Bergamot Katia.
When it comes to abilities, she is a genius of the century with no flaws.
She had once caused problems by obsessively clinging to the concept of magic and junior colleagues, but that drawback turned into a strength, bringing immense benefits to the Empire.
After the war, she volunteered to become an educator, and naturally, she received numerous offers from around.
Many wanted her as she was highly capable.
However, less than a month after deciding to become a professor at the academy, she received a polite request to resign and ended up retiring.
The reason was simple.
Her ability as an educator didn’t even come close to her prowess in magic.
She was so much of a genius and so skilled that she couldn’t understand the standards of ordinary people, leading most educational institutions, including the Magic Tower and the academy, to reject her.
But if that were the only reason, Ern would not have been extremely afraid of her.
Epherna’s genius does not fall behind Bergamot’s.
That was Ern’s judgment, and hence, he was confident that Epherna could follow her education.
However, Epherna’s teaching method was about gaining experience and realization through dangerous practical training.
As progressive and efficient as it was, Ern was one of those who could never accept that method.
Because Ern had experienced it firsthand.
How thrilling her teaching method was.
“Duchess. The Princess is still only fifteen. It is too early for you to personally teach her.”
“What’s wrong with my education?”
“Recalling my past, the Duchess’s teaching method is a very tough process for a young girl.”
Ern spoke respectfully and clearly.
It was a clear refusal.
However.
“Then what do we do? The Second Prince entrusted her to me. We can’t not even try, can we?”
Bergamot had the invincible justification of the Second Prince.
Ern sensed there was no rebuttal he could make.
“…Then, please remember just one thing.”
“Of course. If it concerns the adorable child, I will listen attentively.”
“The Princess is more delicate than you think.”
“…What?”
Bergamot tilted her head.
“Please don’t push her too hard. Even though she has royal blood, she has many flaws and a fragile heart.”
What was he talking about?
Though Bergamot didn’t know Epherna well, she couldn’t help but think that for a moment.
Of course, just look at Epherna’s expression.
Standing in a blind spot from Ern’s view, wasn’t she smiling proudly?
‘Hmm.’
What a cute child.
No, should she say, a woman with secrets?
Bergamot faintly sensed the dark intentions Epherna was hiding.
“Ah! I also said I chose the attendants for the Princess! Given the situation, would you like to meet them now?”
“Can you afford to delay the lessons?”
“Of course. Today is just for introductions anyway, right?”
“That is true, but…”
“Then there’s no problem, is there? Come in!”
Clap clap.
As Bergamot clapped her hands, a woman and a man walked out of her room.
They were familiar faces to both Ern and Epherna.
“Uh…?”
A woman with a green gem embedded in her forehead.
And the man beside her.
“Hello, Princess.”
As the woman greeted, Epherna’s eyes widened.
Merien and Valtean.
Those who had opened a salon in the Much-Sector now appeared as attendants.
*****
Although momentarily surprised, Epherna greeted them with a pleased heart.
“Lady, how did you end up here?”
“By the great honor of being directly invited by the Duchess.”
Bergamot shrugged her shoulders and added to Merien’s words.
“I personally extended the invitation from the prince as well! How about that? Isn’t it impressive?”
Ern replied somewhat reluctantly.
“Yes… It is impressive.”
To scout even the people around her like this, at times like these, she truly is a fitting Duchess.
But still…
Ern gave Valtean a glance and asked.
“Do you have any experience as an attendant?”
“What haven’t I done? My wife used to be the head attendant in the Forest Kingdom.”
“Your wife was the head attendant?”
“She’s a hairdresser. Nowadays, you might not know, but back in the day, hairdressers were rare and valuable talents. Didn’t you expect that?”
“Not at all.”
Nowadays, when one thinks of city areas, hair salons come to mind.
Merien added her explanation.
“Since childhood, I was trained as an attendant by my mother, who was the head attendant. I opened the hair salon to make the most of my few talents.”
“Ah, I see.”
Ern nodded in understanding and asked Bergamot.
“How did the Duchess come to know these two? It’s been less than a day since the Princess’s existence was announced.”
“Don’t I have a lot of luck with people? Hohoho!”
“…”
She’s implying that she knew beforehand.
Ern, watching Bergamot laugh out loud, hid his uneasy feelings deep within his chest.
And he thought.
She might be the most frightening among the dukes.
Bergamot has always been a woman who never reveals her true intentions.
Lemea, the Duke who has supported the Second Prince from long ago. Duke Tesran, originally a supporter of the First Prince, who after his death, covertly opposes the Second Prince.
Unlike them, Bergamot has always remained neutral wherever she is.
In a country where a fight for the throne occurs, the other two dukes know best how difficult it is.
Even Ern doesn’t know how the Katia Dukedom managed to withstand the persuasion and pressure from both the First and Second Princes.
That’s why Ern is afraid of her.
Bergamot, who is skilled at revealing herself while concealing her true intentions, instinctively made him wary, as if he were seeing the secret force he once belonged to.
“Then! Shall we have some time for men to talk with men and women with women?”
******
Ern wanted to reject Bergamot’s suggestion, but Epherna accepted it.
She had something she wanted to discuss with Merien personally.
Bergamot, unaware of this, spoke to Merien.
“So, Head Attendant! How did you feel when you found out the Princess was a princess?”
Though surprised by the sudden question, Merien soon answered honestly.
“I was shocked. Really shocked.”
How could she not be surprised?
The girl whose hair she cut was the Empire’s princess.
When she first heard the news from her husband, she thought it was a joke.
“But I also had another thought.”
Somehow, she didn’t seem ordinary.
Anyone who saw Epherna would have had such a thought.
Bergamot nodded as if she thought so too.
It was then that Epherna spoke up.
“Lady…?”
“Call me whatever makes you comfortable.”
“Then I’ll just call you Merien.”
Epherna nodded.
“I have something to ask you. About the symptoms I mentioned last time.”
“Ah… That.”
Merien’s tone became very careful.
She leaned slightly forward, beginning to listen intently.
“Did you perhaps realize or learn something about your feelings?”
Epherna shook her head in response.
“No.”
Epherna had not yet realized her own feelings.
It’s more accurate to say she was gradually discovering them.
But, she did manage to learn something through her own efforts.
“Recently, I tried acting like in a romance novel.”
The content of romance novels is always similar.
Romance novel plots are always similar. The story of a man and a woman who didn’t know each other’s existence meeting and falling in love.
Epherna read a scene where the woman in the story kissed the man on the cheek and decided to try it herself.
Because she thought the pounding heart and the tangled emotions the female protagonist felt were similar to her own symptoms.
So, she tried it and experienced a strange and fantastical sensation that couldn’t be fully described with mere words.
She had kissed with feelings close to affection, but after doing it, her face turned red, and she even thought, “Why did I do that?” to the point of feeling embarrassed.
At the same time, she felt happy.
She felt immense satisfaction, thinking she had properly expressed her goodwill and affection to the one she owed so much to, and she thought she did well.
In this way, Epherna came to faintly understand her feelings.
She was still young and inexperienced, so she hadn’t fully realized it yet, but she had a sense of what her feelings were.
She wanted to gain certainty. She wanted an answer.
Merien looked at her and pondered for a moment.
Just one step away, yet that one step seemed very far for a young girl.
Eventually, Merien spoke.
“What the princess is feeling is called love. It’s also known as affection or liking. It’s a feeling that can develop into various endless emotions.”
A pleased smile appeared on her lips.
While she wished Epherna would come to this realization on her own, she thought it was okay to give her a little push.
As an experienced person, Merien could tell that Epherna already knew.
Epherna placed her hand on her chest and, with a dazed expression, fell into thought.
“…I see.”
So this is love.
The reason I thought Mister was mine.
The reason I wanted to keep him by my side.
The reason I felt happy and my heart fluttered every time I saw him.
It was this.
Why I couldn’t live without him.
Why I wanted everything about him.
It was the moment when the inexplicable obsession found its reason.
(TLN: The title has been changed to “I Raised the Princess and Ran Away”, but I’ll keep it like this for now if you guys don’t mind since it’ll a hassle to change everything.)
