A faint clink resounded from my porcelain plate as I used a table knife to slice a part of juicy meat. I pierced my fork through it and put the meat in my mouth. The juicy meat clouded my tongue.

It was good.

I also scooped some vegetables, it was also good. The food was surprisingly well seasoned. I guess that was to be expected in the palace where royals live. I thought food from the middle ages was bleak, but I guess the same thing doesn’t apply here.

I’m just thankful that the food here was delicious. Otherwise I would go insane. Part of a good life was eating delicious cuisines, after all. 

The room I was currently in was quite luxurious. This dining room was clean, the utensils were fine, the plates were shining, and the cloth covering the table was fixed and designed well. Bright giant chandeliers hung high on the ceiling.

Maids and manservants were positioned at the corners. I felt like some kind of a bigshot now. I like it.

Mother was sitting beside me, my brother Estevan on my opposite side, and my father on the honorable seat. They saw my smile as I ate the food, and it also influenced their mood. I was genuinely happy to eat good food. Well, the food from my past life was great, but here, it was good enough for me. I was not one to complain.

“That’s right, dear,” my mother called out to father. “How is the situation outside the walls?”

My father drank a bit of wine from his goblet before speaking. “I assigned more soldiers to watch over the forest by the north. A few monsters emerged recently and caused some casualties.”

“Oh dear.”

My leisure movement stopped when I heard the word monster. I wondered if they truly meant monster as in a monster that looks horrid. Estelia never saw one of course, only heard it. But judging from that, they were very dangerous. Well, good thing I won’t be facing those creatures, whatever they were.

 “Don’t worry, I’m sending knights tomorrow to cull some monsters.”

“Will you be coming with them?” Mother asked with concern.

“Yes.”

“But dear! As king, you’re risking your life too much.”

“A king must lead, my love.”

Father spoke sternly and unwavering. He was quite brave, wasn’t he? But if he perishes, that would be troublesome for me. I heard he was very strong, according to the memories, that is. Plus, he had been doing it for years, so it should be fine. I hope.

But still, Mother couldn’t help but feel worried for her husband. 

“The knights will be more than enough to handle them.”

“Meliya… do not worry too much, I’ll be stronger than those monsters. I can take care of them myself.”

I don’t know about that, Father. Complacency and carelessness kill. And sometimes, things just go wrong.

But hey, who was I to stop him? Mother even couldn’t. I could try, though, but I’m not going to. It would be very difficult. But, well, he had been doing it for a long time, so, I think it was fine. Again, I hope.

But if he perishes, well, nothing I can do. Just have the eldest brother have the throne then. There may come some problems, but I expect it wouldn’t be that hard to fix. And I wouldn’t be the one fixing most of it, soooo….

Ah, the kingdom’s decline should be taken into consideration. But whatever, we’ll cross that bridge when it comes. I have confidence he’ll come back anyways.

Mother heaved a long sigh. “I don’t know what to do with you. Estevan, tell the Knights’ Order to ensure the king’s safety above all else.”

“Of course, mother.”

Hm, I wonder if my brother will come with them this time. If he would, I would be greatly troubled. He could prove to be extremely useful, after all. If Father dies, and then the eldest dies since he was currently out of the country, then Estevan will inherit the throne. But if he dies too… shit.

Becoming queen was cool and all but… I have no idea about anything like that.

I groaned inside. Best to be optimistic.

“B-Brother,” I called out to him with eyes full of fear and worry. “Are you coming with them?”

Estevan’s mouth was agape when he received my question. “Could it be……. is my dear sister worried about me?!”

“W-Why wouldn’t I be? I’m always worried about you, you know… And of course to the rest of our family.”

“Of course.” He smiled. “It always surprises me when you directly tell me that you are worried about my wellbeing. And it’s just wonderful, as always.” He sat back down. “Worry not, my dear sister. I am not coming along. Can’t have two royals in danger.”

“That’s… that is a relief…”

“Daughter… What about daddy? Aren’t you worried about me…?”

I turned to look at my father, whose eyes were pleading for my worry. “Of course I am worried, Father. But even if I express it… you wouldn’t change your mind.”

“B-But, I would like to at least hear it.”

“Only if you change your decision, I think I might have.”

“Noooooo.” He hung his head as though his spirit had left him. To be honest, he looked pitiful right now. So, I decided to be a bit kinder.

“But don’t worry, Father. I will pray for your safe return. You will never leave my mind.”

His head jolted up as he stared at me with a wide smile.

“Really?”

“Really.”

“In that case, I will come back as fast as I can!”

“Thank you, father.”

Mother nodded several times beside me as I returned to my meal. This was a bizarre experience for me. This was the first time dining with a family. But it wasn’t all that bad. So far, it was entertaining.

“By the way, any news from Eleden?” Father asked.

Eleden Venzura Wisteria, he was my eldest brother.

“For a while now, nothing yet,” Estevan answered.

“I see… I hope the endeavor of establishing a friendly and cooperative relationship with the Kingdom of Myra is going well.”

“I imagine it is going flawlessly. We don’t have any feud with them,”

Myra Kingdom. I heard it was a kingdom somewhere in the northeast. It has been four weeks since Eleden left, so it had been a while. 

Next they talked about a few trivial things to each other until the topic came back to me when my brother mentioned I went to the knights’ training grounds.

Father looked at me in surprise. “Why did you think of doing that?”

“... Well, I was only curious. And… I barely even met or saw those who serve to protect us and the kingdom, so I decided to see them.” I smiled brightly as I answered.

“Did… Did someone look weirdly at you?”

Father narrowed his eyes and wrinkled his brows, waiting for an answer. He looked a bit strict right there. And I knew what he meant by weird… but I’m going to act like I had no idea. Like a clueless girl that I should be.

“Why? What do you mean by weirdly? I mean… they are our knights, so I don’t think there was anything weird the way they looked at me…” I tilted my head with bafflement evident in my facial expression.

“Um. Yes, they are our soldiers… Forget I asked.”

Father looked away, seemingly still bothered. Estevan had an amused smile on his face as he watched him.

“Ah, that’s right, Estel also tried to hold a sword.”

“What?”

“Really? Why?”

Mother and Father were surprised, both stared at me. Um, I felt like I was going to receive a scolding here.

Brother, you’re not helping.

“She said she was curious. Of course, she couldn’t lift it properly.” He chuckled. “To be honest, she looked adorable.”

“B-Brother!” I blushed as I puffed my cheeks.

“Sorry, sorry.”

Even though he said that, chuckles still escaped his lips. I wasn’t bashful about this in contrast to my expression. I was only a bit bothered by it. It was unnecessary to tell Father Leodoule what happened. Now I was worried that he would prohibit me from holding a weapon again.

“Good thing there wasn’t any accident.”

“... Um, yes.”

“Hm, from the things that happened earlier, was your request had something to do with that?” Father asked.

Good, he brought it up. Well, he must be precisely thinking that my request had to do with weapons or perhaps swords. Funnily enough, it was about obtaining a weapon. But of course I’m not going to mention that. From my experience today, and the memories, they wouldn’t let me have a weapon, so I would just request something that had nothing to do with it and still get precious daggers.

“N-No, it has nothing to do with that.”

“I see. Then, what is your request, my daughter?”

I hesitated as I looked at their eyes full of anticipation.

“I… I request that you let me out of the palace walls.”

My words were met with silence. I was genuinely confused. I mean, I’m sixteen, for crying out loud. I’m old enough to at least go around on my own. Well, I suppose I couldn’t casually walk around since I’m royalty. But still, having a guard would suffice.

“It’s… It’s dangerous for you, dear,” my mother said. “Not all people are kind out there.”

I know what they were trying to say. My intense beauty that would charm all men was the problem. It would only bring danger. I might even get kidnapped.

“And you’re a royal, and a princess,” Father added.

I expected I would face opposition, so I already thought up some propositions.

“If it helps, then have my brother Estevan guard me.”

“Me…?”

He looked confused, but for some reason a smile crept on his face. However, my father still seemed hesitant, so I continued.

“And I will be hiding my identity. So me going around the city will be a secret.”

“... That could work.”

Yes, it will work! Now I just need a little push. Pure and innocent princess time!

My pleading eyes aimed at Father, my hand clasped together, I spoke like a proper gentle and naive girl.

“Please, Father, let me. I… I want to see the outside.”

Father looked worriedly at me, then to my Mother, who only sighed as though giving up. He pondered as he went silent for a moment.

“Fine.”

I could feel my smile creeping up as I heard those words.

“However…”

However…?

“It can’t be tomorrow, you have tutor lessons tomorrow, then the next day, then the day after that.”

Huh?!

I recalled the contents of Estelia’s memories. And my heart sank. That’s right, ever since she turned sixteen, both parents had tutors teach her things again. I said again because this had already happened when she was around nine years old.

So in other words, the lessons will be some sort of refreshers and a level up. These sessions happen three days a week.

Dammit, and it has to be the next three days?

Still, I couldn’t escape this. I have no choice. These learning sessions might prove entertaining, I hope.

“I understand, father. Then, after three days, is the only time I can go on with my request?”

“That’s right.”

Good!

I hope nothing goes wrong.

Shortly after, we finished our dinner. I was about to leave the room when my brother walked up beside me.

“Allow me to take you to your room.”

I have no reason to refuse, so I agreed. As we were about to climb up the stairs, he begged me to be careful and offered his hand. Everyone here looked like they were utterly traumatized by what happened to me.

Look what you've done, Mr. Stairs.

Since it was night, the halls were silent. Barely any servants were around.

When we reached the door of my room, Estevan called out to me.

“Estel.”

When I looked at him, there was the lack of his usual smile.

“You seemed to be doing perfectly fine. That’s great.”

I tilted my head in puzzlement as to why he was talking about this. But he continued on, and now with his usual bright smile.

“Don’t worry.” He reached out for my hands and squeezed them. “I will protect you when we go out in the city. I won’t let any harm come to you.”

He was looking passionately at me with his beautiful eyes. I sense deep sincerity from him.

“Yes, thank you…”

He softly stroked my cheek, which surprised me a bit. He moved closer.

No, we can't, we're siblings…. I’m your sister...

I jokingly thought. I wasn’t flustered or anything, I felt nothing inside. However, what happened next was beyond my expectations.

“I was really scared.”

He hugged me tight, with both arms wrapped around me. My eyes widened, my body turned loose. His embrace was comfortable. I felt… safe.

How many times has this happened just today alone? This warmth I always feel from them.

“If something had happened to you, I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself.”

I had nothing to say.

Was this always what normal people felt? Was this how Estelia always felt? From the bottom of my heart, there was a faint sense of envy.

What a wonderful life you led, Estelia.

Yes, it truly was. I felt myself resigning to these feelings.

But… But… But…

This feeling was still foreign to me. All my life, I never felt anything special. It was not because I wanted to, but because I couldn’t. My life differed completely from the norm. And this sudden change, I find difficult to accept and adapt to.

Not only that, I was also wary of these… feelings.

But…

I bit my lip. I couldn’t bring myself to hug him back. I couldn’t. I can’t understand myself.

I forced myself to speak. “Brother… Sorry I scared you. Don’t worry, no harm will come to me.”

Harm will definitely come eventually. It always comes. And in any form. I only said it to ease him up.

He slowly moved back as he removed his arms from me. “... Okay… But still be careful.”

“Of course, brother. I don’t like getting hurt.”

“Alright. You know, I feel like you changed a bit.”

I became alarmed.

Did I mess up?

“But that change I felt today wasn’t that bad.” He extended his hand forward and tapped on my forehead twice. “Maybe the bump on the head did something, hahahaha!”

“Brother!”

He was laughing loud, tears damp the corner of his eyes.

“Sorry, sorry. Anyways, have a goodnight, dear sister.”

He waved his hand as he walked away.

I touched the doorknob, but before turning it, I heaved a long sigh.