Chapter 6 - I - The legend of the iron princess, as told by Kuro the wolf
The Holy Congress continued as planned.
“…”
Lily’s disappearance caused a stir to everyone in the Holy Palatial Gardens. The maids were shocked to find that their reliable ‘big sister’ was gone, and even the paladins were unsettled by that fact. It’s not a secret that Lily’s reputation and attitude towards the Paladin Corps were the key factor in the harmonious relationships of the Saint’s loyal servants.
Not only Grandma Franceska, now it’s Lily. I just hope that Maddie is tough to take this all in…
“…”
However, no matter how hard the Saint tried to put up a strong front to other people, I could tell that she’s worried sick about her friend. It’s not rocket science to see that she’s utterly shaken by the head maid’s disappearance, having relied on her for such a long time. And of course, I couldn’t replace her. I mean, Lily’s shoes were way too big for someone like me to fill in.
“…”
In the ‘days’ that followed, Her Holiness had asked her envoys from the other countries to report in on Lily’s whereabouts. She also tasked the Marquise of Monfort and her Paladin Corps to search for the head maid. All of their efforts had yet to yield excellent results.
“…”
In the meantime, I tasked myself with taking care of Maddie, with the help of the other maids. I knew I won’t be able to replace the head maid, but I guess I had to suffice for now. I’m the one responsible for this fiasco, anyway.
There had been a significant improvement in Maddie’s behavior after that fight with Lily. She would wake up on her own, do her usual routine on her own, come to the congress venue earlier than others on her own, and would impart her decisions with resolute determination…on her own.
You can say that she changed drastically ever since that happened.
“…”
I guess she has no other option but to step up her game, finally.
Yep, it’s been a while since the fight between Maddie and Lily, and the latter’s disappearance.
Maddie was utterly devastated, and Sir Simon offered to help her find her friend. However, she declined the aid of the kings and other leaders to search for Lily, insisting that she’s the one who drove her friend out, so she’d take responsibility for it.
“…”
Honestly, though, I couldn’t keep on watching those two ended their friendship that way. And if you looked at the circumstances, I also had a part in this disaster…
If only I wasn’t summoned…
“!!!”
A book suddenly flew in my direction and almost hit my head. I was surprised by that since we’re at the Holy Congress’ venue, not in the library. But what happened was real.
My eyes fell on Maddie right away.
“…”
And yes, she’s looking in my direction, with a sharp glare in her eyes. Don’t blame yourself, was what she’s trying to get across to me.
Haa…so there we had it. I guess I needed to reconcile those two, at least, as payment for what I’ve done. The problem was, how?
“You know what? The moment I took my eyes off you guys, these happen.”
“!!!”
I was surprised to see Her Fluffy Holiness, Ruro of the Wolf, sitting on the empty chair beside me, “What’s up, Master?” she asked, smiling radiantly. You see, after we left the Rubinforth estate, Her Fluffy Holiness suddenly told us she’d be going somewhere she didn’t specify. After saying her goodbyes to Maddie, she left in a hurry; but the things that she bought back in Fen were left with us, so we knew she’d come back.
“Where have you been, Your Fluffy Holiness?”
“Hmm…just to and from around the world, checking on some things that need attention.” she replied, “Anyway, I just heard from Maddie that her maid suddenly disappeared after a fight. What the heck happened, Master?”
“Just…some things…”
“Alright, I get it!” Her Fluffy Holiness smiled mischievously, “They fought over you.”
Ack! I forgot she could read minds as well!
“Come on, isn’t it what all the guys want? Girls fighting over them, and they get to choose whom they think serves their interest best, or they’d prefer to hold both.” I could feel the sarcasm, mixed with silent anger, in Her Fluffy Holiness’ words, “Ahh…boys are boys, no matter what race they come from.”
“Nah, don’t compare me to the normies. They only act following their balls’ will and then question later.” I defended myself, “At least, I didn’t intend for that to happen. I even thought that Lily was angry at me because I took her friend away from her.”
“Well you’re telling the truth.” Ruro shrugged, “However, I’m quite amazed that you didn’t think of the Nerfes princess that way. I mean, you’ve been able to help these guys with your wisdom from before, and yet, you’re an amateur with a maiden’s heart.”
“You overestimate me. I’ve been living alone for the past 25 years of my life. Of course, I don’t have a single idea on how to deal with such problems. Never in my life did I imagine being loved—romantically, just like that. You could say I even gave up on the idea of getting married.”
“Ugh…such a pathetic life.”
“Hey, at least, it’s got benefits…well, in my world’s perspective.”
“Your world is a big weird one.”
“Like you’re one to talk.” I countered, “Ah, anyway, so there you have it. I’m an amateur with love matters; I didn’t have a single girlfriend in all my life!”
“Girl…what?”
“That’s what we call our female lovers back in where I came from. If it’s a male, our term is ‘boyfriend’.”
“Ooh…interesting.” Her Fluffy Holiness clapped her hands as if she understood my explanation, “Anyway, now that you’ve said it, I guess it’s time for your cute wise wolf partner to show her skills!”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t you get it? I’ve been alive ever since the time of that handsome gigolo, Jimmy Nee Rubinforth, and of course, my knowledge in love knows no bounds!”
“Err…I hope it’d be useful, though. You kicked the ass of Maddie’s ancestor when you tried to seduce him, remember?”
“That, and this, are two different things.” Her Fluffy Holiness blushed terribly, embarrassed at that stupid memory.
“Alright, so what does my ‘cute, wise wolf partner’ think I should do to fix the problem of the Human Saint and her maid?”
“Well, talk to the Nerfes princess, of course. But first things first, find her.”
“Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately, my head already thought of that. Anything else?”
“I’m out of ideas. Thank you.”
I felt worried about the worshippers of this saintly pug.
First things first, I tried to have a more fruitful talk with Her Fluffy Holiness.
You see, the Human Saint was busy with attending to the matters of the Holy Congress, or should I say, Maddie’s trying to keep herself occupied so that she won’t be able to remember what happened. For now, it’s fine for her. However, if Maddie continued to overwork herself, I’d intervene again.
Yes, for short, I can’t approach her in the meantime.
And so, as the one who’s alive long enough to be a living encyclopedia, I asked Her Fluffy Holiness about some things that were bugging me concerning the head maid.
“What? You’re focusing on the Nerfes princess when your fiancée is out there and can’t attend to you?” Ruro shook her head in disgust, “Ugh, boys will be boys…”
“Well, if you can just stop spouting nonsense for a while, Your Fluffy Holiness, then I might explain why I’m doing this.”
“It’s a joke.”
“Yes, a joke with a meaning to it.”
“…” Her Fluffy Holiness could not reply. It seemed like I drove the point home.
“Alright, here’s my question. Have you ever been familiar with the name, Nicholas von Leese?”
“The Nerfes princess’ father, yes. Why?”
“Well, I just read a letter addressed to Lily from that guy.”
“And you put effort into knowing that girl’s secrets so you can seduce her. Haaa…boys will be boys…”
I feel my blood boiling, but well, this person in front of me was a saint, so I had to control my temper, “I’m telling you, that’s not it. You see, I’m puzzled why the head maid’s father is telling his daughter to stay away from their lands. Got any leads about it?”
“Hmm…it must be because of the ‘Iron Princess’ thing.”
“Huh? Iron Princess?”
“Yep. You see, Master, before the Nerfes princess became the head maid, she goes by another alias—the ‘Iron Princess of Nerfes’.”
“Ooh…tell me about it.”
“You’re a history nerd, aren’t you, Master?” Her Fluffy Holiness smirked, “Well, alright, I’ll oblige. You see, Princess Lilyhaven Tamriel von Leese is the legendary Nerfes military hero known as the ‘Iron Princess of Nerfes’. She’s reputed to be a powerful warrior, able to wield the great sword of her family with relative ease, and is said to be equal to a thousand men in battle. The Nerfes princess single-handedly led her kingdom’s army to victory in the last war against the Emperor of Chersea.”
“Wow…I didn’t know that Lily had such a background.”
“Indeed. She may look unassuming, but the Nerfes princess isn’t some pushover. You may say that she took after her brother.”
“Arthur Mahan?”,
“Exactly. The brother is a famous Nerfes swordsman and knight, and he taught his little sister well. You could see it this way: the Empire fears the Nerfes prince enough to send people to kill him, but they dread the princess more, so they try to leave her alone…lest their attempts to eliminate her backfires and they earn her anger.”
To be honest, I found it hard to believe that Lily was capable of such feats. However, I knew I shouldn’t judge people based on their outward looks, and well, knowing that this was Chersea, I should always expect the unexpected.
“So, if Lily’s a great asset to Nerfes, why is her father driving her away?”
“Hmm…I know little about the details, but after the Nerfes prince died, the princess’ fortunes changed. You see, she is considered an outsider. The Royal von Leese family of Nerfes had this tradition that they consider twins to be a good omen—that is if the children were of both genders. However, it is a different matter when they’re twins, and it’s of opposite sexes. That’s why, the Nerfes princess was involved in the military—she was always being sent to the front lines hoping she’ll get killed, or maimed.”
I couldn’t find anything to say to that at the moment. Knowing how dedicated and reliable Lily was, it must’ve been her pride and joy to work as a maid under her close friend Maddie. In this place, she must’ve felt that she was needed here, as she knew the feeling of being a spare tire.
“For all I know, the last time that the Nerfes princess went into battle was with Maddie, and against that Bloody Witch of something; I don’t know or remember well. And she was banished after that.” Her Fluffy Holiness added further.
“…”
Wow…I just could not comprehend the injustice done to Lily. I mean, here she was, offering her entire life to the safety of her kingdom, and the best way they repaid her sacrifices was by banishing her. Based on what Her Fluffy Holiness said, maybe the real purpose she was sent to help Maddie was so that she could be killed by that certain witch…
Damn, that’s pretty heavy. What kind of family is that?
Fortunately, Maddie accepted her as a sister. There were many cases of nobles being betrayed by their peers during their most critical time, and after reading Chersea’s history, this world was not an exception.
“…”
So that’s why Lily’s fiercely devoted to Her Holiness! And that would also answer my questions about why she’s so dedicated at her job that she didn’t want me to help her, that she even gets angry if I tried to take the responsibilities from the other maids…
“…”
And uh, that I just appeared out of nowhere and got more influence to Maddie would come as an insult to her, who gave her entire life for her friend’s well-being…
Fuck, what did I just do?
“Don’t think about it too much, Master.” I felt Ruro tap on my shoulder, “What’s been done is done, and we can’t do anything about it. The best course of action is to move forward and make amends.”
Well, Her Fluffy Holiness was right. I shouldn’t wallow in despair for too long; I had to take immediate action.
“You know what? I think I know what I need to do now.” I told Ruro.
“What—” Her Fluffy Holiness’ eyes brightened for a short while, but quickly darkened when she read what I had in mind, “Master, I don’t think you should do that. Maddie needs you now, more than ever.”
“Well, it’s the only way.” I shrugged off her warning, “In the first place, I don’t think I can replace Lily in Maddie’s heart. And getting in between their friendship is the very last thing that I had in my mind.”
“Even so, going away isn’t the answer.”
“Going away? Who said that?”
“I read your mind?”
“Ah yeah, well indeed, I plan to go, but not the way you think…”
“Of course. You plan to search for the Nerfes princess, and when you find her, that’s when you’d decide to leave. Do you think I can’t see much deeper in your thoughts, Master?”
“…”
“If you’re going off, at least bring me along so that you won’t escape.”
“No, that’s unnecessary—”
“Who’s leaving?”
“!!!”
Ugh…I hate where this talk was going…
