Chapter 41
<43화>
Blink, blink.
I stood there in a daze, completely stunned by the unrealistic figures before me.
Right now, standing in front of me, were:
Queen Consort Grace of the Frozen Kingdom.
Marquess Aria, who was responsible for the southern region of the Frozen Kingdom.
Lady Maria, famous for her brilliance in the eastern part of the Frozen Kingdom.
And Count Del, rumored to be the most handsome man in the western part of the Frozen Kingdom.
Wait a minute.
There are so many people here; how am I supposed to greet them?
Normally, I would just introduce myself, but the Queen Consort herself was standing before me.
And though I might only be five years old, I was a formal spy with experience in the professional world.
‘Aisha, greet them!’
Snapping out of it, I scurried over and stood before the Queen Consort.
“The sun of the world shines upon the Frozen Kingdom. Greetings, Your Majesty Queen Consort Grace.”
I moved my small fingers, attempting to lift the hem of my dress.
“……?”
Something felt empty.
I hurriedly checked my lower half, only to find that the dress hem—which should have been flaring out grandly with lace and puffs—was missing.
Instead.
‘Damn it! I’m wearing pajamas!’
My eyes trembled in shock.
What on earth was I wearing in front of Her Majesty the Queen Consort!
“Knox! My clothes!”
“Ah, my apologies. I brought you straight from the inn to the palace, and we happened to run into Her Majesty… Since Her Majesty told me not to wake you, you ended up entering the palace in your pajamas.”
“What did you say?!”
My mouth fell open in a triangle of despair.
I was standing here. In front of Her Majesty. In pajamas.
‘I chose pajamas because pants are more comfortable, so what I’m wearing is basically the same kind of pajama Lucas wears!’
Glancing around, I saw the four most powerful people in the Frozen Kingdom watching me with eyes full of curiosity.
Get it together, Aisha.
If I don’t have a dress, and I’m wearing pants…
I just have to greet them like a gentleman!
“I am Lady Aisha Crost. Please excuse my improper attire for an audience with Your Majesty.”
Ta-da!
I tilted one leg and placed an arm over my chest, bowing my upper body.
Clap, clap, clap.
The onlookers began to applaud as if they had seen something marvelous.
“Is she a hamster?”
“Where did she learn to greet people like that? What a truly strange and cute child.”
“Can I touch her?”
At the last question, I quickly held up my hand like a hamster’s paw and shook my head vigorously.
“No.”
It was the first time in my life I’d received a round of applause just for greeting someone.
Strange. These people are strange.
“Welcome to the Queen’s Palace, Lady Aisha.”
After watching my greeting for a long moment, Queen Consort Grace gave a slight nod, accepting the gesture.
Surprisingly, though it was odd, it didn’t feel bad.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
I looked up at Her Majesty with a slightly shy expression.
‘I’ve only ever seen her described in novels, but seeing her in person, she’s unrealistically beautiful.’
Grace was the Queen Consort who enjoyed the greatest support from the commoners in the history of the Frozen Kingdom.
At eighteen, she developed a monster lure.
At twenty-two, she developed an automated plow using magic as a hobby for the commoners.
She wasn’t extravagant, and because of her deep interest in monsters, she maintained constant contact with the North to introduce magic-related knowledge and items.
Oh, and a revolutionary fact.
The portals of the Frozen Kingdom were also her creation!
‘She’s. A. Ma. Zing.’
I looked at Grace with eyes full of respect.
However, Grace was human, so she did have a tiny flaw.
Actually, considering her status as a noble, it was a bit larger than a tiny flaw.
‘She was so focused on magic studies and monsters that she didn’t care about high society at all.’
Clumsy at small talk with ordinary noblewomen, she was described as always standing like a statue at regular royal events.
The original story hadn’t mentioned that she was a member of Masamo.
I suspected this might be the only gathering she actually attended.
“By the way, I heard you brought something else interesting?”
Light green eyes, reminiscent of early summer, turned toward Knox.
At Grace’s question, Knox finally got down to business.
“Lady Aisha. If you would be so kind, please show the baby to everyone.”
“Yes!”
This was the grand tea room that opened onto the terrace of the Queen’s Palace.
“Hey, little one. Shall we say hello to the members for a moment?”
I held the baby by its armpits and held it out toward the members.
As the warm spring breeze of the capital blew into the terrace, the baby, who had been rubbing its head against me, let out a meow and opened its eyes.
“The eyes really are…”
“Purple.”
The mouths of the people watching the baby slowly fell open.
“To be honest, after reading Master Knox’s letter, I thought he was exaggerating…”
“Those eyes… is it a horned horse, or something of that sort?”
“Can I touch it?”
Lady Maria, who seemed intent on touching anything cute, tried to reach out her hand this time.
Snap—!
“Hiss!”
With its nose wrinkled, the baby hissed and buried its head back into my arms.
“He doesn’t like anyone but me.”
At my words, Grace expressed her doubt.
“With a personality like that, it must have been hard to hide him from people. How did you bring him here?”
“As long as people don’t approach him first, he listens to me very well. He’s very gentle.”
“Gentle?”
“Yes! He’s a cat that acts just like a puppy!”
Is this what it feels like to be a parent bragging about their child?
Feeling inexplicably proud, I puffed out my chest.
“…….”
But the reaction was unexpected.
Grace’s expression, which I thought would be met with applause, darkened slightly.
“Ah, let’s sit for now.”
After staring at the baby for a long time, she brushed aside her look of fluster and invited everyone to their seats.
‘What is it? Based on Her Majesty’s personality so far, I thought she’d have a bigger reaction.’
It was a bit puzzling, but since I didn’t fully understand Grace yet, I figured it could happen.
As everyone took their seats at her invitation, I moved to sit down as well.
“Lady Aisha.”
A calm set of footsteps intervened between me and the chair.
It was Grace.
“Do you like desserts?”
“Yes!”
At my energetic reply, Grace gave a thin smile.
“Knox mentioned it before. That you enjoy having sandwiches in the garden.”
“That’s right!”
“The royal chef is a master of crepes. How about having some out there in the garden while soaking up the sun?”
Huh?
“……?”
It was a dismissal.
She was even doing something unbefitting her rank as Queen Consort—kneeling down to meet my eyes and smiling kindly.
The unexpected situation caused everyone, including Knox, to exchange glances, but this was the Queen Consort’s command.
No one dared to question her words.
“…Yes!”
After a brief freeze, I regained my bright smile and nodded.
At Grace’s suggestion, the kitten was given water with a single drop of an eye-color altering potion.
“Mew—”
As if it had been thirsty, the cat lapped up the water, and a deep brown color spread around its sharp irises.
Click.
Once Aisha had disappeared with the cat, accompanied by Head Maid May and the servants—
“Is there a particular reason for this?”
Knox, who had been keeping quiet, asked.
As Queen Consort, Grace had many protocols to follow when speaking in public.
But now that the outsiders were gone, she was simply a member of Masamo.
Because Masamo was a gathering of people with a deep interest in monsters, they aimed for a relationship that was as horizontal as possible.
“How long has Lady Aisha been with that cat?”
“Let’s see. It has been a little over two weeks and a couple of nights since she got permission from the doctor, told me about it, and we came straight to the palace.”
“Two weeks and a couple of nights.”
Just then, the sound of a child’s laughter drifted in from outside.
People instinctively turned toward the voice that was as cheerful as a song.
Beyond the terrace.
In the garden Grace had mentioned, the cat could be seen pouncing on Aisha as she sat on a bench.
“Hehe. Stop it, baby!”
The way they tumbled through the field looked like a scene from a beautiful, happy painting.
However.
“Then separate that cat from the Lady within two weeks.”
A voice as cold as frost severed their connection.
“…Pardon?”
“Right now, it looks like a weak kitten, but the moment it catches the scent of human blood…”
Grace paused for a moment.
She searched for the right word to describe it, and finally, she spoke.
“It will become a monster.”