Chapter intermission 1
I had always been an unwanted child since I was young .
My mother worked as a maid in the castle, so since childhood, I was taken care by my aunt who lived in the castle town . I don't have a father . When I was younger, I heard something about my father, but it was left aside .
"You're really ugly . Go draw water so I don't have to see that face . "
It seemed that my aunt hated my face, I was often told to do works outside the house .
My aunt and her husband had two boys and one girl of the same age as me . They're Jido, Bado and Kuku .
Jido disturbed me by kicking me when I was just about to pull the water from the well .
Bado tripped my feet when I was carrying the bucket .
I was usually cautious toward them, but I didn't see their figures today, it was a failure .
Since the water splashed onto soil, I had become full of mud .
"Yay, muddy Lulu . "
"Hehen, mud make-up looks better than your normal face y'know~"
I wept as I was more vexed that I couldn't deny them more than getting myself muddied . It was a fact that people were gentler to me when I was covered with mud and my face couldn't be seen than when I was just simply soaked .
When I was washing my body near the well, Kuku came . She was with her usual sarcastic friends .
"Ara? What a waste of your special make-up . "
"Right right, wouldn't it better if she wear mask anyway?"
"That's good! Kuku, you're a genius!"
The girls weren't using violence like Jido and Bado, but their words hurt me all the same . At a time like this, I wonder how would Arisa retaliate? If it was Tama-chan, she would likely throw mud balls toward those girls for their own make-up .
It was generally like these during my childhood .
◇
When I was 9 years old, my mother took me to the castle together with her . I was to be the princess's playmate . It seemed that the fourth queen's daughter was quite a sickly person . Moreover, she was really hard to please, noble daughters couldn't keep her company for more than three days, so they turned to me .
Normally, for a commoner like me to meet a princess, I would have to take etiquette lesson for about a year first, but it seemed they gave up in 2-3 days, so the lesson was abbreviated .
"It's Lili's daughter this time? Mou, I've said many times that I don't need playmates, if they insist, then bring me a scholar or a bureaucrat instead . "
What I heard from the other side of the door was a child voice with tired and proud adult words that didn't suit it . I'm not welcomed here either after all .
The princess that I met for the first time was a very beautiful girl with mysterious violet hair and pupils . Furthermore, her eyes were really calm like an adult .
Pushed by my mother, I awkwardly introduced myself, the princess glanced at me and then briskly stepped toward me and push up my bang . I always covered my ugly face with a bang so it wouldn't be seen .
I prepared myself for the abuse that the princess would throw at me . But the abuse was different from what I expected .
"Cih, this riajuu face, winners have it all since they're born . "
"Arisa-sama, even though this girl can't be said to have superior look, she's a good girl that's calm at her age . Please don't hate her . "
Riajuu face? I've never heard those words .
Arisa-sama leaned her neck to the side after hearing my mother's word and murmured, "Poor look?" That's the kindness of a mother . She couldn't really say that her own daughter was ugly .
"What are you saying? Lili . If you tell me that this bishoujo face is poor, that'd mean this country doesn't have any beauties you know?"
At this time, I had thought that Arisa's words were an indirect sarcasms, but she told me later that she was serious .
Thus, I became the playmate of the princess .
◇
The princess that I served was a slightly strange person .
She ordered the servants to cultivate a field on the castle's garden, and she went inside the library and treasure vault in the castle to read many difficult books . Even though she made her unusual clothes herself, she couldn't do embroidery or knitting, she had many imbalances like that . Moreover, she was also not good with social dancing and poem reciting .
"Did you look at the new playmate of the taboo princess?"
"I saw I saw, what's with that ugly girl . "
"Hey, they'll scold you if you say that . "
I heard such backbiting from the the maid's room . It seemed that taboo princess was about Arisa . Looked like, those violet hair and pupils were considered to be bad omen .
I didn't tell about it to anyone, but the women were gone in the next day . The princess said, "Fufun, it's impossible for malicious gossip to skip my sharp ears . " It seemed there was a magic tool to hear far sounds, it was called voice pipe .
At the following day, princess Arisa told me a children story called "The Ugly Duckling" .
Princess Arisa had told me many stories, but I liked this story the most
I wasn't as naive as to think that I would become like the swan in reality, but I thought I was allowed to dream a little .
◇
Hectic days continued after that .
What surprised me most was the fact that I was the older sister of princess Arisa from different mother . It seemed she heard it with that tool called voice pipe from the other maids' talks . It should had been a secret, but princess Arisa already knew about it .
"With this, there are 12 siblings . There are probably more if I look in the castle town . I'd hate a country without entertainment . That's right Lulu . "
"Yes, what is it Arisa-sama . "
"I'm banning the 'Sama' . "
"Yes?"
"Like, I, said, when it's only the two of us, don't use it . Since we're sister, I'm banning the honorific . "
The face of pri--no, Arisa which had turned away looked red .
At this day, we became sisters, no, the best of friends .
◇
Arisa wanted to do agricultural reform to make this country prosperous .
However, I was worried . The minister's son was supporting Arisa's agricultural reform, but from the gossip of the maids, it looked like he wasn't a decent human being .
"It's fine, men aren't trustworthy in the first place, but that kind profit-seeking type is surprisingly usable . Above all, this country only sees women as tools for giving birth . If I don't have a puppet like that then I wouldn't be able to meddle in the politics . "
However, after this day, the cogwheels of our plan began to go out of order little by little .
The mountain died, monsters came out of the fertilizers, and the fields' harvests dropped sharply .
But, I personally was more worried about Arisa than the country . Even though she was called, "The Wise Salvation Princess" just the other day, now as if flipping hand, they called her, "Country Destroying Witch", or "Mad Princess" .
Then the king finally confined her inside one of the spire in the castle . It seemed that our country had been occupied by another country, although I didn't know the detail since I was only looking after Arisa while being confined with her .
The kings and his companions were executed, and we became slaves .
Arisa was looking like a doll with her lifeless eye and lethargic condition . She's not like the usual stout-hearted Arisa, but she's still a 10 years old girl . It is not unreasonable .
The strength in Arisa eyes came back after a year, when we were moved to the royal villa from the prison, it came back a bit . In the evening with full moon, the royal capital sank into flame . The two of us ran away to the mountain . We were surviving while being frightened by the wolves sounds, endured starvations by eating nuts, and drank water collected with leaves .
When we ran out of strength on the highway among the mountains, we got caught by a passing slave trader . If we had not got caught at that time, we would probably die of starvation or fall victim to the wolves' fangs .
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