The Bewilderment of the Sacrificial Second Princess

Chapter 81: Poleinia Royal City Sightseeing 1

“Starting today, I will be serving as your guide during your stay. I am Dullahunt, a civil servant at the palace. It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Highnesses, Prince Baratonia and Princess.”

The person we met at the entrance hall was a young man with naturally white hair, wearing a black long coat, white pants, and a black cloth headband with silver thread embroidery. He seemed to be around the same age as Lord Balk. From the black headband and the embroidery, it seems he is different from a commoner, but he has no decorations on him.

His skin is white and he has a tall, slender posture. His sharp-looking eyes are golden, and even though he is a man, he has red in the corners, which suits him well. However, his way of speaking is calm, or rather, flat.

I had heard that nobles wear ornaments. I was wondering when Auglia-sama chuckled as if troubled.

“Please call me Auglia, Dullahunt. Using that name might make me stand out too much in the city. After all, I changed my outfit.”

I will add my own words in response.

“My name is Claire, and these are Hillian, my interpreter, and Melissa and Gwenna, my maids and bodyguards. Nice to meet you.”

“Bodyguards…?”

Dullahunt raises an eyebrow in surprise. It seems he was taken aback by the fact that the two maids who are not armed and don’t seem well-trained are supposed to be bodyguards. On the other hand, Dullahunt is wearing a black sword without a scabbard.

In contrast, Melissa and Gwenna seem to be unarmed, but they softly touch the cloth near their thighs and waists to show Dullahunt, who is suspicious, that they have weapons ready to be drawn at any moment, but in a subtle way.

For Dullahunt, a bodyguard is supposed to intimidate by showing weapons, which is what both Auglia-sama and Dullahunt do. Women’s weapons would stand out even more, and most importantly, the Shadows of Nejia is secretly following us.

This matter is also confidential in the Poleinia Kingdom, and Gauche wouldn’t make any mistakes that would reveal it.

“Understood. Then, Auglia-sama, Claire-sama, and Hillian-dono, Melissa-dono, Gwenna-dono, please. We will go to the castle town by horse-drawn carriage.”

“Thank you. I’ll rely on you.”

Everyone boarded the large horse-drawn carriage that was parked outside with Dullahunt. There was no lack of space and the seats were comfortable and spacious.

We didn’t stay in the capital and went straight to the castle, so today they would start with a tour of the capital at their feet.

They had seen it when they came, but all the buildings were one-story buildings. However, they seemed to be taller than normal one-story buildings. When they asked Dullahunt about it in the carriage, he gave a precise explanation.

“Poleinia is not too hot in the summer and it snows in the winter. Especially from the beginning of February to around February, there is a lot of snow accumulation and it melts quickly from then on. So, if the ceiling is low, it is easily affected by the outside temperature, and if you don’t use thick and hard wood, the house can collapse from the snow on the roof. Therefore, instead of building high-rise buildings, the ceilings should be as high as possible, with small windows in the ceiling to let the wind in during the summer, and in the winter, the hot air from the fireplace goes to the top…”

“Ah, I see. The warmer the air is, the higher it goes, right? So it melts the snow on the roof? Wooden structures conduct heat less than brick, so I guess that means it’s cooler in the summer.”

“…Yes, that’s right. The snow season is a small part of the year. It’s a good building for the land.”

“How wonderful. The palace was also made of wood, and the corridor was raised from the ground…”

“There is a roof, but the snow does not fall straight down. In winter, the roof is covered with paper screens and it overcomes the cold and snow. Snow accumulation to some extent has better insulation than just a cold winter, so snow removal is limited to the road.”

When I heard “We’ve arrived.” coming from the chauffeur’s seat, Auglia-sama was listening to me and Dullahunt’s conversation with a smile. The other three had a slightly troubled look on their faces as if to say “Here we go again.”

Dullahunt himself didn’t seem to mind and was actually happy that his country was of interest. He opened the door and got out first, saying “Let’s go.” Auglia-sama and I got out next and, upon seeing the chauffeur holding the door open, we both briefly widened our eyes and then I nonchalantly placed my hand on Auglia-sama’s arm.

Gauche was the chauffeur. I decided not to ask how or when he became one in the palace, but I thought to myself, “Well done for being able to attach yourself so well.”

Dullahunt probably didn’t know about this. Gauche had to accompany us as a chauffeur and baggage carrier. Hillian was behind Dullahunt, then Auglia-sama and I were lined up, followed by Melissa and Gwenna, with Gauche following the rear.

It seems that Melissa and Gwenna pretending not to know.If they showed it on their faces, they wouldn’t be able to be maids of the Crown Princess of the Baratonia Kingdom.

“Well, shall we go?”

Saying that, Dullahunt started walking slowly towards the bustling street.