413 - Giselle's Perspective The Useless White Knight 9
...I wonder if Oscar delivered the letter safely.
While gazing beyond the small square window, I worry about the letter I just entrusted. I tied it to the Black Dog (Oscar)'s collar and watched him run off, so at least I am certain that letter did not fall into the hands of kidnappers like Edgar or Jasper. If the clever Black Dog is nearby, he would have delivered the letter to Jean-Chack, and even if he were not nearby, he would not let some incompetent person take the letter. In that sense, it was safer than having it with me.
...Where we are heading now is the Imperial capital Tralbach. I do know the Imperial capital, at least.
I am not familiar with the geography within the Zugall Empire, but even I know the capital of a neighboring country. The Imperial capital Tralbach is an extremely cold city built on the mid-slopes of the Erath Mountain Range. It should get a bit more comfortable as summer approaches, but given the location, it is a place where snow remains even in summer. Normally you would question the sanity of the emperor who decided to build a city in such a place, but the reason rulers ignore reason and build magnificent palaces in seemingly impossible locations is solely to display national prestige to other countries. The Imperial capital was built on the mid-slopes of the Erath Mountain Range around the time the Zugall Empire was founded. They probably wanted to flaunt the prestige of their newborn nation to other countries.
...Even pushing through difficulties, it seems they could not build a city at the summit after all.
The emperor of two hundred years ago apparently gave up, but the current emperor is said to be constructing a massive tower near the summit of the Erath Mountain Range. I heard that they could not drive foundations into the frozen ground of the Erath Mountain Range for a long time, but a new construction method was established, according to the maids at Augusta Castle gossiping. I remember them complaining bitterly that because of the tower being built near the summit of the Erath Mountain Range, the working-age men who were already being conscripted for military service were not being returned to their villages even after finishing their service.
...If it is such a massive tower, I wonder if I can see it from far away.
I look outside the window with a childlike curiosity, but it is a window installed in a space only meant for servants to wait. It is not made very large, and all I can see is a thin hazy gray sky.
...This is awkward.
The space in the carriage made for servants to wait is, in any case, cramped. The front part of the carriage, the masters' space, is spacious and made comfortable, but the servants' space is different. The servants' space, treated almost the same as furniture and luggage, is truly cramped. If I do not think positively that it is somewhat more comfortable than the false-bottom carriage I was packed into when being transported to the Zugall Empire, I would not be able to endure it. I never imagined that experience would come in handy. In the Ivizia Kingdom, the servants' space is a bit wider, and if anything, they would prepare a separate carriage. Comparing servants to furniture happened in the Ivizia Kingdom too, but actually packing people in like luggage was unthinkable there.
And in that cramped space, there is one other person besides me.
...He is a pharmacist, so I would think he should not be separated from Christina-sama.
Very much against my will, Jasper was sitting right next to me. This too is probably a difference between the Ivizia Kingdom and the Zugall Empire. In the Ivizia Kingdom, pharmacists are treated well, and if you are a contracted pharmacist, you would be given the same carriage as your master or a separate one. But in the Zugall Empire, even pharmacists are treated the same as servants. They are loaded and transported in cramped spaces like luggage. The reason few pharmacists settle in the Zugall Empire is that the nobles there look down on pharmacists.
...I wonder if Christina-sama is all right.
I turn my gaze from the small window toward the front, blocked by a wall. Beyond the wall is the masters' space, where servants cannot enter except when called. Christina would probably be sitting quietly in her fixed chair as usual, but the problem is Edgar. Christina can be left alone quietly, but she cannot entertain Edgar to pass the time on a long journey. Give Christina bobbin lace or embroidery and she can spend hours alone, but that would be difficult for Edgar.
...Alfred-sama would do his work, or play Reversi with Christina-sama.
On the journey from the capital to the city of Grenore, Christina lived in a carriage for nearly a month. How to spend that time is difficult for Christina now. Even if she can spend time alone, she cannot keep someone else company.
...The problem is how long Edgar can endure Christina-sama's non-responsiveness.
I was worried that Edgar, frustrated by Christina who does not respond, might use violence, but Edgar is aware of Christina's condition. He did seem irritated by Christina's lack of response, but he directed that frustration at me and the coachman. Edgar liked Christina's face, so he would not use violence that would leave visible marks, and he also knew that injuring Christina would bring retaliation from the spirits. So all his irritation toward Christina was directed at the accompanying servants. And the brunt of his violence was also directed at Jasper the pharmacist. This is probably barbaric behavior unique to Edgar as a Zugall Empire noble. Edgar had no respect for the knowledge or skills a pharmacist possesses.
...I wonder when Christina-sama will return.
She spends her days in a daze, as if she has lost her mind, but Christina did clearly react to the Black Dog. She did not seem to go as far as thinking to unlock the lock, but she did make a gesture of opening the window. That is unusual behavior for Christina as she is now. Back when she was searching all over the castle for Kalisa, she opened every door, even opening closets and drawers, but once she finished searching every room, she stopped doing anything. Now, Christina will not even get up from bed unless prompted, in fact she will not even sit up. She is completely apathetic about everything, and she hardly ever takes any action on her own.
...Maybe I should suggest to Edgar that we prepare some kind of pet.
It is irritating to bow my head to Edgar, but it would be a good thing if Christina showed some kind of reaction. If it were a living creature, unlike bobbin lace, she would not just sit in a chair and not move. It would also help her regain her lost muscle strength.
When we arrived at the Imperial capital, the sound of the wheels changed. On the journey up to that point, the carriage had repeatedly trampled snow and occasionally crunched over pebbles, causing it to shake, but the roads of the Imperial capital were made of beautifully laid cobblestones. The snow also seemed to be neatly cleared away, and the carriage advanced with a light, clattering sound.
When the carriage eventually stopped, we arrived at Edgar's residence in the noble district. The size of the residence was about the same as, or slightly larger than, the lord's residence in the city of Grenore. Augusta Castle had a vast forest as its garden, but for a residence built in the middle of a city like the Imperial capital, it was probably impossible to prepare a large garden. There was a garden, but it was a small one that might barely fit a small grove.
...There are flowers. Which means that room is a greenhouse, maybe.
In the Imperial capital Tralbach, where snow remains even in summer, there is no way flowers would bloom naturally just because it is spring. I spotted a sunroom fitted with large glass panes in one corner of the residence, and through the glass I could see white flowers blooming. I cannot be certain from a distance, but white flowers might be the source material for Christina's favorite perfume. That sunroom is probably the room prepared for Christina.
...A small garden and a first-floor sunroom. This is unexpectedly...?
It might be unexpectedly easy to take Christina out, I thought. But then I found something other than flowers deeper in the sunroom, and realized how naive that idea was. I entered the sunroom to help bring in luggage, and I could not believe my eyes at what lay beyond the white flowers.
Inside the sunroom, a massive birdcage the size of a small room had been prepared.
There was no doubt that this was the birdcage prepared for Christina. Inside the massive birdcage, slightly smaller furniture like lounge chairs was fixed in place, and the cloth used for the cushions and pillows attached to that furniture was the same as what had been used in Christina's room at Augusta Castle.
...First being treated like a dress-up doll, now being treated like a bird. True, Christina-sama was called the Owl Princess at the detached palace.
I was surprised when they had a doll made to look just like Christina, but I never imagined they would prepare a birdcage to put Christina in. Christina's face must match Edgar's preferences that much. I cannot help but feel that he is confining her in a way that has forgotten his original purpose.
There is no bed inside the birdcage, so it seems a separate bedroom was prepared after all. When I checked inside the sunroom, there was a door in the corner, and beyond it was a windowless bedroom.
After checking the bedroom and returning to the sunroom, Christina was just stepping into the birdcage. She was not being pushed in by Edgar or guided by Jasper, so it seemed even Christina was drawn in by curiosity about the massive birdcage.
...No. She is looking for Kalisa.
Christina, who had entered the birdcage, did not sit down on the lounge chair but went to the fixed small table. She opened the drawer and peered inside, but quickly lost interest and started walking around the cage. She lifted the cushion placed on the lounge chair and peered underneath it, but Kalisa is not in a place like that. After finishing her search for Kalisa inside the birdcage, looking under the lounge chair, pulling out all the books from the bookshelf, Christina returned to the door. She tried to open the door and come out of the birdcage, but by then, the birdcage lock had already been closed by Edgar's hand.
I could not get as far as planned, but I have run out of time. I will not call a garden with a grove small.
Will fix typos and errors at a later date. Found and fixed the typos and errors.