Chapter 6
6
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"Oh, really?"
Beatrice beamed as she entered the room.
"You made a good decision, Your Highness! It's about time you made some friends. It'll be even more fun the second time you meet! Let's go, Your Highness!"
To be honest, I was a little nervous.
Especially Gray, the boy who would become the next Marquess Hestia, had been chasing after Rosa since adolescence, harboring a crush on her.
'Of course, it was an excellent thing for the royal family.'
Because the Hestia Marquess family was Ruelle's financial backer, owning the largest merchant guild in the Eastern Continent.
'And what about the kingdom's only sapphire mine, monopolized by the Marquess Hestia and his sibling?'
The reserves there were enormous, like an inexhaustible treasure trove.
He might only be a Marquess, but his father was probably richer than my mother.
'......Come to think of it, they're really great friends, aren't they?'
I got off the chair and put on the cloak that Beatrice was holding out for me.
Then, I grabbed a handful of candies that I had received from the teacher and put them in my pocket.
'Of course, I can't let Rosa steal such precious friends again.'
Beatrice smiled at me, looking proud.
"Are you ready, Your Highness?"
"Ung! I'm weady!"
I was a little embarrassed that I had shouted so bravely, but Beatrice went even further and clenched both fists.
"Aja aja! Let's make our Your Highness's first vassal!"
We giggled together and went outside.
To the garden where the Hestia siblings were waiting.
* * *
"Ooh, pwetty!"
A girl dressed up like a doll in a red dress pointed at me.
Judging by the lisp and sparse hair, that must be Victory Clotilde Hestia.
'I thought she was the same age as me, but is her birthday later?'
In my last memory, she was definitely a snob, but now she was just a harmless baby.
And the one who was flustered and trying to cover his sister's mouth was Gray Knight Hestia.
"Vi, Victory Clotilde! You're not supposed to speak informally to Your Highness!"
I looked back and forth between the two of them, and finally opened my mouth.
"Hello, Gray. Bitori."
Well... at least my tongue is longer than Victory's.
Gray, who was two years older than us and looked somewhat human, hurriedly bowed his head.
"I, I greet Your Highness, the little star of Ruelle. It's an honor that you remember our names..."
He must have been nervous, because even Gray's tongue was twisted, but I had to pretend not to notice.
Seeing as even the great Rosa begged the teacher for one more candy, this must be the best thing for kids.
"...Here, take."
Not knowing what else to say, I suddenly held out my fist, and Gray flinched and stepped back.
'Am I being seen as a gangster?'
I was just unusually healthy, and I had never harmed anyone in the past 22 years.
Feeling a little wronged, I frowned and turned my fist over.
As soon as I opened my fingers, Victory pounced on me.
"Candy!"
"You all eat."
No sooner had the words left my mouth than the sapphire-like blue eyes of the Hestia siblings sparkled in unison.
"Ooh, so many?"
"Th, thank you, Your Highness!"
Wow, was it this easy?
Making friends was this easy!
Being a princess wasn't a big deal after all!
* * *
While Beatrice and the Hestia family's attendant watched with pleased expressions, we played by the pond, picking small berries.
At first, I was just going to watch, but Victory liked it so much that I joined in picking berries, and then she suddenly pointed at the pond.
"Duck! There, ducky, ducky!"
Duck?
Following Victory's fingertip, there was a duck instead of a cucumber.
Watching Victory call a duck a cucumber, the image of the hateful Lady Hestia's future was fading away.
"Yeah... it's a duck, a duck."
Gray scratched his head and chimed in beside me, chuckling.
"Victory Clotilde, please use polite language with Your Highness..."
"Leave it."
I sighed and said.
What difference would it make if I heard polite language from her now?
'She can't even say 'duck'.'
Gray hesitated for a moment before replying.
"...Father will scold her if he finds out."
"I won't tell."
Gray's lips curled up slightly at my promise.
"Thank you for understanding, Your Highness. Victory isn't even four years old yet, so she can't speak properly... She doesn't even know how to use polite language with our parents."
"Then why are you scolding your sister who can't speak properly? Whether she speaks informally or not."
Reproaching him while thinking of my sister Rosa, Gray retorted as if he was wronged.
"That's because Your Highness insisted that we... that we must use polite language. And Father heard about it too..."
Rosa Rostel La Perca, you petty thing.
I scrunched up my face and replied.
"It's not necessary. If I hear that again, I'll ask why you keep changing your words."
"H, how can I do that?"
"Why can't you? Hestia is a loyal subject of Ruelle. And a true royal doesn't nitpick over a child's words."
Did I make it too difficult?
Gray's face became strange.
"Uh... Your Highness, did you learn something... good in class?"
"Good thing?"
Gray hesitated and replied.
"You're much more... than when I saw you a few days ago..."
"Much more?"
"...You've become kinder. No, it's not that you weren't kind before..."
I chuckled and said.
"Are you going to come play again in two nights, or four nights? Then I'll be nice to you."
"Really?"
Yeah, I can't be nice to you if you just come on any random day.
When he was chasing after Rosa in his past life, he always had a dark look on his face, but Gray, bathed in the autumn sun, looked radiant.
His golden hair, curling like gold thread, made him look like an expensive doll...
"Then I'll come again, Your Highness. I'll definitely come after two nights, or four nights. I'll bring candy then."
"Candy is not good."
"Th, then I'll bring chocolate. Our chef makes chocolate really well."
Of course, chocolate is better than candy.
I nodded in satisfaction.
"Good. But you can't come after one night, or three nights, or five nights. Then I'll have a lot of homework and I'll be sensitive."
"Yes, two nights or four nights. I understand, Your Highness."
Gray, who seemed hesitant to leave, knelt on one knee as if he had made up his mind.
"What are you doing?"
"Th... this is a farewell greeting."
I chuckled and held out my hand.
Gray carefully held my hand, which was dirty with tree sap, and kissed the back of my hand.
"I'll definitely come again, Your Highness."
Seeing his eyes redden with embarrassment, it seemed like he had been practicing this greeting.
I'm glad I accepted it.
"Thank you for coming to play, Gray."
"Me too, me too!"
Victory came running and knelt on both knees next to Gray with a thud!
"Ouch..."
The Hestia family's attendant was at a loss and approached.
'Pfft, I don't know what country's greeting this is, but I should find it cute.'
Victory knelt down following her brother, but instead reached out to me.
I chuckled and turned her hand over, lightly kissing the back of her hand.
"Thank you, Bitori."
"Kyaa, Your Highness!"
Victory was so happy that she almost made me fall over when she hugged me tightly.
The Hestia family's attendant rushed over in a panic and forcibly pulled Victory away from me.
"See you next time!"
After they left, Beatrice gave me a thumbs up.
"Our Your Highness is amazing, isn't she? I was completely surprised!"
"Am I a little amazing?"
When I shrugged my shoulders, Beatrice picked me up and shook me back and forth.
"Perfect! My princess is so wonderful! This Beatrice is so overwhelmed, Your Highness..."
As we entered the castle, I saw that the sun was beginning to set in the west.
'Now, the evening schedule is...'
As I estimated in my mind, Beatrice's voice continued.
"Oh, should we practice greeting His Majesty the King again today?"
Ugh.
Well, whatever...
Let's practice hard and get through it today without crying. Sniff.
* * *
"Daddy, hello."
I said awkwardly and then belatedly closed and opened one eye.
Beatrice suddenly clutched her chest.
"Ugh... My, my heart hurts so much..."
Yeah, this isn't it, is it? The wink was too much, right?
Isn't it strangely painful to the point of being sore?
Looking at her worriedly, Beatrice hit her chest with her fist.
"Too... you're too cute. It would be a disaster if His Majesty the King had a heart attack..."
I couldn't help but sigh.
I looked up at Beatrice with a pathetic look.
'I thought she was a pretty decent maid before, but was I wrong?'
Beatrice seemed to notice my suspicious gaze and quickly came to her senses.
"But a wink is when you only close one eye, Your Highness."
So?
I definitely did that, didn't I?
I was confident without an ounce of embarrassment, but Beatrice frowned slightly as if she was worried about something.
"Try it again."
As I closed and opened one eye again as instructed, Beatrice was breathing deeply and making a fuss.
'Am I supposed to do it or not?'
My frowning face must have looked like I didn't like practicing.
Beatrice suddenly started a speech.
"Your Highness, His Majesty the King loves you so much."
Beatrice, I know...
If I didn't know that, I wouldn't be practicing greetings.
"His eyes are long and he doesn't smile often, so he has a slightly scary impression, but the position of High Priest Baha is originally like that. He handles such scary animals."
So, I know...
"Even if he wasn't the High Priest, you shouldn't judge people by their appearance like that."
...Are you criticizing my father's appearance right now?
What's wrong with Grand Duke Nigel?
