322 - A Bad Example and Anselm
It is a rather rude matter, but since I had apparently finally begun to learn how to hide things, Ethelbert let the further questioning slide. Along with it came a helpful piece of advice, that I should be careful even with my casual gestures so as not to let my secrets be noticed next time. The secret that Rannvald was being sheltered in my detached palace was, for the time being, preserved.
...Well, knowing Ethelbert-sama, he will probably investigate on his own and figure it out eventually, will he not?
Even if that happens, I will just put on an innocent face and keep Rannvald shoved into the annex. He asked me to hide him from Ethelbert, but he did not tell me I had to keep him hidden completely, and an amateur like me cannot possibly completely conceal someone who wanders out of the annex on his own from an old gentleman who will not even let me know where his information network is hidden. The biggest obstacle is not Ethelbert's information network, but Rannvald himself, who moves around on his own. I have already informed the Silver-White Knight who came to report on Rannvald's status shortly after I returned to the detached palace about Ethelbert's situation, so this is about as much as I can do.
...Yeah, I suppose all I can do now is leave it to the guards to do their best.
From the traces of the detached palace being used, I did notice there had been an intruder. I was also found out that I was hiding something. If I pass along this much information, the two guards will do their best from here on. Conversely, if even after being given this much information he still wanders out of the annex, I will stop helping. I cannot afford to deal with a ghost that has no intention of hiding.
...The Recollection Festival will be here soon, will it not.
In previous years, the costumes were always prepared without my involvement, but this year I am participating in the fittings too. Whoever plans these things, the costumes modeled after the gods seem to get more luxurious in fabric and ornamentation every year. Last year's costume was designed after the flower goddess Menhiriya, but this year it is apparently the goddess of arts, Ashtate. For the flower goddess Menhiriya, they used multiple layers of fabric like flower petals, but this year the hems and decorative fabrics had intricate embroidery, and the fabric itself had three-dimensional patterns, as if using some special stitching technique.
...I can tell that it is probably incredibly expensive.
I will have to be careful not to step on the hem and leave footprints.
Thinking such thoughts, I obediently became a dress-up doll. No matter how beautifully I am dressed, few people will actually see this costume. The person who would most enjoy it is away at Fort Lugmilama, and during the ceremony I will be confined to an underground chamber called the 'Seat of the Spirits,' so it is only seen by others for an extremely short time.
...Huh?
Speaking of which, I remembered something.
"I believe last year after the Recollection Festival, the Menhishumi Church said something to me..."
I am certain that among the gifts that were suddenly sent, there was one from the Menhishumi Church. Someone explained to me that I had simply thought the sweets and hat were rewards for the Recollection Festival, but their real intention was probably to curry favor with me so that next year I would participate in the Recollection Festival hosted by the Menhishumi Church. The ceremony I attended last year was the one held within the royal castle, presided over by a priest of the Itsurateru Church, not the one involving the Menhishumi Church like the Recollection Festival in the city of Grenore. There might be some troublesome schemes between the churches.
"I had thought I would simply be watching over His Majesty the King's ceremony again this year, but am I actually participating in the Recollection Festival in the inner city?"
"We have received word that Christina-sama is scheduled to watch over His Majesty the King's ceremony again this year."
According to Solana, my schedule was apparently the same as last year. Considering that spending a day at the inner city's Recollection Festival would involve meeting fewer people and only being tied up for half a day, it is actually easier. But there was one drawback.
"I would be grateful if I could bring in some warmed tea..."
"Warmed, you say?"
"It is probably because the 'Seat of the Spirits' where the ceremony is held is underground, but that place is a bit cold."
Last year, Christoph had brought juice and snacks, so I never had time to feel hungry, but the water prepared as a drink beforehand was well-chilled, perhaps out of consideration. It was not gentle on the stomach to drink while spending several hours underground in thin clothing.
"Then, let us add furs to this year's costume."
"...Ashtate did, in the myth about creating the rainbow curtain, wear a doe's hide, did she not."
At Solana's glance, Kalisa brought over some furs. If we were following the myth, we would need a doe's hide, but the point is simply to ward off the cold. There is no need to be particular about the original animal.
Incidentally, the rainbow curtain that Ashtate the goddess of arts created refers to the aurora. It cannot be seen in this country, but since the aurora is recorded in the myths, I think it must be visible in some cold country somewhere.
The fitting ended, and I changed clothes with Kalisa's help. As I was drinking tea, thinking about what to do until Hermine's lesson, Rebecca came with news of a visitor.
"I do not believe I had an appointment with anyone today..."
"Yes. Christina-sama had no appointments with anyone today. Therefore, Ms. Hermine suggested that this visitor should be treated as an assignment for you."
"...I see."
In other words, it is a pop quiz on how I handle an unexpected visitor. I do not know who it is, but visiting the detached palace without any prior notice is nearly a fatal mistake for a noble, and it also violates the etiquette of calling upon a lady's residence. My reaction to that is apparently the subject of this exercise.
"Then please tell them that 'I have no acquaintances who would visit without an appointment,' and send them away."
"Very well, I shall do so."
Seeing Rebecca execute a curtsey to a lady, I became confident that my answer was correct. If I had given a wrong answer, Rebecca would have told me why it was wrong and given me the correct answer, not Hermine.
"...Incidentally, who was it that came?"
"It was Anselm-sama."
At the unexpected name that came from Rebecca's mouth, I tilted my head slightly. Anselm is Christoph's youngest prince, a seven-year-old boy. I have had practically no interaction with him beyond last year's martial arts tournament, and we are not on terms where he would visit the detached palace. What is more, a seven-year-old child coming out alone by carriage is something no guardian should permit.
...No, actually, since he is a member of the royal family in this country, maybe they do pull off that level of unconventional behavior...?
I only have the impression of having spoken with him a little at the martial arts tournament, but Anselm was a sensible, polite, and cute little boy. I cannot imagine him being so rude as to come to the detached palace without any prior notice.
"Is it truly Anselm-sama? Not a case of mistaken identity or him tagging along with someone else?"
"Anselm-sama came visiting entirely alone."
"That is a bit strange. Could there be some urgent reason? Perhaps I should meet him after all..."
"Please do not. I too think there must be some circumstances, but Anselm-sama is a prince."
Rebecca said that she would not want a person in the position of a prince to learn that it was acceptable to visit people without an appointment just because of their status. She might have her own reasons, but it would not be in Anselm's best interest to be lenient.
"...I understand. What concerns me is that he came alone. Please assign an escort and send him back to the consort's detached palace."
I looked up at Rebecca to see if this was an appropriate response to a prince who had committed a discourtesy. This answer seemed to be acceptable to Rebecca as well, as she returned a lady's curtsey and left the room.
"I apologize, Christina-sama. Might I have a moment?"
Rebecca, who should have left the room to see Anselm off, strangely returned immediately. I had been about to ask Kalisa to prepare embroidery tools for the first time in a while, but it seemed that would have to wait.
"I informed Anselm-sama that Christina-sama does not meet with people who have no appointment, but..."
Apparently, Anselm was sulking in the entrance hall, saying that one should not need an appointment to visit family. The youngest prince, usually so well-behaved, was throwing an unusually rare tantrum, and it seemed that both the White Knights on guard and Rebecca were at a loss for how to handle him.
"...Family, you say?"
Coming from a prince's mouth, that was a rather unsettling word. If we are talking about my family, there is Leonardo, and Aristalf whom I do not want to acknowledge but is there in terms of blood, along with Bertrand. The current royal family member Anselm is certainly not my family.
"It seems someone has been whispering things to him, and he appears to believe that Christina-sama is his older sister or his niece."
"I can understand sister, but niece? ...No, wait, Dietfried-sama and Anselm-sama are in a nephew-uncle relationship, are they not."
If you consider that, I suppose it is not impossible that I, being older, could be Anselm's niece. That scenario is purely based on the possibility of an uncle-niece relationship arising from age difference, not that Anselm and I are actually uncle and niece.
"...I understand. Let me meet Anselm-sama once and clear up this strange misunderstanding. In the meantime, please send someone to call for a carriage to take Anselm-sama back."
I understand the desire to discipline him into following proper procedure, but to do that, I first need to send Anselm back to the detached palace. Anselm must have a teacher as well, so that is that teacher's job. First, I need to clear up this odd misunderstanding and get Anselm back to his usual well-behaved self.
"Christina Big Sister!"
I had resolved to be strict with him for his own good and marched into the entrance hall, but I was immediately defeated by being called 'Big Sister' upon our first encounter. I never imagined that a sweet, well-behaved boy like Anselm would ever call me 'Big Sister.' Come to think of it, the only younger boy I know is Teo. Even when Teo pulls my hair and teases me, he has never called me 'Tina Big Sister' in such a cute way. The only one who called me 'Tina big sister' so adorably was Mirshe.
...But no. I must not. Just because he is cute, I must not get all soft and gooey. I must not become like Leonardo-san. That is a bad example.
I had to be strict, so I put strength into my cheeks that wanted to break into a smile. I focused all my nerves on my trembling cheeks, determined not to let my expression slip, maintaining a ladylike smile. I think this was the most concentrated moment I have had in a while. The black dog (Oscar) yawning in the corner of my vision was infuriating.
"It has been a while, Christina Big Sister. It has been since last year's martial arts tournament, but have you been keeping well?"
"It has been a while, Anselm-sama. I am impressed by your polite greeting, but I do not speak with children who behave badly."
I put my hands on my hips and demonstratively turned away with a huff. Poor Anselm had probably never been treated like this before. He started to panic, not knowing how to react.
"U-um... I am sorry, Christina Big Sister. I made some mistake, did I not? I apologize, so please forgive me."
Anselm immediately hung his head, deflated, and I was the one caught off guard. I had heard he was sulking and throwing a tantrum, but Anselm had regained his composure surprisingly quickly. Or rather, from the moment I entered the entrance hall, Anselm's mood had been improving. I glanced at Rebecca to see if Anselm had truly been throwing a tantrum, and though her face showed nothing, she nodded slightly.
...That is strange, is it not?
Feeling sorry for the deflated Anselm, I ended up stroking his black hair. It was clear that there was some miscommunication between us, and that Anselm had misunderstandings, so the only thing to do was to resolve them one by one.
"Anselm-sama, did your etiquette teacher not teach you that you must not suddenly visit someone without an appointment?"
"I was taught. That it is rude to visit suddenly, because the other person also needs time to prepare to receive a guest."
"...So you understood, and yet you did it anyway?"
Understanding that he had indeed known better, I confirmed with Anselm. Anselm blinked in surprise as I stared intently at his face, then tilted his head curiously.
"My big brother told me it was strange to send notice when going to see family."
When Anselm says 'big brother,' the suspects narrow to three. Considering he says 'big brother' (with the honorific 'ue'), it narrows further to two, the first prince (Elvis) or the third prince (Alfred). Perhaps because they have many siblings, or because even among siblings there is a clear status difference between Royal Peerage and royalty, it seems they distinguish even among brothers by using 'big brother' and 'big sister.'
"...Which big brother was it who told you that, Anselm-sama?"
I had asked expecting him to say Elvis or Alfred, but the name that came out of Anselm's mouth was different.
"Chadwick big brother told me."
"Prince Chadwick... that would be your second eldest brother?"
"Yes!"
Alfred and the others seem to distinguish between their siblings, but Anselm, perhaps because he is young, seemed to group all his older brothers together as 'big brother.' I was surprised that a different name came out than I expected, but once I heard the answer, it felt like a name I should have expected.
...A trickster, was he not?
That was the evaluation I had heard from Alfred's mouth about that prince. A troublesome person with no proper reason or self-control, who only does what he thinks is fun.
...Sneaking in some convenient education for his youngest brother. That is really a nuisance.
I filed that away in the corner of my mind to inform someone about it later, and first set about clearing up Anselm's misunderstanding. If Anselm is as well-behaved as he normally is, then by clearing up the misunderstandings one by one, he should be corrected quickly.
"Anselm-sama, first of all, it is a misunderstanding that I am your family. I am neither your older sister nor your niece."
"...I am not? But Chadwick big brother said that since you have the same hair and eye color, you might be my big sister. Also, Christina Big Sister lives in the detached palace."
"There are plenty of people with the same hair and eye color, even those who are not relatives. As for me living in the detached palace, it is because I could not relax in the guest rooms of Christoph-sama's castle. Christoph-sama and the others kindly arranged for me to have a place at a bit of a distance where I could be more at ease."
I carefully answered Anselm's assertions and questions one by one, clearing up his misunderstandings. I was somewhat irritated at the second prince, whom I had never even seen, for filling his head with such careless nonsense. It was fortunate that the person Anselm had charged in on was me, but if this had been a failed attempt against a Staff Peerage or someone who loved to hold leverage over others, it could have become a weakness that would haunt Anselm forever.
"...So Christina Big Sister really is not my big sister or my niece?"
"Regrettably, no."
"I... see."
Having answered his final question, Anselm's misunderstanding finally seemed to be resolved. The poor boy wilted again, but the fact that he quickly recovered his spirits and smiled was, I think, worthy of a prince. Even at his young age, he has been properly educated.
"I have been very rude, Christina."
"Yes. I am glad the misunderstanding has been cleared up, Anselm-sama."
I patted Anselm's head to comfort him as he apologized sincerely. Patting a prince on the head might be questionable, but it is too late now. I have already done it once, so unless I am called out on it, I will just have to play dumb.
Since the misunderstanding seemed resolved, I led Anselm to the reception room. I told him that since I had called for someone to pick him up, we could talk until they arrived, and asked Rebecca to prepare tea.
"Speaking of which, Anselm-sama, why did you come to visit me?"
"I heard Christina Big Sis... Christina can read difficult books."
"I have been learning to read and writing longer than Anselm-sama, but there are also books I cannot read, you know?"
I swallowed the remark that my strongest language is Japanese and my weakest is English, and accepted the thin book Anselm held out to me. On the cover of the blue-spined book was written a rather ominous title.
...Huh? Why is it in Japanese?
Time is up.
Will fix typos and errors at a later date.