Chapter 227 Carnival and Social Study
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Princess Anastasia’s face was clouded with gloom.
”What troubles you, Your Highness? Are you unwell?” Ayumu asked.
It turned out she had long harbored interest in the festivals held by the commoners. A carnival was happening in the castle town that very day, but as the Third Princess, she had been flatly refused by the guards. ‘For reasons of safety, Your Highness, we cannot permit it.’
It was a sound judgment. If the Third Princess were kidnapped, the guards would quite literally lose their heads. The thought alone was terrifying.
Still… if danger of abduction could be removed, the problem vanished.
”Your Highness Anastasia, I may have an idea,” Ayumu said, and immediately began preparations.
He arranged a nun’s habit.
Once Princess Anastasia changed and the freckles were painted on, he escorted her into the bustling castle town festival. Her eyes sparkled with curiosity at every sight and sound.
Yoluminette and Alize followed at a distance, but without visible escorts, she blended perfectly into the crowd.
Clothes reveal rank, as the saying goes—and the disguise worked wonders. To onlookers, she looked like some unwanted daughter of a rural noble, packed off to a convent.
No one would dream that she was the Third Princess of the realm. She was nun Anastasia, through and through.
In this world without television, newspapers, or the internet, almost no one had ever seen the imperial family’s faces. Recognition was unlikely anyway.
”Oh my, Sanai, look! They’ve speared chunks of meat on sticks! How barbaric”
The preparation left much to be desired—flies hovered over the chopping board—but the meat itself looked fresh enough, and grilling would kill the rest.
”Yes, that’s skewered meat. Do you wish to try some, Ana?”
She nodded. Ayumu bought two, passing one to the disguised nun.
Biting into the charcoal-grilled meat sprinkled with rock salt, she lit up with delight.
”My, commoners must have very sturdy jaws. I’ve never eaten such tough and filling meat before.”
Then she tilted her head.
”If one sprinkled pepper, it would mask the beastly odor more. Is pepper not common among the people?”
Ayumu felt a chill. She meant no harm, but raised as a treasured flower, Anastasia’s words slipped naturally into condescension.
Perhaps this could serve as a valuable social study.
He explained: pepper was harvested only in certain regions, such as the Lusrith Beastfolk Kingdom. Supply was limited, and routes narrow. Beyond its use as spice, common folk believed it could ward off illness—a form of folk medicine or even charm—driving demand sky-high. Thus, it remained expensive, affordable only to high clerics or the nobility.
Anastasia frowned in thought.
”Hm… so even commoners, who seem to live so freely, carry heavy burdens after all…”
”Indeed… the imperial family and nobility have their own hardships tied to formality and rank. But commoners too carry burdens unique to their station. There is a saying in my homeland—’the grass is greener on the other side.’”
He explained gently.
”It means, what belongs to another always looks better than what you have yourself. Ana, please keep this in the corner of your heart. Do not envy others. Treasure what you have been given.”
Princess Anastasia bowed her head.
”Yes… thank you, Sanai.”
Her willingness to accept the lesson warmed him. Excellent! She must build the habit of listening to admonition while young.
Humans, after all, grow less willing to heed advice with age. Teachers, seniors at work, bosses—it was always the same. The older they got, the more furious their denials. Sometimes a correction, even when right, was treated as if one had called them a murderer.
I pray she never becomes like that… though perhaps I too will someday, he thought, eyes distant with memories of adults from his former world.
Suddenly, Anastasia’s steps halted. Her eyes sparkled.
He turned back and followed her gaze.
What… that butterfly hair ornament? That’s just a plastic trinket for children from my world!
In Keldan it would not fetch even a single cheap coin, yet here it was being resold for a full copper.
Exploitation of children… yet this too is the way of economics. With transport, guards against bandits, and other costs, even this inflated price can be justified.
”Such a simple thing… but do you wish for it, Ana?”
She nodded eagerly.
”Yes… Sanai… Will you truly buy it for me…?”
Suppressing a sigh, he handed over a copper coin without haggling—after all, this outing was secret, and attention must be avoided.
Anastasia asked him to place the ornament in her hair. Once he did, she smiled radiantly.
”This is the first time I’ve received something that is not state property, but my own… a gift, from a gentleman. Thank you, Sanai.”
So pleased was she that even after returning from the carnival, she refused to remove it.
”Forgive me, Your Highness, but should we not… perhaps remove the ornament now?” he asked quietly.
She ignored him.
Dinner came. The butterfly gleamed in her hair.
And so—
Everyone noticed.
”Ana? What’s that? That hair ornament!”
”What? Ana? What’s with that cheap trinket?”
Gasps spread around the hall.
Sergei, the Royal Knights Commander, exploded in fury.
”What were you thinkingꐦ?! If something had happened to the Third Princess—!”
The sisters reacted differently.
”Unfair! I wanted to go too…”
”How could you not invite us…”
But it was Ronafermia who screamed the loudest.
”Ki～～～! Sanai!! How dare you take her somewhere fun and not me! Men are always kinder to younger girls! What’s the word again? Ah, yesꐦ I remember now!!”
Her finger jabbed accusingly.
”Lolicon! You’re a lolicon!”
He could only collapse in despair.
I only escorted a sister one year younger in disguise to a festival… and this is what I’m accused of? Such slander! Such misery! Rona-sama, your words wound me!
This, too, was thanks to his classmates who had carried modern slang into this otherworld.
Truly, they spread nothing but troubleꐦ!
Notes:
• Anastasia – Younger imperial princess. Often accompanies Norfemina and Ronafermia. Playful, carefree, less political. Known for impulsive acts like cuddling Rostic cat-beastfolk soldiers (Scottish Grenadiers), showing childlike mischief rather than statecraft.
• Alize – Nelrearian knight from Keldan, dark bronze skin with wavy chestnut hair | First in Ch.163 | Agile swordfighter and quick thinker | Family unknown | Rival toward Whitney despite working alongside her | Fiercely fought her over cream puffs at the welcome party | Unique note: normally composed but loses all restraint when sweets are involved
• Yoluminette – Elandric warrior from Keldan, tall and sharp-eyed; first in Ch.146; master swordswoman using Ten-Man Slash; no family known; fought and slew bandits before Ayumu arrived, then joined his forces; stoic yet prideful, often escalates fights over petty things like cream puffs. takes “senpai” pride very seriously
• Lusrith Beastfolk Kingdom – A kingdom that encompasses the Danucool Autonomous Region of Kettsie.
• Sergei – Elderly but towering commander of the Royal Knights, hawk-eyed and authoritative. Holds powers equal to a Defense Minister, trusted by Emperor Rai as his most loyal and stabilizing force.
• Ronafermia – Second Princess, Norfemina’s younger sister. Harassed by Doll’s poems, then slandered with rumors of stable boys. Publicly shamed him, hurled her glove, and forced a duel—pushing Ayumu to fight as her champion. After his win, she claimed it as proof of her virtue. Reminder: fiery, reckless, twists scandal into pride.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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