Early morning at night. The maids have already rushed around in the castle, and the soldiers have each checked their possessions while releasing a gloomy atmosphere.
Finally, this day has come.
Today is the day the princess meets her fiancée, Prince Aldo.
Soldiers from the Principality of Wellia have already been here for about three days now, and they will not be able to enter the castle without being noticed as one rat.
The Prince's arrival is scheduled for around noon, but the final preparations for acceptance have already begun at such times. I'm one of them.
As we continue down the hallway of the castle, we make sure there is no disturbance in our outfits and head to the princess's room.
Today, the princess is definitely trying to do something. I tried to find out beforehand, but they ended up hiding it through me.
That's why I'm doing surveillance today under what I call security.
"Princess, it's Eldo. Are you there?
"Go ahead."
As usual, when the maid passed her inside, the princess was drinking tea, rubbing her eyes to sleep.
Around the princess were a collection of specialist maids who dressed up for today, messing with her hair and skin with all sorts of things.
"Good morning. Sounds like a lot of sleep."
"I was working on it yesterday until it was critical. Thanks to that, today's preparations are perfect. I'm sure Aldo will be delighted. Hey, guys."
To the princess's inquiry, the maids who were around only return a bitter laugh.
"Hey, what's the point of not getting a single decent response back?
"The little bird I've been raising dearly is about to become independent today. I can't help but be sad."
"Obviously you're not reacting when you're sad!
"These are cute kids who work healthy without showing grief."
"They're all older than you, though! Hey, that's the final confirmation. I'm supposed to be the Prince's guide after this."
I don't know why, but I've been entrusted with the prince's welcome and a guide to the princess's room.
This kind of thing is basically supposed to be a castle maid's job, but I don't understand it at all. It is the hard part of society that has no choice but to do more than just be commanded.
"Before the Prince arrives, there will be an early horse, so please use that as a guide to change clothes and move the room"
"It was about lunch, wasn't it?
"Yeah, I thought I'd be here by noon, so I thought I'd be there by noon. We'll meet you at dinner with the princess."
"I get it. And then what?"
I'm feeling like a matchmaker, and I'm going to explain my plans to the princess all the way after the meeting.
Quick story, this is a pageant that's been confirmed until the engagement.
A walk in the garden combining post-meal exercise for a face-to-face meeting while picking up lunch. After that, I saw it with His Majesty, and later with you two young people - the flow, but there's no way I can say the two royals together, and the disappointing knights and maids go around about support.
Today's castle was unusually lively, as all the staff in the castle were waiting in total mobilisation, as if it was okay to ask for anything from a prince or princess once.
"We are also able to drive in horseback riding, fluttering horses and demon-guided cars once, so we are able to accommodate any request from the Prince"
Whatever prince they are, if they are a fifteen-year-old boy, they could also want to show a cool place in front of the princess.
Whatever, princess, you're just a beautiful girl who looks super, so there's no chance she'll blink at you at a glance.
So I'm ready to play sports all the way through. However, as a princess, you'd want to read books indoors.
There, well, it would be about how much the prince sees the princess.
"After the sight with Your Majesty, you two should consult and decide"
"I get it. So that's where the battle is."
What are you going to fight... a prince?
"You can't win or lose face-to-face. Be adult."
"I'm making a big deal out of you in my room. Eldo, good luck with the guide."
"I'll do everything I can to make it work. Now I'm going back to my place, so excuse me."
With all my anxiety, I took the princess's room behind me.
Along with the sound of a grand fanfare, one magic guide car dives through the castle gate at a slow speed. Afterwards, many soldiers and carriages on horses followed, and in an instant the front of the castle was filled by people and carriages.
In that, the door of the magic guide car that stopped at the place where the red carpet was laid opens, and one boy emerges from inside.
Is she about the same height as the princess? It's a little low considering the age of fifteen.
The lines of the body are thin and the skin is white for a luxurious look. But more characteristic than that is its hair.
Her hair, as bright as snow, shines silver in the sun of winter.
Red eyes that contradicted it had shown that he was an albino.
The departure fanfare sounds loud, and me and the royal butler walk out to the prince.
Welcome aboard, far away.
"Welcome, thank you."
The prince answers with a smiling, childish remaining high voice before the vocal change.
"My name is Eldo and I've been assigned a guide. You'll be tired from a long journey. Your room is ready, we will guide you right away"
"Thank you. Even though it's a magic guide car, it's tiresome just to be on it."
"I can't move freely because I have the right strength."
The magic car the prince was riding in is as big as a wagon type. But it doesn't change how big a car is to be in the same position all the time so you can grab the traffic and get tired. As a matter of fact, unless it's big enough to lie down like a camper, fatigue will accumulate slightly due to vibrations on unpaved roads.
Proceed in the castle with the prince and those with him.
The occasional maids all bow their heads by the edge of the hallway. If it's a response to the royalty, this is the real response... If it's a princess, we run through the hallway, so we retreat to the edge of the hallway.
And I got a voice from the prince who was following me as I looked around intrigued behind me.
"Again, the maids are apron dresses. I've never seen it before."
Well, have you chosen the topic of apron dresses by ignoring all the condiments decorated in this Prince's Hallway and all the seasonal fresh flowers? Not quite.
Respond with admiration in your heart to the prince who has thrown the conversation with unexpected focus.
"Is it different in the Principality of Wellia? I've never been out of this country, and I don't like it around here."
"Wellia has a long cold season, so maid clothes wrap around like skirts from the top of her trousers. Otherwise, some people get frostbite in the middle of winter."
"I hear Wellia is cold, was that it"
The Principality of Wellia is a country on the west side of the kingdom. Latitude is almost the same as the kingdom, and the overall elevation makes it colder.
"Yes, snow has already begun to accumulate in the current season, and sometimes when it gets serious, the ground floor part is filled with snow. So Wellia's house also has a door upstairs."
That's a unique culture in snowy areas. There must have been a house upstairs with doors around Niigata and all that.
"Is that it? So you can barely go outside during the winter?
"Yeah, so I spend the majority of my time reading books. Sometimes I'm sick on this street, and I didn't care that I couldn't originally go outside, but thanks to that, I gained a lot of knowledge. I also learned about made-up clothes in books."
"I see."
I am slightly interested in what is called a book about made-up clothing, but this place is dedicated to customer service.
Rather than say, we have arrived at our destination.
"Prince Aldo, rest in this room. We have a room next door for those with you. It passes by the door inside, so it is possible to move around immediately. Also, if you need anything, please let the maids with the room know and we'll take care of it right away."
"Okay. Thank you."
"No, I'll pick you up later,"
"Please. Bye."
So Prince Aldo disappeared behind the door.
I sigh deeply, dropping off the people I totally accompany and walking into my room.
"Tired..."
I handled the polite royalty a long time ago because I was always dealing with the princess, but I didn't expect to get tired so far. Sure, they're super VIP, and they're the ones who should never be in a bad mood, but this is shoulder to shoulder.
"Well, we need to get ready."
I turned my shoulders around and headed to the pageant room where I would still be ready.
"Nice to meet you. My name is Ines."
"Nice to meet you. It's Aldo. It's a pleasure to meet you."
One room where the two of you are ready to meet and finally meet.
Soldiers and maids from each other's countries refrain on the walls of the room, with each side following behind them.
In such a seemingly urgent room, the two greet each other with a smile.
Honestly, I don't understand. If I were you, my expression would never catch on and I wouldn't be able to have such a calm conversation.
Royalty is still awesome. With that in mind, I keep guarding my room all alone with one of the soldiers.
"I was relieved that you seemed so sweet"
"I'm surprised she's even prettier than I heard."
"Well, you're good"
Haha, ugh, what a gruesome conversation the two keep talking about the prince who said this about maid clothes until just now and the princess who burns her obsession with pranks.
The maid came to say that she was ready for a meal when she was listening appropriately to the conversation between the two while remembering the war in the noble cat.
We move the room with it.
For the reason that we don't feel comfortable together this time, only two people eat. I would never be able to talk to someone I've never met before, no matter what they tell me.
However, the two continue their conversation without interrupting the topic as a matter of course.
Sometimes the princess jokes and takes the flow of the prince laughing as the main axis, the princess answers this and what even the princess doesn't know, the sidekicks answer to the prince's questions that are not very familiar with this country.
"It will be the main, roast beef of the day. We'll cut it off on this occasion, so please tell us how much you like."
So what was offered before the two of them was a giant block of roast beef.
As soon as the lid is opened, a good smell fills the room and the throats of the soldiers who are holding back on the wall ring.
I'm one of them.
I have a sense that I eat pretty good things every day thanks to Angus because of his considerable salary as a knight, but this is something else.
Beautiful flesh color seen from the cross section. An indescribably aromatic fragrance drifting from the sauce carried together.
They are all the finest substitutes and would be the greatest masterpieces without any compromise.
If they told you to eat that as much as you like, you would answer that all the soldiers here would be wearing it as they were.
And the answer for both of you!
"Then I'll have about two bites."
"I have a lot of them, too, so in half."
How humble! No, no, you two are simply bloated.
Dear Ines, who is a woman and not originally the type to eat so much, has recently been concerned about her lack of exercise and has also reduced the amount of meals, and if Prince Aldo is as thin as such a princess, the amount of stomach that has appeared on previous courses is likely to swell enough.
But what a waste! I can't believe I can't eat a standing roast beef!
Well, that leftover meat will be transported to the dining room later to be re-cooked. You'll be in the dining room this afternoon...
And nothing in particular ends the meeting between the two of us.
I was quite alert that the princess was going to set something up, but it didn't look particularly unusual. Were you just thinking too much of me?
But what the princess was making was supposed to be a costume. But the dress you're wearing now was prepared by His Majesty for this meeting. I mean, that costume hasn't been used yet.
Better not get distracted yet.
"See you later, Ines."
"Yes, it was a great time. We look forward to seeing you again after this."
Are you impressed with each other? The first face-to-face meeting ended while maintaining such an atmosphere.