Raising the Princess to Overcome Death Chapter 93
93. Beggar Siblings - Outing
Lena, out on an outing, walked briskly, clearly happy despite wearing a thick hood.
“Wow! What is that?”
When Lena pointed to a large cart with eight wheels, Jenia, who was following her, answered.
“That’s a fire engine. When there’s a fire, this cart carries water to the site.”
“What about that?”
“That’s a brick press. Do you see the furnace next to it? If you put the bricks made by the press in there and bake them, you get solid bricks. Would you like to try it?”
Jenia kindly explained everything the princess pointed out, and, if possible, helped her get a closer look.
When one of the two knights escorting Lena showed the royal knight's insignia, the workers making bricks stepped aside for a moment.
“It’s because you’re too light, Princess. Let me help you.”
Jenia held the princess’s waist and stepped on the narrow platform. The clay was pressed, forming a neat shape.
“Done!”
“The furnace is dangerous, so just watch from afar.”
“Okay.”
Unlike other kingdoms, the Kingdom of Conrad made a lot of bricks.
In the southeast of the continent, where it is said that centaurs (a race with the lower body of a horse and the upper body of a human) lived in ancient times, lies the land now occupied by the Kingdom of Conrad. It is flat and not very mountainous.
With a lack of mountains to quarry stone, most buildings in the capital, Lutetia, were made of baked clay bricks and wood, giving the city a simple and warm atmosphere.
“Wow! Look at all those hanging things! They must be edible.”
Lena quickly turned her attention to something else and ran over.
“Welcome! It’s been quite cold these days, hasn’t it? Haha. The young master is heavily dressed.”
“I’m a girl.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know because your face is covered. Is there anything you’d like to eat?”
“What are those hanging up there?”
The merchant selling snacks smiled and took down a piece of the dark brown, sausage-like thing hanging from the ceiling. It stretched stickily.
“Try it. This is called ‘Onega.’ It’s soaked in ‘Manella,’ so it’s slightly bitter and sweet.”
“Yum yum... It’s delicious! But what is Manella?”
“You must be from another country. Manella is a spice from the ‘Janel’ flower. You get it by boiling the flower stalks in water. Janel only grows in our Kingdom of Conrad, so you probably haven’t seen it elsewhere.”
“Oh! I know what it is. That... Cannella? I’ve heard that Cannella is the pollen of Janel, and I’ve had it in tea before. The taste is similar now that I think about it.”
“Oh, you’ve had Cannella. It’s expensive... Anyway, how do you like it? It’s good, right? How many would you like?”
Lena looked at the knights with sparkling eyes.
Jenia, as if telling her to buy it herself, took a silver coin out of her pocket and handed it over.
“Here. Just four, please.”
“Thank you. Here’s your change... You can give one to each of your companions.”
“Okay!”
Holding the chewy snack, the four of them sat down by a dried-up fountain to rest their legs.
Even though it was her third outing, there were still many new things to see, and Lena looked around as she nibbled on the Onega.
“There don’t seem to be many beggars around here.”
“Beggars?”
“Yes. I haven’t seen many, and the merchants clean up the trash themselves.”
Jenia smiled bitterly at Lena’s words. It seemed the princess had been closely observing the trash bins.
“It’s probably thanks to the Grania Orphanage. It’s a relief organization on the outskirts of Lutetia that takes in children in need. They take in dozens to a hundred kids each year, though I heard the number might decrease a bit starting next year.”
“That’s a good place. We didn’t have anything like that in Orville... Is it run by our kingdom?”
“I’m not sure. Hey, do any of you know if the Grania Orphanage is run by the royal family?”
“Not sure?”
“No idea.”
“Me neither. Ah! It was established around the time I came to the capital, about 14 years ago, so maybe it was created by the king before he fell ill?”
Jenia and the knights shrugged, saying they didn’t know. Lena nodded and focused on eating the Onega. The sun was setting.
‘Today was fun too.’
Licking the sticky Onega off her lips, Lena looked at the majestic royal castle in the distance.
‘That’s my home...’
It still didn’t feel real. The fact that she would soon enter that grand castle, or that she was a princess.
Just two winters ago, she slept using straw mixed with horse manure that her brother brought from the stable. It smelled bad, but it kept her from freezing to death.
Lena chuckled.
The thought of waking up every morning, shaking off the scattered horse manure powder, now being a princess was astonishing.
At first, she didn’t understand what it meant to be a princess.
She only thought that a princess was a very noble person whom she would never meet in her lifetime. So when her brother emphasized, “You’re a princess,” several times, she was just bewildered and accepted it without much thought.
Since she didn’t know anything about nobles, she knew even less about royalty who ruled over them.
But as she read books and talked with the knights, she gradually realized how high the status of royalty was.
Even in writing, royalty was addressed with respect, and the knights were sensitive to her slightest words and actions.
Her life had completely turned upside down.
Now, instead of horse manure dust, she had a cozy bed, warm food, and constant respect and care following her. Under the kind watch of the fine knights, she could enjoy cheerful outings like this.
‘It might be a bit much, but I’m happy.’
Her dream had always been to live in a nice house with her brother forever. And that dream was sure to come true as they entered the royal palace visible in the distance. That palace was the very home they had been chased out of.
Also, she had a ‘family.’
The first thing Lena asked when she accepted she was a princess was about her ‘parents.’ She asked Bart, “If I’m a princess, where are my mom and dad?” and got the answer that her father was in the royal palace.
“Your mother passed away after giving birth to you.”
Lena, who had been enjoying her snack, suddenly felt sad.
‘I miss Dad... What kind of person is he? He must be as dependable as my brother, right? What about Mom? Was she like Cassia?’
Her eyes turned back to the palace. Although she wanted to go inside right away, all Lena could do, as always, was wait and follow her brother’s words.
‘I want to help, but... Brother probably doesn’t need my help...’
Despite being chased out at a young age, her brother managed to take care of her and successfully return to the kingdom, which was impressive, though she already knew that.
For a brother who could handle anything, he wouldn’t need the help of his little sister. Besides, there wasn’t anything she could do to help.
Lena sighed softly inside.
All she needed to do was wait.
Staying cooped up in her room.
As always, her brother would take care of everything...
The sweet taste of Manella she had just licked off was soon replaced by its unique bitter aftertaste.
It was a characteristic of the Janel flower.
The Janel had unusually long flower stalks, with only the flower blooming alone at the top. Its shape, along with its bittersweet scent and spice, earned it the flower language ‘lonely heart.’
Lena rolled her tongue in her mouth, absentmindedly staring at the palace.
That’s our home.
Where my brother and I will live together forever.
The palace bathed in the sunset glowed red, and today’s joyful outing for Lena would be her last.
“I’m here to see the Cardinal.”
“Do you have an appointment?”
“Yes.”
A man visiting the church handed over a badge proving he was a Royal Guard. The priest, receiving the badge, checked the cardinal’s schedule.
“Mr. Brook, right? This way, please. I’ll guide you.”
Leo followed the priest along the white-lit corridor. Statues carved from precious marble lined the hallway.
The God of the Cross Church forbade naming oneself or allowing idols, so the statues were all saints of the Cross Church.
Among them, a sentence in gold was engraved at the base of the statue of the First Saint, Saint Azura, placed in the center...
Regardless, Leo followed the priest, suppressing his nervousness.
After investigating Cardinal Verke, Leo decided he had to meet him in person.
So far, he had gathered various information about the nobles through the knights, but none of it was conclusive. The only uneasy clue was the inference about Cardinal Verke provided by Jenia, which seemed closest to an event.
Count Gustav Peter (or Baron Monarch) was the one who had identified the siblings in the Kingdom of Bellita, so the cardinal associated with him was likely connected to the scenario.
However, the only thing Leo found out about the cardinal’s career through documents was that it was impressive, with nothing to support Jenia’s inference.
Except for the fact that, as she mentioned, the cardinal made annual pilgrimages to the Monarch Barony.
Had he not heard the secret about the young lady and the illegitimate child of the Monarch Barony, he would have dismissed it easily.
That was because the area was the border region of the Kingdom of Bellita, Kingdom of Aisel, and Kingdom of Conrad. It had many refugees and criminals fleeing from other kingdoms, giving a dubious yet plausible reason for the cardinal’s annual visits to absolve their sins.
After much thought, Leo borrowed the identity badge of a Royal Guard under his command to meet the cardinal.
When a Royal Guard wanted to meet someone, it was often a messenger from the royal family, making it easy to arrange an appointment. The problem was...
‘The cardinal will recognize me.’
There was no way Cardinal Verke would not recognize Prince Leo de Yeriel. He had been in the Kingdom of Conrad 15 years ago, so he would have seen the young Leo before he was exiled.
Fortunately, the cardinal was a priest who had to remain neutral, and even if he took sides politically, he was on the opposite side of Prince Eric de Yeriel.
The cardinal was the one using divine power to keep the king alive, who had fallen from an incurable disease, preventing Prince Eric from ascending to the throne.
Of course, it was also possible that the cardinal’s motive was the enormous medical expenses paid by the royal family... But even so, would a priest, especially a cardinal, simply report, “Prince Leo is here!”?
Even assuming he wasn’t a noble priest, a high-ranking figure wouldn’t react so straightforwardly. No matter how negative his reaction, it would at least take the form of a ‘deal.’
[ Achievement: Master-Servant Relationship - ‘144,’ As long as loyalty remains unwavering, those who swear loyalty will trust and follow Leo. ]
And Leo had enough power to confront the cardinal. The power to overturn this kingdom anytime.
‘I also need to know the state of Father’s illness, so I should meet him.’
Suppressing his worries with necessity and justification, Leo saw the priest stop in front of a large door.
“This is the place. The cardinal is inside.”
“Thank you for guiding me.”
Sending the priest away, Leo pushed the silver-decorated handle and entered, first noticing the Cross Church’s symbol hanging from the ceiling and the tall stained glass (decorative glass panels colored in various hues).
In front of them sat an old man at a desk, bathed in the colorful light streaming through.
An imposing elderly man with white hair, Cardinal Verke, looked up.
“What brings the royal family here...”
It wasn’t just white hair. It wasn’t that his hair had turned white with age, but that his original silver hair had become whiter.
Wearing a pure white robe, the cardinal, as Jenia had mentioned, had no particularly distinctive features.
His high, sharp features were softened to the point of being amiable to anyone, making that his distinctive feature.
If one had to point out more, his face was relatively long, and his chin was sharp, though not prominent. The single mole above his eye gave an ambitious impression, but it was also hard to call it distinctive.
A sturdy, well-built old man.
That was the entirety of Leo’s impression of the cardinal.
And...
‘He indeed resembles Count Peter.’
“...You’ve arrived? You seem to be someone I’ve never met before.”
Leo thought even the cardinal’s feigned ignorance was similar to him. Count Gustav Peter also pretended not to recognize Leo at first sight.
“It seems the cardinal doesn’t recognize me.”
“Hahahahahaha!”
At Leo’s direct words, the cardinal burst into a rough laugh, neither like a devout priest nor an elderly man.
Leo thought he saw the cardinal’s eyes flash white for a moment, likely an illusion from the sunlight.