Chapter 144 – Captured Princess’ Perspective
Author’s note:
It’s been a long time since last Fina’s Perspective.
Big Sis Yuna left me behind, and I had watched Bear-san’s back disappear out of sight.
Why had it turned out like this?
Big Sis Yuna had wanted me to dismantle a Black Tiger, but since I would have needed a mithril knife to do it, she had suggested for us to go and buy it together.
I knew that mithril knives were expensive.
I had told her that she could ask the guild to dismantle it, but she had said something about it coming in handy at a later date and had decided to go and buy one. At a later date... Really, Big Sis Yuna, what were you planning on making me dismantle?
Since there had been no mithril in Crimonia, we had went to the capital using the Bear-san Gate at Big Sis Yuna’s Bear-san House. It had brought us there in an instant. Big Sis Yuna was incredible for having such an amazing magic tool.
After coming to the capital to buy a mithril knife, I ended up being captured by Eleanora-sama because she had given Big Sis Yuna a job to do, and I had to stay at Eleanora-sama’s mansion while she was away.
We couldn’t have told them that I could have returned to Crimonia through the Bear-san Gate since that was a secret between Big Sis Yuna and me.
I also couldn’t go with Big Sis Yuna, who was going to fight some monsters.
That was why, there had been no way to avoid staying at the capital.
Still, just imagining a commoner like me staying at a Noble-sama’s mansion, on my own no less, made my stomach ache.
I had asked Big Sis Yuna if I could stay at her Bear House, but they had rejected my idea.
Ugh, even though I was fine being on my own...
In the end, I had no other choice but to stay at Eleanora-sama’s mansion.
Yesterday, I had been with Big Sis Yuna, but now, Big Sis Yuna left me here alone and headed to the mine.
I didn’t want to cause any trouble to the people here, so I decided to stay in my room, but soon, I wasn’t alone anymore...
Eleanora-sama and her maid Suririna-san came to my room with a mountain of beautiful western styled clothes then smiled widely while browsing through the clothes.
Who would wear them?
Just imagining what would happen made my stomach ache. I wanted to believe they were Shia-sama’s clothes, but I knew I was wrong.
「Which one would suit her best?」
My fears of this being a really dangerous situation were confirmed when Eleanora-sama took a piece of clothing and looked at me.
「Fina-chan, let’s change clothes, okay?」
Eleanora-sama said and approached me while still smiling widely. She was scary.
Big Sis Yuna wasn’t here, so she couldn’t save me. I had to refuse her myself.
If I were to dirty those clothes... or if something else were to happen to them... just imagining it made me tremble.
「I’m already wearing western style clothes, so it’s okay.」
I tried my best to refuse.
「Ara, that’s no good! You have to properly change your clothes. You already wore these yesterday, right?」
「They aren’t too dirty, so...」
I took a step back, but they both took two steps forward.
「That’s no good! A girl has to keep herself clean!」
Big Sis Yuna, please save me......
Eleanora-sama and Suririna-san came even closer.
Shia-sama had already gone to the academy, so there was no one in the mansion who could save me.
I tried backing away again, but there was a bed behind me, and they were too close already for me to flee.
「Even if I tried wearing these beautiful clothes, they wouldn’t fit me, so...」
「Ara, that’s not true at all! I’m sure you will look good in them.」
「Yes, I also think so. Fina-san is cute, after all.」
It was no good! They cornered me and were approaching from both sides.
「Still, if I were to dirty these high class clothes...」
I was desperately looking for a way out.
「It’s okay to dirty them. I won’t be mad at you.」
「If they are stained, I will just have to wash them.」
「But...」
No matter what I said, I couldn’t escape.
Big Sis Yuna, save me...
My cry for help didn’t reach her, of course.
I had to change clothes in the end.
They had a lot of cute frills and were made of a high grade material, that felt great against the skin.
Suririna-san had promised me that she would take care of them if they became dirty, but what if they got torn?
The word reimbursement crossed my mind, and my stomach ached again.
Now that it came to this, I decided to stay still like a doll and not leave my room until Big Sis Yuna returned. As long as I did that, the clothes wouldn’t tear or get dirty.
Yep, that was a great idea.
「Well then, Fina-chan, let’s go out.」
「...Huh?」
My idea was destroyed in a few seconds.
I wasn’t done in yet, though.
「I will stay behind and watch the house.」
「Fina-san, you’re a guest. You don’t have to do that.」
「But, I don’t know when Big Sis Yuna will return, so...」
「What are you talking about? Yuna-chan just left, didn’t she? Even though it’s her, she won’t be back for a while.」
She was right, Big Sis Yuna had just left.
In the end, I couldn’t find any other excuses and was forced to go out with Eleanora-sama. We went to the castle.
Mom, if I’m put to death, please forgive me.
No, I had to do my best so that it wouldn’t happen.
If I encountered a Noble-sama at the castle, I had to make sure to be polite.
I would do my best to survive.
We entered the castle, and everyone we met there greeted Eleanora-sama. As I thought, she was an incredible person, and such an important person was guiding me through the castle. Was that really okay?
At one point, she even took me to a garden full of beautiful, blooming flowers.
「They are beautiful...」
It was just like the castle flower beds I had seen in Big Sis Yuna’s picture books.
No wait, we were at a real castle here.
There was a bench where we could sit and watch the flowers peacefully.
This might be the last scenery that God had prepared for me.
Thank you very much.
No, no, I had to do my best to return home alive.
Mom, Dad, and Shuri were waiting for me. I couldn’t die in a place like this.
For now, I decided to just watch the pretty flowers to calm my heart.
The flowers were really beautiful. Red, blue, pink, yellow. There were of all kinds of colors.
Haa, watching them really calmed me down.
「Eleanora, you’re on a break?」
Someone spoke to Eleanora-sama while we were watching the flowers.
It was someone of a higher position than a noble; it was the King-sama himself, whom I first met when he had visited Big Sis Yuna’s house a while back.
Wh-what should I do?
Would I die today as I expected?
If I did something discourteous in front of the king, I might not be the only one to die; my whole family might get executed.
「I’m not working today.」
「Why are you at the castle then?」
「I’m taking a stroll with this girl.」
Eleanora-sama glanced at me.
I was petrified, and my voice didn’t come out.
「Huh? I have a feeling I have seen her before.」
「Ahh, have you seen her with Yuna-chan somewhere?」
「Ahh, it’s the girl that was at Yuna’s house.」
「Yes, my name is Fina.」
I might have been petrified, but I still did my best to politely introduce myself.
I was about to die from the stress, though.
「Unlike Yuna, you’re really well-mannered, huh.」
King-sama patted my head.
King-sama was this close to me, and he even patted my head.
So, this was my last bit of good luck, huh.
Goodbye, Mom.
「Ara, I feel bad for Yuna-chan when you say something like that.」
「That girl, you see, has never came to me to greet me, you know. Such a thing normally wouldn’t happen, right?」
「Well, she comes here to see Flora-sama, after all.」
「When I go to Flora’s room, she gives me a look that says,『You came again, huh?』, you know!」
「Well, she is right, after all.」
「I’m sure she doesn’t even think of me as a king!」
Big Sis Yuna, what had you done to King-sama?!
Big Sis Yuna would be killed at this rate. I had to warn her when I see her again, so I had to survive and leave the castle.
「Well, Yuna-chan is like that with everyone. Not too long ago, Cliff sent me a letter saying she did the exact same thing to him. You don’t hate her for it, right?」
「Well, yeah, I don’t. She is kind to my daughter and had helped me a lot. Most importantly, she brings delicious things every now and then.」
The King-sama was being tamed with food!
Well, it was the same with me, though... The food Big Sis Yuna made was delicious.
King-sama seemed to forget all about me while talking about Big Sis Yuna.
I might be able to leave this place without being disrespectful to the King-sama... or so I thought.
「You said your name was Fina, right?」
The King-sama suddenly started talking to me.
「Yesh.」
This was bad. I was so surprised that I let out a strange voice.
I didn’t think that he would just start talking to me like that.
「It’s not good to startle Fina-chan like that! Even without confronting her like this, your face, your dignified aura, and the fact that you are king are scary enough by themselves, you know.」
「You... Didn’t you say a lot of terrible things about me? Well, I didn’t want to startle you, Fina. I just wanted to know about your relationship with Yuna.」
My relationship with Big Sis Yuna?
Even if he asked me that, I didn’t know.
A friend? An employer?
I will just state the one thing I knew.
「Big Sis Yuna is my savior.」
That much was true for sure.
King-sama then made me tell him the story of how I met Big Sis Yuna, and I somehow managed to talk without too much trouble while he earnestly listened to my story.
「So, Yuna isn’t here?」
「Just today, she left for the mine to do some work for the Adventurer’s Guild. I’m taking care of Fina while she’s gone.」
「The mine? Ahh, it was on one of my reports. Golems appeared at the mine, and in case the adventurers won’t be able to deal with them, I got a request to give permission to send out the soldiers.」
「Please look at your reports more carefully! Especially when it comes to sending out soldiers.」
「But, Yuna went there, right? We don’t need to send the soldiers then, do we?」
Incredible. Even the King-sama himself seemed to trust Big Sis Yuna.
「Well, it is Yuna-chan, after all.」
「Even now, I can’t believe how strong she is when she is dressed like that.」
「She is cute, after all.」
I also thought that she was cute.
「So, Eleanora, what will you two do after your stroll?」
Oh right. We should get away from here as quickly as possible. Just being near King-sama was taking a big toll on my mental health; my health bar was about to reach zero.
It was almost noon, so we should head back to the mansion.
I looked at Eleanora-sama hopefully.
「Fina, are you hungry?」
She seemed to have figured out my look.
「Well then, Yuna-chan gave me a few gifts for Flora-sama, so let’s go to her room.」
「Is it food?」
「Yes, food for lunch.」
「I will come too, then.」
What did they just say?
Did I hear it wrong?
I just heard that we would be going to the Princess-sama’s room and eat with the King-sama, didn’t I?
Big Sis Yuna, save me...
We went back to the mansion a few hours later.
I couldn’t really remember what happened at the castle.
I ate lunch with Flora-sama and King-sama, but I couldn’t even recall what it tasted like.
Queen-sama also appeared halfway through, which was the final push to make my brain stop working.
How had this happened?
I collapsed on the bed.
Big Sis Yuna... Please come back soon...
Kuun, kuun, kuun, kuun.
I heard a weird sound coming from the item bag Big Sis Yuna had given me.
When I opened it, I saw that the Bear-san doll was crying.
It was a magic item named Bear Phone that made it possible to talk to someone that was far away.
I took the Bear Phone and poured magic power inside it.
『Hello, Fina, can you hear me?』
「Big Sis Yuna!?」
『How are you doing, Fina?』
「Big Sis Yuna... It’s terrible! Today, Eleanora-sama made me change into beautiful clothes and go to the castle, where we ran into King-sama, and then, I even had to eat lunch with the King-sama and the Princess-sama!」
『Well, same as always, huh.』
「Even if it’s the same as always for you, Big Sis Yuna, it’s terrible for me! Because of all of the stress it had caused me, I couldn’t even taste the bread I ate!」
『But you had fun, right?』
「It wasn’t fun at all! Big Sis Yuna, how is your job going?」
『Hmm, I just arrived today, so I can’t really tell yet.』
「Really?」
『Don’t worry, I will do my best to come back quickly, so please enjoy the capital.』
Big Sis Yuna had given me a lot of money to use as I wished while I was here.
I had tried to give it back, but she had forced me to hold onto it, even after I had told her that I would be eating at Eleanora-sama’s mansion and I wouldn’t need it.
I was also a bit scared of walking around the capital by myself, so shopping for other things was out of question as well.
「Big Sis Yuna, please come back quickly.」
『Okay, I will come back as quickly as possible.』
I then couldn’t hear Big Sis Yuna anymore.
It was a mystery to me, how this thing made the conversation possible.
I had promised to go out with Shia-sama tomorrow, so I decided to sleep early after this long day.
The bed was really soft.
Mom, Dad, Shuri, good night.
I had wished goodnight to my family who was still at Crimonia.
The day was really long, so I feel asleep right away.