Chapter 7: A Boy In Uniform

"Huahhh..."

"Is saying goodbye to your father really that boring?"

"Sorry, I'm just really sleepy..."

Today marks a full week since I started living in this world. For the past three nights, I've been having a hard time falling asleep because of recurring nightmares. Although the one I had last night was a bit milder than the others, I really hope this sleeping problem ends for good tonight.

At the moment, I accidentally yawned in front of Alexi— no, I mean, my father — who was standing beside the carriage that had been prepared for his departure.

The reason I was saying goodbye was because he had apparently been summoned by the central government. I wasn't sure what for, but I vaguely remembered hearing him mention something called the "Three Pillars Assembly," although I had no idea what that meant.

"It's such a shame that this had to happen right after Phelle finally woke up..."

The person most visibly saddened by his departure, of course, was my mother. Ever since Father told her about the trip yesterday, she had been pouring her feelings out to me nonstop.

"What else can we do? It's a direct order from the King," said my father, trying to calm Mother down.

It seemed that what worried her most was knowing that Father would be in the capital for several months, or even longer, depending on how the King handled the crisis facing the kingdom.

After exchanging emotional farewells and glances, Father and the others finally boarded the prepared carriage. I noticed a few grenadiers were joining him as his escort. He brought no more than one platoon, probably because he feared leaving the region too vulnerable to the bandit raids that had been growing more frequent.

With Father gone, all responsibilities were left to Mother, aided by Aeson, who apparently wasn't joining the group heading to the capital.

Since Mother was now busy with her work, her schedule as my tutor also became affected. That gave me more free time. It was a little sad, but in a way, having days off like this was also quite enjoyable.

Still, I wasn't sure she'd have much enthusiasm left for tutoring me in the first place. She had already looked quite unmotivated even before Father left, and now that he wasn't around at the manor anymore, I doubted she'd be any more eager.

Honestly, not much changed even after the head of the Del Korynth family left the manor. Everyone simply went back to their duties without any problems at all.

"I'm bored..."

And now even though today was technically my day off, there really wasn't much I could do besides sit on a bench in the garden, watching butterflies flutter here and there.

I did plan to go out for a walk earlier, but the nightmares that kept haunting me every night left me so sleepy during the day that I ended up napping in my room instead.

But now that I was finally outside, it turned out there wasn't anything particularly exciting either. I just sat there blankly in the garden, accompanied by Lyra and another maid who had recently been assigned to help take care of me.

Her name was Theressa.

Compared to Lyra, she was a bit older. It was actually surprising that a woman as pretty as her, especially with that distinct brown hair, was just an ordinary maid. Well, if I compared her to my mother, she still couldn't quite compete. Hehe, not to brag or anything.

Actually, there are a few more maids assigned to take care of me. But during relaxing moments like this, it's usually just the two of them who accompany me, and to be honest, I prefer it that way.

The others usually show up when I need help getting dressed in my gown. Honestly, that's a whole problem on its own.

First, there's the fact that I have to change clothes in front of these women. No matter how I look at it, it's extremely embarrassing for my soul. And second, these gowns are such a hassle, especially for someone like me who used to wear tracksuits all the time.

Even now, I'm wearing a rather fancy dress in deep red, which, admittedly, matches quite well with my rare black hair.

"Hah..."

I let out a long sigh and leaned back against the garden bench.

Suddenly, my eyes caught a figure moving quickly among the flower-filled garden paths.

After taking a closer look, I realized it was a boy wearing a grenadier's uniform. But honestly, he looked so young that even his boots seemed a bit too big for him.

Out of curiosity, I asked, "Who's that?"

"Ah, him..." It seemed like Theressa didn't know either. "I'm not sure of his name, but he's become quite the talk among the maids, mostly because he seems way too young to be a grenadier."

So what I thought wasn't just in my head. I really wonder what Father was thinking, hiring someone that young for such a role.

"Ah, him!"

"Huh, you know him, Lyra?" Theressa asked.

"Of course I do!" she replied loudly. "How could I not? He's from the same village as me. His name is Theros."

Hmm, now that I think about it, Lyra and this boy named Theros didn't seem that far apart in age. With that thought in mind, I got up from the garden bench, not really paying attention to the maids still chatting behind me.

At first, they didn't notice what I was doing, but soon enough they realized and started chasing after me, as I ran while lifting this wide, troublesome dress that made running a pain.

"Hey, you!"

Even though he was running, his oversized boots made him move slower. Thanks to that, I managed to catch up. Luckily, when I called out, he stopped and turned to face me.

Standing in front of him now, I could see he was taller than me and probably taller than Lyra, too. Still, for a boy who looked around sixteen, he seemed far too young to be serving in a grenadier unit, or any military unit, really.

"M-me?"

"Yes, you."

Like many others, he avoided looking me in the eyes. His gaze darted around nervously, trying to look at anything but my face.

"But... I'm in a hurry..."

"Hey, Theros," Lyra suddenly appeared beside me without me realizing it. "That's Lady Seraphelle talking to you. Can't you spare just a moment for her?"

"I know that..."

Now I actually felt a bit guilty for holding him up, especially since military organizations were usually strict about time—even a few minutes could be important. Plus, I didn't want to abuse the privilege I currently had.

"Hmm, maybe never mind. I don't want to interrupt your duties."

"Oh no, it's fine, my Lady!" Theros replied quickly, waving his hands. "Actually... I'm kind of lost, hehe."

"You're lost!? Hahaha!"

"Shut it, Lyra!" Theros barked back, clearly irritated by her teasing. "This is my first week working here, okay? It's understandable!"

"I started two weeks ago and never got lost like you!"

"Two weeks isn't 'new' anymore, you little—!"

For some reason, the two of them were now throwing jabs back and forth, neither willing to back down. Theressa and I could only watch the bickering like a comedy show. Honestly, aren't these two already way too comfortable with each other?

Alright, alright, that's enough," I said, not wanting their argument to get any worse. I tried to break it up before things escalated. Thankfully, they actually listened and apologized to me right away.

"Before anything else, I want to ask something… c-can I borrow your hat for a moment?"

Honestly, I couldn't stop staring at the hat he was wearing. Not because it was strange—actually, quite the opposite.

It was a tricorne.

That iconic three-cornered hat worn by officers or even regular soldiers in the 18th century. The Napoleonic era, the French Revolution, the Seven Years' War… hats like that always showed up in the history books I loved. And now, I was seeing one in person, right in its natural time period and of course not a replica.

"Huh, this one?"

Theros instinctively touched his hat, then removed it from his head. Without much hesitation, he handed it over to me.

I immediately reached out and took it from him. The hat was, of course, mostly black with red trimming along the edges. As I held and ran my fingers over it, the texture felt a bit rough, but that was understandable. It was meant for common soldiers, after all if it were too luxurious, it would've been a waste of military funds.

After admiring it for a moment, I decided to try it on. Naturally, it was a bit too big for my head, but not so much that it couldn't be worn.

"What do you all think?" I asked the three of them, striking a pose with my hands on my hips.

At first, they just stood there watching in silence. But after the awkward pause grew too loud to ignore, they eventually clapped their hands.

"Whoa…"

"I-it looks very good on you, Miss."

"I agree with Lyra, Miss."

Maybe they were trying to be polite. Honestly, their reactions felt awkward and way too forced. Because of that, I quickly took the hat off, feeling a bit embarrassed. I probably looked like a child playing soldier.

"Ahem. So then, where exactly were you trying to go?" I asked Theros, turning the hat over in my hands and shifting the topic

"I was on guard duty at the west wing of the manor, Miss. My shift ended, and I was on my way back to the barracks... but I must've taken a wrong turn and somehow ended up here."

"Hmm, I see," I nodded thoughtfully at his explanation. "In that case, I'll escort you back to the barracks."

"Th-thank you, Miss. Sorry for the trouble."

The boy, whose name was Theros, bowed deeply as a sign of respect and gratitude for my kindness. Maybe I should act noble like this more often, just to balance out all the bad rumors that have already been spreading about me.

Then suddenly, Theressa asked, "But Miss... do you even know where the barracks are?"

That hit me like a slap of reality. Where in the world did all that confidence come from, thinking I could help Theros when I didn't even know where the barracks were myself?

To be honest, these past few days I'd barely left my room. The most I'd done was visit the Del Korynth manor's library to borrow or return books.

"But Theressa, you know where it is, right?"

"Yes, I do."

"Then you can lead us there, right?"

"No."

"W-why not?"

"No still means no, Miss."

"At least give me a reason..."

"Hmm," Theressa thought for a moment. "Well, because the barracks aren't exactly a place suited for ladies like us, Miss."

Ah… so this is another case of gender-based social boundaries. Honestly, it's not all that surprising. Just from how things look, patriarchy still clearly dominates the social structure of this world.

If that's really the case, then yeah, a woman like me showing up at the barracks dressed in something this fancy—plus the fact that I'm the daughter of the Del Korynth family—could definitely stir up scandal or at least fuel some juicy gossip.

Well… what can you do, right?

Hmm...

Haha! Did you really think I'd give up just because of that? Of course not!

"Well, I guess there's nothing really I can do..."

"I'm glad you understand, Milady."

"Still, Theros needs to go back to the barracks, right?" I argued, turning to Theressa. "You still need to tell him where it is."

"Hmm, you're right."

Realizing that, Theressa stepped up to Theros and began explaining the directions to the barracks in detail. Theros nodded attentively with every instruction.

Meanwhile, I pretended not to listen, crouching next to a patch of marigolds that were blooming in neat rows. I ran my fingers gently along the petals, feigning great interest in their color and shape. Of course, I was eavesdropping the entire time. But it would ruin the atmosphere if I looked too eager.

Eventually, Theressa finished her mini orientation session with a final "Got it?" to which Theros gave the most confident nod he could muster.

Okay, looks like they're done with their little Q&A. Without wasting another second, I stood up, brushed the dirt from my dress, walked right up to Theros — and without warning, grabbed his hand.

"Wha—!? Ah!?"

"Miss!?"

"You know the way now, don't you?" I shouted to Theros as I took off running. "Then lead the way!"

Leaving my two confused maids behind, we dashed off as fast as we could so they wouldn't catch up. There were even moments when we nearly ran into manor staff, but thankfully we managed to avoid them.

At first, Theros seemed completely lost, but once I told him, "Consider this punishment for getting lost in the first place," he gave in and started leading the way while running.

Sorry, Theressa. But I had to do this. If I stayed in that garden any longer, I was going to die of boredom. Whether I get punished for this or not... well, I'll deal with that later.