Gerania’s day is simple.
She wakes up in the morning, has breakfast, takes a brief walk in the garden, reads, then goes out.
Wearing bland, dull clothes that commoners would wear, she would go around the city to buy food and ingredients. She looked familiar from the back as she carried her basket, which seemed too difficult for her to lift alone.
Today is the day of her weekly visit to the orphanage.
“Oh welcome, Jenna.”
“Hello.”
The pseudonym, which she chose out of the blue because she didn’t want to stand out, was now familiar to her. It’s not that she didn’t want to reveal herself, but it’s just that she didn’t want to bother others with her identity.
“The kids will love it. Please tell the princess we thank her as well.”
Hearing these words, Gerania smiled quietly. She couldn’t hide her noble status because of her gestures and accent, but when she said that she had worked for a duke’s family for a long time, she was able to convince them.
Past her friendly smile, Gerania opened the door to the large room and entered. The eyes of the chattering children turned to Gerania, and one jumped onto Gerania’s skirt in an instant.
“Jenna!”
“It’s Jenna, come on!”
The huddled children chirped around like a baby bird chirping around a mother bird. Compared to other orphanages, this place is better, but the children can’t afford to be washed often, so after stroking the somewhat greasy hair of the children, Gerania sat down in her corner.
Like those watching a play, the children sat around Gerania in a circle.
“What story are you going to tell us today?”
“It’s a fairytale called The Cat Princess.”
Gerania, grinning, began to tell her story.
《Cat Princess》
Once upon a time there lived a beautiful princess. Her beauty spread far and wide, and she had a great number of suitors. Among them was a prince from a neighboring country who was as famous as the princess, and an evil wizard in a scruffy robe.
Then one day, the princess suddenly went missing. The absence of the sun-like princess plunged the kingdom into sorrow.
Her father, the king, made a public announcement that whoever would find the princess would marry the princess. The people started looking for the princess everywhere, but no one was able to find her.
Then, the princess reappeared. Who was the person holding the princess’s hand?
“Prince?”
“Wizard!”
“Maybe it’s the duke.”
It was lovely to see the children pouring out their opinions. Gerania laughed lightly and continued her story.
It was a young servant who was cleaning the princess’s room.
To the surprised servants, he began to confide what had happened in detail.
In fact, the princess was cursed by the vengeful wizard after his marriage proposal was rejected, and she thus became a cat.
The one who saved the princess, who was hanging around in the form of a cat, was a young servant who was usually mistreated by others.
The servant did not know that the cat he had picked up was a princess. He couldn’t be bothered by the fact that it didn’t even look at him when he brought it food.
Tired and hungry, the cat barely began to eat, and after that the attendant began a strange life with the cat.
A strange bond began to develop between the two. Then one day, the princess who went out was caught by those who usually harass the servant.
The servant who cherished the bleeding cat shed tears as he hugged the cat, and at that moment the cat returned to its original form as a princess.
“… After the wedding, the two lived happily ever after.”
When the story was finished, claps and applause broke out here and there. In response to the enthusiastic response from the distracted but cute crowd, Gerania also pretended to say hello while holding up the hem of her skirt.
In fact, the story ended with the cat returning to being a human. What happened after that has not actually been revealed. There are many interpretations and speculations, but since it’s a story being told to children, a happy ending would be better.
Telling fairytales was one of the things she always did when she came to the orphanage. Gerania was a prolific reader, and none of the books in the duke’s library has not passed through Gerania’s hands.
A child took a seat next to Gerania, who happily watched the children scatter like bees in search of honey. She was a girl with short curly brown hair.
“Is there anything you want to say, Mary?”
When she first came to the orphanage, Mary was the most hesitant about approaching her, so this current situation is definitely a leap forward.
Brown eyes resembling transparent beads twinkled. Mary took out an object and held it out to Gerania. It was one of the books that Gerania had donated to the orphanage, a book called《The Animals of a Midsummer’s Night》.
“Can you read it to me?”
She shyly nodded her head, making Gerania lightly stroke her cheek with her finger.
When she opened the book, Mary pressed her face close to Gerania. She was persistent with her gaze as she stared at Gerania’s face who was reading the book.
She looked like she had something to say.
“So, the animals decided to practice their instruments to celebrate the birthday of the returning god… .”
“Jenna is amazing.”
A sudden outburst of voice devoured her speech. Instead of being angry or annoyed, Gerania looked back at Mary. The child, who had just turned ten, laughed a little more than before.
“Am I amazing?”
“Yes! I want to be like Jenna when I grow up.”
Gerania’s face suddenly became cloudy like a frosted window. She stroked the child’s hair with a gentle hand. Her hair, which had been messy, was now well-groomed.
Of course it wasn’t because of Gerania’s true identity that she was like this. She was smart, but her skill in using her hands was embarrassingly bad, so she really didn’t appear like the skillful maid from the duke’s mansion like she proclaimed to be.
“What in me do you like so much, Mary?”
Mary talked about this and that, her eyes twinkling as she spoke. The answers kept spilling out of her mouth, and Gerania sat there with a bewildered face.
Mary said she knows a lot, is kind, has a beautiful voice, and is calm. Gerania felt like she was hearing more compliments from her than she’d heard her whole life.
Her dull face became lively, and her gaze toward Gerania was full of longing and affection.
Mary was a smart kid. Although she was quiet and pointed at people, she was quick to understand and she never forgot a story once told.
You don’t need to tell such a child that the reality is that she is a commoner and poor, so she won’t be able to get a proper education.
Gerania felt sick to her stomach.
«─── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ───»
When she returned to the mansion, a guest was waiting for her.
Looking at the person whose face was hidden, Gerania tensed up. She hurriedly changed her clothes and came out, although she seemed to be showing off that she had been out all day.
“Didn’t you visit three days ago?”
Although he had announced that he would come again, she didn’t know that their next meeting would happen so soon.
How are you so free? She heard that the crown prince’s day is so busy that it needs to be broken down into minutes to fit all the schedules he needs to do.
But what is this?
“It was different then. At that time, I was visiting as a companion, but now I am here to woo the princess.”
His tone was as soft as honey, but it sounded awkward in Gerania’s ears. Has he changed his strategy? Her alertness was evident on her face.
Thinking that this might be the case, Franz slowly erased the smile that was on his face. He decided to be cool and blunt, but his steadfast blue eyes continued staring at Gerania.
“I think my explanation was too short. I will be direct.”
There was no one around because everyone else had withdrawn. It was late in the evening, so the sun was slowly setting over Kretz. As if paint had been mangled on the canvas, the blurry red scenery embraced the two of them like a painting.
The teacup and teapot that was brought with the excuse of drinking tea were cooling down on the table.
“Gerania Vichen.”
“…….”
“Are you willing to change this country with me?”
Unexpected words escaped the man’s lips. Franz spoke seriously to the woman in front of him, who only blinked in surprise.
“I will change this country. You of all people should know that it has not been long since the War of Conquest ended.”
After the war, the territory of the country expanded, but because of it, frequent conflicts took place in the country. Because the funds kept being used for the war, the financial situation became serious, and there was no way that Kretz would continue in the right direction.
In fact, for the past six years since the last war, the royal family has moved with the focus on rectifying the country’s state of affairs.
“I am not interested in marriage, but if I become king, I will have to get married someday.”
Gradually, his intention was revealed.
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