Toward the Founding Festival
“Ugh… that’s why I dislike it. Please act like a princess… getting all covered in mud like this… and those clothes, even the engineers are using them.”
Ah, the jumpsuits. They became popular because they are easy to use. The equation Engineer = Jumpsuit is starting to take shape.
Alicia washed me with a half-tearful expression.
“It can’t be helped if a child gets all muddy.”
“Don’t act like a child only at times like this.”
She poured warm water over my now squeaky-clean body, washing away the dirt. Now that I’m clean, I should soak in the bath… wait, something’s there.
“Oh my, isn’t it little Alice, who’s been nesting somewhere else lately~?”
I immediately tried to turn around and get out of the bathtub, but Mother caught me. Ugh, looking directly at Mother’s figure for some reason brings a sense of defeat… I’m still a child… yeah, it’s okay. Rather, that should be my future… so enviable. Despite being close to 40, Mother looks so youthful that she’s often mistaken for someone in her 20s.
“I was just playing in the mud a bit.”
“Well~ You seem to be in good health. In fact, you are in a rather good mood, aren’t you? Well, I’m happy when you are lively, but don’t overdo it, okay?”
Since I returned, my family has been oddly concerned about my health. Father even breaks down the door every morning just to check if I’m healthy, and my Big brother seemed to have gathered doctors for my use. There should be no abnormalities, though…
Speaking of which, my new maids weren’t around.
“Where are those kids?”
“They seem to be lacking in nutrition a bit. Right now, they are resting. They have the stamina, and their bodies are sturdy, but it seems they were treated quite roughly. So, for now, I am making sure they eat well and get some moderate exercise. Besides, they are to become maids of the Royal family, so they need proper education. They won’t be attending to you directly for another three months.”
Certainly, the maids in the Royal castle need to have a proper background, and education is essential. Alicia herself used to go out frequently at the beginning. I always had to catch and bring her back every time.
Instantly attending to someone closely is impossible for security reasons. It’s necessary to provide essential knowledge for survival in this world.
“You can have some sweets together with them, you know?”
“Well… now that the chefs are managing their nutrition, it should be fine after the Founding Festival. They should be feeling better by then.”
Well, they looked incredibly tired from the moment I saw them. Even after a month of being under protection, they were still like this. I wonder how exhausted they were when they were first rescued.
Let’s wait patiently for them to recover. It’s dangerous to manage their nutritional status with magic. When I tried that before, they all gotten fat around their bellies.
Now, before facing any further inquiries, I should retreat.
“If you keep doing too much, I might turn to the old lady’s style of punishment.”
‼ A punishment from the most terrifying old lady from Arland’s history that happens to be my great-grandmother?
My great-grandmother has already passed away, but she was famous for being a battle maniac. She walked across battlefields with just a gauntlet, earning the nickname “Cynthia the Bloodied.” The term “bloodied” stemmed from her frequently becoming drenched in the enemy’s blood, leading people to say, “Surely, the Queen’s armor must be made from the blood of enemy soldiers.”
No one talks openly about my great-grandmother. She was just too formidable, and I only know about her final moments. I wonder what horrifying experiences she went through… it’s terrifying.
“I… I’ll be careful… sniff…”
“Fufu, don’t cry now, okay?”
Terrified, I dashed away. Mother has been too frightening lately.
“What exactly is great-grandmother’s style of punishment…?”
“Princess, it’s better not to pry too much, as knowing might make you faint. I don’t want to remember it either… and His Majesty probably won’t talk about it either.”
It seems Alicia has met my great-grandmother briefly. When Father and she came to this country, she should have been alive, so something must have happened at that time.
As for the cause of my great-grandmother’s death, it was due to injuries sustained on the battlefield. The Emperor of the Empire led a force of 500,000 to invade.
However, during the decisive battle, Arland faced internal betrayal. Despite my great-grandfather’s efforts to swiftly eliminate the traitors, the Kingdom’s army fell into chaos. In an attempt to allow the Arland army to escape, my great-grandmother led a force of 10,000 to charge straight into the Imperial army. She beheaded the Emperor of the Empire of that time, sacrificing herself to take down 300,000 enemies. The elite forces of Arland who charged with her were annihilated, and none returned.
For the next ten years, the trauma was so severe that the Imperial army didn’t approach the borders. There are even rumors within the Empire suggesting she might still be alive. They are terrified of her.
Anyway, let’s be quiet for a while… no, it’s probably too late. Father and my Big brother are already involved, so the anger from their side should be dispersed… It should be okay, probably, surely okay.