419 - Carlotta's Perspective - Birdcage Doll Princess 1
"...I wonder if it is about time I showed my face?"
Thanks to the scheme of the man calling himself Chuck the Bandit, Edgar's residence was apparently becoming quite the interesting place these days. The rumor Chuck spread was a direct one, 'Edgar's residence keeps a beautiful girl in a birdcage', but the rumors spread by his subordinate bandits had shifted to vaguer expressions like 'a spirit is captured at Edgar's residence' or 'there is a living doll at Edgar's residence.' As a result, all sorts of rumors flew around, and with the words gradually changing, it seemed that visitors came to Edgar's residence every day now to verify the truth of the rumors. And from the mouths of those who had supposedly gone to verify the truth of the rumors came words saying that Edgar's residence held a mysterious doll princess like a spirit, and more people came to visit Edgar's residence. What was interesting was that a tribute war seemed to have broken out now, all to catch the attention of that very doll princess.
"What kind of things should I bring to catch Christina-san's interest? I hear she had no reaction to jewels or the latest dresses."
"...Tina is not interested in jewels or dresses. If anything would catch her interest... sweets or Napaji cuisine?"
Thinking that her brother should know some effective method, I asked Jin Boss about Christina's preferences, but the answer that came back was a bit dubious. The young lady making rumors in the Imperial Capital was apparently a child with a weakness for sweets.
"...That is what Boss says, but what do you think, Chuck-san?"
When I turned the conversation to Chuck, who should have been speaking about Christina with objectivity, Chuck's answer was not much different from Jin Boss's. Christina was a little girl who would happily dance for a piece of candy.
"Does she like sweet things?"
"Her favorite is pudding... no, honey? If considering what to bring when visiting, candy packed in a cute tin might be good too."
Other things came up like Christina liking baked sweets and cheesecake, but names of things besides food were hard to come by. Really, luring her with sweets seemed a bit much, I thought, as I patiently waited for something besides sweets to come out of Jin Boss's mouth. Around the time I started worrying whether the sibling relationship between Christina and Jin Boss was really going well, a name other than food finally came out.
"Embroidery thread, mischief, Enomena flowers, Kokumaro, Aurelia and Ms. Hartmann..."
"By Kokumaro, do you mean the watchdog, the Absolk?"
"Yes. He received an Absolk puppy from an acquaintance and kept it as Tina's watchdog."
Unfortunately, I had heard that Christina's beloved black dog (Kokumaro) had been poisoned during Christina's kidnapping and was currently recuperating. The Absolk was a breed excellent as a watchdog, but it seemed he could not be brought along.
"In that case, I might not be able to make one with the exact same face, but let us bring an Absolk plush toy as a gift."
If the plush toy did not work, I had Enomena flowers prepared as the next strategy. When I asked Jin Boss why Enomena flowers, it seemed that Christina had carefully tended the Enomena flowers Jin Boss gave her at the Spring Flower Festival until they withered.
...So there were memories besides sweets, after all.
I had begun to suspect Jin Boss was a useless brother who treated his little sister like a child forever and gave her nothing but sweets, but it seemed he had the right priorities where it counted. Giving sweets as gifts forever to a fifteen-year-old girl would be strange, would it not.
After preparing several gifts to catch Christina's interest, I visited Edgar's residence fully prepared. Jin Boss said he wanted to accompany me as an attendant, but today he would be staying home. If there were only Christina and the maid who was supposedly her guard, we might not be noticed even bringing Jin Boss along despite his apparent disguise, but according to Chuck, the pharmacist who had been by Christina's side from before was also at Edgar's residence. As long as there was a pharmacist who knew Jin Boss's face, I could not bring Jin Boss to Edgar's residence just yet.
"Quite unusual, Carlotta-sama. I never expected you to join in on a commotion like this."
"Oh my, I love anything that seems fun. Did you not know?"
"I am aware, but..."
Even so, Edgar furrowed his brow slightly, as if he had not expected me to show my face at such a tasteless event as coming to see a beautiful girl shut up in a residence. He probably wanted to push out his displeasure with full force, but Edgar wanted my granddaughter as his wife. He must have thought antagonizing me, her grandmother, was not a wise move. To me, who had taken advantage of this strange festival-like chaos, he spoke about the 'setting' concerning the girl named Sistina he was keeping in the residence, and put on a face that seemed pained by the commotion.
"...Did you even have a kidnapped niece?"
"Sistina was snatched away right after she was born, so we never even announced her birth to relatives. Her parents' grief was deep, and she was treated almost as a taboo word within the family."
That was probably why it never reached my ears either, Edgar said with a smile. Edgar was putting on an uncle's face as he spoke about a niece he had found by chance, but since I had already heard about Christina beforehand, it all looked terribly transparent. The reason no rumors had reached me about a girl named Sistina was not because it was a family taboo. It was because the true identity of 'Sistina' was a girl snatched from a neighboring country just a year and a half ago.
"This is Sistina's room."
The place I was led to with a "please" was the sunroom, just as I had investigated beforehand. Inside a giant golden birdcage was the back view of a silver-haired girl.
...Even though I was finally going to meet Christina-san, there were so many meddlesome pests around.
The daily visitors who came for a glimpse of Christina's face were, of course, also present today. Four gentlemen were surrounding the birdcage, but with their attendants and even the maids serving Christina all in the sunroom, the spacious room felt cramped.
...First, let us ask the pests to be on their way.
With Christina, whom I had finally met, I wanted a slow, private audience. I had no need for an audience. I wanted the gentlemen crowding around the girl, forgetting their age, to promptly take their leave.
"Oh my, Engelbert-sama. Good day to you."
"Oh, Carlotta-sama. You have come here as well?"
"Yes. I happened to hear that Edgar-sama has welcomed a spirit princess."
It was not that unnatural for me to visit Edgar's residence. I was counted as a relative after all, so coming to check on things was within reason. And with Edgar's residence being the subject of so many rumors lately, there was nothing unnatural about it.
...But Engelbert-sama being here was far too unnatural.
Engelbert and Edgar's father did not get along well. Engelbert could hardly have any good feelings toward Edgar, his child, so coming to visit daily was far too unnatural. Their relationship should have been such that he would not come near unless there was something he wanted.
"Speaking of which, at the lady's tea party the other day, I heard that Engelbert-sama bought an emerald necklace. It seemed Engelbert-sama had purchased it without telling his wife, but I suppose it was meant as a secret gift for his wife."
Saying it must be a secret gift for herself, Engelbert's wife had boasted loudly about the size of the emerald she had heard from the jeweler, the design of the necklace, and even its price. It was definitely a gift for her, she insisted.
And that emerald-set necklace was now right before my eyes.
To be more precise, it was in Engelbert's hand, aimed toward the birdcage. Engelbert's wife seemed to think it was a gift for herself, but Engelbert had apparently bought the emerald necklace to catch Christina's attention. This misunderstanding needed to be corrected soon, or it would become a huge problem later.
It would be better for him to take the emerald necklace and quickly return to his own residence. Accurately reading the meaning implied in those words, Engelbert hurriedly left. Rather than clinging to the birdcage trying to catch the attention of a girl barely come of age, forgetful of his own years, it would be better to go home and placate his wife. Engelbert's household was an extremely typical one in the Zugall Empire. The head of the family was his wife, and Engelbert was a live-in son-in-law. If he displeased his wife, it would be Engelbert who got thrown out of the house. There was no way he could let his wife find out he had bought jewelry while obsessed with a fifteen-year-old girl.
After driving Engelbert away with a seemingly kind piece of advice, the rest went quickly. The gentlemen swarming around the birdcage were all gentlemen well along in years. Naturally, they were gentlemen with families similar to Engelbert's.
...I could not get rid of Edgar, of course, but well, that would do.
After successfully driving away the four gentlemen and their attendants, I turned back to face the birdcage. Christina, sitting on the lounge chair, was a girl more beautiful than the rumors claimed. I had heard her hair was originally black, but now it was silver. Perhaps to disguise it as a wig, even her eyelashes, which should have been the same color as her original hair, were painted silver.
...Ah, her eyes opened.
Perhaps she thought it had gotten quiet now that the men surrounding the birdcage had gone. Her eyelids parted slightly, and I could see Christina's blue eyes.
"Truly... a girl so beautiful one might mistake her for a spirit."
Thinking it would be strange to just stare in silence, I tossed a comment to Edgar without taking my eyes off Christina. She was a girl completely different from the impression I had gotten from Jin Boss and Chuck. What I had heard was a girl who liked mischief and was a bit of a tomboy, but the Christina before me left a different impression. The Christina I saw with my own eyes was a girl wrapped in an otherworldly mystique.
...Indeed, if with this face she had the personality Chuck said she did, she would be a real case of false advertising in appearance.
I decided to try the game the gentlemen had been playing around the birdcage, seeing if I could draw out some reaction. The gentlemen had been laying out jewels and dresses to try to catch Christina's interest, but what I brought was different. What I had brought was prepared by getting her preferences from Jin Boss, who claimed to be Christina's guardian. If I could not draw any reaction from this, I could judge that Jin Boss was just claiming to be Christina's brother.
"Woof woof. Sistina-sama, do you like puppies?"
Taking out a black puppy plush toy with a red ribbon around its neck from the basket, I moved it to try to catch Christina's attention. As I made the plush toy bob up and down while imitating a dog's bark, her narrowly opened eyes widened.
"Oh my, she is looking this way. I thought I would prepare something a child might like, but it seems she prefers the plush toy over jewels and dresses."
Since I could not say I had gotten advice from her guardian, I let out a loud mutter audible to Edgar, as if our strategies had happened to coincide. Continuing to call out to Christina with the puppy plush toy with an innocent face, as if this was all a coincidence, Christina blinked a few times and then slowly stood up from the lounge chair.
"Sistina...?"
I heard Edgar's stunned voice from behind me, but I pretended not to notice. This was my first time meeting Christina. There was no way I could have known her before. It would be stranger for me to be surprised that Christina's behavior was unusual.
"Has the plush toy pleased you?"
As Christina approached, I gave her a lady's curtsy, as if to say 'pleased to meet you.' Then Christina returned a lady's curtsy with a modest smile.
"...Pleased to... meet you... Lotta... ma."
"Oh my, you can speak as well. I had heard you were a doll princess, so I thought conversation might be difficult."
When I offered the puppy plush toy with a "please, take it," Christina hesitantly reached out her hand. When I placed the plush toy in her hand, Christina smiled softly with delight and said "thank you" in a small voice.
"Sistina, you..."
"She is a bit quiet, but a well-disciplined young lady."
"Ah, yes. Yes. I have hired a tutor to give her a lady's education before returning her to her parents... as it happens."
Faced with Edgar's rather vague words, I felt like asking a slightly malicious question, but I held back. I could not push too hard and make him wary. I had only come to see Christina's face today. Pointing out that he had not even known Christina could speak would have to wait for another time.
[Author's Note]
Time is up. I could not get as far as planned.
Will fix typos and errors at a later date.