This was a big day!

Alright!

Yes, I am finally going out of this place and touring around the all unknown city. Last night there was a bit of a challenge, but I managed, as you can notice from my excitement.

So during dinner, father brought the topic of the feast for the knights. And for goodness sake, he wanted me to be the host. Like, come on, no way! I ain’t doing that. Of course I reminded him that I would be going out into the city the next day.

However, he went and said I can postpone it. Obviously I refused. I waited three days for this, there was absolutely no way I was about to delay it again. What if it was to be delayed again? And again? And again?

But of course Father just had to insist and even promised to let me go out the day after the feast. After hearing that, I pleaded Brother for help, but he just shrugged. It was vexing. It would seem that Estevan was in favor of it.

Seeing that my Brother was no help, I asked help from Mother. But, she also agreed with the others. I was being pushed into a corner. But I did not falter. I gave a reason.

I said to them that I was a lady, a girl. The knights were mostly men, so I said that it wouldn’t be appropriate for a lady to attend such a party. But they rebutted that there were also female knights that were to surely attend.

Yes, there were indeed a few female knights. But I didn’t back down yet. I added that I was Princess, a royalty. If I were in their presence, they wouldn’t be able to let loose since they had to act appropriately in front of the princess. So, I recommended that I should have no presence in their parties so they can enjoy the event to their heart’s content.

It was certain that their actions would be restrained and reserved, and they wouldn’t fully enjoy the feast if I was there. Father contemplated at first then later concurred. What a great relief that was.

If everything went down otherwise, the wait would cause me agony. Okay maybe that was an exaggeration since I am a patient girl… Anyways! Now that was out of the way, it was a cause to be happy about.

In contrast, about me learning some magic. Well, I decided to leave it to my Brother. However, before dinner, he said that we shouldn’t bring out such a topic yet. His reason was that Father had just arrived from a battle with monsters. So it was best to ask Father when he had already rested and was in a brightfully good mood.

I sort of agreed. People find it hard to refuse about something when they were in a good mood, with nothing to worry and be agitated about. When stressed, well, some would just reject something outright without giving it much thought.

In any case, I can wait on that part. I was going out of the palace for the time being anyways, so I am to focus on my freedom. I can worry about learning magic after that.

Which brought us at this very moment.

I wore a light dress which the skirt reached right below the knees. Not too long so I should be able to move around more freely compared to some dresses a princess like me should wear most of the time. Furthermore, I was wearing a pair of brown boots, which was finely made, I should say, it was definitely expensive.

“Please tie my hair properly, Mera. So that they won’t tangle around when I wear my cloak and cover my head.”

I spoke to my new assigned personal maid. During dinner, I asked my parents to have Mera become my personal attendant, and I was met with no resistance. Cool. Mera was informed quickly about it, and the morning I woke up, she was there to greet me.

How nice. She was smiling brightly, so brightly that it baffled me for a moment. I suppose she was just happy to be the personal maid of the Princess. I was glad to have her back of course, she was much more entertaining to tease and to have company.

“Understood, milady.”

Her flowery voice reached my delicate ears as I gracefully sat down on the chair. I should say, my gracefulness has improved a lot compared to my time in the organization. Maybe it was because I was being a real princess. Oh well…

“Ah, don’t tie it into a bun.”

“A bun? You don’t like your hair tied that way, milady?”

“Indeed. I like my hair being flourished… Something along those lines.”

In my previous life, I was not quite fond of tying my hair into a bun, even though it keeps my hair from obstructing my view. Thus, I always tie it into a ponytail if I needed to. I like my hair to wave freely.

Especially now that I have hair as precious as gemstones, yet more polished than any jewels. I don’t want it to be tied like a bun. Not at all!

“I see. Then as you wish.”

She then went to work on my hair. She enthusiastically styled my hair into a braid. Well, this was nice.

The room was silent. I decided to have a little chat for the moment.

“Mera, me requesting for you to be my personal maid was sudden, so I suppose you were surprised.”

“...... Yes, I was surprised when I was told last night… I didn’t believe it at first. After all, you never had someone become your personal attendant.”

Well, yes, Estelia was like that. She never had requested someone to be her personal attendant. Estelia was after all satisfied by how things work.

“... I suppose. But I was not expecting for you to make up your mind so fast.”

The servants had the capability to accept or refuse such a request. This place had no tyrannical superiors that would forcefully assign a servant to be a personal attendant.

I turned my head slightly to look at her from the corner of my eyes.

“I expected you would make your decision after a few days.”

She paused as she greeted my eyes.

“...... I did give it a lot of thought,” she flashed me a bright smile. “But, I was happy to hear the request. So I immediately agreed…”

“You were happy?”

I couldn’t comprehend her. Why would someone be happy serving someone? It was no different to being chained to a boulder. Movements restrained, reaches limited, never to escape. And following someone’s bidding.

What joy is to be found in such things?

“Yes. Serving you, milady, brings me joy. Standing by your side, following you, aiding you, I am happy.”

Such people were hard to understand. As it was pointless to think hard about it, I didn’t ponder about it for long and gave a short remark.

“Is that so? I appreciate it, Mera… And, I am glad you accepted my request.”

I turned my head and faced forward, urging for her to continue styling my hair. There was a moment of pause from Mera before I heard her faint voice.

“Thank you, princess.”

Somehow her voice sounded sincere. But I didn’t think much of it.