037 - Calm Before The Storm (1)

"Hup!" Faerie made a cute sound as she emerged from her dressing table mirror.

Faerie checked her entire body after successfully stomping both of her feet on the marble floor, concerned that anything might be amiss when she traveled between spaces and dimensions with her.

"Thanks, still intact." Faerie expressed her relief.

Knock. Knock.

But as soon as she heard a knock on the door, she lapsed back into panic.

"Your Highness?" It was Meila, Princess Faerie's maid's voice.

Meila appeared in front of Princess Faerie's room because it was time for Princess Faerie to change into her pajamas and she also wanted to make sure whether Princess was sleeping or not.

"... Is Her Highness asleep?"

There was silence after the knock on the door.

The only sound was the doorknob moving as if it was being checked to see if it was locked or not.

Meila seemed to intend to open the door to Faerie's room and check in person after not receiving a response.

Meila and the other maids would not have ventured to enter Princess Faerie's room at first, for the Princess had always locked herself up because she despised people from the outside world.

However, once Faerie from another world entered Princess Faerie's body, everything changed.

Furthermore, Faerie has no problem with people from the outside world she needs to leave her isolated island and meet many people to fulfill the contract she was 'forced' to sign by the Goddess.

So Faerie had to communicate with a lot of people to gather various types of information.

Faerie was aware that she couldn't rely on the novel's contents and the guarantees Goddess provided for her to survive in a foreign world.

Because the novel's and real-world realities may differ.

Fortunately, Princess Faerie can move from place to place due to her ancestral lineage, which is a high-class fairy race, so even though Princess Faerie is a half-human fairy, she is still able to move from place to place without worrying about the distance.

'Wait, can I move to my world?' Faerie had an unexpected notion like that, but she quickly dismissed it because she needed to focus her thoughts.

'Considering that Leslie Berdandy's character's status in the Theocracy Kingdom wasn't revealed once she arrived there, I need to make plans as soon as possible to contact the Guild.'

Just thinking about it, Faerie already felt exhausted.

Faerie pursed her lips at the thought of having to do more labor.

'I want to eat whatever I want, sleep as much as I want, shop till my heart's content, and freely visit beautiful places....'

Knock. Knock.

"Princess… Pardon but please allow me to enter." Meila's voice could be heard once more, followed by the white door slowly opening from the outside.

'Oh my goodness, I forgot about Meila!'

Faerie hurried to the dress room door, picked out some dresses at random, and tossed them recklessly onto the bed.

Not to mention that she removed the Berdandy's maid uniforms and her long black hair wig and immediately replaced it with a simple dress but with the most striking color in the eyes, red.

"... Princess, what are you doing?" Meila, dressed in her customary lovely white maid outfit, questioned her princess. Then Meila noticed the pile of fancy dresses on the bed.

Instead of responding to the maid's concerned question, Faerie averted her gaze.

The silvery white hair, which had a unique sparkling and was typically neatly and beautifully styled, had become ruffled.

The dress worn was likewise a plain home dress with a striking red color that was inappropriate for a girl with the status of a Royal Princess to wear daily.

In Meila's eyes, Princess Faerie appeared to be a shy girl who had been caught secretly trying to dress beautifully without the assistance of a maid.

Meila, who admired and adored Princess Faerie, thought Faerie's attempt to conceal her flushed face was lovely.

'Princess Faerie... You look like a boiled tomato!'

"I-I'm-I'm trying on dresses... haha..." Faerie responded with a faltering voice and a discordant chuckle.

Anyone who witnessed Faerie's actions could tell she was lying.

Unfortunately, Meila is a big fan of Princess Faerie. Faerie's unnatural beauty makes Meila feel at ease, and she wants to serve her every second so she can keep staring at her face.

Whatever the Princess did, Meila would not suspect it, let alone report it to the Queen, who had appointed her as Princess Faerie's exclusive maid.

"Ah! Are you getting ready for the upcoming coming-of-age ceremony?" Meila's eyes shone with delight. Meila was ecstatic, not suspicious.

"Coming-of-age ceremony?" Faerie didn't fully get it, but she wholeheartedly agreed with Meila's words.

"That's right! It's a coming-of-age ceremony!" Faerie eagerly nodded.

Meila smiled softly. "It appears to be the middle of spring...."

"That means summer will soon arrive, and the streets will become extremely crowded despite the hot weather because it is the holiday season. Then comes autumn, when many would rather stay at home and prepare for a very harsh winter."

"Mona must hurry to town to stock up on basic goods for food and firewood so that the winter will pass calmly and warmly in this mansion."

"Melanie must also examine the entire Mansion to see if any parts are damaged and need to be renovated."

"Then...."

Faerie smiled as she listened to Meila's enthusiastic talk. Just listening to it makes you wonder what it will be like when the next seasons arrive.

"Oh, I apologize for the sudden—" Meila took a brief pause. It was because she noticed Princess Faerie smiling at her chatter.

Princess Faerie, who as a child was very interested in how big the outside world was, was forced to be hidden from the outside world and, as a result, came to despise the outside world since it had kept her away from her family, whom she adored.

Princess Faerie grew into a lovely and cute adolescent girl. Unfortunately, her heart was filled with displeasure and resentment.

Outside the mansion, no, outside her room, she didn't care for anything. She despises the rest of the world. She will go on a rampage all day if she hears the news from the outside world.

Meila arrived at the mansion, which was set on an island in the middle of nowhere, at the same time as Princess Faerie, who was the first to arrive by ship.

She becomes the only child maid who is purposefully assigned to work in the mansion in the middle of nowhere to befriend the Princess's age.

Unfortunately, becoming a friend to chat with a young Princess who considers herself abandoned by her family is not easy.

Princess Faerie would not even look at the maids. She always pretended to dislike conversing with others.

Not only that, but Princess Faerie kept expelling the maids from the mansion. She kept claiming that the maids gave off a foul odor that the maids couldn't understand.

"I don't want to see you! You have a horrible odor! That stinks! Get away!"

"You, you, and you again. Why you're still here?! Get out of here!"

The original 30 maids were instantly cut to 15, and towards the end, only 3 maids were remaining to manage this large and isolated mansion.

Fortunately, the three remaining maids were extremely skilled and could perform some tasks flawlessly.

Meila, one of the three maids who had survived the expulsion episode, was finally able to adjust.

She had been observing the Princess's conduct since her first arrival to the mansion, without missing a single day. And unwittingly...

'It's been 10 years.'

Since there were only three maids remained in the mansion, the princess gradually began to isolate herself in her luxurious and spacious room.

'A white door that is always tightly closed.'

The white door, however, was now open. And she entered it without a racing heart.

It wasn't a sorrowful face masked by an angry expression that she would see from behind the white door. But it was the charming smile of a beautiful silver-white-haired adolescent girl who greeted her.

"Princess… I'm so grateful and happy that you've changed." Meila spoke out unexpectedly.

Faerie, who kept smiling subconsciously because Meila's smile was so adorable when she thought this reminded her of the students she taught, was taken aback by Meila's remarks.

"Huh? Oh. Haha…." Faerie couldn't help but giggle awkwardly when she noticed Meila's emotion-filled face.

'Even though the Goddess had not banned it... I can't just say the Princess is dead, and now their lovely Princess' body is being occupied by an unknown foreign woman!'

'Sorry, but no matter what, I can't say that to anyone in this world!'

Meila unexpectedly approached Faerie as she was pondering.

"I'm confident Her Majesty The Queen and Lord Duke will greet you at your coming-of-age ceremony at the end of winter!" Meila spoke while delicately gripping Faerie's hands.

"Yes. Oh. Wait a minute... What?" Faerie blinked, surprised.

"Her Majesty The Queen and Lord Duke will undoubtedly pay you a visit during the coming-of-age ceremony!"

Faerie shook her head. "No, the word after that!"

"... your coming-of-age ceremony scheduled for the end of winter?"

Faerie rested her hand on Meila's shoulder and looked her in the eyes.

Unfortunately, because Princess Faerie was small and short, she had to look up to see Meila, who was a bit taller than her.

"How old am I?"

"16..."

"A 17-year-old noble lady's coming-of-age ceremony, huh?"

"Y-Yes."

"Are my family planning to come here by ship? Then, my parents must have invited some of their closest friends to my coming-of-age ceremony, right?"

"I'm-- I'm not sure, but it's probably what you think, princess."

Meila grew agitated as Princess continued to ask weird questions. Furthermore, after hearing the response, Princess fell silent.

She was worried that her answer would make Princess Faerie detest people and the outside world again.

"W-What's matter, Your Highness--," Meila's eyes widened in surprise as Princess Faerie's body collapsed, "Kyaa! Princess! What happened?!"

Faerie's thoughts were just as stressed and worried as Meila's.

'Isn't the Emperor's Coronation also held in late winter?'

'That means the second Imperial Prince took Princess Faerie to the Imperial capital when she was 17?'

'So… I only have a year left?!'

Faerie felt that her surroundings were becoming empty. Her heart was racing and she couldn't breathe.

"N…No…." Faerie began muttering incoherently before passing out.

"Princess!"