Chapter 5 05: The Lazy Afternoon

This day was supposed to be fun and relaxing, not depressing, and spend trying to calm down a pouty princess.

Maria could not point out what she did wrong, but she must have done something wrong or princess Neah would not have been pouting this hard.

The princess had not said a word ever since this outing had started and Maria had introduced Nao to the princess. Was the princess prejudiced against demons?

If so, then Maria would have to be the one to change her mind at all costs. But first, she would have to get the princess to talk to her.

“Would you please tell me what is wrong princess Neah? I can’t fix it till I know what is wrong” her words caused that pout to become even bigger.

Why was the princess not saying anything? And why was Nao so quiet all the time? Could they not talk it out and behave like civilized people? Or maybe it was Maria’s presence that was hindering their progress.

Maybe Maira should give them a minute in each other’s company.

“Hey, where are you going? You are supposed to entertain me” the princess complained when Maria stood up and started walking. It was progress, no matter how small it was.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes. I have to take care of something” Maria hurried away before the other two could stop her. She needed them to work things out and Maria did have something to do herself.

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She had to go to the washroom and freshen herself up. She hoped that her plan to get the other two to talk had worked.

And it seemed to have worked. Princess Neah and Nao seemed to be in a deep conversation when Maria made her way back.

The conversation stopped as they both turned to Maria but the hostility from before was gone. Things were peaceful once again and maybe they will be peaceful in the future as well.

She hoped.

“So, what did you two talk about?” Maria asked as she took her original seat again. She was curious about the content of the conversation but she also did not want to seem too interested.

[Warning: Moving to dangerous grounds. The host is advised not to cause interest in the topic]

The system’s warning made no sense to Maria, but she was not someone to ignore it either. If the system wanted her not to probe more into it, then she would not.

But how to end a conversation she had just started, Maria had no idea.

“I just had a few questions to ask your servant Noa here. You seem to have a fondness for demons. Is it a Nao thing or a demon thing?” Princess Neah’s tone had a curious note and the warning inside Maria’s head blazed.

She hated the system and its unnecessary headaches.

“I like Nao as a person but I don’t think demons are as bad as people make them out to be. I think I like them? I can’t say for sure right now. They are interesting though and my magic classes just moved on to them as well” As the oracle, Maria was expected to learn about a lot of things.

She was not allowed to mingle with the common folks, nor go to school. It vividly reminded her of her past self and Maria hated it.

But there was also freedom here which Maria had sorely mixed.

“I see. So you don’t hate demons. It is good to know” those last words were surely not meant for Maria’s ears so she ignored them. As long as she did not flame the fire, this conversation was as good as dead.

Now, Maria just needed a new topic to start and she knew which one she wanted to start.

“By the way, how is your brother doing these days? Mother said that she invited him as well but he refused to come” Maria forced those last words out as the princess glared at her.

The pout was back and it was even bigger than before. What had Maria done wrong? Was she not supposed to ask about her fiance?

“I’m the one with you but all you can think about is my brother? He’s an idiot and has also managed to somehow fall under that demon’s spell” Princess Neah complained.

Her voice sounded sharp and Maria was certain that she should not have picked this topic for distraction.

“Demon? I’m not sure I understand. Also Nao, why don’t you go and get us more tea?” with Princess Neah in such a foul mood, it was not safe for Nao to remain here. Nao knew that as well and took the offer out.

Then it was only Princess Neah and Maria left.

“Yeah, that demon. The blond-haired kid that was with my bother. She was a demon created for me but my brother took a fancy to her. I don’t mind him being in love with that demon, but he could at least not drag me down with him” Princess Neah certainly had an interesting vocabulary.

She clearly seemed to have a lot of trouble with her brother but Maria did not doubt that she loved her brother as well.

“You certainly seem to care for him a lot. I’m sure he must be happy to have a sister like you” Prince Nick should cherish Neah since he was going to lose her pretty soon.

The day prince Nick becomes the hero of the prophecy was also the day princess Neah dies. After all, her death was the reason the MC had managed to awake her powers at all.

And that prophecy would be delivered by Maria causing the first real conflict in the story. Maria hated that outcome fate had planned out for them all but it was not her burden.

After all, she was just following a script.

That was why she had decided to make life as fun for princess Neah as possible. Since she was about to die anyway, Maria would make sure she had a fun time first.

“Care? It’s all a hoax. The royal children exist to compete against each other for the throne and it will kill one of us pretty soon. I will make sure that I’ll be the one to survive till the end. But anyway, you should not worry about it at all. Just focus on me for now” Maria felt hands on her face.

She had not realized when, but princess Neah was too close to her. Their faces were almost touching and it genuinely felt like Princess Neah was about to kiss her.

“Master Maria, here is your tea. I also brought some snacks with it” and the moment was broken by Nao’s arrival. Somehow, it seemed so fitting for a game like this to have such moments.

Princess Neah also decided to maintain her distance after that. The air had also turned awkward and pretty soon it was time for princess Neah to leave.

That had been a typical day for Maria and years followed like this - training and making sure she knew how to perform her duties.

Nao was a constant in her life, a shadow Maria did not even know she needed. Maria did try to free her but it was all futile.

Her mother, Silvya, was seldom present in her life and so was prince Nick. Princess Neah was the same as ever. And so the time passed.

Years passed, Maria turned seventeen as the royal pair finally turned eighteen. It was almost time for the prophecy to begin and Maria’s role to be almost over.

[ETA for prophecy, 1 day remaining]

It was finally time for things to begin.

(Finally, the pre-chapters are done. The real thing starts from the next chapter. A fair warning, there will be a lot of R-18 from ch 10 and ahead so brace yourself. I have the whole first arch planned out inside my head already)