Chapter 52 Royal Residential Area
We passed through a maze of doors──each more confusing than the last──winding down an endless hallway that seemed to stretch on forever.
According to Ms. Helmine, the space was designed to accommodate large groups of nobles during parties, and it also doubles as a shelter in case of emergencies.
There's also a security measure in place to make sure no one can easily find their way into the royal residence.
It wasn't just needlessly spacious, apparently.
"If you took the roof off and looked from above, wouldn't it resemble something like Tsukumo's favorite Arcane Circuitry?"
"It's a pretty complicated system, you know."
"More complicated than air conditioning?"
"Yep."
I nodded seriously, and Ms. Helmine chuckled softly.
After bowing countless times to the servants standing at attention, my feet began to ache in these unfamiliar shoes.
Finally, we reached the entrance to the royal residence.
"Sir Tsukumo, Sir Yuruyana, welcome!"
From a distance, I could see Princess Ellen shining like a star, rushing toward us with a smile that bloomed like a flower.
It seemed like she just couldn't wait to greet us.
The lady who had accompanied her on our last visit to the shop was by her side again, offering a resigned bow.
"Please, come this way!"
"Your Highness, didn't I ask you to wait in your room?"
Ms. Helmine gently tried to rein in Princess Ellen, who was eager to lead the way.
But the princess wouldn't listen.
If there were no onlookers, she would've probably dragged me off herself.
"But I called for you, didn't I? It's only proper that I greet you with the utmost respect!"
"People will start spreading rumors if they see you treating everyone differently. Please, stop."
"Ugh..."
I guess the noble world is always this stifling.
As I worried about possibly running into the king,
"Don't worry, everyone's out at the moment. You're safe."
Princess Ellen giggled softly.
I wondered if it showed on my face.
The residential ward was where the royals actually lived.
It couldn't have felt more different from the lifeless corridors we'd walked through before──this place actually felt... alive.
Imagine a noble's mansion, only stretched out to palace proportions──with servants bustling back and forth nonstop.
Honestly, even though they must outrank peasants like us, their lives seem anything but easy.
Yuruyana, who'd been even more tense than me, finally looked relaxed enough to notice his surroundings.
He gazed up at an old portrait hanging in the hall.
"Wow... She's beautiful."
"You're right. She really is."
The painting was of a woman in an elegant dress.
Her gentle smile radiated warmth and compassion, and her eyes gleamed with quiet intelligence.
──Silky silver hair cascading down, and eyes like molten gold.
"That's my grandmother, back when she was young."
"Your Highness's grandmother... Would that be the late Queen? The one who loved her gardens?"
"Yes. ...Oh? Now that I look again, she reminds me a little of you, Sir Yuruyana."
"Of me, Your Highness?"
Maybe it was because the painting showed an older woman, but Yuruyana clearly didn't see it himself.
"Sir Yuruyana, where are you from originally?"
"I'm not sure. My parents died before they could tell me anything about our past."
"Oh... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked something so personal."
"It's alright, Your Highness. I was just a child──I barely remember anything anyway."
Princess Ellen hastily reached for his hand to apologize, while Yuruyana just offered his usual easygoing smile.
The two of them, standing together like that──they could've stepped out of a portrait of 2 close sisters.
Well, if you made a note that one of them was, technically, a guy.
Definitely need a special plaque for that painting.
"Back when my parents were alive, we lived in Norvalen. So I always assumed I was from the west."
Norvalen was a neighboring country that bordered Suuroi.
They traded constantly and were on friendly terms.
Every year, exchange students came from Norvalen to the academy──and a few headed there from here, too.
Same language, too.
It always felt close, somehow.
Hearing all that, Princess Ellen nodded as though everything finally clicked into place.
"Then maybe your ancestors came from the same homeland as my grandmother. Do you remember what color hair and eyes your parents had?"
"My eyes are from my father. My hair, though──it's the color of his mother's, or so I've been told."
"Then your father must have been from the Lilicheska line."
"Lilicheska...?"
Yuruyana titled her head at the unfamiliar place name.
I've never heard of it either.
"It's a small country that recently became part of Norvarlen. My grandmother is from Lilicheska, you know. She mentioned it was around the time of her marriage, so that must be about 4 or 5 decades ago."
"Huh."
I've heard nobles place great importance on lineage, but is it really that common to know your grandmother's birthplace?
I don't even know where my grandparents are from.
I'll ask my mom next time.
"The country may be gone, but its unique culture still remains. It's a wonderful place."
"Tsukumo, let's go."
"If we get the chance."
I bit back my urge to ask why she assumes I'd go with her, and endured the princess's insistent push.
After the luggage check and walking here, it must have been at least 30 minutes.
"This is my room. Feel free to look around every corner."
Princess Ellen enthusiastically pushed me inside as I hesitated at the wide, white double doors we had finally reached.
It's not proper for a princess to touch a man so casually, I'd think.
Sure enough, Ms. Helmine and the other ladies-in-waiting were quite flustered.
"Excuse me."
There's no need for formalities.
I'll leave the awe over the lavish canopy beds and the charming white-themed decor to Yuruyana, and get right to it──I cast a web of magic throughout the entire room.
I made it visible to make it clear what I'm doing.
"Nice."
The princess clapped her hands in delight, completely at ease.
"What is this?"
Ms. Helmine, ever vigilant, regarded the expansive magical net with a cautious eye.
A professional through and through.
"It's harmless. Just measuring the size of the room."
"Can you really tell the size this way?"
"Yes. By how much magic it takes to reach the far corners, it gives a fairly accurate measure."
It's a trick I often use when I need to secure a criminal or infiltrate an enemy's hideout in a building with an unfamiliar layout.
"I see. If you can scan inside a body, checking a room is no trouble at all."
"Something like that."
"Sir Tsukumo, you really are a jack of all trades, aren't you?"
He moves quickly, checking the positions of the windows, the walls──every detail gets a careful once-over.
The royal castle's got some serious bones.
It's old, sure, but sturdy as hell.
Practically airtight, too.
I figured we'd need a massive setup since this place is so much bigger than the shop, but... huh.
Turns out, even a compact machine might actually do the trick.
The inspection itself?
Took less than 15 minutes, tops.
The waiting around felt longer than the actual work.
Guess it's like being at a hospital.
"As we mentioned earlier, we'll need a bit of your time."
They want delivery ASAP──even if it costs a fortune──so scratch the prototype.
Better stick with Grandfather's blueprints, the ones we know can run without a hitch.
On the long walk back, I explained we'd have to use a magic gem, and that we still needed to order the exterior parts.
The princess just kept nodding, really taking it all in.
"Thank you. Sir Yuruyana, you must come visit us again."
"Of course! By the way, um, there's something I absolutely must tell Your Highness──"
This time, Yuruyana was determined to explain.
To clear up all those misunderstandings once and for all.
"Your Highness!"
A man's voice rang out, echoing off the vaulted ceiling.
He strode briskly down the corridor, heading straight toward us.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!