Last spring, I had to doubt my ears because of the news about Your Highnessâ unfortunate accident. To Your Highness, who was so brave and strong⊠(sycophantic words)â
I turned the pages over quickly.
âThere were days spent in mystery until I hear of the news that Your Highnessâ body has been restored to a point where he can go out of the palace once more; I sent a letter with an excited heartâŠâ
I ignored the useless phrases.
âWe prepared a small gathering to celebrate the health of Your Highness, with the members of the Social Club for Special Noblemen. Please come and grace the meeting with your presenceâŠâ
If you summarize the content of the invitation, which was pounded with useless sentences, it was simply:
âLetâs meet in celebration of your recovery.â
An unexpected invitation. I asked the maid about the Social Club for Special Noblemen.
The maid struggled. âIt is a social gathering where Your Highness was a member.â
I furrowed my brow. âIs it a strange group?â
The maid answered my question with a grim face.
âFor the girls, the customs of the Noblemenâs Club are incomprehensibleâŠâ
I could tell it was more than just having something to eat or drink.
I was busy practicing and didnât intend to attend such a futile meeting. I wonât come, I decided.
However, I glanced at the letterâs senderâs name-
âThe wise, valiant, thoughtful Prince Adrianâs eternal friend, Bernardo of the Eli Family.â
âEli?â
âLord Bernardo Eli is the chairman of the Social Club,â the maid said.
Eli.
It was a name etched in my memory.
[A hundred years ago, the man who had been insisting on mana hearts, Count Eli, died. Since then, mana hearts became a low-end tool for mercenaries.]
On the day we talked about mana hearts, Count Eli was among the names Uncle mentioned.
âWhat will you do, Your Highness? If you would like to attend, I will make preparations; if you do not want to attend, I will send them communication,â the maid asked with a pensive expression.
âI will attendâŠâ
âI understand,â the maidâs face became noticeably darker. âI will make preparations.â
She looked very disappointed that I will attend the meeting.
It sounds like a very unhealthy gathering. The maidâs face says it all.
Itâs not good enough for me.
But it wasnât for the âincomprehensibleâ customs that I would attend.
It was because there was a strong interest in the family name of the one who held on to mana hearts until the endâŠ
Count Eli.
* * *
It is not the royal banquet, but a small club meeting. I thought it would be enough to just go without getting ready.
But it was an illusion.
âIâm just going to a meeting, why do I need to do this?â
âYour Majestyâs body shape has changed so much that he needs to get his clothes adjustedâŠâ
âAre we not done yet?â
The tailor had tormented me all day long, taking measurements, showing me his drawings.
âThere is a saying that clothes are wings. It takes a little patience to wear those wings,â he said.
âAre you kidding me? Does it look like this body is made to fly?â I was annoyed.
The tailor had an apologetic yet determined look.
âYour Highness, Iâm not good enough, but I will do my best with all my energy!â
Damn.
My body now has poorly defined muscles coexisting with lumps of fat. It was that of a typical muscular pig.
âAll right, finish as fast as you can.â
After saying that, I allowed the tailor to continue his measurements peacefully.
Wait-
âHave you made my clothes before?â
âYes, Your Highness.â
My clothes were uselessly colorful, unsuited to a pig-like body.
âWhat color are you going to make?â
âOf course, according to the taste of the Majesty, in gold, silver, or whiteâŠâ
âOkay. Make it black.â
I immediately cut off the tailorâs words. If left as it was, I will continue to wear colors like a clown.
The tailor looked surprised.
âBlack?â
âYes. I want minimal decoration and simple design.â
The tailor suddenly had a dark face.
I realized it wasnât the princeâs choice, but his taste.
I reminded him a few more times to make sure: Donât make it extravagant.
âI will do as Your Highness wants,â he replied with a low voice.
It seemed that he wanted to do it differently, but he canât do anything.
The person who will wear the clothes is the First Prince.
So soon after the measurements, the tailor returned with the finished clothes.
âI followed your order, Your Highness.â
The tailorâs face was full of pride as he laid the clothes down.
âWellâŠâ
It is exactly as I wanted.
Color is black; decoration is minimal; the design is simple. However, the cloth was luxurious.
As I lifted the clothes and considered it while frowning, the tailor said confidently.
âIt will fit you perfectly.â
With the help of the tailor and the maid, I put on the new clothes.
âHooh!â I exclaimed.
I was very satisfied. I wore brown shoes with it, and it fitted nicely with the color scheme.
My body, although it couldnât fly, looks pretty good.
âYou have skills,â I acknowledged the tailor.
âWith Your Highnessâ words, it feels like 40 years of hardness in my life melted away.â
He looked proud and confident in his abilities.
âI need you to make my clothes for the banquet at the Royal Palace in about two months from now.â
âIâll start working right away, Your Highness.â
âNo. Wait. My sizes will be a little different at that time.
âNo. Wait a minute. The dimensions will be a little different.â
Two months is a lot of time to burn all the fat I had left.
âThen, please send for me anytime. Iâll leave now, Your Highness.â He bowed, obviously pleased by my compliment, and left.
I looked at myself again in front of the mirror.
âIâm losing itâŠâ
I lost so much weight that my face has started to change to someone I didnât know.
It was a face that some would call handsome.
* * *
It was the day of the meeting.
With me are four other people. Since it was the first time Iâll leave the royal palace from quite some time, court knights and Carls stood close to me.
They were very nervous about the possibility of something unfortunate.
âRelax,â I told them. âWe havenât even left the palace yet.â
A carriage appeared from a distance, bearing the emblems of a golden lion and a roaring dragon on a white background.
A maid and I climbed inside. Carls and the other court knights will be riding horses in a formation around the carriage.
âGo.â
At my words, the carriage began to move.
However, Carls, who was obviously nervous about leaving the palace with me, approached to close the shutter on the carriageâs window.
The shutter was made of thick iron plates, to prevent snipers. It also prevented me from seeing the outside world.
âCan you keep it open, just a little? I wanted to see outside a littleâŠâ
Carls closed the shutter.
I left the prison that was the Royal Palace just to be in another prison, this time a carriage.
It was boring. I could not even hear outside the carriage.
âWell?â
I twisted my body and looked at the maid at the corner of the carriage.
She had an unsightly scar on her fine skin.
âThe woundâŠâ I muttered.
The maid lifted her collar, but it was not enough to cover up the huge scar on her neck.
âI upset Your Highness, and deserved to be punished,â she mumbled.
Damn. So, it was also the pigâs fault.
I was so sorry and embarrassed that I tried to look away, but in the cramped carriage, where else would I look?
I spoke to her again. âWhat is your name?â
From the moment I opened my eyes until I closed them, I was surrounded by maids, but I didnât even know their names.
The maid looked at me with a shy, jumpy, doe-like manner. I feel guiltier.
Good eyes, fine skin, and scars. I was not the one who did it, but why do I feel guilty?
âIâm Adelia Bavaria, Your Highness.â
She said the name as if she was sad.
âWhat?!â I stiffened when I heard her name. âBavaria?â
Only
âThe family is barely on the noble list. We are no family that Your Highness might be interested inâŠâ
âYou are a descendant of the Bavarian family?â
âYes, Your Highness?â
Oh, my God.
I pressed my hand to my forehead, overcome with dizziness.
I never thought Iâd hear this name once more.
My memories are in a warehouse filled with dust. A name popped out of the dusty piles.