CH 50

"Lady Fara, it appears that the Bardia family has arrived at the guest house in the castle."

":...... yes."

She called out, " Lady Fara," a dark elf girl who appeared to be  younger than  her.

She is dressed in the black-toned military uniform of the Renalute.

Her military uniform, combined with her sharp green eyes, gives off an air that would make the unwilling retreat at the mere sight of a glare.

Her hair is pink with a hint of red, and is tied back in a braid.

However, her hair seems long and numerous, and the braid reaches below her waist, which is impressive.

Fara responded quietly, as if not really interested in what she said.

'...... if you would like to come and see him now, ......?"

'Thank you, Asuna. But if you do anything unnecessary, your mother will scold you. Besides, I don't think everyone in the castle would think well of it either. ......:

......

Asuna nodded sadly at Fara's words.

The two of them are alone in the princess Fara's room.

Asuna is Fara's personal bodyguard and is always with her, including when she moves around the castle.

At first, Asuna had many negative feelings about being Fara's personal bodyguard, but compared to Fara, Asuna has come to think that she was blessed.

Asuna was from one of the most famous families in Renalute, a family of counts with a reputation of valor and prowess.

Her swordsmanship was so prodigious that no one of her age could match her.

Even among adults, she was so skilled that only a few could match her.

However, her talent was not appreciated by her brother.

Her brother considered  sister's existence a threat to his position.

Asuna herself has no such desire, of course.

All she wanted was to improve her swordsmanship.

It was then that her father told her that he had something important to discuss with her, and she was told that she was to be the princess's personal bodyguard.

Asuna also knew about Fara.

For a time, she had often heard rumors that she was the princess who would eventually marry into the Magnolia empire.

Whether the rumor was true or not was unknown, but Asuna thought that if it was true, she had probably been sent away for good.

If the princess were to go to Magnolia, Asuna, her personal escort, would also likely go.

In other words, her father must have folded at her brother's words.

Why was Asuna the princess's personal bodyguard because of her brother's envy and jealousy, even though she had done nothing to deserve it?

And worst of all, does she have to go out of the country?　

At first, Asuna felt angry.

However, she thought that she might be able to hold the sword without thinking about it if she became the princess's personal guard.

With this in mind, Asuna accepted the position without saying a word.

After that, before she met the princess, she had to pay a heavy price for neglecting her education as a lady attendant.

But that is another story.

When Asuna met Fara for the first time, she was surprised at how mature she seemed, which was out of character for her age.

Why would a girl younger than herself be so mature?　

That question soon become clear.

It was the first time she attended Fara's various classes as her personal guard.

It was so strict that it could hardly be considered an education for a princess.

If she made even the slightest mistake, Fara would point it out to her in a harsh manner.

When Asuna tried to stop her, she was admonished, " His Majesty and Queen Eltia gave me these instructions.

Fara also responded with a smile, "Don't worry. It happens all the time," , and she couldn't say anything.

Recalling her own education as a lady attendant, Asuna had never been so severely disciplined.

She could not hide her surprise.

What further astonished Asuna was the thorough study of Magnolia's culture.

This is something quite special in Renalute.

Certainly, there was some friendly attitude toward the Renalute culture due to past events.

However, it was not only culture that Fara was learning.

She was learning about the origins of the country of Magnolia, its nobility, its territories, and so on, which is not something a very young girl is supposed to do.

Classes went on for a whole day, until late.

And Fara was always made to review the day's work in her room and even prepare for the next day's.

For this reason, Fara's sleeping time was always late.

There were no gaps in Fara's daily schedule.

It was as if she had no time to spare.

At that time, Asuna thought that Fala's marriage into Magnolia must be true as rumored, although the true intention was unknown.

Otherwise, she could not understand why she would go to such great extent.

Fara continued this grueling day after day.

This was before Asuna became her personal bodyguard.

And at some point, Asuna began to want to be the one who could support and help Fara.

At first it was awkward, but recently Fara has come to speak a little of her true feelings only to Asuna.

One time, Fara told Asuna how she really felt.

"It's okay for me to be tough and difficult every day. I just have to be patient and do my best. But it's kind of sad that no matter how hard I try, my mother and father don't look at me. ......"

She felt her chest tighten at the words of a girl younger than herself.

But Asuna wondered that too.

No matter what Fara did, neither His Majesty nor Eltia praised her.

In fact, they seemed to be avoiding to see her.

In the end, the reason is still unknown.

The only recent change that could be considered a development was the fact that Fara had decided to marry into the Magnolia royal family or a nobleman of equivalent status.

At Farrah's age, a marriage would probably involve some kind of action between the two countries.

Asuna still hoped that she would be happy.

However, she thought that the marriage would be with a member of the royal family, but the candidate who came to visit was the son of a Magnolia frontier count.

Asuna felt angry.

Why would she marry the son of a frontier count, rather than a member of the royal family, ?

Even if there was a marriage contract, shouldn't it have been after the conversation with the royal family?

This would not make all of Fara's hard work worthwhile.

She strongly felt that way.

"I will be fine no matter who I marry . Don't worry, okay?" She only said with a smile.

Asuna was very angry with herself for not being able to do anything.

She wondered if she could at least help Farrah to identify the son of a frontier count.

That was all she could think about.

"Asuna?　Asuna, are you listening?"

Huh?"　Oh, I'm sorry. I was lost in my thoughts."

"Oh, ...... already."

Fara looked a little taken aback by Asuna's upset face.

'More than that, it just suddenly came to me, let's decide what you want to put on tomorrow, hmm?"

"Huh　 Yes. I understand."

Asuna was a little surprised at the sudden statement, and together they chose a dress.

Asuna is a lady-in-waiting as well.

"I wonder if this will surprise you?"

...... lady Fara, I don't think it's right for a princess to wear a maid's uniform.

"I've been told that Magnolia is all the fashion.　 so the maid of honor prepared it for me."

Asuna looked a little taken aback and stopped Fara from trying on Magnolia's maid's uniform.

The princess would not be granted an audience in a maid's uniform, no matter how much Magnolia's dress was chosen. Let's just use a normal dress."

'Eh...that's a little boring.'

Fara looked a little dissatisfied with what was pointed out to her.

Asuna watched her and gave a small "huh" sigh.

Fara is intelligent for her age, but sometimes she says unexpected things.

So, it's hard to take her eyes off of her.

"I'm sure you're right. Why don't I wear the same military uniform as Asuna?　 "

'Absolutely not. ......"

After that, they both chose dress for a while.

The next day, a dress arrived from Eltia, Fara's mother.

Unfortunately, the dress she had chosen the day before was not used on the day of the audience.