Chapter 119
Chapter 119
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Commoner Experience (2)
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The day after the party.
The office in the western part of the capital was quiet.
...
The only sound was the rustling of turning pages.
It was hard to imagine that a grand ball had taken place just the night before.
"We should ban carriages from entering the roads during the next banquet."
Lea pushed up her monocle and let out a deep sigh.
She then compiled a report on the traffic accidents that had occurred during the festival period.
￣￣￣.
The grandfather clock struck 6 p.m.
Only then could the empire's First Imperial Princess finally remove her monocle.
"Whew..."
Shadows lingered faintly under her eyes.
Having cleared the towering stack of state documents from her desk, she rose from her seat.
The princess poured tea from the teapot on the table.
She sipped it lightly while gazing at the soft glow of the sunset.
Was there anything sweeter than tea after a day of work?
That was what Lea thought as she emptied her cup.
But...
...
For some reason, the tea tasted bitter.
It was definitely the same familiar flavor she always drank.
Yet ever since Irina had gotten the better of her yesterday, there was a persistent aftertaste of murkiness.
*You don't have the guts for that.*
As the empire's eldest daughter, she had kept her distance from Bale to preserve her dignity.
And now, it irked her that her own sister had moved ahead to claim such talent.
...
Lea set down her teacup indifferently.
She crossed her ample thighs and sank into thought alone.
*Have I been too passive?*
It was said that His Majesty the Emperor had once traveled to the countryside in disguise as a commoner to recruit Valdorian.
Her father, who had long heard tales of his valor, had waited five full days until the great general would agree to meet him.
Recalling that anecdote, Lea shook the magic bell on the table for summoning attendants.
At once, Damian, who had been waiting in the adjacent office, knocked on the door.
"You called for me, Your Highness?"
"Yes, come in."
The tall, bespectacled man entered the office.
He bowed his head politely, paying his respects to his liege.
...
Lea watched him intently.
The sight of him bowing sincerely in submission to her.
She wanted to see that same sight from another man.
But that man always slipped away from her, wagging his tail with a sly grin.
"Damian, what did Father do to win over General Valdorian?"
The operations staff officer answered without hesitation.
"His Majesty disguised himself as a commoner and toiled alongside him in the fields, seeking to understand him."
To understand the common folk.
Lea found those words intriguing and narrowed her eyes.
"It means that to claim your target, you must first know them well."
"According to military strategy, yes. His Majesty followed that classic principle."
Damian smiled broadly, assuming the princess was plotting some grand endeavor.
"Indeed, you're right."
Lea nodded calmly.
And then...
"I need to go out on an inspection for a bit."
She announced abruptly, rising from her seat.
"I'll prepare a carriage at once."
Damian moved to issue orders to his subordinates.
But Lea shook her head firmly.
"No, I'll go alone."
"A-alone, Your Highness...? Are you sure that's wise?"
The idea of his liege wandering the vast capital single-handedly filled Damian with unease.
"Yes. I'm disguising myself as a commoner, so it's better if I'm by myself."
Damian worried for her but held his tongue, as her command was absolute.
Besides, she was one of the rare mages on the continent.
She could handle herself just fine.
"I understand you'll go alone. But what about the Radiant Knight Order's march this evening?"
"The rehearsal went perfectly, didn't it?"
Lea dismissed any concerns about the march.
"Still, Your Highness's presence would lend it true prestige. We're short on numbers as it is."
The Radiant Knight Order was an elite force of few members.
Each knight was powerful, but their scale was small.
"So the problem is our low headcount."
Lea rested her chin on her hand.
After a moment's contemplation, her eyes flashed with the resolve of a true sovereign.
"We have sixty knights."
"Yes, that's correct."
The princess narrowed her eyes at Damian.
"Divide them into three groups of twenty and march three times. Form a single-file line."
"Divide them...?"
To the staff officer's question, Lea nodded matter-of-factly.
"Yes. Lead with carriages and white horses. It'll make us look more numerous while preserving our grandeur."
Damian assented quietly to the princess's words.
As he turned to carry out the orders...
"Oh, and on your way back, bring me one 'plump' maid."
"Is there some task for her?"
"Yes. Bring her as discreetly as possible."
The staff officer blinked in confusion at his liege's request.
But he complied, fetching a nearby maid.
"Y-You summoned me, Your Highness...?"
The maid felt both honored and burdened by this private audience with the First Imperial Princess.
...
Lea stood with arms crossed, gazing coldly down at the maid.
The servant trembled in fear.
She wondered if she was about to be dismissed.
Lea's charisma was legendary in the palace, after all.
But when she finally spoke...
"She seems a bit small."
"P-Pardon...?"
Lea shook her head at the maid's question.
"No, never mind. Go change into civilian clothes for now."
"C-Civilian clothes?"
"Yes. And hand over the uniform you're wearing."
The servant hurried off to the changing room and returned in ordinary attire.
"H-Here it is, Your Highness..."
The princess stared at the Victorian-style maid outfit.
Its perfect design would make anyone wearing it look the part.
"What do ordinary citizens think when they see a maid?"
"Well... they probably just assume she's running errands..."
Lea took the offered clothes with a blank expression.
She examined them with the cool scrutiny of a scientist.
"I'll borrow this outfit for the day. I intend to study its fit and find ways to improve it."
The princess handed the maid four gold coins.
"Th-Thank you, Your Highness!"
The maid was moved by the princess's dedication to serving her subordinates.
She pocketed the gold and withdrew politely.
...
Now alone in the office.
The princess locked the door and began trying on the uniform the maid had left behind.
But even putting it on was a challenge.
The skirt clung tightly to her hips, stretching taut.
The bodice squeezed her torso unbearably.
It felt like her whole body was constricted.
Yet Lea paid it no mind.
With humble resolve to monopolize talent, she forced herself into the maid's garb.
"Haa... To clean every day in something like this..."
She already missed the loose fit of that certain man's shirts.
「――――――.」
A beautiful maid wearing a wide-brimmed hat arrived in Norton.
She strolled gracefully through the quiet northern city.
Like any ordinary citizen.
...
The men passing by stole glances at her.
From the taut skirt lines to her sensual upper body.
Even the long maid dress couldn't hide her allure.
"It's nice to venture out alone like this."
The princess savored the fresh city air, a faint smile on her lips.
Then, her eyes fell on the bookstore in front of Bale's house.
Memories of that day surfaced, drawing a chuckle from her.
"This is near that guy's place."
Lea stopped in front of the bookstore.
She tilted her wide hat to shade her face.
...
The lights in Bale's third-floor apartment were off.
He was due back late tonight from a Defense Corps dinner.
Knowing this, the princess had chosen today to secretly immerse herself in commoner life.
...
She wandered the streets alone, quietly observing ordinary women's lives.
Mothers laughing with their young sons and daughters in tow.
They led their whining children steadfastly through the streets.
Lea watched them with warm contentment.
She used to dislike fussy babies.
But at twenty-four, even they had begun to seem endearing.
"Lovely sight."
As she passed them, Lea caught a familiar scent.
*An herb shop?*
Following it, she arrived at the herbalist near Bale's house.
Exceptional in such matters, Lea decided to browse.
"Welcome-."
A middle-aged woman with braided hair greeted her.
She squinted her dark eyes, sizing up the customer.
A figure like an hourglass, skin pale and flawless.
And beneath the wide hat, a peek of radiant golden hair.
With twenty years in the herb trade, she pegged the visitor as a maid from a noble house.
"Looking for something specific?"
"No, just browsing."
Lea clasped her hands behind her back and eyed the row of herb bottles.
Her icy blue eyes scanned them with mechanical speed.
She grasped the shop's inventory in an instant.
"This one's stored incorrectly."
"W-What...?"
The herbalist flinched at the princess's cold remark.
"Rosemary loses its aroma if sealed too tightly."
The woman gaped at Lea's precise critique.
She had taken the maid for some naive girl, yet here she was, more knowledgeable about herbs than herself.
"Take it out of the jar right now. You planning to sell low-quality goods?"
"A-All right... Why so serious..."
The herbalist scratched her head and stepped down from the counter.
She grumbled as she checked the jar.
*A maid's just another commoner like me.*
But oddly, the air around her felt overwhelmingly commanding.
Intimidating, like facing a soldier.
Lea brushed past her indifferently.
While examining rare herbs...
―――.
She turned at the cheerful chime of the door.
"...!"
The princess whipped her head away.
Because the newcomer was...
"Haa... I'm dying..."
One of the Defense Knights, supposedly at the dinner tonight.
"Shopkeep, you there...?"
Bale muttered in a slurred voice.
The grumbling woman glanced at him while extracting herbs.
"Oh, Sir Bale?"
The herbalist greeted him warmly.
"How much did you drink to turn that red?"
"Tell me about it... Our captain's such a boozehound..."
The Defense Knight hiccuped and sighed deeply.
"I've got a brutal hangover... Just the usual juice, please."
He clutched the counter to steady himself.
Slumping and sighing heavily.
...
Lea, disguised as a maid, stared fixedly at him.
"Coming right up. Hold on—had a picky customer today, so it's been a hassle."
"Yeees-."
Bale's tongue lolled as he replied in a cute, drunken drawl.
To Lea, he looked like a toddling fox; she lowered her hat brim.
Her lips had curled up unwittingly.
"For hangovers, my special mint juice hits the spot."
The middle-aged woman crushed mint leaves.
She mixed them with lemon juice to hand to Bale.
But at that moment...
"You shouldn't drink it like that."
Lea's scholarly passion made her refute the flawed recipe involuntarily.
...?
The herbalist and Bale both turned to the disguised First Imperial Princess.
"It might soothe the buzz now, but you'll have a splitting headache tomorrow."
"Reaally...? Then what..."
Fortunately, thoroughly intoxicated, Bale didn't recognize Lea's voice.
He just hiccuped.
*He didn't recognize me. Good.*
Lea sighed inwardly in relief.
"Add a spoonful of sugar and an egg yolk to the juice. It'll be much better."
The herbalist eyed Lea with displeasure.
"Then why don't you make it, miss maid? Where am I supposed to find eggs here?"
Lea glanced up at Bale.
Their eyes met through the gap under her hat.
...
The man flashed his signature sly smile.
Lea tensed.
*Is he going to ask me to come to his place?*
Right now, Bale didn't recognize her.
And drunk, his true nature was laid bare.
If he invited a strange woman home in this state?
It would reveal him as a lecher.
...
Lea swallowed hard.
She waited cautiously for his next words.
But...
"Nooo— I should make it myself and drink it..."
Thankfully, Bale's true nature proved gentlemanly.
"I can't impose on such a pretty maid miss..."
The Defense Knight grinned broadly and staggered out, mint juice in hand.
"Maid miss..."
Lea watched him go.
Deeply drunk, Bale tottered into his villa across the street.
"You plied the poor boy—who can't hold his liquor—with so much booze."
"Is he a regular?"
Lea asked, and the herbalist chuckled.
"Of course. The knight who always tells me to keep the change."
The princess perked up at hearing Bale was a loyal customer.
"He'll probably crash on the stairs again like that. Does it every time he's wasted."
Lea's eyebrows twitched at the revelation that Bale always collapsed on the stairs when drunk.
"I see..."
The princess lowered her hat brim.
Then she quietly left the shop.
"What kind of guy's he, anyway..."
The herbalist watched Lea depart.
As if she'd never seen such an odd maid before.
Creak—.
The empire's First Imperial Princess slipped quietly into the villa.
Ascending the stairs, she came upon...
...
Just as the herbalist said: the Defense Knight sprawled on the steps.
His face flushed red as watermelon flesh, snoring away.
"Pfft..."
It was both cute and fascinating.
"Interesting. Wielding Grand Aura, yet so weak to drink."
Lea raised her concealed wand.
With a light wave in the air...
Bale's body floated gently upward.
The princess, hands behind her back, escorted him to apartment 302.
She entered as if it were her own home.
*He always leaves the door unlocked, as expected.*
The princess laid Bale on the sofa.
She sat at the familiar dining table alone, observing him.
"General... I can't drink anymore..."
He muttered in his sleep, haunted by dinner nightmares.
The princess regarded him like a curious wild animal.
Then, a phrase surfaced in her mind.
*You don't have the guts for that.*
It stabbed her heart like a dagger.
"Irina..."
The girl who shared Bale's first kiss had grown womanly enough to wear bold dresses.
Lydia too.
She'd proudly shown off her academy-style outfit, chosen by Bale.
...
Lea frowned at her sisters' endless transformations.
Then, suddenly.
*Pretty maid miss.*
She recalled Bale's drunken words to her.
At last, the maid smirked.
She approached the sleeping man quietly.
「――――――.」
So soft.
My head had ached, but the gentle sensation cradling my neck eased the pain.
It allowed me to gradually regain my senses.
*Was the sofa always this soft...*
Our apartment sofa was hard and awful.
The impossibly plush feel made me open my eyes.
And in that moment...
The maid's apron came into view.
"Hm...?"
Come to think of it, the pillow was incredibly soft.
Like skin itself.
I blinked rapidly to clear my head.
And then...
I realized my head was pillowed on the maid's thigh.
"You're awake?"
A familiar voice.
A familiar touch and figure.
Recognizing her, I looked up with a trembling face.
"Why the shocked look?"
And there...
Was the empire's First Imperial Princess, dressed as a maid, giving me a lap pillow.
"Is this a dream...?"
As I muttered to myself, Lea said nothing for a moment.
She gazed down at my dazed self.
Then, as if struck by a brilliant idea, she smirked and replied.
"Yeah, it's a dream."