When I was a little child, everything in the world was full of wonder.
“Hey, Lana, why is the sky blue?”
“That’s because it reflects the color of the Mother Goddess’ eyes.”
The nanny laughed gently and said.
How do you transfer the blue eyes of the Mother Goddess?…What is the Mother Goddess, anyway?
“Hey, Roy, why is it so cold in the winter?”
“That’s because the Mother Goddess is mourning the death of her Son.”
Who’s that? Why does it get chilly when your eyes flutter?
“Hey, Lorca, what’s a goddess?”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Prince. I’m confident in my skills, but I’m not an educated person. All I know is that the mother goddess is the great goddess of the Orthodox Church of Luthia.”
“What is Luthia?”
“It’s a teaching that believes in the Mother Goddess.”
“What’s the point of believing?”
“…People like me, who are uneducated, just believe.”
How can we feel comfortable about something that doesn’t really exist?
It was the mother, rather than the man of the house, who had a hard time for with the toddler’s lisping and questioning.
She had more important things to do than to solve the questions of a newborn child of three years old, as she took care of her difficult husband, administered the estate correctly, and ran the household with a large number of servants.
Even so, her second child, who had just been born, was still an infant and she couldn’t take her eyes off him.
Therefore, he…Nigel Elsebard was given a tutor.
The second son of the Count family, who was in college, was an oddity, having been formally knighted at only eighteen years of age, but his teachings, with their correct knowledge and unbiased religious views, had a great influence on Nigel later on.
“Well, so His Highness also had such cute time.”
What did she imagine when she saw him in front of her? His princess, who was so cute just to be there…Arthirea gave a small sigh.
“Nope. Maybe I wasn’t cute at all…I feel like I was asking a bunch of questions that were hard to answer, and I once even made a maid cry by asking so many questions.”
No matter how far back in time it was, there would be no such thing as a time when he was cute. If he had to say, he might have been cute when he was still a baby who couldn’t speak, but at least he had never been described as “cute” since he could remember.
“…What kind of questions would make you cry?”
She tilted her head curiously.
“The usual questions that everyone takes for granted…For example why the sky is blue, or why does it snow, and also the skepticism about religion, and other questions of that type which are much harder to answer.
“…You were three-years-old, weren’t you?”
“Ah.”
“I suppose you could say that it’s just like Nigel.”
Arthirea laughs with a smile.
Her soft smile is adorable, and just her laugh seems to make the surroundings more gorgeous.
“I’m sure if I had been asked, I would have been in trouble and would have ended up crying.”
Beautifully arranged fingertips pick up a small baked good from a plate on the table.
“Your Highness, this is not a Satsuma, but a Rosta potato tart, and this is a pumpkin tart. Both have a delicious natural sweetness to them.”
“…Rosta potatoes?”
“Yes. These potatoes are grown in a village in the north called Rosta.”
“Why are the potatoes grown in such a rural village here?”
It was a simple question.
“It’s the hometown of my new maid, Margo. I was sent in Margo’s place to share them.”
Although he had the idea that the honey-colored layer visible on the surface of the small cup-like baked goods must be potatoes, Nigel was not a big fan of the vegetable called potatoes. He’s not keen on the texture of the vegetable, and it feels like it’s going to remain in the mouth forever.
No, I don’t remember really liking the vegetable much in the first place.
But Arthirea is trying to get him to take vegetables in some way, saying it’s for his health.
She tried to get him to eat them at meals and, thus, she even used them in tea cakes.
Although he doesn’t like it, it doesn’t mean he can’t eat it.
When he shows his dislike of eating something, he loves how Arthirea tries to get him to take it in all sorts of inventive ways. It is adorable to him, and he even unconsciously talk about his likes and dislikes.
“It’s boiled, mashed, and stretched with cream so it’s smooth, so I don’t think Nigel-sama would hate it because it’s not too runny.
The strange thing is that Luthia knows that by heart, even though I’ve never uttered a reason not to like it.
“……Right.”
“Please enjoy it.”
Saying that, Arthirea brought the pastry to his mouth as if her were a poison tester.
The softly beaming expression on her face made Nigel’s cheeks loosen…I knew that my facial muscles were probably not moving even a tenth of what I thought they were, but…
“……Ah.”
I moistened my mouth with tea and then brought the baked goods to my mouth.
This is…
A natural sweetness, not of sugar, spread in the mouth. The texture was smooth and completely different from the potatoes he knew, with just the slightest hint of butter.
“Satsuma…No, Rosta potatoes are sweet. So we use very little sugar. I carefully strain the potatoes and add a little unconventional honey. And then I add cream.”
“Hm.”
“You know, Nigel-sama, these potatoes are very fertile. Moreover, they grow even in the most deprived areas of the land…In the village, thanks to these potatoes, the people are kept from going hungry no matter how bad the crop year is…”
Arthirea’s eyes looked straight at him. Those azure glittering eyes, shimmering behind the blue, are a miraculous color that only the Elzevert possess.
“…Luthia?”
“I told you before. When I find a crop that can grow even in a poor area, I want to share it with others.”
Giggling, the little girl in front of me smiled.
“……Ah.”
Nigel shuddered at the war that ran down his spine with a thrill.
It was not that he had forgotten those words of the young princess.
However, he hadn’t expected it to come true so soon.
“We’ve also secured some seed potatoes…please make use of them.”
I exhale at the pleasure that runs down my spine.
…Interesting
He has yet to measure the true value of a girl who cannot be ignored just because she is young.
“…Arthirea.”
Spinning that name.
“Yes.”
He extended his hand.
“…Your Highness?”
Arthirea, with her quiet side, is completely unguarded.
…My only princess.
He touched her cheek, and then gave her a gentle caress.
“Um, I’m ticklish…”
It was regrettable to let go of the warmth I was touching.
“…I’ve never believed in the mother goddess.”
I muttered a little in my mouth.
I’ve always wondered at the belief in that intangible, uncertain thing called a god.
But if it was God who had decreed this girl in front of me to be my only princess, then for the first time in my life, I thought it was okay to offer my heartfelt thanks.
“Did you say something?”
“…No, nothing.”
As Nigel reached for the second pastry, Arthirea smiled very happily.
…Why does Luthia look so happy?
Unlike when he was a child, he now has gained a variety of wisdom and knows the ‘world.’
There is no longer a world that was full of wonders.
And yet, I don’t know why the princess in front of me is smiling.
Even though I can get grasp thoughts of an usurper in another country, I can’t measure or imagine the mind of Arthirea.
That was interesting and oddly funny.
…I might as well have fun.
In front of me, there is a mystery in the shape of a girl.
A riddle that always seems to fly past my expectations with ease.
“Your Highness, please.”
Her white fingertips held out the pastry she’d picked up to his mouth.
A big smile, not expecting to be refused, is directed at him.
……Ah
This mystery will not be solved so easily.
That’s why Nigel will surely be impatient and pursue it.
But that’s not so bad, either.
“…Your Highness?”
And he couldn’t betray those trusting eyes.
—End—
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T/N: Nice to see a chapter in Nigel’s POV. I can imagine a young Nigel who asked so many questions, that they had to hire a tutor to take up his time.
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