The garden parties held periodically in another castle on the capital’s outskirts were for deepening ties with other families, but they were a bore for the children. They would be on their best behavior when next to their parents, but once the adults started conspiring together, they were generally left to their own devices. The kids would get together and begin exploring the gardens or talking among themselves. And just as the adults had factions, the children had communities of their own too.
The group centered around six-year-old Elliott was the largest faction among the children at today’s event. Elliott was the first prince, after all, and even children could understand that that made him special. On top of that, a group of older boys, old enough to understand the significance of Elliott’s position, were protecting him. Naturally, the other sons of the nobility showed deference to the prince, so Elliott strode around like he owned the place.
As they left the patio where the party was being held, the second son of a marquess, who was following half a step behind Elliott, made a proposal.
“How about it, Your Highness? Would you like to go explore the forest to the east?”
There was a small forest on the east side of the event site—more of a copse than a forest, really. The adults could walk across it in two minutes. Still, it was an excellent spot for stimulating the boys’ sense of adventure.
“Hmm, yes, that does sound good...”
Elliott was just about to agree to the idea, when a girl with chocolate-colored hair walked past in front of him, cutting him off. She was roughly the same age as Elliott and was wearing a one-piece apron dress. She had a plate in her hands, and it looked like she was on her way to get food.
What’s her problem?! Elliott thought, irate.
Elliott was important. He was a prince. He was walking around with his “vassals,” so what gave her the right to cut him off like that?! Now, if it had been something urgent, Elliott would have understood, but she was just on the way to get food. That being the case, she should have waited for him to pass or, at least, bowed her head before she went by.
“Hey, you!” Elliott called after her.
She ignored him.
“Hey, you there! Are you listening to me?!”
Elliott was enraged by the way she ignored him and kept going, so one of the others nearby hurriedly went and stopped her. When he brought her before the prince, she seemed to be in a bad mood, but Elliott was no less angry.
“Hey, you! What is the meaning of this, ignoring me when I’m talking to you?!”
“I’m terribly sorry. I couldn’t hear you,” she responded, as if nothing had happened, then curtsied.
She looked to be about his age, and because of the way she spoke and acted, she had a mature air about her, becoming a nobleman’s daughter. Elliott resented the way she looked more “adult” than him. He felt as if she was making a fool of him.
“Do you think ‘I couldn’t hear you’ is going to cut it after you ignored a prince?!”
His followers loudly disparaged the girl.
“Yeah, yeah!”
“It’s rude to say you didn’t notice His Highness!”
The girl, who seemed like a nasty piece of work, bowed her head once more.
“I really am incredibly sorry about that. They’ve started serving the cherry cheesecake, and there are only a limited number of slices available for a short time, so I felt I simply must secure mine as soon as possible. That’s why I was automatically filtering out any low-priority information unrelated to that.”
“R-Right...” Elliott stuttered.
She’d given some sort of complicated explanation, but the only part that Elliott had understood was “cherry cheesecake.” Well, it didn’t matter. He didn’t want to admit that he didn’t understand, so he decided to change tactics.
“Hm... I see. I’ll allow you to come on our adventure. Consider it an honor.”
Elliott was positively smug. He was allowing her to join him on an adventure when normally only his “vassals” could go. This haughty brat was bound to be grateful for it. However, much to Elliott’s surprise, the girl declined, looking displeased.
“I’ll pass, thank you. As I already told you, I am in a hurry for cherry cheesecake. I’m not so bereft of things to do that I can get involved in nonessential tasks. Now, I bid you good day.”
Her words were polite, but their intention wasn’t.
Elliott, nonplussed by her attitude, questioned if this was really happening, then got angry at the insolence of it all.
“How dare you! I’m offering you the honor of joining us, you know?!”
“Do take care on your journey,” she said. “I haven’t the slightest, most minuscule interest in going on ‘adventures.’ I’ll be praying for your success while smacking my lips over in the sweets corner. Ta-ta.” She punctuated the last word with a smile.
“What was that smile for?! Hey, wait, listen to me!” Elliott commanded.
He pressed her for a response, but she paid him no mind and tried to go on her way. Though her words were ostensibly polite, her actions totally rejected his princely status. She was a model example of superficial courtesy.
I can’t put up with this any longer. Not that I’ve been putting up with it at all, but still. I can’t stand this girl!
“Wh-Why, that little!”
Elliott snapped and threw a rock at the girl’s back.
Bonk!
When the stone hit the back of her head, she stopped.
“That’s for being rude to a prince!” Elliott asserted. “Have you learned your lesson?!”
As Elliott crowed and his cronies obsequiously cheered, she rubbed the spot where the rock had struck her.
I’m not gonna be satisfied until I make her apologize to my face.
Elliott approached to grab her by the shoulder...
Pow!
Having discerned his location by the sound of his footsteps, she turned and sucker punched him in the face, sending him flying.
“Gyaaah!”
“Your Highness?!”
Several of Elliott’s followers rushed to his side and hurriedly helped him to his feet. The others surrounded the girl, albeit cautiously since she’d just clobbered the prince, and tried to use their numbers to hold her down.
“Why you...! Aaagh?!” The third son of a count attempted to grab her arm, but she caught him by the wrist, then swiped his legs out from under him. He tumbled to the ground.
“You wanna fight...?! Gwogh?!” The eldest son of a marquess took a swing at her, but she ducked and hit him with an uppercut that made him fall like a sack of potatoes.
“What’s with her?!”
“Oh, crap! What the hell?!”
Before we even address the size difference, her punches were way too heavy for a girl about the same age as six-year-old Elliott.
“Stop, stop, it hurts!”
Not only that, but she was vicious. She went for the finishing blow and repeatedly kicked her downed victims.
She’s crazy... Elliott thought.
Not afraid to indulge in a little overkill, the boys felt like they’d stumbled across some unidentified demonic beast that had assumed the form of an intense little girl.
“Damn it! Beat her to a pulp!” Elliott commanded, holding his aching nose and fighting back tears.
In response, the boys...did not rush the girl. In fact, they did nothing. Honestly, they’d already tried violence with her, and five of them were now sprawled on the ground. Plus, the girl held her fighting stance and occasionally punched the air to make a point.
What now? Elliott wondered.
Since she looked to be about Elliott’s age, most of the boys were likely older than her. They were all still growing, so they had a height advantage, but none of them could envision a scenario where they came at her swinging and actually won.
The second son of a count, who was helping Elliott stand, saw his fellow comrades’ confusion and shouted, “Go and get our big brothers! We’ll let them teach her a lesson for hurting His Highness!”
“Oh, yeah!”
“Th-That makes sense.”