That evening I go to Urraca’s quarters.
"Princess Aurea, welco. Please, sit down!"
"Good evening, Princess Urraca."
I give her the respectful greeting-that-is-not-bowing that is reserved to address people of the sa station as .
I practiced it the whole afternoon, and I’m proud of how it went now. Yet, she barely notices it, as she’s already talking to her friends.
"Everyone, this is the princess slave I’ve talked to you about. Lady Aurea, these are my friends."
She doesn’t even wait for to take my seat before she starts the introductions. Or, at least, that’s what she would have done if the maid hadn’t interrupted.
"Lady Urraca, manners."
That stops the princess in her tracks, and the maid deftly pulls back the chair so I can sit properly.
"And now you can do the introductions."
Her face is so red from being called out by the maid that she looks almost cute.
I ca here expecting a confrontation between potential heirs of two of the most important countries in the world. I completely glossed over the fact that she is eleven.
An actual eleven-year-old girl, not a fake child like .
And the other girls are her age, only one year older than . Fledglings barely out of the nest, having their first taste of relative independence.
Of course, the maids do everything for them, so it’s not actual independence. They wouldn’t know how to fry an egg if their lives depended on it.
Anyway, after Urraca finally catches her breath, she starts with the introductions.
The brunette girl with glasses is Belita Mora. She has deep black eyes and that nerdy aura that has 50 Critical Rate against my heart. She is the only daughter of a duke of Castro, in whose lands are the frontlines of the war.
The girl with a fiery personality is Sole Brasa. Daughter of the pri minister of Castro, she has a hard ti standing still or listening to others. She often interrupted Urraca during the introduction.
Lastly, Eilo Flores seems to be the closest friend to Urraca. She is the daughter of a duke of Calem and is very skilled in the art of flattering for her age.
So, she has been surrounding herself with nobles from her own country and the neighbor Calem, the two countries that head the war efforts against the dragonkin.
And now, . The princess of the country she is currently living in. I’m curious if her parents had any hand in this.
"Princess Aurea, I’ve heard that you lived so years with the beastkin. Is that true? How was the life there like?"
The one asking is Belita. I knew it! She is a nerdy girl.
"Oh, it was really fun. I an, we didn’t have any of the anities of the noble life, but it was fun nonetheless."
Sole butts in with a question of her own.
"Is it true that they eat humans? Did they try to eat you?"
"Of course it’s true, silly. Demibeasts are half monsters, after all."
Princess Urraca answered Sole’s question before I could answer it, but I wouldn’t just stand by that.
"Of course it isn’t. Beastkin are people like us. They would never eat a human, no more than we would."
"Dear princess slave, the na is not beastkin. It’s demibeasts. Because they are not people, they are not human. How could they be people, with those beastly ears and tails?"
"Princess Urraca is so knowledgeable! So intelligent!"
Sole and Eilo were eagerly agreeing with Urraca, but it was Eilo who ca up with the flattery.
"That’s not true. People can be of any race; it doesn’t matter what their bodies look like. What matters is what’s in the heart."
"Maybe I will carve out the hearts of so demibeasts so I can see what’s inside them, then."
"Hahahahaha. That was aweso, Sole!"
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Ugh. Racism runs deep in here.
"I’m sorry, but this won’t do. I have so dear friends who are beastkin. They saved when I was in danger and housed when I had nowhere to go. I’m only alive today, and free, because of their help. I won’t stand any slander against them."
Before I noticed, I was already standing up and had just punched the table.
I’ve never felt so insulted ever since I ca to this world. I won’t tolerate any more of this.
"Whoa, whoa, princess slave. Calm down."
"And I’m not a princess slave. You’ve been doing nothing but insulting ever since we t. And now you’re insulting my friends."
"It’s just a joke... There’s no need to be so worked up just because of it."
"No, it isn’t. You ant every word you said. Don’t co with that shallow, shaless excuse."
I was going to announce that I was leaving, but then I rembered the etiquette lessons. Don’t announce your leave when dealing with people of lower social standing.
I just turn around and leave, without saying anything else.
I won’t co back, even if that princess asks on her knees.
If there are ten people at a table, a racist sits at the table, and none of the other people stands up, then there are eleven racists at the table.
That’s how it works. And I’m not the one who makes the laws.
I go straight to my own quarters, lock the door behind , and throw myself on my bed.
I would’ve been better if I had simply refused them and gone to my study routine like every other day.
On the other hand, if I did that, the princess would have continued to pester until I accepted, and then this would have happened anyway.
So it’s better this way. Now at least she won’t be pestering to participate in her soirées anymore.
I spend the next hour rembering my dearest mories from my ti with the beastkin. Cambucy, Mimby, Yaci, Yara, Kwarah... such kind and gentle people don’t deserve that slander.
They are the kind of people I want to surround myself with. Not racists and empty flatterers. Only truthful, trustworthy, gentle, and kind people whom I can call friends.
All in all, my first experience of a high society social gathering was a complete failure.
Reviews
All reviews (0)