The Duke's Daughter Goes Her Own Way
[Ellie Enjoys Autumn]
Translated by: ME
Stanford School is divided into two semesters.
The first semester runs from May to September, and the second semester runs from November to March.
And now it's October. The first semester exams, which were hellish, are over, and we are on our first long vacation.
We studied hard for the exams by... teaching Marie-san, with Emilia-san and me guiding her. Marie-san has a unique way of understanding problems and doesn't learn well with normal teaching. Listening to Marie-san continuously mutter completely nonsensical mnemonic rhymes made her look like someone receiving some seriously weird radio signals.
His Highness seemed to want to join in, but if he did, Emilia-san and Marie-san would become too tense, so I had to reluctantly ask him to refrain.
The exam results were announced before the break, and all three of us girls received 'Excellent (grade). This means that from the second semester, we will each branch into our specialized fields.
...It's a bit lonely, but we'll be in the same school! It's not like we won't see each other!
We comforted each other like that, waved goodbye saying ['See you next semester!'], and plunged into the vacation.
***
That said, Ellie-chan has work and Crown Princess lessons even during the break.
Here we go again, the Grand Tea Party. That thing really grinds down your spirit, stamina, willpower, and all sorts of things...
And the (personal) highlight this time is the presence of Mariebell Fluorite among the tea party guests!
Really, just from the stage of sending out the invitations, I'm already thinking, ['Is this going to be okay...?'] Marie-san has such incredible (albeit in the opposite direction) stability! As expected of a heroine!
The Autumn Tea Party is the one where we invite the most people... Well, not everyone comes, but still. The number of guests is larger than usual, and the scale is bigger.
So, will that useless heroine manage to get through her first royal castle tea party without incident?! Stay tuned!
***
The Grand Garden is beautifully maintained again today.
The orchestra providing the tea party BGM has finished tuning and is standing by over there.
Occasionally, a Madam from the Queen's tea party guests borrows an instrument from the orchestra and plays, making me think, ['Wow, high-society people are different~'].
Musical instruments? I can't play any at all, so what?
...My brother is wastefully good at them, though... He's so good at things like the piano, you'd think he could make a living from it.
That brother of mine really has so many talents going to waste.
He even composed a piece called something like ['Nocturne for My Ellie'].
As a side note, my brother calls me ['My Ellie']. The ['My'] at the beginning is an epithet attached to ['Ellie']. It's mandatory. When we were little, he always called me ['My Ellie']. I want to shout, ['I am not yours!'].
***
Well now, the young ladies are arriving at the venue~.
Today as well, the young ladies are wearing fluttering dresses and one-pieces of various colors, looking very beautiful.
This tea party doesn't have a strict dress code.
For events like this at the royal castle, you simply can't enter if you're not dressed appropriately well. The code is about that level.
Dresses are fine, and one-pieces that don't compromise dignity are also fine.
Having the rules set loosely like this makes it easy to spot the ['troublemakers']. People who come in flashy, gaudy dresses get flagged as potential problems. And so do the ['families'] that don't advise them against it. The former drill hair young lady was one of those types. She came wearing a glittery dress.
The forbidden color in this country is a very deep, deep red, like Bordeaux. Colors too close to that are out, but crimson and dark red are OK.
The cloaks Their Majesties wear during ceremonies are this color. They are cloaks with the royal crest on the back, and they look incredibly cool.
Anyone who actually wears this color will be considered not just a problem, but ['lacking common sense'], since even the royals rarely wear it.
Among the entrants was Mother. Mother is wearing a pale green dress with excellent taste. Beautiful as always today.
The corner of her mouth is saying, ['Ellie-chan, do your best~']. Okaaay! I'll do my best!
Since my brother was isolated, Mother's face has looked much brighter. That's wonderful.
Father has also put on a little weight recently... Just how much stress was that brother causing our parents...
The young lady children are also entering the venue, accompanied by their maids.
The ['Children's Section'] of this tea party basically gathers only young ladies who haven't made their social debut yet. In short, it's a practice field for socializing, including for me.
It's a place to learn, where it's okay to make mistakes, at the tea party hosted by the royal family with the highest status.
...That said, hair-pulling fights are not allowed.
I wonder how the drill hair young lady is doing... I wonder if she still curls her hair...
***
While doing final checks with the maids and watching the young ladies enter, I saw one young lady moving in a terribly stiff manner.
...It was the useless heroine.
She's so nervous her movements are abnormally rigid.
Are her joints even bending?! Is she a robot?!
Well, she was only a Viscountess until last year, I guess. She never had a chance to be in a place like this. I can understand, but try to relax a little more!
The social debut age in this country is sixteen. So the fourteen-year-old Marie-san is considerably older here.
You only have two years left until your debut!? Are you really going to be okay...?
Her attire is a beige-based one-piece, modest and cute. But her movements are robotic.
And she's being watched like crazy. Well, of course she is. Her behavior is strange.
***
The tea party began, and as the hostess, I'm making the rounds to greet each table.
Greeting people, making a little small talk, asking the names of people I haven't seen before... making a full circuit of the venue.
Just this is exhausting.
In between, I direct the replenishment of tea and sweets, and if any young lady makes a blunder, I quickly signal a maid to handle it.
Her Majesty the Queen, with her iron-clad smile, does this while dealing with seasoned, worldly Madams... And eventually, I'll be hosting on that side too...
Waa! It's so much trouble!!
[Are you enjoying yourselves?]
This is Marie-san's table.
When I spoke, all four of them bowed their heads slightly.
[Please, make yourselves comfortable. Lady Karen, how do you find today's tea?]
Her family is a Count's family involved in tea import. She's naturally very particular about tea.
[It is most delicious. It's a first-grade Heralda, isn't it?]
[You are quite right. We also have the first flush of Barnam, so please feel free to enjoy it later.]
[Thank you. I shall have some later.]
This girl is scary! She's a tea sommelier! She can identify the tea just by its aroma! And if the brewing is even slightly off, she says it doesn't taste good!
[Lady Susanna, that's a lovely hair ornament.]
[Ah, th-thank you!]
She's the young lady I'll never forget, who provoked the drill hair young lady into a catfight at the very first tea party.
Unlike the drill hair young lady, she seemed to have sincerely reflected on her actions and became remarkably ladylike afterward.
...Well, she's probably just putting on an act. Not that I can talk, so I won't say anything.
Today, she's wearing a very beautifully designed hair ornament that complements her bright chestnut hair. Is that a Forun butterfly? And... violet flowers? ...Is she trying to suck up to me? Violets are the symbolic flower of the Crown Princess.
[If I may be so bold, I had it designed with you in mind, Lady Elizabeth.]
...Why is she blushing?
Why is she fidgeting and acting shy?
...I won't press further.
[You are attending for the first time, I see. Thank you for coming.]
[Y-Y-Yes! Th-Thank *you* for inviting me!]
Marie-san bowed with such force she nearly hit her head on the table.
Too many ['Y's]. Also, I get that you're nervous, so calm down.
[You are Mariebell Fluorite, correct?]
[Y-Ye-ss!]
Hey, your response! Do it properly!
Even if it's late, we're meeting for the first time in a social setting. I'm confirming her name.
[I am Mariebell Fluorite! Pleased to meet you!]
That's not it, Marie-san... That ['Pleased to meet you'] is wrong... That's not the greeting for this kind of occasion... Oh, whatever.
[Please do enjoy yourself today.]
I'll lecture you about this later.
***
After that, it proceeded without any particular trouble. Aside from Marie-san's suspicious behavior, it was a peaceful tea party.
As it concluded and it was time to see the guests off, His Highness arrived.
A small cheer rose from the young ladies.
You're still popular, I see. As expected, Your Highness.
[My, my. What brings you here, Leonard?]
His Highness bowed to the Queen, who smiled mischievously, and then he gave a charming smile.
That radiant, suspicious smile of his!
[I've come to support my fiancée.]
[My, my.]
*Ohohoho*, Her Majesty laughed with truly elegant grace.
[Ellie.]
Called by His Highness, who held out his hand, I walked over to him, and he placed his arm around my waist with surprising naturalness.
Isn't it supposed to be an escort with my arm in his!?
[Shall we see the guests off now?]
The pressure from his smile, which seems to say ['You don't have any complaints, do you?'], is intense, Your Highness...
His Highness kept his arm around my waist the entire time we were seeing the guests off.
Probably wants to show off to the young ladies who came to the ['Children's Tea Party']... It would be troublesome if another one like Lady Ingrid showed up.
At the very end of the people leaving was my mother.
[Thank you for a most enjoyable day today.]
[Raise your head, Faralda.]
At Her Majesty's words, Mother slowly straightened her posture. Mother, your bearing is so elegant~. It's lovely~.
[Madam, my apologies for rarely letting Ellie return home.]
[Oh, no, not at all, Your Highness. It is no trouble whatsoever. We are happy just to occasionally see our daughter doing well like this.]
Mother smiles at me as if to say, ['See, Ellie-chan?'], and I nod.
Originally, ours is not a clingy family (except for my brother). As long as we know each other is doing well, that's enough. The Macnagan Ducal household generally has that kind of distance.
[Moreover, Your Highness has even given our good-for-nothing son... assignments, for which we cannot thank you enough.]
He really did!!
His Highness is smiling with a complicated expression, but our whole family is deeply grateful! ...Secretly, we've completed the ['Statue of the Savior God'] in secret and enshrined it in secret. Since we couldn't use a stonemason, it's a wooden statue. But that actually enhanced its aura as a sacred object, and it turned out wonderfully well.
It was all thanks to Mother, who was smiling elegantly just now, saying ['If stone won't work, then why not make it from wood~?'] in a manner reminiscent of a certain executed queen of a certain country, which made everyone think, ['Th a t ' s i t !!'].
[I truly am sorry, Faralda. It's not often this child gets to be selfish with me...]
Her Majesty is making a rare ['mother'] face.
And even more rarely, His Highness looks a little embarrassed. His Highness said ['Mother'] as if to admonish her, and Her Majesty smiled, looking somewhat happy.
*Ufufu~*. This is nice~. They're awkward and a little cute~.
His Highness is too thorough in his attitude as a ['subject'] towards Their Majesties; I think he should spend a little more ['family'] time with them.
...I think it must be incredibly lonely for parents who are only treated as ['King'] and ['Queen'] by their son. It's not the wrong approach, so it's not something to scold him for. But just having the distance grow wider is sad.
[Ellie-chan.]
[Yes, Mother?]
[Even so, do come home occasionally~. I'm sure everyone would be delighted~.]
[Yes.]
I nodded at Mother, who laughed *ufufu~*, and she patted my head gently.
***
And so, I have returned, to the Ducal Mansion!
Right after the tea party, His Highness was considerate and arranged for me to be able to come home.
The distance is short, but it's surprisingly hard to make the trip, you know?
*Haa...* The family home is so relaxing after all...
Marina and Elsa are, of course, with me. The moment they entered the ducal grounds, they promptly vanished somewhere. It's usual, so I don't mind.
Only Alphonse, who came from the castle, looked a little surprised.
[Alphonse, you can rest while you're here too. Feel free to wander around the grounds as you like.]
When I said that, he seemed a bit perplexed.
Just then, Greg the gardener happened to pass by.
Greg is around sixty, somewhere between an old man and a middle-aged man.
For a man in this world, sixty means he has maybe ten years left to live... but Greg is the picture of robust health.
For a gardener, his gaze is sharp, and he has a large scar on his face.
Well, it's like his charm point. When I was little and said it looked cool, he laughed heartily.
[Ah, Greg! Perfect timing!]
[Oh? Princess. A visit home? Or have you been... kicked out?]
I put my hands on my hips and puffed out my chest at Greg, who spoke teasingly.
[School's out, so it's a visit home!]
[My apologies, then. Welcome home, My Lady.]
[I'm home! So, you see, I think this guard knight here is bored, so keep him company.]
[Hoh.]
In short, Greg looked at Alphonse.
Alphonse just seemed utterly surprised.
I guess that's understandable.
After all, Greg is a former Royal Guard Knight. Alphonse might know his face.
[Ho... The Crown Princess's personal guard, eh? Princess, you are quite loved, aren't you?]
[...Shut up.]
When I muttered that, Greg laughed happily. This old man has quite a personality.
[Hah ha! So the Princess *can* get embarrassed!]
[Oh, My Lady! Nathan's baked some weird bread again. Wanna try it?]
The one who appeared while speaking was the stable hand. Probably in his late twenties. Dunno for sure.
He has a carefree attitude and atmosphere, is slender and of average height. A friendly, big-brother type.
[What kind is it?]
[It was super round! What do you think he put inside it?]
[...Before that, why does Nathan always want to put something inside his bread?]
[Romance, I guess?]
[Romance...? Well, I guess it can't be helped then...]
Nathan is the baker we asked to pick up Lady Ingrid's muttering the other day.
It's a pointless conversation, but this is the daily life of the Ducal Mansion.
But this stable hand also has a mysterious background.
[Ah, it's the guy I saw the other day. Your left peripheral vision's a bit narrow, ain't it?]
Alphonse muttered ['Hah...?'] in confusion as the stable hand laughed *haha*.
This might be a bit tough for Alphonse...
[Dee, go easy on him.]
[Haha. I ain't gonna do nothin'. It's that old guy over there who might do somethin'.]
[I ain't gonna do nothin' either. But if he's the My Lady's guard, I wanna see what he's made of, right?]
[S'pose so. Yeah, definitely.]
Grinning, the stable hand grabbed Alphonse's arm and pulled him.
[Alright then, you're comin' with us, buddy. If you're gonna 'protect' the My Lady, you gotta be able to beat the likes of us!]
[I don't even have a sword. It'd be a disgrace for an active guard knight to lose to an old fogey like me.]
[Eh? Wait, wha...!?]
Looking bewildered, Alphonse was dragged away by the two of them.
Farewell, Alphonse...
***
After that, I had a relaxing tea with my parents and ate Nathan's new bread creation, ['Little Apple'].
Inside the palm-sized, perfectly round bread was a whole, peeled apple stuffed inside.
It's hard to eat! And it's hard! Don't think giving it a cute name makes it okay!?
I was gnawing on the ['Little Apple'] in the garden gazebo when the stable hand, Dee, showed up with a battered Alphonse in tow.
[Oh! What's inside that one!?]
[...A whole apple. It's hard to eat, so you can have it, Dee.]
I handed the questionable food item—was it bread or an apple?—to Dee, who took a bite and laughed.
[Wait, this is just an apple!]
[Yep. I don't see the point of making it into bread. Actually, I think it's just an apple, not bread.]
[Maybe 'cause the My Lady likes apple pastries?]
[But this isn't a pastry, it's just an apple, right?]
Apple pies are properly cooked! They don't go *crunch*! Even with Danish pastries, the apple is made into jam!
I tilted my head slightly, watching Dee gnaw on the ['Little Apple'].
[...So, why is Alphonse so beat up?]
[Ah. Well, Elsa joined in partway through. And Caesar too.]
[...Hell.]
[It's fine. We held back properly.]
Dee laughed, waved his hand flippantly, and said ['Get him patched up, will ya?'] as he walked off.
[...You're really in a sorry state.]
His hair is a mess, his uniform is dirty, part of his sleeve is torn, and he even has a small cut on his face.
[Just... who *are* they...?]
Alphonse let out a deep sigh, *haa...*.
Well, I guess he'd feel like sighing.
[Do you know Greg?]
[...Yes. He was... His Late Majesty's personal guard knight... correct?]
Correct.
Thinking it's not good to talk standing up, I had Alphonse sit opposite me.
He of course refused firmly, but I told him ['Just sit down,'] and forced him into the seat.
Perfectly timed, Marina prepared tea and then promptly disappeared.
Thanks as always!
[I heard he was injured in his dominant arm during a bandit attack and could no longer hold a sword. It seems he had nowhere to go, so he's working as a gardener for our family.]
[But why a gardener...?]
I thought you'd say that. Why would an elite from the Royal Knights...?
[It was his own wish, I'm told. I don't know the details myself.]
Saying I don't know is one thing, but it's just too hard to ask.
Especially among the Royal Guard and Guard Knights, they're all people who take great pride in ['being a knight'].
Asking something like, ['Why are you working as a gardener when you can't be a knight anymore?'] is just too insensitive.
[The stable hand, Dee, is formerly from the King's special forces, ['The Ravens'].]
[The Rav... ens...?]
He's so shocked his words are breaking in strange places.
They are the darkest of the three ['Covert'] divisions.
A unit specializing in assassination and sabotage.
He's a good-natured stable hand now, but he has hidden weapons *everywhere*, to the point you want to ask, ['Where did you even pull that from!?'].
It's like magic tricks; it's fun.
He also carries poisons and such, so if you try to touch them carelessly, he'll avoid you and scold you harshly.
[As for why he's here, please ask him yourself.]
I also don't know why Dee is working as a servant here. He doesn't seem inclined to talk about it, so I've never asked.
And he's good with animals, so we have him work as a stable hand. He's so good with animals, it's like he's Na*usicaä! Dee.
[Do you know about Elsa?]
[Lady Elizabeth's maid...?]
Ah, so that's all you know.
[Formerly of ['The Owls'].]
[Ha...]
He's speechless.
[Finally, Caesar... There was a man with white hair, right?]
[Yes.]
I gave a slight smile to Alphonse, who nodded.
[He is the former ['Pale Reaper']. Have you heard of him?]
[The Pale Reaper... you mean, the assassin...?]
[Yes.]
He himself has now sealed that *chūnibyō* name away as a dark history. Among the servants, he gets teased like a schoolyard bully, with taunts like ['Hey, Reaper!'] and ['Pale Reaper? So lame!'].
I once saw him holding his head, thinking, ['Why did I ever take a name like that...'].
The follies of youth are scary, huh...? Good thing he got over his *chūnibyō* phase. Even if it meant the birth of a dark history.
[Regarding Caesar, there are still some countries that haven't rescinded his wanted status, so please keep it confidential.]
He worked too broadly and ended up wanted in several countries.
While he's been lying low here, most countries have rescinded the warrants, but one country remains. He didn't take any jobs specifically in this country, so he's not wanted here. He's just famous in the underworld.
By the way, if he's ever found out, our family plans to claim we knew nothing about his true identity...
His current job is as a porter, moving luggage. Since the family members don't go out much, it's a position that's almost non-existent.
Of course, among the servants, he's constantly teased with things like ['Hey, carry this, Reaper!'].
[Pardon me, My Lady. The wind is getting chilly, so perhaps we should return to the mansion soon.]
The maid Anna appeared, smiling cheerfully as she spoke.
[Okaaay. ...Anna, could you take care of his wounds?]
[Of course.]
She replied while gently draping a shawl over my shoulders.
*Aahh*, such a capable girl!
She doesn't have any shady background herself. We just picked her up as an ordinary orphan. But somehow, she's been trained in all sorts of skills.
She looks like a simple, lovely country girl with charming freckles, but she's a surprisingly cunning young lady who uses that very appearance to set up honeytraps and such.
With this appearance, she's the ringleader in teasing the Reaper, truly a girl who lives by the phrase ['Don't judge a book by its cover'].
***
Leaving Alphonse's treatment to the servants, I had a family meal with Father and Mother for the first time in a while.
...The number and variety of breads on the table is ridiculous. Do your job properly, Baker.
After the meal, we relaxed over tea, chatting leisurely with the servants joining in.
Aside from the slightly strange topics of conversation—like ['What happened to the thief who tried to break in the other day?'], ['The mechanism of a new trap'], and ['The Ultimate Trap I Thought Up']—it was a cozy evening.
During the little over half a year I was away, two unfamiliar servants had been added.
One is a former prostitute, and the other is a former... person involved in the underworld, apparently.... Seriously, where do you even find these people?
The former prostitute maid clearly isn't just any prostitute. Even wearing a uniform with her hair tied up neatly, she has an incredible sensuality. She's a strikingly beautiful woman, making you think she wasn't just a ['prostitute'] but perhaps a ['high-class courtesan']. Maybe she was some VIP's kept mistress.
The underworld guy just smiled wryly and said, ['Just a petty thief, really.'] You sure about that?
This household, which makes no attempt to hide its shady dealings from me, a child, has excellent transparency and feels great.
I'm glad I'm a kid from this house!
I get to hear all sorts of interesting stories!
Tomorrow, His Highness is coming to visit. And he plans to stay overnight.
This is the first time since our engagement that His Highness will be visiting our home in a relaxed manner... I'm always causing such a rush, I'm sorry.
Having fun, vacation-like plans makes me happy and excited!
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