Beneath the Surviving Princess's Joyful Facade - Chapter 177

“Oh my! I’m so glad. Please let me know anytime if you’d like more.”

The young lady beamed, and the other ladies, reassured, picked up their forks.

“The Margravine has a sweet tooth.”

With that casual comment from the great madam, the ladies eagerly began to chat with Miesa.

“Have you ever tried Kalite sorbet, Margravine? They sell it at a new patisserie, and it’s unbelievably good.”

“Above all, if you’re in Cladis, you must try the ‘Valenta’!”

“What’s Valenta?” Miesa asked without thinking.

One of the ladies explained, “It’s something like a pudding. Sweet and soft—children love it. My son even wakes up from his sleep for it.”

As the young ladies’ friendly conversation continued, Miesa’s expression softened.

As the conversation went on, Miesa, too, wanted to offer a pleasant word to these kind and gentle people, but she still wasn’t sure what to say in such situations.

After a moment of thought, she awkwardly said, “I hear Kazen walnuts are considered the finest among walnuts.”

Surprisingly, her comment was well-received.

“You already know that, Margravine. Yes, Kazen walnuts are the best.”

“Of course. Kazen walnuts deserve a new name; they go beyond ordinary walnuts.”

As soon as Miesa mentioned the local specialty, the ladies eagerly added their comments.

The time that followed was filled only with laughter and pleasant chatter. Occasionally, the children would whine for their mothers, causing a bit of a commotion, but even that brought comfort to Miesa.

By now, Miesa was comfortable enough with the gathering to respond to the ladies’ questions and laugh with them. Suddenly, she felt someone poke her arm.

“Pierie, don’t do that. Apologize to the Margravine.”

When Miesa turned, she saw a little girl, shorter than herself even while seated, standing there, fidgeting.

“It’s alright. What’s the matter?”

Miesa asked, and the child smiled brightly, bringing her small hand to her mouth and whispering to Miesa.

“You’re so pretty, so I came to say hello.”

“Oh my, I’m so sorry. Pierie, you already greeted her earlier. Come here.”

The girl’s mother hurried over, apologizing. But Miesa was simply fascinated by the tiny human who had approached her.

“No, it’s fine. Thank you for saying I’m pretty.”

“Your hair looks like a fairy’s.”

Well, considering that everyone in Cladis had dark hair, it must have looked unusual to the child.

“May I touch it?”

“Pierie, you mustn’t! My goodness, Margravine, I’m so sorry.”

“No, I said it’s alright.”

Miesa smiled as she handed the child a small lock of her hair. Since she had half of her hair tied back, the child had the honor of touching the margravine’s hair with her tiny fingers.

“Be gentle, so you don’t hurt me.”

“Wow…”

The child carefully touched it, smiling brightly.

“Thank you. Even your hair is beautiful, madam.”

Barely touching her hair a few times seemed to have satisfied her. Miesa smiled back and asked, “How old are you, Pierie?”

“I’m five.”

“Five…?”

Miesa looked at the little girl before her. The chubby-cheeked, angelically smiling girl was a human who had been born five years ago.

“If you’ve touched my hair, may I touch your hand too, Pierie?”

“My hands aren’t clean.” The child grinned as she held out both hands.

Miesa held the soft, chubby hands, then spoke in a mock stern voice, much like her husband’s, “If you’ve touched my hair with unclean hands, I can’t allow that. As punishment, you must give me your cheeks as well.”

“Okay.”

The child giggled and offered her face, and Miesa touched the soft, rosy cheeks before gently stroking them. They were as soft as freshly baked bread, and Miesa was lost in the sensation, absentmindedly touching the child’s cheeks for a long time. At some point, she snapped back to reality, realizing that the other ladies were watching her with warm expressions.

“That’s enough. Go and play now.”

“Yes!”

The child ran back to her mother but was soon pulled aside for a scolding. The mother explained something softly, and the child nodded, though as soon as her mother hugged her, the five-year-old began to pout.

Watching the scene out of the corner of her eye, Miesa recovered a fragment of her lost childhood. She remembered how, when her mother scolded her, she would listen with a nervous heart, only to feel reassured and burst into tears once she was hugged.

And in that memory, once overshadowed by pain, a small warmth from today began to melt in.

***

The New Year in Cladis was peaceful. Miesa, who had now fully adapted to life here, spent each day laughing and enjoying herself.

“Lena! Long time no see? The estate is so big that we never seem to run into each other.”

“Yes, Madam! You should visit the laundry room sometime.”

“I’m busy today. I’m learning horseback riding from Father tomorrow, so I’ll come by the day after.”

Miesa waved to the laundry maid, whom she often ran into at the capital estate, and headed to the great madam’s drawing room on the second floor.

“Mother, I’m here.”

“Ah, sit down.”

Miesa scanned the table as she approached the great madam, but there was nothing on it.

She had said there was something to pass on today, but the room was as usual, with only a young maid standing nearby, who had just shed her childish look.

Come to think of it, Miesa recognized that maid. She thought for a moment before recalling where she’d seen her. It was the maid who had calmly ignored her when she clung to the curtains, sitting on the sofa with her eyes closed. They had always exchanged formal greetings whenever they passed each other.

Now that she thought about it, that maid had not been seen for some time. When had she come to Cladis? As Miesa sat down, the great madam spoke up.

“Miesa, what is the most important thing to us?”

Miesa answered without hesitation, caught off guard by the sudden question, “Eirik.”

“…Yes, that’s true. But you could say Eirik is the family, and the family is Eirik, wouldn’t you?”

“That’s right. He’s the head of the family.” Miesa nodded obediently.

The great madam continued, “And you are also one of the heads of this family.”

“Ah, yes, I am one of the heads.”

Though she thought she might not be a very good one, Miesa gave a shy smile, and the great madam went on.

“Ever since I saw you listening with interest to Eirik’s father’s strategies, I’ve been thinking about this. Now, what do you think is the best victory in a war?”

“Hmm, minimizing losses for our side—”

“No, it’s winning before the war even begins,” said the great madam with a firm expression.

She added, “I will pass on the agents to you. They will assist you.”

“Pardon?”

“By planting them in various places, they can bring not only information or items but even lives. To protect, you must also know how to attack.”

Miesa sat quietly, lost in thought, taken aback by the unexpected statement. Sensing her unease, the great madam explained gently.

“Just keep them for now. If there’s no need to use them, that would be best for everyone. These people don’t enjoy killing either.”

“……”

“Think of it as a precaution, like carrying a sword when you walk in the forest to defend against wild animals.”

“…I understand now.”

Miesa felt a little more at ease. The word ‘agents’ had initially made her feel burdened, but if she thought of them as another type of attendant, it seemed more manageable.

“How many are there?”

“Six. I’ll take two, and I’ll leave four to you.”

The great madam gestured to the maid, who then handed Miesa several sheets of documents. They detailed the work each of the six had done.

“Amazing.”

These were the spies who had infiltrated Sidate during the war. Miesa quickly scanned the writing before raising her head to look at the young maid.

“Oh…? Wait a moment.”

“As expected, Miesa, you’re quick. How did you know?”

“Siata. Her slender build makes her ideal for disguising as a boy. Actually, ever since I entered the room, she caught my attention, and I had a feeling.”

When Miesa finished speaking, Siata, the young maid, bowed. “Greetings, Madam. I usually work as a stable boy in disguise.”

Miesa was startled by this. “Are you the one who was carrying the feed two days ago?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Miesa checked the documents again. The danger pay per mission was extremely high, even more than the base salary.

“Do you really need to do such hard work?”

“It’s to keep track of the condition of the horses, so I can pick the right one in emergencies,” Siata replied politely, her expression unchanged.

The great madam then spoke again, “If you need them, go through the butler or the head maid. No one knows about the agents working throughout the house, but the butler and head maid know that I assign separate tasks to some of the attendants.”

“Throughout the house?” Miesa asked, unable to hide her curiosity. “Who else, besides Siata, is an agent?”

“Dia, who works as a laundry maid, and Ulis, who is in charge of cleaning the annex. And—”

“That quiet Dia? I had no idea.”

“Dia hates losing muscle mass, so she always takes on physical work,” Siata responded politely, her face expressionless.

The smiling great madam slowly stood and spoke to Miesa, “If you have any questions, feel free to ask Siata. She is yours now.”

After the great madam left the room, Miesa pondered for a moment. Silence filled the space for a while.

“Siata.”

“Yes, Madam.”

“How did you disguise yourself?”

Siata began to explain carefully to her new mistress.

“Since I spend a lot of time working as a stable hand, my current hair is actually a wig.”

With that, Siata removed her long hair, revealing the short, boyish haircut beneath.

“It’s not difficult as long as I change my clothes, speech, and behavior properly. Besides, our appearances and unremarkable actions make us blend in, so we aren’t easily noticed.”

“Wow…”

“We could also add things like a fake nose or chin to alter the face, but they’re noticeable up close and can fall off if we sweat, so we don’t use them regularly.”

Miesa was completely engrossed in Siata’s explanation.

***