The Royal Capital of Archlesia Empire is bustling with people during the Founding Festival. In the Founding Festival where the closer one is to the central plaza where the ceremony is held, the more crowded the stores are, two women were walking away from such a plaza.
Both were dressed in civilian clothes and looked like sistersā¦ā¦ but the young woman walking in front of the other, wearing clothes that looked simple, but of good quality, had an air of nobility to her.
[ā¦ā¦Milady, the Master will scold you again.]
[Donāt worry. Iāll be back in time for the ceremony. Besides, we nobles should know more about the lives of our citizens. As the young lady of the innovative nobility, I need to see and learn about the city with my own eyes.]
[The words you said were admirable, but itās greatly perplexing that youāre simply just acting out of curiosity. No one knows what danger there is for the daughter of a Marquis to be walking around a place like thisā¦ā¦]
[Thatās why the maid that you are is escorting me. Donāt worry, we wonāt be here long.]
The woman is the daughter of a Marquis and walking behind her is the maid who serves as her guard. This daughter of a Marquis who belongs to the innovative faction has always been interested in the life of the common people and often travels incognito with her maid.
[The conservatives have lost momentum recently, so itās easier to take action. Seriously, those conservatives are hard-headedā¦ā¦ Even when they donāt have overwhelming power like the Six Kings, they think theyāre superior only because of their past glory and bloodlines.]
[Well, bloodlines are important after all. Thatās what makes you nobility.]
[Thatās just an old way of thinking. I wouldnāt go so far as to say that politics should be citizen-centric just like they do there in Hydra Kingdom, itās about time for the nobility of Archlesia Empire to undergo some changesā¦ā¦ but there are a lot of hard-headed people out there. Thatās why people say weāre behind compared to Hydra and Symphonia.]
[Those things basically change depending on whoās on top. The previous emperor was a staunch conservative, and since the current Emperor Her Majesty Chris sat on the throne, reforms are progressing steadily, so I think in the not-too-distant future, the Empire will be in the form that Milady envisions.]
[Youāre right. That would be greatā¦ā¦ Ohh, weāve gone all the way here to enjoy our time for the Founding Festival, so letās not talk politics. Come on, letās go and look around the stalls!]
After giving a small smile at the maidās words, the young lady smiles, as if to regain her composure, and begins to look around.
[Speaking of, wouldnāt it be better if we were closer to the center of the city? It would have made it easier for us to returnā¦ā¦]
[The stalls near the central plaza are just those Iām somewhat familiar with, and there are so many people that itās hard to move around. Itās in places like this, off the beaten path, that we can find the eccentric stalls and such.]
[You sure are having funā¦ā¦]
[Yes, weāre at a festival after allā¦ā¦ Ara? Iāve already discovered an unusual stall over there.]
The young lady, moving her gaze around, noticed a certain stall. She couldnāt quite describe what stall it was, as she was even feeling something ominous from it, but in any case, it was a stall with too many decorations and it stood out in a strange way.
[ā¦ā¦D- Doesnāt that place look suspicious? From a distance, it looks like a general store, but doesnāt it have lots of strange things in it?]
[Itās stalls like that where we can find the best bargains. Come on, letās check it out!]
The young lady went to the stall with great enthusiasm, and her eyes lit up when she saw the unique items lined up on the storefront.
[Excuse me, Iād like to take a look around. They all look unusual and quite interestingā¦ā¦]
[Ahh, I bid you welcome, Guided One. You may select to your heartās content.]
[ā¦ā¦Ah, yes.]
The young lady stiffened and her eyes opened wide when she saw the one manning the stall, bidding her welcome with theatrical exaggeration.
(ā¦ā¦Eh? Isnāt sheā¦ā¦ the Wingedsā Chief, Amel-sama? T- Thereās no mistaking it. Even though sheās hiding her wingsā¦ā¦ Thereās no way I, a daughter of a Marquis, would mistake the face of an important person in our country. W- W- W- W- Why would the Wingedsā Chief open a stall in a place like this? Ah, n- no, that aside, I must not be rude! If by any chance I offended the Wingedsā Chief, it would cause a lot of trouble to Fatherā¦ā¦)
The general public isnāt very familiar with Amel, and without her wings, she would be unnoticeable to most people since few have seen her face, but the daughter of a high-ranking noble would have seen her before, and although she was trying desperately to maintain her composure, perhaps because of her ladylike education, she was inwardly flustered.
[If there is something you donāt understand, Iāll explain it to you, so please feel free to ask us.]
[Eh? Yes, thank you veryā¦ā¦ muchā¦ā¦]
As if being guided by a newly heard voice, her gaze quickly moved to the other person standing next to Amelā¦ā¦ and the young ladyās face paled.
(Ababababaā¦ā¦ I- I- I- Isnāt that Miyama Kaito-sama? T- T- T- Thereās no way Iād be mistaking this. The same face I saw in his portraitā¦ā¦ N- No, if it was merely his face, there was a possibility that it was just someone else who happened to resemble him, but the fact that he is with Amel-sama, heās definitely the real oneā¦ā¦ Awawawawa, w- w- why is such a person opening a stall here!?)
Kaito is also famous among the nobles, and as he was someone considered amongst the most important people in the world, the young ladyās parents showed her his appearance over and over again, and she was repeatedly told not to make any careless mistake around him.
(C- C- C- Calm down! I- I am the daughter of a Marquisā¦ā¦ I- I must not show how shaken I am! If I were to displease Miyama Kaito-sama, wouldnāt our Marquisate disappear the next day!?)
Desperately telling herself in her heart to keep her composure, so as not to appear unnatural, the young lady gently put her hand on her aching stomach.