'I'm bored!' Miona, who had been walking around the alleys of the royal garden alone today, got some free time from Durea to study the herbs that grew in the greenhouse, right next to the small garden specifically for her to play and hang out with the king and queen. It's been 2 weeks since the arrival of Prince Haruta and the twins from the Hungse Kingdom, the princess is starting to feel like she has a wider social scope than before. Keeping her promise to always communicate with members of the Hungse kingdom, she always received a pumpkin-orange letter with a yellow star decoration as the adhesive for the letter itself.
Letters always contain play activities, snacks, and clothes that the letter writer wants, but sometimes there are golden yellow letters with the official Hungse royal seal sent specifically to Miona. Unlike the orange letter that she always received every 3 times a week, the golden letter that only came once every week always pleased the princess. If Princess Rilliana is a friend to share secrets and material desires, then Prince Reinhard is a friend who always gives advice, opinions and even someone who always gives happiness to his heart in every letter he sends to the princess.
Then what about the prince of Thedric land?
Exactly 2 days after his return, Miona received a plain white paper. The paper size is not too big but not too small, at the top end of the paper there is a neat tear mark. Miona concluded that whomever the writer was would be willing to throw away a piece of notebook paper just to write her a letter. And when she opened the letter, there weren't as many sentences as she had imagined. The letter only reads
'Χάρηκα, που σε γνώρισα, σύντροφε στα όπλα' (I'm glad to meet you, comrade in arms)
And ends with his full name. T. I Haruta.
Miona was annoyed and confused when she was about to read the letter, but fortunately, Ardolph who happened to be passing by happily interpreted and read the meaning of the sentence which was written by the prince in an ancient language. And since then the little princess of the kingdom of Osforia has asked Ardolph, the personal butler of the king and queen to give her additional lessons. Namely language lessons, although the princess did not specify what language she wanted to learn. But Osforia's loyal servant decided to give her a language lesson generally used by the Thedric kingdom and the Hungse kingdom for a while.
Without realizing it, the scene she saw was now different from before. Now she was at the back gate of the Osforia kingdom. Lifting her head, the princess saw how big and towering the royal gate was as compared to her body. When she saw the outside atmosphere from inside the bars of the gate, she could faintly hear the thumping of drums and trumpets as if there was a celebration in the residential area. Blocked by the distance, the princess could only see color knick-knacks moving in the populated areas of the land of Osphoria.
Curious, she bravely tried to get out of the gate by inserting his body between the gaps in the gate. But as a result, only his arm was able to come out and reach the outside world. Not satisfied with the result, Miona lifted her skirt and prepared to climb.
"Woah Woah, princess! What are you doing?! That's dangerous, you will get hurt" quickly one of the guards lifted the princess who had reached halfway from the gate, then put the princess beside him.
The guard by holding both sides of his waist faced Miona and put on a tense face wanting to scold but he also advised the princess of what she was doing. "Miss, if you want to go out you can tell one of the butlers or maids in the palace to accompany the princess on a tour. Besides, how did your lady come to be here?"
Miona pouted and turned her head to the guard, with a disappointed feeling she answered honestly about what she saw and wanted.
Hearing the wishes and pleas of the princess, the cream-haired guard with gray eyes just sighed and then looked to the right and left. Looking around, then crouched at the level of the princess's height and whispered "If you want, I can accompany you now. But of course, I have to ask Ardolph or Durea's permission about this when they find out that the princess is not around the palace, they're not too worried aboout it. How?"
A gleam of happiness shone from the princess's eyes, Miona nodded enthusiastically then took the guard's hand to return to the palace, looking for one of the king's and queen's accomplices to ask for permission.
❃❃❃❃
"Of course you can, as long as the princess returns when lunchtime comes," said Ardolph while cleaning his glasses.
Without waiting any longer, the princess thanked Ardolph and ran to grab the guard's hand.
"W-wait a minute miss, slow down. You'll fall if you run like that" Unable to hold the princess's tug any longer, the guard bowed to Ardolph apologetically then ran after the princess.
Ardolph, who only saw the departure of Princess Osforia with a guard, immediately got an idea to fill the solitude of the princess when all the servants as well as the king and queen were busy with their respective jobs.
He chuckled then wiped the sweat that started to appear on his forehead "Maybe I should do it, rather than the two of them alone and later doing something unexpected."
Then he slowly walked down the hall to where Durea was working, just as he turned from the fork in the hallway he saw Durea dancing while singing a song that seemed to be her hometown song.
Not making a sound or moving from the spot, Ardolph just looked away, holding his head as he sighed. Unbeknownst to him, Irina, who turned out to be in the area, came up to him then asked about the needs of the senior butler in this area.
Not getting an answer from the butler, Irina listened to the hum of the song and the screeching of heels in the room to the left. And she was also treated to the sight of Durea who seemed to be making lunch for the princess, but that wasn't the focal point of the young blonde maidservant but rather the behavior of her seniors that made her suddenly feel embarrassed and didn't want to see her any longer.
And sure enough, along with Irina who was sweating coldly staring at the scene in front of her. Durea seemed to be doing the last scene of an orchestra, turning around gracefully. Lifting her left hand and her right hand holding a wooden cutting board that she often uses, her eyes closed to better absorb the song she was singing and her live performance, not yet had time to open half her eyes widened after knowing that an uninvited guest was standing in front of her room.
"AH! Oh dear". Quickly, Durea tried to remain calm and keep her strict posture 'ahem hem' "Forgive me, what can I do for both of you?" Durea asked, trying to pretend that nothing strange had just happened.
Her classmate calmly shook his head trying to erase the memory of the scene he had just seen "Actually I have a request from you"
"Oh! It's rare coming from you Mr. Ardolph. What request do you want?".
Glancing slightly at Irina, Ardolph smiled strangely at the young maid and said "What about the job I gave you Irina? Have you finish them all?"
Stunned after hearing Ardolph's words, Irina quickly apologized, bowed to Ardolph and Durea then scurried away from the place before she got a scary face from the head butler of the Osforia kingdom because she left before finishing her work. The main purpose she went to Durea's room was to meet the head maid to make the princess's favorite lunch. But it seemed to avoid long lectures from Ardolph was her top priority over her duties.
"Well, why don't we get inside and discuss it?" Durea offered who changed the subject.
"Thank you for the offer" then the two of them entered the room, Ardolph who was sitting on the chair that had been provided inside. Durea was busy making hot tea to serve to her best friend.
"So . . . What request do you want?" asked Durea who returned with a silver aluminum floral tray in which there were two small glasses filled with tea with a mixture of honey instead of sugar.
Before he answered Durea's question, the man who was now almost in his old age drank a little tea then replied "Can you also teach the etiquette of life in the Osforia palace to one more child?"
Durea was a little surprised but it made him interested "May I ask, who is that child?"
"Just an ordinary resident of the land of Osforia" replied Ardolph with a warm smile.
The woman put down her glass then looked at Ardolph "Tell me the reason why I have to teach the child? If they has nothing to do with royalty then why to bother asking me sir?" asked Durea again.
"Simply because I trust you more than any lecturer. Besides, this child is not just a child," said the head butler, while sipping the tea that had been served to him.
Durea just tilted her head without questioning her best friend's intentions.
With a glance at Durea, she looked back at his teacup "Don't worry, they are not strangers to you"
❃❃❃❃
"Wooaaaahh!!! Look! There are many balloons here!" said Miona with great joy.
This wasn't the first time she had gone to see a festival going on in her country, but what made it different was the way she looked at it.
At every festival, she always comes and sits with her parents. This makes her have to be dignified, graceful and should not be rude. The reason was that her people were looking at her with great respect. But it's different now.
Without any restraints, having to be graceful, obeying such and such ethical rules, being able to join the festival like ordinary citizens made her even happier.
Plus, the various features and different booths in every corner make the area more colorful. Do not miss the snacks and various foods that make it even more perfect for the little princess.
"Hey I want to see over there, come on!" without waiting for an answer from the guard who is now only following the direction of the princess's pull, the guard is just trying to follow in his footsteps with the little princess.
"Are you ready to release these cute balloons into the sky? Come on, don't forget to bring your balloons and let your wishes come true!" said a young man who seemed to be the host of this festival.
"Miss do you want to buy it?" asked the guard and he got a nod from the princess, indicating that the answer was yes.
He slowly grabbed the little hand of the princess and together walked towards a booth filled with residents. And they joined the queue.
He only hoped that their disguise would not be discovered by anyone.
5 minutes then 8 minutes, their queue line is getting shorter. The guard patiently stood with his hand still holding the princess, hoping that she would not run away without him knowing.
As for the princess, she was very focused on seeing the atmosphere around her. Even though the temperature outside the palace is 10°C, the enthusiasm of the residents in participating in this festival can warm their bodies from the cold weather. Just like the princess who is now happily holding a red heart balloon, she doesn't seem cold at all.
Dressed only in a child's coat with a plain golden brown, complemented by white to gray earmuffs, pink gloves as a gift from her father, a knee-length skirt, and boots without high heels, she excitedly pulled the guard over because she couldn't wait to see him. helped release his balloon into the sky.
The cream-haired young guard saw the princess who was already jumping up and down smiled, then crouched down "What wish my lady want to be granted?".
Gazing at the young guard, Miona thought for a moment. And as if reluctant to say it, she asked the guard back "If I tell you, will my wish still be granted?"
That sweet smile that was thrown by the guard, he then replied "Not if you whisper it to me. But if the lady shouts it, then that wish will never come true"
Without a word, the princess immediately approached the guard's ear and whispered into his ear.
The guard just nodded and smiled at the end of princess Osforia's whisper. "That wish will surely come true someday, trust me, miss."
"Alright everyone are you guys ready? No need to wait any longer because your hopes must be impatient to fly free, take your positions and we'll be counting down!" said the spirit of the presenter.
"What's your name?" Miona gently asked the guard
With a gentle gaze, he answered "Rainer"
"Woah, what if your name became Errad Rainer?" said the princess with sparkling eyes.
Rainer, a young guard with jet black hair and medium slate blue eyes let out a little cold sweat on his head while glancing at the princess "Miss. Not everyone can have that name, only miss and little miss's parents can have it"
"But aren't we both from the same country?"
"In the noble world, it's not like that miss" Rainer replied.
"Okay, let's start the countdown from 10! 10!"
Not wanting to discuss anything that might offend the princess and the royal conflict, Rainer started to stand up straight and grab the princess's hand aagain.
"9!"
She was a little confused by Rainer's answer. However, the princess is still trying to connect one possibility with another and then imagining.
"5!"
Hearing the screams of the countdown getting closer to the last digit, brought her out of her daydream. Then the princess looked around her surroundings which were filled with the people of Osforia. Not far from his sight, there was a boy with dark brown hair and dark purple eyes, he looked like he was looking for someone or maybe he got separated?
"3!"
Without thinking, Miona ran to the boy, grabbed his hand then smiled sweetly "Let's take off the balloon with me!" said Miona excitedly.
"2!"
The boy looked confused, scared but pressed by the desire to be accompanied by someone during the festival.
"My name is Miona!" shouted the little princess which slightly startled her interlocutor.
"1!"
"My name is Gavin," answered the young man loudly.
"Let it fly!!" shouted the host of the show. With a high jump, when his feet hit the ground one by one the balloons held by the residents began to fly high into the sky.
Of course, also the balloons belonging to the princess and the boy who might be the princess's potential friends?
"Let's be friends with me!" by extending ers hand and expecting the other person to respond as well.
They shook hands and smiled at each other.
And from a distance, a person in a dark blue robe stood with the help of a long stick and looked at the two children that Rainer was approaching and then advised the princess not to repeat her act of leaving without permission.
"2 more. Only need 2 more and then the soul will begin to gather again. And the destruction of a country will occur" he looked sadly at the two children as if he had compassion for the fate of the two children.
Unable to bear the pain in his heart, he left the area "May you be protected"
⊱ To be continued ⊰