510 - Anchelique's Perspective: The Runaway Princess and the Children of the Spirit Realm 1
...Huh?
The first time I noticed something was strange was when my younger sister, who turned six this year and is two years my junior, visited Father's detached palace with her Silver Knight guard. I felt a sense of incongruity when my sister, Delphine, handed me a candy sculpture as a gift with a beaming smile, saying she had been visiting the Harvest Festival in the inner city in disguise.
...I wonder what it is?
Even if I, as a child, could not grasp the nature of this incongruity, I wondered if a guard (an adult) would, and looked up at the Silver Knight standing behind me.
This young man named Low, with bright brown hair and a somewhat vacant impression, is a Hero known for an anecdote where he suddenly burst out laughing upon seeing Father during an inspection visit to Virloope Fortress. He apparently burst into laughter upon seeing the embroidery on Father's cloak, saying, " 'Walk Walk Crimson' or something, what kind of delinquent is this?" and had his ribs broken by Father's guards or something like that.
It was an attitude far too lacking in courtesy toward a prince, but the reason the guard's head is still attached to his body is that my uncle Theodore intervened. He suggested that Low might be able to read Nihongo.
After that, he was taken in by my uncle from Virloope Fortress and raised as a member of the Spirit Knight Order newly established a few years ago at Gurnol Fort, but Father brought him here, saying he wanted at least one knight who could use spirits in the royal capital. It has been three months since he was assigned as my guard. In the royal capital, he is counted among the Silver Knights, but in essence, he is closer to a Black Knight. Therefore, unlike the guards for my father or sister, his etiquette toward nobles is apparently not perfect, so he was placed as the guard attached to me, who does not leave the detached palace.
"Low, something is strange. I wonder what it is?"
"I don't understand the Princess's 'strange,' but if the 'strange' that bothers me is acceptable..."
"That will do. Please tell me your 'strange,' Low."
When I urged him to continue, the guard (Low) let his gaze wander, looking a bit reluctant to speak. The moment he agonized over whether he should say it was brief. Since he is a young man who acts almost by reflex, the hesitation likely lasted only a moment.
"...My job was supposed to be guarding the Princess and watching her to make sure she doesn't leave the detached palace... but...?"
Low tilted his head, wondering if the younger sister was permitted to go in disguise, and furthermore, to go as far as the inner city, leaving not just the detached palace but the royal castle itself. Indeed, it was as Low said. Things that are not permitted for me, the older sister, are permitted for my younger sister.
And this must be the 'hit.'
The sister before me blinked her blue eyes, but the guard standing behind her had a twitching cheek. The sister was unaware, but the sister's guard was aware. That there is a difference in how we sisters are treated.
"This is strange. I wonder if this is what they call 'unfairness'?"
"Well, certainly... not permitting the older sister what is permitted for the younger sister is... nanguhaah!?"
When I turned around seeking agreement, some white shadow passed through the corner of my vision. By the time I had turned completely, Low, with a white owl perched on his shoulder, was clutching his stomach and kneeling on one knee. Perhaps his stomach hurts. I wonder if he picked up and ate something bad.
Returning my gaze from Low, who looked like his stomach was in pain, I saw the guard standing behind my sister with a smile pasted on his face. The agitation from a moment ago had already been wiped away.
"Princess Anchelique, Princess Delphine was able to go to the inner city this time as an assignment from your father. To ensure she can shop on her own, she was sent on an errand—"
"Eh? Was that so-resu? I have not heard such a thing from Father. Besides, going to the city is always the usu... fumo?"
My sister was mumbling, her mouth being covered by the guard's hand. It seems my sister made some slip of the tongue. My teacher does the same thing when I use words I am not supposed to, so I understood this.
...Um?
I organize the information in my head.
My actions today are the same as my actions yesterday. My actions yesterday were the same as my actions the day before yesterday.
I wake up at the appointed time, have breakfast, take the guard (human) Low as company and walk in the detached palace garden with the owl Low, and have tea with Father. In the afternoon, a human teacher imparts knowledge to me, and after dinner, the white owl (Low) tells me various stories. This is my every day. My actions tomorrow, and my actions the day after tomorrow, will surely be the same and without change. I spend the day inside the detached palace, and even if I go outside, it is only as far as the garden.
And yet.
"I wonder why Delphine can go outside?"
My life is somehow strange. Yes, for the first time in my life, a question welled up.
It seems my life is strange. Once I noticed that, everything began to seem suspicious. I tried bringing it up to a lady's maid, but she averted her eyes, and when I asked my teacher, the subject was brushed aside.
I wondered if it was because they are servants, so I asked Uncle Anselm when he visited the detached palace, but the result was not much different. He said that since I and my sister are different, Father's educational policy must also be different.
"This is truly strange, Low."
"Is it? I think it's a reasonable judgment regarding the Princess..."
"I think it is unfair."
"Even in my house, the educational policy was different between my older sister and me."
"Oh, is that so?"
If there is a difference in how older sisters and younger brothers are raised in other households, then perhaps it is just my imagination. Just as I was about to be convinced, I suddenly felt another snag.
"...I wonder why you say 'reasonable' regarding me?"
"Because the Princess can normally converse with spirits. Even if we played hide-and-seek limited to the detached palace, the spirits lend a hand, so you're just not found, not found. Rather, the spirits help you disappear, which is cheating, definitely."
"Hmmmm...?"
I tilted my head, unable to immediately understand Low's words that came out in a rapid stream. Realizing from that alone that I didn't understand, Low broke the words down a bit more.
"In other words, because the Princess can talk to spirits, she can easily borrow their power, so it's dangerous to let her run wild."
"I understand that you are saying something very rude."
Do it, I incited the white owl (Low) toward the guard (Low). The white owl, who had been by my side since I can remember, is not a real bird but a spirit. Therefore, it correctly understands my (human) words and puts them into action. Just as the white owl perched on Low's shoulder, it began plucking hairs, aiming for a part of the back of his head with its beak.
"Ow... it hurts, Princess. Stop... seriously stop. The ten-yen bald spot from the other day just finally healed...!"
"I will stop if you come up with some plan."
"A plan?"
To the suspicious Low, wondering what I intended to make him do, I directed my best smile. Seeing that smile, Low stepped back, saying, "Isn't that definitely a face that's plotting something!?" so I stuck a spoiled earth spirit onto his back.
"I should have done this sooner."
I heard the tips for going in disguise from my sister and wore a wide-brimmed hat to hide my hair color. My hair color is the same gold as Father's, so anyone who knows would immediately realize who I am.
If Father goes so far as to keep me locked in the detached palace with guards, I just have to sneak out of the detached palace without Father noticing. Since Low is always by my side, if I leave Low at the detached palace, I should be able to deceive Father's eyes for a while.
"Well then, owl (Low). I'm counting on you."
—As my Princess desires.
I immediately jumped on Low's suggestion that a protest action against parents would be 'running away from home.' The fact that the actual action is 'leaving the house' is particularly good.
At the stage of planning, it was decided that the guard (Low) would be left behind to deceive Father's eyes. Low himself was naturally opposed to this, but in the end, Low gave in to the white owl's word that safety at the destination would be guaranteed and the vow to never leave my side for a moment.
The arrangement was for him to station himself in front of my room for a while, acting as if I were sulking and shut in my room, to deceive Father's eyes.
And in the meantime, it is my first outing.
"It's the first time in my life I'm going outside."
Now, the first step outside, I opened the door to go out into the hallway, but a stretch of greenery spread out there.
I sensed the anomaly immediately, but because I had taken a vigorous step forward, I could not stop myself. As my foot stepped onto the earth with a soft thud, the sensation of the doorknob I should have been gripping vanished. Huh? By the time I noticed, the door, the doorframe, the hallway walls, and my own room behind me had disappeared, and I was standing in a clearing surrounded by trees.
"I didn't know the outside was this close!"
—No, my Princess. With all due respect, prioritizing the Princess's safety, I, the old man, chose the destination for the outing.
This is the Spirit Realm, located almost in the center of the Erath Continent, said the white owl on my shoulder, and I recalled the world map I was taught by my teacher. The largest, the Erath Continent, is the land where the Ivizia Kingdom, ruled by my grandfather, is located. Almost in the center of the continent is a sacred peak called the Erath Mountain Range, which became an inviolable land as the territory of the spirits around the time I was becoming aware of things. Since then, humans have been forbidden from carelessly approaching the Erath Mountain Range, and it is said that in each country adjacent to the Spirit Realm, a knight order corresponding to the spirits has been created. The Spirit Knight Order newly established at Gurnol Fort, where Low was before coming to the royal capital, is one of these.
—First, let us greet the Guardian.
"Guardian?"
—The person who looks after the Spirit Realm on behalf of the Divine King.
This way, the white owl flew off my shoulder and glided smoothly in front of me. It looked as if it would crash into the ground, but with just a light flap of its wings, the white owl's body lifted. As I gazed at the white owl proceeding straight ahead, a simple house stood at the destination. As I walked, looking at the colorful flowerbeds filling a lovely small garden, twin trees with a hammock strung between them, and a tree with a swing, the brim of my hat suddenly became heavy. This in itself was not unusual. Thinking it was probably the work of a spirit, I looked at the position where I felt the gravity, and a small red-haired girl dressed like a maid was hanging from the brim.
"Wow, how cute."
A spirit with an appearance almost indistinguishable from a human is rare, I thought, and reached out my hand toward the spirit. Then, the spirit let go of the brim and landed on my palm.
"Good day. I wonder what kind of work you do?"
Spirits of various sizes all do some kind of work. I asked because this spirit must also have some work, but the spirit only tilted its head slightly. It did not tell me what work it did.
"Are you... shy?"
As I walked while keeping the silently answering spirit on my palm, I had arrived right in front of the house before I knew it. After waiting for my arrival, the white owl knocked on the door, and after a short while, a woman with a large stomach peered out from inside.
"Oh? You're a child I've never seen before. Hello—"
In a slightly drawn-out voice, the woman spoke to the white owl. This is the first time someone has spoken to the spirit (Low) before the human (me), I thought, and when I looked up, the woman's shoulders trembled slightly. It seems that either because she was in the shadow of the door or because of the large brim of my hat, she had not noticed me. To the woman who looked surprised with her blue eyes wide, I took off my hat and showed my face.
...Huh?
"Have I seen you somewhere...?"
"Like the face...?"
Hmmm? The woman and I tilted our heads at each other at the same timing.