“I'll try my best.”
“It won’t work if you just try.”
“Then I’ll really try my best.”
He burst out laughing as if he had been stabbed in the stomach. He must have touched a wound while laughing, and he made a joke that it hurt. He asked again.
“Huh... isn’t that it?”
“It’s different.”
“What’s different?”
“It’s the quality of your effort.”
It's just effort and real effort, so of course it has to be qualitatively different, right? I raised my head proudly.
He laughed, making a breathy, “Phew.”
“Then I will believe it. The real effort Your Highness is making.”
“So, why did you run away?”
“...from.”
He mumbled.
“What did you say?”
“I confessed and got rejected.”
I couldn't help but burst out laughing.
“Wow... what is this.”
Are there any romantic crazy guys out there?
The whole story was as follows. After his hair grew a little thicker, Jacqueline had been secretly sailing on the admiral's fleet.
Sailors and marines are precious, so you must be especially careful. Even if I tell you not to do that... Well, if you look at their current state, you can tell they probably didn't listen.
No matter what, the Easterners are descendants of pirates who are ultimately driven by the logic of power. They hid it from the admiral with one mind and one heart, believing that they should help their future lord gain some experience.
He said that his misconduct, which began when he was thirteen or fourteen, continued until he was sixteen. And Rosetta. It was on that ship that he discovered the pirate in question.
“Seriously, I fell in love with her at first sight.”
“I guess she is a very beautiful person.”
“Oh, that’s not it...”
It was a bit harsh for an evaluation of first love. Even though it was someone you fell in love with at first sight.
Jacqueline shrugged and continued.
“Rather than saying she was pretty, I should say it was more like a soul-pulling. I knew it was fate the moment I saw her. It was just, like, crazy good.”
“So you asked her out?”
“No, how, how, how do you skip it all at once like that?”
Jacqueline's face turned red.
“At first, I offered flowers... I recited poems... I thought I might become attached just by looking at her face, so I followed her around for a year, even if it meant dying.”
The story was getting more and more interesting. I urged him to continue the story with my eyes shining and my arms crossed.
“But?”
“...She said that no matter what I do, I won’t be seen as a man even if I die.”
Jacqueline said with a sullen droop of his shoulders. The youngest son of a pirate captain and an admiral. Perhaps it was a story with a predictable ending.
She must have gone through all kinds of hardships with her bare body, so there's no way that the precious young master of Reston, who grew up with all the gold and jade in his heart, would catch her eye.
So in the end, this romantic and foolish young master has been in a desperate unrequited love for seven years.
“That’s amazing.”
I tried not to sound like a whiner. In fact, I wondered if this was something worth giving up on.
On the bright side, it's probably because there were a lot of things he didn't say. It was something that happened between the two of them anyway. There was nothing more I could do to hear about it.
“As we were talking, time passed quickly. We’ll be there soon.”
Jacqueline said that as if changing the subject. I followed his gaze and looked out the window.
Before I knew it, the admiral's mansion appeared at the bottom of a small hill. Even though it was dark, I could guess its scale from the magnificent and splendid lights that were on.
I shrugged.
“How do you feel about returning home after such a long time?”
“...I just want to stay alive.”
Just wanting to live? I thought it was a bit inappropriate for someone who was returning home after a long time, but I knew it wasn't a joke the moment I arrived at the mansion.
At the very front of the line of attendants at the main gate were four well-dressed women. One was an elegant woman who looked old, and three had young faces.
The Madam would be the admiral's wife, and the other three seemed to be Jacqueline's older sisters who had married and branched off from their families.
“This little son of a bitch!”
The carriage stopped, the door opened, and the Admiral's wife grabbed Jacqueline by the collar and dragged him out of the carriage.
She laughed and cried, and struck my youngest son's back hard. I only learned today that someone can be beaten so gracefully.
“I’m sorry, oh, Mom, it’s true!”
“You really don’t think about this mother who can’t sleep a wink all night?”
“I thought about it! I thought about my mother every night!”
“If you really cared about your mother, you should have sent me a letter a long time ago. Shockingly, you volunteered for the northern front without saying anything, but how can I not hear from you for seven years...!”
For some reason, I felt like I was being scolded too.
I clasped my hands together and bowed my head slightly. I was expressing my deepest condolences to Jacqueline’s already stained back from being beaten by the admiral.
Still, it was a relatively mild response for a runaway youth who returned after seven years.
"Your Highness."
I came to my senses suddenly when I heard a voice calling me from the side. A young woman spoke softly as she handed the sleeping baby in her arms over to the nanny.
“I am Sylvia, the eldest daughter of Reston. I know you must be tired, but I will take you to your quarters first.”
"Thank you."
I followed her up a few steps. Sylvia opened the largest and most ornately carved door of the several rooms on this floor.
The neatness of the room was now taken for granted, but what caught my eye most was the terrace facing the coastal cliffs.
There was even a warm ember in the fireplace as if a message had been sent in advance.
“Then rest comfortably.”
“Just a moment.”
I called out to Sylvia, who was turning around.
“Could you please give me a map of the East?”
Originally, I was planning to go to the general store the next day and get one, but I thought the admiral might have one at his house.
As expected, Sylvia answered without being flustered.
“I'll tell the servant and get it for you.”
She bowed and disappeared.
Two young maids came in through the open door to attend to me. Judging by the sparkle in their eyes, they seemed to be asking why I was wearing a maid's uniform and whether I was really the Princess.
But I was too tired to satisfy their curiosity. I barely managed to take off my clothes and crawled straight into my soft bed.
I buried my face in the pillow like a cat that was too lazy. After two days of being tormented by carriages and inn beds, the aftereffects still lingered even after I woke up from a good night's sleep.
'I was tormented' by the hotel bed. I jumped up in surprise at the thought.
I remember when I first arrived in Saxony when that tiny, neat room seemed like the best thing in the world.
This was a dangerous omen. A sign that I was mistaken in thinking that I was really a Princess and of noble birth. I was so careful and tried not to forget my place, but it was disappointing that I ended up like this in less than half a year.
I pouted and stretched. It was hard to be serious with my hair in a mess and my pajamas on.
“Come in.”
There was a knock on the door, and I yawned and answered. It was Sylvia and the two maids who had served me last night.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Thanks.”
Sylvia opened the door to the terrace herself. The sea breeze was just cool enough to feel good. The sea with the sunlight dazzling in it, the refreshing sound of the waves, and the white foam were dazzling.
It was a moment that made it feel real that I was at Reston's mansion.
“Since you are short on luggage, I brought you my clothes. They are the ones I wore when I was a virgin, so I wonder if they will catch your eye.”
Sylvia said with a smile. She had red hair and blue eyes just like Jacqueline's, and she looked to be in her early twenties at best.
The Reston family seemed to have a somewhat youthful appearance that ran through their generations. It might have been due to their cutely short philtrum.
I really liked the minimalist design of the dress Sylvia offered, which meant it could be worn without any tight underwear.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Once the dress was decided, the maids quickly put up a curtain and helped me change into it.
Sylvia asked from behind the curtain.
“What would you like for breakfast?”
“How?”
“We have tomato stew with seafood and olive bread, and if you like, we can also serve eggs and bacon. The chef recommended that the eggs be especially fresh today. Would boiled eggs be okay?”
I liked this mansion already. It felt like I was in a warm and cozy country house. Of course, considering the size of the mansion, it was almost like a palace.
“It looks really delicious.”
“If there is any other dessert you would like to try, please let me know and I will pass it on to the kitchen.”
“Everything else is fine.”
“Then I'll put it up as soon as you're ready.”
“Your Highness, it is done.”
The maid whispered softly. Two maids came in holding up a mirror, and at first glance, I could see that they had skillfully adjusted even the slightest wrinkle in the hem of the skirt.
I raised the curtain and stood facing Sylvia again.
“Oh, and can I see Jacqueline?”
“I will pass on the message. Oh, by the way, two letters just arrived in the mail for Your Highness.”
At Sylvia's gesture, the maid brought two letters on a tray. One of them seemed to be from Irina, for the envelope had Tulear written on it.
Unlike the letter Irina sent, which was enclosed in a gilded envelope often used in the palace, the other one was in a rough envelope more commonly used by commoners.
Is there anyone who would send me a letter on such paper? I tilted my head, but no matter how much I thought about it, no one came to mind.
I first cut open the letters from the maids with a knife.
“It won’t work if you just try.”
“Then I’ll really try my best.”
He burst out laughing as if he had been stabbed in the stomach. He must have touched a wound while laughing, and he made a joke that it hurt. He asked again.
“Huh... isn’t that it?”
“It’s different.”
“What’s different?”
“It’s the quality of your effort.”
It's just effort and real effort, so of course it has to be qualitatively different, right? I raised my head proudly.
He laughed, making a breathy, “Phew.”
“Then I will believe it. The real effort Your Highness is making.”
“So, why did you run away?”
“...from.”
He mumbled.
“What did you say?”
“I confessed and got rejected.”
I couldn't help but burst out laughing.
“Wow... what is this.”
Are there any romantic crazy guys out there?
***
The whole story was as follows. After his hair grew a little thicker, Jacqueline had been secretly sailing on the admiral's fleet.
Sailors and marines are precious, so you must be especially careful. Even if I tell you not to do that... Well, if you look at their current state, you can tell they probably didn't listen.
No matter what, the Easterners are descendants of pirates who are ultimately driven by the logic of power. They hid it from the admiral with one mind and one heart, believing that they should help their future lord gain some experience.
He said that his misconduct, which began when he was thirteen or fourteen, continued until he was sixteen. And Rosetta. It was on that ship that he discovered the pirate in question.
“Seriously, I fell in love with her at first sight.”
“I guess she is a very beautiful person.”
“Oh, that’s not it...”
It was a bit harsh for an evaluation of first love. Even though it was someone you fell in love with at first sight.
Jacqueline shrugged and continued.
“Rather than saying she was pretty, I should say it was more like a soul-pulling. I knew it was fate the moment I saw her. It was just, like, crazy good.”
“So you asked her out?”
“No, how, how, how do you skip it all at once like that?”
Jacqueline's face turned red.
“At first, I offered flowers... I recited poems... I thought I might become attached just by looking at her face, so I followed her around for a year, even if it meant dying.”
The story was getting more and more interesting. I urged him to continue the story with my eyes shining and my arms crossed.
“But?”
“...She said that no matter what I do, I won’t be seen as a man even if I die.”
Jacqueline said with a sullen droop of his shoulders. The youngest son of a pirate captain and an admiral. Perhaps it was a story with a predictable ending.
She must have gone through all kinds of hardships with her bare body, so there's no way that the precious young master of Reston, who grew up with all the gold and jade in his heart, would catch her eye.
So in the end, this romantic and foolish young master has been in a desperate unrequited love for seven years.
“That’s amazing.”
I tried not to sound like a whiner. In fact, I wondered if this was something worth giving up on.
On the bright side, it's probably because there were a lot of things he didn't say. It was something that happened between the two of them anyway. There was nothing more I could do to hear about it.
“As we were talking, time passed quickly. We’ll be there soon.”
Jacqueline said that as if changing the subject. I followed his gaze and looked out the window.
Before I knew it, the admiral's mansion appeared at the bottom of a small hill. Even though it was dark, I could guess its scale from the magnificent and splendid lights that were on.
I shrugged.
“How do you feel about returning home after such a long time?”
“...I just want to stay alive.”
Just wanting to live? I thought it was a bit inappropriate for someone who was returning home after a long time, but I knew it wasn't a joke the moment I arrived at the mansion.
At the very front of the line of attendants at the main gate were four well-dressed women. One was an elegant woman who looked old, and three had young faces.
The Madam would be the admiral's wife, and the other three seemed to be Jacqueline's older sisters who had married and branched off from their families.
“This little son of a bitch!”
The carriage stopped, the door opened, and the Admiral's wife grabbed Jacqueline by the collar and dragged him out of the carriage.
She laughed and cried, and struck my youngest son's back hard. I only learned today that someone can be beaten so gracefully.
“I’m sorry, oh, Mom, it’s true!”
“You really don’t think about this mother who can’t sleep a wink all night?”
“I thought about it! I thought about my mother every night!”
“If you really cared about your mother, you should have sent me a letter a long time ago. Shockingly, you volunteered for the northern front without saying anything, but how can I not hear from you for seven years...!”
For some reason, I felt like I was being scolded too.
I clasped my hands together and bowed my head slightly. I was expressing my deepest condolences to Jacqueline’s already stained back from being beaten by the admiral.
Still, it was a relatively mild response for a runaway youth who returned after seven years.
"Your Highness."
I came to my senses suddenly when I heard a voice calling me from the side. A young woman spoke softly as she handed the sleeping baby in her arms over to the nanny.
“I am Sylvia, the eldest daughter of Reston. I know you must be tired, but I will take you to your quarters first.”
"Thank you."
I followed her up a few steps. Sylvia opened the largest and most ornately carved door of the several rooms on this floor.
The neatness of the room was now taken for granted, but what caught my eye most was the terrace facing the coastal cliffs.
There was even a warm ember in the fireplace as if a message had been sent in advance.
“Then rest comfortably.”
“Just a moment.”
I called out to Sylvia, who was turning around.
“Could you please give me a map of the East?”
Originally, I was planning to go to the general store the next day and get one, but I thought the admiral might have one at his house.
As expected, Sylvia answered without being flustered.
“I'll tell the servant and get it for you.”
She bowed and disappeared.
Two young maids came in through the open door to attend to me. Judging by the sparkle in their eyes, they seemed to be asking why I was wearing a maid's uniform and whether I was really the Princess.
But I was too tired to satisfy their curiosity. I barely managed to take off my clothes and crawled straight into my soft bed.
***
I buried my face in the pillow like a cat that was too lazy. After two days of being tormented by carriages and inn beds, the aftereffects still lingered even after I woke up from a good night's sleep.
'I was tormented' by the hotel bed. I jumped up in surprise at the thought.
I remember when I first arrived in Saxony when that tiny, neat room seemed like the best thing in the world.
This was a dangerous omen. A sign that I was mistaken in thinking that I was really a Princess and of noble birth. I was so careful and tried not to forget my place, but it was disappointing that I ended up like this in less than half a year.
I pouted and stretched. It was hard to be serious with my hair in a mess and my pajamas on.
“Come in.”
There was a knock on the door, and I yawned and answered. It was Sylvia and the two maids who had served me last night.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Thanks.”
Sylvia opened the door to the terrace herself. The sea breeze was just cool enough to feel good. The sea with the sunlight dazzling in it, the refreshing sound of the waves, and the white foam were dazzling.
It was a moment that made it feel real that I was at Reston's mansion.
“Since you are short on luggage, I brought you my clothes. They are the ones I wore when I was a virgin, so I wonder if they will catch your eye.”
Sylvia said with a smile. She had red hair and blue eyes just like Jacqueline's, and she looked to be in her early twenties at best.
The Reston family seemed to have a somewhat youthful appearance that ran through their generations. It might have been due to their cutely short philtrum.
I really liked the minimalist design of the dress Sylvia offered, which meant it could be worn without any tight underwear.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Once the dress was decided, the maids quickly put up a curtain and helped me change into it.
Sylvia asked from behind the curtain.
“What would you like for breakfast?”
“How?”
“We have tomato stew with seafood and olive bread, and if you like, we can also serve eggs and bacon. The chef recommended that the eggs be especially fresh today. Would boiled eggs be okay?”
I liked this mansion already. It felt like I was in a warm and cozy country house. Of course, considering the size of the mansion, it was almost like a palace.
“It looks really delicious.”
“If there is any other dessert you would like to try, please let me know and I will pass it on to the kitchen.”
“Everything else is fine.”
“Then I'll put it up as soon as you're ready.”
“Your Highness, it is done.”
The maid whispered softly. Two maids came in holding up a mirror, and at first glance, I could see that they had skillfully adjusted even the slightest wrinkle in the hem of the skirt.
I raised the curtain and stood facing Sylvia again.
“Oh, and can I see Jacqueline?”
“I will pass on the message. Oh, by the way, two letters just arrived in the mail for Your Highness.”
At Sylvia's gesture, the maid brought two letters on a tray. One of them seemed to be from Irina, for the envelope had Tulear written on it.
Unlike the letter Irina sent, which was enclosed in a gilded envelope often used in the palace, the other one was in a rough envelope more commonly used by commoners.
Is there anyone who would send me a letter on such paper? I tilted my head, but no matter how much I thought about it, no one came to mind.
I first cut open the letters from the maids with a knife.
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