Sandwiches, Sugar Beets, and a Letter
The brilliant sun illuminated the statue-like—no, the statue of Parmes.
Parmes held a sword, and at his feet lay countless piles of dismembered corpses.
'What a cruel, gruesome statue to display in the middle of a square where people of all ages come and go.'
Do these people have their minds, or not…
Watching a child poke at a severed hand-shaped sculpture, I thought I'd have to file a complaint someday.
And then—
"…"
I turned at the sound of footsteps approaching, and there stood the person I was meeting today.
I smiled and called out to him.
"Mars!"
Mars stopped in front of me and looked at me.
The white mask looked cold, but I could sense kindness in his eyes.
Today was our first meeting in daylight since coming to the capital.
"Hehe, you're exactly on time?"
Mars nodded.
In Galnem, we were always together, but here he said he had other things to do during the day and only visited my room at night. The only day he said he was free was Wednesday of the third week—today.
"But this is…?"
I looked at the green bag Mars was holding. When I pointed at it, Mars awkwardly looked away and tried to change the subject, but he didn't hide the bag, so maybe there was nothing to conceal.
"Can I take a look?"
Inside the fine leather bag was a blue box, and I reached out to open it slightly. Inside were sandwiches that looked clumsily made.
I asked Mars with wide eyes.
"Wait… Did you make these? To eat with me?"
Mars still had his head turned, avoiding my gaze. Even though I couldn't see the face beneath the mask, I could tell his expression just from his eyes now. I imagined his eyebrows raised crookedly, his face slightly flushed.
'You're cute today, Mars.'
A warm spring breeze blew, tickling our hair.
Under the shade of a large tree on a warm, sunny afternoon.
"Piolet-ahjussi was Lady Alence, the Palace Affairs Chancellor… I never imagined that."
I sat with Mars under the shade of a large tree, chatting.
"She said she'll help me from now on, and I feel a bit overwhelmed."
As always, I talked while Mars listened, but it felt like returning to old Galnem, and that was nice. Today, we ate sandwiches back-to-back as before and strolled through the park connected to the vast square.
The sandwiches were rough but quite delicious!
"You know, lately everything feels… like it's changed."
I stretched my hand toward the sky. Between my not-so-long fingers, leaves fluttered.
"The people I knew before—well, they're the same people, but now our relationships are different. And there's so much more to worry about. I was just a country girl who doesn't fit with dignity and etiquette…"
And in the distance, clouds drifting lazily.
"This changed environment is unfamiliar, but I'll adapt. And I'll definitely rebuild the Marquisate gloriously."
Mars slowly turned his gaze toward me.
"I learned in Galnem that it's better to roll around with dirt all over you than to sit still and resent the situation."
I smiled at Mars.
"You'll do well, right?"
When I first realized I had transmigrated as Arinell Maila, I had cursed the god who put me in a poor village in a world facing extreme famine—if I say I didn't, I'd be lying.
'I even held up my middle finger to the sky with my four-year-old fist.'
But just as my days and memories as Galnem's Arinell were valuable enough, I believe my completely changed future will be the same.
Mars, who had been looking at me, nodded once.
"…Let's do our best!"
Smiling, I rummaged through my pocket and pulled something out, offering it to Mars.
"This is a gift I prepared for you. Thank you for bringing my things last time."
Mars took the palm-sized glass bottle I offered. Inside were sparkling red candies—made from sugar beets processed using my invented recipe. Very hard to get, but I bought them at the market.
"…"
Mars held the candy bottle and stared at it for a long time. For an embarrassingly long time, and persistently.
"It's nothing. Just eat it when you're bored. It melts sweetly in your mouth and tastes pretty good."
I emphasized it wasn't a big deal and chuckled. But Mars continued to stare at the candy bottle for a while before putting it inside his clothes.
Watching Mars like that, I opened my mouth.
"But… you know, I was going to ask last time too but didn't. What do you do here?"
If he treated even those candies as if seeing them for the first time, I suddenly worried he might be starving because the pay for his work wasn't good.
But Mars calmly picked up a twig and wrote on the ground.
[Family business]
The neat handwriting made me widen my eyes and ask.
"Wow! Your family lives in the capital?"
Mars nodded lightly as if it were nothing, and my worry eased a bit. He had been with me in Galnem for a year, so I thought he might be in a similar situation as an orphan…
"So you're a city boy!"
Maybe he was from a wealthy family.
There was a lot I wanted to ask, but since Mars had many secrets, I didn't ask for more personal details. We stayed together for a long time after that, and I only said goodbye to the boy at dusk.
With the sunset behind him, Mars raised a finger, pointed at me, and turned around.
It meant 'See you again.'
After returning from my outing with Mars, I sat at my desk.
'So now…'
The reason I sat at my desk today was to write a letter.
I picked up a pen with my small hand.
'If Piolet-ahjussi is a noble, is Amus-ahjussi also a noble…?'
Amus-ahjussi had listened carefully and shown interest when I told him about the coming famine and great famine. If Amus-ahjussi was also a noble—and if I got a chance to meet him—
'I need to seriously talk about the great famine again.'
Just as the tyrant Parmes Aslet from the original work became emperor, a famine would surely come in the near future. The empire's situation during the great famine described in the original work was truly miserable—I had to frown the whole time while reading.
'If I meet Amus-ahjussi… he might help me. Maybe he could even somehow connect me gently with the scary Duke Siegfried.'
Since Piolet-ahjussi was Lady Fiorena, I thought Amus-ahjussi might have a name similar to his real name, so I asked Adam. I described Amus-ahjussi's appearance, way of speaking, and his interest in economics.
He narrowed down three likely scholars and gave me the academy addresses.
Armen Friedrich, Edmond Taylor, Hammers Rohim…
The handwriting was a bit crooked, but Amus-ahjussi would be able to understand what I meant.
I pressed the letter envelope firmly to seal it, then raised my arms to the sky and stretched wide.
I hope Amus-ahjussi is among these three…
As I told Mars, even though the situation has changed, I need to do my best.
The view of the imperial palace at dusk.
Walking through the grand corridor leading underground, the boy pushed open a large stone door. Then stairs leading to the interior of the imperial palace above ground appeared.
Before going up, the boy removed his mask.
And with one hand holding the white mask, he stepped forward.
"…"
Beneath the red sunset, the boy's appearance slowly revealed itself to the outside world. His brown hair had already changed to brilliant silver before even catching the sunlight. And his black pupils shrank, with blue slowly filling the space between the edges and the center.
The one called the most noble in this imperial palace after the emperor.
"Your Highness, the Crown Prince."
A passing captain of the royal guard immediately bowed and greeted Britain upon seeing him. Anyone guarding the imperial palace would agree that Britain looked exactly like Parmes. Even at the boy's age, the Crown Prince possessed a fierce, king-like aura that sent chills down one's spine.
"…"
Britain Aslet passed the captain with his usual cold atmosphere. Britain's long shadow stretched endlessly following the sun's direction, then abruptly cut off as he entered the room.
The captain held the same pose for a long time, only moving his feet after the Crown Prince had entered the room.
Upon entering the room, the view of the city darkening through the window came into sight.
Britain took out the candy bottle he had received today from his coat. Those lovely things resembled that child's eyes, lips, and fingernails.
"I learned in Galnem that it's better to roll around with dirt all over you than to sit still and resent the situation."
Britain's deeply settled eyes lingered on it for a long time. The beautiful boy's gaze was chilling enough to send shivers down one's spine, but his cheeks were slightly flushed as if heated.
His dry lips quietly uttered a single word.
"…Arinell."
He brought the opening of the candy bottle between his nose and lips, as if smelling its fragrance, and closed his eyes.