It was very narrow and dark inside.
It was a structure in which the size of the window was so small that not much sunlight could enter. Pristin looked around and lit the candle. Then the room became much brighter.
“…”
The princess was curled up in the corner of the room. The obscured appearance really reminded Pristin of her missing sister. Pristin approached in front of Princess Claret and squatted down on her knees.
“Please have a meal, Your Highness.”
“I’m not eating.”
“You should eat.”
“I’m not eating.”
“You have to eat.”
“I said I’m not eating!”
The princess finally raised her head and shouted, perhaps annoyed by the repeated requests. Only then did Pristin identify the face of the princess for the first time. Princess Claret, with her blonde hair and good looks, had a reputation since childhood for her beautiful appearance, which closely resembled her mother’s. Claret had a beautiful appearance like a doll.
This was Pristin’s first time seeing her face, but she strangely felt that she was no stranger.
“…You have to eat. Are you going to starve to death?”
“Yes!”
Claret cried. Pristin stared at the princess in silence.
Claret’s eyes were red before she knew it.
“My father is dead, and my brother is missing. I don’t even know if my brother is alive or dead.”
“…”
“In a situation where the throne was taken from my father, what meaning is there for me to survive alone?”
“There is no meaning.”
“What?”
“I said there is no meaning.”
Claret looked stunned at first, as if she expected Pristin to claim that there was meaning. Pristin’s dry expression further confused Claret.
“I don’t even know why I’m alive.”
“…”
“But still, I keep living. The dead don’t come back, but…”
Pristin pursed her lips and concluded her words.
“You never know. The missing may return.”
“…Are you waiting for your missing family?”
“Yes, anyway.”
Pristin declined to give a clear answer but added later.
“I don’t know if she will come back or not.”
“…”
There was a moment of silence between the two at the end of that remark.
“…I’m sorry.”
First, it was Princess Claret who broke the quiet atmosphere. Pristin replied, embarrassed.
“No. There’s nothing for the princess to be sorry about.”
“…”
“If you feel sorry for me, then please have your meal. Don’t make me worry about you.”
“…Fine.”
Pristin thought Claret would argue back, but she surprisingly complied without resistance. Pristin felt a sudden sense of relief at how things had become easier.
As Pristin pulled out the sandwiches and juice from the basket she had brought, Claret asked, showing interest.
“What kind of sandwich is it?”
“I just mashed eggs.”
After answering like that, Pristin was belatedly worried.
‘Will she be able to eat something like this?’
As a princess, she must have eaten all kinds of exquisite foods within the palace.
‘So, she probably won’t be interested in such a simple dish.’
Pristin was about to carefully open her mouth to offer to prepare another food if it didn’t suit her taste.
“Ah…”
Without hesitation, Claret picked up the sandwich and took a bite. Claret’s eyes widened as she chewed on the sandwich.
“Wow, it’s delicious!”
“Uh…”
“Did you make it yourself?”
“Yes. I, myself…”
Pristin asked in a bewildered voice.
“Do you like it?”
“Yes. Is it really only eggs? It’s so delicious!”
“Oh, I put in the sauce I made myself. That’s why.”
“Oh, I see. You must be good at cooking.”
“I’m not good enough.”
Pristin shook her head with an embarrassed expression.
“But I can make food for the princess in the future.”
“Are you going to take care of me from now on?”
“That’s what they asked me to do.”
When Pristin answered in a calm voice, Claret, noticing her lack of enthusiasm, quietly spoke up.
“If it’s bothersome, you don’t have to.”
“What?”
“If it’s bothersome, you don’t have to do it. I can manage on my own.”
Pristin hesitated for a moment, as if finding it difficult to accept such a suggestion.
“And you’ve grown up in the palace, receiving someone’s care for your whole life. It’s too much.”
“I thought you would find it bothersome to suddenly be burdened with taking care of me.”
“If I said it’s not a complete bother, it would be a lie.”
Pristin answered with a light smile.
“It’s not like I would leave a young princess alone. And it’s not something that requires a lot of effort, so you don’t have to worry about that.”
“…You’re kind.”
“Perhaps someone showed the same kindness to my younger sister.”
Pristin said, her voice tinged with a hint of longing.
“I hoped for that. So, I believe I should do the same.”
“Ah…”
Claret, sensing something in Pristin’s response, looked at her again and asked cautiously.
“I hope I didn’t touch on something unnecessary?”
“No. Not at all.”
Pristin seemed to think her answer was too curt, so she quickly added a smile.
“I’m nonchalant about it now.”
“Just because you’re being nonchalant doesn’t mean you’re not in pain.”
“…”
The remark made Pristin pause for a moment. Claret was looking at her with a pitiful expression. It felt like she was being sympathized with, but she didn’t hate it. Instead, she felt a sense of camaraderie. After all, the princess was in a similar position as her.
Pristin offered her hand to the princess with a warmer smile.
“Anyway, we both have someone waiting for us, so let’s get along well from now on.”
“Yeah, sounds good.”
Fortunately, her voice had brightened considerably since earlier. It was when Pristin’s smile deepened even more than before.
“But by the way…”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“What’s your name?”
“What?”
“We’ll be seeing each other for a long time, and I think I should at least know your name.”
“…Ah. My name.”
The ordinary question aroused nostalgia for the past.
‘…There was a similar situation last year.’
Pristin hesitated for no reason before opening her mouth.
“It’s Pristin Lamont.”
“You have a last name?”
The expected question reached her ears.
“Are you nobility?”
“If a fallen noble is also a noble.”
The prestige and happiness that the surname once brought had long ended. Pristin’s expression naturally darkened. Seeing her like that, Claret quickly changed the subject, thinking she had brought up an unnecessary topic.
“Let’s eat quickly. I’m hungry.”
“All of this is your share, Your Highness.”
“Huh? What about Pristin if I finish this?”
“Actually, I prepared it in a hurry, so I originally only had my share.”
“Oh, so that was it…”
“You don’t have to be sorry. I have more ingredients left at home.”
As Pristin shrugged her shoulders, Claret asked carefully.
“Can’t we just eat here together from now on?”
“Yes?”
“You live alone, Pristin, don’t you? Do you have any other family?”
“…No. I live alone.”
“It’s lonely eating alone. It doesn’t taste as good.”
“That’s true…”
“So let’s eat together!”
After saying so, Claret added cautiously.
“Of course, if Pristin is okay with it.”
“I’m fine, but… I was afraid that the princess would be uncomfortable.”
“I’m fine. After all, it’s difficult for me to leave this place.”
Claret’s expression quickly darkened as she reminded herself of her own situation. Pristin swiftly changed the subject.
“Your Highness, try the tomato juice as well. I personally squeezed and made it.”
“Oh, really?”
Fortunately, Claret quickly recovered from her melancholy mood. Pristin sighed with relief and looked at Claret, who was drinking tomato juice.
‘…I won’t be bored.’
A golden princess suddenly intervened in the achromatic daily life.
At the time, Pristin could not have imagined what the outcome of today’s meeting would lead to in the future.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
Contrary to Pristin’s worries, ‘Will the noble princess survive the exile?’, Claret has adapted well to the exile. Most fundamentally, Claret emptied the food that Pristin brought to her every meal without complaining.
“What is this, princess?”
“It’s a sandwich. I made it myself! I wanted to share it with Pristin.”
“Oh, for me, Your Highness?”
“Yes. But I can’t guarantee the taste.”
“Oh no, thank you. It looks delicious.”
She even cooked for Pristin from time to time after time. …Of course, the taste fell far short of that made by Pristin. Still, Pristin thought sincerity was important, so she emptied the plate without complaining. It wasn’t that bad that she couldn’t eat it at all.
“A bird flew into the yard today!”
“Bird? What kind of bird?”
“It was a blue bird, but it was a bird I had never seen before in the imperial palace.”
“So did you catch the bird, princess?”
“No. I tried to catch it, but it ran away…”
Claret shook her head with her lips sticking out with regret. Pristin said, consolingly.
“I’m sure it’ll come back here.”
“How can you be sure of that?”
“I think you saw a bluemond bird, but it comes back to the house once it finds it.”
“Wow, I see! That’s amazing.”
Claret asked, her eyes twinkling.
“How does Pristin know all that?”
“If you go to the mountains often, you will naturally come to know them. Bluemond birds are mountain birds.”
Claret’s expression became brighter and more talkative than when she first came to the place of exile. Most of this was due to Pristin, who visited Claret at every meal and had a conversation with her. People tend to go crazy when they don’t have anyone to talk to. Pristin prevented such a situation.
In particular, being together for a certain amount of time, rather than being together every second of every hour, helped Claret to become stronger.
“How long do I have to be here…”
Although she occasionally expressed severe depression about her current situation, Pristin saw it as a natural phenomenon. Rather, considering her past appearance, the princess belonged to an axis where she was now incredibly adaptable for her young age.
So whenever she heard that, she just kept saying, ‘There will definitely be a day when you will see the light of day.’ Even that parrot-like consolation was comforting to Claret anyway.
It was one day when she went about her day without any special incident.
