The Duke's Daughter Goes Her Own Way
[Tomorrow Will Surely Be a Better Day Than Today!]
Translated by: ME
Me's note:
This is a story where Eli's okama friends appear. If you wanna know what Okama is, you can google it. One example I can think of are Mr. Bonclay from One Piece. He is one of my favorite character in that series.
The title originally had (1) attached at the end of it so I assume it was supposed to be a part of bigger story but the author never release another continuation.
***
The subsequent story of the pickpocket guy who tried to rob Elizabeth and was sent to the territory in the main story.
The polar opposite of the tale of friendship between the King, the nation's top-of-the-tops, and His Grace the Duke: the story of the nation's bottom-dweller, the pickpocket guy.
The coffee the pickpocket guy drinks in the capital city is bitter. (CV. Gin-*something*-Banjo)
***
When I woke up, I was no longer in this world.
You might think, 'What is he talking about?' but that's the only way I could describe it at the time.
I mean, come on!?
I was just a petty pickpocket scraping by in the royal capital, a perfectly ordinary, decent young guy with nothing particularly noteworthy about me.
No education, so no job. My parents died young, so I had to feed my little sister. And since my sister was still small, her big brother had to tough it out.
No job, so the only option was to get some scraps from those who had something, right? I wasn't doing anything wrong, was I?
So there I was, just a regular decent guy, when I took a pretty solid hit, blacked out, and woke up in this bizarre world.
...Did I really do something that bad...?
***
I seemed to be laid out on a bed somewhere.
A man with a huge ribbon on his head was peering down at me.
He was unmistakably a man.
His jaw was square, his beard shadow was stark blue like it was painted on, his neck was thick...
But his lips were bright pink and glossy, his cheeks were overly pink with rouge, and his eyelashes were so long they could probably create a breeze when he blinked... His long hair was curled unnecessarily beautifully. And on his head, a huge pink ribbon.
...Mister, stop with the pink. Your clothes are pink too, and it looks so nauseatingly bad on you.
Noticing I was awake, the man looked somewhere and called out.
「Candy-chaaan! This one's awake, deary~!」
A falsetto, but deep!! A falsetto, yet deep! A high-pitched yet thick voice—I'm hearing it for the first time!
And Mister, even your nails are pink!
「Well, well now? My, it's true. Uhuhu... Good morning, little boy♡.」
Saying this, a different man peered down at me.
A man with a rugged face, his head adorned with a bunch of flowers, wearing a dress covered in frills and ribbons.
Why are these guys wearing dresses?
What kind of punishment game is this?
Or is this that place you go when you die?
「Little boy, can you sit up?」
This new man also had a deep, high-pitched voice. No offense, but it's awfully grating.
When I tried to sit up, the area around my solar plexus ached dully. Well, I *was* punched there.
As I sat up, a cute girl handed me a glass of water.
The girl who gave me the water is normally cute. I wonder what a girl like that is doing in a place like this.
After I finished the water, the flower-head man took the empty glass.
...I liked that girl better... The one who gave me the water.
「Now then, little boy. Shall we have a little chat?」
He said 'Ufufu' and laughed, but his eyes weren't smiling. Crap. This guy is scary.
Having lived in the shady underworld, I like to think I have a bit of an eye for people.
From my perspective, this flower-head guy is bad news. His ridiculously sturdy build is one thing, but more than that, this guy is the 'type you shouldn't get involved with'.
The dress and makeup are disgustingly gross, but that's not what I mean.
He's the type who can treat people he deems 'unnecessary' as 'less than objects'.
The type you find at least one of in any organization's upper ranks.
If that type singles you out, it usually doesn't end well.
The man brought a chair over and sat down beside the bed I was lying on.
...But man, he's built... How does a build like that fit into a dress like that? But then again, I guess noble ladies include some pretty stout ones, so maybe it's not that strange if you think of it that way.
「My name is Candy. And what is your name?」
Candy? That's even more unfitting than anything else so far.
「Your name? Little boy?」
「...Glen.」
I answered while avoiding the gaze of Candy, who had leaned his face in close. ...No way I can look directly at him from this close range. Have some mercy.
「'Glen'. That's a nice name. Too good for a cheap, petty pickpocket.」
「...Shut up.」
It's true I'm a petty pickpocket, but do names really have 'good' or 'bad'?
This thing's just like a symbol, ain't it?
「...So, why were you doing something like pickpocketing? Why don't you tell your big sister all about it?」
Big sister!? You're clearly a man!? Calling yourself 'big sister', aren't you shameless!?
「What is it, little boy? Do you have something you want to say?」
Stop looking so threatening! It's scary!
Because Candy was scary, I obediently told him about my circumstances so far.
How my parents died and I couldn't afford food.
How I had no job because I had no education.
How I had to feed my young sister.
...Hey. Aren't the guys in the back crying or something? Why are they crying? Scary.
「How old is your little sister now?」
「Nine.」
「Well then, little boy, how old are you now?」
「Dunno.」
I know my sister's age because I count it every year. But no one counted my age, so I don't know it.
Since my sister is nine, I'm definitely older than that.
I have a memory of my parents celebrating my birthday when they were alive. But I don't remember what month or day it was.
「First things first, then. Your sister's name?」
「...Lila, why?」
「Whereabouts did you live? And what does Lila-chan look like?」
He dug for every little detail, and while I didn't understand why, I answered.
What's the point of asking about my circumstances? And you guys in the back, stop crying already. Your low sobbing is scary.
After hearing my story, Candy let out a sigh. 「Hoh...」
「You said you have 'no education', but can you read and write?」
「Nope.」
That's what I meant by no education.
「There should be free primary schools; didn't you go?」
「Free... you mean, for real?」
「Yes.」
「That existed!?」
I didn't know.
According to Candy, in the area I lived, I could have been taught basics like reading, writing, and math for free at a nearby church.
If it was free, I could have sent Lila.
When he asked, "You didn't know?" I retorted, 「No one told me, so how could I?」 Candy made a complicated face.
He was muttering something like, 「I should probably tell Eli-chan about this...」
And then I was told, 「For now, get a little more sleep. After you wake up, let's have a meal or something,」 so I decided to lie down obediently.
'Cause my gut hurt from the punch. And escaping from here seemed pretty damn impossible anyway.
When I lay down, sleepiness came over me immediately.
Come to think of it, this is the first time I've had such a soft pillow and futon... I thought, and fell asleep in an instant.
***
I don't know how long I slept, but when I woke up, my head felt unusually clear. The power of a fluffy futon is amazing.
When I fell asleep, it was bright outside the window. And it's still bright now.
...Maybe not much time passed? But I feel unusually refreshed. Fluffy futon, seriously amazing.
I sat up in bed.
The pain in my solar plexus had subsided considerably. ...Still hurts a bit, though. Seriously, how hard did they hit me?
But wait, knocking someone out with one blow to a vital point... Could that guy actually be seriously skilled? And for one punch to be this heavy... Maybe he was a seriously dangerous guy...
...He just seemed like a regular, kinda spacey guy, though...
My throat's a bit dry.
Is there any water or something?
No, more importantly, where is this place?
I didn't die, did I? I'm still alive, right?
As I was thinking that, someone opened the door.
Looking over, it was the flower-head man—uh, Candy, was it? That person.
「My, you're awake?」
「Where is this place?」
When I asked, Candy looked puzzled for a moment, then burst out laughing as if startled. His laugh was shrill yet deep—a miraculously grating sensation.
「Finally starting to think a little, are we? You'd think that question would be the first thing out of your mouth, normally.」
Fair point.
But waking up after being knocked out, surrounded by men in dresses and frills... is just too confusing to process.
I'm not wrong here, am I?
「Say, little boy. Aren't you hungry?」
When asked, I placed a hand on my stomach.
Not really sure.
Being hungry is so normal for me that I'm usually not even sure if I *am* hungry or not.
When I didn't answer, Candy gave a small laugh.
「Can you eat?」
「I can eat, I guess?」
Dunno.
A meal... that's something I get maybe once every two days.
I made sure to give Lila at least one piece of bread every day, though. 'Cause Lila gets fussy when she's hungry.
But I could put up with not eating. And if I went to the communal well, I could drink as much water as I wanted.
「If you think you can eat, come over here. Let's talk while we eat.」
As Candy said this and left the room, I decided to follow.
There were someone's shoes neatly placed by the bed, so I decided to borrow them without asking.
...Now that I think of it, my clothes aren't mine either. What happened to the clothes and shoes I was wearing?
Following Candy, I entered a room with a meal set on the table.
Told to sit in a certain seat, the frilly-ribbon man said, 「Here you go~, enjoy~」 and placed a bowl of soup in front of me.
Sitting on the various chairs were Candy, the frilly-ribbon man, a middle-aged man with a quite good physique and appearance, and the beautiful girl who had handed me the glass. They didn't seem like a family. What kind of gathering are these people?
「Now, let's eat.」
Saying this, Candy promptly started tearing off pieces of bread and eating them.
The frilly man and the middle-aged man had their elbows on the table, hands clasped together, resting their foreheads on them and muttering something. That's definitely the gesture the church folks do. Praying or something.
The beautiful girl, like Candy, had already started eating her meal promptly.
I guess I'll eat too.
Whoa, this bread's tasty! It's not dry or anything, amazing. ...I wish Lila could eat this. Could I take some back...? Nah, wrong thought. More importantly, the question is, where *is* this place?
...I hope Lila's eating properly. I probably left enough small change at home to manage for about two days, though.
「Was it not to your liking?」
The frilly man asked me that.
I'd noticed my hands had completely stopped moving.
「Nah, that's not it.」
'To my liking' or 'not to my liking' doesn't really apply. As long as food isn't rotten and fills my stomach, it's good enough.
「More importantly, where is this place? And what's gonna happen to me?」
Even an idiot like me knows pickpocketing is 'a bad thing'. I know if the patrols catch you, there's some kind of punishment, though I don't know what.
But, no matter how you look at it, this isn't a knights' station, is it?
Knights in frills, dresses, and ribbons are too newfangled for me.
「This is the Macnagan Duchy.」
The Macnagan Duchy. ...Where's that? All I know is it's 'not the royal capital'. Don't know anything else.
Candy looked at my face and laughed, 「Fufu~」. ...His laugh is creepy. It's like a high and low sound mixed in a weird way, feels strangely disgusting...
「It's about two days by carriage from the royal capital where you were, little boy.」
Pretty far, then. Still don't really get where it is, though.
「You, you tried to pick the purse of a little girl, didn't you?」
Yeah, I did.
It was a pair: a little girl who looked a bit well-off and a guy who seemed pretty unremarkable.
「That girl was the daughter of the Macnagan Ducal house.」
「............Haah!?」
The Ducal house's? Daughter?
A young lady from a world so far above mine wasn't there!
Her clothes weren't much different from any other girl's, though her face was cute and her hair was well cared for. That's why I thought she was 'a child from a slightly wealthy commoner family'.
The Ducal house? Isn't that like, the highest rank among nobles? Where the only ones above are the royals or something, that level... She didn't look like a child from a family like that...
「Eli-chan's disguise skills are a bit of a mixed bag, aren't they?」
「Isn't it fine? If she was obviously a noble's daughter, she'd be more likely to get bothered by worse types.」
「Even so, does she need to blend in as a 'town girl' enough to be targeted by petty thieves...」
「It can't be helped. Because Eli-chan is *that* lady's daughter, you know?」
「Ahh... I can only agree...」
The men were having that conversation.
From the conversation, I gathered that this 'Eli-chan' is the ducal daughter I targeted.
And that 'just a regular girl' appearance was probably due to a disguise.
But wait, she's a 'ducal daughter', right? Why is the name they use 'Eli-chan'? Shouldn't it be with '-sama' or something? I dunno.
「Well, anyway, you were lucky, weren't you?」
Candy laughed and took a sip of wine.
「Believe it or not, the person you tried to lay hands on is the daughter of a ducal house—the second-highest rank among nobles—and the Crown Prince's fiancée.」
「............WHAT!?」
The Crown Prince's? Fiancée?
You mean, like, a future member of the royal family!?
No, no, wait, wait! Why would someone like that be walking down such a dim back alley!? What kind of trap is this!?
「If you had hurt Eli-chan even a little, who knows what would have happened to you by now.」
He's damn right!!
If I'd hurt a future royal, could I have been executed or something!? Scary! What kind of trap was this!?
「She probably wouldn't mind a minor injury or two, though.」
「Even if Eli-chan doesn't mind, His Highness probably would... Or rather, he'd normally be furious, wouldn't he?」
「That Eli-chan is a troublesome woman.」
「The fact she's unaware of it makes it worse.」
「Fufu. His Highness is surely in for some hardships.」
「Isn't that one of the pleasures of love, though?」
The men were talking cheerfully about this, but...
Man, that's scary!?
I'm breaking out in a cold sweat now, after the fact!?
「And so, little boy, you tried to lay hands on that young lady, failed, and were sent here.」
「...I don't really get it, but I understand.」
Things like, why send me here instead of to the patrol? Or, is the 'ducal daughter' thing a lie? There's tons I don't get.
「And about your little sister—she'll probably arrive here sometime today, so just wait here until then, dear.」
「Today...? Didn't you say it takes two days by carriage or something?」
Even if I can't do math, I can understand that 'today' after what you just said is impossible.
「Carriages aren't that fast, you know.」
Candy said it flippantly, but.
That's not the issue here!
「But, you just said... and today...」
「Just now? ...Ahh! You don't understand, do you, little boy!」
Candy laughed that shrill laugh again, then snapped his wrist exaggeratedly and waved his hand.
「Oh my! Little boy, you slept for a full day! We heard about your sister from you *yesterday*!」
A full... day... Seriously...?
No wonder I feel refreshed. But sleeping a full day... is that even possible? The fluffy futon is beyond amazing, it's scary...
***
After the meal, the ribbon man made tea. Tea after a meal, that's amazing. Like a noble or something. I dunno.
「Now then. Let's do some quick self-introductions, shall we?」
Saying this, Candy looked at me and gave a wink. ...I almost spat out my tea. Cut it out.
「As I said yesterday, I'm Candy. If you have any troubles, just tell me, dear.」
The gesture of tilting his head while going 「Ufu♡」 and smiling is indescribably gross.
「You may call me Bianca♡.」
The ribbon man said this and blew a kiss. ...Are you guys holding a grossness competition or something? It's hard to decide who's grosser. The level is high.
「Bianca-chan lives here with me. Since you'll be relying on her for meals and such, mind your manners.」
Being told by Candy, I realized that Bianca had done all the meal serving and tea... and stuff.
He's gross, but the food was tasty.
「...The food was tasty. Thanks.」
I decided to thank him anyway. Then Bianca let out a strangely shrill 「Oh my!」 before narrowing his eyes happily and laughing.
「You're quite welcome! I'm glad it suited your taste!」
When Bianca laughs, the wrinkles around his eyes look friendly. ...Even though he's gross overall.
「You may call me Roland.」
The middle-aged man said just that in a low, quiet voice, then fell silent.
...This guy, his expression is so close to 'blank', I can't tell what he's thinking at all...
「Ro-chan helps me manage this whole area. If some weirdo bothers you, just tell Ro-chan.」
Ro-chan... That cute name doesn't suit this guy at all...
He seems a bit similar to Candy in atmosphere, and it's scary... Gives off the vibe of someone who watches silently and shows no mercy to things he doesn't need.
「I'm Bill Alister. I'd like you to call me Alice.」
...Huh!? The beautiful girl's voice is super deep!? And did he just say 'Bill'!?
「A... man...?」
He looks just like a delicate, beautiful girl. ...Ugh, looking closely, he has an Adam's apple. And looking even closer, his hands are rugged. And he has sword calluses... Ugh, what a letdown...
In response to my muttered question, Bill or Alice or whatever laughed cheerfully. ...It's a damn man's voice.
「Though I may look like nothing but a frail, delicate, beautiful girl, unfortunately, I'm a man.」
He can list that many compliments about himself...? Annoyingly, he's not wrong, which is something else.
But wait, what?
Is this place, like, a place where dresses are the formal attire for all men? No, Roland is wearing normal clothes. Three out of five in dresses and ribbons, what kind of world is this?
「Alice-chan is in charge of patrols around here, so I think you'll see him fairly often. Be nice to him, 'kay?」
Patrols!? Looking like that!?
Surprised, I looked at Alice, who laughed, 「Fufu.」 His smile is cute, but his voice is deep...
「I'm a member of the Macnagan Duchy Private Knight Order, patrol division. Today's my day off, hence this adorable dress, but normally I'm in my knight uniform. If you see me, feel free to say hello.」
I mean... 'Adorable'? Do you normally say that about yourself...? Well, the dress and his appearance are exactly as he says, but still.
But, the dress Alice is wearing is seriously cute.
The sleeves and hem of the skirt are fluttery, the color is a pale blue, with lots of white lace... Lila would probably love something like this. ...Her big brother could never afford to buy it for her, though.
Sorry, Lila. Your big brother is useless.
「What's wrong, little boy? Did you maybe fall for Alice-chan?」
Asked by Bianca, I frantically waved both hands.
Falling for this guy? Don't say such terrifying things!
「Nah! It's not that! I was just thinking my sister would probably like that dress, that's all!」
When I said that, the eyes of everyone looking at me became sort of... lukewarm.
Ugh, this is uncomfortable...
「My word... So *this* is what they mean by 'you can't hate him', isn't it?」
Candy said with a wry smile, looking at Roland, and Roland gave a small smile too. ...No, your smile is scary, Roland-san. I'll add '-san' to this person. Scary.
「It reminds me, after a long time, that there's no end to how far down you can look.」
「It's something we shouldn't forget, but you're right.」
「It's because 'this place' is too much of a lukewarm bath.」
Alice also said with a wry smile, and Candy smiled back, slightly lowering her eyes.
「But there are people who keep stoking the fire to maintain that 'lukewarm bath'. We mustn't forget that.」
「I know. I may look like this, but I'm a 'Macnagan Territory Knight', you know?」
「That's right.」
Alice was also smiling at Candy, who laughed with a 「Fufu」.
Alice is cute, but Candy is beyond gross and slightly terrifying.
Alice looked at me with that cute smile and tilted his head slightly. That kind of mannerism is captivatingly cute.
「How tall is your sister?」
Ahhh~... His voice is just too disappointing...
Deeper than mine...
But, height? Lila's?
Hmm... well...
「About this much, maybe?」
When I indicated the approximate height with my hand, Alice nodded thoughtfully, then smiled again.
「I have some clothes I own that might fit your sister; would it be okay if I gave them to her?」
「Huh? Ah... eh? ...Why?」
I couldn't help but be bewildered.
'Give'... means 'for free', right? For real?
I don't get it.
If it was 'sell cheap', I could kinda understand.
「'Why?' What do you mean by that?」
When Candy asked, I tilted my head slightly.
「What do you mean?」
「'Why?' You didn't ask if you want it or not, you asked 'Why?' I'm a little curious. What was so strange about it?」
「Strange...? Isn't it normal to not get it?」
Huh? Did I say something weird?
The other four are looking at me like *I'm* the strange one.
「Getting stuff for free from strangers, that's not normal, is it?」
If there was an exchange, like working for it instead of money, I'd totally get it.
But at my words, the four fell silent for a while, then all sighed deeply in unison.
...Somehow, that's kinda hurtful... Maybe I'm being treated as super 'weird'? That stings a bit.
If *I'm* the weird one, then what about you guys in frills, ribbons, and dresses?
...Oh, right.
「Hey.」
Not sure who to ask, so Candy will do.
「What happened to my clothes? My clothes?」
I pulled at the collar of the shirt I'd been changed into without knowing, and Candy muttered, 「Ah,」 as if remembering.
「Your clothes, little boy, were so filthy I thought I'd wash them for you.」
Stopping there, Candy put a hand to his cheek and went 「Hoh...~」 Ugh, creepy.
「But while washing them, they fell apart and became tattered...」
「Hey!!」
What did you do!? I don't have any spare clothes!!
「So, as an apology, you can have that shirt. Your clothes were so tattered they couldn't be mended, so I threw them out.」
「Seriously...? Well, if that's the case, I guess there's no helping it...」
It seems better quality than the shirt I was originally wearing.
But if I don't take this, I'll be buck naked.
「...So, how much do I have to pay?」
Even if it's an apology, this is a nicer item than my original clothes. The difference... well, I probably couldn't pay it anyway. But I should at least ask their asking price.
I thought that, but Candy sighed again and laughed wryly.
「That's why it's an 'apology'. We don't need money. We're the ones who did something regrettable. And besides, that shirt is unwearable now, so we don't need it. ...Won't you take it?」
「Well... if that's the case.」
'Don't need it' means they were probably going to throw it away or something.
If it's something being thrown away, then it should be fine to just take it. Then, no money needed.
Ahh, that's a relief! Not being charged an outrageous price!
***
Feeling relieved, I yawned.
Eating until I'm full... is an experience I haven't had in ages. Not being able to sleep because I'm hungry happens all the time.
It's the opposite of not being able to sleep when hungry; when I'm full, I get sleepy.
The human body is interesting.
「Getting sleepy? Why not sleep a bit more until your sister arrives?」
「...Guess I will...」
Not like I have anything to do if I stay awake anyway.
「You can use the room you were in earlier freely.」
「Mm.」
Too sleepy to bother replying properly.
I got up from my seat, returned to the previous room, and bundled myself up in the fluffy futon.
Then, before I could even think about anything, I fell asleep in an instant.
Me's note:
It's kinda weird that it just end like that so I write a short story based on this on my Ko-Fi, have a look if you have time. It's free.
Thank you for reading. If you want to help my hobby please download and install LDP9 with my link down below. Just Click the small yellow LDPlayer Banner.
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