All of a sudden, Allen screamed, slammed the door shut, and left the room. She looked at the door, worried that the sleeping Diana would wake up, and her eyes met the Duchess’s. She awkwardly laughed at the embarrassed-looking Duchess’ laugh.
‘Raising a son isn’t easy either.’
With that thought in mind, she saluted and came out of the Duchess’s room, holding the letter she was holding tightly to her heart. My heart jumped at the unexpected surprise letter.
* * *
Slam.
The waves crashed against the wall, then broke into white splashes and shattered. The Grand Duke Castle of the Principality of Belus, which looked as if it had been copied from a landscape painting, was quiet and gloomy inside, unlike its beautiful appearance. At that moment, the silence was broken by the sound of a knock along with the sound of busy footsteps.
“Captain!”
“Ah, this is Nick. Did you get a letter from me?”
“Yes? There is no such thing.”
Sitting in the knight commander’s office and looking out the window, Bianca put on a disappointed face at the reply from her lieutenant, Nick, who had just entered. She then fidgeted with the hairpin, which she kept in her pocket. She thought the child would be cuter with her bangs up and her forehead exposed, so she bought it without thinking. As she put it on the desk, Nick tilted his head.
“Do you have a letter waiting for something?”
“Hmm… Rather than waiting, I keep thinking about it.”
“Omg! Captain, I can’t believe you have a man… No. So, was this a gift from that man? Wow, the sense is real, this is for kids… … I don’t think so, but it’s nice, very.”
“noisy.”
Bianca asked, frowning at the bullshit Nick.
“But why?”
“Ah, Your Highness sent a person from the main castle to say that His Highness has awakened. You must have gone beforehand… … .”
Bianca nodded heavily at the lieutenant’s muttering words and rose from her seat.
* * *
A few days had passed since she received Bianca’s letter. She was thrilled and thrilled to learn that it was Bianca Maretta who wrote the first letter she had ever received, and tried to write a reply that day. But since it’s been a few days already, she had hit a huge wall… Yes, she was blocked by the title at the beginning of the letter.
At first, she casually tried to write ‘Dear Bianca,’ but this seemed too friendly. However, ‘Dear Count Maretta’ was not childlike and was too rigid. Besides, she was hesitant about what to say in front of the title because she wanted to put her heart of longing in addition to the title. After a lot of thought, her heart was now focused on ‘To Count Bianca Mareta, the most wonderful knight commander of the Duchy of Bellus in the world’. She’s a hugely patriotic person, so the decision to include the details about the principality seemed pretty good…
“Oops, no!”
Thinking about it again, she wondered what kind of infusion this was.
‘Why on earth did the masters and officers teach me letters, martial arts, magic, and even growing herbs, but didn’t teach me how to reply to letters?!’
Screaming inwardly, she squeezed her head again. Although Bianca never expected her to write her a good letter, she wanted to give her the best of possible reply.
“Eww, it would be nice if someone could help me.”
The Duchess was too busy and Diana was just learning to read. There was Allen, the last bastion, but according to the Duchess, he was worried because he neglected his studies and did not read books at all.
“I’d rather be than that.”
When Allen heard it, it sounded like he would jump up and make a fuss, but there were things she had seen and read while living in the guild. However, after cleaning early today, she came back to her room and the stationery was blank so that it was not worth worrying about for a long time. She sighed and looked at the clock and quickly got up from her seat. Diana’s last class today was an art class that ended relatively early. So, after class, she promised Diana to go on a picnic sponsored by the mansion.
‘Maybe Allen will come too.’
She remembered Allen’s terribly envious look on his face when she heard that she was going to a picnic with Diana. He said he had afternoon training, so she didn’t know how it would turn out, but for some reason it seemed like he would run into Allen with a high probability. It was a time when she was walking aimlessly, lost in thought.
“Sister!”
She saw Diana running to see if class ended earlier than she expected.
“Miss, don’t run! You will fall!”
“Kyaa!”
Diana, lightly ignoring her words, immediately fell into her arms. The gardener in the garden and the passing maids all looked at her and Diana with envy as if their eyes were taken away by the appearance of the cute princess. She just shrugged her shoulders. Then Diana struggled and she slipped out of her arms and handed her something of hers.
“Missy, missy, present!”
Surprisingly, it was the drawing paper used in class.
“My lady, this is…!”
She put her mouth shut and looked at Diana. The people around her sneaked up to her and glanced at the drawing paper. And question marks appeared on the faces of those who checked the pictures. It seemed that it was difficult to determine the identity of the crooked painting that Diana drew.
“…What is that pink lump?”
Even such a small voice came out. But she saw it in her eyes. This pink pink pink pink thing was…
“Miss! Did the princess draw this?”
It was the princess of Diana’s favorite children’s book! How could she not know? It’s a book she read until she was dry and worn out.
“Huh! That’s right!”
Diana nodded her head with a refreshed look and hugged her once more, as if she was glad that she had recognized the picture.
“Thank you, lady. You gave me this as a gift.”
“Hehe, because you are my princess!”
Diana’s excited voice rang out. It was only then that people who realized the identity in her paintings smiled heartily.
“The lady really likes the princess.”
“Huh! I like you!”
When an elderly gardener asked, Diana answered briskly. It was a time when Diana’s innocent appearance made her feel even softer. A ‘put’ laugh erupted from somewhere.
“Oh, my princess is generous too.”
As everyone’s eyes gathered, she opened her mouth as if Sophie had been waiting.
“Even when I went to the salon, they always complimented me on how beautiful Lia was. All the other noble ladies were curious about this maid.”
Her unexpected words set the tips of her ears on fire. A few days ago, she asked Diana how she felt about going to her salon, and she replied that it was fun with a big smile on her face. She had a sad heart and a proud heart coexist, but she didn’t know that she would talk about her there too.
“Anyone who sees a pretty girl as a princess, and she is said to be the prettiest in the world, so who wouldn’t expect it? But I’m a little worried. Other ladies might be surprised when they visit the Duke’s house.”
“Puff.”
As she shook her head in genuine concern, the exaggerated gesture made those around her giggle. In the meantime, whenever Diana called Lia pretty, she was a little embarrassed, but honestly, she was happy. People around her also laughed and said that Diana, who followed her, was cute, so she never cared much… Being teased so openly made her feel ashamed, compared to when Allen used to call her ugly.
‘…She’s not that pretty either.’
She didn’t have much confidence in her appearance, so she had never judged others’ looks in her entire life, but a thorn came out of her. As she was staring at Sophie with her sullen expression without realizing it, Diana tilted her head as she looked back and forth between her and Sophie.
“What’s the matter?”
“It’s nothing, my lady. I just admired the lady’s generous and wise disposition.”
“Is Dana generous?”
“Sure.”
Sophie smiled and said kindly.
“It is said that children of the same age as the lady usually like pretty things. But she values the inside more than the outside of a person, so I feel proud as a follower.”
“Huh…”
Little Diana didn’t seem to understand what Sophie meant. But she did. She couldn’t feel the bone in her praise on her lips. She was also a servant after all, even though her lady-in-waiting position was much higher than that of the maids who were commoners. And now, Sophie’s words were by no means the words and actions of a servant to her princess. It was the time when she was angry at the lady, asking what kind of language she was talking about.
“…these.”
In an instant, the atmosphere cooled. When she came, Allen stood there with a scary expression on his face.
“Diana, what are you blankly listening to?”
“Huh?”
Diana tilted her head, her eyes wide open, her face frightened at the unfamiliar Allen talking to her.
“Now you are being sarcastic. You say Lia is pretty when she’s not even pretty.”
Allen looked over the servants one by one who agreed with Sophie’s words with a smile. Allen’s eyes were terribly cold and scary. He was always playful but that face of him was nowhere to be found. She suddenly realized that he was the son of Duke Elad. Even though the killing spree he spewed was not directed at her, it stung her skin.
“It’s not! Lia is pretty!”
But now, realizing that she wasn’t praising her, Diana, as if she didn’t feel that kind of life, she sighed and got angry.
“This, this, ugly thing!”
Diana was so angry that her tears welled up, and it seemed that she would burst into tears at any moment. As if comforting Diana, Allen put his hand on her shoulder and glared at Sophie.
“How dare you laugh at the princess? And a servant of the duchy, openly like this?”
“Yo, young master! I’m not like that, how could I…”
The terrified Sophie glanced at her with a resentful gaze.
—————————————————————
Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. Thank you very much for reading.
Next post will be released on August, 12.
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