Chapter 9

Chapter 9

After going out of the Princess’ Palace with Ellie, Siervian walked forward as she recalled the food waste incident.

In her past life, a luxurious carriage passed through the slums threw out some things. It was obviously garbage, but the kids in the slums were attracted by the smell. And when they saw what was inside, it was all gourmet food that was barely touched.

’I’ve never seen such a healthy meal…!

At first, the children who found out about this considered themselves lucky if they came across the carriage. It was like some fortune was being bestowed upon them by the nobles.

But soon, things took a turn.

’This is all from the palace?’

‘Not even just once or twice!’

‘I saw everything! I’m sure they threw away all this food last time, too!’

People had spread rumors that the carriage came from the Princess’ Palace. All kinds of malicious rumors swarmed throughout the slums.

It was quick for the starving underprivileged to get angry.

’I’m sure she’s been doing this many times, wasting food everyday.’

Rumors then spread throughout the capital, to the point that even the nobles had it on their lips.

The Emperor was a man that the entire continent was afraid of, yet he had no weaknesses in state affairs. Public sentiment was also an important part of state affairs, so it was natural that he came to her to check if these allegations were true.

’Siervian.’

Siervian didn’t remember much about this time in the past. She had been too young, but… she could clearly remember her father’s cold gaze as he looked down at her.

Her father asked her something, and even as she was terribly intimidated, she replied ’The snacks… aren’t… yummy…’

Siervian remembered for sure that this was what she said.

After hearing her answer, her father turned around wordlessly. She still couldn’t forget the look he gave her—one that was full of disappointment.

‘But now I think I know why I said that.’

She had already been eating the food that Sarah was giving to her. Even when she was younger, she had been forced to eat hard bread and pepper soup every day.

Of course she had no other choice but to answer like that.

“I only wealized now what happened.”

The food waste incident had a very bad effect on Siervian’s image. She now had to be careful about everything so that she wouldn’t be seen as extravagant. In the first place, she couldn’t even imagine eating something and complaining about the food.

“Princess? Did you say something?”

Ellie approached her because she saw that Siervian’s little cheeks had moved slightly.

“It’s nothin’.”

“Do your legs hurt?”

“Nooo.”

Siervian had been wondering for a long time about the rumors that followed her back in the past. However, there was no doubt that she answered in that way.

‘It’s my fault, so I have to take responsibility—that’s what I thought back then.’

But now, she could see it from a different angle. Even before the food waste incident, she’d been eating small portions of meals that didn’t even taste good, so how could she have possibly wasted anything? And the Princess’ Palace was having budget problems right now.

It was strange in many ways.

“Tell me anytime if you’re having a hard time, Your Highness.”

“Okay!”

The wind, which was warmed up by mana, fluttered around her cheeks. Feeling the pleasant wind across her face, Siervian nodded with the gracefulness of a princess.

When Ellie saw the child very awkwardly attempting to move elegantly, she gasped and stopped breathing.

[ Ellie ]

Favorability: +10

Thoughts: H-How cute…!

When Siervian saw the status window, she was proud of herself, thinking that her behavior seemed very dignified.

‘But how did they know that it came from the Princess’ Palace?’

It was the biggest question she had regarding the incident.

How did the people of the slums come to the conclusion that the food waste came from the Princess’ Palace? It’s not like the carriage driver would have kindly told everyone where he came from.

“Oh my, we’ve already come to the other side of the garden, Your Highness.”

“Ohhh, I wanna go to the kitchen!”

After they went on a tour of the garden, they had already crossed over to the other side.

Siervian was happy to be outside, but the garden of the Princess’ Palace actually wasn’t very beautiful. It looked like no one was maintaining it, and everywhere, there were weeds growing.

Things were fine around the small area where she could take a walk though.

“Is Your Highness hungry? I’ll get you some snacks immediately.”

“No, it’s not that.”

She was momentarily tempted by the mention of snacks, but as she almost nodded, she denied it solemnly. There was something more urgent now.

If her father had come here to check the rumor back then, then there definitely would have been solid evidence against her. In the Imperial family, when you throw away trash, there would be a certificate saying which palace it came from.

“…The kitchen wouldn’t look good right now, Your Highness. Would that be alright?”

“Yeah, it’s fwine.”

[ Ellie ]

Thoughts: You’ll definitely be upset when you see it.

Siervian wondered why Ellie thought this way. What’s wrong with the kitchen?

Come to think of it, she had seen only a few other maids besides Ellie over the past few days.

“There are other people?”

“The other maids have finished their work this morning. Please don’t worry too much.”

[ Ellie ]

Thoughts: What should I do so that the Princess can live in a better environment?

Whether her father knew about the new maids or not, people came in and out of the palace frequently in the morning as Ellie said. But they were very quiet and they focused on their work, so Siervian didn’t even know their names yet.

She also couldn’t see their status windows because they wouldn’t make eye contact with her.

Ellie might have encountered some problems when she became the new head maid. Maybe it was the budget issue.

Siervian decided to wait more patiently, as she was a generous boss.

“Okay then, let’s go let’s go!”

“When we arrive, would you like some snacks?”

[ Ellie ]

Favorability: +10

Siervian rushed Ellie because she wanted to know more about the food waste incident right away, but Ellie thought differently.

Siervian pretended she didn’t hear and just went on her way.

As Ellie mentioned, the kitchen of the Princess’ Palace wasn’t in a good state. Even though everything was neatly arranged, the amount of food stored in the pantry was very small.

Usually, there were dedicated chefs in the kitchen, however, this kitchen was entirely empty. Did the staff leave after doing work in the morning just like the other maids?

But it wasn’t even dinner time yet.

At the thought of it, Siervian suddenly felt hungry.

When Siervian looked inside the kitchen, Ellie entered with a slight smile.

…Did she hear Siervian’s stomach growl a little bit just now?

“Stay here for a while, Your Highness. Kitchen tools are very dangerous, so you can’t touch any of them. Do you understand?”

She knew that much already, so Siervian answered confidently.

“Okay!”

[ Ellie ]

Favorability: +10

Thoughts: Ohh…

Strangely, her thoughts really didn’t reflect in her eyes.

‘There really is nothing in the kitchen.’

With Ellie’s back turned, Siervian quickly returned to her original purpose in visiting the kitchen. She looked around her surroundings sharply.

The cupboards, which should be full of plates and bowls, were practically empty. There were also several shelves lining the walls, but they’re all similarly almost empty.

‘I don’t see anything that could be food waste.’

Ellie skillfully picked up a basket and pulled out some bread inside. Then, she took out a bottle of milk from the storage which was being kept cold by magic.

“Princess, would you like to sit here?”

Ellie lifted the child and let her sit on the big island table in the middle of the kitchen. There weren’t any chairs, perhaps because this wasn’t a place for eating.

“Would you like to eat at Your Highness’ room instead? But since you wanted to see the kitchen, I thought you’d like to eat here.”

“Uh-huh! I like it here!”

[ Ellie ]

Favorability: +10

Thoughts: ‘Uh-huh’? ‘Uh-huh’…!

It would have been absurd for a princess to eat here, but Siervian nodded anyway because she wanted to inspect the kitchen a little bit more.

Besides, she couldn’t ignore Ellie’s sincerity.

And she wouldn’t change her mind since she could smell the nice scent of bread and milk.

“Eat a little of this for now, Your Highness, then you can eat dinner in a little while.”

“Yeah. It’s yummy!”

The soft bread was very sweet with the sugar sprinkled over it. And it was even better when she drank the cold milk.

“I’ll prepare some chicken soup for Your Highness’ dinner. Fortunately, I got some ingredients today.”

Ellie brushed away the breadcrumbs on Siervian’s cheeks as she said this. Originally, she should have been scolded for eating messily, so this was a bit strange for Siervian.

“I pwomise I won’t make a mess.”

“Fufu, our Princess is still young, so it’s alright. I’ll take care of you.”

“Okaay.”

Siervian took another sip of the milk and glanced at Ellie. To be exact, it was to check if Ellie was telling the truth.

[ Ellie ]

Thoughts: I wish I had been more kind to you before. It wouldn’t have been so hard for you.

Siervian was troubled because Ellie seemed to have misunderstood something. She loved Ellie. What could be a good way to say this?

[ Ellie ]

Thoughts: No. If I had shown more kindness, I wouldn’t have been able to stay beside the Princess… People were being fired for showing any affection towards Her Highness.

Siervian found the unexpected truth in Ellie’s status window. Sarah had kicked out any of the maids who were nice to her.

Ellie knew that, which was why she was strict with her on purpose.

Siervian’s heart was fluttering. The Ellie in her previous life stayed beside Siervian for quite a long time.

“Please chew slowly. Do you like milk? Would you like more sugar?”

Siervian was feeling melancholic as she thought that she should have known about Ellie before, but she quickly let go of these thoughts as she tasted the sweetness of sugar.

“Yes pwease.”

She slowly drank her milk and looked around the kitchen, but she really couldn’t find any luxurious food that could end up being the food waste thrown in the slums.

‘Well it’s not in the kitchen right now, so where did it really come from?’

As she savored the taste of bread, she thought that she should look elsewhere tomorrow. At the same time, Ellie’s thoughts popped up again as she swept the crumbs off Siervian’s cheeks.

[ Ellie ]

Thoughts: I wish my sibling* would get better soon too. I don’t know why the fever isn’t going away.

‘There’s also Ellie’s sibling being sick.’

Feeling the warmth from the fireplace, Siervian was momentarily lost in thought.

Ellie’s sick sibling. The food waste incident.

‘I’ll be able to change it in this life. I’ll make it happen for sure.’

After eating her afternoon snack, Siervian felt sleepy so her steps were staggering. Ellie gently picked up Siervian and carried her to her room.

She woke up when it was already dinner time.

‘Where should I look again tomorrow?’

At least she knew now that the food waste definitely didn’t come from the Princess’ Palace. If it was only a misunderstanding from the beginning, then she wanted to do her best to prevent it from happening this time.

‘It happened two months before my birthday.’

It was the same period of time right now in her second life. As Siervian realized this, there was a sudden sense of urgency swirling within her.

The rumors about the food waste from the Princess’ Palace said that the carriage was found several times, so maybe it was already happening right now.

“Eri!”

She was in a hurry because she thought that the rumor might spread again soon.

Just because she wasn’t at fault didn’t mean that people would know the truth. Siervian knew this more than anyone.

“Eri?”

And there was one more reason why she needed to hurry. It was because of the fever that Ellie’s sibling was suffering from.

From the thoughts she read earlier, it seemed like it’s been a while since the younger sibling had been having the fever. Then that meant there was little time left.

There should be a cure for it nearby.

‘I need to solve Ellie’s problem first.’

She was afraid to give false hope to Ellie by saying that she could find a remedy. So, as she looked out the window where the sky had turned dark, Siervian decided.

She would have to look for it by herself.

——

tl/n:

* the word Ellie used here was gender neutral, so it’s still not clear whether it’s a younger sister or a younger brother.