CH 96

“Did you really get carried by Prince Norfe while being covered in so much dirt?”

The maids said in exasperation. Now that she thought about it, she was covered in dirt. She had been sitting on the ground when he suddenly picked her up and carried her here, so it could not be helped. Chiharu was then thrown into a guest room that was facing the lake.

“I won’t forgive you if you enter the bed like that. Now, go out to the lake and brush off the dirt. Then you can curl up in a corner of the room!”

And then they left her. Chiharu was a little stunned by their treatment of her, but she was comforted by the knowledge that it wasn’t her fault. The only thing that she could be blamed for was chasing the orange. But who wouldn’t chase an orange if it was rolling away?

“Most people would look around them before chasing it.”

She thought she heard Aaron say. But it was just her imagination. And then Norfe had… No, she didn’t need to revisit those memories. And so Chiharu obeyed the maids by opening the door to the balcony. Then she stepped out towards the lake. Everything between the villa and the lake was covered in beautiful white stones. Chiharu was hesitant to get it dirty.

However, it was better than getting dirt in the room. And so she started to hit her commoner skirt. Two guards stood a short distance away from her and stared with hostile expressions, but she paid them no mind. Were they guarding someone important? Chiharu wondered, but they gestured for her to quickly return to her room.

It couldn’t be helped. Chiharu returned to the room but didn’t feel like sitting on the sofa. And so she sat on a wooden chair instead.

Still, she was carried a lot since coming to this world. Even if she excluded the bird people, there was the merfolk. And Nyran. Chiharu wondered how Nyran was doing, but decided he was probably doing better now that he didn’t have to worry about them. However, that made her feel a little depressed. And then Norfe. It was hard to think about it calmly, but somehow, none of it had been remotely romantic. That was odd. Chiharu sighed and her shoulders dropped. 

Knock-knock. She suddenly heard that someone was knocking on the door.

“Yes.”

“I’m coming in.”

Said a maid as she entered. She was carrying a tray with a pot and a cup. No, she wasn’t dressed as a maid. This woman was quite tall and looked very out-going. Also, her face looked a little familiar. She seemed amused and also thoughtful.

“Zynis…”

The person raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, they said that a commoner should bring a common child the tea. But, are you what I think you are?”

Chiharu didn’t understand what she meant, but she realized something else.

“Are you Dilon’s sister?”

“Correct! Then you must be a Saintess.”

The person put the tray on the table and started to circle around Chiharu.

“I see. You’re very small. Just a little creature who is sitting politely in an empty room. I think mother will like you even more than father does.”

Chiharu thought it was rather rude how she used words like ‘small’ and ‘creature.’

After circling her several times, the stranger sat heavily into the chair on the other side of the table.

“I’m Ortha. Zynis’s daughter. Isn’t the plan supposed to be put into action tonight? How did this happen?”

She asked. And so Chiharu had no choice but to tell her that Norfe brought her.

“Over an orange? I didn’t know that such stupidity was possible. Ahahahaha!”

She rolled on the floor as she laughed. Chiharu was sure that this story would follow her around for a while. And she had only meant to show the proper respect that food deserved. She sighed with resignation.

“What’s going to happen to tonight’s plan?”

Chiharu changed the subject. Maki would likely arrive soon. She should find out as much as she could before then.

“There is a merman five rooms down from here. We will enter from the lakeside and free him. That’s all.”

“But there are guards out there.”

“You don’t need to be so nervous around me. We look the same age, don’t we?”

“Uh, um, sure. I saw that there were two of them.”

Well, she thought they were guards, anyway. Ortha then made a slashing motion over her neck with a finger. No way!

“Hahaha. Just kidding. We’ll distract them and rescue the merman when they are gone. Either that, or we will have them sleep for a little while.”

Ortha said as she made a fist. Chiharu looked at her wide-eyed. She was better off not asking for more details.

“I would have thought Amia would just leave by himself.”

Chiharu said as she tilted her head.

“Oh, you know the chief? I thought it was strange as well. But I wasn’t allowed to enter the room. It’s guarded all day long.”

Ortha stretched her neck.

“I’m sure you’ve seen this with the birdfolk. But the merfolk are just the same. You can’t control them. Oh, did you see father’s transformation?”

“Yeah. He was very big and beautiful.”

Chiharu said with a sigh.

“Who cares about beauty. In fact, most beastkin think he is a little underwhelming. I honestly prefer people with a more intimidating aura. But that’s just my personal taste.”

Ortha was very scatter-brained, which Chiharu found amusing. And she also wanted to see what such a beastkin would look like.

“You get stronger after you transform. But you’re already strong before you do. Anyway, you know the chief, so that means you’ve seen merfolk before.”

“Yes. I saw that them smack around gazers with their tails.”

“You saw that? You have to tell me about that some other time. Anyway, that’s how strong they are without weapons. So there is no way that the chief can’t escape.”

“I agree.”

Chiharu had been thinking the same thing.

“Still, we don’t know what is happening. But if the chief stays any longer, the merfolk will not be silent. And so we bring him back by force if we have to.”

Declared Ortha. Chiharu suddenly remembered something.

“Norfe said something about that!”

“What?”

“He said he’s going to take the merman to the royal capital. It was an order.”

“He said what?!”

Ortha stood up.

“What is Highland thinking? The merfolk are not from the beast lands, so we can’t launch an official complaint, but it will definitely cause friction between the countries. Who knows what the merfolk will do. But they won’t be able to attack inland either. What will happen?”

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Ortha shook her head and turned to Chiharu.

“Oh, no. I stayed for too long.”

However, the person who didn’t wait for an answer and opened the door was…

“Chouze!”

“Norfe.”

Maki was panting as she held a box of oranges. Several maids were also with her.

“You. You should have said something if your brother was coming.”

Rebuked the maid who had thrown Chiharu into the room. But Chiharu thought with annoyance that she had hardly been given the time to do that.

“So, your brother is the orange seller that people have been talking about. Did you know that this child came here with sand all over her clothes?”

Said the maid as she rubbed up against Maki. Maki pulled away.

“Uh, yeah. She fell. I am grateful to Prince Norfe, and to all of you as well. Thank you for taking care of my sister.”

She said politely. The maids squealed and giggled as they stared at Maki.

“My, what dark eyelashes and eyes! It’s just like the rumors said! I’ll bring you some tea.”

“What about Prince Norfe?”

“The older maids have claimed Prince Norfe, and we aren’t even allowed to help. And so we’d rather be here.”

This was not the kind of thing to talk about in a place like this. Ortha watched them with amusement. Then she looked at Maki like she was about to say something.

“You can leave now. Take the oranges and go.”

They said to her. And so Ortha was driven out of the room. And the person who entered the room after she left…

“Brother said that he won’t talk to me until he’s cleaned up. Is it true that the orange seller is here?”

It was the real Chouze.