Aila entered the lord's room with a slightly tense expression. The Baron greeted her with a soft voice.
“Sit here, Aila.”
She sat down beside him as the Baron had instructed. He hesitated for a moment, then with difficulty began to speak.
"...Your parents' bodies haven't been found. It seems they burned down along with the house. I wanted to give you a proper funeral, but I'm sorry."
Scott and Debbie escaped alive, so it was only natural that their bodies wouldn't be found, but Aila hung her head with a sad expression.
“By the way... are Scott and Debbie really your biological parents?”
And finally, the crux of the story she had been waiting for came out.
The Baron investigates the case, searching for traces of Scott and Debbie and sending people to the village where they used to live to find out more.
But they had no daughter. They had a son, but it was said he had died long ago.
Moreover, they were in their fifties—quite old for a thirteen-year-old girl's parents.
If she were a late-born daughter born after settling down in the mountains, it wouldn't be all that strange that there was no birth record for Aila, but it was concerning because it was quite rare for someone to give birth in their forties.
“Oh, that’s true...”
Aila lowered her gaze to the floor and spoke in a pitiful voice. Of course, it wasn't true.
“I heard someone abandoned me in front of the hut. So they took me in and raised me.”
“...I see. So, was the name Aila given to you by your adoptive parents?”
After hearing her answer, Baron Herzig asked again with a pitiful expression.
“No, I was wearing a necklace and it said ‘Aila’ on it, so that’s what they called me.”
Aila answered with a fresh expression, but inside she was cheering.
They were almost there. If they showed the necklace to the Baron, he would realize that she was the lost child of the Duke of Weishaffen.
“Do you still have the necklace? Can I see it?”
“Oh, here it is.”
Aila took off the pendant she was wearing around her neck and showed it to the Baron. The Baron, who accepted the necklace, was struck by lightning and lost in thought.
Although it was slightly damaged due to a lack of proper care, the necklace chain was made of gold. It was too luxurious to be considered a commoner's.
Moreover, the gem set into the pendant was a snow diamond. A mysterious gem, seemingly composed of a white snowflake crystal embedded within a transparent diamond.
It was a luxury item that could only be mined in the mines in the Weishaffen estate.
This necklace meant that he could not buy it even if he sold his title.
'Aila, Aila...'
The Baron repeated her name, for he felt he had heard it somewhere. But he was worried the young girl would be confused, so he dismissed her without making a sound.
"Yes, I understand. You can go back now. Oh, you'll be in a bad mood, so you don't have to help with the work. Go to your room and get some rest early."
Baron Herzig patted Aila on the back and said.
Even if they weren't her biological parents, she lost the people who raised her for 10 years, and now she can't even find their bodies, so how heartbreaking must that be?
Of course, Aila wasn't at all heartbroken by the news that their body hadn't been found, but she was grateful for his consideration. The thought of meeting her biological parents soon had her excited, and she felt like she couldn't focus on anything.
After she left, Baron Herzig was left alone and searched through his study for a leaflet left behind by a knight from Weishaffen years ago.
‘I’m sure I put it somewhere here...’
The Baron was a lowly nobleman, far removed from the central nobility, and had no connection with Duke Roderick Weishaffen. However, he had always admired his uprightness, and upon hearing that he had lost his daughter, he kept the leaflet instead of throwing it away, hoping that it might be of help.
And after rummaging through the drawers for a while, the Baron finally found the documents he was looking for.
Baron Herzig, who was quickly reading the leaflet looking for the missing Princess, was so shocked that he collapsed in his seat.
'...Aila Hailing Weishaffen.'
Silver hair, blue eyes. She looked exactly like the orphan girl staying at his mansion, and even had the same name. There was no mention of a necklace in the flyer, but if the mention of the necklace was intentionally omitted for fear of anyone pretending to be a Princess...
'That girl... is she the Princess of House Weishaffen?'
At such a surprising conclusion, the Baron felt the hairs on the back of his neck stiffen.
“Your Highness, Your Highness!”
Winfred, who had just gone to bed and was about to doze off, was forced to wake up by Sergeant Joseph, who was making a fuss and waking him up.
What on earth could possibly be happening that would wake up a poor boy who had just gotten into bed after midnight and would have to wake up again in a few hours?
“Why! What is it!! Get some sleep, get some sleep.”
The Crown Prince, who would never normally raise his voice, became a boy who would always act up when he woke up due to his cutthroat schedule and constant lack of sleep.
“That, that...! Your Highness, listen.”
Joseph gently pulled Winfred's ear and whispered something in his ear.
At first, Winfred had a blank and irritated expression, but as Joseph spoke, his eyes grew wider and he finally opened his mouth wide and asked loudly.
“Really?”
“Shh! Yes, someone came to the house Your Highness mentioned.”
Holding a handwritten letter from the Crown Prince.
Upon hearing those words, Winfred jumped out of bed. This wasn't the time to be sleeping.
After receiving the request from Aila, he checked several times to see when she would send someone.
When she said she was grateful to those people, he was curious about who they were. He also wanted to ask if they had any news about Aila.
“What kind of people are they?”
Winfred looked around and asked in a low voice. It was frustrating not being able to talk comfortably, even in his bedroom, his most intimate space, but for Aila's sake, he could endure it.
“...They’re a couple in their fifties. They’re commoners.”
A couple in their fifties? Commoners? It was a combination that seemed unlikely to have anything to do with Byron or Aila.
Winfred rested his chin on his hand and sat deep in thought.
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't figure out what kind of relationship Aila and the couple had that made her want to protect them so desperately.
“Was there nothing else to say?”
"Yes. In fact, they didn't even seem to know where they came from. They said they looked extremely confused."
Joseph shrugged, saying that since neither of them was literate, they didn't even seem to realize they were holding a handwritten letter from the Crown Prince.
Joseph's answer only piqued Winfred's curiosity. He felt he wouldn't be able to sleep if he kept wondering.
“I guess I’ll have to go and meet him myself.”
At his words, Joseph asked with a dumbfounded expression, as if he had heard nonsense.
“Yes? Your Highness? When exactly...?”
The Crown Prince of the Peles Empire was extremely busy. And of all things, this was his busiest time of the year. With his schedule jam-packed, he couldn't even spare a moment. When on earth would he find the time to go down to Anga?
Only then did Winfred remember his busy schedule and bite his lip. Aila's work was important, but he couldn't miss official duties to meet the couple.
If so, there was only one answer.
“...There’s nothing I can do. I have no choice but to skip hunting with Father.”
As Winfred spoke with a solemn expression, Joseph spoke in a dumbfounded voice.
“His Majesty will be very upset...”
It was a promise that was barely secured because both of them were extremely busy, and now they're canceling it. He was curious as to what exactly was going on that made them go to such lengths.
"But that's all there is to a private appointment, isn't it? And I don't want to hunt! A father needs to learn to respect his son's tastes."
Joseph shook his head at the Crown Prince's firm determination. Clearly, Hirum's aftermath would last for months, and he was worried about how he would manage the aftermath.
“...Then do that. I don’t know.”
It was a voice that had half given up.
Crown Prince Winfred Ulysses Vito Peles of the Peles Empire was thrilled with his long-awaited voyage. His destination was the imperial residence where a commoner couple, Aila's benefactors, were staying.
Of course, not all of his outings went smoothly.
This was because his father, Hirum, the Emperor of the Peles Empire, broke his promise to go on a date with him and hung onto his pants, asking where he was going.
He pleaded, saying, "If you don't like hunting, just stay indoors. Just let me stay with you."
Still, he felt a little sorry when he remembered the image of his father looking at his son with an expression as if the world was ending, saying, "How could you do this to me?" at his son's cold attitude that he had to go.
'But what can I do if I only have time now?'
Winfred put aside his feelings of guilt toward his father, saying that he would make sure to accommodate him by going horseback riding or hunting on the next holiday.
The important thing now is to meet a middle-aged couple named Scott and Debbie and hear about Aila.
And when he arrived at the guest house, he was met with a completely unexpected sight: a middle-aged couple, unfamiliar to him, were cleaning the inside of the house.
The husband was sweeping the fallen leaves in the yard with a large broom, while the wife was taking out curtains, blankets, and rugs from inside the house, hanging them out in the sun, and dusting them.
“...What is this? Why are those people cleaning? Didn’t they clean?”
“Sit here, Aila.”
She sat down beside him as the Baron had instructed. He hesitated for a moment, then with difficulty began to speak.
"...Your parents' bodies haven't been found. It seems they burned down along with the house. I wanted to give you a proper funeral, but I'm sorry."
Scott and Debbie escaped alive, so it was only natural that their bodies wouldn't be found, but Aila hung her head with a sad expression.
“By the way... are Scott and Debbie really your biological parents?”
And finally, the crux of the story she had been waiting for came out.
The Baron investigates the case, searching for traces of Scott and Debbie and sending people to the village where they used to live to find out more.
But they had no daughter. They had a son, but it was said he had died long ago.
Moreover, they were in their fifties—quite old for a thirteen-year-old girl's parents.
If she were a late-born daughter born after settling down in the mountains, it wouldn't be all that strange that there was no birth record for Aila, but it was concerning because it was quite rare for someone to give birth in their forties.
“Oh, that’s true...”
Aila lowered her gaze to the floor and spoke in a pitiful voice. Of course, it wasn't true.
“I heard someone abandoned me in front of the hut. So they took me in and raised me.”
“...I see. So, was the name Aila given to you by your adoptive parents?”
After hearing her answer, Baron Herzig asked again with a pitiful expression.
“No, I was wearing a necklace and it said ‘Aila’ on it, so that’s what they called me.”
Aila answered with a fresh expression, but inside she was cheering.
They were almost there. If they showed the necklace to the Baron, he would realize that she was the lost child of the Duke of Weishaffen.
“Do you still have the necklace? Can I see it?”
“Oh, here it is.”
Aila took off the pendant she was wearing around her neck and showed it to the Baron. The Baron, who accepted the necklace, was struck by lightning and lost in thought.
Although it was slightly damaged due to a lack of proper care, the necklace chain was made of gold. It was too luxurious to be considered a commoner's.
Moreover, the gem set into the pendant was a snow diamond. A mysterious gem, seemingly composed of a white snowflake crystal embedded within a transparent diamond.
It was a luxury item that could only be mined in the mines in the Weishaffen estate.
This necklace meant that he could not buy it even if he sold his title.
'Aila, Aila...'
The Baron repeated her name, for he felt he had heard it somewhere. But he was worried the young girl would be confused, so he dismissed her without making a sound.
"Yes, I understand. You can go back now. Oh, you'll be in a bad mood, so you don't have to help with the work. Go to your room and get some rest early."
Baron Herzig patted Aila on the back and said.
Even if they weren't her biological parents, she lost the people who raised her for 10 years, and now she can't even find their bodies, so how heartbreaking must that be?
Of course, Aila wasn't at all heartbroken by the news that their body hadn't been found, but she was grateful for his consideration. The thought of meeting her biological parents soon had her excited, and she felt like she couldn't focus on anything.
After she left, Baron Herzig was left alone and searched through his study for a leaflet left behind by a knight from Weishaffen years ago.
‘I’m sure I put it somewhere here...’
The Baron was a lowly nobleman, far removed from the central nobility, and had no connection with Duke Roderick Weishaffen. However, he had always admired his uprightness, and upon hearing that he had lost his daughter, he kept the leaflet instead of throwing it away, hoping that it might be of help.
And after rummaging through the drawers for a while, the Baron finally found the documents he was looking for.
Baron Herzig, who was quickly reading the leaflet looking for the missing Princess, was so shocked that he collapsed in his seat.
'...Aila Hailing Weishaffen.'
Silver hair, blue eyes. She looked exactly like the orphan girl staying at his mansion, and even had the same name. There was no mention of a necklace in the flyer, but if the mention of the necklace was intentionally omitted for fear of anyone pretending to be a Princess...
'That girl... is she the Princess of House Weishaffen?'
At such a surprising conclusion, the Baron felt the hairs on the back of his neck stiffen.
***
“Your Highness, Your Highness!”
Winfred, who had just gone to bed and was about to doze off, was forced to wake up by Sergeant Joseph, who was making a fuss and waking him up.
What on earth could possibly be happening that would wake up a poor boy who had just gotten into bed after midnight and would have to wake up again in a few hours?
“Why! What is it!! Get some sleep, get some sleep.”
The Crown Prince, who would never normally raise his voice, became a boy who would always act up when he woke up due to his cutthroat schedule and constant lack of sleep.
“That, that...! Your Highness, listen.”
Joseph gently pulled Winfred's ear and whispered something in his ear.
At first, Winfred had a blank and irritated expression, but as Joseph spoke, his eyes grew wider and he finally opened his mouth wide and asked loudly.
“Really?”
“Shh! Yes, someone came to the house Your Highness mentioned.”
Holding a handwritten letter from the Crown Prince.
Upon hearing those words, Winfred jumped out of bed. This wasn't the time to be sleeping.
After receiving the request from Aila, he checked several times to see when she would send someone.
When she said she was grateful to those people, he was curious about who they were. He also wanted to ask if they had any news about Aila.
“What kind of people are they?”
Winfred looked around and asked in a low voice. It was frustrating not being able to talk comfortably, even in his bedroom, his most intimate space, but for Aila's sake, he could endure it.
“...They’re a couple in their fifties. They’re commoners.”
A couple in their fifties? Commoners? It was a combination that seemed unlikely to have anything to do with Byron or Aila.
Winfred rested his chin on his hand and sat deep in thought.
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't figure out what kind of relationship Aila and the couple had that made her want to protect them so desperately.
“Was there nothing else to say?”
"Yes. In fact, they didn't even seem to know where they came from. They said they looked extremely confused."
Joseph shrugged, saying that since neither of them was literate, they didn't even seem to realize they were holding a handwritten letter from the Crown Prince.
Joseph's answer only piqued Winfred's curiosity. He felt he wouldn't be able to sleep if he kept wondering.
“I guess I’ll have to go and meet him myself.”
At his words, Joseph asked with a dumbfounded expression, as if he had heard nonsense.
“Yes? Your Highness? When exactly...?”
The Crown Prince of the Peles Empire was extremely busy. And of all things, this was his busiest time of the year. With his schedule jam-packed, he couldn't even spare a moment. When on earth would he find the time to go down to Anga?
Only then did Winfred remember his busy schedule and bite his lip. Aila's work was important, but he couldn't miss official duties to meet the couple.
If so, there was only one answer.
“...There’s nothing I can do. I have no choice but to skip hunting with Father.”
As Winfred spoke with a solemn expression, Joseph spoke in a dumbfounded voice.
“His Majesty will be very upset...”
It was a promise that was barely secured because both of them were extremely busy, and now they're canceling it. He was curious as to what exactly was going on that made them go to such lengths.
"But that's all there is to a private appointment, isn't it? And I don't want to hunt! A father needs to learn to respect his son's tastes."
Joseph shook his head at the Crown Prince's firm determination. Clearly, Hirum's aftermath would last for months, and he was worried about how he would manage the aftermath.
“...Then do that. I don’t know.”
It was a voice that had half given up.
***
Crown Prince Winfred Ulysses Vito Peles of the Peles Empire was thrilled with his long-awaited voyage. His destination was the imperial residence where a commoner couple, Aila's benefactors, were staying.
Of course, not all of his outings went smoothly.
This was because his father, Hirum, the Emperor of the Peles Empire, broke his promise to go on a date with him and hung onto his pants, asking where he was going.
He pleaded, saying, "If you don't like hunting, just stay indoors. Just let me stay with you."
Still, he felt a little sorry when he remembered the image of his father looking at his son with an expression as if the world was ending, saying, "How could you do this to me?" at his son's cold attitude that he had to go.
'But what can I do if I only have time now?'
Winfred put aside his feelings of guilt toward his father, saying that he would make sure to accommodate him by going horseback riding or hunting on the next holiday.
The important thing now is to meet a middle-aged couple named Scott and Debbie and hear about Aila.
And when he arrived at the guest house, he was met with a completely unexpected sight: a middle-aged couple, unfamiliar to him, were cleaning the inside of the house.
The husband was sweeping the fallen leaves in the yard with a large broom, while the wife was taking out curtains, blankets, and rugs from inside the house, hanging them out in the sun, and dusting them.
“...What is this? Why are those people cleaning? Didn’t they clean?”
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