Chapter 23
I Don’t Recall Clearly
I probably wasn’t the only one feeling strange.
“Your Highness.”
Sir Mathis called me and stood beside me. Simultaneously, Sir Diego drew his sword and pressed it right under the chin of the man who had been speaking to me.
“Sir Diego.”
I could guess why Sir Diego was acting this way. However, I calmly placed my hand on Sir Diego’s arm that wasn’t holding the sword.
“Why, why are you doing this! Even if you are a noble, a foreigner can’t do this to an Imperial citizen!”
“That’s right! You shouldn’t do this!”
Perhaps realizing I was trying to stop Sir Diego, the man shouted loudly even with a sword at his throat. The person standing behind also took their hand out of their pocket and took a step forward.
There was nothing wrong with what the two men said. In Owen, nobles from the Kingdom of Rundra only had honor, not authority. If a foreigner pointed a sword at Imperial citizens, the local security force could take issue with it.
“If you take one more step forward, I will cut down this guy and you as well.”
Sir Diego warned the person who had moved. The person who had been about to approach us hesitated.
But there was something these people didn’t know. That I was a Princess of the Kingdom of Rundra, and that the Rundra Royal Family held the right of summary judgment even in Owen.
The knights protecting royalty also held the same authority regarding matters related to royalty. Though there would rarely be a reason to use the right of summary judgment, which could become a pretext for international disputes.
“Sir Diego.”
“These men insulted Your Highness. I shall exercise summary judgment.”
“P-Prince…ss?”
As soon as they realized I was a princess, the person standing behind prostrated themselves flat. But the person with Sir Diego’s sword at his throat couldn’t prostrate.
“I was wrong. I didn’t know you were the Princess. If I had known you were the Princess, I would never have committed such rudeness! Please spare me, Your Highness! I’m sorry.”
“Please spare us, Your Highness! We were wrong.”
Their words were like a confession. It meant they were aware that their actions were rude and acted regardless.
The two men before me had mocked my pronunciation.
When I heard the comment about my “rounded” pronunciation at Lala’s Atelier, it wasn’t that I hadn’t picked up on it at all. It’s common sense, regardless of national borders, that pointing out someone’s speech habits is impolite. But at the time, I thought it was just that one person’s shortcoming.
But now it seems there are often cases in Owen where people look down on the pronunciation of the Kingdom of Rundra. Not just one, but three, at two different locations.
I had no intention of punishing them for insulting me. However, I was angry at the thought that our Kingdom of Rundra citizens living in Owen might face hardships because of such fools.
While I was thinking about what to do, angry as I was, the restaurant door opened and Cedric and Rachel came out.
“Ah, what’s this!”
Rachel’s startled reaction and Cedric stepping in front of me happened simultaneously. Not understanding the situation, the Imperial knights also surrounded Rachel.
“Your Highness, are you alright?”
Cedric said, looking me over.
“I’m fine.”
To show I was truly fine, I spread both my palms wide to show Cedric. Still, Cedric didn’t take his scrutinizing gaze off me.
“Sir! Please help us!”
“We didn’t know she was a foreign Princess! But we are Imperial citizens, aren’t we! Please help us!”
Recognizing that Rachel and Cedric were from Owen, and perhaps thinking they could rely on them, the man with the sword at his throat cried out to Rachel.
“Explain yourselves, directly.”
Rachel said. Sir Diego slightly lowered his sword.
As they gained some leeway, the standing man also quickly prostrated himself on the ground. The tip of Sir Diego’s sword was now pointed in the direction of his head.
“We, we just… this person, ah, I really didn’t know she was the Princess. Ah, anyway, we just imitated this person’s slightly unique way of speaking. It was nothing serious! That’s the truth! I don’t know why you’re doing this!”
“Oh-ho?”
Rachel let out a slanted exclamation.
“How did you imitate?”
“Huh?”
“I’m asking how you imitated. Show me now. If it’s truly nothing serious as you claim, I’ll let you go.”
Rachel moved closer to them.
“Your Imperial Highness, it’s fine.”
When not in a personal setting, I used honorifics towards Rachel. It was to respect her. So, habitually calling her ‘Imperial Princess’ seemed to frighten the prostrate men even more.
“Im, Imperial Princess?”
The two men’s bodies flattened further and they trembled violently.
I didn’t think these people needed to suffer this much. My anger was about things our Kingdom’s citizens might face, which weren’t directly related to the current situation.
I took a step forward.
“You’ve admitted your wrongdoing and begged for forgiveness, so I will forgive you. However, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mock our Kingdom of Rundra citizens in the future.”
“Your Highness, thank you! Thank you! From now on, never again, no matter what, will we mock, ah, imitate anyone’s pronunciation, Your Highness! Thank you. Thank you.”
“Please keep your promise. You may go now.”
When I gave Sir Diego a look, he sheathed his sword. They got up from their spot as if they had never been prostrated and ran off in an instant.
“Princess, aren’t you being too lenient?”
Rachel said in a slanted tone.
“They were in great mental distress, so they’ve been punished enough for their mistake.”
“I would have turned a blind eye even if your knight had cut them down. I would have even cheered and cleaned up the aftermath.”
“Your Imperial Highness.”
“Before I am the Imperial Princess, you are… Anyway, they are strangers.”
I could feel Rachel’s sincerity. But I couldn’t thank her for saying it was okay to cut down Imperial citizens, so I just smiled. Rachel made a “Tsk” sound.
“Daisy. Shall we go get dessert? There’s a great place nearby.”
“Great!”
The place Rachel mentioned turned out to be the very pastry shop where I had bought a bunch of sweets not long ago. It was more popular than before, and we had to wait in line for quite a while before we could enter. Rachel said she would place our order and told me and Cedric to go find seats at the café on the third floor first.
“Your Grace! You remember, right? I bought a bunch of snacks from here before.”
“I don’t recall clearly.”
“Huh? Really?”
I became a little downcast. Considering Cedric, who is indifferent to others, it was possible, but I thought that day was a bit special.
Even though I was grateful he forgot about me falling asleep in an unladylike manner, the picnic that day was very impressive. It was a very good memory for me, but perhaps for Cedric it was just an ordinary day? I even felt a bit disappointed.
Then Cedric leaned slightly and spoke softly enough for only me to hear.
“I remember the promise I made to keep it a secret for you.”
Ah, come on. The corners of my mouth lifted. I couldn’t stop the smile from spreading. It’s more surprising and amusing because it’s a joke from someone who doesn’t seem the type to play jokes.
“Trying the sweets again today might bring back the memories along with their taste from that time.”
“That might be possible. And I’m glad we kept our promise to come together.”
Cedric smiled.
This time, it was something I hadn’t been conscious of. Come to think of it, I had promised Cedric back then to come to this third-floor café. Cedric clearly remembered even passing, small promises.
Rachel returned after placing our order. She said she also bought the fritters I had requested. Rachel steered the direction of the conversation.
“Mary Grace and her friends apologized to me.”
Rachel brought up an unexpected topic as soon as she sat down.
“Hmm? You mean Miss Grace?”
“They showed up at the Imperial Palace out of the blue and said they were sorry. I wondered what they could possibly be sorry to me about, but they brought up something from a few years ago.”
I thought the smile on my face became awkward. The person involved had found out about everything I had said about Rachel behind her back.
Rachel, as if not expecting an answer, continued.
“I asked why they were saying this, and they told me about what happened with you, Daisy. So they said they wanted to let me know because they thought I might be misunderstanding. The reason I don’t participate in high society is because I’m not interested in it.”
Rachel added quite scathing remarks: “It’s boring, stifling, monotonous, and stupid.”
“Still, thank you for telling them to apologize. I definitely got to see your warm heart.”
“It seems I talked about you behind your back, so I feel uncomfortable.”
“I don’t mind that at all. But thanks to it, some things became clearer. I remembered why I was uncomfortable back then, and why life in the Kingdom of Rundra was better.”
“I see.”
“Thank you, Daisy. For getting angry on my behalf.”
Rachel smiled. She looked mischievous. Cedric was right. Rachel said she was thankful I got angry.
But there was also something Cedric didn’t get right. Rachel didn’t say that those times were okay. I thought Cedric doesn’t know everything about Rachel.
Also, I was glad Rachel seemed okay now. Yes, I was glad. I didn’t wish for Rachel’s unhappiness.
That was because of Rachel’s warm hands.
My heart, it doesn’t do as I want.
