II

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  Arc II Chapter 3

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  4th Glacia Solar I AAC 747

  “Do not be shy, Lady Aurora, you just need to ask!” Friedrich smiled.

  “But ... But ... But I did ask, Lord Friedrich ...” Aurora’s eyes welled up in tears, unable to contain her sadness. “I was wandering around all day, asking everyone I have stumbled across, but they all said no. Normally, I would play with Mother, but she does not feel well today.”

  “I have heard so.” Friedrich merely nodded. He understood more than anyone else, perhaps, that her mother’s condition was a sensitive topic. “Felicia’s condition seems to have deteriorated lately.”

  “...” Aurora continued her tale, “That is why I went to ask Brother, but Tiberius said that he has no time for me. He has to study hard for the upcoming academy exams. He needs to deepen his knowledge and improve his magic. He aspires to the best of the best.”

  “I see ...” Friedrich offered a weak smile. “Your brother’s efforts are commendable ...”

  Aurora pouted, hugging her dolls. “Well, as commendable as his efforts might be, the result stays the same, he does not want to play dolls with me. So I asked the maids around, but they all said no. They all have chores to do. Apparently, although I doubt the veracity of their words. I suspect that they do not particularly like me.

  Then I continued to wander around before I met your father along the way. Count Geralt was courteous and polite, he declined my offer. Your father claimed that ‘playing dolls is an unmanly affair, unsuited to men of his age’. Because grown men do not play with dolls.” Aurora pouted, her cheeks inflated. Grumpy old man not playing with her. “That is not true. Maybe a little, but not entirely.”

  “...” Friedrich merely offered an uneasy smile.

  “Then I stumbled across Margrave Wilhelm. He spared some of his time to listen to my request. Unfortunately, he was also forced to decline. His Lordship claimed that he had ‘urgent matters to attend, all of them of utmost importance to the continuing existence of Schwarzwalt’ and that ‘the council was already awaiting his arrival’... I still think he was lying, but he offered to buy me another cute doll for my collection. I declined politely. After all, Father taught me that you should be wary of strangers, even of those bearing gifts, although I would not exactly consider Margrave Wilhelm a stranger. I think of him rather as an acquaintance, but that is probably a matter of definition.

  So I continued my journey. I encountered our tutor, Lady Clarissa, but she was too busy with preparations. Brother had asked her to assist him in his training sessions, so she was occupied.

  Then I asked Sir Marius, but he was occupied with reorganising the old library in an attempt to rein in all the chaos. Then I asked all the guards, but they were under strict orders to not leave their posts. So I visited the barracks and asked the new knight recruits. Unfortunately, their training was about to start, so they declined. Though, I think my request startled them somewhat. A girl asking to play dolls with her was a curious sight to them.

  So I went to ask Baron Stahl. He was under the false impression that I had discovered the true beauty of swordsmanship and was interested in partaking in one of his sword classes. He would have loved to introduce me to the path of the blade and its secrets, but he did not have any time today. He was drilling the latest batch of useless recruits. According to him, the latest recruits were even more useless than usual. Their quality continued to decline. The nobles these days were pampered way too much these days. The high born sons and daughters had grown complacent, negligent.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Baron Stahl continued to grumble and complain about quite some time, so I did not wish to interrupt him. I think that we talked past each other. He probably missed that I just wanted to play dolls, but I guess that is fine. All the venting helped him to calm down in the end.

  Without further options left, I then went to ask some of the children outside the castle. They were commoners. The majority of them proved lacking in manners and etiquette. Not to mention, they were all quite mean to me. They insisted that my dolls look creepy and that I look creepy as well. That my dolls and I are strange and peculiar.” Aurora pouted, equally annoyed and irritated. “We are not strange and peculiar. My dolls are cute and lovely.”

  ...

  ...

  ...

  “...” Her last words made Friedrich stiffen in an instant, the blood in his veins frozen. “I see, you experienced quite a ... journey, Lady Aurora. You even left the castle ... What an unusual development ...”

  “...” Aurora merely nodded, her dolls nestled in her arms.

  Friedrich folded his hands behind his back, his smile impeccably polite. “Matters of dolls and girls aside, Lady Aurora, please promise me that you will never leave the castle on your own again.”

  “...” Aurora glanced up, confused. “Why?”

  Friedrich responded, “You see, the world outside is a dangerous place. Especially, for a noble lady of your station. That is why it would be best for you to not leave the castle alone and without adequate protection. If something happened to you, Lady Aurora ... The consequences would be most dire. Not only for you, but for all of us. Your father would be quite furious if his precious daughter ever came to harm. I am certain that heads would roll rather sooner than later. And not just figuratively speaking, if you understand what I mean.”

  “Hmm, I guess that you have a point, Lord Friedrich.” Aurora tentatively agreed. Friedrich was probably right. “I will try to be more mindful in the future.”

  Friedrich smiled, satisfied with his words having borne fruit. “I am pleased to hear so.”

  Aurora sighed, her head lowered, depressed, downtrodden. “Unfortunately, such does little to improve my situation. Nobody has time for me. Nobody wants to play with me.” In the end, her entire day offered nothing but disappointment. Gloom surrounded her, and a little imaginary rain cloud was floating over her head.

  “...” Friedrich fidgeted, his troubled face clouded by concern. Her depressed state affected him. “You know, Lady Aurora, I was wrong. I think I might be able to spare some time after all. Work can wait. There are more important things in life. Such as playing dolls with sad, little girls.”

  “Really?” Aurora’s purple eyes sparkled like radiant sunshine. Her sadness had disappeared and hope had returned.

  “Yes ...” Friedrich hesitated, yet his resolve remained firm.

  “Yay!” Aurora bounced with joy, filled to the brim with happiness.

  Aurora handed Friedrich her Aurora doll. “You can even play Aurora, Lord Friedrich. Usually, it is I who picks her, but today is a special day~.”

  “It is an honour, Lady Aurora.” Friedrich accepted her doll with some reservation. Her doll bore an uncanny resemblance to Lady Aurora. No wonder that the kids had called her dolls creepy. He would lie if he said that her dolls were ... not a little unsettling. They were.

  Yet he volunteered to brighten Lady Aurora’s day, a decision he would quickly come to regret. This would not be the last time that Aurora dragged him off to play dolls.

  The duties of a faithful knight and loyal retainer weighed heavily on him, but how was he supposed to refuse a child like her? Her innocent eyes were simply irresistible.

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  12th Anima Lunar VIII AAC 753

  “North, or south?” Aurora tilted her head. Where to go was one of the important questions of life, yet she was unsure of which direction she was supposed to take.

  As long as she followed the road, she would make contact with civilisation. Sooner or later, the forest had to end. Sooner or later, she would stumble across a human settlement, a hamlet, a village, a town, a city. After all, roads did not tend to end in the middle of nowhere. They were all leading somewhere by necessity. It was in their nature.

  Not to mention, it was wise to leave this place. She was not interested in being caught plundering the dead, which was far from adviseable. The longer she stayed here, the higher the risk. Her actions would arouse considerable suspicion. People would ask uncomfortable questions. Questions that she was not keen on answering. At least, for the time being.

  Thus, Aurora set off, together with her new belongings. A pair of sturdy leather satchels, a cuddly dagger, a series of supplies, some money, a cute, and lovely doll for companion, and most importantly, a fresh set of clothes far less conspicuous than her previous garbs. A frilly dress stained in blood and dirt was for sure bound to elicit unwanted attention. As unfortunate as it might be, she was forced to exchange her frills and silk for a white linen blouse, a pair of functional trousers worn out by visible signs of physical activity, and a pair of reliable leather boots. Plain and simple, yet her fresh clothes served their purpose. They were a suitable disguise, allowing her to blend in if necessary. In summary, they were just what she needed.

  Her path led her north, the direction the coach was originally heading. The soldiers never reached their destination. Hopefully, she was blessed with more luck than her predecessors.

  Aurora gathered her courage, her arms tightly hugging her doll. “Time to go.”

  Lord Friedrich von Styria

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