225 - Master of the Detached Palace
Standing dumbfounded at the size of the detached palace before me, four maids and a pair of a man and woman came out through the opened door. I distinguished them as a pair because their occupations were clearly different from the maids. Additionally, I recognized the man's face.
"Um, you were Aaron-sama, I believe. It has been a while."
I tilted my head, wondering why Aaron, who had come to the city of Grenore as Alfred's escort, was emerging from the detached palace that was apparently to be given to me. Just as he had guarded Alfred, Aaron was a Silver-White Knight. It might not be strange to see him within the royal castle, but it felt a little odd that he was coming out of this detached palace.
"Let me introduce you. These two are the knights assigned as your guards. You know Aaron since you have met him before."
Aaron showed no reaction to my words as usual, but at Alfred's introduction he responded with a bow. Perhaps it was a matter of status that I still did not fully understand. The highest-ranking person present was Alfred, a Royal Peerage. Even if I had found an acquaintance, it was probably inappropriate to call out to them as I pleased.
...Aaron-sama was not ignoring me. I was the one who got the order wrong.
Once I realized that might be the case, I silently waited for Alfred to continue his introductions. The next to be introduced after the bowing Aaron was a young girl who looked to be still in her teens, wearing a white uniform. Her straight black hair was braided and pinned up at the back. Having just been taught, I confirmed that her buttons were black. She was not a Silver-White Knight, but a White Knight.
"You intend to entrust Tina's guard to a White Knight?"
A hint of dissatisfaction seeped into Leonardo's voice. I had heard that Black Knights and White Knights did not get along, but in Leonardo's case, it was not that he disliked White Knights, but rather that he had concerns about their ability. Black Knights and White Knights differed in physique, and when it came to a young girl with barely any muscle to speak of, a decorative White Knight, there was nothing but anxiety about her capability as a guard. Having been in an environment where I saw Black Knights daily, even I felt uneasy just by looking at her.
"I too have concerns about entrusting Lady Tina's guard to a White Knight, but..."
To Leonardo, who had taken the bait, Alfred began explaining the circumstances that led to a White Knight being assigned as my guard. As for me, more than Alfred's explanation, I was bothered by how the girl's face twitched slightly every time words like "White Knight" and "young girl" came up.
...Does she want to push back against Leonardo, a Black Knight? Or is she irritated at being looked down on as a woman? Which is it, I wonder?
I could understand the feeling, but without seeing her actual skill, neither Leonardo nor I could revise our assessment. Neither Leonardo nor I had known her before, but Alfred, who had apparently been involved in this selection, should know her at least better than we did. And even Alfred had not once said the words "I guarantee her ability." Her actual skill was probably within the bounds of what was expected of a White Knight, just as rumor had it.
"...It cannot be helped. Tina is a girl, after all."
Finally, somewhat half-heartedly, Alfred let slip his true feelings. The reason she had been chosen as my guard was because of her gender.
"Tina has been instructed by my father to be treated with particular care. Ideally, I would want to assign three Silver-White Knights who serve as the royal guard for her protection."
However, because several Silver-White Knights, who were few in number due to being comprised entirely of elites, were currently staying in the city of Grenore, there were few who could be spared for guarding non-royals, Alfred said. Then, the noble families who wanted to push forward their White Knights were being insistent, but those who were useless would only be a hindrance. However, there was one problem. Because I was a girl, there were apparently places that men simply could not guard.
...Well, that might be true, I suppose?
Sleeping in the same room or bed as Leonardo was fine, but I certainly did not want anyone following me into the bath or the toilet. Thinking about it that way, at least one female knight was necessary. And in this country's knighthood, where skill was valued above all, it was difficult for women of ability to emerge. After all, due to the differences in male and female body composition, women were at a disadvantage in terms of physical strength.
...When I think about it, the fantasy trope of the female knight probably only exists among the White Knights.
Or if they did exist elsewhere, they would probably be muscle-bound gorillas.
"If a female knight is needed for Tina's guard, I can call several from Lugmilama."
At Leonardo's following words, I blinked inwardly. The very question I had just thought of was resolved immediately.
...There are female Black Knights at Lugmilama Fortress.
I wondered whether they were gorillas or beautiful knights straight out of a painting, and recalled the figure of Rumeel, the vice-commander of the Lugmilama Knight Order who had come for the summer martial arts tournament. I never did find out if Rumeel was male or female, but I felt I could accept it if someone said Rumeel was a woman.
"...To protect Tina in the capital, having the title of a noble might prove useful at times. Besides, Lugmilama is not a place that can afford to be undermanned right now."
"Is something going on?"
Feeling like I had caught a disturbing and ominous word that I could not let pass, I cut into the conversation between Leonardo and Alfred. I had been taught by Hermine that I should not interrupt the conversations of my superiors, but this was supposed to be a discussion about my guard, after all. I believed I had the right to participate in the conversation. At my words, Leonardo and Alfred's gazes simultaneously lowered to me.
"You were caught up in it too at Lagarette, were you not. That is still dragging on a little."
"The vigilance at Lugmilama is being handled by Vice-Commander Rumeel, so you do not need to worry about anything, Tina."
Two different responses came back at almost the same time, but I understood that the gist of it was that there was nothing I could do about it even if I worried. If the kidnapping incident at Lagarette had led to friction involving Lugmilama Fortress, then there was probably something going on with the neighboring country. This really was a problem that I, a child, could not do anything about.
"How much longer do the two of you intend to keep the young lady standing outside!?"
A particularly loud voice came from inside the detached palace, and then I could sense something energetic approaching. The momentum of the voice's owner made me feel an illusion of the ground rumbling, though that could not possibly be the case.
...She is huge!?
"Huge" might be slightly overstating it. But in any case, an elderly, very portly maid appeared belatedly from the depths of the detached palace. The elderly maid swept her gaze around the area, cast a glaring look, and finally dropped her eyes to me.
"Oh my, what a small and adorable young lady you are. I am Nadine, who oversees the maids of this detached palace. If it is too long, please call me something easy to say, like 'Granny Nad' or 'Deanie'."
The old woman who called herself Nadine had a smiling, friendly expression on her face, but she was imposing and frightening nonetheless. Perhaps it was due to her well-fed physique. I instinctively tried to step back and hide behind Leonardo, but Hermine grabbed me by the shoulder. It seemed I was not allowed to hide here.
"...It is a pleasure to meet you, Nadine-san. I am called Tina. I will be in your care for a while."
"Oh my, oh my. What a well-mannered young lady! So different from the princesses. But I do not need any 'san' from you. You are the master of this detached palace, and we are merely maids, after all."
...I think Nadine-san is the only one who thinks of herself as 'merely a maid,' though.
Since hiding appeared impossible, I steeled myself, put on my cat mask, and greeted her. The mask of a refined lady that Hermine had instilled in me seemed to please her, and Nadine's expression softened. But the faces of the maids who had come out first and were now standing behind her were different. They all wore expressions not much different from the White Knight girl's. The female knight seemed to feel indignation at being belittled as a "White Knight" and "female knight," but the maids might have been dissatisfied at having to serve me. From their perspective, I was probably nothing more than a child of unknown origin.
"Nadine is being assigned to Tina, then."
"Since the prince I had long served has grown up, I received orders from Elvis-sama to assist the guest who still requires help."
Urged by Nadine not to stand around at the entrance forever and to relax with some tea first, I stepped into the detached palace. As always, it felt strange that Alfred was the one escorting me.
"...Nadine was Dietfried's nurse."
Alfred whispered to me secretly, and I thought for a moment about what intention lay behind it. When it came to Dietfried's nurse, I had heard rumors about her. She was supposed to be the head servant who spoiled Dietfried, whose appearance was angelically cute regardless of his inner nature, doting on him and coddling him without any proper discipline.
...So she spoils people in the wrong way, just in a different sense from Leonardo-san.
I would have to be careful, or I would become Dietfried number two in no time. Or perhaps I would end up with the same physique as Nadine. I really should be careful about that.
"Lady Tina's room is prepared and ready for immediate use."
Where I was guided to relax was not the drawing room inside the detached palace, but a garden pavilion past the corridor. The detached palace, said to be the living space of royalty, was designed with presentation in mind, unlike the garden of the Fortress Lord's residence. The Fortress Lord's residence had flower beds in the back garden, but perhaps because it was an extension of a military facility, the front garden was desolate. In contrast, the garden of this detached palace was overflowing with summer flowers, and there was even a cobblestone path laid out, perhaps for leisurely strolls.
"What a beautiful garden."
"Knowing that you said so, young lady, I imagine the gardener would be pleased as well."
After sweeping my gaze across the garden's flowers, I then watched the flowers dancing within the teacup. I thought it was herbal tea, but the yellow petals swaying in the hot water looked very charming.
"This detached palace has a total of four master's rooms, and this garden faces the summer room."
"The summer room..."
The fact that they specifically distinguished it as the "summer room" meant that this detached palace had rooms corresponding to the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter. And they were called master's rooms, which meant I now had four rooms.
"...How should I put this, it is so over-the-top that it is frightening."
"You are an important guest of our country, young lady. This much is only natural."
...Is it really natural, though?
Nadine had a constant smile on her face, but the maids who pushed the wagon carrying the tea set and sweets to the pavilion were completely expressionless. There might be cases where being expressionless was necessary for the job, but to me it looked like I was not welcome, and it made me uncomfortable.
"I had heard from Alfred-sama that this detached palace was to be given to me, but..."
"That is correct. This entire detached palace is your property, young lady."
It was affirmed both by Alfred earlier and now by Nadine. It seemed that I really was the master of this spacious detached palace.
"...For just a short stay this time, does it not seem like excessively luxurious rooms?"
"This palace was prepared so that you could stay in the capital whenever you wish, for as long as you live. There is no need to worry about it."
"Is that not... rather wasteful...?"
Personally, I wanted to return to the city of Grenore once the introductions were over. Even if I was given a splendid detached palace and told I could stay whenever I liked, it just troubled me.
...But that might be the aim, come to think of it.
Rather than wastefully spending maintenance costs, they might be aiming for me to settle in the capital out of guilt. From what I had heard, His Majesty the King seemed to dislike wasting the people's tax money. Yet throwing away maintenance costs like this was a little strange.
"The maintenance costs for the detached palace are incurred regardless of you, so there is no need to worry. Rather, compared to the previous master, having you as its master, who is usually in Grenore, actually costs less and is a blessing for the kingdom."
"Being mostly away from it is a blessing... What happened to the previous master?"
I had just heard that detached palaces in the royal living quarters were residences for royalty who did not hold a Royal Peerage. That meant this large detached palace had another master before me. I had heard it was prepared for me, but while the grass and flowers might be one thing, it was impossible to have trees growing from the ground fully established in just a few months since spring.
...Huh? A royal? The previous master?
A vague sense of unease caught at me, and my eyes wandered. An unpleasant feeling was welling up.
"There was one recently, was there not? A royal who paid five thousand gold coins for a single painting and incurred Father's wrath."
"...There was, indeed."
My faint suspicion turned into certainty, and I could not help but hold my head. It was nothing more than this. The reason the previous master of this detached palace was gone and it had been given to me was because of the embroidery painting of Leonardo that I had made.
"Originally, we planned to have a slightly more cramped residence newly built, but this detached palace suddenly became vacant, so we decided to use it."
Normally, since a residence would have to be built from scratch, I would not have been called for another year or two, Alfred continued, and I felt like screaming. What I had done out of a little mischievous impulse toward Leonardo had ended up tightening the noose around my own neck. Thinking calmly, Princess Claudine's ruin was her own fault, but because the detached palace had become vacant, I was being called here even though my etiquette studies were still halfway complete.
...So, this detached palace is basically Claudine-sama's 'five thousand gold coin' 'house with a garden,' then.
Having heard the full context, I looked back at the detached palace. I had only walked as far as through the corridor to the summer garden, but the shape of the building felt like a cross with a round bulge at the center. The tips of the cross formed the seasonal rooms, and the center was an open hall with an atrium.
"So that you may stay whenever you like, for as long as you like, a minimum number of servants are kept on even when the master is absent. If you find it necessary during your stay, you may hire new servants. Nadine will act as the coordinator, so all you have to do is convey what kind of people you want."
And if there were any maids you did not like, you could replace them, Alfred added, causing one of the maids to clink her teacup. I reflexively turned my gaze in that direction, and the maid whose eyes met mine quickly looked away.
"...As I thought, the treatment is too generous and it frightens me."
It was so frightening that the cat mask I had finally begun to master nearly slipped off. My true nature came out, but Alfred merely shrugged it off lightly.
"Since the king is treating you as a guest, this much is only natural. Father has expressed a desire to build a good relationship with you, and whoever the next king may be, I am sure they will want to maintain a good relationship with you as well."
Even so, they had only arranged the bare minimum of staff, so there was nothing to worry about, Alfred said, bringing Nadine's herbal tea to his lips. Alfred's herbal tea was a clear, pale green, but mine seemed to be for a child, with milk and honey added, giving it a milky white color.
"...Once you get used to the capital, you should come visit my mansion sometime. I will lend you a few maids who I think would get along with you."
"Maids from Alfred-sama's mansion, you say..."
...What is it? For some reason, just hearing it, I feel like incredibly capable, hardworking people will come.
I could imagine a mysterious scenario where, while dealing with the unrestrained Alfred, they would grow into capable maids without even realizing it, and I found myself sympathizing with the maids at Alfred's mansion whom I had never even met. Saying he would "lend" them meant that no matter what, the fact that they were Alfred's maids would not change.
"...Leonardo Big Brother is quiet."
"I did not want to get close to this detached palace. Even hearing that the master is gone, I feel strangely unsettled."
While drinking herbal tea of the same color as Alfred's, Leonardo's gaze wandered as if on alert. Since this had been the Eighth Princess's detached palace, I wondered if there was a fountain somewhere on the grounds with a rumor about Leonardo holding a pot while fully nude. If I became so bored that I could not stand it, it might be fun to stroll the grounds and look for it.
"Speaking of which, what happened to that Claudine-sama?"
"That one is no longer in the country. Stripped of her status, she was sent along with the painting to the Itsurateru Temple in the Divine Kingdom of Quebia."
By now, she was probably polishing the floors of Itsurateru Temple as one of the many shrine maidens, Alfred said casually. From Hermine's lessons, I remembered that Princess Claudine was Alfred's full-blooded younger sister, but he was cold. Even if they were siblings, a royal who had completed the education to receive a Royal Peerage probably could not find any value in other royals. I found Alfred a little frightening.
I forgot to name the White Knight girl in the natural flow of things. Until next time. Probably, surely. There is nothing to keep you in suspense about.
Typos and omissions again another day. Fixed any typos and omissions I found.