Come morning after the princess took a bath, she returned to her room after breakfast. For untold reason, the princess decided not to practice magic. She sat on a chair by the corner of the room and laid her hands on the small table.

Mera watched her lady resting but still seemingly uneasy. The lady tapped her fingers on the wooden table a few times. Mera had only finished organizing the room, neatly fixed the bed, and folded the hanging curtain, that was why she was still inside the room with her lady.

Seeing that everything was done, she intended to leave.

“I am done here, milady, please excuse m—”

“Wait.”

“Yes?”

The princess took a deep breath before responding, placing a hand on her chest as she did so.

“M-Mera I…” she looked away then returned. “I have an order…”

Mera slightly tilted her head in puzzlement. The princess had absolutely no need to let her know that. She could have just gone straight and given the actual order. But Mera went along with the moment.

“I am listening, milady.”

Princess Estelia nodded her head.

“Um, please go invite Allie to come here in my room, and after that, prepare tea for us.”

Allie… and the princess…

Mera processed the order she was just given. This resulted in her being unable to immediately respond.

“...”

“Mera?”

Upon her call, Mera snapped back to attention.

“ — Yes, milady, I understand.”

“Mm… I’ll be waiting here.”

With that, Mera left the room a bit uninspired, ignoring Vernon as she went past him. As she stepped down the stairs, her thoughts wouldn’t stop swirling around.

Why is it Allie all of a sudden?

She mused with a little irritation. First, they were being cold with her, and now some other girl was having the attention of the princess. It was upsetting. The princess was slowly drifting away from her.

That was far from ideal.

Mera stopped and took a deep breath upon realizing that she was getting agitated. Having returned a little composure, she continued on.

Allie is, I suppose, quite talented.

It would come as no surprise that the princess would end up liking her if her cooking was exquisite.

But haven’t I been much more of a help to milady?

It didn’t make sense. Was it because Allie was a new subordinate that the princess was paying more attention to her? And Mera was only being neglected because she had been a personal attendant for a while now.

No… this is likely…

The reason why they were acting weird towards Mera definitely had something to do with it.

But I didn't do anything….

Before she knew it, she had arrived at the kitchen. With a neutral expression to hide her displeasure, she knocked and opened the door. Inside were the three people assigned in the kitchen, and Mera focused her sight towards the girl named Allie.

“Miss Allie, her highness the princess calls for you.”

Allie sprang up.

“Yes, but for what reason?”

Mera would not have preferred for her to ask any question and only did as ordered. But she didn’t realize that she was only being bitter because she was irritated.

But as she was, she didn’t show any emotion and only went on to the business.

“It would seem she is inviting you for tea in her room.”

Allie was speechless in surprise. Mera understood her, who wouldn’t be surprised to be invited by the princess for a leisurely time.

“Please follow me.”

“Uh, yes.”

They left the kitchen and as they were heading towards the stairs, Mera glanced behind her.

Realization struck her.

… I’m being a little mean, am I?

This wasn’t good, she didn’t want to be known as someone mean. Mera, after all, didn’t want any bad attention. Besides, it was nonsensical that she was to treat this young chef harshly.

And, she is chosen by the princess to be her personal chef.

Thus, she must be friendly with her.

“Miss Allie.”

Mera looked back with a faint smile.

“Walk beside me, let us talk, we are both servants serving the princess after all.”

“... Of course.”

There was a bit of awkward air going around as they went up the stairs slowly. Or perhaps it was just Mera feeling it. In any case, she forced herself to initiate a conversation. She decided to start with a compliment.

“Her highness truly seemed to be impressed by your skills, Miss Allie. She even strived to become your friend.”

“Hehehe, I guess my life effort is not wasted,” Allie responded to her in a natural tone. “And, it feels surreal that the princess would want me to become her friend. I mean, with a commoner like me.”

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“Indeed, it doesn’t happen much, no less with royalty, and even more with the princess herself. But… I suppose their family is just that kind.”

Allie faintly smiled.

“They are all nice, huh.”

“Yes, unlike other aristocrats.”

Allie halted and gawked at Mera.

“Aren’t you also a noble? So, you have also realized those kinds of doings...”

Mera chuckled a little upon how Allie, a commoner, reacted.

“I only knew a little. But bear in mind that I am also a servant, and therefore, even I know how much of a relief it is to have a kind master. So, you are free to think of me as an equal within the palace walls.”

Allie nodded her head.

“That’s great to hear.”

“Although, I wouldn’t say the same to other noble ladies in the palace…”

“I imagine they wanted to be treated respectfully by a commoner, as things should be.”

“Yes.”

“I’m glad you’re not the same as others. Your name is Mera, right Miss?”

“Yes, but as per our servant status, it is fine for me for you to call me without the honorifics.”

“Then, you can call me by name alone as well.”

Slowly, they had begun to warm up. Mera’s irritation had slowly vanished at every second they spoke with each other.

Meanwhile though, she was reminded of what she saw, the one with Allie and Oryn. It was an embarrassing thing to think about, so she immediately pushed them to the back of her mind.

“What do you think the princess will be talking about with me?”

“Hm, perhaps casual things. But do not be anxious, the princess is not hard to speak with.”

“I hope…”

The princess was once hard to talk with. At times, she doesn’t even want to speak with anyone and only spends most of her time alone doing her own business. That was why Mera never got close with the princess in the first place.

However, the princess seemed to have changed and was now more open than before. Mera liked that change. Then it turned out that the princess was not that bad to speak with. Thus, she assured Allie that she would be fine.

With that though, the bitterness returned when she imagined the princess and Allie sitting on chairs and having tea on a single table, while Mera alone watched from the sidelines.

“Relax, you can expect that she’ll treat you nicely.”

Well, nicer than I.

Things had begun to change, and everyone had started to treat her coldly. So with that, Allie will be treated better than her.

Then they arrived at the door. Vernon looked at them for a moment, reminded of what she did just earlier, Mera bowed her head then went on to knock the door.

“Milady, I have brought Allie.”

“Come in!”

Upon entering, Allie bowed her head deeply and greeted the princess. She was more composed than Mera expected.

“Please have a seat Allie.”

Mera closed the door and prepared to brew tea as Allie took a seat opposite of the princess.

The princess was the one who initiated the conversation, talking about casual stuff like how Allie was doing. Then there was Mera who then poured some tea on their cups.

When Mera approached close to the princess though, the latter flinched for a moment that Allie also seemed to have noticed but didn’t think much about it.

As the two new friends talked with each other, there was Mera standing by the corner by her lonesome, staring at the two all the while. A strange feeling swirled within her that her neutral face threatened to break.

It was then….

“What is your dream, Allie?”

The princess asked Allie that question.

“Dream?”

“Wait no, my mistake, I mean what is your ambition?”

“I don’t think it was necessary to correct your question.”

“Nope, it is necessary. There are differences between the two, you see.”

“Differences?”

“What is a dream?”

“It could be something that you want to achieve…? Other than what we see in our sleep.”

“Then what is ambition?”

“It’s… the same thing.”

The princess smiled innocently.

“On the surface, yes, but for me, there is an underlying difference,” she paused as she sipped her tea. “A dream is something you want to achieve or have, but it stays a dream in the end... A dream is something that feels fictional that it almost seemed like impossible. An ideal goal.”

Allie listened quietly. Mera also listened intently wondering what the princess was trying to say.

Then the princess continued.

“While ambition is something you want to achieve. However, this one had a high possibility of becoming true because it can be achieved practically through practical process. So an ambition is something you can really act on, a practical goal.”

The princess sipped her tea again.

“Well, that is my definition of the two.”

“I see…”

Why is milady thinking that deeply?

Mera mused.

“Then, Allie, what is your ambition?”

“My… I want…” Allie stared above. “I want to be a famous and extolled chef.”

The princess’s smile grew wider.

“Yes, that is indeed realistic. You are already walking in the path which leads to that end.”

“What about you, your highness?”

“Me…?”

Mera was now more interested. She could never think of what the princess would want to be. Well there was the throne, but she didn’t think that the princess would want to be Queen.

“I couldn’t think of what I want to be…”

As Mera expected, the princess had no ambition.

“I am not talented and skilled like you, Allie. I am not passionate about anything. I am not interested that much in anything actually… I… don’t know what I can achieve, what I want to become.”

“What about becoming Queen?” Allie asked.

The princess formed a deprecated smile.

“I am not fit to be Queen and I know that…” the princess held a firm grasp of her own hand. “But, I do have a dream…”

“May I ask what that could be?”

“A… A quiet and peaceful life with my family. I want us to be together without having to worry about anything. I dream that things won't change... I want us to live together as we always have.”

“I don’t understand… is that not achievable?”

“No, I fear it is not. We have the crown to worry about. Politics, the kingdom. Then each one of my family, specifically my brothers, will have their own goals in mind, and their own lives to live. I know that I cannot have them by my side as always and expect things to be the same. Everything always changes, sooner or later.”

Mera felt sadness from her voice.

“Then there are other unforeseen things that might happen, we are the royal family after all…” the princess smiled sadly. She was forcing herself to smile. “That aside,” she raised her eyes. “What is your dream, Allie?”

Allie lowered her head. She didn’t respond immediately as she pondered deeply. Several seconds passed, and she finally opened her mouth.

“Maybe it’s not that much different from yours. I want to be with my friends. I want to live safely with them.”

“Friends? Not family?”

“I no longer have my family. No, perhaps not exactly. My friends were like my family.”

“I see… But why is it a dream?”

“They have their own goals in mind, and because of that, I feel I can never achieve that,” then she looked at the princess. “They may be able to achieve and accomplish what they want, but they will move on to another. I imagine it will end, but it begins anew. Leaving no place for my dream.”

“I see. The way you say it, they must not be here.”

“No.”

“You guys must be close.”

Allie smiled fondly.

“They took care of me when I was lost, after the monsters killed my family. And I am grateful for it.”

Monsters?

Mera had never seen one before, not even from her family’s demesne. Soldiers or knights would be instantly dispatched at the sight of one, so even when she was still staying there, she never saw one from her family’s manor. However, she did hear how terrifying and dangerous a lot of them were, especially from that forest.

“They must be wonderful people.”

“Yes, they are wonderful and remarkable.”

The princess smiled.

“I’m curious about them. They must be outside of the palace, yes? What sort of things do people do outside?”

“Well, a lot… Ah, you never go out that often, I remembered.”

“Less than often I suppose. So, I’m curious, what kind of people are they? Their jobs, what they do. Tell me about them. I want to learn about the outside, even for just a little!”

The princess looked excited, her eyes beaming with curiosity.

“Ah, eh… hehe,” Allie was also taken aback. “I can’t tell much about them since it has been a long time since I saw them. But they are pretty reliable and strong, I always let them carry the heavy stuff in the past.”

“Fascinating, but I imagine they can’t be stronger than the knights.”

“I can’t say, but I imagine there are strong people out there that can match with the knights.”

“I see. What I can only think are monsters matching with the knights.”

“Well, monsters are very terrifying.”

“Have you seen one?”

“Y-Yes.”

“Ah, no. I have realized, sorry, nevermind… I don’t want to touch that topic if it’s hard for you.”

Then the princess went on to ask about casual things like any dishes that Allie was planning. About the difficulties one could face in the kitchen, she then asked for some tips.

About an hour passed, their talk ended.

The princess would then proceed to continue her training using the time remaining for the day.

She was getting better with casting firebolt compared to Mera. In addition, the princess seemed to be doing something else at the same time, like smoke was coming out of her hand. But Mera didn’t get the chance to ask what she was trying to do.