Chapter 3: Convenient presence
506 Words
――Miscellaneous Princess.
That was what Elfriede was called.
A heavy door was closed behind him.
The sound was quieter than I expected.
Because of this, the feeling of being ostracized is the only thing that doesn't catch up well.
Elfriede stood there for a while.
Long corridor.
High ceilings.
The light from the window falls long and narrow on the polished floor.
――Ah.
I walked back and forth in this hallway many times.
With the documents.
I put my urgent message in my heart.
While faking my sleepiness.
When I move my legs, memories naturally come to mind.
First Prince Leonard was busy.
Always, in a different way.
Under the guise of a diplomatic tour, he left the country and actually visited a health resort with his fiancée, Milene.
When he thinks he's back, he puts off his duties, saying, "I can't get over the fatigue of the journey."
Before he knew it, the backlog of cases had piled up on Elfriede's desk.
――Please arrange this before the prince is confirmed.
Someone was the first to say that.
First Princess Serafina was easier to understand.
I won't get married.
I don't even decide on an engagement.
Instead, soirees, balls, theater, and gambling.
He keeps adding new luxurious dresses and jewelry, and before you know it, the accounting for the payments is coming.
"You're free anyway, aren't you?"
I've been laughed at for saying that.
I wasn't bored.
I just didn't have a reason to refuse.
Elfriede stopped and looked out the window.
I can see the garden.
Well-maintained flowers.
I have very little memory of walking with my parents in that garden as a child.
I think King Irvin and the Queen had "no expectations" from the start.
The first prince is the heir.
The first princess was a pawn in a political strategy.
The second princess was then married off to a neighboring country before settling into the royal palace.
She was forced to finish her role as the "daughter of the royal family" too soon.
Elfriede, the third princess, was neither.
So it was left alone.
I wasn't given freedom.
However, he wasn't seen.
Before I knew it, I was reading documents among the civil servants.
He was revising a draft that had diplomats scratching their heads.
He prepared the conference room, refilled the ink, and explained the situation to those who were late.
"Next thing you know, you're there."
That was Elfriede, the third princess.
――That was just convenient.
The royal palace was such a place.
Elfriede starts walking slowly.
The fact that I was banished has yet to sink in.
There's no anger either.
I can't even cry.
But my head is white.
"...Yes, I see."
A voice escaped me.
"So, for that reason..."
Deviation of authority.
Disruption of control.
All of these are words I added later.
I no longer need it.
That was all the story.
――The job is just done.
I felt like that.
Nothing has even started yet.
- Writer
