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One day, Amalia, Duchess of Valois and Luria’s mother, was writing responses to invitations in her room when a young maid, peering into the courtyard, informed her:
“Ah, young Lady Luria has begun practicing swordsmanship!”
“Thank you for letting me know!”
Amalia quickly rushed to the window and peered into the courtyard.
Gilberto and the instructor were absent, as it was a day for theoretical lessons. Instead, Luria was being supervised by her nanny, numerous birds, and a prairie dog.
“Hyah! Hyah! Hyah! Cha~~”
“Woof, woof, woof, woof!”
Luria swung a wooden stick around enthusiastically, while Darw, clutching a stick in his mouth, dashed in circles around her. It was more play than actual swordsmanship.
“Young Lady Luria is truly adorable,” murmured an older maid standing beside Amalia, watching the scene.
“She truly is… I’m so happy to see her growing up healthy,” Amalia said, a soft smile spreading across her face.
“I was worried when she was a baby, as she didn’t cry at all…”
Luria had been an unusually quiet baby, never crying even when hungry or in need of a diaper change. It was only when Darw barked that Amalia realized something was amiss.
She would either glare at people with a piercing gaze or seem to grasp at something invisible in the air.
Though she drank her mother’s milk eagerly and would smile sweetly when held, Amalia had been anxious.
Amalia had nearly died giving birth to Luria and feared that the trauma had left Luria frail.
“She’s quite lively these days,” Amalia remarked.
“Indeed, like a little boy,” the older maid responded with a distant nod.
“She’s even more mischievous than Gilberto,” Amalia said, recalling past events.
“Truly… incredibly mischievous,” the maid agreed with a resigned expression.
Amalia could never forget when Luria, at just a year and a half, had filled her pockets with caterpillars. How Luria managed to collect them without being allowed outside was a mystery, though Amalia suspected she had enlisted Darw’s help.
When Amalia noticed Luria stuffing something into her pocket and asked, “Luria, what’s that?” Luria beamed and declared, “Emergency food!” while proudly displaying the squirming caterpillars.
Lydia, nearby, screamed, and Amalia nearly fainted.
Afterward, Amalia explained to Luria that caterpillars shouldn’t be collected because both Lydia and Amalia were afraid of them. Luria seemed remorseful, but it became clear she hadn’t fully grasped the lesson six months later.
One spring day, when Luria had just turned two, five mantis egg cases hidden under her bed hatched simultaneously.
Each case produced about 200 nymphs, resulting in roughly a thousand baby mantises swarming Luria’s room.
“I hope she won’t hide mantis eggs again,” Amalia said, to which the maids all nodded deeply.
Amalia fainted upon entering Luria’s room, overwhelmed by the sight. Lydia, hearing the commotion, rushed in and fainted as well. Even Gilberto, who normally loved mantises, turned pale.
The sheer terror of a thousand baby mantises swarming the room was unforgettable.
“Back then, the young lady said she’d collected them as emergency food,” the older maid recalled.
“Yes… It’s good she has an appetite, but…”
Luria’s enthusiasm for food was extraordinary for a princess. From infancy, she drank milk eagerly, and now she devoured any meal set before her. If Gilberto or Lydia left food on their plates, she would insist, “If you’re not going to eat it, give it to me!”
Even when told more food could be brought, she would reply, “That’s wasteful.”
“It’s wonderful she has no dislikes and values food, but…”
“She’s only three. She’ll learn proper manners in time,” the maid reassured.
“You’re right!”
For now, Amalia thought, it was enough for Luria to eat heartily and grow strong.
“Despite the mantis incident, young Lady Luria generally understands when you explain things to her.”
“That’s true!”
Since the mantis episode, Amalia had stopped scolding Luria for collecting bugs and eggs. Instead, she asked Luria to always report what she found.
Luria enthusiastically agreed, and now she came to report every time.
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Just yesterday, Luria had come running in.
“Mother! Grasshoppers!”
“Ah, yes, grasshoppers. What do you want to do with them?”
Amalia’s face stiffened—she was not fond of insects. Still, she refrained from screaming or scolding Luria harshly. If Luria started hiding her finds, the consequences could be catastrophic.
“I want to eat them as a snack.”
“No, you can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Grasshoppers carry parasites, which can make you sick.”
“I see… Then I won’t eat them. Oh, but Darw already did!”
“Woof!”
Amalia gently patted the bewildered Darw on the head and explained soothingly.
“It’s okay for dogs. Their stomach acid is stronger than ours.”
“I see. That’s good for Darw!”
“Woof!”
“Luria, why don’t you let the grasshoppers go in the garden?”
“Okay! Let’s go, Darw!”
“Woof, woof!”
Thanks to this approach, Amalia had managed to avert disasters. Her room now housed numerous books on insects and wildlife, allowing her to learn much about them herself.
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“Why is it that Luria… is so obsessed with food?”
Amalia didn’t know about Luria’s previous life.
Thus, she couldn’t understand why Luria, who had never experienced hunger since birth, was so afraid of it.
As Amalia watched Luria engaging in what she called swordsmanship practice, which was more like playful antics, a maid arrived carrying snacks.
“Lady Luria, it’s snack time.”
Hearing this, Luria’s eyes lit up, and Darw wagged his tail as they both ran toward the maid.
“Shall you eat it in the courtyard?”
“Yes!”
Receiving a basket filled with a mountain of cookies, Luria sat on the ground in the courtyard.
Since Luria always ate a lot, the quantity of snacks prepared for her was also considerable for a three-year-old.
“Here’s a treat for you too, Darw.”
“Woof!”
Darw happily gnawed on the bone he was given as a snack.
Meanwhile, birds began gathering around Luria as she was about to eat her cookies.
Rather than the snacks, it seemed as though the birds were flocking to Luria herself.
“…Are you hungry?”
Luria looked at the birds and decided they must be hungry.
“Coo-coo.”
“Ho-ho.”
“Chirp-chirp.”
“Alright, fine! I’ll share. But just a little, okay?”
Luria began breaking the cookies into pieces and distributing them to the birds.
Even though there were plenty of cookies, there were also plenty of birds.
Despite the larger-than-average portion of snacks for a three-year-old, it wasn’t nearly enough to feed all the birds.
“Sorry there’s not much to give.”
In the end, Luria gave away all her cookies to the birds.
“Woof?”
Darw dropped his bone in front of Luria.
“That’s for you to eat, Darw. I’m not hungry.”
“Arf.”
Licking the cookie crumbs from her hands, Luria patted Darw affectionately.
Watching this scene, Amalia muttered to herself, “Yes, everything’s fine.”
“What’s fine?”
The older maid asked, prompting Amalia to explain enthusiastically.
“I was worried… that Luria might grow up to be the kind of child who would take food from others to satisfy her own hunger.”
Amalia looked at Luria with a proud expression.
“But Luria is a kind child who considers others before herself. So, it’s fine.”
Even though she licked the crumbs off her hands, it was clear she loved the cookies and was hungry.
Still, she held back because she thought the birds and prairie dogs were hungry.
“When I was three, I wonder if I could have shared my favorite sweets with my friends… I’m not so sure.”
“That’s not true. You were a kind child even at the age of three, my lady,” said the older maid, who had served Amalia since her own childhood, with a smile.
“Thank you.”
“Lady Luria must have inherited her kindness from you, my lady.”
As Amalia and the maid chatted leisurely, they suddenly heard Luria’s voice.
“Oh! A caterpillar! I wonder if this one is edible!”
“Woof?”
“It might have parasites! If I roast it, could I eat it?”
“Woof.”
Luria and Darw were discussing this alarming matter.
“This won’t do. Bring Luria some cookies immediately, before she tries to eat that caterpillar.”
“Yes, right away!”
Amalia and the maid rushed to deliver a large quantity of cookies to Luria before any caterpillar-related incidents could occur.
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