?"When I asked while trembling, Glinda coldly looked at me,and said.
"Yes, different. But you are my little brother, so if youwould obediently listen to me, I would play with you."
I was as delighted as a little puppy wagging his tail withall my might, nodding: "En!"
"Sigh….. Ahhhhhh! Now is no time to reminiscence about sadmemories of childhood!"
I sat on my bed in my western dress, gripping my head andsighing.
Since the day I b.u.mped into Princess Seira and shed tears,three days had gone by.
Due to shame and embarra.s.sment, I could never look hercompletely in the face during every lesson.
Helmut who returned home the day before calmly said.
"She hasn"t threatened you; saying that she would revealyour ident.i.ty immediately if you cannot find the answer, neither has she set atime limit for discovering the solution, right? If that"s the case, you canjust take your time to patiently figure a way out."
Princess Seira never did set a deadline, and since she hadhelped me keep my secret to this day, she might just continue to keep mum aboutit.
But, I had already promised the Queen :"Just leave PrincessSeira"s issues to me."; And more importantly, Princess Seira seemed to bewaiting for her answer, silently applying pressure on me with her icy quiet stareat all times, and scaring me almost into spilling my guts.
"Uwuwu… If the real Glinda were to come to Eren, maybe shewould have been very compatible with Princess Seira…"
No, maybe they would have begun their plot to conquer theworld together already, so scary.
My mind was filled with illusions of horror, and I was soupset that I could not sit still, running out of my room.
Oh, but if I were to go out to the courtyards, I might b.u.mpinto the princess again; as for Anneth, she had just said "I need to deliversomething to the publishers.", and went back home, yet to return.
So lonely.
Cold breeze swirled within my skirt.
As I slowly walked with head overcast…
"Hey! Glinda! How dare you just ignore me! Outrageous!"
A furious-looking Sir Jerome appeared in a huff.
"Huh? When have I ever ignored you?"
For someone with such flamboyant dress-sense, pompous andexaggerated att.i.tude, how could I possibly ignore him?
But Jerome just became angrier.
"Huh? Stop playing the fool! Last night when I called at youat the new diner at the Silver Lamb Street, you just coldly stared at me! Evenif there was a woman at my sides, b-but don"t you misunderstand! That was justa normal girlfriend… no, she"s my cousin… no, my elder sister!" (T/N: SKP2017: "way to go, bro... (claps)")
"I did not leave the palace at all yesterday, did youmistook someone else for me…"
"I did not mistake anyone else! The face that looked at meis truly yours!"
Jerome pointed at my face and shouted, then his own facebegan to redden.
"That, maybe because of the moonlight, you looked moreenchanting than normal… I have never thought you lovely before, but for somereasons, the same face in the city felt completely different, so, so I wasstunned for a moment, thinking that you looked beautiful…" (T/N: SKP2017: "The moon sure is beautiful today...")
I was shocked breathless.
A girl with the same face as mine, but more beautiful, therecould only be one in this entire world!
Could it be that Jerome had b.u.mped into…
At this point, Jerome"s uncle, the Chief Minister who saw meas a pain in his sides, strode over in large steps.
"I heard that you have been trying to unearth informationabout our country, and about our king. You must be a spy from WinstoriaEmpire!"
"When did that happen?"
"Stop acting as though you know nothing about it! I receivedreports that, this morning you were at the marketplace, not spending even asingle cent and just with sophistry alone, made off with half a dozen eggs, twooranges, a string of sausages, hard bread, squid and roast scallops!"
"I must take my leave!"
I turned and ran when I heard.
"Wait! You trying to escape?!?"
"Glinda! The woman last night is truly only my sister~~~~"
I ignored the shouts that came from behind me.
This morning I had breakfast with the royal family, and thenhad lessons as normal.
So, there could be no way I could have appeared in themarket.
There could be absolutely no doubts about it! Glinda hadcome to this country! And was very nearby!
I ran back into my room, threw on some craftsman"s apparelthat I had prepared just in case, tugged my hair under my cap, and put on thosepair of spectacles that I had not worn since I got kidnapped by Helmut. Thesewere gla.s.ses that I bought on purpose to hide my face which looked exactlysimilar to Glinda.
It was no simple feat to enter the castle, with its thickhigh walls, water-filled moat and guards.
But it was a simple thing to leave it.
I pretended to be a lowly craftsman"s apprentice, leavingthe castle to buy some stuff for my master.
"Thank you for the hard work. It must had been tough at workwith Lana"s Day just around the corner, huh?"
The guards chatted with me as they let me pa.s.sed outside.
Once out of the palace, I picked up my legs and began torun.
Where to look for Glinda?
Let"s just begin at where the crowd would be. Glinda was soglaringly outstanding that even mere pa.s.sers-by would be deeply impressed byher appearance.
I made my way from my memories of the marathon race, andimmediately found a large crowd forming a ring around something.
I tiptoed to try peering in from above their heads.
A clown-themed clockwork toy was being displayed in front ofa clock-maker shop. The clown with his hair stuffed on his back hammered on hisdrums while a dove flew out of the drum with every hit.
This was identical to the toy we had in our home back in theWinstoria Empire, which had been crafted by Glinda when she was just 6.
I pushed through the crowd to ask the shop owner.
"Who made this toy?"
The shop keeper excitedly replied.
"Yesterday, a beautiful young lady came over to our shop andcrafted this object in a second. She said that there were some materials sheneeded, and would exchange them with this."
"Where has she gone to?"
"She asked me the location of the nearest shoemaker, so Idirected her to George"s shop nearby."
"Thank you!"
I ran over to enquire at the shoe shop…
"Hoho, oh yes, she took a few pieces of top quality leather,and gave me many lovely designs of shoes. She asked me for some pen and paper,and just drew the designs on the spot. How terrific!"
After that, I heard that Glinda went to an antique shop.
Clockmaker, shoe shop, antique shop… Just what did Glindawant?
I followed the map that the shoe maker drew for me, roundinga street corner…
"Ah!"
"Wha! Sorry!"
I clashed heads-on with another who was also walking aroundthe corner, and the objects in her hands fell, flying all over the place.
A large amount of paper flew about, and the two of usquickly tried to pick them all up.
"T-that, it"s alright."
The girl I b.u.mped into shyly said in a small voice.
"No, it"s my fault entirely for b.u.mping into you in ahurry."
"I am at fault too, for not being careful when rounding thecorner. There"s no need to help me pick them all up."
"How can I just leave like that?"
What were on these papers? They seemed to be filled with words…A doc.u.ment? Or a diary?
I had actually no intention of sneaking a peak intoanother"s things, but I took a glance by accident, and lost all colour on myface.
(T/N: SKP2017: "R21+")"I-it"s really alright… I can pick them all up on my own."
I looked up to check out the other person.
Blushing from head to toe while picking up the pieces wasnone other than Anneth who had just went home!
That probably meant that, these papers were Anneth"s novel?That "thing" about Helmut being Top and King Cecello being Bottom?
Waaaaaaaah! If they were to be blown away by the wind andseen by other people, all h.e.l.l might break loose~~~
I picked up the papers all over at three times, no, fivetimes the speed, while Anneth watched with widened eyes.
"T-that..."
At that moment, a piece of paper was picked up by the windand flew towards the path of a pa.s.sing horse-drawn carriage.
"Oh no!"
Anneth let out a cry of dismay.
I kicked against the ground, jumping forward with all mymight.
"Ah! Danger!"
I heard Anneth"s screams, grabbed the flying piece of paper,and held the rest of the papers close to my chest before hitting the ground androlling over a few times.
The horse neighed in surprise, and the huge wheels rolledover the stone pavement just beside me.
"Oh… You, are you alright? Have you gotten hurt?"
Anneth ran over and said in a frantic voice.
"Here."
I climbed up and pa.s.sed her the stack of paper with afull-faced smile.
"These things are important, right? Luckily they haven"tgotten squashed by the carriage."
If someone were to see these by accident, she might bearrested for disrespect of both Eren Kingdom and the Winstoria Empire, andmight even cause an international incident.
Anneth said with a blushing face.
"Thank you…"
She looked at me with eyes filled with adoration.
"Huh?"
And then tilted her head.
"Looking more carefully, you looked very similar to someoneI know."
I was so stunned that my heart nearly leapt out of my mouth.
G-gla.s.ses?... Oh, luckily they were intact on my face.
"Really alike, no matter how you look at it, there has to besome relationship. Have you just arrived from the Winstoria Empire?"
"Haha, I grew up here in Eren. Ho, I am still in a hurry,please excuse me."
"Oh!"
Anneth seemed to want to say something more, but I turnedand fled immediately.
Uwah! Did I manage to get away? The next time I meet withAnneth I must be careful not to expose myself!
I ran breathlessly to the antique shop.
"That lady? She had been around here until this morning. Shesaid that she wanted to read an ancient tome in this shop, and completed it allwithin a single night. How terrifying."
I heard there that Glinda had prescribed a list of herbalmedication for the shop owner who suffered from chronic shoulder aches. The shopowner was very satisfied with the results of the medicine after trying it out,and was thus gratified.
Glinda had been here just until this morning?
After that, I ran to the diner that Jerome said that Glindahad ignored him in, as well as the places in the market where Glinda had boughtstuff.
Everyone there remembered Glinda, and I heard that shepurchased stuff by wagering with the shop owners with scissors-paper-stone,offering to pay ten times the price for loosing but taking the food for free ifshe won. Naturally, she won them all, and so left with a large pile of foodwithout spending a single cent, going next to the arts museum and the library.
I was getting closer to Glinda!
As the prize in my eyes became closer, my head turnedfeverish and my chest felt the thumping beats of my heart. (T/N: SKP2017: "That"s what we call love...")
Since I was a child, I had always had to rely on Glinda forevery single thing.
Every time when I ran into trouble, I would run crying toGlinda; if there were any joyful or sad happenings, Glinda would be the firstone I would report to.
Even though Glinda was so cold, she would always listen tome, giving me support.
In the end, Glinda knew every bit about me, but I knewnothing about Glinda.
Glinda would never tell me anything about what was in herheart.
That"s right, even three years ago - when we turnedfourteen, it was also the same.
One day nearing Lana"s day, Glindasat and played a gentle tune on the piano.
"—Could that possibly be Lana"sDay music? Wow! Who are you going to confess to?"
No matter how I asked and cajoled,Glinda would not reveal who that lovely music was dedicated to, nor would shetell me where she would gift this song to anybody.
It was the same this time.
She just disappeared after leavingthese words.
How could she just do that! Thisis preposterous! I must definitely scold her bitterly!
I continued to run while pantingprofusely.
No matter how fiercely I was toscold her, Glinda would simply carelessly reply "I was just going for a trip,what"s the big deal."
Then, I would just dump all myfrustrations and bitterness I suffered from all this time on her.
Just like before…
Ohhh! I would finally meet withGlinda again! Everything would be restored!
It was just noon when I departedfrom the castle, but the sky had somehow turned bright red now without myrealising it.
I chased after the trail ofGlinda, arriving at last at the port.
Huh, why did it end at the port…
I looked at the sailboat that wasanch.o.r.ed there with disquiet in my heart.
When I asked about Glinda from thelabourer there…
"You"re asking about that lady?She had left on the ship bound for Rubinia, saying that she wanted to get tothe Gilian Islands."
I felt darkness falling before myeyes and my entire body went cold.
"How can that be! Glinda!"
It was so close that I thought Icould see her! I thought that Glinda came to find me because she was actuallyworried for me… But in the end she just left without a word!
I shouted towards the sea.
"Glinda! Glinda! Come back!"
"The ship has been gone for overan hour. She won"t be able to hear it."
The labourer probably thought thatI had been ditched by a girl called Glinda, and so said in a consoling voice.
Glinda abandoned me.
My heart was completely empty, butmy body somehow felt like it weighed a ton.
By the time I dragged my feet thatfelt as heavy as lead back to the palace, it was already night-time.
When I was barred by the guards atthe entrance to the palace, I just nonchalantly pulled down my cab and took offmy spectacles.
The soldiers, upon seeing my longhair on my shoulders, cried in surprise.
"M-Ms Glinda!"
The crossed spears before meimmediately parted.
I emptily walked pa.s.s them.
That"s right, Chief MinisterGaston seemed to be suspecting me of being a spy… If he heard about this again,he might think I was out spying again… Muah, whatever.
Upon returning to my own room, Ihad no energy left to even change back into female clothes, but just satcross-legged on the bed and scratched my head violently.
Would I be stuck in this placeforever?
I did not wish to cross-dress anylonger.
I did not want to act as Glinda"sreplacement any more.
That"s because after all myefforts of waiting for her to come back, she just abandoned me.
Since Glinda came to Eren, shemust have heard about the news of Ms Glinda in the palace, and definitelyrealise that that would be me.
But, she never visited me once,but just left behind a big pile of trails, and left Eren. Even if I were to beexposed as fake in Eren and got sent to prison for being an imposter, she wouldprobably not have bothered either.
Something hot began to rise in mythroat, and I had a splitting headache.
I don"t care about Glinda anymore! I want nothing more to do with Glinda for the rest of my life!
At that moment, there was a knockon the door.
"… It"s me. May I come in?"
A flat monotonous voice came in,was it Princess Seira?
I got down from the bed and wentto open the door to see those emotionless clear eyes observing me.
What did she come here for?
Princess Seira beheld mycraftsman"s getup and hair in disarray, but displayed no clue of surprise andjust coldly asked.
"… Where did you go to today?"
Had she already known about meleaving the palace?
That un-childlike cool expressionreminded me of Glinda, causing temper to rise in me.
"Are you here to check if I haveescaped? What business is it of yours wherever I go?"
I was stirred by my own words, andmy emotions became more unstable.
Glinda was also like that.
Apparently knowing every singlething about me, but letting me know nothing about herself.
"… it is my business, because Ihave yet to hear your answer."
This tone that felt as ifquestioning the results of an experiment, along with the disrespectful use of asimple "You", drove heat to the very roots of my ears.
Ever since this princess haddiscovered that I was not Glinda, she no longer called me "Teacher", but simplyaddressed me as "You", as if calling something useless.
I became so angry that I could nolonger breathe.
This girl was just like Glinda!
"The answer is !You have never wanted anything! To , there is no needfor anything! You guys have everything, but just wanted to abandon it all andbe all alone! You are like that! So is Ophelit!"So was Glinda!
What these people dreamed off,saw, was the where nothing else lived exceptthemselves!"Go ahead and expose me as animposter! After all I am sick and tired of cross-dressing already!"
I shouted in anger, and completelylost control. Princess Seira slightly widened her large amethyst eyes andlooked at me defencelessly.
I turned and shut the door, threwthe pillow atop the bed, kicked away my shoes, upper coat and pants. Then Itook out the dress, corset and pantyhose and threw them onto the bed.
"I"ve had enough! Booohooo! I"vereally had enough!"
Wearing just a pair of shorts, Icried non-stop.
When I finally realised theseverity of the situation, it was already deep in the night.
After shouting loudly to the maidsthat "I am not eating!", I had fallen asleep atop of the embroidered westerngown.
Now, I sat cross-legged on the bedwith both hands holding on my head.
"Uwwaaaaaaaah! What have I said!She is only a child of 9!"
Being abandoned my Glinda was sucha severe blow to me that I had completely forgotten about that fact.
When I thought about how the tinyhand that had covered my lips was so small, so fragile and soft…
"Fool! I am such a fool! The worstkind of knave!"
I could not help but began toknock my own head.
To say such horrible things to a childof such small cheeks and soft hands, I was truly no better than a rat! Rubbishchild bully! I should just go disappear into a ditch! Even if Glinda andPrincess Seira were alike, they were still different people.
To be glared so fiercely at by atransvest.i.te and then angry scolded, she must be really frightened.
If it was Glinda, she might repayme three times in kind, but Princess Seira was probably more defenceless… itm-might even leave a psychological scar…
When I thought back to my madshouts earlier, and her fragile, lost eyes, I could almost feel knives slicingin my chest. Waaaah~~~~ I was just bullying children~~~~
As I imagined the scene ofPrincess Seira hiding into a corner, covering her face with both eyes andcrying sadly, I was further filled with a sense of guilt.
"Go- go apologise already!"
Now! Immediately! Not one moresecond of delay!
I was still overwrought, and neverconsidered whether it might be better to wait until later or tomorrow toapologise, as my mind was filled with the images of Princess Seira weepingalone.
Right, let"s go to her room, evenif it"s just to peek from the door outside.
If Princess Seira had alreadyslept, I would just leave her a message.
I placed a note saying "Reallysorry for yesterday", and placed it into an envelope, then quickly b.u.t.toned up ina lacy female night gown and combed my hair. Just in case I b.u.mped intosomeone, I could at least say that I lost my way in the dark whilesleepwalking. (T/N: SKP2017: "Nightcrawler"s guide, pg 27: how to disguise yourself as a cross-dressing pervert")
Alright, preparations complete.
Relying on the candlelight in thehalls, I shuffled forward in the corridor.
The castle at night was a littlescary, but pangs of guilt overcame fear, so I could not care any more aboutthat.
Ho, this must be Princess Seira"sbedroom.
I gripped the handle and slowlytwisted it.
Luckily my current ident.i.ty wasfemale, or I might even be taken to be a night-crawling lolicon… but wait,Princess Seira knew I was male!
No, I was not here to night-crawl,but to apologise and seek forgiveness. I had absolutely no dishonourable intenttowards 9 year old girls. (T/N: SKP2017: "Of cos not, that"s what all pedos say.")
I profusely explained myself in myheart as I gently opened the door.
In an instant, I was takenbreathless.
In the bedroom with pulled-opencurtains, moonlight flooded in from the balcony outside.
The floor that had been furnishedwith soft carpeting was illuminated like a lake of silver, while the patternson the gla.s.s window cast shadows like a thick forest, glittering all over withtiny sparkle.
The scene within the room was onethat was directly ripped out of the fairy tales.
At the centre of this lonely worldlaid a pile of white object.
That was Princess Seira.
Her body was wrapped in a blanket,back towards me, motionless.
"Your Highness…"
Even though I called her, she didnot reply.
I swallowed and moved into theroom.
Something small stuck between myfeet and the surface of the ground.
Picking it up, I found that it wasa crystal bead. So the sparkling glitter I saw was this? But, why were thesebeads all over the place? They couldn"t have fallen from the ceilingchandelier, right?
I felt increasingly uncomfortable,and so went around to the front to steal a glance at her face, thus discoveredthat the girl who had been clad completely in white and wrapped in a thinblanket was, in fact, weeping in silence.
Her sad eyes were downcast, lipstightened, and tears as round as the crystal beads on the floor were rollingdown her cheek.
This doll-like appearance wasquieter and calmer than the scenes I had imagined, but the impact of it was ahundred times more tragic and lonely.
"S-sorry!"
I fell to the ground and loweredmy head in apology.
"Truly, really sorry! Sorry!Sorry! Sorry!"
I apologise continuously.
"As an adult, how could I havesaid such outrageous things to you! You are not wrong, the fault is with me, alldue to my own foolishness! Really, truly sorry!"
Princess Seira continued to crynon-stop.
She pouted, and tears continued tofall from her eyes.
Ohhhh! … Did this child alwayshide and cry alone? All this time?
And I had thoughtless hurt her. Atthis time, I was utterly filled with regret, apologising profusely with"Sorry", "You can hit me", "If you would just laugh, I would do anything", "Iwould even be your slave", "Please, I beg of you, stop crying".
But no matter what I said, theprincess did not react.
Like her heart had been s.n.a.t.c.hedaway, tears just ran liberally from her eyes.
Perhaps after hearing my words,Princess Seira"s spirit had flown off to another world, and I was only leftwith an empty sh.e.l.l… When I considered this, my heart shattered.
What must I do?
I had no idea that I had causedsuch deep wounds in her.
As I felt shocked, the blanketwrapped about her body slipped and fell to the ground.
Princess Seira remainedmotionless, and as I helped to pick up her blanket, I suddenly noticed an openbook at her side.
A thick, large book written inancient language.
That was the book which PrincessSeira often carried around close to her chest.
The page which the book had openedto had not only words, but ill.u.s.trations as well. It was the picture of theback of a sage playing a flute in a black cape blown by the wind… This wasapparently a replication of the artists" impression of Ophelit as representedin excavations of the ancient ruins.
But the thing that drew myattention was not the legendary genius, but the small blurry picture of theback of a young girl standing besides Ophelit…
The little girl stretched out herright hand towards the black figure, as if to grasp the black cape Ophelit waswearing…
Oh, I see now.
So that was it.
Many things clicked in my brain,and my heart was pierced with a tight pain… I could not help but huggedPrincess Seria tightly.
That icy slim body did notstruggle.
How powerless, how lonely, wereyou as you pined for the fulfilment of this dream.
I used the gentlest and kindestvoice I could muster and told her.
"I know the ."G.o.ddess of Love Lana"s Day.
In the afternoon of Lana"s Day.
The Queen Mother received manygifts and smiled joyfully.
The twin princesses presented herwith a rose-shaped coral ring, Prince Ryuuju gave her a thimble of emerald; butthe thing that surprised everyone was that even Prince Shin gave her a broochmade of clay with a piece of amber in its centre. Its shape is that of aMargaret, and its edges had been painted white. Previously I had noticed PrinceShin silently crafting it during the lessons, so this was actually the presenthe had in mind for Her Majesty.
"Ara, is this hand-made by Shin?It"s great! So cute! Thank you so much!"
The Queen put on the brooch on thespot, hugged Prince Shin and rubbed Her cheeks against his, causing HisHighness to blush happily.
Naturally, His Majesty KingCecello had gifted the person He loved the most with jewellery, as evidenced bythe silver necklace with a gemstone as blue as His Majesty"s eyes which hadbeen sparkling around Her Majesty"s slim neck since this morning.
Every present had been a pleasantlaughter-inducing surprise to Her Majesty, but the one that absolutely touchedthe Queen today had to be Princess Seira"s gift to Her.
That afternoon, before thegathered and sitting King Cecello, Her Majesty and all the other princes andprincesses, Princess Seira dedicated her violin performance to the Queen.
It was a personal composition ofPrincess Seira herself which was totally unlike her usual sad and lonely note,but one that was teeming with gladness and warmth.
Before the performance began, Ihad informed the Queen and all present.
"In the Winstoria Empire, peoplecompose and dedicate songs to their beloved, so today, Her Highness PrincessSeira would also like to perform a song that she had composed herself to hermost beloved Queen Mother."
Her Majesty"s eyes widened greatlyas She heard those words.
Princess Seira seemed somewhatnervous as she held her violin and bow, glancing uneasily at me.
Her expression only relaxed alittle when I smiled and lifted the tambourine in my hand to show her, but thenit tightened again as she began the performance.
As soothing and pleasing asalways, but much, much warmer - such notes poured forth.
The Queen had a shocked expressionon Her face, and became moved almost to tears as She listened spellbound to thesweet melody.
I was also completely affected byPrincess Seira"s awesome composition, shaking my tambourine in concerto with theviolin music.
The one who suggested for PrincessSeira to compose music for the Queen as Lana"s Day present was naturally I.
-- I know the .When I spoke these words thatnight, the Princess Seira in my chest reacted for the first time.
Like a bullied little girl, shesaid softly in a lost and insecure little voice.
"… I do not … have anything Idesire, because… I have everything… So… I can only abandon… everything… go lookfor the alone… That"s my wish… So your answer"scorrect…"The knife that wounded PrincessSeria so deeply also pierced my own heart. Those words that I had used on herhad been really too much, and I wanted now to beat myself into a b.l.o.o.d.y pulp.
"No, I answered wrong."
I said in a completely decisivevoice.
The thing that Princess Seiradesired, was not to become Ophelit.
Why did Princess Seira only haveinterest in ?Why did she look at me sointently?
Why did she keep holding ontoOphelit"s book, and read it in front of me?
When I fell into her bathtub, shehad lightly tugged on my hand…
-- Isn"t Teacher… here to see me?
Why did she look so hopefully atme then?
Princess Seira was still hopingright now.
Hoping and waiting for theunmatched genius Glinda Dolye.
"I had been completely wrong aboutyou. You must have been really frightened, really lonely, right?"
Because she had been giftedextraordinary intelligence, she was far beyond common people.
With her all-comprehending powersof perception, she could see through the cold calculating side to His Majestywho so loved His children. When she saw those things that a 9 year old childshould never be allowed to see, just how horrified and lonely would she hadfelt.
If I was just like my Father theKing… When she considered such things, fear must had frozen her all over.
Princess Seira had loved thelegends and heroes in them, because she could see that those characters wereout of the ordinary just like she was.
"Your wish was for someone who canhold the hand that you reached out with. Someone who can understand yourloneliness, someone like yourself… a … you have been waitingfor someone like that."I released my hands and looked ather eyes.
Princess Seira continued to weepas she watched me with a fragile expression.
I wrapped my hands around her tinyhands and slowly closed around them.
"I will be your companion."
I said with a fervour that was aswarm as the insides of my throat.
Princess Seira gave a little jump.
"I am no genius, neither can I of everything, but I will be your companion no matterwhat time it is! I will listen to whatever you want to say! Help you wheneveryou need someone! So, just say whatever you wish to say, do anything that youwant to do!"The tiny fingers felt a littlemore forceful as they held onto my fingers.
The face covered in tears lookedup, and Princess Seira asked timidly.
"… anything that I want to do?"
"That"s right, anything that youwant to do."
"… There"s no such thing."
"The crystals on the floor, arethose for Lana"s Day present?"
Princess Seira"s face which hadbeen downcast all this while looked up at me in surprise, and then immediatelylowered again.
"… E-every year… Everyone would…give presents to Queen Mother… But… I am different… So, no need…"
Her voice went dead half-way intothe sentence, drowned out by sobs.
I visualised Princess Seiraweeping as she broke apart the jewellery prepared for her Queen Mother, and wastremendously hurt myself inside.
"Sorry, it is all because my wordshad hurt you. Can it be repaired just in time for Lana"s Day?"
"… No, Lord Father, Elder Brother,Sarasa and Orie… and even Shin… would be giving presents to Queen Mother… So Idon"t have to…"
Even though I apologised with allmy might, Princess Seira continued to shake her head in grief.
It was obvious how lonely andanguished Princess Seira had felt all along.
Sigh, then what should I do?
I wrecked my brains and tried myhardest to figure out a way.
What must I do to lead thischildish little Princess back from the darkness of her gift? What could I do torestore her confidence?
Maybe if I praised her in thethings she was the best in…
Got it!
"Then, just give the Queen thething that only you can give. In my country, the thing we give to our mostbeloved is not precious stones, but music. Aren"t you the best at playing theviolin? Why not just compose a song for Her Majesty, and play it for Her?"
Princess Seira was dumbfoundedwhen she heard that.
"I would also help. How about it?"
I asked again before she shakilynodded.
Then, the two of us composed themusic until day break. Even though that was what I said, in actual fact, all Idid was offer my comments after listening to Princess Seira"s hums.
After which, Her Highness began todiligently rehea.r.s.e the composed song.
Princess Seira halted a few timesduring the practices and lowered her head in hesitation, so I decided topartic.i.p.ate in the performance as well and told her, "Let me support you withmy tambourine."
The result was this sunny-warmmusic played by Princess Seira for her Queen Mother now.
I stood behind her, shaking mytambourine at her beats.
It would be alright, I"m here,your companion is here.
So, you can just do all that youneed to do to convey your love to your most beloved.
My last-minute emergency practicepaid-off, as the rings of my tambourine harmoniously fell in line with thedancing notes of Princess Seira"s melody.
Prince Ryuuju, the twin princessesand even Prince Shin listened in delightful rapture.
Princess Suzuna who lied on herQueen Mother"s chest opened her eyes and laughed cheerfully as if to make joyfulmusic into the mix.
King Cecello had his arm aroundthe shoulders of Her Majesty, and watched us with an extremely gentleexpression.
The Queen"s eyes shimmered withteary light like the children, and then bloomed into a blushing smile.
See, Princess Seira"s intentionhad been clearly conveyed.
Such a pure, vital and joyfulthing.
I suddenly realised as I shook thetambourine, the music of which Her Majesty had said only children could bringout completely.
Glinda and Princess Seira might bothbe geniuses, but they were not completely beyond human comprehension.
Throughout my seventeen years ofliving together with Glinda, I had in fact come to learn of many things.
When she was feeling down, shewould pick on some mundane stuff around the house, such as peeling the toughfibre off long beans or dismantling a knot in a chain.
She would never look at me fullyin the eye if she was feeling really hurt.
When she was happy, her nose wouldquiver ever so slightly.
Even if Glinda was an extremelyintelligent, highly unpredictable, completely mysterious person and atroublesome elder sister, I could still figure many things about her.
Joyful melody filled theatmosphere with warmth, lifting up smiles on the faces of everyone. EvenPrincess Suzuna wiggled in happiness.
As the performance came to aclose, King Cecello helped take the baby princess from the arms of Her Majesty.
The Queen ran towards PrincessSeira and hugged her tightly.
"Thank you, Seira, this is such abeautiful gift. It is a really happy daytoday!"
She said in a teary voice.
Princess Seira seemed highlyfl.u.s.tered, and tugged on Her Majesty"s clothes in a flush.
"T-Thank you for making suchdelicious breakfast for us every morning… I… I love Queen Mother very much."
Her shaky and unsteady wordssomehow touched me greatly.
"I love Seira very much too."
Princess Seira"s lips graduallybloomed into a glowing smile.
"Oh! We love Queen Mother verymuch too!"
"Yes! Love Mother the most!"
Princesses Sarasa and Orie,embraced Her Majesty with Princess Sarasa; Prince Shin seemed to be expressinghis love for his Mother by silently tugging at Her skirt.
"Your Highness Prince Ryuuju,won"t you go as well?"
"…Humph. I"m already an adult. Sothat won"t be important, Glinda… Besides, I-I have something I"d like to give…" (T/N: SKP2017: "what, you actually want to confess your love to a girl before your own mom and dad AND little sisters? Give the kid a beer!")
"Oh c"mon, what is Your Highnesstalking about? You"re still a child too. So don"t be shy, just go."
I gave Prince Ryuuju a littleshove with both hands from behind.
"Wha!"
Prince Ryuuju gave a littlesurprised shout and got pushed running towards the huddled group, knocking intothe twin princesses.
"Ara! Big Bro Ryuuju is always sofrenzied!"
"That"s right! Just like a littlekid!"
"What! It is not I who…"
Her Majesty the Queen watched overthe children, and said happily.
"Ryuuju, Seira, Sarasa and Orie,Shin and Suzuna, I love each and every one of you."
His Majesty who was carryingPrincess Suzuna somehow appeared at my side without my notice.
"Previously, I tend to hold offgiving my Lana"s Day present until at night, but today I had a premonition anddecided to give it immediately in the morning. Looks like that has been a goodcall. After Seira"s gift, there"s no way for my gift to appear any comparable."
King Cecello seemed to whisperconspiratorially to me in a low voice.
"Ms Glinda, you are the only onewith the capability of helping Seira compose a music of this form, and performit with this calibre."
"It"s just a coincidence."
"Even if that"s the case, I muststill thank you as a father. Ms Glinda, I invited you here specifically for thesake of Seira, because that child has scarcely anyone who can understand her,or communicate with her as an equal. Ms Glinda Dolye has been invited to be theprivate tutor of Eldest Princess Seira."
Princess Seira"s private tutor…
It was such an incomparablyhonoured praise in my ears.
His Majesty continued in afriendly and warm voice.
"Lady Glinda does not require theuse of Ophelit"s all-conquering silver flute, but relied on the tambourineusable even by small children to open the locked heart of Seira. From this dayforth, please continue to a.s.sist that child with the help of the tambourine."
"Certainly."
I said with bravado.
But I also wondered how thingscould have turned out if the one who came to Eren Kingdom was the real Glinda.
Perhaps both she and PrincessSeira could establish a certain level of understanding with each other.
Since, in hindsight, I realisedthat back then Glinda could had just been sulking when she said "They are alldifferent from me" as she read her tales of heroes and legends alone.
A feeling of longing continued tolinger in my chest…
His Majesty then put on a somewhatfunny disappointed face, saying.
"Also please advise Seira, so thatshe would no longer be afraid of me."
"I believe Her Highness PrincessSeira loved Your Majesty very much as well."
That"s right, for I was in asimilar situation. Even though Glinda vanished all on her own and left me witha heap of problems, I still loved this member of my family deeply from within.
King Cecello smiled lightly, andreplied.
"I know."
Then, he laid gentle eyes on theQueen being hugged tightly by her children, as well as the children whosurrounded their beloved Mother.
"Isn"t my family great?"
The severe cold blue eyes of aleader seemed to have melted away that instant.
-- Seira is very similar to me.
This was the hint given me by KingCecello.
The lonely King Cecello who playedhis violin in solitude in an ancient castle was changed by his encounter with aforeign young lady, as the two grew to understand each other.
Therefore, change would graduallycome too, for Princess Seira as well as the world around her.
For, just the King Cecello whochanged the entire kingdom for the sake of his beloved, Princess Seira too,would one day encounter someone special to her that she valued above allothers.
I pray too, that Glinda wouldremember me in the moments when she felt lonely, and then come back as thoughnothing had happened.
Then, I would first unleash myfury on her, before hugging her tightly, saying "Welcome home."
Princess Seira who was quiveringin embarra.s.sment in the bosom of Her Majesty turned to look at me, her facecompletely red, but shone me a shy smile.
It was a child-like smile as simpleas wild flowers blooming in the fields, but seeing that smile, I could almostfeel as if Glinda was smiling at me, and so returned a smile of my own.
That night, while alone in my ownroom, I heard people knocking at my door.
"It"s me, may I enter?"
"Princess Seira? Hmm, sure, pleaseenter."
The door lightly opened, and theprincess worriedly peeked in. Her expression had become far richer like anormal child"s.
When the two of us were alonetogether, she would often display such somewhat embarra.s.sed expressions, maybebecause she had no idea what to say or how to behave before me.
Princess Seira looked down on thefloor and swayed side to side for a while, before putting forth both her handsto the front and bowing towards me with a blushing face.
"Thanks so much for all the helpyou gave me. I have never played together with my brothers and sisters before,so I am really glad; I being able to give a gift that made Queen Mother sohappy, i-it"s also because of you… Truly, thank you very much."
"All I did was to provide a littlea.s.sistance. Right, I too have a gift for you."
I opened a small box I haddelivered from the craftsmen, and a silver bracelet of crystal beads had been ladenwithin. An amethyst in the designs of a flower had also been crafted accordingto my request and attached on it.
I gently lifted Princess Seira"sright hand and wound the bracelet around her hand twice, making her eyes growwide.
"This is…"
"This is my Lana"s Day present toyou."
"Eee…"
"Even though I say that, actuallythe crystal beads have been collected from your own room, and amethyst is notreally something expensive… But, this is the evidence that I am your companion."
The stunned Princess Seira who hadbeen looking at the bracelet looked up in shock when she heard those words.
I looked at her with a gentle gaze,feeling that this was probably the sacred emotions felt by the knights swearingloyalty to their princesses in the legends.
-- Private tutor of EldestPrincess Seira.
That t.i.tle ordained by His Majesty,sparkled like gold in my heart.
Princess Seira placed her handwhich was wearing the bracelet on her chest and said
"Teacher."
A smile floated onto her cherrycoloured lips.
"Would you please call me just from today?""Huh?"
"It should be alright when thereis just the two of us."
"Emm. Alright."
She just called me! Ever since she had discovered that I was an imposter, she hadbeen just using to address me, but now, she was calling me!Princess Seira"s mood rose as shelooked happily at me whose heartbeat began to speed up.
"I still have much to learn fromTeacher, so please teach me as you wish from now on as well."
"Mmm, I too have much to learnfrom you as well, Seira."
"T-That… Also…"
Princess Seira became morefidgety.
She shyly looked down at her twofeet, then looked up at me, and abashedly asked.
"First, could I ask… What is thename of Teacher?"
"My name?"
"… Is it not alright?"
She asked worriedly.
"No. Then I would just tell youalone, please don"t tell anyone else though."
I had no idea it could be sobashful to tell someone else my own name.
"My name is Sherlock Dolye, everyonejust call me ." Seira seemed as if she hadobtained something of immeasurable worth, focusing all her attention on myname.
"This… is the secret between meand Teacher."
"Mmm."
I nodded as her face turned redagain.
"T-then, I would be taking myleave."
Princess Seira turned and left ina hurry.
Maybe realising the immaturity inthat action, she calmly turned and said at the doorway.
"Goodbye."
Bowing low…
"Teacher… Sherlock."
She shyly gave me a little smile,and closed the door lightly with her little hand.
For a long while after, my hearthammered non-stop.
Princess Seira recognized me as !Not , but ! I was so delightedthat I could fly into the sky!For this little girl so much aliketo Glinda, how would she turn out?
I wish I could do something forSeira that I did not manage to do for Glinda.
Right, I still had to prepare fortomorrow morning"s cla.s.s.
Even though there would be no wayfor me to actually teach Seira about the books she could read, I could at leastteach her some customs and culture of the Winstoria Empire, and about howcommoners lived there.
Such things would also be usefulto know for the heir-to-the-throne Prince Ryuuju.
Let"s use the twin princesses" favouritetopics as a lead-in to it then.
Extra-curriculum activities shouldalso be interesting, and I should pay more attention to Prince Shin too.
I was completely energized, and sobegan to organize the desk-full of study material.
"Huh?"
I discovered a piece of paperstuck between the drawers of the desk.
When did this fall out? Maybe itwas when I was setting some test papers.
Picking it up, I became so shockedthat I could not hold the paper steadily.
Ba-thump, Ba-thump, my heart wouldnot stop hammering.
In a very familiar handwriting wasjust a single line of words.
"I don"t have athletes" foot, noram I little red beans, they are lemons." (T/N: SKP2017: "We understand, Glinda...")
Glinda!
My temperature rose and my brainwent feverish.
Glinda had been in this room? Whenwas that? Definitely before she boarded that boat for Rubinia, so this piece ofpaper had been here for a few days already. Wah! Why hadn"t I noticed itearlier!
That Glinda. If you were going toleave a note, why didn"t you just come and talk with me directly? As expected,I still could not understand Glinda"s thought process.
While I continued to be fl.u.s.teredby the discovery, another knock sounded at the door.
Who could that be? And why at thistime!
"Coming."
I roughly pulled open the door,and found His Highness Prince Ryuuju frowning, lips tightened and standing atthe door with an unpleasant-looking face.
Why was the prince here? Was theresomething I could do for him? I was worrying when Prince Ryuuju"s face turnedas red as a tomato.
"D-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-don"tmisunderstand! I only came because I wanted to thank you for your care lasttime! As the future king, I must certainly know the basics of courtesy!A-a-a-a-a-a-a-and that"s to say, because of that, just take it!" (T/N: SKP2017: "B-baka")
He took out a small box tied by aribbon.
Huh? Was that a Lana"s Day gift?
I had heard from Anneth that itwas common to give gifts as thanks to females that had taken care of you, but takingone look at this box wrapped with ribbon along with the blushing red expressionof Prince Ryuuju, you would know it was a love-confession no matter how youlooked at it…
Huh? What? You"re kidding, right?Could… could he have fallen for me?
I was struck by lightning.
Could this be his first love?
W-w-w-w-w-w-wait a second! Calmdown! I-i-i-i-i-i-i-I"m maaaaaaaleee~~~~ (T/N: SKP2017: "So?")
Ahhhhh! But His Highness looked soserious, just like back when I was first in love… Uwwwaaaaahhh! If I were todiscover that the target of my first love was a man, there"s no way I couldtake it! If things were to be exposed, emotional scars would be left on hisheart! Too cruel!
I was still shocked and worried bythe severity of the situation, when another voice came.
"Hey! Glinda!"
Sir Jerome from the knightscompany walked over with a grim face.
I"m busy right now!
My heart screamed at him, but ofcourse he could not have heard it.
Jerome acted as if he had not seenthe prince, and just kept glaring at me as he approached slowly.
Was he still angry about Glindagiving him the snub that day? Or was he going to challenge me now to some otherweird compet.i.tion? But I was busy right now wrecking my brain over my student"sfirst love affairs!
At this moment, Jerome grabbed mywrist.
Click. (T/N: SKP2017: "Busted!")
My right wrist was wrapped in agolden bracelet decorated with a red ruby.
What was that?
"This is my heart! You shouldunderstand what day it is today, right!"
"Huuuuuuuuuuuh?"
This guy as well?
"Impudence! The one who should begiving Glinda her gift first should be a prince like me!"
His Highness jumped in anger belowJerome and shouted.
"Love is beyond royalty."
"Wha….What love!"
Didn"t he hate my guts? How didthis suddenly turn into a love discussion? Because Glinda had been cold towardshim? Was he some m.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.t? Even if this was the case, there"s no way I couldbe happy to be confessed to by some man! (T/N: SKP2017: "Face it, you enjoy the attention.")
The prince trembled in anger.
Jerome stared straight at me with burninghot pa.s.sion.
It was the most popular day of myentire life, but I was just drowning in cold sweat and confusion.