☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
“Ha!”
I repeated the motion of swinging the wooden sword to complete the homework my father had assigned. During that time, the palms of my hands, which gripped the sword, had developed blisters that burst and healed multiple times, gradually turning into calluses.
My mother found this admirable, yet she secretly felt sorry for me. She was upset that her daughter’s hands had become like this and somewhat resented my father for making her only daughter go through unnecessary hardships.
At first, I had similar thoughts, but now I have changed.
This land, which I was responsible for, was more precious to me, and the people I had to protect and care for made my feelings even more tender. Before I knew it, I had genuinely come to love this place.
“Ha…”
Only after I had completed exactly one hundred swings did I collapse onto the grass.
The sunlight was quite intense, but the shade created by the trees made it cool. A gentle breeze came by, cooling the sweat on my forehead.
Three days ago, my parents had their wedding ceremony. It was a splendid and grand occasion. My father had entrusted everything about the ceremony to my mother, but he thoroughly ignored her suggestion to keep it simple.
That day, my mother was the most beautiful bride in the world, and my father was the happiest man.
Everything went well. No one in our family had died, and we had not been separated.
Even so, I could not fully relax my heart. I had to do everything I could to prevent my choices, which altered the original story, from causing a greater tragedy.
Perhaps keeping happiness is harder than creating it.
As I pondered these thoughts, my eyelids gradually grew heavier. I closed my eyes and slipped into a deep sleep.
And…
“…Lady Dia!”
I opened my eyes again at the voice that came from afar.
“Lady Arcadia!”
As I sat up, a maid rushed toward me. Upon seeing me lounging carelessly on the grass, she became furious.
“For heaven’s sake, how can you still be here like this? It’s almost time to leave!”
“I know, so can you stop nagging?”
I untied the string that held my hair back. Then, I ran my hands through my long hair, which fell down to my waist, shaking off the grass and leaves.
The maid clicked her tongue at the sight of leaves and grass falling from my hair. She sat next to me, helping to remove the grass while continuing to scold me.
“I can’t take this anymore, really. On a day like today, you could skip training just once!”
“I’m going to have a hard time training for a while, so I’m deliberately loosening up my body.”
“Then you should have told me in advance before coming out! I was the one who had to search for you!”
“Are you my superior? Do I have to report to you every time?”
“I’m not your superior, but you really should do that from now on. The Grand Duchess specifically instructed me to make sure you don’t engage in dangerous activities in the capital.”
“Sure, go ahead and try your best.”
I stood up and dusted off my pants.
Her attitude, suggesting that no matter what she did, I would do as I pleased, made her sulk immediately.
“You think I can’t do it, right? Just you wait. I’ll follow you around like a goldfish, making sure you don’t get into any trouble…”
“Bell, if you don’t hurry, I won’t take you to Rosen.”
Seeing that I was already quite far ahead, Bell hurriedly got up.
“Oh, no! I want to go too!”
Bell had long dreamed of visiting the capital, Rosen, at least once in her lifetime.
It was quite amusing to tease the maid, who had been looking forward to this since she was selected as my personal attendant. Even though I had said several times that I wouldn’t take her to the capital, she always reacted the same way.
“How do you expect to keep an eye on me when you’re so slow?”
“I’m not slow; it’s just that you’re too quick, my lady!”
I clicked my tongue in response.
“Fine. It’ll be a relief if I don’t have to escort you around in Rosen.”
“You keep painting me as incompetent, but it’s not that I’m incapable; it’s just that you’re too capable!”
“Enough noise. Just hurry and follow me.”
Finally, Bell shut her mouth and trailed behind me. We headed toward the Grand Duke’s residence together.
In the spring of my 18th year, I was leaving Clanoviche again for Rosen.
Part 4: Guests of the Duke’s Family
As soon as we arrived at the Grand Duke’s residence, Bell shoved me into the bathroom. I put up a token resistance for a moment.
“Why should I wash up? I’ll just get dusty again in the carriage anyway.”
“For heaven’s sake, is that something a young lady should say? Even middle-aged men don’t say that when they wash up!”
“How would you know? Have you ever seen a middle-aged man wash?”
“Ew! What a terrible thing to say! We don’t have time. I’ll wash you up as quickly as possible, so just behave!”
Before I could protest any further, I was scrubbed down by Bel.
Not satisfied with that, she focused all her attention on my hairstyle. If we were short on time, why was she meticulously styling my hair?
“We’re not going to a ball.”
Bell audaciously scoffed at my words.
“If we were going to a ball, it wouldn’t end this quickly. Just a little longer; we’re almost done.”
Fortunately, Bell was incredibly quick with her hands. With almost miraculous skill, she twisted my tangled hair into a single braid in no time. Then she turned the mirror to show me the back of my head, speaking confidently.
“How is it? Do you like it? It didn’t take much time at all.”
“…….”
I was at a loss for words. Just as Bell said, I loved my hair now. It was both practical for traveling and beautiful.
This was the reason I kept this noisy and cheeky maid by my side. Among the maids, Bell was the most perceptive and had a great sense of aesthetics. There couldn’t be a better talent for a maid than that.
In fact, it would be more accurate to say that Bell was the only maid who could withstand my prickly personality.
“Everything is ready now!”
After putting on my travel cloak and gloves, we hurried down the stairs.
A carriage was waiting for us in front of the Grand Duke’s residence, and my parents were standing in front of it.
Over the 12 years, I had grown noticeably taller, while my parents appeared almost unchanged.
My mother was still young and beautiful. No, she looked even more beautiful than before. It was hard to find any shadows on her face, as if it absorbed all the brilliant light in the world.
My father was the same. As he aged, his eyes deepened, and a languid charm was added, making him look even more handsome in my eyes now.
These were my precious family members, whom I might have lost forever.
My mother was the first to approach and hugged me tightly. After pulling away, she looked at me with a face full of worry.
“Ar, are you really okay going alone? It might be better for us to go together…”
“Mother, I’m 18 now. I’m an adult.”
“I know, but still…”
“Do you think I’m some incompetent heir who can’t do anything without Mom and Dad?”
At that, my mother finally gave in and let out a thin sigh.
“Alright. Just take care of yourself and come back safely.”
“Yes, Mom.”
I smiled brightly as I replied, and then my father hugged me and patted my back.
“Contact me immediately if anything happens.”
“Yes!”
“Again, don’t get involved in anything dangerous. Do you understand?”
“But Father, since I’m going to the capital, I thought I could—”
“Ar.”
My father’s voice had lowered unexpectedly. I quickly nodded.
He had raised me as his heir, yet he was extremely reluctant to let me touch anything even slightly dangerous. Especially since this time I would be venturing beyond the reach of his influence for the first time, he was understandably anxious.
“Please take care of my parents while I’m gone.”
I said my goodbyes to the staff one by one.
Everyone at the Grand Duke’s residence had done their utmost for me and my family over the years. So even though I would only be away for about two months, some were shedding tears.
“Lady, be sure to drink only boiled water, as you might experience waterborne illnesses. The water quality there isn’t as good as here.”
“It’s warmer there than here, so it’s easy to catch a cold if you wear thin clothes, so always keep yourself warm.”
“Don’t snack too much. Eating too many sweets suddenly can upset your stomach.”
Do these people really think I’m still six years old?
“Okay, okay. I understand. I’ll keep that in mind.”
If I kept listening, I felt they might start telling me not to follow strangers, so I quickly responded.
