Chapter 34
Mom's Business Trip
Emily's survival instincts kicked in despite the chilly atmosphere.
And she snatched Ivanne, who looked ready to grab the princess by the hair, away.
"Nia! Are you okay? I'm sorry! T-the teacher can't really move right now...!!"
Emily, a novice fisherman struggling to hold onto a thrashing child like a freshly caught tuna, cried out desperately to Nia, who had fallen.
The children were all glancing around, startled by the commotion, as were the guard knights who had been ordered not to interfere in the children's squabble.
And the princess, who had been looking down at Nia, was now in a state of shock, surprised by her own actions.
The princess was haughty and prim, but having grown up receiving the elegant education of the imperial family, she had never raised her voice or used violence.
And the situation she had planned and wanted was never like this.
She had simply wanted to rebel against the teacher, who her mother had forced to come as a form of punishment.
It was then.
"...Sowwy, Nia did wrong."
Under everyone's gaze, Nia slowly got up with an indifferent expression and carefully placed the scattered papers in front of Charles.
Charles flinched at the sight.
Probably because he felt guilty for venting his anger.
However, Ivanne, who was being held by her limbs, burst into tears as she watched Nia's actions.
"Nia! No, no! Don't pick them up! Nia isn't a maid!! Waaah!!"
It seemed like all the pent-up frustration had burst out in tears.
Nia was about to go comfort Ivanne when someone grabbed her wrist, causing her small body to stagger.
"Don't go! You're my maid! Hurry up and pick up the papers!"
The princess couldn't let go of her stubbornness, even as guilt piled up.
"Don't be stupid! Hic! You, you pick them up, you idiot! Nia is Ivanne's fwiend! Waaah!"
"What!? Idiot!? How dare you!!"
In the end, Ivanne, having shaken off Emily, ran over and grabbed Nia's other wrist, trapping Nia between them, unable to go anywhere.
The fledgling teacher Emily was at a loss, unable to do anything in a situation that would turn into a disaster no matter what she did.
It was then.
"...Uuu. ...No."
Suddenly, the face of the child, who had always smiled innocently despite any bullying, contorted.
And tears quietly welled up in Nia's eyes, who had been holding back all day.
"No, don't fight... Fighting is bad. If you fight, I can't tell Mom. I have no story today..."
Even with the child's incomprehensible words, the earnest voice brought silence.
Mom, Lucia, who would stop whatever she was doing when a story began.
That time, when she became her daughter, was the most precious time for the child.
That's why Nia, for whom taking away a memory like a gift from this place was more important than anything else, always tried to keep her smile as much as possible.
Then, at that moment.
Charles's eyes, who had been listening to the words, glazed over, and the hand that had been tightly gripping Nia loosened.
'Waaah! You didn't come again today! Mother is an idiot. She must hate Charles!'
'Our kind princess, our beautiful princess, please don't cry. The Empress definitely loves you the most.'
The warm embrace and comforting scent that had patted her back and listened to her stories every night when she was sick, angry, happy, or sad.
"I, I want to tell a story too. I miss Nanny Venice so much...! Waaaaah!"
As tears suddenly poured like a flood from those haughty green eyes, the guard knights were startled and flustered.
In fact, Charles's nanny had been dismissed because she was old, and under the strict rules of the imperial family, the young princess's only option was to refuse a new nanny.
But the clever princess knew on one hand.
That the nanny's health was not good.
That even if she did this, she wouldn't come back.
Charles's tear-filled eyes turned to Nia.
A child who cherished her mother very much.
Seeing a child who cherished someone very much, just like herself, Charles somehow felt relieved and couldn't just keep crying.
The princess wiped away the tears that were welling up and approached Nia and Ivanne.
"...Nia, you don't have to be a maid if you don't want to."
"What, why are you saying that? You should apologize first?"
"...!"
The princess's anger flared up again at Ivanne's spiteful words, who was tightly holding Nia's hand.
It was true, but there was no way Charles, a member of the imperial family, had ever apologized to anyone.
In the end, the princess, who was primly looking elsewhere, whispered so that Ivanne couldn't hear.
"...Sorry. And, I'll allow you to tell your mom that we became friends. Is that okay?"
'...Fwiends!'
Nia stopped crying and finally started to smile at Charles, who quickly turned away and looked elsewhere.
Seeing this, Ivanne, with a puzzled expression, glared again, so Nia quickly grabbed Ivanne's hand.
And the hand of the prim Charles too.
"Let's make up...!"
The faces of the children, brought together by Nia's hand, were tinged with contempt, but when Nia looked like she was about to cry again, they ended up forcing a smile.
At this touching moment, Emily, whose cold sweat started to flow as teachers gathered at the sound of wailing in the class where the princess was, was at a loss.
*
"So! The Pwincess and Ivanne, who became fwiends, built a castle togethew! It was this big, and Ivanne was wunning awound fwom thewe to hewe!"
Nia, unusually excited, talked about the castle that had been built in the playground with thousands of wooden blocks brought in at the princess's direction.
"Is that so?"
'I wondered why there was such a strange fortress.'
It had such a majestic appearance that you could really mistake it for a fortress if you saw it in person, and you could even misunderstand that they had built it to protect the princess who had suddenly come to the kindergarten.
But more interesting than that huge pile of blocks was the sight of Nia, who was busily explaining like a bird flying around with its small wings.
The sight of her eagerly explaining every night how fun kindergarten was never got old.
Besides, it was even more interesting because this time it wasn't focused on Ivanne's bizarre games, but a different story.
Lucia, who couldn't help but worry about them being in the same class after seeing the haughty princess in Crown Prince Airen's arms.
But, that arrogant royal had asked to be friends first?
'The princess has a surprisingly friendly side, more than I thought.'
Lucia listened to Nia's words and judged that the princess was still young, so there would be no problem getting along with her peers.
That misunderstanding was perhaps natural.
Nia didn't talk about the events leading up to becoming friends.
So, in the end, she deliberately didn't mention that she had been pushed.
Perhaps that was the same reason why the child didn't bother to talk about Gedarin's matter.
Gifts should only give good things.
Nia was afraid of her mother's disappointment if she opened it and it was full of bad stories.
As Lucia habitually stroked the child's head, the child's eyes sparkled as if all the day's hardships that her mother didn't know about had disappeared at once.
After the prepared gift was over, Lucia slowly took out her bag and picked out clothes and supplies that the child could wear.
She had tried not to leave the accommodation if possible, but in the end, she had to go on a business trip.
So, she decided to leave the child at Ivanne's house, who was close to Nia, on this occasion.
"Should I check one more time to see if there's anything else you need?"
She had been excited and lively when she was talking, but soon she nodded slowly with a sullen face.
Even Lucia, who was not very perceptive, had been with the child for over half a year, so she could tell that she didn't want her to go.
She said, looking at the child who was putting her dolls in her bag with her small hands.
"It'll definitely be fun if you go to Ivanne's house... Should I not go?"
The method was simple.
The easiest thing to do was to quit and live in the mountains, earning money as a mercenary and hiding until she awakened.
But if that happened... she wouldn't be able to see the child's lively face like this.
Fortunately, Nia shook her head.
"Thank you. I'll come back as soon as possible."
Because she was a mother who always kept her promises, the child finally smiled a little.
*
In the dim dawn.
Leon, with a more haggard face than usual, came to Stonehenge early and sat on a rock.
Two days after that incident.
It had only been two days, but time had passed so quickly that he couldn't remember closing his eyes and falling asleep because of all sorts of imaginings.
-Drip. Drip.
He was staring with dazed eyes at the morning dew falling from the grass.
Was it thanks to his shining appearance? Or was it because he had become a fossil in this moment and had blended into nature as it was?
-Rustle, rustle, rustle.
Mountain rabbits, mountain squirrels, and even deer.
As time passed, animals began to gather around him.
And even when those cute and pretty herbivores rubbed their legs or climbed on his shoulders, he didn't notice at all.
'…I didn't want to confess like that.'
Because his mind was full of thoughts of that day.
To ruin the first opportunity in his life to spend a long time with her in this way.
He remembered the mocking face of the immature Crown Prince Airen.
'Fox-like..., no, maybe I'm the fox.'
In the end, he had taken her away, just like the Crown Prince had said.
Even so, he thought that being with her for three days was better than the fear of being rejected outright.
'That's good. If I'm rejected like this, I can give up coolly...'
Unfortunately, Leon didn't know himself very well.
That he was the kind of person who would have a crush for 70 years despite any hardships in the future.
-Chomp. Chomp.
A deer was chewing on his head as if telling him not to worry about his complicated face, but Leon was still dazed.
"Haa..."
'…I almost reached her.'
As if taming a fierce cat, Leon, who had won her hand not long ago, felt like everything was back to square one.
"You have many followers."
"Oh, you're her- Ah! You startled me!"
"......"
Leon looked at the animals arrayed beside him and shuddered in surprise.
Then, as the atmosphere became unbearably awkward, even the animals that loved Leon ran away into the distance with disgusted looks on their faces.
*
Before approaching Leon, Lucia watched him carefully.
'Is he a mountain god, or a forest spirit?'
With the animals gathered around him, and the fact that his profession was a mage, so he was wearing a robe, it was a scene that could be mistaken for a superhuman.
His face was unusually tired today, and his pupils were vacant.
Looking at his dazed appearance, which might even look sad, Lucia recalled his voice from that day.
'I like Lucia as a woman.'
She couldn't even smile.
She could already tell that he had been provoked from the moment she saw Iren's face.
In that state, whatever he said wouldn't be sincere.
Lucia slowly approached Leon and spoke to him.
"You have many followers."
But what if, on that day, Lucia had faced his earnest eyes instead of his back?
*
The Ailis Count's territory, in the southern Eldarion Empire. Hengen Village.
The place where Lucia and Leon arrived was an abandoned village, tainted by the Black Contamination, with not a single person in sight.
Fortunately, there was another village nearby, so the remaining residents seemed to have scattered there, leaving only houses with their belongings neatly moved out.
However, in Lucia's memory, this place was one where even these empty houses would soon be burned to the ground.
To eliminate Monsters in this place that would disappear anyway.
'If it's not a consideration to help me avoid disciplinary action, then it's a waste of manpower.'
For some reason, she walked with Leon, who didn't say a word, towards the outskirts of the village, and soon a three-story inn appeared, as stated in the order.
However, looking at that inn, Leon and Lucia made eye contact for the first time today.
That's how absurd they thought this place was.
The old trees around them were all strangely black from the contamination, and within that, the exterior walls were painted a gaudy pink, along with numerous red heart patterns.
It was as if to blatantly show that this place was used for some impure purpose, as if telling the faithful and diligent Saints not to even set foot here.
In short, this inn had an appearance that would make anyone who entered misunderstand the relationship between the two.
With trembling pupils, Leon asked Lucia, who was alternately looking at the name of this impure inn and the order.
"......I-Is this the right place?"
"......For now, the name is the same."
The name of the inn was, [The Infidelity Inn].
