Baby that does not cry, cursed child.
Those were the words repeatedly mentioned around her right after she was born.
She did not know the meaning of those words and only heard them as sounds.
Krische’s first memory is of opening her eyes in a gloomy room.
A bed and a single window.
A bookshelf, table and chair.
At regular intervals, two women came and fed her milk.
They never said anything to Krische and Krische did not say anything either.
Krische was breastfed when she got hungry and they cleaned up her waste.
After a while, Krische learnt to stand and became able to walk around the room.
Around the same period, the woman that breastfed her no longer came and Krische was given porridge with soft potato. She was taught how to eat and how to use a chamber pot.
Though Krische understood some words by then, she did not speak.
She was not particularly dissatisfied with anything.
No, there was the smell of dust and waste.
Since the woman visited regularly, Krische chose to use the chamber pot right before she came.
Time passed.
There were books, but Krische could barely speak, never mind read. She could only stare out the window.
The outside scenery was dominated by a white building.
She stared blankly at flying creatures and watched as their birth and death.
Krische moved the floofy thing around her body, she counted the floor boards, she counted the number of stairs based on the footsteps she could hear.
Aside from that, she just ate and slept.
At some point, the frequency of calls of nature decreased and her hunger increased, the amount of food was no longer enough.
“……this.”
That was the first time Krische made a request and the woman looked at her dubiously.
After many repeated attempts to signal that she was hungry and there is not enough food, the woman finally understood.
Her expression was initially confused but when she understood, she looked strangely sad.
That was a slight change from the usual uneasy way she looked at Krische.
“From now on if there is not enough food, please tell me.”
The next time the woman came, she taught Krische a few simple words.
Thanks to her, Krische learnt to understand simple words and became able to hold a simple conversation. But it seems like she was not allowed to talk to Krische and she only taught Krische the bare minimum.
Though it was not allowed, conversing with words was a lot easier than signaling.
The woman did not stop Krische either.
That rule was probably not that important.
Though the woman did not speak to Krische, she would answer when Krische said something to her.
The time the woman spent in the room gradually grew longer.
She spent more time cleaning the room and it became cleaner.
Since Krische did not like dust, she got permission to help and when Krische helped, the woman patted her on the head.
Krische enjoyed that and she was bored.
She did not have any problems with cleaning and the more she helped, the more she got patted on the head, so Krische happily helped.
Stare blankly. Woman comes. Eat. Help. Pats.
Krische was satisfied with that life and it continued until the day the woman came with swollen eyes.
――”Sorry”, repeatedly apologising, she wrapped Krische in a cloth and carried her somewhere.
Krische could not see outside, but they probably got in a carriage.
Krische was not aware of that at the time, she only knew they spent a long time rocking in the carriage.
Krische and the woman were alone in the carriage.
The woman gave Krische her meals in the carriage.
After a few days, the carriage stopped and Krische and the woman entered a forest.
The woman was holding a knife and she embraced Krische for a while, trembling. Then she let go of Krische, pulled up her skirt and cut her own leg.
She let the blood stain the knife then bound the wound with cloth.
She then pointed in a direction and told Krische to keep walking that way.
The woman patted Krische on the head, then just stood there.
Krische nodded and walked in the direction she was told to.
The woman had treated Krische well and Krische did not doubt her.
Krische kept walking as she was told, she kept walking as her legs grew tired and her stomach grew empty, until she collapsed.
“Salba! There’s a child!”
“Don’t be stupid Gorka, there’s no wa――you’re serious? That’s bad, we shouldn’t get involved. It’s probably some noble’s abandoned child.”
“But we can’t just leave her here. Let’s bring her back first, then we can decide what to do――”
These are Krische’s memories before arriving in the village.
She was asked many questions in the village, but she did not speak.
Krische laid in bed, weak from hunger and exhaustion.
Listening to the villagers’ conversations, she learnt that she was abandoned.
She did not know why she was abandoned, but at that time she thought it was because she broke the rule of not speaking to the woman.
The villagers also talked about Krische being some noble and that they should throw her out if she really is some noble’s abandoned child, making Krische avoid speaking even more.
Krische cannot afford to be thrown out and chose to wait and see, observing the villagers.
She was not able to speak much in the first place, so it was not that difficult to act.
Eventually, she became Gorka and Grace’s child and was given a name, people forgot about her origins.
That is how Krische became a member of the village and started living there.
Although Krische has these memories, she never recalled them.
Krische had no interest in those memories.
She only recalled them because she saw that tower and the woman standing behind Kreschenta with a tense expression.
She used to look to be in her late teens, but now she looks older.
But she does not look that different and her face has not changed.
Her hairstyle with her black hair gathered in a bun at the back of her head and her black and white apron dress are the same.
Krische hesitated on whether to greet her, then chose not to.
It is a rule during this kind of events to not greet servants.
Krische stared at the woman, then looked at Kreschenta.
Kreschenta is dressed in a relatively simple white dress, beautifully decorated with lace.
The dress had gold embroidery and a silver necklace hung around her neck.
Her large, upturned eyes looked up at Krische.
“Nice to meet you, I am Krische Christand. Next to me is the Christand family’s servant, Bery Argan. Pleased to make your acquaintance, your highness.”
Krische greeted Kreschenta with the standard greeting that Bery had taught her.
Kreschenta giggled.
“That feels off. Call me Kreschenta. No need for sama or the like, there is no one that can hear us anyway.”
“Okay. Then, nice to meet you, Kreschenta.”
“K, Krische-sama……”
Bery hastily called out when Krische responded too obediently.
Bery had not expected this situation and had not taught Krische how to reply in this scenario
“Ufufu, I do not mind, Argan-sama. Relax.”
“Sa, sama……is too much for me, your highness.”
“It is a habit. Then I will make it an order. Do not mind it.”
“Er……un, understood.”
Kreschenta stared at Krische, she really seemed to be enjoying something.
“This is the first time we have met, but it does not feel like it. I have always wanted to meet you……does Nora look familiar?”
Kreschenta pointed at the woman next to her――at Nora.
Krische nodded.
“Yes, she took care of me when I was younger.”
Nora stiffened and Bery’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Krische-sama is my onee-sama……since you two were talking as you looked at the tower, I had thought that Argan-sama also guessed that.”
“That, is……”
“Indeed. From what I saw in the hall, onee-sama seems to be very important to Argan-sama, so I trust Argan-sama will not spread this. Krische-sama……ah, may I call you onee-sama?”
“…….? Okay.”
Krische nodded, completely unperturbed, making Kreschenta laugh.
Kreschenta turned to Bery.
“That tower is where the royal family’s cursed children are confined. They cannot be let out, but nobody wants them in the castle either. That is why that tower was built there……and onee-sama used to live there, with Nora over here taking care of her.”
The woman called Nora glanced about uneasily, but Kreschenta ignored her and continued.
“Onee-sama, please keep it a secret that onee-sama was in that tower. From what I have seen, it appears onee-sama is not very familiar with palace politics, or even noble society as a whole.”
“Yes, not really.”
The Christands are nobles and serve as a general. The king is their patron and is very important.
That is Krische’s understanding of nobles and she does not particularly care to know more.
Of course Krische had been taught the structure of noble society and has the knowledge, but her understanding of it is poor.
Although she can explain the structure of noble society, she is completely ignorant of how to act in it and only does as Bery tells her to.
“Since onee-sama is my onee-sama, onee-sama was originally otou-sama’s――his majesty, the king’s daughter and the first princess. But because of certain circumstances, onee-sama is not supposed to exist and there will be a lot of troublesome problems if this became known, so it is better to keep it a secret.”
Kreschenta did not beat about the bush, explaining the key points only.
This direct explanation is very easy for Krische to understand and Krische found it slightly curious that Kreschenta explained it this way although they had just met.
Kreschenta saw Krische’s questioning look and smiled.
“I am the same as onee-sama. I like simple explanations……I am most likely the one person that can understand onee-sama’s feelings the most.”
“Really?”
“Yes. That is why I have always wanted to meet you. Because onee-sama is also the one that will understand me the best.”
Kreschenta’s cold, inhuman eyes seems to heat up.
“I believe that if we understand each other and seek the same thing, then we can obtain the only place in this world where we can relax.”
“……relax?”
“Yes, relax. A place where we are not threatened by anyone. I believe I can create such a place with onee-sama.”
――so will you stay with me forever?
Kreschenta proposed.
It has not even been a quarter hour since they had met.
Bery looked at Krische in confusion, it is hard to believe that the princess had just said that.
Krische briefly looked between Bery and Kreschenta before answering.
“Nn……Krische, likes Krische’s current home.”
“Really?”
Kreschenta suddenly looked at Bery.
She was smiling――but her eyes were inhuman, like a snake’s.
――strangely, Krische was able to vaguely understand what Kreschenta was thinking.
“Kreschenta, no. If Kreschenta does that Krische will have to kill Kreschenta. That will be very troublesome for Krische.”
Bery tensed, looking from Krische to Kreschenta.
Their age is different, yet their faces are similar.
Of course there are slight differences――but the air about them is identical.
“……you like her that much?”
“Yes.”
Kreschenta pouted and looked up at Krische unhappily.
“Absolutely not”, Krische said as she pressed a finger to Kreschenta’s lips. Kreschenta looked stunned for a moment, then her lips relaxed into a smile as she happily stepped closer.
“……understood. I will never do anything to onee-sama’s favourite.”
“Kreschenta, good girl.”
“Ah……”
Krische patted Kreschenta’s head and Kreschenta seemed happy for a moment.
But then Kreschenta hastily stepped away and caught Krische’s hand.
“Onee-sama, you cannot do that. I am the princess, it would be bad if that was seen.”
Kreschenta placed her hands on her hips, pretending to be angry as she looked around.
Luckily, nobody was looking at them.
Kreschenta had hid herself behind Nora when she walked here, so most people on the balcony had not even realised that Kreschenta is here in the first place.
“But good girls that do as they are told should be patted on the head. And somehow, Krische thought Kreschenta would like it……”
Krische tilted her head at her own words.
It was like Krische could read Kreschenta’s mind.
Krische can understand how Kreschenta thinks, what she likes, what she hates――everything.
Krische can kind of understand her, unlike other humans.
――when Kreschenta looked at Bery just now, she had been planning how to kill Bery.
She wanted Krische but Krische rejected her. So how should she deal with the obstacle?
Killing Bery would be simplest and quite easy.
Rules and regulations have to be followed to fit into society.
But they do not matter if not found out and can be broken secretly to obtain something.
That is also Krische’s belief, so it is easy for her to understand.
Kreschenta looked slightly happy when Krische pressed a finger to her lips and Krische understands that feeling.
So Krische thought that she would also be happy to be patted on the head.
For some reason, Krische can understand Kreschenta’s logic and emotions, she glanced towards Bery, wondering if this is empathy.
But Bery did not notice Krische’s gaze, she was watching Kreschenta with a tense expression.
“Th, that is true but……I may be a child but I am also a princess. Anyway……you cannot do that in the palace. Seriously, onee-sama needs to understand your own position better.”
Kreschenta blushed and seemed happy as she stepped closer to Krische again.
“You were abandoned. So I can understand that you are not aware of the situation but……it seems we need to catch up with each other.”
“Catch up?”
Kreschanta smiled and answered Krische’s question.
“We need to share what each of us has learnt with the other. We can learn faster if we teach each other what the other is lacking. It is already late today, so tomorrow……I will visit onee-sama. It would be dangerous to let onee-sama wander around here.”
“Er……Krische is going back to the estate with master tomorrow morning though.”
Krische wants to hurry home and cook, so she turned down the invitation.
But Kreschenta drew even closer with an exasperated look.
“……onee-sama, invitation from royalty is usually absolute. A margrave would stay a few more days if I said I want to talk to onee-sama.”
“I see.”
“Seems I will have to start from the fundamentals……”
Kreschenta puffed out her cheeks.
Krische poked her cheeks and pushed the air out.
“I just said you cannot do that!” Kreschenta glared back, embarassed, before sighing and then turning to Bery.
“Argan-sama, could I ask you to pass a message to the margrave in onee-sama’s place?”
“Y, yes……your highness.”
Bery watched Kreschenta.
Kreschenta’s expressions are rich and rapidly changing――but her atmosphere really is similar.
‘……you like her that much?’
Kreschenta’s eyes when she asked Krische that were the same inhuman eyes that Krische sometimes shows.
Purple gemstones void of emotion.
Krische’s eyes are always like that when observing or calculating something.
Those eyes were a little scary at first, but Bery has gotten used to them.
It is who Krische is and Bery has accepted it as a lovable trait.
But similar eyes from Kreschenta sent chills down Bery’s spine, it felt like she was a frog under the glare of a snake.
As if her life was at Kreschenta’s whimsy――
“There is no need to be scared. I may lie to others, but I will not lie to onee-sama. She would notice immediately and unlike other people……it would be scary to make an enemy of onee-sama.”
And the way she thinks is also similar to Krische.
Thought she wants Krische as a sympathiser, she is also coldly analysing Krische.
Kreschenta is calculating everything.
What will happen if Krische became an enemy, what to do in that case.
She is thinking in terms of gains and losses, not sentiment.
Bery could understand this from the long time she has spent with Krische――and felt uneasy.
-End-
