Chapter 13 Echoes of Memory Andra's voice was like a string of pearls...
So, I was the key reason why Andra was dragged down?
When it was time for dinner, the servants quickly set the table with plates of food. Eleanor sat there, propping her head up with her hand, looking dazed. She had been in a daze ever since she came back from the garden.
"Your Highness, please have something to eat, Your Highness~" Coral brought over a bowl.
The small, pure silver bowl contained a pool of thick, viscous paste. This sticky, gelatinous substance was a "delicious" red bean soup made by simmering several kinds of beans and tubers together.
Coral scooped up a spoonful of paste and brought it over. Usually, the little princess would open her mouth and swallow obediently, but today she frowned, closed her mouth, and dodged.
"Oh, I'll do it myself." Eleanor tried to dodge twice but couldn't, so she had no choice but to take the spoon and swallow the "soup" in one gulp.
vomit!
After taking a bite, her little face scrunched up.
Red bean soup—it's so good!
She was just dwelling on her past life, regretting that she had been holding Andra, Manju, and Thorn back all day long, preventing them from having time to exercise properly before they turned 20.
As a result, after swallowing this spoonful of unidentified substance, it brought back his three souls and six spirits!
"It's so bitter!" The little princess looked like she was about to cry.
"Is it bitter?" Coral quickly scooped up a spoonful and drank it, savoring it carefully.
A few seconds later, she chuckled and tapped Eleanor's head: "Oh dear~ Your Highness, don't try to coax me, it's clearly very sweet!"
Uh, your standards for sweetness are way too low.
Eleanor glanced at the bluish-purple bean paste soup in the bowl, then quickly shifted her gaze to the table and scanned the surroundings. A long-lost sense of simplicity washed over her.
People who had happy childhoods often have a bit of a childhood filter on them, and Eleanor was no exception.
When she was bedridden with a serious illness, she often recalled the romantic times of her youth, when she would roll around in the garden with her lover. She also had sweet memories of personally cooking for Andra and feeding her bite by bite when the two of them first arrived in Enlin.
No wonder my memories of "feeding Andra" are all focused on Enlin.
Eleanor slapped her forehead: Because when I was a kid, Norlana didn't even have sugar-making processes other than honey!
Let's see what a princess's dinner consists of.
A bowl of well-cooked bean soup, a few vegetable starch dumplings such as "taro", and several dishes of cooked and roasted vegetables—the most appetizing of which is the roasted carrot. If you can't eat it, the waiters will skillfully pour it into the roasted pork and mix it in.
Incidentally, this pork comes from wild boar hunted in the mountains... in a sense, it's "very flavorful," with a pungent aroma.
As for beef, there won't be any tonight.
The Nolana royal family typically eats beef during festivals, emphasizing that the gods eat first and they eat later.
So, as a pampered little princess, did Eleanor have any special privileges when it came to food?
Some sisters, some.
Today's privileges are mainly reflected in two dishes.
One dish is candied fruit placed right in the center.
Honey is a nutritional treasure of Norlan. Witch doctors believe that the essence of honey can cure ninety-nine diseases, and the remaining one is only curable because you are not sincere and have bad luck.
Thanks to the people of Norlana's passion for honey, a group of beekeepers has emerged in Norlana. In her previous life, Eleanor recruited a group of beekeepers, which significantly increased the production of honey and grains.
Another special dish is grilled bird skewers made by skewering small birds on small wooden sticks.
This dish looks simple, but it's actually quite difficult to make.
You know, these days even raising a chicken is difficult for most people.
Birds are prone to disease and have low egg production, so people generally obtain poultry supplies through hunting and raiding bird nests, rather than raising them.
Eleanor's skewers of birds included chicken, duck, quail, and some less common birds.
Aside from the hunting season, the birds she ate mostly came from the Royal Nolana Estate, making eating bird meat a rather luxurious indulgence.
"Sigh!" Eleanor clutched her head and put down her spoon.
Putting everything else aside, the idea of eating dishes from decades in the future, without considering Andra, is an extremely difficult task.
In her previous life, she had reservations about Andra's years of wars and conquests of several countries, as it directly affected the daily lives of the people.
However, on the other hand, after unifying several countries of varying sizes, the coordination of seeds, livestock, and people became much easier.
Before Eleanor became seriously ill, she had been working on promoting poultry farms.
Since vaccine technology has not yet been developed, ordinary people simply cannot bear the enormous risks associated with raising large numbers of chickens and ducks, so poultry farming in Hertuya is basically monopolized by the royal family.
Eleanor established strictly managed farms in the suburbs of various cities, continuously breeding poultry for meat and eggs. This was the only way to feed the massive number of war orphans, while greatly reducing the cost of protein for citizens and improving the national physique.
"Oh, right." Her eyes lit up as she looked at the grilled bird skewers.
As long as I get the farm up and running sooner, I can train a massive, full-time army!
Ten people might not be able to defeat Andra, but surely 100 or 1000 could? Even if they still couldn't defeat Hetuya's army... Eleanor rolled her eyes: "I can take my followers and move somewhere else!"
She didn't serve as queen for decades for nothing; she once acted as a part-time diplomat, receiving many foreign dignitaries on behalf of Andra.
Eleanor and Andra were both curious about the countries on the other continent, so they made a point of learning about them.
Another continent overseas has a hot climate, more wildlife and rushing rivers, but a sparser population, which sounds somewhat similar to South America.
Taking all this information into account, she could have built ships in advance and set sail with her followers when the situation became chaotic, demonstrating that she could both attack and defend.
"I've got an idea!" Eleanor cheered, holding up a chicken skewer.
Coral chuckled and patted the little princess's head. "Oh, what great idea do you have?"
Eleanor shook the chicken skewers and said seriously, "I'm going to build a bird farm."
"A fish farm?" Coral repeated the tongue-twisting name.
Eleanor took a big bite of the meat skewer. The only taste in her mouth was pure grilled meat. Hmm, she'd have to get some spices from abroad next time.
She chewed and swallowed the roasted meat in her mouth, and said in a serious tone, "I'm going to Enlin, now—tomorrow!"
"Huh?" Coral's eyes widened, and she immediately covered her mouth with her sleeve.
"Haha, hahahaha." She finally couldn't help but laugh out loud, and the servants beside her also lowered their heads and chuckled.
Coral half-squatted down, pretending to fall, and patted her leg, saying, "You're really going to the territory? My precious, delicate little princess~"
"Hahahaha." The servants lowered their sleeves and burst into laughter, their eyes crinkling with joy.
Eleanor paused for a moment, as memories of her past life gradually flooded into her mind.
By the way, in her previous life, she never wanted to go to any territory.
Princesses and royal princesses are not the same.
Although both are nominal lords of the territory, the princess has the right of succession, and all other than the crown prince must be granted titles on time.
The princess had no right of inheritance, so she could stay by her mother's side and entrust officials to manage the territory for her, simply waiting for the annual tributes to arrive.
In her past life, she stayed in the capital without a care in the world until she was 18. She would visit her mother, who was indulging in wine and women, in the morning, occasionally do some practical things at noon and in the evening, and spend most of her time having a sweet romance with Andra.
This period of happiness was so fleeting that it passed through her mind quickly, while Enlin's initial hardships left a deep impression on her.
Seeing Eleanor standing there in a daze, Coral immediately composed herself and gestured to everyone to suppress their laughter.
She knelt down beside Eleanor and asked softly, "Your Highness, are you worried about the future? Don't worry, after you get married, you can go to your fiefdom with the Prince, and she will take care of everything for you."
Eleanor looked up and nodded knowingly.
Oh, I see.
In my past life, everyone assumed that Andra was my prince, so it seemed that I was managing the territory and everyone had to listen to me. But in reality, Andra was the pillar of strength in everyone's hearts.
She may not be Andra, but "she" must exist.
So who should we choose?
Eleanor glanced to the side, her gaze sweeping over the spider lilies and thorns on the table. They were meticulously waiting for the little princess to finish her meal so they could enjoy some untouched or touched food.
Eleanor winked at Manju.
Besides Andra, it seems like you're the only one who's suitable, right?
"Manju from my past life..." A bittersweet tenderness welled up in Eleanor's heart.
This loyal chief of guard has never betrayed me in all these decades.
She always protected my dignity.
Whether I am the little princess of Nolana or Angie of Hetuya, she will teach her subordinates to tell them that I am the only one they must protect.
In her previous life, Manzhu was able to manage a large personal guard, so she undoubtedly possessed excellent planning and command abilities.
At the same time, Manju was also the daughter of a high-ranking nobleman in Nolana, more than qualified to be a princess...
"Your Highness Eleanor?" Manju felt uneasy under her gaze and couldn't help but call out.
Eleanor picked up a piece of apple with her fork, chewed it, swallowed it, and then took a light breath as if she had made up her mind.
"Manzhu, from now on you can call me Eleanor."
Clang.
"Uh, I'm sorry, Your Highness, I shouldn't have addressed you by your first name." Manzhu reflexively dropped her fork, her face showing great unease.
Thorn immediately lowered her head, as if she wanted to accept the punishment along with her sister.
Coral leaned closer and gently shook her head: "Yes, Your Highness, we must always maintain our respect for you."
The atmosphere was inexplicably heavy.
Eleanor could only laugh it off and wave her hand, saying, "Oh, I just felt it was a bit formal to call you Your Highness."
After she finished speaking, she picked up her spoon and quietly ate the bowl of bitter bean porridge.
......
After dinner, Eleanor immediately called for paper and pen and sat in her bedroom to write, stroke by stroke.
The beeswax candles I have on hand produce no smoke and don't sting my eyes, but unfortunately beeswax is too expensive and production is low.
Eleanor was writing down the farm's plans when she glanced at the candles and jotted down the key points for optimizing grease candles and oil lamps.
She wrote down many important notes.
This knowledge can be used immediately upon arriving in the territory. As for how to get to the territory—it's naturally through marriage.
Manzhu is still young, but I can get engaged to her first. I think everyone will approve, but it's tough on Manzhu...
Eleanor paused, her pen still.
It was tough on Manzhu, so I think she was unwilling? If it were Manzhu decades later, she would probably be willing.
Eleanor put down her pen, hugged her knees, and thought carefully.
Does Manju like me? Of course she does. As for her thoughts on romance... In my past life, my heart and soul were completely focused on Andra; I never paid attention to anyone else's feelings.
Manzhu did not marry, but that doesn't mean she liked me, does it? Maybe she was just remembering her sister, or perhaps she didn't want to marry anyone?
Eleanor fell into deep thought.
"Phew~" Coral took the opportunity to blow out the candle. She rubbed the princess's little head and said gently, "Alright, Your Highness, you should sleep now~ Your eyes will hurt if you keep writing."
She patted Eleanor on the back, then carried the ten-year-old princess to bed and tucked her in.
"..." Eleanor obediently shrank into the blanket, and only when she heard the rustling of the curtains in the distance did she quietly slip on her shoes and return to the carpet.
The room was pitch black, making it impossible to continue writing.
Eleanor stood in the darkness, lost in thought, when she suddenly remembered the dinner she had just had.
Manju shook her head, thorns dodged, everyone looked troubled... but it wasn't like this in her past life.
I said that to Andra.
"Andra, from now on you can call me Eleanor."
Not decades or decades from now, but even in the brief span of "today".
The little princess, having a guardian knight, was like receiving a beloved doll. She happily rushed into Andra's arms, shaking her arm and simply uttering affectionate words.
So how did Andra respond?
“Of course, Your Highness Eleanor.”
The girl with long, golden-red hair answered seriously, watching as the little princess pouted.
Just as Eleanor was about to act coquettishly, she stepped forward, leaned down, and whispered in her ear.
"Eleanor".
Her name rolled sweetly on her tongue.
Andra's voice was like a glass thread that tethers pearls, dragging out a trembling heartbeat.
"!"
The little princess covered her face shyly, then stomped her feet, stood on tiptoe, and quickly whispered in her ear as if reporting back, "Andra, Andra, Andra!"
"Hahaha." Andra laughed, her clear eyes filled with scattered light.
That day... no one laughed at us; everyone just watched quietly.
Eleanor walked to the window in the dim moonlight and placed one hand on the windowsill.
Manju was clearly the friend who had been by my side longer and was more trustworthy, but Andra had a different kind of charm.
Even as a hostage from an enemy country, she could convince a group of strangers that she deserved the best of everything and could have anything she wanted.
Eleanor's fingers trembled slightly.
Yes, even after thinking all that through, deep down I still prefer Andra's answer, her matter-of-fact reactions, and...
"Your Highness?" The window suddenly moved, and a hand, through the shadow, reached out from the other side and touched the window frame.
A familiar voice, belonging to Andra, whispered in her ear.
"Are you having trouble sleeping?"
A note from the author:
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