LIGHT NOVEL
LIGHT NOVEL
— Tisli’s perspective —
Since returning to the royal capital, I have been reunited with certain acquaintances.
Those acquaintances: the Grenada siblings.
A sister and brother I came to know on the road toward Alde’s hometown—Miss Fottes the elder, Berat the younger.
Berat placed impressively at the domain capital’s Martial Arts Tournament, on the strength of which I recommended him for the Royal Guard—the backbone of the castle’s defenses.
On returning to the castle I made inquiries, and happily, he had passed the Royal Guard Examination. In the whirlwind right after my return I could never find the time—and the castle is vast besides—so we kept missing each other; but the other day, at last, I was able to make some time and see Berat again.
Facing me as princess, Berat was even more overawed than before—but with Alde present as well, the nerves seemed to have loosened somewhat by the end.
According to Berat, his sister, Miss Fottes, is now working in the capital too. The original plan, as I’d heard it, was for her to return home—but she moved here instead. Out of worry for her brother, no doubt.
Close siblings—how lovely. Having no siblings myself, I’m a touch envious, too. Then again, siblings in a royal family lead to nothing but grief, so in my case, being an only child was for the best.
In any case—I decided to host a small dinner for Berat, Miss Fottes, and Alde.
Ideally it would have been somewhere in the city. A dinner inside the castle turns formal whether anyone wants it or not.
But a city outing makes Rahful balk—and in my current position I cannot leave the castle right now—so, there being no help for it, a castle dinner it was.
* * *
— Fottes’s perspective —
“Miss Fottes, your arm and leg on the same side are swinging in step, you know?”
“Y-yes?! My deepest apologies!”
“N-no… there’s no need to apologize…”
That evening, I had been brought to the royal castle out of nowhere.
To be fair, Berat had told me to keep my evening open. What he had not done, at any point, was explain why…!
We siblings spend most days off wandering the capital together anyway, so formally reserving an evening struck me as odd from the start.
S-surely it’s not… a date between brother and sister or anything…
Granted, if someone asked me how our capital wanderings differ from dates, I would have no rebuttal—but neither Berat nor I know a soul in this city, so it’s only natural that our days off end up more and more as time spent together, and…
—no. Not the point.
The point is: I’d figured out Berat was plotting some prank—some surprise—that much I had.
But… no way…
Who’d ever imagine we’d be coming to the royal castle!
And on top of that!
Being summoned by Princess Tiariece herself—who could ever dream of that?!
And so there I was, stiff as a board, swinging the arm and leg on the same side together, lurching awkwardly across the castle’s entrance hall.
Berat gave me an exasperated look.
“Fottes, today’s supposed to be incognito—tense up that hard and you’ll be rude to Miss Tisli.”
“E-e-easy for you to say…?!”
Walking through a castle this vast, this gorgeous—being tense is the sane response. Berat is a guardsman; maybe he’s acclimated. But a commoner like me setting foot in here is impossible on its face!
While I was thinking all this, Alde said with a wry smile,
“You were wound just as tight when you saw Tisli again, Berat.”
“Th-that… couldn’t be helped, could it? A rank-and-file guardsman, ordered out of nowhere to an audience with the princess. The entire Guard was surprised, I’ll have you know.”
“Sure, sure—but you’d both better get used to how Tisli does whatever occurs to her.”
At which Her Highness cut in, looking a little sulky.
“Kindly don’t describe me as selfishness incarnate.”
“…Eh? You mean you’re not aw—”
“What was that?”
“Nothing! Nothing at all!”
One glare from Her Highness and Alde clapped his mouth shut, theatrically. More to the point—Alde, still trading quips with Her Highness like it’s nothing… how does he do it…?!
Her Highness, for her part, looked entirely un-offended and went on.
“Inside the castle, giving instructions as the princess is simply faster, that’s all.”
Then she turned to me, apologetic.
“And… forgive me, Miss Fottes. I’d have preferred to host this dinner out in the city, but if I dine out in present circumstances, it turns into a whole production.”
“N-n-not a problem! If anything, the honor is so extreme I may not survive it! And of course we couldn’t possibly claim more of Your Highness’s time than—”
“Tonight, won’t you call me Tisli? We ended up inside the castle, yes, but the premise of the evening is incognito.”
“U-u-understood, Lady Tisli!”
“The honorific is also unnecessary…”
“Th-th-then at least allow me to call you ‘Miss Tisli’!”
Somewhere in that exchange, we were shown into the dinner room.
The advance description said “a small room”… it was so big I couldn’t even tell how many of our apartments would fit inside.
At its center stood a round table, servers already in position. Fully staged, in other words.
I crept into that splendid room, fumbled awkwardly while a server pulled out and pushed in my chair for me, and finally got seated.
Then Her Highness—no, Lady Tisli—no—Miss Tisli spoke.
“Do you two drink? I’m told a rather good wine has come in—if you drink, I do recommend it.”
A “rather good wine,” served at the royal castle… what would that even cost…? Could it be the kind they pour for foreign dignitaries…?
B-b-but refusing might be the ruder move—what is the correct answer here?!
While I spiraled, Berat answered for us.
“Thank you. My sister and I both drink—we’d be honored.”
“Very well. I’ll have it brought out.”
At which Alde said to Miss Tisli,
“Tisli. I trust you know what I’m about to—”
“Yes, yes—no need to say it. I won’t be drinking…”
Miss Tisli answered with, for some reason, a look of chagrin on her face. Whatever could put that expression there…?
I couldn’t guess—and lacked the courage to ask.
But actually… this might be my chance.
A little alcohol, and maybe these nerves loosen a little.
I know perfectly well what Miss Tisli is hoping for—that I’ll treat her the way I did back in the Fergana domain capital. But surrounded by furnishings this magnificent, a person shrinks whether she likes it or not.
And above everything else, Miss Tisli’s princess aura is overwhelming…
How on earth did I ever talk to this person before…?
While I wondered, the wine arrived in no time, and all four of us raised our glasses to the reunion.
As for me, from that point on—there was nothing for it but to drink at a very brisk pace, to settle my nerves…
(Continued in Part 2)
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