Chapter 59 Returning to the Market She lowered her hand, which was holding the pendant, and looked at Ander…
How long can the little princess last? A day? A week?
Andra knew someone was making a bet in secret, but she quickly stopped caring.
She was initially quite annoyed: people kept interrupting her train of thought while she was practicing swordsmanship. For example, Misella would often run around the training ground making strange noises, and once she even barked like a dog and rolled on the ground.
While Mysella is certainly annoying when she's causing trouble, she's still annoying when she's obediently practicing her swordsmanship.
Every time Andra accidentally glimpsed Misella's appalling attack trajectory, he wished he could slap himself unconscious and have eyes that had never seen "Misella's Sword Technique".
All she wanted to say to Myrcella was "Get out of here."
But Andra was much more patient with Eleanor.
To be fair, Princess Misella's swordsmanship aptitude is actually similar to, or perhaps even worse than, that of Misella.
Andra paid little attention to Myrcella while practicing his swordplay, but he would often glance at Eleanor.
To ensure safety, the little princess would move to the innermost side when practicing and use a specially made small wooden sword to continuously whip the wooden dummy.
The small wooden sword was so light that Eleanor was finally able to swing it in a normal trajectory.
Ignoring the princess's appalling physical abilities, her athletic talent is—utterly ordinary.
Myrcella's poor swordsmanship is largely due to her unstable temperament and lack of focus during practice. Furthermore, she doesn't actually love swords; she simply enjoys being active.
Eleanor, on the other hand, practiced very seriously, extremely seriously.
Each time Andra turned around, she was meticulously swinging her wooden sword, trying to ensure that the trajectory of each strike fell within the range the professor had previously indicated.
This is actually the right thing to do. Apart from geniuses like Andra, anyone who learns swordsmanship has to spend a lot of time perfecting their stance.
However, the little princess's movements looked very stiff no matter how you looked at them.
At the current pace, it will take her several years just to eliminate this "stiffness".
How could the little princess waste so much time on something so utterly meaningless? It would be so sad if she really loved swords.
Andra saw Eleanor's slightly trembling figure and the beads of sweat on her face reflected in her eyes. For the first time, she felt respect and pity for an ordinary person who lacked talent in swordsmanship.
She couldn't help but go over to guide Eleanor when she was deep in thought and troubled, hoping she wouldn't get stuck in the beginner's dilemma for too long.
However, Andra herself knew that this behavior was less about expecting the little princess to make great progress in the future, and more about a longing for close contact.
......
Time passed day by day... actually, it wasn't that long.
During a break, Eleanor suddenly put down her sword and said to her, "Tomorrow I—"
Has it finally arrived?
Andra lowered her sword, expecting to hear something like, "I won't come tomorrow, will I?" But what she heard next was...
"Shall we go to the market together tomorrow?"
A market? Andra immediately recalled the bustling commercial district of the capital city of Norlana.
As the most prosperous city in Norlana, Andra visited various areas of the city, especially the bustling markets, several times when he first arrived in the capital.
She hoped to jot down some clues and compare the subtle differences between the two countries.
Later, all these affairs were handed over to her attendants, who were supposed to stay with her in the palace, but from the beginning Andra had scattered them all over the capital, some even starting small businesses.
"Okay, taking a walk is good for your health."
Andra could roughly guess why the princess wanted to go to the market.
Eleanor was a very intelligent little princess, and she must have noticed that she hadn't made much progress in her practice these past few days, and her progress was very slow.
Rather than continuing to practice for ten or twenty years and ending up as a swordsmanship enthusiast with passable swordsmanship but severely lacking in strength, who can be easily defeated by any serious swordsman, it would be better to go to the slave market and buy more war slaves. You might even be able to find one with exceptional talent.
Using a hundred or a thousand swords to protect oneself is a privilege reserved for the nobility.
She waited for Eleanor to call Coral over so she could arrange for the guards to be ready for tomorrow.
However, the little princess simply whispered in her ear, "Tomorrow, shall we go shopping by ourselves?"
The girl's breath brushed against my ear, and a tingling, itchy sensation spread along my earlobe.
In that instant, Andra wanted to hold the little princess tightly in his arms and let her fluffy long hair rest on his shoulder.
"Okay." She suppressed her impulse and agreed, then quickly added, "Your Highness, of course I will stay by your side and protect you. But there are too many strangers in the market, and we might get separated."
In fact, she would definitely hold the princess's hand tightly and never let go.
Andra rarely felt fear, but for some reason she was just now afraid that Eleanor would suddenly disappear from her sight and never be seen again.
She longed to be alone with the princess, but she was even more unwilling to risk losing Eleanor... even just a little bit.
Andra secretly vowed in her heart: one day she would be strong enough to not have to worry about any risks, so that her princess could walk on a peaceful land.
Eleanor gazed into her eyes, and after a long while, she suddenly leaned forward—she actually stretched her furry little head to Andra's neck and rubbed it against her.
The girl smiled sweetly and said, "Okay, then I'll have the others stay away and follow us from a distance. Hmm, three... no, two bodyguards will be enough."
"Manju, thorns!" the little princess commanded in a raised voice, "Come with us to the market tomorrow. Follow behind and be careful."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Yes, Your Highness Eleanor."
The two agreed immediately, but their eyes looked a little unnatural.
Andra chuckled inwardly: Ha, no wonder they're jealous. Ever since she became a guardian knight, the little princess has unconsciously forgotten their existence.
I need to work even harder.
Andra then put his arm around the princess's back to make her more comfortable.
......
Morning arrived as scheduled, and Andra slowly awoke to a sweet fragrance.
The warm blankets were filled with a comforting scent, and when she opened her eyes, she saw the princess still fast asleep.
Andra glanced to the side. Although the curtains were still hanging, she could still make out the approximate time through the faint light and shadow.
The servants opened the outermost doors and windows to ventilate the room, indicating that it was at least 7 a.m.
Andra let out a soft sigh of relief.
After a period of time with her during her training, she has gotten used to waking up at this time.
She reached out and tucked the little princess's back corner in, silently praying that Her Highness would give up swordsmanship soon.
I will protect you. She opened her mouth to say something.
"Ugh..."
Andra didn't make a sound, but the little princess still fluttered her eyelashes and slowly opened her eyes.
"What time is it?" Eleanor's soft voice brushed against my ear like a small brush.
Coral said through the curtain, "Your Highness, it's already 7 o'clock."
It was indeed 7 o'clock.
The little princess yawned, lowered her hand that was holding the pendant, and slowly rolled over in Andra's arms, turning around once before returning to a face-to-face position.
"Two more hours... Coral, call me in an hour."
The princess closed her eyes and held up two fingers, saying, "Let's not go too early, nor too late, 9 o'clock is just right."
She yawned, clearly about to fall asleep again.
Seeing her adorable appearance, Andra couldn't help but tease her, "Really? Your Highness isn't going out to practice your sword today?"
"Mmm." The little princess nodded, and just when Andra thought she had fallen asleep again, she slowly said, "I'm very tired today, I need to rest and recharge..."
That's true. The little princess practices swordsmanship very diligently every day. After finishing her sword practice in the morning, she's too tired to go shopping.
It's good to take a day off once in a while.
Andra closed his eyes, held Eleanor, and fell soundly asleep again.
She thought the little princess saying that leaving at 9 o'clock was just a figure of speech, like her usual training time.
They would go about their usual routine of washing up, getting dressed, eating, and resting for a while before going out.
Unexpectedly, Eleanor, who usually goes to the training ground at a leisurely pace, jumped up and got out of bed as soon as 8 o'clock struck.
She and Andra changed their clothes together, quickly brushed their teeth with bristle toothbrushes dipped in special balm, and then sat down at the table to eat.
Even though he had enjoyed it for a few days, Andra was still a little impressed when he saw the little princess's lavish breakfast.
Hetuya could not possibly produce such exquisite and abundant cuisine.
Hetuya is known as the land of gold, but in reality, it only has a lot of gold and silver minerals and gemstones.
Andra keenly perceived that there was a difference between assets, and in her eyes, Norlana was much richer than Hertuya, as they possessed more practical things.
Gold is easily convertible into cash, but it's neither food nor clothing.
Logically speaking, as a princess of Hetuya, she should have been pampered since childhood... what a load of rubbish!
When she was little, she even fought with her sisters over roasted lamb legs in winter!
This is certainly because Aguno believed in the ancient custom that "those who do not work shall not eat" and "only the brave shall not eat," and as long as there was no famine, there was still enough meat from various livestock on the grassland.
However, roasting is actually a very luxurious cooking method because it requires a lot of fuel. Although the grasslands seem to be covered with grass, they are actually quite barren, and the women have to collect cow and sheep dung to survive the winter.
So the Hetuya people mostly ate boiled meat... boiled meat with little spices, at most just salt.
Besides boiled meat, roasted meat, and various grass seeds that everyone often collects, Hetuya only has hard, stiff dough that can be used as a weapon and all sorts of dried milk that she can offer.
Every king of Hetuya loved to drink wine from large bowls and eat meat in large chunks, because, to be honest, even if they liked to eat vegetables and fruits, they couldn't get them.
Andra looked at the fresh beans, boiled quail eggs, mushroom skewers, and juicy sweet fruits on the table and couldn't help but feel a strong urge to eat.
"Come on, eat more~ Ah~~" The little princess scooped up a big spoonful of starchy bean paste and stuffed it into her mouth.
"Ah~" Andra swallowed it with relish: Hmm, there were quite a few salt grains and grass seed pieces in it, it was really delicious.
The two enjoyed a warm breakfast together, and the little princess waited until 9 o'clock sharp before clapping her hands to signal that everyone could set off.
They had changed into their everyday clothes today. Although the nobles' everyday clothes were still respectable enough, they weren't enough to make those who didn't know their stuff stop and marvel.
After Andra changed her clothes, she was surprised to find that her and her two guards' clothes were much more gorgeous than the little princess's.
Manzhu and Jingji were probably wearing casual clothes from home. These clothes had fewer gold threads than their gorgeous uniforms as bodyguards, and only their bow ties were adorned with jewels.
Andra's outfit is slightly more ornate.
The little princess had royal artisans gild and embroider the design, and even specially added small gemstones to the area around her heart, creating a ring of gold and red, clearly imitating the halo of the sun, symbolizing good fortune and auspiciousness.
Unlike them, the little princess wore only a linen robe with trousers underneath, and even her favorite gold-beaded slippers were replaced with soft cloth shoes.
Today, Eleanor rejected the coral glitter powder; she wore no makeup, only a gold pendant around her neck.
"Alright, let's go." She walked out first and waved to Andra, who was still in a daze.
Coral walked across the porch with her hands hanging down, instinctively wanting to lead the way.
"Coral, you shouldn't go today."
The little princess said gently, "You still need to keep an eye on things over there, sister."
"Your Highness, matters concerning the palace can be left to..."
This personal attendant clearly considered matters concerning the princess herself to be of utmost importance, and having served Eleanor for many years, she was invincible in any situation.
But Andra noticed that after meeting the princess's eyes, she suddenly changed her tone and obediently agreed. "Alright, then I'll go and supervise the Third Prince first. I hope you have a good time today, and please be careful."
“Okay~” Eleanor seemed pleased that the waiter had agreed to her request, and her steps became even lighter.
Andra couldn't help but glance at it a couple more times, but nothing seemed suspicious. It was perfectly normal that Eleanor wanted to have a good time at the market today and didn't want her older sister Coral to come along.
She felt a bit more favorably toward Coral: this kind of servant was the most worry-free—hardworking when needed, and knowing when to back down when the master said no...
"Andra, stop daydreaming!" The little princess, who had run ahead, ran back and took her hand again.
Andra casually replied, "It's alright. I was just thinking it would be good to have Coral go along. She must be very familiar with the royal city, right? After all, she's your head steward here."
Eleanor was silent for a moment, then nodded and said, "It's alright, I'll lead the way this time, I promise I won't lead you astray."
"Hahaha. There are no hills in the market, so where would the ditch come from?"
The two held hands and ran outside, laughing and joking.
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The author notes: The hours, minutes, and seconds here are synchronized with reality, since they are all multiples of 6.
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