Chapter 49
- I Know Better Than You
The Empress spent three years in seclusion at the detached palace.
People assumed she was confined there after the gambling scandal, but she had been trying to avoid all indulgence and extravagance since then.
Perhaps it was due to the wisdom she gained as she aged, or perhaps it was the long-term plan of her elderly nanny, who had lovingly raised Princess Charlotte until the very end.
In any case, Princess Charlotte was extremely embarrassed to meet her mother in front of her friends, especially since her mother hadn't even attended her birthday banquet.
And now, her mother had shown up at a kindergarten picnic.
While encountering parents who worked at the Imperial Palace was unavoidable, the Empress hadn't come here with that in mind.
And as always, Princess Charlotte began to worry about what her mother, who loved making grand entrances, would do.
Sure enough, the teachers and children all paid their respects, and Princess Charlotte, feeling overwhelmed, whispered,
"Why, why did you come?! It's embarrassing to have your mother at a picnic!"
The Empress looked crestfallen at those words.
She had quietly appeared, thinking she had chosen the right moment, but she felt disheartened by her daughter's hasty misunderstanding, as she knew she was at fault.
"I'm sorry, Princess Charlotte. But my daughter's friends are here, and I couldn't just stay away as a mother."
Princess Charlotte blushed at her mother's words.
Deep down, she might have wanted her mother to show up for some reason, like Nia.
But she was too young and proud to admit that she was also happy.
"Fine. Then you can only say hello like the other parents and leave."
"Okay! I will, I will!"
The Empress always saw her daughter as articulate and composed, but she couldn't help but smile at her prim and proper demeanor today.
Nia stared intently at the Empress as she greeted the Sparrow class.
Princess Charlotte approached Nia and smiled awkwardly.
"Ahem, she never comes to places like this, but she's acting strange today."
"...The Empress, you look just like her. My mom... I'll see her when I get home, it's okay."
Nia deliberately smiled brightly back.
Whether her mother came or not, she was grateful that Princess Charlotte cared about her.
"Are you Nia?"
"...Y-Yes! Your Majesty, it's an honor to meet you. I'm Nia!"
"I've heard you're my daughter's best friend."
The eyes of the children watching the Empress greet Nia widened.
Children could call each other friends, but it was another matter entirely for the Empress to officially acknowledge it.
Especially the children who were nearing graduation and were well aware of the master-servant relationship, they cast envious glances at Nia.
But the child was lost in thought, paying no attention to the Empress.
.
.
.
Finally, it was the free lunch hour.
Nia sat under the largest palm tree.
A large mat and cushions were placed for a group of five, and while the other children were getting their picnic baskets, Nia was holding the spot alone.
The child, who had been deliberately smiling brightly until just now, looked gloomy and dejected now that she was alone.
Someone approached her.
"You must be disappointed that you couldn't see your mother."
It was the low voice of a young man.
Nia slowly raised her head and looked up at the tall, silver-haired man who had approached her.
His tone was gentle and kind.
But right now, the more she felt understood, the more she felt like crying.
"...It's okay. I'll see her when I get home."
"What a good girl."
'Nia isn't a good girl...'
Just like how she was holding back her tears now, she wasn't being good, she was just enduring.
Leon handed her something sparkling.
"This is a Magic Stone that turns red when your mother is nearby."
"...When Mom comes?"
"Yes. I wish I could have given it to you before you went to the Training Grounds, but it's a shame it turned out this way..."
Leon held the bracelet and smiled bitterly.
This black Magic Stone bracelet was a slightly modified version of the tracking device attached to Lucia's uniform.
As a guide, he knew that the Black Knights had prepared a jousting match, and he knew that the child wouldn't recognize her mother, so he had prepared it.
But unfortunately, he couldn't approach her because the children were enjoying the performance more than he had anticipated.
Still, since he had already prepared it, Leon knelt down to meet the child's eyes in order to give her the bracelet.
Nia, who properly met his Golden eyes, finally remembered him.
"...!"
The man who had been in the carriage with her on the day of her kindergarten entrance ceremony.
And that unfamiliar gaze that had been fixed on her mother without a single movement.
At the time, she hadn't had time to think about anything because of Gedarin, but she clearly remembered his intense gaze.
The child quickly hid her hand behind her back, filled with an unknown sense of wariness.
"Nia doesn't need that. She's my mom, so I know her well!"
It was an unusually sharp and firm tone.
Leon, who had only seen her gentle and docile side until now, couldn't even retract his awkward hand at the unexpected reaction.
And then, at that moment.
"Cezar! What are you doing there? Oh?! A handsome older brother!"
At Ivanne's shout, Leon finally turned his head and noticed the brown-haired child looking at him.
Only then did Cezar cautiously speak, after hesitating.
"Thank you for the fountain pen!"
"Ah... yes. That's right. I was in your debt last time. Cezar."
Cezar blushed as Leon replied, finally coming to his senses.
As he quickly wrapped the bracelet around his finger and turned his head, Ivanne's round, green eyes were blinking right in front of his nose.
"Older brother, when Ivanne gets married, she wants to marry someone like you."
Leon gave an awkward smile at the child's sudden confession, and a passionate voice filled with resentment was heard from the side.
"...Ivanne! You have Roy!"
When had Roy fallen for Ivanne?
Everyone in the awkward situation turned to the jealous Roy, and they soon understood and simply laughed.
The fluffy-haired little boy's sparkling eyes were like those of a loyal dog looking at its master.
And Ivanne pinched her nose and said to the weakest member of the group.
"What? You stink?"
"Ivanne, I hate you! Waaaaah!"
In any case, Leon was able to escape the awkward situation thanks to the sacrificial Roy, but he couldn't help but feel bitter as he felt the bracelet on his finger.
*
A greenhouse filled with exotic tropical plants, like a resort.
A woman in a stylish hat was blended into the scenery like an ancient statue, amidst the large leaves full of sunlight.
Emily was meditating alone, trying to somehow grasp her fading consciousness.
But the red Sword Aura that she couldn't erase from her mind tormented her, remaining like a thunder strike.
Was this the dirty aftermath of a clumsy act of school bullying?
The swordsmanship performance that Lucia, her classmate, had shown before graduating from the Academy was not like this.
But what she had seen today was a monster among monsters, clearly beyond the level of a human being, even to a civilian.
"Heh heh, hehehe..."
The enlightened Emily could only let out a hollow laugh with dead eyes.
But then.
-Thud, thud thud.
She, who had not yet let go of the thread of life, was startled by the small sound and looked around.
"Feathers...?"
The feathers seemed too strong, like awls, to have come from the small birds that were singing peacefully in this greenhouse.
Moreover, there was glue on the end.
Emily looked up suspiciously and nearly had a heart attack.
A large eagle, like a wild beast, was perched on top of a tree, looking down as if searching for prey.
Emily rubbed her eyes at the unbelievable size, and finally screamed.
"Kya, kyaaaa...!"
The eagle, instantly noticing the sound, quickly flew down and covered her face with its wings.
To be precise, it was blocking her mouth, but the eagle had no hands, so it couldn't be helped.
As a result, Emily chewed on the feathers that filled her screaming mouth.
The taste of the glue made her remember that this eagle was a guide.
She quickly raised both hands in surrender.
The eagle carefully removed its wings.
"Hey! I'm sorry for suddenly screaming, but you can't do this! If you're in a suspicious place looking so suspicious, of course people will be surprised... Ah!"
The children who had been terrified as soon as the mascot appeared came to Emily's mind.
'So, they can't go to the children and are just up there like that...'
She had heard that they were new Yellow Knight recruits, and they were getting cursed at for joining the children's picnic for no reason.
"..."
The eagle stared intently at the children, despite her scolding.
Emily felt a strange sense of pity, feeling that its pathetic appearance was no different from her own situation.
"Sigh, are your colleagues all hiding too? Life is so tough, trying to make a living. Isn't it?"
"..."
The eagle was still watching something and remained silent.
Emily, feeling a chill in her nose for no reason, handed over a bite-sized sandwich that she had packed for herself.
"Here. You haven't eaten, have you?"
"...?"
"It's okay. I just want to give it to you, so don't refuse."
At Emily's words, the eagle finally turned to her and quickly shook its head.
But Emily looked even more crestfallen at the sight.
"Ah, I'm not asking you to pay me back, so please, just open your beak for a moment."
She grabbed the eagle's face, which was adamantly refusing, and forced its beak open.
".....!!!!"
A chillingly familiar expressionless face, and piercing blue eyes that met hers exactly.
That face, which was no different from the one she had seen at the Academy entrance ceremony, was in the Pandora's box that should not have been opened.
As Emily opened her mouth wide in a silent scream, a small piece of feather that was still stuck to her cheek quietly fell.
And before the feather fragment even touched the ground,
"Hwaaaaaaah!"
The eagle disappeared like lightning at the sound of a cry that erupted from somewhere.
*
The finale of lunch and the highlight of the picnic. Snack time.
After finishing their meals, the children gathered in groups of three or five and began to take out the pretty boxes from their bags with confident faces.
Most of them were from Fausett Pepperone, but as expensive as they were, the packaging and the details of the sweets, which were engraved with the family name, were slightly different, so no two looked the same.
However, the luxurious mat under the palm tree stood out among them.
On the mat, from which Roy and Cezar had left to change clothes, were Princess Charlotte's snacks, decorated with a three-tiered tray from the Imperial chef, and two silver boxes.
From a distance, the Princess's snacks might have stood out, but they were no match for the snack boxes placed underneath, apart from the tray.
That was because the new snacks that Nia and Ivanne had brought were not the usual pastel colors, but bright colors like those of native snacks from another country.
"Oh, Ivanne. Is this from Fausett Pepperone too? You're his granddaughter, so it's different."
"Yes, Your Highness. Grandpa gave it to me. Did your grandpa give you Nia's too?"
"I chose it with my mom. Nia chose this one, and Mom chose this one, and they're pretty. Hehe..."
Nia, who had been gloomy until just now, finally smiled brightly, remembering the fun she had yesterday.
However, unlike the child's excited expression, Princess Charlotte's cheeks suddenly puffed up fiercely.
"What! You guys met without me?"
"Don't be jealous, Your Highness."
"What!? Jealous? Why would I be?!"
"Look at you. You're getting angry again. Your Highness always gets angry when it's just Nia and me. Even though you can't come out anyway."
The Princess pouted unhappily at Ivanne's undeniable sarcasm.
"No! I can go out! I'm going to go with you! You just wait!"
The furious Princess began to run towards the guard who was watching her from afar.
Ivanne smiled, saying that her plan had succeeded!
The more friends, the more fun!
Ivanne hummed, thinking about playing with the Princess on this occasion.
But then, some children who had been watching them from afar approached.
The child leading the group was Fiona, the seven-year-old daughter of Eileen from the Marquess of Terrin, who had opposed the Empress.
And the twin sons of the Marquess's vassals, who followed her.
The older students stood with their arms crossed, looking down at Ivanne and speaking haughtily.
"Are you the granddaughter of Baron Olive, the dessert artisan from Fausett Pepperone's shop?"
"Yes. Who are you?"
"Could you show some respect? I am Fiona of the Marquess of Terrin, age seven."
She had a prim and proper face, thinking that even if she was young, she would understand this much.
But,
"Ivanne is still a baby. You're a little older, so you should understand."
"......"
That's right.
Fiona was perhaps going through the same process as Princess Charlotte.
The older student Fiona seemed dumbfounded and swept her long platinum blonde hair back.
"Okay, fine! I'm a considerate lady. But even if you're young, you should know what you're doing right now, shouldn't you?"
"Huh? What?"
As Ivanne tilted her head as if she didn't know anything,
"I'm talking about your rude attitude of daring to make fun of Her Highness the Princess!"
"I'm talking about your rude attitude of daring to make fun of Her Highness the Princess!"
The freckled twin boys behind the imposing Fiona said simultaneously, sneering.
Then, Ivanne was startled.
They said it at the same time, without missing a single word!
As Ivanne froze in surprise,
"...N-No, that's not it. We're just playing...!"
Nia, who had always received help from Ivanne, stepped forward for the first time.
But even with that courageous attitude, it was perhaps a natural course of events for Fiona to point out the children's behavior now.
It wasn't a private meeting, and the fact that they were interacting so freely in a place where all the Imperial Palace staff and the children of various nobles were watching was, in fact, an unrealistic story.
Fiona, feeling that it was a good thing that Nia looked intimidated, said,
"You're the one who greeted the Empress earlier, right?"
