The knights loaded up my luggage to one of the carriages that will be included in my convoy. I watched by the palace doors, wearing a fancy and extravagant dress. But not one that was too much, just something that allowed me to move just fine, and an ankle-length skirt.

My heart raced a little at the thought of finally going out on a field trip. I could finally see more of my city with my own two eyes. Just imagining looking through the window of the carriage, taking in the sight peacefully, made me feel excited.

“Vernon, Mera, you may go ahead first to your carriages.”

As my personal servants, it was only natural that they should come with me to Mizia’s house. Who would take care of the dear princess without them? And my servants were more trustworthy than anyone else, it would be more comfortable to receive assistance from them.

What if I took a bath and a stranger servant just shoved my head into the water and drowned me? Okay that wouldn’t kill me, but you get the idea.

I watched them leave before turning to my personal knight. “What an exciting thing, don’t you think?”

“Isn’t this what you always wanted, princess?”

“Oh yes, yes. But the amount of guards was never part of my dreams.”

He chuckled. “Nothing can be done about it.”

“Have you discussed things with the knights that will be closely guarding me?”

“Yes. I will still be inside the carriage with you. One with the driver, and three on horses on three sides of your carriage.”

“That’s good.”

“I heard you personally requested Elson to be in your protective circle.”

“I did.”

He exaggeratedly gasped. “Princess… are you replacing me already?”

I furrowed my brows and blankly stared at him. Then I smirked and looked away, placing a finger on my cheek as if pondering. “Hmmmm, am I?”

“He-he, okay princess, that wasn’t serious… You’re not seriously considering it, right?”

“Maybe I am…?”

His eyes widened.

Seeing how worried he was, I couldn’t help but laugh at him. “I’m joking, Rogan. I would never replace you.” I sweetly smiled at him.

He gave me a relieved smile. “Wew. I wouldn’t know what to do if you did.”

“Did you really think I would casually replace you? Why would I even do such a thing? You… You have been a great help to me, always staying by my side. There’s no way I would do something so cruel.”

“... Thank you, princess.”

“Mm, you’re welcome.”

We stared at each other’s eyes before a familiar voice spoke from behind me.

“Are you ready, my daughter?”

I turned around to first see my father, then with him were my other family members. “Yes I am.” I smiled.

My mother approached me and held me by both my shoulders, which caught me off guard a little. “Estelia, be sure to be very careful out there, okay?”

“O-Okay.”

“Do not go and leave your guards behind. Always have someone beside you. Don’t even try to go to secluded places, danger tends to lurk out there. At night, be sure to stay in the mansion, don’t go anywhere. It’s very dangerous. Take care of yourself, eat a lot and drink water. If it’s cold, wear thick clothes or cover yourself properly with your blanket. Behave yourself, okay? Safety is the utmost priority.”

Oh damn. That’s… that’s a lot to take in.

“Say that you understand.” Her grip on my shoulders tightened. Pretty scary.

“I-I understand.”

She smiled adorably, almost reminded me of my adorable self, then nodded and let go of me. “If you’re scared or nervous, just take in deep breaths. Inhale,” she inhaled. “Exhale. Come now, do it with me — inhale.”

Although it was quite unnecessary, I inhaled.

“Exhale.”

I exhaled.

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Well to be honest, it was a bit unnerving to go out of the palace like this. Sure I have gone out, but last time it was for business and something serious. This time, it was for a casual reason, to enjoy myself, to forget all the troubling things. And thus, I felt a bit anxious. How would I fare? Would I truly enjoy it? Will I fuck anything up?

Who knows?

It’s because the result was so enigmatic that I was nervous.

“Good, remember to do that.”

“Yes, Mother.”

“Are you sure you’re going to be alright?”

Father and my brothers chuckled, and the former gently pulled Mother back. “Estelia is going to be alright, there’s no need to overthink.”

“But..”

“My love, it’s going to be alright. Mizia can take care of her when she needs it, okay?”

Mother sighed. “... Very well. It’s just… it felt like the first time Estelia is going on her adventure.”

Not exactly an adventure, but close to it, I guess. And I’m taking it!

“Yes. But she’ll do fine.”

A servant came in to convey that we were ready to go. After coming out of the palace, I turned to my family again, and gave them a soft smile.

“I’ll be going then.”

My mother approached me, gave me a hug and kissed me on the cheek. “I love you, Estelia. Take care of yourself.”

That… It’s not like I was going abroad or something, I’ll be back for a week. But… I whispered to her. “I love you too, Mother. You too, take very good care of yourself.” I hugged her back, closing my eyes for a brief moment.

After letting go, my father gave me a wide grin and said, “Have fun.”

“Certainly.”

He hugged me.

My two brothers approached me as Father stepped back, Estevan seemed a bit concerned, evident in his strained smile. Eleden, on the other hand, seemed pretty proud that I finally got to have a relaxing time.

“Be sure to stay in your guards’ sight, okay Estel?”

“Take in the sights and enjoy, sister. I’m sure the new scenery will be a wonderful memory for you.”

“Thank you. I will.”

Rogan opened the door of the carriage. I looked back at my family for a moment, feeling a little sense of longing within me already. I have never felt like this before. It was weird. I entered the carriage, without saying anything such as a goodbye. I mean, not really a time to say goodbyes, I think…

How do normal people do it?

I never truly knew.

As I sat down on the soft cushion, the door closed after Rogan entered with me. I gazed at my family through the glass window.

I never felt something like this before… It was a strange thing.

The carriage rattled and moved, and they disappeared from my line of sight. I subtly sighed.

I watched through the window as we went past the palace gates, and then to the bridge that my brother and I went to for a brief time. To this day, we still have not gotten our fishing trip. I was looking forward to that one, but I guess I have to be patient.

After some time, we passed by commoners walking by the dirt road, some simple looking buildings around. Quite fascinating to see a fresh scenery, nothing too striking or wonderful, just a simple place, occupied by simple folks. To enjoy what I see so casually without any formal business to think about, truly a moment to be cherished.

The people watched curiously as they moved away to the side of the unpaved road, perhaps wondering who was passing by, guarded by this many guards, and by royal knights no less. Little did they know it was the mysterious princess passing by. I didn’t open my curtains all the way, so they shouldn’t completely see me.

My dear people… okay no, I didn’t really care about them, so they were not really dear. I mean who the fuck were they? Ahem, exactly the reason I should not be an heir to the throne. Which reminds me, Eleden had loosened up a bit to me since our personal conversation. Which was pretty good. I didn’t want to stay awkward with my dear brother for too long.

“You ever been around these parts, princess?”

That question came from my personal knight. I turned toward him and gave him a sharp look.

He awkwardly smiled. “He-he, I guess not. But it’s mind boggling sometimes that you never actually left the palace before all the busy events we have gone through.”

“Not something common for a royalty such as myself.”

I am like Rapunzel, trapped in my own tower, oblivious of the world. Right until a gentleman stole me from my home. Oh yeah, there was no gentleman… There was no one to say ‘Estelia, Estelia, let down your hair’ or something like that.

Oh well.

“But after all the times we have been together, I have understood the reason for keeping you hidden. Still, sometimes, just sometimes, I wonder how it would be if you could freely go outside in the past, and was never sealed in the palace.”

“I may have been killed already, or kidnapped, or forced to marry someone, dragged to some unknown regions in the world so far, I think the negatives outweigh the positives.”

Rogan lightly scratched his cheek. “The world would not be so kind to someone like you. But, if I may ask, which do you like the most? To be kept in the palace? Or here outside, where you can go to different places? But I imagine it would be the latter, seeing you smile.”

I touched the corner of my lips. I was indeed smiling from the heart. However… “To be honest, I don’t truly know right now.”

“That’s a surprise…”

“The inside is peaceful, no one to disturb me and I could do everything that I please. On the outside, there are dangers waiting to pounce on me.”

Which one was the best?

“Still, what matters is right now. For me to finally experience going on an adventure you could say, short as it may be.”

He smiled widely. “You will even meet new people, some could even be your friends.”

Friends… huh.

“Who knows…”

“You sound disinterested.”

“Trust… is not easy to come by.”

“I see…”

And there that conversation ended. I looked out the window as the room fell completely silent. Perhaps Rogan sensed that I would prefer to enjoy the new scenery in peace. I was grateful for that.

I subtly took a deep breath. The presence of the human civilization had subsided, now most that I could see was the green, grassy plains, and the thick, dancing healthy forest. One of the purest, untainted things someone could ever see, especially for me. I let go of a long and slow breath. My heart felt lighter and my mind turned less cloudy. I wish my life was as peaceful as the scene I was observing now.

Sensing some intense gaze directed towards me, I turned my head to look at Rogan, the culprit. “What?”

He mildly shook his head. “Nothing.”

I narrowed my eyes before shrugging him off and returned my gaze to the outside. I wanted to stop and walk around for just a small amount of time. But I haven’t told this to the crew beforehand. Suddenly requesting such a thing would only serve to inconvenience everyone, and most of all, might cause a hole in our protective formation.

We’ll be coming through this road again when going back to the palace, so I could tell them beforehand about this. At least that way, we could be prepared.

I placed a hand on my cheek, smiling a little, softly looking at all that my eyes could see.

It didn’t feel long before we arrived at our destination.