7. Omen (7)
7. Omen (7)
Dorothy hesitated.
If she were to stop me by speaking first here, she would bear all the responsibility,
and if she had preemptively driven away the servants before I could step forward, she would also have to pay the price for offending my mood.
Of course, that would only be if I actually laid a hand on them.
I started toward them but then passed by without stopping.
Dorothy, and even the servants who had momentarily scattered in fear, were left bewildered, blinking their eyes as they could only watch my retreating figure.
—Click-clack, click-clack.
The sound of my high heels, which I still hadn't gotten used to, led me to the servants' table in a corner of the dining hall.
I sat in the middle of it and looked at them.
At that moment.
The head chef, who had just finished preparing the dishes, stopped in his tracks with plates in hand and alternated his gaze between the gathered servants and me.
He must have thought there was some strange atmosphere between us.
"How long do you intend to starve me? Bring it quickly."
"Huh? Ah, yes!"
#
As if afraid of being scolded for being late, the head chef hurriedly had Jaina bring the food.
Normally, of course, the imperial family had their own exclusive dining room.
Just this morning, His Majesty the Emperor had eaten there with a serious expression at the very center of that room.
But this princess suddenly sat not in her own seat, but in the servants' area—a place that wasn't particularly clean and was only roughly maintained.
The head chef thought today must be the day of his execution.
His mind filled with thoughts that this might be an excuse for an inspection that would cost him his head.
But surprisingly, Her Highness the Princess didn't say anything particularly unusual while the head chef placed the food on the table.
The sight of the expensive food meant for the imperial family being served on this shabby table was truly awkward, but the head chef couldn't say a word.
As the princess's tasting continued and everyone in the dining hall remained silent,
"What are you all doing? Sit down quickly."
The words that came from her were not scolding about the food or the people, but permission to join her.
Since they worked in the imperial palace, although their salaries were high, they always had to accept the reality that they could lose their lives at any moment.
To such people, a princess inviting them to sit together would naturally seem strange.
But on the other hand, if they knew that the princess hadn't grown up in the imperial palace...
The princess, dressed in such elegant clothes and behaving with such dignified, utterly graceful manners, couldn't help but feel approachable even to commoners like themselves.
At first, they sat down one by two, wondering if they had committed some capital offense, but seeing that the princess showed no reaction even after about six of them had sat down, they all began to take their seats without suspicion.
They were clearly the princess and servants.
Unless they were exclusive attendants or assigned maids, it was natural that they couldn't even make contact with members of the imperial family, let alone sit together.
Yet here they were sitting together without losing their heads.
It was a situation they couldn't even have imagined in their dreams.
Of course, that wasn't all.
There was one more thing.
The one thing that added to the dignity of the princess's elegant gestures and actions.
It was none other than her incomparable beauty.
Even while eating together, they were busy moving their eyes.
The chest that subtly shook with every movement of her fork and knife.
And the pretty face that never distorted no matter how much food she put in her mouth.
Those two things were enough to capture the attention of all the servants in the dining hall.
Even the head chef, who normally had no interest in such things,
"Hmm, this suits my taste well. Your cooking skills are excellent."
was completely won over by just that single compliment.
By the time the princess finished her meal, they had left more than half of their food untouched because they were too busy stealing glances at her.
"Phew, it really suited my taste, but my stomach is small so I couldn't finish it all. I'll try to finish it next time."
"Ah, no! You can leave as much as you want!"
As the princess who had finished eating started to rise from her seat first, all the servants also tried to finish their meals and stand up.
Naturally, when the princess's meal ended, the servants' meal should also stop and end as a matter of etiquette and propriety.
But seeing this, the princess waved her hand.
"Finish your meals. You haven't eaten enough, have you?"
"Ah, ah, no we have!"
When the princess spoke to the person who had stood up first,
the man jumped in surprise and said they hadn't left anything uneaten, but surprisingly the princess was quite stubborn.
"I was the one who sat here first, and the imperial palace won't run properly unless you all eat well and rest well. I really mean it's okay."
For a moment, the man thought.
He was definitely still hungry.
But if he readily accepted this offer, would he get a "Got you now—" and lose his head?
As he hesitated, unable to decide what to do, the princess continued.
"Hmm, then consider it my command. No one is to stand up until they finish their meals. Those who have already finished eating should sit and rest. There will be punishment for those who disobey."
With that, the princess turned and left.
No, she was about to leave.
She stopped midway as if remembering something, turned slightly, and said.
"The... restroom is excluded. Uhm."
Having said that, she went on her way as if running away.
The servants who saw this were inwardly surprised.
Unexpectedly cute, one might say,
or as if they'd discovered an unexpected air of clumsiness.
Of course, if they said that directly to Her Highness, they would definitely lose their heads.
####
"Your Highness."
"Enough. Don't say anything."
I returned directly to my room and leaned back in the chair.
Since I roughly knew what Dorothy wanted to say, I waved my hand to stop her.
I didn't want to hear any nagging when I was just comfortably full and in a good mood.
But thinking about it, there was exactly one good thing about becoming a princess like this.
"·····Sigh."
That was, I didn't have to do any work.
Originally, I would have woken up very early, and except for meals, bathroom breaks, and swordsmanship training, all my time would have been work hours.
Not having to do that bothersome and headache-inducing work—
What a rare rest this was.
Honestly, I desperately wanted to just lie down and sleep—
"··········."
"·····I get it, I get it."
As if already starting her management duties, Dorothy looked at me as if absolutely forbidding me from lying down.
Still, I couldn't help but want to lie on that soft bed.
As I rested for a while to digest, I suddenly wanted to try holding the Divine Sword soon.
Besides, His Majesty the Imperial Father had clearly requested that I subjugate the Demon King's army.
And Dorothy, who accurately read my mind, brought unexpectedly happy news.
"Your Highness, you have a meeting with the tailor scheduled for this afternoon."
"Oh."
She took my measurements just this morning—I hadn't expected it to be this fast.
But that happy feeling was short-lived, as I became somewhat depressed at Dorothy's next words.
"After that, you have posture and etiquette lessons scheduled."
"···Ugh. I don't need such lessons."
"Absolutely not allowed."
Of course, I knew such words would have no effect.
Eventually, I had no choice but to slump back in the chair.
"Your Highness, you must maintain your dignity."
"····Grr, what does dignity matter when it's just the two of us anyway."
Honestly, since slumping in the chair, I hadn't felt any motivation at all.
Though this kind of rest was very rare for me, Dorothy probably wouldn't understand.
She likely didn't know that I had already mastered all the behavioral codes of the imperial family.
So my attempts to skip lessons couldn't help but look bad.
However, humans always try to seize immediate happiness above all else.
And I, as a member of the imperial family, was no different.
Knock knock.
—It's the tailor, Your Highness.
"You're finally here!"
I stood up happily.
But of course, Dorothy wouldn't allow it.
I ended up sitting back down, straightening my back, and waiting.
Dorothy personally opened the door and went out to greet the tailor.
Perhaps because I'd only ever seen men's clothing until now.
This was my first time seeing a female tailor.
My eyes were drawn to the fabrics the tailor brought.
The fabrics mainly used for men's clothing and those for women's clothing seemed quite different.
I knew this theoretically, but seeing it in person was a first.
My first impression was that everything seemed soft.
The texture was soft, but more than that, the fabric itself had a soft quality.
Yet the fabric that captured all my attention was the wax cloth draped over one of the tailor's arms.
Wax cloth, despite its name suggesting otherwise, was actually made with leather backing, but earned its name because it was as hard and durable as wax.
And the primary use of this wax cloth was none other than for making women's combat tops, used alongside chainmail.
But the person most surprised by the fabrics the tailor brought was none other than Dorothy.
Having been educated as an exclusive maid, she had at least some knowledge about everything, even if only superficially.
So she also knew the primary use of that particular fabric among what the tailor had brought.
"T-tailor-nim? This fabric·····?"
There was no way Dorothy didn't know its use.
That meant there was only one reason for her curiosity.
Why had this fabric been brought here?
"What else, it's obviously for tailoring my combat uniform."
I said with a smile.
But Dorothy reacted as if hearing this for the first time.
"Y-Your Highness·····? Combat? Really·····?"
It seemed she hadn't heard anything about where I was headed.