It was the third morning after I woke up.
After all, no…
Apparently, it wasn’t a dream.
A lot of things have come to light in the past three days.
First of all, this body…or rather…I am now a true princess.
Arthirea Luciane Thea Dis Elzevert-Dardie.
A venerable princess who’s father is the Duke of Elzevert, the first of the four major dukes of this country’s aristocracy, and who’s mother is Princess Efinia, the current king’s half-sister. My current age is just 12 years old.
And this is not a foreign country, but rather a different world.
A different world…different world.
That’s right.
It’s only been three days since I woke up, but I knew right away that this was a completely different world from the one I remember.
The reason is that there is no electricity.
There are places in the world without electricity, of course. But there are probably no places where there is no electricity given the cultural level of this room.
I don’t claim to know every country in the world, but I can assure you that this country is nowhere else in that world.
…There is no electricity, so of course there is no air conditioning or lighting. Because the chandelier in this room turns on with oil. In the evening, some people come with long ladders to anoint the chandelier and others come to light it.
I won’t tell you that I had a bit of a culture shock when I learned that the lights were made of candles and lamps.
It’s a strange thing to say, but I’m getting used to being shocked, because every time I do something, it’s a constant culture shock.
“Princess, you’re awake…oh my, you’ve already changed your clothes.”
It’s Lilia, the maid, who comes in.
She seems to be the acting leader of the maids that are following me, as the other girls are always looking to Lilia for instructions.
She wears a simple black velvet dress decorated with a white lace collar and cuffs, and her headdress is white of course. It’s very similar to the design of the so-called maid’s uniform, but it’s not a cosplay or anything else. This is a very common uniform for these girls.
I nodded my head.
“Would you like me to bring your breakfast over here?”
I nodded again.
Lilia understands and withdraws.
I tried not to open my mouth until I could swallow the situation better, but I’m still doing that because the situation is somewhat too complicated for me to know what to do.
Call it a big deal, but I’m not sure if I’ll opening my mouth at the right time.
I didn’t expect it to be this big of a deal…
I’m sure it was a bad idea after I became much more aware of my situation and the circumstances around me, but…it seems to me that there is no other way to get rid of the situation but to remain silent.
…It seems that I was probably killed no matter how you look at it
Just as I was in a car accident in the other world, it apparently seems that in this world, Arthirea fell off the balcony.
I can only say “apparently” because I don’t remember it.
The current me has lost my memory, and even more so, my voice due to the impact of the accident.
I have several handmaidens, not just Lilia, and I knew a few things from the words they spoke to me and asked me questions.
Accident, I don’t think it was an accident…everyone.
Although the maidservants describe the fall from the balcony as an ‘accident’, they all seem somehow not to believe it.
None of them believe that Arthirea fell off the balcony inadvertently.
And just one person…
Some kids might say that they were about to be killed.
But that’s understandable. Because even if you say you fell off the balcony, this Duke Elzevert’s castle is a castle that is built on a small island in the lake.
The balcony where Arthirea fell was on the third floor. It’s not an ordinary three-story house, but a building that’s twice as many floors…as a typical three-story house, which would be a fifth or sixth floor. And if you consider that plus the height of the cliff, I think it’s about the same as crashing from the roof of a 10-story apartment building.
By the way, it’s a lake in the middle of winter down there.
Really, I think I survived quite well.
I looked down from the balcony…of the room I’m currently staying in, which, by the way, is on the ground floor…and thought to myself.
Under normal circumstances, I would never have been able to survive.
The reason why Arthirea was saved is because she was still a child and light in weight, and also because she was incredibly lucky. I don’t think it’s wrong to call it a miracle.
However, it’s a little off to say that I was really saved because the contents are now “me.”
I’ve never seen your face, but thank you, third brother, for saving me…
Rumor has it that my third brother, who was floating his boat on a winter lake while on a date with some noblewoman, immediately scooped me up. If it hadn’t been for him, I would have survived the crash, but would have drowned in the lake, or even frozen to death.
It’s early winter in this country now. It is quite cold in this region, even in early winter, and there is even a thin layer of ice on the lake.
Even that night, there was a thin layer of ice, but they had broken a good portion of the ice beforehand in order to ride the boat in the morning, and that’s why it had mostly melted during the day.
So Arthirea was unharmed.
No wounds at all, just a few bruises.
Truly a miracle.
If such luck were real, I would spend it all on winning the lottery.
I don’t want to have the life of luxury without a safe place where my life is not in danger…
This is Arthirea’s birthplace, but it’s not an absolutely safe place for Arthirea.
Because…
As Arthirea, I am in a rather complicated position.
In this country, you can tell who you are by what kind of bloodline you’re from by asking for the full name.
It’s a simple distinction, but the longer your name is, the higher your status is. The average citizen has one first name, one last name, and no title.
My full name now is Arthirea Luciane Thea Dis Elzevert-Dardie.
The name Arthirea Luciane…this means ‘light that shines in the light.’
The name is taken from the first part of the Bible, written in ancient language.
It was my mother who gave it to me. It the only bond left between me and my mother, who died in exchange for giving birth to me.
And ‘Thea’ is a title meaning royalty.
‘Thea’ is given to the children and grandchildren of the king. For example, if you marry a prince or princess, it is not given to your spouse. My ‘Thea’ is from being the child of my mother, a princess, and thus the grandchild of the former king.
‘Dis’ means queen, a title that can only be given to the spouses of the royal family and the four great dukes by formal marriage. In other words, Arthirea is a married woman.
My husband is His Royal Highness Prince Nigel, the first and crown prince of the current king. (*** Both Nigel and Nadir came up as translations, but I just went with Nigel which is what the first chapters of the manga use.)
The fact that he is the crown prince means that the future king is almost certain. Since I am the future queen, I have one of the best statuses among all the women.
But…they say that age has nothing to do with political marriage, but Arthirea is only 12 years old. What’s with a 12 year old married woman!? I was 33 years old and single only recently!
Well, personal circumstances aside, there’s nothing more I can say about it because Arthirea was 7 months old when she got married, or at least it’s not I can do anything about. I think we’re past the point of arguing about whether it’s good or bad.
Finally, the last name. My surname is Elzevert-Dardie because after marriage, it connects the birth family to the married family.
If one is unmarried, it connects the mother’s birth family to the father’s birth family. In my case, the combination is the same, only the order is switched.
Elzevert would be my father’s surname.
Arthirea’s father is the current Duke of Elzevert, Leonhardt Sisley Vell Thea Adinia Elzevert.
The Duchy of Elzevert is one of the largest noble families in the Kingdom of Dardinia, and although they are highly respected for their military prowess, one member of the family always joins the church and becomes a high-ranking clergyman.
In addition, many of them also excel in learning, and some of them are famous as scholars.
The current duke holds the position of general, and his cousin holds the position of archbishop in the church. Many of his other relatives also hold prominent positions in the royal court. In other words, he has a certain amount of political influence.
That’s why the bride-in-law was achieved.
Dardie, my mother’s surname. It is the surname of the royal family of this Kingdom of Dardinia.
My…Arthirea’s mother was the youngest princess of the former king who married, Efinia Yudier Thea Dis Dardie.
Because she was of direct royalty, my mother has only one surname. A prince or princess in the direct line does not superimpose the marital family on that surname. The king’s offspring means that he/she is the king’s offspring wherever they go.
Efinia was the youngest princess born to Queen Eleanor of the previous king, King Lagras II, and she was the Duchess of Elzevert. She died shortly after giving birth to Arthirea.
It’s a little hard to know what to do when I think of myself as her, but Arthirea is a princess of the most venerable lineage, born in a legitimate marriage between a princess and the head of one of the country’s largest noble families. Moreover, even though she is a young girl, she is the crown princess and future queen.
And the complication is that I am the sole heir to the Duke’s family, even though I am the crown princess
That alone should be enough to make an attempt on my life.
I can’t help it…
If it were a story, I’d say it’s too much of an overkill that she’s the crown prince and also the sole heir to the duke’s family.
…Ah~…
A sound suddenly snatched from my ears.
Is it that time already?…
There’s a clattering sound coming from down the hall.
It’s a sound I’ve heard a few times…the sound of a breakfast wagon being brought in.
Yay, breakfast! As I thought about it, my tummy made a little noise.
Even at times like this, my tummy is just as firm.
For now, I’ll think about it after I’ve eaten…
I postponed the issue…but I wouldn’t run away, never.
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