“…That’s a hell of a turnout.”
“It’s because it’s a festival.”
We had more to carry than I thought we would, so we all decided to carry it with everyone first. I joined the group carrying the items because I wanted to see the city.
Perhaps this is a unique opportunity.
I’m not without the feeling of wondering if this is the right thing to do.
But to be honest, I don’t know what to do.
At times like this, I am keenly aware of my lack of life experience in this world.
…I lost it, I…
Could I do better if I had the memory?
I don’t know how to tell His Highness in the royal palace that I’m safe.
I can’t do it on my own, so even if I wanted to rely on someone else, I don’t have anyone by my side to rely on right now.
If I hadn’t gone through the basement, I’m sure there would have been a shadow-guard…
The shadow guards are, to put it plainly, guards like ninjas. Unlike knights, they are people who don’t show up…His Highness Nigel said that I have many such guards attached to me.
Sometimes I notice that there are people like that, but there are many more times where I do not notice them, and I’m usually not very aware of them.
They are very good at killing their presence, and I don’t think I’m particularly sensitive either.
But there are a few places that they never enter, and one of them is the underground passageway of the royal palace.
And even if I were to contact them myself, I wouldn’t know who to contact.
There’s no way that I, who cannot reveal my identity, and cannot give my name, can communicate directly with His Highness Nigel directly. In this case, what should I even do in the first place?
At the palace, all I had to do was tell a maid or a lady-in-waiting or send a letter.
I tried to think of someone I could trust between us, but I didn’t know who to choose.
I thought about relying on the Duke of Grachie and the Duke of Elzevert, but now that I think about it, I realize that they are also not in a position to be contacted easily.
In the first place, how could an ordinary person with no contacts or anything else contact a nobleman they’ve never met?
I feel like I’d end up at the door of a butler or a servant.
And the fact that I couldn’t think of anyone that I could rely on in a situation like this, was like proof that my friendships were very limited.
“…Miss, what’s up?”
Ragg, who was walking in front of me, turned around.
“No, there’s someone I’d like to contact, but I’m not sure what to do.”
“You want to contact someone?”
Rufa, walking behind me, asks in an interested voice.
“Yes…I am a very high ranking person, so I don’t know how to get in touch with them.”
“…And that’s why you’ve been giving such an unflattering look all this time?”
“…Did I have that look on my face?
“Ah.”
“I couldn’t figure it out for myself, but…”
“You looked kind of distressed the first time we saw you. You’re looking a little better now.”
“Well, I won’t ask too much about it because I’m sure there are things the nobleman can’t talk about, but we’re the ones who know the most about these things, so if there’s something you can talk about, go ahead and talk to us.”
“…Honestly, I’m a bit obstructed in all directions…”
So, I wondered to myself why I decided to talk to them.
If you think about it normally, talking to two people who are only orphans from an orphanage downtown was not something that resolve my problem. The two of them have no connections or contacts, and to begin with, they are just children who are only a few years older than me.
Still, I opened my mouth, probably because they are people who have no connection with me.
That means I can listen to their opinions from a flat standpoint, free of ties and agendas and all sorts of other things.
“Well, first of all, as a prerequisite, you should assume that I, as the wife of a great nobleman, am supposed to be in the mansion.”
“A wife…”
“You told me you were married, right?”
“…Are you seriously married? Miss.”
“Yes. The age gap is more than double at the moment, but that’s not a concern as it gets smaller every year.”
“More than double…”
“Aristocracy is…”
“It’s nothing unusual, and it’s nothing to talk about now. Of course, it’s a political marriage, but we’re very close to each other.”
“It was a bit stingy, but even the official event debut was a big hit!”
…It kind of feels like that was just a dream now…
The sight I looked around was an unfamiliar miscellaneous street scene.
There are people who sell on a balance, called the balance sellers, and then there’s also the carry-ons, the painters, who are recognizable at first glance, and a group of mysterious old ladies carrying large baskets.
And I, too, was dressed in a simple cotton dress, much simpler than when I was at the Royal Palace, and I was wearing borrowed, slightly larger boots. The toes of the boots are stuffed, which has been bothering me a while now.
I’ve only ever worn custom-made shoes made for my own foot shape…
“So the reason I’m here is because I happened to be at the place where my relative’s great-aunt was attacked and we escaped together.”
“…What happened with that relative’s great-aunt?”
“I don’t know…I think she probably went to call for help for me who was sick.”
“Hey, isn’t that relative’s great-aunt the grandmother of that carriage?”
“What grandmother in a carriage?”
“Well, you know, it’s the grandmother we gave the street carriage just before we found her.”..
“…Was she a very classy person in a cream-colored gown?”
“Oh, we didn’t talk much…but it was definitely a yellowish dress.”
“I was wondering why you weren’t wearing a coat.”
“…That’s because you ran away from the room.”
“So?”
“At first I was going to go back via that relative’s grandmother’s house, but now that she’s back, I can’t do that…It would be nice if someone at that grandmother’s house was looking for me and I could secretly contact them, but I think that would be pretty difficult.”
“Is that so?”
“…Because the people at the grandmother’s house have never seen me. They won’t recognize me. And I won’t recognize them. Even if I’m lucky enough to sneak in contact with them, whether I can trust them is another story.”
I can only entrust myself to someone I can trust.
For example, if Elaine-sama is here and says that she is a person who can believe in her own subordinates, even if I cannot be completely vigilant, I will be protected. But the subordinates and I do not know each other at all. If we meet face to face, I can’t do that.
“…Well, you’re right. We can’t tell if the people that grandmother’s house are trustworthy if the Miss doesn’t recognize them, right?”
“Yes, that’s right…I have a family home as well but I have a feeling that I can’t rely on them because they were mostly out of touch with me until recently.”
“Parents.”
“My father is still alive, but we’ve barely spoken. And, by the way, he had a second wife who had a relationship with him before he married my mother, and he had my brothers with her. I have little acquaintance with them.”
“Complicated aristocratic relationships, I suppose.”
“Well, yes…so I don’t want to rely on them as much as possible.”
‘My father and my husband are about as close as cats and dogs,’ and Ragg nodded with a look on his face that said he understood.
“That’s why, I’m wondering who I can turn to to get in touch with my husband.”
I let out a small sigh.
“…Normally, I’d say it was impossible, but you’re lucky, Miss.”
“What?”
“…Well, I don’t know if it’s going to be tomorrow or the day after, but our cathedral is going to have Mr. Eli come over.”
“Is he a special person?”
“Oh, I’m not saying it’s because he’s a special person, but someone else is.”
“???????”
“You see, it’s His Eminence Archbishop Gittice.”
“Archbishop Gittice…Eh? Oh, Shion-sama?
“This is our stall,” said Ragg, setting his bags down on the green-painted platform and looking straight at me.
“Yes. The former Prince Shion Luxaire.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
T/N: Am I the only one who was relieved that Shion didn’t have some 25 syllable never-ending complicated name? -cough-PHIL-cough-
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