Busy

After that dinner earlier, I made my way outside to where the waterfalls were, where I could see the city lights in the distance. I sat down on the edge of the floor, and let out a sigh. This was a tiresome day. Dinner with the family always stressed me out. My family was both nice and scary at the same time.

If they weren’t after my life, then things might have been different. Every day, I dreaded thinking about how things would have been better for all of us, for me. But it was just not meant to be. Just my luck, huh? For some reason, I just had terrible luck when it came to families. I could never get something good. But that was fine, I’d live.

Just like how I accepted my life back on Earth, I’d learn to accept the reality on this one. There was no point in forcing things to change when I could never change it. Although, I had to admit, I was very disappointed.

As I wallowed in my thoughts, and stared into the dark distance, I heard footsteps coming my way.

“Avenelle, what are you doing here?”

I turned around to see it was my older brother, Saviel. He walked towards me with a curious expression.

“Brother, I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“I was about to leave.”

“Leaving already, just after returning home for dinner?”

He stood beside me. “My job is quite important, little sister. Battles never rest.”

I slowly nodded. “I suppose.”

“What are you sitting here for? It’s dangerous.”

I stared down at the bottom of the fall. Indeed, it was dangerous. I had never been scared of heights, even here. I couldn’t tell why, but perhaps, deep inside, I was longing to fall into the abyss. After falling, all would end, no more suffering. But of course, I was more frightened of death than of the hardships of life. That was why I lived on Earth.

“You think I would survive if I fell?” I asked in a casual manner.

“Hm?” He stared at the bottom as well. “With this much water, sure. Just don’t hit the water surface directly, or you’ll hit it like a wall.”

Yeah, well, I knew that. But good to know that I’d be alright if I did it well. Saviel sat down beside me.

“So, what are you doing here, little sister?”

“... It is… peaceful here.”

He glanced at me with a small smile. “This is the first time that you've come here for some peace.”

“Is it? Hm.” This type of thing happens if you’re stressed as heck. “Well, I am also thinking of some inspiration.”

“Oh, is that so? But is it not just you being nervous about the ritual that you have to perform?”

“... That too, I suppose.”

“Well, you’ve already done it before.”

“Still, one couldn’t help but feel nervous about something you had not done for a long while.”

Saviel briefly chuckled. “Look at you.” He suddenly poked my cheek. “Don’t overthink things, it won’t help anything.”

I pouted. “Easy for you to say, you’re used to it…”

“Well, sometimes I still worry. But I just focus more on what needs to be done, rather than what could happen.”

“... I have so many things to do.”

“Indeed, you are. But I know you’ll do well.” He patted my head.

I sure hope so.

It would be a nightmare if I didn’t. I certainly wouldn’t like to face my death.

“Thank you, brother…” I lowered my head. “Will you be there at my departure?”

“Do you need me to?”

I frowned and averted my gaze. “N-Not that I need you to or anything.”

He chuckled, he seemed amused by my reaction. I really did not need him or anything. But for some reason I was feeling quite embarrassed. It was just… it would be nice for someone to see me off. At least, it wouldn’t be lonely. No one in my household back on Earth had ever done that to me.

“Now now, no need to be so flustered. I understand you need your older brother to see you off.”

I crossed my arms. “I didn’t say that.”

“Yet your face says something different.” He suddenly pinched my cheek.

“Ow! B-Brother!” I directed an annoyed look at him.

“See? Now you’re looking at me.”

Upon realizing that, I blushed and immediately averted my face. “Stop that.”

He laughed. “Very well, Avenelle. I’ll see you off.”

I slowly looked at him. “Is that a promise?”

“I promise.”

“A-Are you sure? You shouldn’t make a promise you can’t keep.”

“I said I’ll be there, so I’ll be there.”

“Okay…”

***

I was in a reception room. Before me were three messengers, kneeling low. I was sitting on a couch as I handed them the letters enclosed in envelopes.

“Take these. These are the letters that you’ll be delivering. The destination and recipient are written on the envelopes.”

One of them received the envelopes and read the writings.

“It might be a dangerous road out there,” I continued. “But make sure they are delivered.”

In other normal cases, one messenger might have been enough. However, we needed three for safety and assurance. These three were knights, they could fight, and their enemies on the roads would be monsters. One or two would just be riskier for them. The more hands, the better in fighting monsters. Still, not like you’d always encounter a monster, there was just a chance.

And monsters should not be underestimated.

“How long do you expect these letters should be delivered, Your Highness?”

Given that these three would essentially be galloping on horses most of the time, it shouldn’t take that long. And given their low number, they could easily move out. Unless of course monsters get in their way, then it would slightly slow things down.

“Two or three days.”

The knight nodded. “That should be plenty.”

“Do you have any questions?”

They were silent for a moment before the leading knight responded, “No, Princess.”

“Good. You may go. And be sure to be prepared for anything you need before your departure.”

The knights smiled, they seemed to like my showing of concern towards them. “You need not worry, Princess.”

With that, they all left the room. I subtly took a deep breath. At least that was one business done. Whether or not they accomplish their mission, we’d find out once they return. I just hoped they would finish their mission so I didn’t have to worry about anything else. I already had enough trouble on my plate.

I leaned back in my seat. “Where is Alaric?” I asked the senior maid, who was with me. She was the same maid who brought me the list of servants I requested.

“He was already summoned for.”

I let out a sigh. “Please go to him—” I was about to have her drag Alaric here when the door opened.

It was Alaric.

“Finally, brother, you’re here. I was expecting you here way earlier.”

He shrugged as he approached me. “I knew you were meeting with some messengers. So I waited.”

“I would have preferred you were here with me already.”

“I was sure you could handle things just fine.”

I frowned. “... Anyhow, do you have the list?”

“Yes, right here.” He handed me a sheet of paper.

There were a lot of names. None of them were familiar to me. Well, just how many knights did I even know by name?

“From what I could recall, this is more than last year’s security detail.”

Alaric casually sat down on the couch and leaned back. “Things were a bit different in Vivienne’s year.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re not privy to what’s happening with the war, but I am. And, I assure you, the enemy is becoming more daring. It wouldn’t be shocking if they attempted to attack us on the way.”

“Hm, like cornered rats then?”

It was true, I had no idea of what was going on with all the fighting. Unlike the rest of my siblings, I decided not to involve myself with the war effort. It was just not for me. Although Alaric was kind of the same as me, mostly hanging around the palace, he was just more informed and a little bit more active compared to me.

Me comparing enemies to rats was not far from the truth. When you push rats into a corner, they will fight back with all their might, all to survive.

“In a way. But not like we’ve taken a good chunk of their land. They’re just feeling the pressure more now. Their people’s fear, anxiety, are all building up in the years of war.”

Well, the costs alone would be staggering. It would certainly result in a harder daily life, like scarcity of food, and the prices of goods. War had always been an expensive one.

“In fact, there had been enemies discovered infiltrating our territory,” Alaric continued. “They snuck in.”

“Why would they be here?”

“Help their cause, of course. You could do plenty of sabotage and espionage when in your enemy’s territory. But we have carried out actions to put a stop to it.”

“I see. Then this is fine. Hm, we’d need several carriages for the guards alone. Or some of them could ride ‌horses.”

“Yes, several of them should ride on horses to keep a secure perimeter.”

“Alright.”

I grabbed a piece of paper and started writing down. I handed the letter to the maid. “This is the request to the Coach Master. Furthermore, I’ve decided to use decoys for the royal carriage. There should be three royal carriages in total that look the same.”

“I like that, so they wouldn’t know where we’d be exactly.” Alaric nodded.

“Unless there are spies in our midst, yes. Ah, speaking of spies, please screen the maids, brother. You trust the knights you picked, so I don’t need you to question them.”

“Your Highness, I assure you, the servants I picked have been working on the palace for years. They can be trusted.”

“I know that, but in light of what Alaric revealed to me about the conflict, it is best we be careful.” Even Clarissa must be screened.

“Alright, sister. I’ll do it.”

I nodded. “Now we just need to figure out how many tents and other equipment we need. Also the food.”

There was a chance that we might need to stop in the middle of the road. So camping equipment was essential to have.

“Do we have someone who can look after this matter?”

“I know a manservant on the list that can do it,” said the maid. “He also handled last year’s equipment and rations.”

Man, it was so good to have reliable subordinates, it really made things easy.

I nodded with a smile, quite pleased. He did it last year too, so he had experience working on this stuff. “Bring him here to me.”

“Understood.”

“When should I start screening the servants?” Alaric asked.

“Whenever possible. But don’t take too long.”

Finally, we were making progress. After speaking with the manservant, I could finally get back to making my puppets.