kscans

Chapter 56 - Little One's New Daily Life, Ten

"How could this happen!"

In a corner of the noble district, an elderly man was groaning. He had light brown hair and a well-groomed mustache. Sitting on a sofa in a luxurious drawing room, he clutched his head as if to crush it.

This was the residence of Duke Cartiña.

A protest had arrived from the royal palace over his youngest daughter's slip of the tongue, and just when he was in a bind, a tear-stained letter arrived from his eldest daughter, who resided in the palace.

'The Crown Prince's heart has grown distant, and I feel as if I am in a cold prison. The gazes of others are sharp, and I wet my pillow with tears every night. Please help me, Father.'

The soft script trembled slightly.

His eldest daughter, Miranda, was a good daughter. Neither remarkable nor unremarkable, her agreeable personality was well-liked by all. She was a hard worker who never pushed herself forward and diligently fulfilled her given duties. And now, with just a single word... with Aristea's simple, honest words, she had been driven into a corner.

"What is wrong with calling a commoner a commoner! Aristea may have been careless, but she did not say anything incorrect, did she?"

His eldest son nodded vigorously at his father's strained words.

"You are absolutely right, Father."

The man with a faint, unpleasant smile in his eyes knelt beside his father on the sofa, as if to comfort him.

"It is unacceptable for a duke's house of such prestigious lineage to be swayed by such a fool. Are you not the prime minister, Father? Please, by all means, advise Their Majesties."

The man with the sickening, simpering smile was Dakken. He was the man who had been involved with Little One and her companions ten years ago, lost his position, and was exiled from the royal palace. Since then, he had made no effort, merely complaining and resenting the world, resenting Little One, resenting Romel, and indulging in his hobbies as a useless freeloader living at home. The fact that his family allowed this had also contributed to the disaster.

"You are right. Tomorrow, I will speak with His Majesty..."

The duke nodded and grasped Dakken's consoling hand. Just then, a low, growling voice reached his ears.

"That is enough, Father!"

Turning around, the two of them saw Vifel standing in the doorway. His eyes blazing with disgust, he let out a somewhat menacing growl.

"This nonsense about status... the problem is that they are favorites of the king and queen, close with the princes, and are decent people!"

In the past, Vifel had held similar feelings toward the George family. It was partly due to his father's influence, but still, the pride of an old bloodline had caused him to have such a misunderstanding.

However, Chihiro had shattered that to pieces.

She showed him that status meant nothing when it came to accomplishing something. The exhilarating way the little girl strode about, doing what she wanted, how she wanted. Vifel had been pained by Fatima's circumstances. The princess who had given up on everything and smiled so fleetingly was unbearably pitiful to him. That was why, on that day when he had been struggling to get the honeybees back as a small comfort, the little girl had so easily brought a smile back to Fatima-sama's face. Something Vifel had been unable to achieve, no matter how hard he tried, she had done it so simply.

Since then, Fatima-sama had become remarkably cheerful. She had started going out, and recently, she would talk to Vifel enthusiastically about her little sister.

'Hiro is amazing, you know. She can do anything!'

'A little sister is so cute, isn't she? You have a sister too, don't you? I never knew how fun it was to worry about them.'

Vifel felt a sense of bliss as Fatima spoke with a beaming smile. At least to Vifel, the count's daughter was his master's savior. And Count George had done nothing wrong. There was no reason for him to be criticized. It was because the vulgar nobles had nothing to attack him on that they mocked and cursed his commoner origins.

How utterly vile.

Because he was a decent person, they attacked him for something he could do nothing about.

"Why can you only see the surface? Count George is an outstanding chef, indispensable to the royal palace. His wife is a princess of Kilfan. Surely you are not unaware, Father, of the immense support our country receives from the current Kilfan!"

As the king had feared before, the current Frontier was technologically dependent on Kilfan. To belittle Count George was tantamount to picking a fight with Kilfan, who revered Sakura as the head of their main house. The duke was more familiar with such political considerations than Vifel. However, it was also a characteristic of the old nobility to feel that it was unjust and to harbor unnecessary jealousy. Precisely because they held power, they could not allow others to excel. It was unforgivable. Although the duke was suited for domestic affairs, he also knew the importance of such diplomacy. But it was precisely because he knew that his unresolvable dissatisfaction had festered within his household.

Little did he know that small ears were picking it up.

"Then what am I to do! Miranda is weeping, you know? Though she is without sin!"

"Then what sin has Count George committed?"

At this, the duke was at a loss for words.

He wanted to say that it was a sin for a commoner to call himself a noble, but those words would also reflect on His Majesty the King, who had granted the title. That was why he had only spoken of such things within his household and with close nobles. He had never thought that Aristea would say such things outside.

Looking down at the silent, downcast duke, Vifel let out an exaggerated sigh.

"First, we must apologize. For we have unintentionally caused them displeasure. And, this is my own speculation, but I believe the only ones who are truly enraged are the royal family. I imagine the count's family themselves think nothing of it."

Vifel, who had been observing the little girl and those around her, understood them correctly.

She was, fundamentally, someone who couldn't care less about things that didn't concern her. In fact, her attitude was more like, 'So? And?,' as she would cut you off completely. She would flee from troublesome things like a rabbit. Therefore, it was unlikely that the count's family would say anything. It was the royal family who had lodged the protest. In other words, it was the royal family who was angry.

However, Dakken's shout interrupted his calm analysis.

"You, you would have Father bow his head! That our great ducal house should kneel before an upstart count's family?!"

Glancing at his hysterically shrieking older brother, Vifel murmured in a low, piercing voice.

"If you do not, Miranda may well follow the same path as you, brother."

Hah! The duke's head shot up.

The fact that his eldest son had incurred the royal family's displeasure and been exiled from the palace sent a cold shiver down the duke's spine.

"In reality, it was your words, Father, that put Miranda in this predicament. Therefore, the responsibility lies with you. What will you do?"

Swallowing hard at his son's sharp gaze, the duke hastily sent a messenger to the George residence.

"I am truly sorry for this matter!"

As soon as he arrived, Duke Cartiña bowed his head to the table from his seat on the sofa in the drawing room. Unsure what he was talking about, the count and his daughter sitting across from him glanced at Vifel, who was seated next to the duke, as if asking for an explanation.

Just as I thought.

From the two's completely bewildered gazes, Vifel gathered that the count's family had nothing to do with the protest.

"A short while ago, my youngest daughter, Aristea, insulted you by calling you a commoner, did she not?"

"Aristea-sama's? Yes, something like that did happen."

Vifel narrowed his eyes at Little One, who answered in her young lady mode.

"A protest came from the royal family regarding that matter. That is why I have come to apologize. I am truly sorry."

Vifel also bowed his head.

But Little One looked perplexed.

"I had completely forgotten about it. A protest over something like that? I had no idea."

"I didn't know either. It's true that I'm a commoner, and it's not something to be ashamed of."

The two of them declared this with nonchalant expressions.

The duke stared at the father and daughter before him with a look of disbelief.

Not something to be ashamed of. That is true.

The duke was by no means a fool. It was just that the Prince Regent's intentions were strongly reflected in the royal palace, and he felt that he, the prime minister, was being slighted. Furthermore, he held a grudge over the fact that his eldest son had done something foolish and been exiled.

Yes, a grudge. It was he who should be ashamed.

Understanding and being confronted with this belated reality, the duke cursed his own narrow-mindedness from the bottom of his heart.

Beside him, Vifel began to broach the main topic.

"It seems my family has incurred the displeasure of the royal family over this incident. Miranda, who is receiving her education at the royal palace as the future crown princess, is apparently in a difficult position. Although it is our own fault, Miranda is without sin. We will apologize in any way. Would you please intercede with the Crown Prince on our behalf?"

"Ueh?"

At the unexpected request, the cat that Little One had been carrying on her back fled with a pya. She reverted to her usual little girl self, and a smile formed in Vifel's eyes as an arc.

Little One heard the details of the story.

The next day, it goes without saying that she stormed into the royal palace and gave Wilfe a thorough scolding.

"She is a precious person who is coming to be your bride! If you treat her with disrespect, I won't forgive you! Girls are something to be cherished! You should be grateful just to have them by your side!"

Little One was always on the girls' side. A young girl, just by being there, was a treasure. A priceless treasure. A fountain of life, of peace and healing. To say anything against that was outrageous!

The little girl's unforgiving gaze glared up at him menacingly. Given the circumstances, the scales of her heart would not tip in Wilfe's favor. An enemy of girls was an enemy of Little One.

"No! I would never treat her with disrespect! Yes! I will treasure her!"

Those around them watched with lukewarm eyes as Little One glared at the flustered Wilfe and lectured him sternly.

And then, a sudden sense of deja vu.

Ah, she's like the Prince Regent.

Dry smiles involuntarily appeared on the faces of the people.

Oblivious to the idle thoughts floating in the minds of those around her, that day, Wilfe visited Miranda in the inner palace.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince! Welcome."

Miranda's earnest figure, welcoming him with tears in her eyes, overcome with joy. She must have been heartbroken that Wilfe had not visited her for some time.

Feeling a sense of guilt only now, Wilfe awkwardly averted his gaze.

"Well... that is. The flowers in the garden were beautiful... so I thought I would show them to you."

With that, Wilfe offered a single flower to Miranda. Miranda showed a moment of confusion, but she accepted it meekly and smiled faintly.

"Thank you."

Pleased by her bashful expression, Wilfe asked about Aristea.

"My sister is the youngest, with a large age gap, and was spoiled... It seems she said something rude."

"I see. Well, she is a child. It seems she gets along well with Chihiro. You should invite her to a tea party sometime."

If I do that, maybe I can invite Chihiro to the palace too.

Hiding his crude ulterior motives, Wilfe was in a good mood. Glancing at him, Miranda cast her eyelashes down melancholically.

The flower she was given was a white geranium. Its meaning in the language of flowers is 'I do not believe in your love.'

It is another story that the hopelessly tactless Wilfe would cause a stir in his future with Miranda after this.

And so, Little One's spring came to an end, and as the early summer sun grew stronger and stronger, the Noble Academy's long vacation drew near.

In the midst of all this, it was already a given that something would happen to the busy Little One.