POV: Lulu
I had always been unwanted even since I was a young child.
My mother worked as a maid in the castle, so since childhood, my aunt took care of me. She lived in the castle town.
I don’t know who my father was.
When I was younger, I heard something about my father, but I have long forgotten it.
“You’re really ugly. Go draw water, so I don’t have to look at that face.” My aunt had a severe dislike for my looks, and I was often told to work outside the house.
My aunt and her husband had two boys and one girl who were the same age as me.
Their names are: Jido, Bado, and Kuku.
Jido disturbed me by kicking me just as I was about to pull the water out of the well. Bado tripped me while I was carrying the bucket. Normally I was fairly cautious around them, but I didn’t see them today--it was a failure on my part.
Since the water splashed onto the soil, just before I fell, I had become covered in mud.
“Yay, muddy Lulu.”
“Hehe, mud make-up looks better than your normal face, y’know.”
I wept, but mainly because I couldn’t deny their claims, instead of getting bullied and muddied. It was a fact that people were gentler to me when I was covered with mud and my soaked hair covered my face.
When I was washing my body near the well, Kuku arrived. She was with her usual, sarcastic, friends.
The girls didn’t use violence like Jido and Bado, but their words hurt me all the same.
Looking back at it now, I wonder how Arisa would have retaliated?
If it was Tama, she would probably throw mud balls at the girls, so they would look like I did.
This was how it was during a lot of my childhood.
***
When I was 9 years old, my mother took me to the castle with her. I was to be the Princess’s playmate. It seemed that the fourth queen’s daughter was a sickly child.
Moreover, she was really hard to please. Noble daughters couldn’t keep her company for more than three days--so they turned to me.
Normally, for a commoner like me to meet a Princess, I would have to take a year of etiquette lessons, but they gave up after 2 - 3 days. The lesson was majorly abbreviated.
“It’s Lili’s daughter this time? Jeez, I’ve said that I don’t need playmates, many times. If they insist, then bring me a scholar, or a bureaucrat instead.” From the other side of the door, I heard a child’s voice, but her words sounded both proud and tired.
When I met the Princess for the first time, I saw a beautiful girl with mysterious violet hair and irises. Furthermore, her eyes were really calm, seeming strangely mature.
Pushed by my mother, I awkwardly introduced myself. The Princess glanced at me, before briskly walking towards me and pushing up my bangs.
I always covered my ugly face with bangs, so that it wouldn’t be seen.
Subtly tensing, I prepared myself for the abuse that the Princess would throw at me.
But the abuse was different from what I expected.
“Sheesh, such a beautiful face…”
“Arisa, even though this girl can’t be said to have superior looks, she a good girl, and calm for her age. Please don’t hate her.”
Arisa tilted her head to the side after she heard my mother’s words and murmured, “inferior looks?”
That’s the kindness of a mother--she couldn’t really say that her own daughter was ugly.
“What are you saying, Lili? If you tell me that this girl’s face is inferior, that’d mean that this country doesn’t have any beauties, you know?”
At that time, I had thought that Arisa’s words were joking, or sarcasm, but she later told me that she was serious.
Thus, I became the Princess’s playmate.
***
The Princess that I served was a slightly strange person.
She ordered the servants to cultivate a field in the castle’s garden, and she also spent a lot of time in the library and treasure vault--reading many difficult books.
Even though she made her unusual clothes for herself, she couldn’t do embroidery or knitting, she had many imbalances like that. Moreover, she wasn’t good at dancing or reciting poems.
“Did you see the new playmate of the taboo Princess?”
“I saw, I saw. What’s with that ugly girl?”
“Hey! They’ll scold you if you say that.”
I heard such backbiting from the maids’ room.
It seemed that Arisa was called the ‘Taboo Princess’ because her violet hair and eyes were considered a bad omen.
I didn’t tell anyone what I had heard, but the women were gone the next day.
The Princess said, “hahaha, it’s impossible for malicious gossip to avoid my sharp ears.”
It seemed that there was a Magic Tool that could be used to hear sounds that were far away, it was called a Voice Pipe.
I think it was the day following, Arisa told me a children’s story called ‘The Ugly Duckling’. Princess Arisa told me many stories, but I liked this story the most. I wasn’t naive enough to think that in reality I would become like the swan--but I thought I was allowed to dream a little.
***
Hectic days continued after that.
What surprised me the most was the fact that I was Arisa’s younger sister, from a different mother. It seems that she had heard it using the Magic Tool, the Voice Pipe, from other maids talking. It should have been a secret, but she managed to quickly find it out.
“With this, I currently have 12 siblings. There are probably more if I were to look in the castle town. I’d probably do the same thing as my father, in such a country without entertainment.” Arisa spoke with a grin.
At the time, I had no idea what that comment meant.
We became sisters, no, the best of friends, from that day forth.
***
Arisa wanted to do an agricultural reform to make this country more prosperous.
However, I was worried.
The minister’s son, who was supporting Arisa’s agricultural reform. But from what I heard from the maids’ gossip, it seemed like he wasn’t a decent Human being.
“It’s fine, men aren’t trustworthy in the first place, but that kind of profit-seeker is surprisingly usable. Above all, this country only sees women as tools for giving birth. If I don’t have a puppet like that, then I won’t be able to meddle in politics.”
However, after this day, the cogs of our plan began to go out of order, little by little.
The mountain died, Monsters came out of the fertilizer, and the harvests from the fields sharply decreased. But, personally was more worried about Arisa, than the country. Even though she was originally called ‘The Wise Princess of Salvation’, it was changing, she began to be called the ‘Country Destroying Witch’, or ‘Mad Princess’.
Then the King finally confined her inside one of the castle’s spires. It seemed that our country had been occupied by another, although I didn’t know the details, since I was only looking after Arisa--while being confined with her.
The King, and the rest of the Royal family were executed, and we became slaves.
Arisa began to look like a doll, with her lifeless eyes and lethargic condition--she’s not like the usual perky Arisa, but she was only fourteen at the time.
However, the strength in her eyes came back after a year, when we were moved from the prison to the Royal Villa. One evening, with a full moon, the Royal Capital was burned down.
The two of us ran away to the mountains--we were surviving while being frightened by the sound of wolves, endured starvation by eating nuts and berries, and drank water that we used leaves to collect.
When we finally ran out of strength, laying on the highway among the mountains, we got caught by a passing slave trader. If we hadn’t been taken at that time, we would probably either die from starvation or finally fall victim to the fangs of wolves.
***
“Hehehe.”
I suddenly heard a strange giggle from Arisa.
Aah!
It seems that even the stout-hearted Arisa had finally reached her limit.
Even though I’m clumsy, and a good-for-nothing, a sister is still a sister.
I don’t know what kind of person our Master would be like, but I will protect Arisa until the end.
Even though I had such grim determination--
That Arisa, she was just laughing after finding her favourite type of young man.
Jeez, that Arisa!
It was several days later that the young man became our master.
***
It was the first night after we had been purchased.
Arisa snuck into the master’s bed, and tried to seduce him.
I pretended to be asleep, but I watched in fascination at what was happening with Master and Arisa. We had ‘trained’ for when we got married, which was Arisa’s idea. But this was so much more intense than I had ever imagined.
Arisa looked happy, then she told Master her story and became sad.
Master saw that Arisa was sad, and cheered her up by ‘punishing’ her until she couldn’t move…laying with a goofy grin on the bed.
He’s a nice person.
***
Today, I talked about Arisa a lot, talking with master.
I noticed that I was talking too much part way through, but I couldn’t restrain myself because I didn’t feel tense around him, like I did with other men.
But, master listened to me without showing an unpleasant expression even once.
Furthermore!
Furthermore!
He didn’t look disgusted when he saw my face.
It might be the first time that this had happened, beside with Arisa.
It might only be my misunderstanding, but I felt that he looked at me with affection--and something else I had never seen from anyone else, and never expected to…He looked at me with lust in his eyes. Even if it was a misunderstanding, it’s fine.
Since the only one who could cook, was Liza, I offered to help her.
I also had things that I could do. I would work hard, so as to become something that was needed--not only being a freebie that came alongside Arisa.
Ehehehe.
Master praised me with, “The tea that is made by Lulu is delicious.”
This might possible be the first time that anyone has praised me.
***
It was exposed to Arisa.
I wonder how she knew that I was attracted to master--it’s mysterious.
But, Master is very popular.
Not only Arisa and I were attracted to Master, but so was Liza, Tama, and Pochi.
Furthermore, this time, even an Elven Princess!
“I-I will also work hard to gain your favour.” I said to him.
Then!
Then!
He said I was cute!
Just now, he said that I was cute right!?
Ah, I can now die happily.
To think that the day I got called that so naturally would come, it was such an absurd though, it never had happened even in my dreams or fantasies--
***
Then came the night at the inn with Arisa and Liza…I got to put into practice what Arisa did on the first night, and she even taught me something new that obviously pleased master.
I’m still happy whenever I think of that night.
I felt Master’s touch for the first time, it was so good.
I-I love master!
I will put all my effort into improving my cooking, and brewing tea! Then not only might he praise me, he might even say ‘Lulu, you’re cute.’ once again!
It may be too ambitious, but I will absolutely make sure that it comes true.
