Chapter 67: I am not Arrogant
“Now what? I don’t have any clothes…” Eli said to Elena.
“Well, the king had sent a dress for you, milady. It’s from Ludwin,” Elena said the night before. Eli wondered whether she should be grateful or she should regret it. How they even got her measurements, but she remembered Ludwin had given her one of Charlotte’s dresses.
“Good! Why should I pay for a new dress whenever I have to meet him? At least he is a responsible little prick.” Eli folded her arms in annoyance while Alicia hugged Eli’s head. Her head naturally rested between her soft chest. For some reason, Eli found it comfortable.
“Alicia. I think you eat too much. You are getting fat,” Eli said the F word. She envied Alicia’s growing assets. They were big and soft.
“Lady Elidranthia. That’s not a nice thing to say,” Alicia pouted.
“I think you should eat more, Lady Elidranthia. You are a bit too thin,” Elena countered.
“Ugh…” Eli pouted. She wanted to, but her body just didn’t grow like she wanted to. Unlike Alicia, who grew taller and put on fat where it mattered, Eli realized that even if she ate more, her body didn’t grow taller. Her body stored her fat in her stomach, not in her chest. If she ate more, she would swell and become a balloon, not a tall and attractive lady.
“Wow… this dress was… impressive…” Alicia said as she opened the chest containing the gown for Elidranthia to wear. Elidranthia gaped at the dress. It literally shone. Various small arcane stones were embedded in it, creating a shining halo on its back.
“I am not going to wear that, Elena. Let’s use my other dress. I don’t care about court etiquette,” Eli said. The dress was tacky. It exuded a nouveau riche style. It might suit royals, but if a count’s daughter were wearing that, it would only look like she was showing off her parents’ money.
“No. You can’t do that, Lady Elidranthia. You know that, right? You can’t refuse a royal’s gift.” Elena said.
“No!! I don’t wanna!! This dress makes me look like some kind of nasty rich brat!” Eli threw herself on the floor. For the first time, she acted her age.
“If you don’t wear this, Ludwin would be sad. It looks expensive too,” Alicia muttered.
Yes. If Eli didn’t wear the dress, it would look like she had refused the royals’ gift. It would disrespect the royals. Eli knew that. She just wanted to vent.
Eli then went back to her chair. If she had disrespected the royals, it wouldn’t just be her that suffered the consequences. Alicia and the entirety of Shadowstep would be affected. People would get fewer jobs, there might be an increase in taxes, and other nasty things might happen.
Most important of all was Alicia’s warning about the kingdom across the woods. The kingdom of Elderan. If that kingdom invaded, Eli needed the royals to send their army to help her.
“Alright. I will go,” Eli resigned herself to her fate.
The very next day, dressed in gems, Eli was picked up by the royal messenger and went to the castle for another tea party with Ludwin and Charlotte. Her white dress was heavy. The gems weighed it down further and made Eli almost lose her balance as she walked to the carriage. Even the royal messenger had to lift her up into the carriage.
“Hm… That dress really doesn’t suit you,” Ludwin said. Charlotte facepalmed. She nursed her head and sighed exasperatedly. Yeah, the white and frilly dress with shining gems didn’t suit her.
“Yes, Your Highness. This dress is too heavy and flamboyant for a meager count’s daughter such as me,” Eli clenched her fist. She really wanted to punch this brat for putting her in such a place to begin with. Eli was no fashion designer, but even she knew what a disaster these clothes were. Why did Ludwin even recommend this dress to her in the first place?
“Brother. Why did you send her a dress even though I told you not to yesterday?”
“She saved my life twice. A good king should reward his subjects. So, I gave her the most expensive dress from the royal salon,” Ludwin said innocently.
“If you want to give her a dress, you should ask a seamstress to look and measure her, brother.”
“Why? Our seamstress already knew her measurements! Besides, I want it to be a surprise. Girls should be happy to receive expensive dresses, right?”
“Please refrain from giving me such surprises, Your Highness. I am not worthy of such attention.” Elidranthia bowed.
“Ah. Alicia, right?” Ludwin then turned to Alicia.
“Yes, Your Highness. How may I serve you?” Alicia curtsied.
“Father said you have some prophetic abilities. Does Goddess Sistielle have something to say recently?”
“I am not sure…” Alicia tilted her head. Alicia, being Alicia, couldn’t even recall what she had for breakfast today. So, naturally, she had forgotten what she had told Eli just a few days before. Her brain was already fully occupied trying to keep her manner in check.
“Alicia… You said my territory would be invaded by a kingdom across the woods,” Eli rolled her eyes. This was the prime opportunity to ask Ludwin for a favor, and somehow, Alicia had blown it. If this was any other girl, Eli might suspect the girl of conspiring against her territory, but Alicia shouldn’t have any reason to betray her. Her territory was Alicia’s as well. Her father was a guard there.
So, Eli came to a definitive conclusion. Alicia was simply an idiot.
“Ah! Yes. Elderan is going to invade Shadowstep soon!” Alicia said. She nodded her head expressively.
“Elderan? What’s that?” Ludwin tilted his head. If not for Alicia saying the name of the country, Ludwin would have thought Alicia was only parroting her master. But with this, Ludwin was sure Alicia’s prophetic ability was real.
“Eh? An invasion? That’s serious!” Charlotte gasped. Her father told her to keep an eye on Alicia’s prophetic ability. She never thought she would get one immediately.
Ludwin then raised his hand, motioning for his personal bodyguards to come closer.
“Thor, Gladius. Did you hear that?”
“Yes, Your Highness. Should I report this to the king?” he kneeled.
“Yes. Please go,” Ludwin nodded. “So, Alicia, how do you think the war and the invasion would take place?”
“Well, their army would be stationed in the woods for some time. Then, when they invade, they will call upon hordes of monsters to waste our ammunition. Then, when things get dire, Lady Elidranthia will come with Ludwin to deliver more supplies,” Alicia said. “Lots of farming villages around Shadowstep would get ruined.”
“Are you accusing the royals of abandoning their subjects?” Gladius accused Alicia.
“Huh? Of course not. Although late, the royals would help us,” Alicia said as she inspected Gladius. The novel rarely mentioned them, so she didn’t even know who they were. But she knew from her friends that Gladius and Thor were Ludwin’s personal trainee bodyguards.
Why did the king appoint two apprentices to be a royal’s bodyguards? Wouldn’t it be better to assign full-fledged knights? It was to build trust. Every royal needed a confidant whom they could trust when they grew old. Since Ludwin, Thor, and Gladius were about the same age, they were expected to grow up together. Charlotte and even the king had one as well. For Charlotte, it had to be female, so the requirements were more stringent.
“You!!” Gladius almost drew his sword at the insolent Alicia. Ludwin stopped him. He eyed Alicia carefully.
“Hm… Alicia. Do you understand what you are saying?” He eyed Alicia with wariness this time. Eli felt a shudder. She realized Alicia’s foolish act had gone over the line.
“Erm… I am not sure I follow, Your Highness. I merely say what I read. I mean… saw.”
“Hm… Isn’t that interesting. Are you saying that we will come late even though we knew they would be attacking?” Darius, the Prime Minister of Althemer, interrupted their tea time. He had heard about Alicia’s new prophecy, and since the king was busy meeting with other nobles, he came to meet Alicia himself.
He was curious about Alicia’s prophetic ability. Could she really see the future? If she could, could the future be changed?
“Hm… There are a lot of differences from what Goddess Sistielle said. So, if you put your heart into it, maybe you could arrive on time?” Alicia tilted her head. She seemed to think hard about it, but ultimately her bird brain came up with nothing.
“I see. Hm… In that case, what if I send reinforcements now? What do you think would happen?” Minister Darius asked.
“Dunno— I mean… I am not sure, Prime Minister,” Alicia said.
“Uncle. Should we really send reinforcements based on baseless rumors?” Ludwin said. He didn’t think Alicia had prophetic powers. She couldn’t predict the attack on the carriage, and even during the poisoning incident, Alicia didn’t say the food was poisoned. She merely hinted that there was a secret tunnel which someone might sneak through.
“Hm… Moving royal knights is no easy matter. That’s for sure,” Darius nodded. “But sending a fireteam or a platoon is doable.”
“Shadowstep is not an inland noble. Although not much, they have a standing army, right? What can a dozen additional knights from the capital do?” Ludwin asked.
“Hmm… I shall leave that to your imagination, my nephew. Think about it,” Darius smiled as he patted Ludwin’s head. “Well, I shall form a team immediately. Lady Elidranthia, if you will excuse me. Lady Elidranthia, Ludwin, I shall be on my way.”
Then, he left. Eli tilted her head at his antics. She had a few ideas why Darius would do that. I might sound inefficient, but it shows that the empire was trying to cut costs. They were not swimming in gold or knights.
“Tch! My uncle is trying to be a smartass again,” Ludwin scoffed. “Eli, what do you think Darius meant with that statement?”
“Well… Maybe he wanted the knight he dispatched into my territory to report to him directly. Reports from Father would have to go through Duke Bron before ending up at his desk, and some officials might downplay the gravity,” Eli pondered. Would the team act as a spy, or would they act as a helper? Only time would tell.
“What do you mean the officials downplay the gravity? Any invasion is a serious matter!” Ludwin said.
“Well, we are technically at war with the western nation, right? That should count as an invasion too, right?” Eli said.
“Wow! You are so smart, Lady Eli. I was enlightened!” Charlotte said.
“You are welcome, Princess Charlotte.” Eli bowed as she sipped her chamomile tea from a ceramic cup.
“Now that the Prime Minister promised to send help, the invasion will no longer be a problem, right?” Ludwin said.
Little did they know how wrong that statement would become.