CH 245

「Duchess Anrietta Ellisfeed-sama and her daughter Cristea-sama. Welcome to the royal palace」

Getting off the carriage after Okaasama, the Knights guarding the entrance gate to the private zone and a maid head-like elderly woman who oozed with a veteran aura welcomed us.

「Long time no see, Helena. I will ask you to guide us」

When Okaasama said so with a clear expression, the head maid called Helena respectfully bowed her head.

「I respectfully obey. Please, this way…」

She guided us with elegant conduct.

In order to be in charge of the royalty’s private zone, you’d have to be recruited through a letter of introduction from a high-ranking noble, and your own social status should also be considerably high.

As expected, if you want to become a head maid, you ought to be this refined.

The Royal Knights are also enviously cool. Look, it’s like that. It’s the UK’s Queen Guards! They sent you such shivers. Wonderful.

「Cristea, what are you doing? Quickly come」

Called by Okaasama, I hurried inside.

「Whoa…」

Ohwaa… t, the ceiling is so high…! I thought our entrance hall was substantially huge but is this a church or something?? The gorgeous decoration is also staggering. Eh, if the entrance is this way… how will it be when we advance inside…

From vases to ornaments, everything was an expensive article. It’s an extreme gorgeousness.

Advancing by the walls of the vast hall, we advanced to the deepest part towards one of the doors. When we entered inside, there was a small warping circle. There are apparently other warping circles with different destinations behind the other doors. Because several of them lead outside, some to the audience hall or the reception office, and even to a lodging floor for foreign ambassadors and important guests, so the use of the warping circles is restricted.

Are they supposed to be something like an elevator?

The reason the warping circles are small is for warping a few people at once for only a little consumption of magical power and so that enemies can’t warp in large numbers were something to happen.

There seems to be a staircase as well, but it’s mainly used by the servants, and only two people at most can go through it.

There is apparently a spacious staircase at the completely private floor.

When the head maid poured magical power into the warping circle, the view before me got distorted and a new scenery spread before me. It’s a warping room as well, but it’s a different one.

「This way」

Helena opened the door and led us outside.

When leaving the warping room, we entered a hall again, but it was definitely a different one. Although the first hall was full of luxurious and gorgeous articles to display the dignity of the royalty, this one had, if I’m pushed to say, a calm ambiance as wood was used as the basic theme.

I can tell that the carvings in the wood and the metal fittings were made by first-class craftsmen… it looks simple, but they are all masterworks, aren’t they…?

In front, there is a spiral staircase with an elegant handrail running sidelong.

This handrail looks slippery… Did Prince Ray slip and fell on them before, I wonder? If it was me, I would probably slip too.

We advanced through the hallway while I was thinking so and arrived before a garden door. We will be splitting with the maids from our house here. I received a case with the apple pie from Miria who carried it, we entered the garden and proceeded until we reached a gazebo.

「Queen-sama will arrive before long. Please wait for her here」

Helena said and left with smooth movements, probably to get Queen-sama.

Err… what should I do?

When I glanced at Okaasama, she was waiting while standing in a graceful posture.

… We will be standing here until Queen-sama arrives, huh.

I wonder if I should have given the apple pie to Helena…

Then, after a short while of waiting, Helena went towards us accompanied by a woman.

That person is Queen-sama…?