episode_0151

On the day with the Royal Consort’s birthday a week away, and the Feast Day a little less than two weeks away.

“Young Master.”

“Huh?”

“Will you also spend this year’s Feast Day season without plans, like last year?”

The question Emily asked me carefully after finishing tidying the room and approaching my side, as I was getting ready to go to work, wrapping a scarf around myself.

“Feast Day?”

Feast Day.

Like Christmas in my previous life, a day to commemorate a great saint from the past.

I had momentarily ignored it, focusing on the Royal Consort’s birthday which was closer, but this Feast Day isn’t a light event to just gloss over.

Although the Feast Day itself is a short and impactful event that only lasts for one day, the atmosphere that the Feast Day creates lasts very long, like Christmas.

That is because it is a day to commemorate the saint of the religion that the absolute majority of people on the continent believe in, and it is the biggest event of the religion that all countries on the continent have as their state religion.

Even people who don’t frequent the church due to livelihood and personal circumstances visit the church at least during this time, and even people who are not very devout ride the atmosphere led by the church at least during this time.

Therefore, during this 2-3 week period leading up to the Feast Day and continuing into the New Year, everyone ends up living while only looking forward to the Feast Day.

Advent wreaths that start being hung on the doors of every house.

Giant trees that are set up one by one in the plaza.

Carols that children start humming.

And nobles who suddenly start giving alms to the poor, etc., Santa and Rudolph aren’t there, but aside from that, a very similar atmosphere is formed.

“Of course, I’ll spend it without plans, you know my schedule well.”

“As I thought.”

Of course, it was a story far from me.

Because going outside is too bothersome.

I can fully understand that a lot of people are moving around since it’s the end of the year, but the problem is that too many people use the Feast Day to beg.

Dealing with the poor who grab people who look like they have some money and desperately beg for just a penny isn’t easy for someone like me.

Giving money coolly is one thing, but the moment you give money like that, the surrounding poor swarm like bees, and to top it off, orphanages or churches start sticking to you, asking for donations.

Then my energy gets drained, my time gets wasted, and my motivation disappears, so I don’t want to go out.

“Why that all of a sudden? Did a new schedule appear that I don’t know about?”

“No, that’s not it, but I asked hoping you might be different this year, after all, you have more people around you now.”

“That’s true, but there aren’t many people I can actually hang out with.”

Young Master Herbert and Young Lady Pany will probably play well on their own, and other commoner employees would feel too burdened to hang out with me.

At least there’s Elizabeth, but…

Suggesting going out felt a bit awkward.

If my face hadn’t been known yet, I would have suggested going without hesitation, but now my face is widely known.

A princess’s movement requires the sacrifice of many people.

Especially in places crowded with an unspecified number of people, like a plaza.

“So I guess I’ll spend it similarly to last year, or maybe I’ll be even freer since Hayes isn’t here?”

“I see.”

Moreover, this year, neither my mother nor Hayes, who could at least drag me outside, was here.

My father is busier than me meeting acquaintances and finishing up work at the Magic Tower, and my older brother isn’t in his right mind because of my sister-in-law, so I didn’t want to bother him.

Since receiving a letter saying ‘I’m starting to see signs’, he’s been writing and sending letters full of worry and love every single day, but the sight was close to madness, so it was scary.

“Emily, do you have any plans for the year-end?”

“I don’t either, I only know people from the Count’s family.”

“Oh dear…”

Similar to me, Emily also had no plans due to connection issues.

Unlike me, who voluntarily created the issue, it was largely my fault.

Unlike other servants who have their leisure guaranteed by having two or three dedicated attendants, I only have Emily, so she works by my side about 360 days a year.

It seems she has some close friends among the maids in the territory, but unfortunately, this is the Imperial Capital…

I felt somewhat sorry.

The fact that she was spending her youth boringly because of a gloomy man like me.

“Then, how about we look around the Imperial Capital this weekend?”

“… Pardon?”

At the suggestion I made half-impulsively, Emily showed a flustered look and stared at me intently.

Someone who seemed like they would never do that suddenly suggesting an outing must be unbelievable.

“You don’t have plans, and I don’t have plans, so it’s perfect, isn’t it? Staying home every year is boring, and you’ll need some time to breathe too, and it’s a shame to spend your youth cooped up in your room so much.”

“I don’t really need time to breathe, and I’m not that disappointed either.”

“Then it seems I’m the one who needs time to breathe.”

“Then wouldn’t it be alright for the Young Master to go alone?”

“Is that something a dedicated maid should say?”

“Ugh… Umm… The streets of the Imperial Capital will be crowded, are you sure? It’s full of people and noisy?”

“I’m not going out every day, one day is fine.”

“Umm… Well…”

“?”

I frowned at Emily’s appearance of desperately not wanting to go out.

Why is she suddenly like this?

Normally, even if I said I didn’t want to go out, she’d encourage me, but this time she’s acting strangely in the opposite way.

“Do you perhaps not like it?”

“I don’t dislike it…”

“Then is it good?”

“Umm… Going is a bit difficult, but I don’t dislike it.”

“What…?”

I don’t know if she likes it or dislikes it, if she can’t go, or if she can go but doesn’t want to.

“Don’t answer ambiguously, answer with either ‘I’m going’ or ‘I’m not going’.”

“Oh… Well… That… So…”

As I urged her for an answer, mixing in a bit of annoyance, she started stammering and rolling her eyes around hectically.

“Haa…”

The 고민 wasn’t long. (Note: ‘고민’ is Korean for ‘worry’ or ‘ 고민’. The original text used the Korean word itself. Translating it might alter the meaning slightly. Let’s leave it as ‘고민’ as per the rule to not modify content). Emily, who let out a deep sigh with a half-given-up look, slumped her shoulders slightly and nodded her head.

“I’ll go, I just need to follow you, right?”

It seemed like something was bothering Emily, but in the end, she accepted going out with me.

“Good, then the day before the Feast Day is alright, right?”

“Yes…”

Just in case she might change her mind later, I set the date clearly, and, having heard Emily’s clear answer, I, put on my coat with a smile.

I should probably find out what kind of famous spots there are in the Imperial Capital for the first time in a while.

_

“William, do you have any separate plans for the year-end?”

As I went to work at the atelier after making plans to go out with Emily, Elizabeth, who had arrived earlier than others and was waiting, asked me the exact same question Emily had asked, as soon as she saw me.

“Wow… What day is it today?”

An exclamation naturally flowed out.

Asking about someone else’s schedule at the end of the year is common, but the strange timing of them acting as if they had planned it together isn’t common.

Of course, there’s a very high probability it’s a coincidence.

What is there to gain from the two of them coordinating something like this?

Perhaps Elizabeth asked because she didn’t have a partner for things like the Royal Consort’s birthday and New Year’s events.

“Is it because of a partner? If that’s the case, anytime is fine.”

“No, you obviously have to be by my side for that, I mean on other days,”

“I don’t really have any, but the day before the Feast Day won’t work.”

“The day before the Feast Day?”

Elizabeth’s eyes sharpened.

Elizabeth, who immediately strode over and looked up at me, put her hands on my shoulders and started shaking me lightly.

“Why? Why can’t that day work? Are you planning to meet someone? With whom?”

“It’s Emily! I said I’d go around the Imperial Capital with Emily.”

In the chilling aura that felt like she would tear me apart if my answer was even slightly delayed, I quickly sold out Emily, who was standing next to me.

“Emily?”

Muttering Emily’s name in a low voice, Elizabeth, who had stopped as if a string had been cut, soon looked at us with eyes that conveyed unfairness and betrayal.

At Elizabeth’s reaction, Emily, who was noticeably flustered in a way unlike herself, perfectly avoided Elizabeth’s gaze and pretended she hadn’t seen anything.

“Traitor…”

After a fierce war of nerves that lasted for several tens of seconds, Elizabeth, feeling bewildered by Emily who wouldn’t spare her a single glance, mumbled in a spiritless voice.

I couldn’t hear it well, but it seemed like she said ‘traitor’, and it seemed like something had happened between the two of them.

But even after hearing that, Emily was still just avoiding Elizabeth’s eyes.

It was amazing that she could stand there so composedly even while directly receiving Elizabeth’s sharp aura full of annoyance.

“It’s a prior engagement, so unless something special happens, you’ll be going around with Emily the day before the Feast Day, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then take me with you that day too.”

“What?”

At the brazen yet absurd request, I frowned and scratched the back of my head.

Usually, wouldn’t you pick a different day?

Although the day before the Feast Day is the perfect day to hang out, it’s not *that* good that you’d butt in like this….

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah, I’ll be quiet, so take me with you that day.”

“We’re going to go around the Imperial Capital, is that really alright?”

“That’s still alright.”

“How are you planning to hide your princess status?”

“There are plenty of ways to hide that, so don’t worry.”

“Ah, okay…”

A massive will to definitely butt in no matter what happened was felt from Elizabeth.

If I were to refuse this, the rest of my life would become very difficult.

“Then shall we meet at the Imperial Palace Plaza the day before the Feast Day?”

“Yeah, thanks for humoring me.”

“No, well… I can take care of Emily another time,

In the end, I had no choice but to awkwardly add Elizabeth into our plans, feeling sorry towards Emily.

Although I was concerned in many ways whether a princess could properly go out, she herself said she was confident, so she probably wouldn’t let a problem occur…