I Reincarnated as a Noble Girl Villainess But Why Did It Turn Out This Way? Ch 225

03: A Greenhouse Like a Birdcage

While I was grateful that I was being told the way to the greenhouse, the paths that led deeper and deeper into the castle served to put a bit on edge. There was, at least at this ti, no one else who patrolled these ways. That, however, did little to abate the wide-eyed stares of the guards that road the distant balconies and passages. I realised that I only had myself to bla, but my regret was already overwhelming .

“It’s just… a little further. I’m really sorry, Kaldia.”

At least the crown prince was starting to look a little healthier, most likely thanks to my own suffering. A faint tinge of red crept back into his colourless face, rendering it only sowhat pale, and his cold sweat had begun to recede.

At long last, we reached the outskirts of a courtyard located in the furthest depths of the castle. Glass walls ford a structure not too dissimilar from a gigantic birdcage. This building was familiar to .

It was sothing I’d heard of in passing, through simple gossip at the House of Lords. This greenhouse and the park therein had, allegedly, been erected in the honour of Alfred’s birth, then offered to him and him alone, a den for his own privacy. This ant that I was no longer in the Faldarl Palace itself, but a place that served as a sort of royal villa, built adjacent to it… this was a place none were ant to enter, apart from the royal family. It was, then, of little wonder that so little of the castle servants and guards wandered about here.

The crown prince, still in my arms, pointed towards the entryway, telling sothing to the effect of, ‘Please, go in.’ Though not without a shortage of awkwardness to his tone.

Since I had already co all this way, I was really in no position to just drop the crown prince off here and make my way back. I obliged, setting foot into the greenhouse, then laid him down on a couch in a spot that had been arranged to act as a room.

“Thank you. This really helps…”

“No need for thanks, Your Highness. I’ll call for the palace physician right away.”

“…No. No need. This happens all the ti. I always feel better when I’m here; I’ll be fine. Sorry about all this. Just give a mont, then I can make us so tea. We can talk more then.”

The crown prince laughed, told not to make such a face, then poked between the brows. I’d been furrowing them this whole ti, it seed.

The crown prince had collapsed back there. This wasn’t sothing I could just brush off when he told he was fine, at least I didn’t think so. But the prince had gone so far as to refuse that his physician be brought to look him over, and had asked to indulge him further by engaging him in conversation. I could do little but obey.

If the prince’s hue had still been the way it was before his collapse, then I would have turned on my heel, regardless of his sentints, and called for the royal physician. But there appeared to be truth to his words; he was looking better by the minute.

“It’s always been like this, you know. This isn’t a chronic disease or anything of the sort, but… it cos and goes. The sll of the plants in here clear it up, for so reason. That’s why there’s a room in here; it’s been prepared for specifically.”

…What, this huge birdcage?

He was right. The furnishings of this place were all things you would have brought into your own private quarters. A draped bed, a sofa, a table, a writing desk, a washbasin, even a closet were available in this place.

“Sotis, when spring, autumn, or winter co around, I just plain live here. No one cos here otherwise, not unless I call for them… I can just co here whenever I want my peace. It’s perfect for that.”

I saw what he ant, and nodded my head. If I were in his position, a crown prince to a whole country, I’d love to have so privacy in my life. He likely lived a life where he was always accompanied, even watched over when he was asleep. It was perfectly reasonable to want so ti away from everything every now and again, even soone from an entirely different line of nobility could wrap her head around that. In a place like this; where everyone was an outsider looking into this birdcage, it was permissible to want for so ti alone.

“And, would you believe it, even Grays has never been in here. Not once.”

“Interesting… I didn’t know that.”

Well, if this place really was supposed to be ant for his use alone, then people like Grays or even Eric certainly wouldn’t be belligerent enough to make their way in here uninvited. I nodded, for no particular reason, really, and the prince chuckled a little. Well, he was recovering quickly. That ant I finally had the opportunity to ask him what it was he wanted to talk about.

“Actually, you’re the first person I ever let in here, Kaldia.”

“Oh, alright. Huh?”

I was starting to lose track of our conversation. If even Grays, who was by far the closest to the crown prince, hadn’t co here, then that much was to be expected. What was he trying to say?

“Hmmm… Well, I supposed it doesn’t matter.”

The prince laughed, a little perturbed. Even though I was the one who had reason to worry.

About half an hour later, the prince took it upon himself to pour the two of us so tea. I was honoured, I really was, and since we were far from peering eyes, I, having no reason to object, gratefully accepted it.

“Well then, let’s move on to the real subject. I asked Father to prepare this for .”

The prince pulled a small, folded piece of paper from his pocket. It was just a duplicate, he told as I unfolded it and began reading, curious what it might have to do with .

“…Concerning the dormitory transfer…?”

I had absolutely no recollection of sending this sort of application, but there it was, a form of approval stating that Eliza Kaldia Einsbark was eligible for transfer regarding the dormitories of the educational institute.

“That’s right. I’m sorry I have to spring this on you, but I hear that transferring abodes is an utter necessity. The legal procedures were taken care of this morning; I’d gotten my hands on the docunts earlier and co back as fast as I could to show you. Unfortunately, I was a little too hasty and had another fit. I thought I could ease so of your burdens if I was quick enough.”

“I can’t thank you enough for your sympathy, Your Highness.”

He was right; letting know of the transfer in advance was a huge relief to . Still… what kind of situation had I gotten myself into if a royal mandate had to be issued for this?

I looked back to the prince, thinking to myself that he may have an inkling as to what was going on, but he could only offer a smile that ca off as sowhat forced.

“Kaldia… There’s no one here – pardon, there’s no one here apart from your attendant. You can act a little less formal, you know. There really isn’t much to be had from ranks, not in this place. Don’t you think so?”

Oh, so that was what he ant. I’d gone through sothing similar when I was enrolled into the institute. He was telling that, since there was no one here watching us, the two of us could reach a sort of compromise on the matter.

“…Thank you for your consideration, Sire. Does this work better?”

“I still think that’s a little stiff, but… Sure. I’m so sorry, I keep trying to get you to indulge in my whims, don’t I?”

“Not at all.”

I shook my head from side to side, and the subject of the crown prince began to hold just a little more weight in my mind.

For one thing… He was born as the prince to this country, and likely raised in a manner that must have been befitting his status. But if so, why was he so quick to apologise at every given opportunity?