Chapter 10

5. The Grand Duke’s Little Annex

Today was the long-awaited moving day.

As soon as we finished breakfast at the imperial palace, we headed for the Grand Duke’s residence.

Since the Grand Duke’s capital residence, belonging to such a high-ranking noble, was relatively close to the imperial palace, we could have taken a carriage.

But this time, we decided to use a mage’s assistance.

Since the Legendary Princess was officially moving, either the Imperial Knights or the Grand Duke’s knights would have to escort me.

And if that happened, of course everyone would know that I was the person inside the carriage.

There would probably be an enormous crowd, and the risk of an accident was far too high, so we chose the safer method.

“Welcome to the Grand Duke’s capital residence, Legendary Princess.”

Everyone lined up on both sides of the corridor bowed their heads simultaneously.

Whoa.

I had heard that we would be moving to a room containing a teleportation magic circle, so I hadn’t expected to receive such an enormous welcome.

Momentarily flustered, I looked at the Hero standing beside me.

He extended a helping hand.

“The Princess says you may raise your heads.”

At those words, dozens of people immediately straightened their backs and stood perfectly upright.

An elderly gentleman at the front of the attendants approached me and politely introduced himself.

“It is an honor to meet a hero who accomplished such a great feat, Legendary Princess. I am Baron Linus Delmarc, the butler of the Grand Duke’s household.”

“I’m Pluur Madel Aeterna.”

Hehe.

Yesterday, I had learned the Imperial greeting from the maids at the imperial palace.

I grasped the sides of my skirt with both hands, slightly bowed at the waist, and then straightened again.

Considering I’d learned it through last-minute cramming, I thought I’d done pretty well.

Feeling proud of myself, I took the Hero’s hand.

And then, all of a sudden, the elderly butler standing in front of me burst into tears.

“My goodness! The Princess has greeted us according to Imperial etiquette! I am so deeply moved! This is the greatest day of my life!”

Was being greeted by me really such a huge deal that he had to sob like that?

But the other attendants of the Grand Duke’s household were also watching me with moist eyes, desperately trying to hold back their emotions.

As I stood there completely bewildered, the Hero calmly explained.

“The old butler can be a little excessive, but you’ll be seeing scenes like this quite often from now on.”

“Wh-why?”

“Because Lady Pluur is the greatest Legendary Princess in history.”

“No one at the imperial palace acted like this.”

“Her Majesty the Empress personally selected the maids and knights who serve you. They were chosen so that you could rest comfortably.”

“The butler, then—Baron Delmarc, is he perhaps…”

“One of the countless fanatical worshippers of the Princess scattered across the continent. Still, he has the dignity of age and experience, so at least he doesn’t throw himself on the floor or faint in front of you.”

What was that supposed to mean?!

I didn’t like either option!

It was scary!

So scaaary!

“Ahem. How embarrassing. I behaved disgracefully.”

Fortunately, Baron Delmarc soon stopped crying and led us to the annex.

The annex stood in a corner of the Grand Duke’s spacious garden.

It was a house made of red bricks with a green roof.

Various herbs and spring flowers had been planted beside the front door and in the small garden right next to it, while there was also a vegetable patch near the back door that connected to the kitchen.

The atmosphere reminded me of my hometown house, which I could never return to now.

I loved it.

There was just one thing I didn’t understand.

I’d been told this was a small annex, but up close, it wasn’t small at all.

“How many rooms does the annex have?”

“There are six rooms, excluding the kitchen, bathroom, storage room, and living room.”

Baron Delmarc subtly suggested that perhaps the main residence would be more suitable for me, saying that the annex seemed a little cramped for a princess.

I wanted to shriek, How could a house with six rooms possibly be cramped?!

But I decided not to say anything and simply shook my head.

“Please, come inside.”

The inside of the annex was spacious, but fortunately, it had been decorated in a style that felt familiar to me.

The curtains hanging over the windows had a thick, checkered weave.

A large, sturdy-looking wooden sofa had been placed in the living room, and the floor was covered with a dark navy carpet.

A glass vase filled with wildflowers stood on the dining table, and it matched the yellow tablecloth beautifully.

“It’s pretty! It’s a wonderful house.”

“I’m relieved that you seem to like it, hahaha!”

Baron Delmarc showed me every corner of the annex.

The dressing room, study, wardrobe, bedroom…

In an astonishingly short amount of time, he’d transformed this place into my home, enough to make even the Hero, who was technically the owner of the residence, surprised.

Best of all, there were artifacts throughout the house that made household chores incredibly convenient.

Cooking, cleaning, and laundry weren’t difficult at all.

An oven and stove that allowed me to freely control the heat using mana stones!

I could cook without even having to chop firewood!

Apparently, all these artifacts were ordinary household items used by common families throughout the Empire.

“I wanted to have them specially made with the Princess’s wing emblem or the Grand Duke’s crest, but we were short on time. I apologize.”

“This is more than enough. I feel like I could live here for a thousand years.”

It was a warm, cozy home, with thoughtful touches in every corner.

For some reason, I had a feeling I’d be staying here for quite a long time.

Baron Delmarc was one of the few retainers who knew that the Hero was bound by a subordination contract.

Because of security concerns, Licht couldn’t explain the details regarding the forbidden art.

All he could tell the butler was to choose the largest possible bed for the annex.

After all, he and I had to sleep together.

Once we finished unpacking at the annex, we sent everyone away and explained the situation in detail.

“Hmm. Four hours a day. Long in some ways, short in others.”

“If we don’t fulfill it, the side effects are terrible. According to the Hero, it feels like his soul is being squeezed out.”

“Hmm. In that case, I shall arrange for Lord Licht’s schedule to consist entirely of day trips for the time being. And whenever he absolutely must travel far from the capital, I will make arrangements for the Princess to accompany him as well.”

“The subordination contract makes the Hero behave in ways that aren’t very Grand Duke-like around me. I’m worried that people might start spreading strange rumors.”

“Ah, I don’t think you need to worry too much about that. No matter what Lord Licht does toward the Princess, most people will naturally consider it perfectly normal.”

“Huh?”

“Although Lord Licht has spent more time exterminating monsters on battlefields than participating in social activities because he is the Hero, he is still a member of the imperial bloodline. In other words, etiquette is ingrained in him to the very core. A true gentleman is, by principle, supposed to make sure that the person he is escorting never feels uncomfortable.”

“I haven’t cut my own steak even once since I woke up.”

Even the sirloin steak we had for lunch today had been swiftly cut into bite-sized pieces by the Hero.

All I had to do was pick up the pieces with my fork and eat them.

“His Majesty the Emperor also always cuts his wife’s food for Her Majesty the Empress.”

“What? Really?”

“Yes. That is simply how things are. Besides, as you already know, Lord Licht is exceptionally handsome, isn’t he?”

That was true, so I nodded vigorously.

“He is so handsome that everything he does looks like a beautiful painting. Therefore, as long as the Princess remains calm and composed, everyone will simply let it pass without giving it much thought.”

So, in other words, what mattered was that I acted naturally.

Sigh.

“More importantly, Princess, you said you wanted to visit the Adventurer’s Guild, correct? There are several guild branches in the capital, and the one closest to the Grand Duke’s residence is only ten minutes away by carriage.”

“That’s close!”

“Honestly, it’s close enough to walk. However, if you go looking like this, there will be chaos. You will need a disguise.”

“I heard there’s a portrait of me displayed in a museum. Is my face really that famous?”

“Your hair is actually fairly common. Many people who admire you dye their hair navy blue. Dark colors are easy to dye. But your eyes…”

My eyes were a shade of purple similar to violets.

I had inherited them from my father, although his eyes were closer to a lighter pink.

The Hero gave me some additional information.

Apparently, people with purple eyes were extremely rare to begin with.

“Technology has advanced dramatically compared to 500 years ago, but there still isn’t an artifact that can naturally change the color of someone’s eyes. In other words, no matter how good the disguise is, your eye color remains unique to you.”

“So even if I change my hair color, there’s a high chance I’ll be discovered because of my eyes.”

“Yes. Especially since your eyes aren’t an ordinary shade of purple.”

“They’re jewel-like eyes that sparkle like amethyst.”

Jewel-like eyes were one of the characteristics of the Legendary Princess.

The moment the Goddess chose someone to become the Princess, their eyes began to shine with an inner radiance, sparkling like precious jewels.

“I thought my eyes became jewel-like because of the tremendous amount of holy power I gained when I became the Princess.”

“But even now that your holy power has diminished, your eyes remain unchanged.”

I supposed I’d have no choice but to wear glasses or a hat.

While I was pondering the problem, the capable Baron Delmarc suggested that I try wearing glasses made of lightly tinted glass.

“If we choose the color of the glass carefully, your eyes should appear almost black.”

“I won’t be able to hide them from the side, but that’s better than walking around with my eyes uncovered.”

“I’ll call our regular optician. As for your hair, you could use one of the artifacts owned by the Grand Duke’s household. We have earrings that can adjust both color and length.”

I’d only ever used artifacts designed as weapons, such as magic bombs, land mines, and lightning arrows, so I wasn’t very familiar with disguise artifacts.

But strangely enough, both the Hero and Baron Delmarc seemed extremely knowledgeable about disguises.

Curious, I asked why.

Apparently, they’d had plenty of practice because of the Hero’s excessively handsome face.

“Lord Licht is the lord of the Grand Duke’s territory. There are times when he needs to secretly inspect his domain or conduct an audit.”

“If he’s recognized, the whole point is ruined, so he has to look like someone else.”

“Exactly. An artifact that activates recognition-obscuring magic would make things easier, but obtaining permission to use one is rather difficult.”

“Huh? But 500 years ago, those were illegal.”

“They are conditionally legal in the Empire. However, in other countries, they are still illegal in many places because of concerns that they could be abused.”

Moreover, even in the Groxdel Empire, anyone wearing an artifact that obscured their identity couldn’t enter the Imperial Castle or various major facilities.

Since even the most convenient method came with numerous restrictions, the Hero had become an expert at disguises.

Once the disguise glasses were ready, we decided to go out beyond the Grand Duke’s residence.