Redemption of the Blue Rose Princess - Chapter 7.7

Chapter 7-7

The head of the Nicole family, Jude, the silver-haired knight who came from the castle, Robert, the Princess’ aide, Clovis, and the Princess herself, Alicia, were sitting together inside the guest room of the mansion.

Outside the window, there was the sea, far in the distance, something that Alicia had never seen in her life previously. Coincidentally, there was a full moon that night, dimly illuminating the surface of the sea, creating a tranquil and beautiful atmosphere.

“By the way, what was everyone talking about before I joined in?”

Alicia asked with an innocent smile on her face while holding a cup of tea in her hand. In response, the young lord leaned forward with a friendly smile on his face.

“They were telling me stories about their time back in Ealdar. They spent two years in that country! I’m so jealous…”

“No, no, compared to Lord Jude, we are nothing!”

Robert smiled as he shook his glass, the ice inside of it started to make slight noises. It was his third glass since Alicia took her seat, but there was no sign of intoxication on his face. The man appeared to be a heavyweight.

“He’s well aware about the economic situation in Ealdar even though he had never visited the country himself. Not only that, but he is also very knowledgeable about the economic situation of various other countries, even the ones that are located far away from ours.”

“I was only parroting what the merchants had told me.”

Jude had an embarrassed smile on his face as he raised a bottle of wine and poured the content into Clovis’ glass. After being given permission by Alicia, Clovis finally started to relax and enjoy the wine the young lord offered him, though he wasn’t as ravenous as Robert when he did it.

“Whenever I walk around the town and visit the pub, I’ll always meet some merchants that I know. They’re businessmen, so they naturally have a way with words, talking with them feels really pleasant. Besides, I learned a lot of things from them, so, it was fruitful.”

“You really like them, don’t you? You seem to be really enjoying themselves whenever you’re talking about merchants.”

“It’s not like I like them or anything. It’s just… I feel at home being with them? I don’t understand it myself, probably because of the city’s atmosphere that drew me in? Or maybe it was because the Nicole house raised me this way?”

Hearing those words, Alicia turned her gaze to the sea outside the window. For the Princess, whose world was limited to the castle’s interior until recently, it was outrageous to think that this huge patch of water was connected to various foreign countries that she had never seen before.

Perhaps, that fact gave the young lord a sense of freedom, that everyone all over the world was connected. That sensibility was the thing that made him different than the other nobles of the kingdom.

“Have you ever wished to be born in a different family, like, wishing to be born in a merchant household, for example?”

Asked Clovis. In response, a smile blossomed on the young lord’s face.

“Ah! How wonderful it would be if that was the case! I would sell my title if I could have that wish granted!”

The young lord laughed cheerfully as he took another sip from his glass. Though his cheerful expression disappeared after he put his glass back on the table, replaced by a somewhat forlorn one.

“If I had been born in another country, I probably wouldn’t feel so cramped… In another country, where people are free to interact with each other… regardless of their birth and position…”

While that was a disrespectful statement to make in front of the country’s Princess, the said Princess couldn’t bring herself to admonish the young lord for it.

It was true that in Heilland, the barrier called social status was still thick. That was why when they went out of the castle, the townspeople stared at Alicia, who posed as a normal noble girl, with curiosity and Riddhe, a high-ranking noble, went ballistic when a commoner dared to talk back to him even when the latter was being reasonable.

Alicia wished to change such situation, though the Princess wasn’t strong enough to do so.

Realizing that fact, the Princess’ mood soured as despair started to occupy her feelings. Then she heard Robert’s voice.

“My lady, don’t you think it’s a little too early to despair?”

The silver-haired knight winked at the Princess as he, once again, shook his glass slightly.

“While it was fun to observe the other countries, I think, observing how this country will turn out in the future is more fun than that. After all, our beloved Princess Alicia will try her hardest to change our Heilland, right?”
“Huh?”

The Princess involuntarily looked at Robert, stunned. She hadn’t told the knight that she had announced her candidacy for the throne. For a moment, she wondered if someone started a rumor about it somewhere.

What he brought up next, however, wasn’t something remotely close to what Alicia expected.

“Even though your face is this lovely, you have even more guts than that weirdo. Our beloved Princess who overcame all sorts of opposition to appoint a weirdo as her aide, the one who left the castle secretly and came back after she put an arrogant noble on his place…”

“Who did you call a weirdo?”

Clovis complained as he frowned. Jude, though, was intrigued by the story instead as he leaned forward with his eyes shining brightly.

“That sounds like an interesting story, can you tell me about it?”

“Well, it’s about the Princess’ recent outing, oh but, I can’t tell you the name of the arrogant noble, he’s pathetic enough already, no need to expose his name.”

After saying that, Robert opened his mouth as he told the story with eloquence compared to a minstrel.

He purposely didn’t mention Riddhe’s name due to the agreement between both sides that stated that they would not make the matter bigger than it already was.

Alicia blushed as Robert recounted the events of her outings as if it were a saga while dexterously withholding any information that might expose Riddhe’s identity. Jude, on the other hand, listened to his story with admiration on his face. Occasionally, he would glance toward the Princess while nodding several times at her.

Eventually, their little gathering passed as they peacefully chatted like this.

TL: Iyo