novelraw Chapter 166: Beggar Siblings - Orville Royal Palace
Chapter 166: Beggar Siblings - Orville Royal Palace
166. Beggar Siblings - Orville Royal Palace
Among the buildings in Orville, which boasts a long history, the oldest is undoubtedly the Orville Royal Palace.
This palace was built when the Arcaea Kingdom was founded and has functioned as the heart of the empire that ruled the continent for thousands of years.
As a result, the Orville Royal Palace is massive.
After numerous expansions, it now houses hundreds of bedrooms, dozens of lobbies, offices, ballrooms, salons, corridors, libraries, reception rooms, chapels, and galleries. However, a significant number of these rooms are firmly closed and not currently in use.
The Bellita Kingdom is too small to recreate the splendor of the glorious Arcaea Empire.
Even if they are not in use, they still need to be cleaned. The short-haired maid, who has been working at the palace for five years, stretched her aching back. By now, she could gain the guards' permission just by showing her face, without needing an entry pass.
“Oh dear, it’s hard. Should I take a little break? This chapel has too many decorations...”
- Step, step.
Her back, which had just straightened, automatically bent again. The startled maid began sweeping the floor with a duster. However, realizing that the slow footsteps did not belong to the terrifying head maid, she cautiously turned her head.“Oh my goodness.”
A strikingly handsome young man walked by.
For a moment, she mistook him for a prince from another country, but his neat uniform, a blend of white and blue, revealed that he was a royal guard.
Shortly after, she found herself in the large kitchen that also served as a bakery. As she put the handsome knight who had just thrilled her delicate heart on the metaphorical chopping block, the other maids, gathered around preparing ingredients, began to speak one by one.
“Hey, you just noticed? There’s already a rumor among the maids working in the ‘Corridor of Plenty.’”
“Really? How come I’ve never seen him? He really was good-looking.”
The maids peeled potatoes with quick hands while chattering about the youngest knight in history, mixing mashed potatoes with milk.
“They’re lucky. I’d have no other wish if I could just work near such a handsome knight.”
Said the short-haired maid, pouring honey into the thickened mixture and revealing her sweet fantasies, only to be scolded.
“Friend, get a grip. There’s no good in getting involved with a royal guard. If things go wrong, we’ll be the only ones getting kicked out. Do you think anyone cares about a maid’s circumstances?”
“I know. I just want to see his face, that’s all. Why are you so intense about it?”
The short-haired maid glared. She carefully placed the dough, covered in breadcrumbs, on a tray without letting them touch.
Once baked, they would be done. When the trays were placed in the oven, the maids took a short break from preparing snacks.
“Then, would you like to go to the Corridor of Plenty? Where’s your post? I’ll go instead.”
“What? Really? Thanks, I won’t refuse. I just need chloeto take mine to Princess Chloe.”
“Yuck. You were Princess Chloe’s personal maid?”
“No way. With her fluctuating mental state, do you think she has a personal maid? We rotate duties in the ‘Princess Palace.’ I’m just on snack delivery duty.”
“Oh my. The rumors are true. That she gets weird every time she’s on her period.”
“I don’t know. She’s usually so nice. Why she’s like that, I have no idea.”
A fragrant smell.
The maids became busy again. They took out the freshly baked ‘Metchitade,’ placed them on warm plates, sprinkled almond powder, and scooped some jam on the side, completing the preparations.
Soon, dozens of plates were loaded onto serving carts.
The maids, each pushing a cart, left the kitchen in a line. They crossed the vast palace, spreading a fragrant smell, and soon began to disperse.
“Then I’ll take Princess Chloe’s. You go to the Corridor of Plenty.”
At the center of the palace, in the vast ‘Hall of Sky,’ one maid took a plate. Her friend disappeared up the ‘Crown Princess Staircase,’ another up the ‘Prince’s Staircase,’ and yet another up the ‘King’s Ascent’ with a crystal bowl filled with almonds.
The short-haired maid didn’t need to climb stairs. She pushed her cart down the corridor beneath the Prince’s Staircase.
The walls of this corridor, often called the ‘Path of Prosperity,’ were filled with paintings depicting the empire’s history.
Unfortunately, the grand painting was cut off midway, but instead, a yellow line on the floor marked a boundary. The maid tidied her clothes and crossed the yellow line.
Then, a corridor lined with green velvet appeared.
It was dazzling.
It was a deliberate setup, but upon emerging from the somewhat dark corridor, sunlight poured in from the east-facing corridor windows.
The walls were decorated with metal flowers and trees, and this corridor, with its dozens of large rooms, was the ‘Corridor of Plenty,’ where the king’s relatives stayed.
Past the corridor beneath the Princess Staircase was the ‘Corridor of Comfort,’ where the king’s in-laws resided, mirroring this living space perfectly.
“Oh my goodness.”
The short-haired maid lost her senses at the sight of ‘that royal guard’ who appeared without warning.
He was standing in the yard in front of the Corridor of Plenty. Staring blankly as she walked, the maid stopped her cart and took out a plate.
If only this were a token of my feelings for him, but it wasn’t. She respectfully bowed to the elderly woman sitting gracefully on the bench, basking in the sunlight.
“Here’s your afternoon snack, Grand Princess.”
“Oh my, is it that time already? Sir Noel, let’s go inside. It’s a bit inconvenient to eat snacks here.”
“...Understood.”
Goodness, how could someone be so elegant?
The short-haired maid made sure to remember the name ‘Noel’ and thought even his small gesture of offering his hand to the grand princess was wonderful.
Wanting to help somehow, or perhaps to say a word, she was about to offer, “Let me assist you,” when she felt a cold gaze.
Her head was turned to the grand princess, but the royal guard’s eyes were on her.
Five years as a maid. She had developed a good sense.
He was clearly angry. She didn’t know what she had done wrong, but she could be in danger of getting whipped.
The maid hurried ahead to the grand princess’s room. She placed the warm snack and her fluttering heart on the table and quickly ran away.
*
“Damn it.”
Leo muttered to himself as he returned to the room after barely managing to get the elderly woman outside.
It’s been a month since he became a royal guard. He still hadn’t met ‘Prince Cleon de Tatian.’
The royal guards were busy. Not because there was something urgent to handle, but simply because they were understaffed.
There were seventy-eight knights affiliated with the House of Tatian, including Leo. These knights were responsible for the royal family’s protection and the palace’s security, making their schedules extremely tight. Consequently, Leo had no opportunity to meet the prince.
Leo devised a plan to move this princess to a location where the prince might pass by. It was a much better method than deserting his post to search for the prince indiscriminately.
However, he couldn’t wait any longer.
The prince of the Astin Kingdom would arrive in Orville in two weeks. Before then, Leo needed to achieve his goal of meeting the prince and persuading Count Peter. He had no time to waste.
Today, he had to meet the prince.
“Sir Noel?”
Leo’s thoughts were interrupted. Princess Danijela Tatian was handing him a plate.
“...I apologize. I got lost in thought. Thank you, I’ll enjoy it.”
Leo politely took the hard, cookie-like Metchitade. He ate it without spreading jam, and Princess Danijela spoke.
“You seem anxious.”
“No, I’m fine.”
The old woman’s eyes lingered on him. She recognized some worry in the much younger man but chose to remain silent.
Leo had no intention of asking this grand princess for help, so he returned to the door and stood quietly.
The title of Grand Princess was given to the eldest female in the royal family.
It was not a particularly pleasant title and did not grant any authority.
The Arcaea Imperial House, which once wielded powerful imperial authority, no longer existed.
As the empire fragmented, the royal family fled to the east, and the emperor, left alone, declared himself a king. Even that position was maintained through numerous political marriages and ceding lands to powerful noble families.
Royal authority had plummeted.
In the aftermath, the Bellita Kingdom saw major families like the House of Tatian gaining control of the government, with nobles wanting to prevent the strengthening of royal power.
Various methods were proposed to limit royal authority, one of which was restricting the number of royals.
The more people considering themselves royals, the stronger the king's influence. Thus, nobles passed a law recognizing only those within six degrees of kinship to the king as royals.
A ruling class that could not dominate.
The Tatian Royal House was now practically just one of the many noble families comprising the Bellita Kingdom.
It was still the strongest family, but...
In any case, given the situation, Grand Princess Danijela Tatian held no real power. She was merely an elegant elderly woman sitting in a small room, so Leo didn’t pay much attention to her.
The fact that a new royal guard was assigned to her alone indicated her insignificance in the royal family.
Leo stood idly, waiting for the shift change.
However, the bored princess, who had been sitting idly on her bed, stood up. She pulled out a Nesonato (a string instrument resembling a ukulele) and began to pluck its strings carefully.
It was an instrument difficult for an elderly woman to handle. However, whether due to her long experience or the sorrow from being abandoned by her groom on her wedding day, the Nesonato produced a pleasing sound.
“...It’s lovely.”
“Thank you. Would you like to come closer and listen?”
Leo regretted speaking up.
However, he obediently sat down. He was just as bored, so when she suggested he play the Nenato (a cylindrical percussion instrument resembling a djembe), he didn’t refuse.
The old woman advised him on how to play it better, and the young man added enthusiasm to the elderly lady’s performance.
It was certainly a heartwarming scene.
*
After the shift change, Leo left Danijela Tatian’s room.
He expressed his gratitude for the pleasant time and walked down the Path of Prosperity, where he saw the Prince’s Staircase.
The prince was up there.
He had no reason to go up those stairs, and he wasn’t supposed to, but Leo climbed the stairs.
“Noel? What are you doing here?”
A royal guard sitting in a small lobby outside the prince’s office recognized Leo and asked.
The royal guard, who happened to be Leo’s supervisor, was a well-known family man in his early thirties.
He often tried to get out of duty to go home, serving as a role model for Leo, who also wanted to leave the palace to visit his brother.
But this wasn’t a situation where that would help.
The door to the prince’s office was closed, and to achieve his goal, Leo needed to open that door and approach the prince.
Knowing it was a reckless act... he could wait no longer.
Leo grinned sheepishly and spoke.
“I stopped by on my way back to the drill ground after my shift. I just wanted to...”
“You don’t have time for that. The knight training at the drill ground won’t be able to leave until you get there. I appreciate you stopping by, but you should hurry back... Hey! What are you doing?”
“What’s this place?”
Leo quietly approached and suddenly opened the office door.
He just wanted to see the prince’s face.
It wasn’t a capital offense, and it wouldn’t be a big problem for a new recruit to do something foolish.
He’d get scolded by his supervisor later, but he could just pretend he was drunk and say, “As a royal guard, I just really wanted to see the prince.”
[ Achievement: Met Cleon de Tatian - Earned mild favor from all nobles serving the House of Tatian. Earned mild favor from Cleon de Tatian. ]
As Leo expected and as his tracking skills indicated, the prince was in the office.
The problem was... the prince wasn’t alone.
“Who are you?”
A Sword Master was there.
No, it would have been better if only Count Herman Forte was there.
In the prince’s spacious office, across the table from Count Forte, sat a nobleman with his legs crossed, sipping from a glass while looking this way. Unfortunately, he was also someone Leo absolutely did not want to meet.
Thin but intense eyebrows, icy blue eyes, and bloodless lips.
It was Marquis Benar Tatian.
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