โI donโt understand.โ
โThe phrase โ๏ฝใชใฎใ โ is supposed to be a normal expression.โ
Even the clever Kuro uses โno daโ sometimes.
There shouldnโt be anything wrong with it.
What exactly does my sister think is strange?
I look at Kuroโs face.
โโฆโ
Kuro quickly averts his eyes as if trying to hide something.
Maybe thereโs something wrong with it. Iโm starting to feel that way.
โโฆI wasnโt going to comment on Luriaโs strange way of speaking, butโฆโ
โIs it strange?โ
โIt sounds strange no matter how I hear it.โ
โI seeโฆ So that was itโฆโ
It was a bit of a shock. It shouldnโt have been strange.
While I was taken aback, my sister placed a tray with snacks on the table.
โCome over here.โ
โMm!โ
I get up from my bed and run toward the table.
โDarw and the others, come too. Iโve prepared something.โ
Saying that, my sister placed Darw โs plate on the floor. There was a large bone for Darw , and vegetable scraps for Carro and Koruko.
Including the servants, there are a lot of people in the mansion.
So, a lot of vegetable peels, scraps, and bones from pigs and cows come up during cooking.
Iโve heard that they also bring vegetable scraps three times a day to the chicken coop.
โYouโre Koruko, right? Luria, would it be okay to pet you?โ
โOf course!โ
My sister pets Korukoโs back while he pecks at the snacks.
โIโm Luriaโs sister, nice to meet you, Koruko.โ
โCluck.โ
While watching that scene, I also eat my snacks.
Todayโs snack is cookies. Theyโre really delicious.
โTo think something so delicious exists in this worldโฆโ
This is something I never could have imagined in my past life.
I glance at the snacks Carro and Koruko are eating.
โQuack?โ โCluck?โ
โItโs fine, just eat properly, okay? Is it tasty?โ
โQuack, quack!โ โCluck!โ
Both Carro and Koruko say theyโre enjoying it.
In my past life, even the vegetable scraps Carro and Koruko are eating were considered a treat.
I used to get vegetable scraps mixed with the goatsโ feed.
โYouโre saying weird things again. Youโve eaten cookies before, right?โ
โYes, Iโve eaten them.โ
โAgain with the โno daโโฆ Well, I guess itโs okay?โ
While petting Koruko, my sister thinks for a moment.
Just doing that, she looks like a painting.
She could be in a painting titled โThe Chicken and the Saint,โ hanging on the wall.
โFather and Mother seem to be raising Luria freely, so no one will comment on your way of speaking, butโฆ at least I should say something.โ
โHmmโฆโ
I vaguely felt that my father and mother were letting me be freely, in a good way.
Even when I said I wanted to raise goats, they never said no.
In fact, they bought me a book about goats.
If my father had been an ordinary royal, and I asked for a book on goats, he would probably have been astonished.
Raising goats would probably be something for the servants to do, and he would have laughed at me.
โYour sister wonโt say you should behave like a royal, butโฆโ
โI seeโฆ I had a feeling, but Luria doesnโt seem very royal, does she?โ
โNot even a noble lady. Itโs understandable since youโre only five, though.โ
โโฆI see. Iโll be carefulโฆ Ah!โ
I suddenly had a brilliant idea.
โWhatโs wrong?โ
โIf this continues, Luria might never find someone to marry.โ
โโฆThere might be people who say things like that, yes.โ
My sister carefully selects her words.
Iโm sure sheโs thinking, โOf course,โ but sheโs probably being considerate not to hurt my feelings by saying it directly.
Iโm grateful for my sisterโs kindness, but I speak honestly.
โI donโt want to get married.โ
โReally? Why not? Will you tell me, Luria?โ
Itโs common for royal daughters to marry.
I know that much, even I do.
โBecause Iโll lose my freedom and be unhappy.โ
โHmmโฆ Does Mother seem like sheโs lacking freedom and unhappy?โ
โโฆHmm? Now that you mention it, maybe she doesnโt seem that way?โ
Mother isnโt completely free, but I think she has some freedom.
In the first place, no one is entirely free.
Besides, she seems happy. I donโt want to believe sheโs only pretending to be happy in front of us.
โBut Luriaโs situation is different from Motherโs.โ
โThatโs true.โ
โDo you think you could live with goats in the mountains after getting married?โ
โโฆThat might be difficult.โ
โI thought so.โ
I seriously began to think about my feelings.
Maybe Iโm afraid that a marriage ring might become like a collar of enslavement, just like in my past life.
โHey, sis!โ
โWhat is it?โ
โLuria wonโt get married, so Iโll speak however I want, without worrying about how I speak!โ
โโฆThat might be just like you, Luria.โ
โYep!โ
Anyone who says I donโt act like a noble lady is someone I donโt want to deal with.
โSis! Letโs eat cookies together. Theyโre delicious!โ
โOh? Are you sharing? You can eat them all, you know?โ
โIโll eat them with you!โ
โThank you, Luria.โ
My sister sat down next to me and took a bite of the cookie.
She eats so elegantly and beautifully.
This must be what it means to act like a noble ladyโฆ or a royal princess.
โSis, are you going to get married?โ
โYes, I probably will.โ
Whoever marries my sister is a lucky person.
Sheโs so cute and kind.
โWill Father decide who you marry?โ
โMaybe. But Father is the second prince, so it might be the King who decides.โ
โThe King, huh?โ
By the way, Iโve only met my grandfather, the King, once.
That was when I had just turned one.
If my sisterโs marriage is decided before my grandfather passes away or abdicates, it might be my uncle, the new king, who will decide who she marries.
โHmmโฆโ
By that logic, even if Father decides not to marry, my grandfather or my uncle might force him into marriage.
Royal families donโt have the freedom to choose their marriages.
โโฆI have no choice but to act strangely, do I?โ
If I ruin my reputation, people of the same rank or higher might avoid me as a marriage partner.
That would lower the status of potential marriage partners.
If they are of a lower status, it will be easier to ruin the engagement.
Of course, I shouldnโt cause trouble for the other person.
I should be the one who causes trouble, and they should be the victim.
โA noble lady whoโs not really nobleโฆ or a villainous noble ladyโฆโ
I recalled a story that my sister had lent me to read.
It was about a bad noblewoman named Louisa, who bullies the commoner protagonist.
In the end, it turns out that the protagonistโs real father is a duke, and Louisa suffers for her actions.
Then, the protagonist marries the kind prince, and everything ends happily.
Itโs wrong to bully others like Louisa did.
But I think itโs possible to be a noble lady like a villain without actually bullying anyone.
If rumors spread that Iโm an impossible daughter, they might send me to the countryside for โrest.โ
Father, even though heโs the second prince, holds a dukeโs title and land.
If I get a small piece of land with a shabby house at the edge of that territory, thatโs enough for me.
Then, I can live with goats.
โA villainous noble ladyโฆ thatโs the only way. Luriaโฆ this is my strategy.โ
โAre you thinking something strange again?โ
โN-No, Iโm not.โ
โReally? Well, thatโs good.โ
I decided that I wouldnโt cause any real trouble until my sister gets married.