flower garden. It is not difficult to grow and bears fruit quickly”

“Hmm~ Really? Is it possible to package just a few of these coffee fruits?”

“Yes, anything is possible! It is also a good idea to brew the tea yourself and find the consistency that suits you”

Hiria’s head was spinning, thinking of ways to make money from these fruits, and it led to the idea of further punishing the administrator who had such a special product but was not able to utilize it.

After additionally touring the estate and assessing the situation, they returned to their lodgings and enjoyed a peaceful afternoon on the balcony, enjoying the clean air of Teshidanikana Estate and the scent of coffee made by Hiria herself.

Meanwhile, Baron Kimberly and Mayer were bewildered after receiving Cordelia’s report that the princess’ party had arrived.

“Ah…why are they here? Shouldn’t we start with His Majesty’s funeral?”

“That is…”

Cordelia informed Diane about the current situation in the capital.

“But why didn’t we get this news?”

“Why would you come to this corner of the countryside to get some kind of military support? You probably thought it was just a waste of time”

“Furthermore, Prince Lee probably did not want to inform His Highness Yuno of the current situation and give His Highness Yuno a reason to participate in the war. Of course, I may need more medical care for about half a year, but I can force myself to go to war”

” Now that I think about it, it seems that His Highness the Crown Prince did not want to place a burden on his younger brother, His Highness Yuno. So, I think he sent his younger brothers and wife to His Highness Yuno to protect them. Then, there will be less room for His Highness Yuno to interfere unreasonably”

Cordelia asked Kimberly and Meyer, who were discussing various ideas, whether it would be better to first bring Diane and her group to hear the detailed story, and only then did they come to their senses, quickly pulling the carriage at the residence and heading to the women’s lodgings that Cordelia had identified.

*Illustration of the current state of the inside of Cordelia’s armor