(From Blue's Perspective)
The war between Ataraxia and Trouvaille was stopped. The King of Ataraxia could breathe in relief. He knew he was losing, but did not back down because of his stupid pride. Now that the war was stopped by other kingdoms, he did not have to lose nor had to say that he backed down.
The King of Trouvaille did not simply care. He was fine with the decision even though he would have won if the war was not stopped. It was a normal reaction expected from him; after all, winning this kind of puny war would have no effect on Trouvaille. It was not sothing I said. Dem said so, as well as Azure.
"Azure, the way you talk, you seem to have a lot of knowledge about history," I said.
"I do," he replied. "What do you want to know?"
"I have always wondered this- Dem said King Ford changed the kingdom's na to his na- Trouvaille from Ford Trouvaille. But in the history books that collected the information from a long ti ago said the sa na. How is that possible?"
"Ah, that… In the beginning, that kingdom's na was Trouvaille and the surna was Banlin. But the fourth king of Trouvaille changed their last na to Trouvaille. It is possible but is considered disrespectful for a King to change the whole family's last na. He was already called the worst king, so it did not matter.
The na of the kingdom was changed at the ti of the sixth king to their previous surna. It is not stated why he did that, but he just did. At the ti of King Ford, he changed to Trouvaille again."
"Oh my… That's a lot of changing…"
"Most kingdoms don't go that far for changing a na. They simply don't."
"There is one more thing I am curious about…"
"What is it?"
"How old are you?"
"… Why do you want to know that?"
"Because I am curious about my biological father's age?"
"Should a daughter be curious about her father's age?"
"Why should she not? It's a normal thing."
"… Don't worry, your mother did not commit sexual acts with a minor," he said as if he knew what I was worried about. "Besides, how will a minor be smart enough to experint with those things?"
It seed he did not want to answer , but it did not matter. I, at least, confird that he was not a minor when he had us. That would be very unsettling.
After the war ended, Evan asked about my power in a letter. I told him to visit if he wanted to know, since I did not wholly trust letters about this kind of information. Besides, it would be easier to explain if I showed him in person.
We had already promised that we would not hide anything from each other regarding dark mages, or my power. I did not tell him that I was communicating with my biological father, that dark mage every day. I planned to tell him when he would visit.
I returned to the bedroom after finishing the work for the day. I went to the library every day two hours before lunch after finishing most part of my work. After lunch, I would return to my office to finish the rest. I would work till evening. In the evening, I had my swordsmanship lessons. I would return to the bedroom after that to clean up and get ready for dinner.
Dem always tried to have dinner with , even if we could not have lunch together every day. After dinner, the night return was always the sa and intense.
Enjoy new tales from empire
I skipped swordsmanship practice today. Perita was sick. I did not want to learn from anyone else. She was the one who knew my ability and progresses the best, after all.
"Your Highness did not go to practice swordsmanship today?" one of the maids asked.
"No. Perita is sick. I would have co back early, but the work was too much," I said, taking off my gloves.
She took the coat from my shoulders and brought a cold towel. I wiped my face with it. It felt great.
"Will you be taking a bath now, Your Highness?"
"… Yeah, prepare my bath," I said. "You… you will attend my bath today. I want one person."
"Yes, Your Highness."
After a few minutes, the bath was prepared. I was not feeling too well. It had been going on for two days. All the ti, there was an ominous feeling; I always felt like sothing bad was going to happen.
I sat down in the warm water of the bath. It was comfortable and soothing. She took my right hand and started removing the nail paint first.
My nail paint was changed every day. The color was always black, or golden, or black and golden. Actually, my nails were painted according to the outfit I wore. If I wore another color other than black and golden, then the paint would be of that color. More than the color, it was the design that changed every day. I did not have to do anything other than sit down, so I did not care.
"What was your na again?"
"Maria, Your Highness."
"Maria… How old are you?"
"I am eighteen, Your Highness," she replied.
"You are the sa age as . What did you use to do before you ca here? Tell about your family, everything."
"That will be a boring story, Your Highness."
"I want to hear it. Or, do you not want to tell ?"
"No, it is not like that, Your Highness!" she said quickly. "I am just worried it won't be too pleasant."
"It's fine. Not everyone's life can be pleasant all the ti," I smiled.
"I… I was born because of an accident. So, a lot of people did not accept . But my mother and father loved . Even though I did not have the sa blood as my father, he treated as his own. My mother… It was not her fault, but… I had an older brother. He was not particularly fond of but played with sotis.
I was close to my younger sister. But everything changed when I was eight…," she stopped for a while and then took a deep breath. "My parents were murdered by that person, right in front of . He went there to kill because so people found out about his illegitimate child. My parents hid , so he killed them out of anger.
On the sa day, my younger sister caught a high fever, perhaps because of the shock. Our relatives buried our parents and did not take us in. Our brother was training as a knight at that ti. He was not back yet. So, we were on our own. Within a week, my sister's condition got worse and she left as well.
My brother ca back on the day of my sister's burial. Then, he packed all of his stuff… and left , all alone in our small house. No one took in because they said I had bad blood in ."
"Oh my… I am so sorry to hear that," I gasped.
"It's alright, Your Highness. It doesn't affect too much anymore," she smiled. "I was ten then. I left the house with all the money I could find. On my way, an elderly knight took in. I started living with him.
He was the one who taught how to wield a sword. He was a poor man, but we lived happily. He was all alone like . He wanted to call him 'father', but I could not. I wish I did. After his death, I took the job of a maid two years ago.
And here I am now. This is the best place I had ever been. There are warm food, enough water, and a good salary. I don't need anything more."
"You don't want to be sorry for you, right?"
"That is right, Your Highness. The feeling of soone being sorry for is the worst. Rather, I wish to be treated normally. I think it's weird, but I still want sothing like this."
"I understand. You did well, Maria. You were brave."
"Thank you, Your Highness. It ans a lot when you say it."
I understood her well because I always felt the sa.
"But why is Your Highness asking about my life all of a sudden?"
"I was just curious," I said. "Haa, I don't feel well these days. There is this bad feeling. I wanted to forget it."
"That must be why Your Highness looked very down these days."
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