Chapter 106: House Siren
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 106: House Siren
Running into House Siren in a place like this... Well, we are in the East, so I suppose it isn't entirely out of the question.
Muttering to myself, I recalled Henrietta’s maiden family. I had met them a few times before. They were incredibly busy people, so I had only seen them briefly during Dantalion’s enthronement, his coronation, and their wedding.
Henrietta had a long line of older brothers. The eldest was the heir who would one day lead the earldom; he spent more than half the year at sea, focusing on foreign trade.
Because of that, I had never actually met the young lord. Usually, such grueling work would be left to a younger sibling rather than the heir, but I heard that in House Siren, international trade was considered a rite of passage that the heir had to undertake personally.
I had, however, met the second and third brothers. The second brother was in charge of managing the estate, while the third ran the trading company, traveling back and forth to the capital. Therefore, the man here was likely Henrietta’s third brother, Hamilton Siren.
“Where are they? Lead the way.”
[Why the sudden interest?]
“I think they’re nobles I know.”
[Hmm. They aren’t on the Empress Dowager’s side, are they?]
“No.”
Perhaps because he had seen so many nobles by my side, Desmond didn’t seem to remember Hamilton specifically. I remembered House Siren because, despite their limited appearances in the novel, they had left a strong impression.
Even though they had met a tragic end alongside House Winston when the latter was destroyed, they had been quite magnificent when they marched to the capital, flags flying, for Henrietta’s sake.
The Earldom of the Siren descendants. It was quite a cool concept, wasn't it? I hurried Desmond along toward them.
[The battle just ended, so the humans might be on edge. Be careful, Master.]
“I told you, it’s fine.”
There was no way Hamilton wouldn't recognize me. Even if we had only met briefly at balls, I looked exactly like Veronica.
I felt Philip, who was carrying me, tense up. It seemed he had only just sensed the presence of the trading company.
“Who goes there!”
“Gasp!”
As soon as we stepped out of the forest path into a clearing, people pointed their swords at us with sharp shouts.
Thinking the hulking Philip was a remnant of the bandits, their voices were rough and incredibly threatening.
Since Philip was holding me, he couldn't even raise his hands in surrender. However, he soon became the least of the trading company's concerns.
“It’s a monster!”
“A Direwolf!”
“Oh, dear.”
Shouts erupted from all sides as they spotted Desmond, who hadn't had a chance to shrink his size yet. I looked at Desmond with a troubled expression before turning my head.
“Attack!”
“Wait!”
Just as I was wondering how to stop them, someone intervened with a booming voice. I shifted my gaze toward him.
“That man is holding a child.”
“A—a child?”
“Is she a hostage?”
“You filthy monster-taming bastard!”
The man who realized at once that I was being carried by Philip—it was him, without a doubt. That man was Henrietta’s third brother, Hamilton.
Henrietta had hair as blue as the refreshing sea and mint-colored eyes. This man, with hair a shade darker than hers and deep blue eyes that bordered on navy, stared straight at me.
“Hm?”
Sensing something strange, he furrowed his thick brows. He slowly approached me, sword still in hand.
I waved my hand at him enthusiastically.
“Sir Hamilton!”
“Could it be... Her Highness the Princess?”
Hamilton’s serious eyes widened. Seeing his shocked face, I gave him a bright smile.
“Y-Your Highness! How could you be in a place like this?!”
Hamilton rushed over and came to a sudden halt. He then nodded toward Desmond, seemingly remembering that he had seen the wolf at the Imperial Palace. After all, I took Desmond with me everywhere I went in the palace.
But Philip was a different story. In truth, I hadn't known Philip for very long myself. Hamilton glared at Philip.
“You dog! How dare you hold Her Highness so impudently! Who are you?!”
“Uh, I, well...”
I spoke up on behalf of the flustered Philip.
“This mister saved Dia.”
“Pardon?”
“Huh?”
Hamilton was purely surprised, while Philip was even more shocked by the fabricated story. I nudged his side with my elbow, telling him to stay quiet.
“Just what happened, Your Highness?”
“Well, you see...”
I told him a story mixed with a reasonable amount of lies.
I explained that fanatics had stormed the palace, and I had managed to escape using a magic stone I happened to have, warping away with Desmond and my servant, Philip, who were by my side.
At that, Hamilton’s deep blue gaze shifted back to Philip.
“A servant? I don’t believe I’ve seen this man before...”
“Oh, Philip only recently started working as a servant.”
“I see.”
Hamilton still looked suspicious, but he didn't question my words further.
The lie was necessary. If Hamilton found out Philip’s true identity was a fanatic, he would try to slaughter him on the spot.
Perhaps realizing this, Philip nodded repeatedly while looking at Hamilton awkwardly.
“Did you serve the Princess well?”
“Ah, yes. I did my best...”
“If there is even a single scratch on Her Highness, your head will roll.”
“Gasp.”
Hamilton spoke in a chilling tone. As expected of Henrietta’s family, he was incredibly overprotective.
Since I possessed the Indestructible Body, there was no way I’d have any scratches. Suppressing a laugh, I spoke to Hamilton.
“Sir Hamilton! I want to see Mommy.”
“Yes, Your Highness. I shall escort you to the Imperial Palace immediately.”
“Yay!”
Hamilton spoke solemnly, adopting the posture of a subject following an imperial command. I simply cheered with childlike innocence.
“Your Highness, but your clothes...”
“Hmm? It’s okay. Dia is comfortable right now.”
“Even so...”
I was currently wearing clothes bought in a village. To Hamilton’s eyes, they seemed inadequate. I added more to the hesitant man.
“I want to change before I see Mommy!”
“...Understood, Your Highness.”
“And Philip called me 'Little Lady' here.”
“Yes, Little Lady.”
Realizing it wouldn't be good to expose my identity out in the open, Hamilton immediately changed how he addressed me.
He seemed to have understood everything I was hinting at. Relieved, I joined his trading group. The members of the company who knew I was the Princess treated me with the utmost care.
“We will travel as fast as possible, but with so many people, it may take a few days.”
“Okay, that’s fine.”
“I apologize, Your... Little Lady.”
“Mhm.”
Hamilton said he would send a message via bird so that the news of my safety would reach the palace first. Once she received Hamilton’s letter, Veronica would be able to breathe a sigh of relief.
At that moment, I truly believed I would be able to return to the palace safely.
*
“What is it?”
“...”
Nathaniel stared somewhere with a cold expression. Melissa, who was beside him, tilted her head in confusion.
“It’s nothing.”
“How boring.”
With a smirk, Melissa watched Nathaniel as he turned his head away.
It had been a few days since they arrived in the South, having brought Nathaniel along at Veronica’s sudden suggestion.
Nathaniel acted as if he knew exactly what he needed to do. He calmly tracked the source of the plague. No matter how much sacred power one had, it was usually impossible to pinpoint the exact origin of a plague.
As I thought, this child possesses a power I don't know about.
Melissa watched Nathaniel intently as he purified the plague. With his snow-white hair fluttering, he looked like a saint.
How did a child like this end up by the Princess’s side? Everyone around that small, cute Princess was extraordinary. Though, she supposed the same could be said for herself.
Is it because the Princess herself is special?
She was a child blessed with mana from birth.
No, could that really be called a blessing? Excessive power had instead ravaged the child’s body. From the moment Melissa first saw her, she thought the girl wouldn't live past the age of five.
However, contrary to her expectations, the child had found a way to survive on her own, and when Melissa saw her again, she was remarkably healthy. It was as if the blessing had finally enveloped the child properly.
At first, Melissa had stayed by her side out of concern for the Princess, but her thoughts had completely changed now. She was curious to see how a child with such monstrous talent would grow up. She felt she could die happy if she could continue to watch that growth from nearby.
Shhh.
While Melissa was lost in thought, a white light erupted from Nathaniel’s outstretched hand. A person whose entire body had been stained green returned to normal in an instant.
A moment later, Nathaniel opened his eyes and muttered.
“We have to go.”
“What?”
Melissa’s voice rose at the cryptic words.