Chapter 10
Prince Alfred was taken aback by Muriela’s sudden bold remark.
How dare this cheeky little kid act up?
Even his father, Eldric, never reproached him for anything he did. Before that, who was this kid that had the nerve to challenge Alfred?
At that moment, Adeline, who had been frozen in shock, came to her senses.
“Muriela, you shouldn’t say that. Alfred is really scary!”
‘Muriela? That doll?’
To Alfred, Muriela was truly insignificant. He had never even exchanged a single word with her—practically an invisible existence.
Even though they were blood-related siblings, he couldn’t even recall her face. At this point, their relationship was worse than that of strangers.
Of course, that was due to Alfred’s indifference.
But seeing her today, wasn’t she quite audacious? She looked healthier than expected, too.
Alfred found this amusing. No one ever interfered, no matter what he did. It wasn’t freedom; it was actually really boring. Of course, he never imagined that a little kid would dare to confront him.
Meanwhile, Kasper was making a hand signal that meant ‘Let’s run away!’ No one paid attention, though.
“Are you Muriela?”
“…Yes.”
“Kids shouldn’t meddle in adults’ affairs. Everyone, go back now.”
With that, Alfred spoke and returned to his room. He didn’t know why, but the thought of indulging himself with a maid suddenly vanished.
After Alfred left, the little group stood there, bewildered.
“Kasper, you can stop the hand signals now.”
Adeline stopped Kasper, who was still diligently opening and closing his hands.
“Muriela, Alfred is really scary! Why did you do that?”
“What’s so scary about him?”
To Solinor, it was just his cute grandchild acting out. But to Adeline, who was only 9 years old, being yelled at by an adult was understandably terrifying.
“Weren’t you scared? Wow, our Muriela is amazing.”
“Muriela, you’re awesome!”
Kasper nodded in agreement.
To him, too, the eldest brother was a truly frightening figure.
From afar, Bianca and the maids of Queen Elodia breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that nothing serious had happened.
It wasn’t that they were worried Alfred would harm his siblings.
Even though Alfred had a reputation as a troublemaker in the palace, he still respected certain boundaries.
But if any unpleasant incident reached the queens’ ears, the maids would surely get scolded.
Even on the way back, the three children continued their absurd hand signals and hiding antics. The maids followed them from a distance, watching.
***
Solinor returned from the little adventure utterly exhausted.
It had indeed been fun, but it was hard on Princess Muriela’s body, which had not long recovered.
They had walked quite a distance, and moving around in a crouched position the whole time didn’t help.
After finally washing up and having a meal, Princess Muriela decided to rest in bed, even though it was still early.
Solinor felt a renewed need to assess the state of the kingdom.
Seeing Crown Prince Alfred today made him think that things didn’t look so good. If that was the case, then there was a good chance that King Eldric was also facing issues.
Had he been too optimistic all this time?
He needed to find a way to get concrete information on how the kingdom was being run.
‘Who should I ask for such information? Should I try talking to Bianca? Or would Queen Elodia be any help? …Thinking is great, but I should sleep first… Zzzz…’
Solinor’s thoughts trailed off, as Princess Muriela’s exhausted body drifted into slumber, taking him along on a journey to dreamland.
***
The next morning, Muriela woke up feeling more energetic than usual after a long rest.
Solinor, influenced by her body, was in high spirits too.
After quickly finishing her morning routine, she approached Bianca.
“Bianca, how can I find information about the current state of our kingdom?”
Bianca was stunned.
She had never dreamed that Princess Muriela would ask such a question.
What kind of 8-year-old princess asks her maid something like that?
The days spent with the increasingly lively Princess Muriela had brought Bianca great joy. But this question was too much to handle, even with her maternal-like affection for the princess.
Disappointing the princess who was looking at her with bright, expectant eyes was the last thing Bianca wanted, but she truly had no knowledge of what Muriela asked.
“Princess, I’m sorry. I don’t quite understand what you’re asking for.”
Seeing Bianca bow her head in apology, Solinor reflected on how vague his question had been.
“To put it differently, I’d like to read reports on things like the government budget, recent policy costs, or the outcomes of various initiatives.”
However, Bianca only became more bewildered after hearing this revised request. Just yesterday, the little princess had been adorably using clumsy hand signals to explore the garden.
Now, she had suddenly turned into an efficient government official. Although Bianca had never seen an actual government official at work, she imagined it might look something like this.
And meanwhile, Muriela’s relentless, sparkling eyes continued to deliver a barrage of gaze attacks. Bianca was cornered!
“Princess, I’m truly sorry, but I was never trained in such matters.”
Solinor tilted his head slightly.
‘In my time, if I asked my handmaid for something like this, she would fetch it immediately.’
Thanks to that, he was able to meticulously review all materials before meeting with his ministers. He could ask about key points and understand the proposals they presented.
Thorough preparation.
This preparation had been the driving force behind Solinor’s excellent governance, despite his lack of formal education and straightforward mindset.
“Then, do you know anyone who might know about such things?”
“I’m sorry to keep apologizing, but I really don’t know anyone who could help.”
Seeing Bianca’s head droop so low it seemed it might bore a hole into the ground, Solinor quickly reassured her.
“It’s okay! I was just curious and asked on a whim. Don’t worry about it.”
“I’m truly sorry for not being of any help, Princess Muriela.”
But Bianca’s sagging shoulders were so slumped that they would not regain their height for a while.
As Muriela withdrew her focus from Bianca and fell into deep thought, Bianca frantically brainstormed for any idea that could satisfy the princess.
At last, she came up with a significant thought.
“Ah! Princess, as you probably already know, after your upcoming birthday in two weeks, you’ll be able to choose subjects to study. I heard that if you select specific subjects, teachers are chosen from among both current and former high-ranking officials. If you ask them, you might be able to get the answers you’re looking for.”
Her voice, excited and hurried, caught Solinor by surprise, but this time, it was a surprisingly helpful answer.
“Thank you so much, Bianca! Now that I think about it, there are lessons! I can ask the teachers then. By the way, what subjects are there?”
“I’ll find out right away!”
Before Muriela could respond, Bianca rushed out of the princess’s room.
Solinor pondered over how proactive Bianca had become lately.
‘It’s good for a maid to be proactive, but… could she be trying to seize a chance to advance by serving the princess well? Overexertion can lead to burnout… But she’s still young, so maybe she’ll be fine?’
In truth, it was simply that Muriela’s newfound energy had stirred Bianca’s maternal instincts.
After some time, Bianca returned, breathing heavily, and informed Muriela that the subjects available for study were history, music, poetry, art, foreign languages, and dance.
‘Hmm, I already know about history, music, and poetry through Adeline. Art? Not my taste. Foreign languages… what foreign languages would be worth learning?’
The neighboring nations of Silbrenoa spoke northern continental languages, which required interpreters when interacting with central or southern countries.
‘Dance, huh. I like dancing, but not the ones for girls. I’ll definitely include history. How many subjects can I choose?’
“Bianca, did you find out how many subjects I can take at most?”
“Yes, Princess. All princes and princesses must take one hour of etiquette lessons per week as a basic requirement, and the rest of the subjects can be chosen freely as desired.”
“So, even if I don’t want to take anything else, I have to take etiquette classes? And I can choose not to take anything else if I wish?”
“Yes, just as you said, Princess.”
“You’ve been really helpful. Thank you, Bianca!”
“I’m glad to be of help, Princess. Please let me know if you need anything else in the future.”
‘A history teacher would know a lot, wouldn’t they? Then I’ll just take history and ask them everything about the state of our country.’
Solinor began plotting a meticulous plan to grill the history teacher for all the information he wanted.
—
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