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176. Childhood Friend – Sierra Gaidan

The Gaidan family’s territory was situated on a hill.

With the roadran mountains along the southwestern coastline and gradually lower elevations towards the central continent, the Gaidan territory, which was near the Belita Kingdom, had more hills than mountains.

And those hills were densely populated with the trees of a forest that had already lost the vibrant autumn foliage, serving as the livelihood of the Gaidan territory.

– Hiiing! Puru-ruru-ru!

Kus, pulling the carriage along a steadily sloping path, happily whinnied as he worked. He looked back proudly, sweating with his thick neck.

“Good job.”

– Hihihing?

With just words?

“I’ll give you a carrot when we arrive. For now, let’s keep going.”

Reb snapped the whip on Kus’s backside! Kus shook his mane in displeasure but continued to pull the carriage diligently.

Soon, they arrived at the territory.

Atop the hill, the modest lord’s castle was the center of the Gaidan territory, which was marked by stacks of timber, a clear indication of their logging and sawing industry. Many logs remained in their natural state while some were cut and waiting to dry.

This was the busiest time.

It hadn’t yet snowed, which would disrupt the work, and the trees that had shed their leaves were absorbing less moisture from the ground, making it the perfect time for logging.

Reb crossed the territory, where workers scurried about, and carts laden with wood passed by.

“One! Hoo, two! Hoo, one!”

At that moment, a loud shout came from the passing sawmill. Two young men were cutting a large log in half with a long saw.

Reb glanced at the familiar faces for a moment, but a cart filled with logs moved aside, and Kus pulled the carriage out of sight.

“Rena, Leo. We’ve arrived.”

Reb knocked on the carriage.

The lord’s castle was right in front. Inside, Leo and Rena completed their preparations, elegantly stepping down from the carriage.

The guard watching over the castle stared blankly at the noble-looking siblings and asked, “…Who are you?”

Rena and Leo didn’t speak. It was Reb, assuming the role of servant, who said, “Please summon the Grand Officer.”

The emblem of Princess Danijela Tatalia.

The guard didn’t know what Reb had shown him, but he realized that a very high-ranking individual was present and rushed inside.

Before long, Leo’s party met the Grand Officer who managed the Gaidan territory.

The Grand Officer maintained decorum but looked at them with a suspicious gaze.

‘Princess Danijela?’

The elder Grand Officer had heard of Princess Danijela.

Before coming here with the Marchioness, he had worked in a mansion in the capital and had served the previous Marquis Gaidan. There was no way he wouldn’t know about the once-famous ‘Danijela de Lognum’ princess.

However, the Grand Officer pretended not to know and led the siblings into the reception room. Mentioning the cold weather, he offered them warm tea, though his mind was in turmoil.

Were they con artists trying to swindle using just the symbol of the Acaian Empire, her golden eyes? Or could they be messengers sent by Princess Danijela, who married into the Belita Kingdom?

No, if that were the case, they would have mentioned it sooner.

To further confuse the Grand Officer was their differing demeanor.

The ‘self-proclaimed’ princess tried to appear calm but couldn’t touch her teacup, her eyes darting nervously, while the young man didn’t reveal his identity but held himself with an air of true royalty…

The Grand Officer racked his brain to recall the lineage of royalty he knew.

There were no siblings of that age in the Orun Kingdom. The same could be said for the Conrad Kingdom, and while he’d heard there were in the Belita Kingdom and Jerome Holy Kingdom, they weren’t blonde. Surely, the northern barbarian royalty couldn’t have come this far.

‘Aisel Kingdom?’

The Grand Officer’s memory reached out to the Magic Kingdom. In that eastern continent kingdom, there were ‘Elika de Isadora’ princess and ‘Oscar de Isadora’ prince. They were golden-haired with golden eyes.

Carefully, the Grand Officer tested the waters, saying, “I apologize for the lack of hospitality in hosting guests. If we had received prior notice, we would have prepared ahead…Will there be more guests arriving?”

“No, there won’t.”

“…I see. You seem to be enjoying a modest trip. You must be quite fatigued, Princess Danijela.”

Rena didn’t respond but turned her head. Just as the Grand Officer’s eyes were beginning to veil with doubt, Leo spoke up.

“This is not Princess Danijela Tatalia.”

“Is that so?”

The blunt reply from the Grand Officer awaited further explanation.

He immediately thought of calling for knights if their identities turned out to be different from what he expected.

However, the suspicious young man’s response was far from what he anticipated.

“I am Leo de Yeriel. This is my sister, Rena de Yeriel.”

The Grand Officer momentarily wore a blank expression. The prince and princess thought to be dead. Remembering they too had golden hair and golden eyes, his complexion changed.

“…That’s hard to believe. Then what is the emblem of Princess Danijela doing with you?”

“We received her assistance. We just arrived in the Orun Kingdom after hiding in the Belita Kingdom. We wish to meet Marquis Harvey Gaidan.”

The Grand Officer realized this wasn’t a matter he could decide alone.

However, there would be no reason for the Gaidan Marquis, a great noble of the Orun Kingdom, to rush over just because a foreign prince summoned him. He couldn’t rule out the possibility that these might be clever con artists, so the Grand Officer decided to hold his judgment.

“I see. Understood. I will contact Marquis Gaidan. Let me prepare a room for you. You’ll receive a reply within a few days.”

“Thank you. And I’ve heard that the Marchioness resides here. As guests, isn’t it proper to greet the hostess?”

The Grand Officer bowed respectfully.

“…I apologize. The Marchioness is currently unwell. She is not in a condition to welcome guests, so I must apologize on her behalf. She will understand.”

“Then I will excuse myself as well.”

Leo bowed in return.

His action brimmed with regret while being flawless in etiquette, so much so that the Grand Officer ended up believing him when he said he had received assistance from Princess Danijela.

Of course. Even though Princess Danijela has married, she has not been able to join her husband.

Long ago, she had married Prince Khmian de Tatalia of the Belita Kingdom.

The first prince, disappointed at not being chosen as the heir, announced that he would become a priest the day before the wedding and left for the Cross Church, lost in a foreign land became Princess Danijela de Lognum.

She hadn’t married to become a symbol of peace between the Orun Kingdom and the Belita Kingdom, but quietly aged as ‘Danijela Tatalia.’

Such an encounter with the supposedly deceased prince and princess was far too dramatic; the Grand Officer rather accepted it readily.

He assigned rooms and maidservants to the prince and princess, as well as to the seemingly protective young man.

Then, he set off to inform Marquis Gaidan of this peculiar event, but after finishing the communication and returning to the lord’s castle, something truly unbelievable had occurred.

[ Achievement: The Man Who Melted Sierra Gaidan’s Heart – Gained a slight favor from Sierra Gaidan. ]

“It’s been a while…Should I say? You’ve been through a lot.”

The Marchioness, who had lost her son and had been lost in spirit for seven years, welcomed him fully intact.

*

I had been aware that I was a princess.

The day I left Oberg, I started my complaints and questions from the carriage with “What’s this letter? You were going to leave me behind?”

My older brother calmly explained that our status was originally royal and emphasized that I was a princess. The reason ‘princess’ was written in the letter was to inform me of my status.

I found it incredibly hard to believe and still felt confused, but since coming here, I had begun to slowly realize it.

“Princess, are you up?”

Before I could stretch, warm washing water was placed in front of me. A lady who introduced herself as ‘Marisa’ coated my lips with rouge and declared that she would braid my hair today.

“Thank you.” I said, shaking my head in her gentle touch.

A morning where I needed to lift a finger. A day overflowing with consideration had begun. Once finished with my preparations, Rena walked cautiously to the dining room so as not to wrinkle her pretty clothes.

“Oh my, you’ve braided your hair today. It suits you well.”

In the dining room, a gaunt yet graceful middle-aged lady was waiting. Perhaps she had been waiting for Rena, as her plate remained empty.

Clank—

With a dozen handmaidens watching, mealtime commenced. The food was as wonderful as ever, but Rena felt the silent pressure. No one blamed her, yet whenever the handmaiden adjusted the fork’s placement as it was laid down, she realized she was continuously making some mistake.

She wondered whether any food was actually entering her mouth.

The Marchioness smiled softly. As she quietly observed the princess eating messily, she stood up.

“Princess Rena, if it’s not too much trouble, would you mind moving seats? I’m not feeling well… It’s difficult for me to eat at the table.”

The Marchioness led Rena toward the salon. She gently sat the princess down on a plush sofa, then sat opposite her and told the maidservants to prepare ‘fondre.’

A dish of small chunks of meats, fruits, and bread dipped in melted cheese, there were no strict dining etiquettes for it.

If sitting around the table and eating it like a snack made it even less so.

“Is it to your liking?”

“Yes, it’s delicious.”

A weight lifted.

Rena finally savored the flavors and filled her belly, while the Marchioness served simple refreshments and tea, saying, “Once I get better, I’ll cook for you. I’m not sure how well I can do it yet, but I used to cook often…”

The Marchioness’s sentence trailed off.

As thoughts of her deceased son came to her, tears threatened to pour again, but she collected herself. She recalled comforting words from a young man who grew robustly like her son and raised her head.

“…I did cook often. It was my one true hobby. Princess, do you have any hobbies?”

“Yes, I love theater.”

Rena declared confidently.

The experience of losing herself as she became someone else on stage, her memory of shouting fiercely toward Azra as she disappeared the moment she became a saint, the applause that poured out after a moment of silence made her proud.

Before long, she chattered on, talking about her experiences in theater.

The Marchioness, who assumed the princess would enjoy watching theater, was taken aback. ‘Surely… she hasn’t lived an ordinary life.’ Thinking thus, she listened intently, but there was something odd.

In her story, there was no sense of self-awareness as a ‘princess.’ It felt as if she had only recently discovered she was a princess, which the Marchioness noticed.

No matter how seven years lying ill may have been, she was a noble. She had lived her life in a cold noble society and was the lady of the esteemed Gaidan family.

What on earth was happening?

Yet it was obvious that this pretty young lady bore no ill intentions. Ultimately, the Marchioness was left with no choice but to arrive at a bewildering conclusion.

‘There must be some story behind this…’

In a month, her husband would arrive at the territory. Surely, he wouldn’t harm the kindred spirits who had awakened her, but it was something she needed to know.

This naïve young lady seemed to know nothing…

The Marchioness thought she should ask ‘those young men,’ and sent the princess off to her room. Then, about a week later, she sat down with Leo and Reb, who returned all bruised and questioned them.

“Who are you?”