Even when mom and dad were still alive at the Orlando Kingdom, Glinda had stopped playing with the other kids.

"—Because they steal web content from me."

Glinda just coldly replied, continuing to design her website that I could hardly understand anything of.

"Because they stole."

Hearing this, I felt as if I had been abandoned by Glinda just like the other kids, and felt so pathetic.

"Am I also a thief?"

When I asked while trembling, Glinda coldly looked at me, and said.

"Yes, a thief. But you are my subscriber, so if you would visit my website, I would give you exclusive content I promised."

Even when mom and dad were still alive at the Orlando

Kingdom, Glinda had stopped playing with the other kids.

"—Because they are

from me."

Glinda just coldly replied, continuing to read a thick old

tome that I could hardly make heads or tails out of.

"Because different."

Hearing this, I felt as if I had been abandoned by Glinda

just like the other kids, and felt so pathetic.

"Am I also

?"

When I asked while trembling, Glinda coldly looked at me,

and said.

"Yes, different. But you are my little brother, so if you

would obediently listen to me, I would play with you."

I was as delighted as a little puppy wagging his tail with

all my might, nodding: "En!"

"Sigh….. Ahhhhhh! Now is no time to reminiscence about sad

memories of childhood!"

I sat on my bed in my western dress, gripping my head and

sighing.

Since the day I b.u.mped into Princess Seira and shed tears,

three days had gone by.

Due to shame and embarra.s.sment, I could never look her

completely in the face during every lesson.

Helmut who returned home the day before calmly said.

"She hasn't threatened you; saying that she would reveal

your ident.i.ty immediately if you cannot find the answer, neither has she set a

time limit for discovering the solution, right? If that's the case, you can

just take your time to patiently figure a way out."

Princess Seira never did set a deadline, and since she had

helped me keep my secret to this day, she might just continue to keep mum about

it.

But, I had already promised the Queen :"Just leave Princess

Seira's issues to me."; And more importantly, Princess Seira seemed to be

waiting for her answer, silently applying pressure on me with her icy quiet stare

at all times, and scaring me almost into spilling my guts.

"Uwuwu… If the real Glinda were to come to Eren, maybe she

would have been very compatible with Princess Seira…"

No, maybe they would have begun their plot to conquer the

world together already, so scary.

My mind was filled with illusions of horror, and I was so

upset that I could not sit still, running out of my room.

Oh, but if I were to go out to the courtyards, I might b.u.mp

into the princess again; as for Anneth, she had just said "I need to deliver

something to the publishers.", and went back home, yet to return.

So lonely.

Cold breeze swirled within my skirt.

As I slowly walked with head overcast…

"Hey! Glinda! How dare you just ignore me! Outrageous!"

A furious-looking Sir Jerome appeared in a huff.

"Huh? When have I ever ignored you?"

For someone with such flamboyant dress-sense, pompous and

exaggerated att.i.tude, how could I possibly ignore him?

But Jerome just became angrier.

"Huh? Stop playing the fool! Last night when I called at you

at the new diner at the Silver Lamb Street, you just coldly stared at me! Even

if there was a woman at my sides, b-but don't you misunderstand! That was just

a normal girlfriend… no, she's my cousin… no, my elder sister!" (T/N: SKP2017: "way to go, bro... (claps)")

"I did not leave the palace at all yesterday, did you

mistook someone else for me…"

"I did not mistake anyone else! The face that looked at me

is truly yours!"

Jerome pointed at my face and shouted, then his own face

began to redden.

"That, maybe because of the moonlight, you looked more

enchanting than normal… I have never thought you lovely before, but for some

reasons, the same face in the city felt completely different, so, so I was

stunned for a moment, thinking that you looked beautiful…" (T/N: SKP2017: "The moon sure is beautiful today...")

I was shocked breathless.

A girl with the same face as mine, but more beautiful, there

could only be one in this entire world!

Could it be that Jerome had b.u.mped into…

At this point, Jerome's uncle, the Chief Minister who saw me

as a pain in his sides, strode over in large steps.

"I heard that you have been trying to unearth information

about our country, and about our king. You must be a spy from Winstoria

Empire!"

"When did that happen?"

"Stop acting as though you know nothing about it! I received

reports that, this morning you were at the marketplace, not spending even a

single cent and just with sophistry alone, made off with half a dozen eggs, two

oranges, a string of sausages, hard bread, squid and roast scallops!"

"I must take my leave!"

I turned and ran when I heard.

"Wait! You trying to escape?!?"

"Glinda! The woman last night is truly only my sister~~~~"

I ignored the shouts that came from behind me.

This morning I had breakfast with the royal family, and then

had lessons as normal.

So, there could be no way I could have appeared in the

market.

There could be absolutely no doubts about it! Glinda had

come to this country! And was very nearby!

I ran back into my room, threw on some craftsman's apparel

that I had prepared just in case, tugged my hair under my cap, and put on those

pair of spectacles that I had not worn since I got kidnapped by Helmut. These

were gla.s.ses that I bought on purpose to hide my face which looked exactly

similar to Glinda.

It was no simple feat to enter the castle, with its thick

high walls, water-filled moat and guards.

But it was a simple thing to leave it.

I pretended to be a lowly craftsman's apprentice, leaving

the castle to buy some stuff for my master.

"Thank you for the hard work. It must had been tough at work

with Lana's Day just around the corner, huh?"

The guards chatted with me as they let me pa.s.sed outside.

Once out of the palace, I picked up my legs and began to

run.

Where to look for Glinda?

Let's just begin at where the crowd would be. Glinda was so

glaringly outstanding that even mere pa.s.sers-by would be deeply impressed by

her appearance.

I made my way from my memories of the marathon race, and

immediately found a large crowd forming a ring around something.

I tiptoed to try peering in from above their heads.

A clown-themed clockwork toy was being displayed in front of

a clock-maker shop. The clown with his hair stuffed on his back hammered on his

drums while a dove flew out of the drum with every hit.

This was identical to the toy we had in our home back in the

Winstoria Empire, which had been crafted by Glinda when she was just 6.

I pushed through the crowd to ask the shop owner.

"Who made this toy?"

The shop keeper excitedly replied.

"Yesterday, a beautiful young lady came over to our shop and

crafted this object in a second. She said that there were some materials she

needed, and would exchange them with this."

"Where has she gone to?"

"She asked me the location of the nearest shoemaker, so I

directed her to George's shop nearby."

"Thank you!"

I ran over to enquire at the shoe shop…

"Hoho, oh yes, she took a few pieces of top quality leather,

and gave me many lovely designs of shoes. She asked me for some pen and paper,

and just drew the designs on the spot. How terrific!"

After that, I heard that Glinda went to an antique shop.

Clockmaker, shoe shop, antique shop… Just what did Glinda

want?

I followed the map that the shoe maker drew for me, rounding

a street corner…

"Ah!"

"Wha! Sorry!"

I clashed heads-on with another who was also walking around

the corner, and the objects in her hands fell, flying all over the place.

A large amount of paper flew about, and the two of us

quickly tried to pick them all up.

"T-that, it's alright."

The girl I b.u.mped into shyly said in a small voice.

"No, it's my fault entirely for b.u.mping into you in a

hurry."

"I am at fault too, for not being careful when rounding the

corner. There's no need to help me pick them all up."

"How can I just leave like that?"

What were on these papers? They seemed to be filled with words…

A doc.u.ment? Or a diary?

I had actually no intention of sneaking a peak into

another's things, but I took a glance by accident, and lost all colour on my

face.

 (T/N: SKP2017: "R21+")

"I-it's really alright… I can pick them all up on my own."

I looked up to check out the other person.

Blus.h.i.+ng from head to toe while picking up the pieces was

none other than Anneth who had just went home!

That probably meant that, these papers were Anneth's novel?

That 'thing' about Helmut being Top and King Cecello being Bottom?

Waaaaaaaah! If they were to be blown away by the wind and

seen by other people, all h.e.l.l might break loose~~~

I picked up the papers all over at three times, no, five

times the speed, while Anneth watched with widened eyes.

"T-that..."

At that moment, a piece of paper was picked up by the wind

and flew towards the path of a pa.s.sing horse-drawn carriage.

"Oh no!"

Anneth let out a cry of dismay.

I kicked against the ground, jumping forward with all my

might.

"Ah! Danger!"

I heard Anneth's screams, grabbed the flying piece of paper,

and held the rest of the papers close to my chest before hitting the ground and

rolling over a few times.

The horse neighed in surprise, and the huge wheels rolled

over the stone pavement just beside me.

"Oh… You, are you alright? Have you gotten hurt?"

Anneth ran over and said in a frantic voice.

"Here."

I climbed up and pa.s.sed her the stack of paper with a

full-faced smile.

"These things are important, right? Luckily they haven't

gotten squashed by the carriage."

If someone were to see these by accident, she might be

arrested for disrespect of both Eren Kingdom and the Winstoria Empire, and

might even cause an international incident.

Anneth said with a blus.h.i.+ng face.

"Thank you…"

She looked at me with eyes filled with adoration.

"Huh?"

And then tilted her head.

"Looking more carefully, you looked very similar to someone

I know."

I was so stunned that my heart nearly leapt out of my mouth.

G-gla.s.ses?... Oh, luckily they were intact on my face.

"Really alike, no matter how you look at it, there has to be

some relations.h.i.+p. Have you just arrived from the Winstoria Empire?"

"Haha, I grew up here in Eren. Ho, I am still in a hurry,

please excuse me."

"Oh!"

Anneth seemed to want to say something more, but I turned

and fled immediately.

Uwah! Did I manage to get away? The next time I meet with

Anneth I must be careful not to expose myself!

I ran breathlessly to the antique shop.

"That lady? She had been around here until this morning. She

said that she wanted to read an ancient tome in this shop, and completed it all

within a single night. How terrifying."

I heard there that Glinda had prescribed a list of herbal

medication for the shop owner who suffered from chronic shoulder aches. The shop

owner was very satisfied with the results of the medicine after trying it out,

and was thus gratified.

Glinda had been here just until this morning?

After that, I ran to the diner that Jerome said that Glinda

had ignored him in, as well as the places in the market where Glinda had bought

stuff.

Everyone there remembered Glinda, and I heard that she

purchased stuff by wagering with the shop owners with scissors-paper-stone,

offering to pay ten times the price for loosing but taking the food for free if

she won. Naturally, she won them all, and so left with a large pile of food

without spending a single cent, going next to the arts museum and the library.

I was getting closer to Glinda!

As the prize in my eyes became closer, my head turned

feverish and my chest felt the thumping beats of my heart. (T/N: SKP2017: "That's what we call love...")

Since I was a child, I had always had to rely on Glinda for

every single thing.

Every time when I ran into trouble, I would run crying to

Glinda; if there were any joyful or sad happenings, Glinda would be the first

one I would report to.

Even though Glinda was so cold, she would always listen to

me, giving me support.

In the end, Glinda knew every bit about me, but I knew

nothing about Glinda.

Glinda would never tell me anything about what was in her

heart.

That's right, even three years ago - when we turned

fourteen, it was also the same.

One day nearing Lana's day, Glinda

sat and played a gentle tune on the piano.

"—Could that possibly be Lana's

Day music? Wow! Who are you going to confess to?"

No matter how I asked and cajoled,

Glinda would not reveal who that lovely music was dedicated to, nor would she

tell me where she would gift this song to anybody.

It was the same this time.

She just disappeared after leaving

these words.

How could she just do that! This

is preposterous! I must definitely scold her bitterly!

I continued to run while panting

profusely.

No matter how fiercely I was to

scold her, Glinda would simply carelessly reply "I was just going for a trip,

what's the big deal."

Then, I would just dump all my

frustrations and bitterness I suffered from all this time on her.

Just like before…

Ohhh! I would finally meet with

Glinda again! Everything would be restored!

It was just noon when I departed

from the castle, but the sky had somehow turned bright red now without my

realising it.

I chased after the trail of

Glinda, arriving at last at the port.

Huh, why did it end at the port…

I looked at the sailboat that was

anch.o.r.ed there with disquiet in my heart.

When I asked about Glinda from the

labourer there…

"You're asking about that lady?

She had left on the s.h.i.+p bound for Rubinia, saying that she wanted to get to

the Gilian Islands."

I felt darkness falling before my

eyes and my entire body went cold.

"How can that be! Glinda!"

It was so close that I thought I

could see her! I thought that Glinda came to find me because she was actually

worried for me… But in the end she just left without a word!

I shouted towards the sea.

"Glinda! Glinda! Come back!"

"The s.h.i.+p has been gone for over

an hour. She won't be able to hear it."

The labourer probably thought that

I had been ditched by a girl called Glinda, and so said in a consoling voice.

Glinda abandoned me.

My heart was completely empty, but

my body somehow felt like it weighed a ton.

By the time I dragged my feet that

felt as heavy as lead back to the palace, it was already night-time.

When I was barred by the guards at

the entrance to the palace, I just nonchalantly pulled down my cab and took off

my spectacles.

The soldiers, upon seeing my long

hair on my shoulders, cried in surprise.

"M-Ms Glinda!"

The crossed spears before me

immediately parted.

I emptily walked pa.s.s them.

That's right, Chief Minister

Gaston seemed to be suspecting me of being a spy… If he heard about this again,

he might think I was out spying again… Muah, whatever.

Upon returning to my own room, I

had no energy left to even change back into female clothes, but just sat

cross-legged on the bed and scratched my head violently.

Would I be stuck in this place

forever?

I did not wish to cross-dress any

longer.

I did not want to act as Glinda's

replacement any more.

That's because after all my

efforts of waiting for her to come back, she just abandoned me.

Since Glinda came to Eren, she

must have heard about the news of Ms Glinda in the palace, and definitely

realise that that would be me.

But, she never visited me once,

but just left behind a big pile of trails, and left Eren. Even if I were to be

exposed as fake in Eren and got sent to prison for being an imposter, she would

probably not have bothered either.

Something hot began to rise in my

throat, and I had a splitting headache.

I don't care about Glinda any

more! I want nothing more to do with Glinda for the rest of my life!

At that moment, there was a knock

on the door.

"… It's me. May I come in?"

A flat monotonous voice came in,

was it Princess Seira?

I got down from the bed and went

to open the door to see those emotionless clear eyes observing me.

What did she come here for?

Princess Seira beheld my

craftsman's getup and hair in disarray, but displayed no clue of surprise and

just coldly asked.

"… Where did you go to today?"

Had she already known about me

leaving the palace?

That un-childlike cool expression

reminded me of Glinda, causing temper to rise in me.

"Are you here to check if I have

escaped? What business is it of yours wherever I go?"

I was stirred by my own words, and

my emotions became more unstable.

Glinda was also like that.

Apparently knowing every single

thing about me, but letting me know nothing about herself.

"… it is my business, because I

have yet to hear your answer."

This tone that felt as if

questioning the results of an experiment, along with the disrespectful use of a

simple 'You', drove heat to the very roots of my ears.

Ever since this princess had

discovered that I was not Glinda, she no longer called me 'Teacher', but simply

addressed me as 'You', as if calling something useless.

I became so angry that I could no

longer breathe.

This girl was just like Glinda!

"The answer is

!

You have never wanted anything! To

, there is no need

for anything! You guys have everything, but just wanted to abandon it all and

be all alone! You are like that! So is Ophelit!"

So was Glinda!

What these people dreamed off,

saw, was the

where nothing else lived except

themselves!

"Go ahead and expose me as an

imposter! After all I am sick and tired of cross-dressing already!"

I shouted in anger, and completely

lost control. Princess Seira slightly widened her large amethyst eyes and

looked at me defencelessly.

I turned and shut the door, threw

the pillow atop the bed, kicked away my shoes, upper coat and pants. Then I

took out the dress, corset and pantyhose and threw them onto the bed.

"I've had enough! Booohooo! I've

really had enough!"

Wearing just a pair of shorts, I

cried non-stop.

When I finally realised the

severity of the situation, it was already deep in the night.

After shouting loudly to the maids

that "I am not eating!", I had fallen asleep atop of the embroidered western

gown.

Now, I sat cross-legged on the bed

with both hands holding on my head.

"Uwwaaaaaaaah! What have I said!

She is only a child of 9!"

Being abandoned my Glinda was such

a severe blow to me that I had completely forgotten about that fact.

When I thought about how the tiny

hand that had covered my lips was so small, so fragile and soft…

"Fool! I am such a fool! The worst

kind of knave!"

I could not help but began to

knock my own head.

To say such horrible things to a child

of such small cheeks and soft hands, I was truly no better than a rat! Rubbish

child bully! I should just go disappear into a ditch! Even if Glinda and

Princess Seira were alike, they were still different people.

To be glared so fiercely at by a

transvest.i.te and then angry scolded, she must be really frightened.

If it was Glinda, she might repay

me three times in kind, but Princess Seira was probably more defenceless… it

m-might even leave a psychological scar…

When I thought back to my mad

shouts earlier, and her fragile, lost eyes, I could almost feel knives slicing

in my chest. Waaaah~~~~ I was just bullying children~~~~

As I imagined the scene of

Princess Seira hiding into a corner, covering her face with both eyes and

crying sadly, I was further filled with a sense of guilt.

"Go- go apologise already!"

Now! Immediately! Not one more

second of delay!

I was still overwrought, and never

considered whether it might be better to wait until later or tomorrow to

apologise, as my mind was filled with the images of Princess Seira weeping

alone.

Right, let's go to her room, even

if it's just to peek from the door outside.

If Princess Seira had already

slept, I would just leave her a message.

I placed a note saying "Really

sorry for yesterday", and placed it into an envelope, then quickly b.u.t.toned up in

a lacy female night gown and combed my hair. Just in case I b.u.mped into

someone, I could at least say that I lost my way in the dark while

sleepwalking. (T/N: SKP2017: "Nightcrawler's guide, pg 27: how to disguise yourself as a cross-dressing pervert")

Alright, preparations complete.

Relying on the candlelight in the

halls, I shuffled forward in the corridor.

The castle at night was a little

scary, but pangs of guilt overcame fear, so I could not care any more about

that.

Ho, this must be Princess Seira's

bedroom.

I gripped the handle and slowly

twisted it.

Luckily my current ident.i.ty was

female, or I might even be taken to be a night-crawling lolicon… but wait,

Princess Seira knew I was male!

No, I was not here to night-crawl,

but to apologise and seek forgiveness. I had absolutely no dishonourable intent

towards 9 year old girls. (T/N: SKP2017: "Of cos not, that's what all pedos say.")

I profusely explained myself in my

heart as I gently opened the door.

In an instant, I was taken

breathless.

In the bedroom with pulled-open

curtains, moonlight flooded in from the balcony outside.

The floor that had been furnished

with soft carpeting was illuminated like a lake of silver, while the patterns

on the gla.s.s window cast shadows like a thick forest, glittering all over with

tiny sparkle.

The scene within the room was one

that was directly ripped out of the fairy tales.

At the centre of this lonely world

laid a pile of white object.

That was Princess Seira.

Her body was wrapped in a blanket,

back towards me, motionless.

"Your Highness…"

Even though I called her, she did

not reply.

I swallowed and moved into the

room.

Something small stuck between my

feet and the surface of the ground.

Picking it up, I found that it was

a crystal bead. So the sparkling glitter I saw was this? But, why were these

beads all over the place? They couldn't have fallen from the ceiling

chandelier, right?

I felt increasingly uncomfortable,

and so went around to the front to steal a glance at her face, thus discovered

that the girl who had been clad completely in white and wrapped in a thin

blanket was, in fact, weeping in silence.

Her sad eyes were downcast, lips

tightened, and tears as round as the crystal beads on the floor were rolling

down her cheek.

This doll-like appearance was

quieter and calmer than the scenes I had imagined, but the impact of it was a

hundred times more tragic and lonely.

"S-sorry!"

I fell to the ground and lowered

my head in apology.

"Truly, really sorry! Sorry!

Sorry! Sorry!"

I apologise continuously.

"As an adult, how could I have

said such outrageous things to you! You are not wrong, the fault is with me, all

due to my own foolishness! Really, truly sorry!"

Princess Seira continued to cry

non-stop.

She pouted, and tears continued to

fall from her eyes.

Ohhhh! … Did this child always

hide and cry alone? All this time?

And I had thoughtless hurt her. At

this time, I was utterly filled with regret, apologising profusely with

"Sorry", "You can hit me", "If you would just laugh, I would do anything", "I

would even be your slave", "Please, I beg of you, stop crying".

But no matter what I said, the

princess did not react.

Like her heart had been s.n.a.t.c.hed

away, tears just ran liberally from her eyes.

Perhaps after hearing my words,

Princess Seira's spirit had flown off to another world, and I was only left

with an empty sh.e.l.l… When I considered this, my heart shattered.

What must I do?

I had no idea that I had caused

such deep wounds in her.

As I felt shocked, the blanket

wrapped about her body slipped and fell to the ground.

Princess Seira remained

motionless, and as I helped to pick up her blanket, I suddenly noticed an open

book at her side.

A thick, large book written in

ancient language.

That was the book which Princess

Seira often carried around close to her chest.

The page which the book had opened

to had not only words, but ill.u.s.trations as well. It was the picture of the

back of a sage playing a flute in a black cape blown by the wind… This was

apparently a replication of the artists' impression of Ophelit as represented

in excavations of the ancient ruins.

But the thing that drew my

attention was not the legendary genius, but the small blurry picture of the

back of a young girl standing besides Ophelit…

The little girl stretched out her

right hand towards the black figure, as if to grasp the black cape Ophelit was

wearing…

Oh, I see now.

So that was it.

Many things clicked in my brain,

and my heart was pierced with a tight pain… I could not help but hugged

Princess Seria tightly.

That icy slim body did not

struggle.

How powerless, how lonely, were

you as you pined for the fulfilment of this dream.

I used the gentlest and kindest

voice I could muster and told her.

"I know the

."

G.o.ddess of Love Lana's Day.

In the afternoon of Lana's Day.

The Queen Mother received many

gifts and smiled joyfully.

The twin princesses presented her

with a rose-shaped coral ring, Prince Ryuuju gave her a thimble of emerald; but

the thing that surprised everyone was that even Prince s.h.i.+n gave her a brooch

made of clay with a piece of amber in its centre. Its shape is that of a

Margaret, and its edges had been painted white. Previously I had noticed Prince

s.h.i.+n silently crafting it during the lessons, so this was actually the present

he had in mind for Her Majesty.

"Ara, is this hand-made by s.h.i.+n?

It's great! So cute! Thank you so much!"

The Queen put on the brooch on the

spot, hugged Prince s.h.i.+n and rubbed Her cheeks against his, causing His

Highness to blush happily.

Naturally, His Majesty King

Cecello had gifted the person He loved the most with jewellery, as evidenced by

the silver necklace with a gemstone as blue as His Majesty's eyes which had

been sparkling around Her Majesty's slim neck since this morning.

Every present had been a pleasant

laughter-inducing surprise to Her Majesty, but the one that absolutely touched

the Queen today had to be Princess Seira's gift to Her.

That afternoon, before the

gathered and sitting King Cecello, Her Majesty and all the other princes and

princesses, Princess Seira dedicated her violin performance to the Queen.

It was a personal composition of

Princess Seira herself which was totally unlike her usual sad and lonely note,

but one that was teeming with gladness and warmth.

Before the performance began, I

had informed the Queen and all present.

"In the Winstoria Empire, people

compose and dedicate songs to their beloved, so today, Her Highness Princess

Seira would also like to perform a song that she had composed herself to her

most beloved Queen Mother."

Her Majesty's eyes widened greatly

as She heard those words.

Princess Seira seemed somewhat

nervous as she held her violin and bow, glancing uneasily at me.

Her expression only relaxed a

little when I smiled and lifted the tambourine in my hand to show her, but then

it tightened again as she began the performance.

As soothing and pleasing as

always, but much, much warmer - such notes poured forth.

The Queen had a shocked expression

on Her face, and became moved almost to tears as She listened spellbound to the

sweet melody.

I was also completely affected by

Princess Seira's awesome composition, shaking my tambourine in concerto with the

violin music.

The one who suggested for Princess

Seira to compose music for the Queen as Lana's Day present was naturally I.

-- I know the

.

When I spoke these words that

night, the Princess Seira in my chest reacted for the first time.

Like a bullied little girl, she

said softly in a lost and insecure little voice.

"… I do not … have anything I

desire, because… I have everything… So… I can only abandon… everything… go look

for the

alone… That's my wish… So your answer's

correct…"

The knife that wounded Princess

Seria so deeply also pierced my own heart. Those words that I had used on her

had been really too much, and I wanted now to beat myself into a b.l.o.o.d.y pulp.

"No, I answered wrong."

I said in a completely decisive

voice.

The thing that Princess Seira

desired, was not to become Ophelit.

Why did Princess Seira only have

interest in

?

Why did she look at me so

intently?

Why did she keep holding onto

Ophelit's book, and read it in front of me?

When I fell into her bathtub, she

had lightly tugged on my hand…

-- Isn't Teacher… here to see me?

Why did she look so hopefully at

me then?

Princess Seira was still hoping

right now.

Hoping and waiting for the

unmatched genius Glinda Dolye.

"I had been completely wrong about

you. You must have been really frightened, really lonely, right?"

Because she had been gifted

extraordinary intelligence, she was far beyond common people.

With her all-comprehending powers

of perception, she could see through the cold calculating side to His Majesty

who so loved His children. When she saw those things that a 9 year old child

should never be allowed to see, just how horrified and lonely would she had

felt.

If I was just like my Father the

King… When she considered such things, fear must had frozen her all over.

Princess Seira had loved the

legends and heroes in them, because she could see that those characters were

out of the ordinary just like she was.

"Your wish was for someone who can

hold the hand that you reached out with. Someone who can understand your

loneliness, someone like yourself… a

… you have been waiting

for someone like that."

I released my hands and looked at

her eyes.

Princess Seira continued to weep

as she watched me with a fragile expression.

I wrapped my hands around her tiny

hands and slowly closed around them.

"I will be your companion."

I said with a fervour that was as

warm as the insides of my throat.

Princess Seira gave a little jump.

"I am no genius, neither can I

of everything, but I will be your companion no matter

what time it is! I will listen to whatever you want to say! Help you whenever

you need someone! So, just say whatever you wish to say, do anything that you

want to do!"

The tiny fingers felt a little

more forceful as they held onto my fingers.

The face covered in tears looked

up, and Princess Seira asked timidly.

"… anything that I want to do?"

"That's right, anything that you

want to do."

"… There's no such thing."

"The crystals on the floor, are

those for Lana's Day present?"

Princess Seira's face which had

been downcast all this while looked up at me in surprise, and then immediately

lowered again.

"… E-every year… Everyone would…

give presents to Queen Mother… But… I am different… So, no need…"

Her voice went dead half-way into

the sentence, drowned out by sobs.

I visualised Princess Seira

weeping as she broke apart the jewellery prepared for her Queen Mother, and was

tremendously hurt myself inside.

"Sorry, it is all because my words

had hurt you. Can it be repaired just in time for Lana's Day?"

"… No, Lord Father, Elder Brother,

Sarasa and Orie… and even s.h.i.+n… would be giving presents to Queen Mother… So I

don't have to…"

Even though I apologised with all

my might, Princess Seira continued to shake her head in grief.

It was obvious how lonely and

anguished Princess Seira had felt all along.

Sigh, then what should I do?

I wrecked my brains and tried my

hardest to figure out a way.

What must I do to lead this

childish little Princess back from the darkness of her gift? What could I do to

restore her confidence?

Maybe if I praised her in the

things she was the best in…

Got it!

"Then, just give the Queen the

thing that only you can give. In my country, the thing we give to our most

beloved is not precious stones, but music. Aren't you the best at playing the

violin? Why not just compose a song for Her Majesty, and play it for Her?"

Princess Seira was dumbfounded

when she heard that.

"I would also help. How about it?"

I asked again before she shakily

nodded.

Then, the two of us composed the

music until day break. Even though that was what I said, in actual fact, all I

did was offer my comments after listening to Princess Seira's hums.

After which, Her Highness began to

diligently rehea.r.s.e the composed song.

Princess Seira halted a few times

during the practices and lowered her head in hesitation, so I decided to

partic.i.p.ate in the performance as well and told her, "Let me support you with

my tambourine."

The result was this sunny-warm

music played by Princess Seira for her Queen Mother now.

I stood behind her, shaking my

tambourine at her beats.

It would be alright, I'm here,

your companion is here.

So, you can just do all that you

need to do to convey your love to your most beloved.

My last-minute emergency practice

paid-off, as the rings of my tambourine harmoniously fell in line with the

dancing notes of Princess Seira's melody.

Prince Ryuuju, the twin princesses

and even Prince s.h.i.+n listened in delightful rapture.

Princess Suzuna who lied on her

Queen Mother's chest opened her eyes and laughed cheerfully as if to make joyful

music into the mix.

King Cecello had his arm around

the shoulders of Her Majesty, and watched us with an extremely gentle

expression.

The Queen's eyes s.h.i.+mmered with

teary light like the children, and then bloomed into a blus.h.i.+ng smile.

See, Princess Seira's intention

had been clearly conveyed.

Such a pure, vital and joyful

thing.

I suddenly realised as I shook the

tambourine, the music of which Her Majesty had said only children could bring

out completely.

Glinda and Princess Seira might both

be geniuses, but they were not completely beyond human comprehension.

Throughout my seventeen years of

living together with Glinda, I had in fact come to learn of many things.

When she was feeling down, she

would pick on some mundane stuff around the house, such as peeling the tough

fibre off long beans or dismantling a knot in a chain.

She would never look at me fully

in the eye if she was feeling really hurt.

When she was happy, her nose would

quiver ever so slightly.

Even if Glinda was an extremely

intelligent, highly unpredictable, completely mysterious person and a

troublesome elder sister, I could still figure many things about her.

Joyful melody filled the

atmosphere with warmth, lifting up smiles on the faces of everyone. Even

Princess Suzuna wiggled in happiness.

As the performance came to a

close, King Cecello helped take the baby princess from the arms of Her Majesty.

The Queen ran towards Princess

Seira and hugged her tightly.

"Thank you, Seira, this is such a

beautiful gift.  It is a really happy day

today!"

She said in a teary voice.

Princess Seira seemed highly

fl.u.s.tered, and tugged on Her Majesty's clothes in a flush.

"T-Thank you for making such

delicious breakfast for us every morning… I… I love Queen Mother very much."

Her shaky and unsteady words

somehow touched me greatly.

"I love Seira very much too."

Princess Seira's lips gradually

bloomed into a glowing smile.

"Oh! We love Queen Mother very

much too!"

"Yes! Love Mother the most!"

Princesses Sarasa and Orie,

embraced Her Majesty with Princess Sarasa; Prince s.h.i.+n seemed to be expressing

his love for his Mother by silently tugging at Her skirt.

"Your Highness Prince Ryuuju,

won't you go as well?"

"…Humph. I'm already an adult. So

that won't be important, Glinda… Besides, I-I have something I'd like to give…" (T/N: SKP2017: "what, you actually want to confess your love to a girl before your own mom and dad AND little sisters? Give the kid a beer!")

"Oh c'mon, what is Your Highness

talking about? You're still a child too. So don't be shy, just go."

I gave Prince Ryuuju a little

shove with both hands from behind.

"Wha!"

Prince Ryuuju gave a little

surprised shout and got pushed running towards the huddled group, knocking into

the twin princesses.

"Ara! Big Bro Ryuuju is always so

frenzied!"

"That's right! Just like a little

kid!"

"What! It is not I who…"

Her Majesty the Queen watched over

the children, and said happily.

"Ryuuju, Seira, Sarasa and Orie,

s.h.i.+n and Suzuna, I love each and every one of you."

His Majesty who was carrying

Princess Suzuna somehow appeared at my side without my notice.

"Previously, I tend to hold off

giving my Lana's Day present until at night, but today I had a premonition and

decided to give it immediately in the morning. Looks like that has been a good

call. After Seira's gift, there's no way for my gift to appear any comparable."

 King Cecello seemed to whisper

conspiratorially to me in a low voice.

"Ms Glinda, you are the only one

with the capability of helping Seira compose a music of this form, and perform

it with this calibre."

"It's just a coincidence."

"Even if that's the case, I must

still thank you as a father. Ms Glinda, I invited you here specifically for the

sake of Seira, because that child has scarcely anyone who can understand her,

or communicate with her as an equal. Ms Glinda Dolye has been invited to be the

private tutor of Eldest Princess Seira."

Princess Seira's private tutor…

It was such an incomparably

honoured praise in my ears.

His Majesty continued in a

friendly and warm voice.

"Lady Glinda does not require the

use of Ophelit's all-conquering silver flute, but relied on the tambourine

usable even by small children to open the locked heart of Seira. From this day

forth, please continue to a.s.sist that child with the help of the tambourine."

"Certainly."

I said with bravado.

But I also wondered how things

could have turned out if the one who came to Eren Kingdom was the real Glinda.

Perhaps both she and Princess

Seira could establish a certain level of understanding with each other.

Since, in hindsight, I realised

that back then Glinda could had just been sulking when she said "They are all

different from me" as she read her tales of heroes and legends alone.

A feeling of longing continued to

linger in my chest…

His Majesty then put on a somewhat

funny disappointed face, saying.

"Also please advise Seira, so that

she would no longer be afraid of me."

"I believe Her Highness Princess

Seira loved Your Majesty very much as well."

That's right, for I was in a

similar situation. Even though Glinda vanished all on her own and left me with

a heap of problems, I still loved this member of my family deeply from within.

King Cecello smiled lightly, and

replied.

"I know."

Then, he laid gentle eyes on the

Queen being hugged tightly by her children, as well as the children who

surrounded their beloved Mother.

"Isn't my family great?"

The severe cold blue eyes of a

leader seemed to have melted away that instant.

-- Seira is very similar to me.

This was the hint given me by King

Cecello.

The lonely King Cecello who played

his violin in solitude in an ancient castle was changed by his encounter with a

foreign young lady, as the two grew to understand each other.

Therefore, change would gradually

come too, for Princess Seira as well as the world around her.

For, just the King Cecello who

changed the entire kingdom for the sake of his beloved, Princess Seira too,

would one day encounter someone special to her that she valued above all

others.

I pray too, that Glinda would

remember me in the moments when she felt lonely, and then come back as though

nothing had happened.

Then, I would first unleash my

fury on her, before hugging her tightly, saying "Welcome home."

Princess Seira who was quivering

in embarra.s.sment in the bosom of Her Majesty turned to look at me, her face

completely red, but shone me a shy smile.

It was a child-like smile as simple

as wild flowers blooming in the fields, but seeing that smile, I could almost

feel as if Glinda was smiling at me, and so returned a smile of my own.

That night, while alone in my own

room, I heard people knocking at my door.

"It's me, may I enter?"

"Princess Seira? Hmm, sure, please

enter."

The door lightly opened, and the

princess worriedly peeked in. Her expression had become far richer like a

normal child's.

When the two of us were alone

together, she would often display such somewhat embarra.s.sed expressions, maybe

because she had no idea what to say or how to behave before me.

Princess Seira looked down on the

floor and swayed side to side for a while, before putting forth both her hands

to the front and bowing towards me with a blus.h.i.+ng face.

"Thanks so much for all the help

you gave me. I have never played together with my brothers and sisters before,

so I am really glad; I being able to give a gift that made Queen Mother so

happy, i-it's also because of you… Truly, thank you very much."

"All I did was to provide a little

a.s.sistance. Right, I too have a gift for you."

I opened a small box I had

delivered from the craftsmen, and a silver bracelet of crystal beads had been laden

within. An amethyst in the designs of a flower had also been crafted according

to my request and attached on it.

I gently lifted Princess Seira's

right hand and wound the bracelet around her hand twice, making her eyes grow

wide.

"This is…"

"This is my Lana's Day present to

you."

"Eee…"

"Even though I say that, actually

the crystal beads have been collected from your own room, and amethyst is not

really something expensive… But, this is the evidence that I am your companion."

The stunned Princess Seira who had

been looking at the bracelet looked up in shock when she heard those words.

I looked at her with a gentle gaze,

feeling that this was probably the sacred emotions felt by the knights swearing

loyalty to their princesses in the legends.

-- Private tutor of Eldest

Princess Seira.

That t.i.tle ordained by His Majesty,

sparkled like gold in my heart.

Princess Seira placed her hand

which was wearing the bracelet on her chest and said

"Teacher."

A smile floated onto her cherry

coloured lips.

"Would you please call me just

from today?"

"Huh?"

"It should be alright when there

is just the two of us."

"Emm. Alright."

She just called me

! Ever since she had discovered that I was an imposter, she had

been just using

to address me, but now, she was calling me

!

Princess Seira's mood rose as she

looked happily at me whose heartbeat began to speed up.

"I still have much to learn from

Teacher, so please teach me as you wish from now on as well."

"Mmm, I too have much to learn

from you as well, Seira."

"T-That… Also…"

Princess Seira became more

fidgety.

She shyly looked down at her two

feet, then looked up at me, and abashedly asked.

"First, could I ask… What is the

name of Teacher?"

"My name?"

"… Is it not alright?"

She asked worriedly.

"No. Then I would just tell you

alone, please don't tell anyone else though."

I had no idea it could be so

bashful to tell someone else my own name.

"My name is Sherlock Dolye, everyone

just call me

."

Seira seemed as if she had

obtained something of immeasurable worth, focusing all her attention on my

name.

"This… is the secret between me

and Teacher."

"Mmm."

I nodded as her face turned red

again.

"T-then, I would be taking my

leave."

Princess Seira turned and left in

a hurry.

Maybe realising the immaturity in

that action, she calmly turned and said at the doorway.

"Goodbye."

Bowing low…

"Teacher… Sherlock."

She shyly gave me a little smile,

and closed the door lightly with her little hand.

For a long while after, my heart

hammered non-stop.

Princess Seira recognized me as

!

Not

, but

! I was so delighted

that I could fly into the sky!

For this little girl so much alike

to Glinda, how would she turn out?

I wish I could do something for

Seira that I did not manage to do for Glinda.

Right, I still had to prepare for

tomorrow morning's cla.s.s.

Even though there would be no way

for me to actually teach Seira about the books she could read, I could at least

teach her some customs and culture of the Winstoria Empire, and about how

commoners lived there.

Such things would also be useful

to know for the heir-to-the-throne Prince Ryuuju.

Let's use the twin princesses' favourite

topics as a lead-in to it then.

Extra-curriculum activities should

also be interesting, and I should pay more attention to Prince s.h.i.+n too.

I was completely energized, and so

began to organize the desk-full of study material.

"Huh?"

I discovered a piece of paper

stuck between the drawers of the desk.

When did this fall out? Maybe it

was when I was setting some test papers.

Picking it up, I became so shocked

that I could not hold the paper steadily.

Ba-thump, Ba-thump, my heart would

not stop hammering.

In a very familiar handwriting was

just a single line of words.

"I don't have athletes' foot, nor

am I little red beans, they are lemons." (T/N: SKP2017: "We understand, Glinda...")

Glinda!

My temperature rose and my brain

went feverish.

Glinda had been in this room? When

was that? Definitely before she boarded that boat for Rubinia, so this piece of

paper had been here for a few days already. Wah! Why hadn't I noticed it

earlier!

That Glinda. If you were going to

leave a note, why didn't you just come and talk with me directly? As expected,

I still could not understand Glinda's thought process.

While I continued to be fl.u.s.tered

by the discovery, another knock sounded at the door.

Who could that be? And why at this

time!

"Coming."

I roughly pulled open the door,

and found His Highness Prince Ryuuju frowning, lips tightened and standing at

the door with an unpleasant-looking face.

Why was the prince here? Was there

something I could do for him? I was worrying when Prince Ryuuju's face turned

as red as a tomato.

"D-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-don't

misunderstand! I only came because I wanted to thank you for your care last

time! As the future king, I must certainly know the basics of courtesy!

A-a-a-a-a-a-a-and that's to say, because of that, just take it!" (T/N: SKP2017: "B-baka")

He took out a small box tied by a

ribbon.

 Huh? Was that a Lana's Day gift?

I had heard from Anneth that it

was common to give gifts as thanks to females that had taken care of you, but taking

one look at this box wrapped with ribbon along with the blus.h.i.+ng red expression

of Prince Ryuuju, you would know it was a love-confession no matter how you

looked at it…

Huh? What? You're kidding, right?

Could… could he have fallen for me?

I was struck by lightning.

Could this be his first love?

W-w-w-w-w-w-wait a second! Calm

down! I-i-i-i-i-i-i-I'm maaaaaaaleee~~~~ (T/N: SKP2017: "So?")

Ahhhhh! But His Highness looked so

serious, just like back when I was first in love… Uwwwaaaaahhh! If I were to

discover that the target of my first love was a man, there's no way I could

take it! If things were to be exposed, emotional scars would be left on his

heart! Too cruel!

I was still shocked and worried by

the severity of the situation, when another voice came.

"Hey! Glinda!"

Sir Jerome from the knights

company walked over with a grim face.

I'm busy right now!

My heart screamed at him, but of

course he could not have heard it.

Jerome acted as if he had not seen

the prince, and just kept glaring at me as he approached slowly.

Was he still angry about Glinda

giving him the snub that day? Or was he going to challenge me now to some other

weird compet.i.tion? But I was busy right now wrecking my brain over my student's

first love affairs!

At this moment, Jerome grabbed my

wrist.

Click. (T/N: SKP2017: "Busted!")

My right wrist was wrapped in a

golden bracelet decorated with a red ruby.

What was that?

"This is my heart! You should

understand what day it is today, right!"

"Huuuuuuuuuuuh?"

This guy as well?

"Impudence! The one who should be

giving Glinda her gift first should be a prince like me!"

His Highness jumped in anger below

Jerome and shouted.

"Love is beyond royalty."

"Wha….What love!"

Didn't he hate my guts? How did

this suddenly turn into a love discussion? Because Glinda had been cold towards

him? Was he some m.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.t? Even if this was the case, there's no way I could

be happy to be confessed to by some man! (T/N: SKP2017: "Face it, you enjoy the attention.")

The prince trembled in anger.

Jerome stared straight at me with burning

hot pa.s.sion.

It was the most popular day of my

entire life, but I was just drowning in cold sweat and confusion.