“Nice to meet you. My name is Lotta.
I used to live in the royal capital, but now I live in the countryside.
How did this happen? If you have a moment, please listen to my story.
My biological father is the former king.
My mother was born into a baron’s family, but since she was the fifth and least important consort, she was not given much attention.
Apparently, she didn’t even need to be adopted by a higher-ranking noble family when she married into the royal family.
With no power or influence from her own family and no involvement in politics, my mother wasn’t targeted by the queen or the other consorts, who were all from high-ranking noble families.
Moreover, she gave birth to just one child—a girl. That’s me. It seems she was lucky not to have given birth to a prince.
The queen and the second, third, and fourth consorts each had a son.
It’s said the competition behind the scenes was incredibly fierce.
The source of all this conflict, the king himself, had a tendency to discard women.
As time went on, the status of his partners declined, but whenever a child was conceived, it was customary to bring the mother into the royal household as a consort. The queen, considering that a baron’s daughter was the lowest acceptable rank, conspired with the prime minister to secretly give the king a drug that made him sterile.
The prime minister, who had been struggling with the king’s extravagant spending on women, cooperated with her.
However, for anyone to secretly administer a drug to the king without his knowledge was an unimaginable act.
A few years later, when the truth came to light, the royal family, which had created this situation, was deemed a threat.
Concerned about the future of the country, a group of loyalists supported a ducal family with a claim to the throne and deposed the king.
The former king, infamous for his womanizing and reckless spending, was placed under house arrest.
The queen and the second, third, and fourth consorts were stripped of their titles and sent to a convent as punishment for disrupting noble society with their succession disputes.
The four princes were reduced to commoners and sent to serve in a knightly order at the farthest reaches of the kingdom.
As for the prime minister, he was made the main culprit in the drugging incident and, as a warning, he and his entire family were stripped of their titles and exiled to the mines.
It was likely a message from the faction that backed the new royal family to the nobles associated with the old one.
My mother, as the fifth consort, had lived quietly in a corner of the royal palace since becoming a consort. Since she hadn’t been involved in any of the disputes, she and I were given a rather lenient sentence—to live modestly as commoners in a remote, desolate earl’s territory.
I was six years old at the time.
Compared to the other consorts, this was a very merciful punishment. However, in reality, forcing someone who had lived as a royal consort in the palace to live as a commoner in the countryside might have been a form of harassment.
The carriage that took us from the capital was not very comfortable, or so it seemed. But since it was my first time leaving the royal castle, I found everything fascinating and didn’t mind at all.
I couldn’t sit still—I knelt on the seat and stood up frequently. If not for the maid who had come with us, I would probably have fallen and injured myself before we even arrived at our destination.
After a two-week journey, we finally reached the earl’s territory.
Not knowing where we would live, we first paid a visit to the lord of the land, Earl Wald Cremora.
The earl was a tall and sturdy man.
“Welcome to my domain. I know the circumstances, but I welcome you as my new subjects. There’s nothing particularly sophisticated in this countryside, so please forgive that.”
“We’re the ones imposing on you. I’m Hilda, and this is my daughter Lotta. Thank you for your hospitality.”
“I’m sorry to say, but I’ll have two knights stand guard in shifts to watch over you. Whether or not they’re allowed inside the premises will be your decision.”
“Yes, they can come in if necessary.”
“I’ve been told to keep an eye on things from the capital. Also, if you need help with any work that requires a man’s strength, feel free to use the knights. I’ve prepared some firewood, but if it’s not enough, they can make more for you.”
“We appreciate your consideration.”
Escorted by two knights assigned to guard us that very day, we were taken to our home in the earl’s carriage.
When we arrived, we found a very small house.
“It looks like a fairy’s house!” I exclaimed.”
I was innocently delighted. My mother smiled as if relieved, while the maid gave a wry smile.
The house was small, but the grounds were vast. A moss-covered stone wall marked the boundary of the property, and there was a single metal gate, with the house situated right next to it. Behind the house stretched a wide meadow.
As we made a circuit around the outside of the house, the two knights carried the three baskets they had brought on the wagon inside. The large baskets were filled with vegetables, fruits, bread, jars of jam, salt, and flour—an abundance of food.
The knights spoke to my surprised mother and the maid.
“This is from the earl. Since this place is far from town, he wanted to ensure you wouldn’t be inconvenienced.”
“Oh my, how truly thoughtful of him,” my mother replied.
My mother’s family had never been wealthy, so she was capable of handling household chores. After inspecting the house, she immediately began working alongside the maid.
The royal capital had probably issued orders to “watch over us so we wouldn’t escape.” However, Earl Cremora, interpreting it kindly, stationed the knights to protect and assist us.
Since the house was small, a tent was set up by the gate for the knights to stay in.
The knights were all friendly and kind. They plowed the land behind the house to prepare it for a garden and dragged firewood from the forest. Occasionally, they would hunt animals in the forest, process the meat, and bring it to us.
In return, my mother and the maid decided to serve them three hot meals a day as thanks.
At first, my mother and the maid were cautious since we were an all-female household, but as they spoke with the knights each day, they gradually became more comfortable with them.
“The lord is very strict about how women are treated. No matter how promising a knight may be, if he causes any trouble involving women, he’s dismissed immediately—although, of course, he listens to both sides first. It’s strange that someone so considerate of women is still unmarried, don’t you think?”
The knights would share such personal stories with us.
Our trust in the knights naturally extended to Earl Cremora as well. My mother allowed me to go outside alone, as long as it was within the stone walls and under the watchful eyes of the knights.
“The knight said there might be puddles or holes behind the house, so I was told not to go there alone,” I told the knights one day.
“Your mother is very wise. At your age, you could drown in a puddle, or if you fell into a hole, it might take us a long time to find you. It’s important to be careful,” one of them replied.
“I see. So, will you come with me, knight?”
“Of course, but you shouldn’t stay out for too long. It’s not good to get too tired.”
I became attached to the youngest knight and eagerly looked forward to his visits. On the days he came, we would go for walks together. In places where the grass grew tall, he would lift me onto his shoulders.
There were indeed many puddles and holes, but one day, I found something different—something shiny hidden in the grass.
The knight carried me over, and what we discovered was a beautiful spring.
“Perhaps this water flows underground,” he mused.
I recalled the maid mentioning how much water there was in the well at the house and how easy it was to draw.
“The water is so clear, but look, there’s something inside,” I said, pointing.
There was a small lump in the water, gleaming more brightly than the surface.
“Do you think we can take it out?” I wondered aloud.
The knight set me down beside the spring and said, “Let me try.”
He pulled out a cloth, dipped it into the spring, and carefully lifted the lump without touching it.
“It’s beautiful!” I exclaimed.
The lump, about the size of an apple, was a transparent light blue, and when it was lifted from the spring, it gleamed even more brightly.
“Lotta!”
Despite the knight’s warning, I instinctively reached out and touched it. Immediately, the light blue lump gently floated into the air.
“Welcome back, maiden of the spring. I have been waiting for you.”
“Maiden of the spring?”
“Oh my, my dear young maiden, how wonderful. There’s so much you don’t know yet. But don’t worry, I will teach you everything.”
“I beg your pardon for interrupting your conversation, but who might you be?” the young knight asked, addressing the light blue lump.
0 Comments