Editing/Standardisation: Medicine Melancholy
Original Translation: Medicine Melancholy
Iris
“Um, Aini-san… Do we really have to do this…?”
We were inside a room in the castle that gave the impression of being functional rather than ornate.
It was tightly locked and closed off with thick curtains so that it cannot be seen from the outside.
In addition, strict security was put in place to temporarily prohibit entry to this particular floor.
Only Aini-san and I sat face to face within this room.
My physical examination was being conducted. The strict security was to ensure that not a single word of this conversation was leaked to anyone else. However…
For almost half an hour, I’d been sitting there, clutching the hem of my dress while making a difficult face.
This was the last item left to be done during the examination, including blood tests. If it wasn’t finished, she wouldn’t be able to conclude the examination.
I wished to be done with it, too, but… I just… can’t…
“I’m sorry, this is embarrassing, but it’s also to protect you, in a way.”
“I know, but…”
“Please trust me, I consider myself a professional in this field, after all.”
With a sudden change in her atmosphere, my shoulders trembled.
She still wore a gentle smile, but the air around her was firm, as if she was determined not to back down from her duties. I guess it would be rude to keep hesitating like this to Aini-san…
“……I understand.”
I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. I steeled myself, tightly closed my eyes… and slowly lifted my skirt.
The thin dress I wore for the examination had no underwear underneath. A small cry escaped my lips as I felt the sensation of my most private place being exposed to the air in public, with nothing to protect it.
“Well then, if you excuse me… please don’t strain yourself.”
I shook my head vigorously at her words and squeezed my eyes shut… I felt like I’d die of embarrassment.
Nevertheless, she moved her fingers toward…
“…Have you calmed down now?”
“Yes… Sorry for troubling you…”
Still wiping the tears that seeped out due to the shame that was still tormenting me, I raised my face. I couldn’t stay down forever, so I took a deep breath and lifted my mood.
As I was doing that, I heard a light knock on the door. Then, a man’s voice.
“May I enter?”
It was Leonhardt-sama, the lord of this castle.
Aini-san eyed me for my opinion, and I nodded my head.
I’d already changed into normal clothes, which consisted of a blouse, long skirt and proper underwear, so there’s no problem with letting him in.
“You may come in, Leonhardt-sama. We’ve finished the examination.”
“…Pardon my intrusion.”
Leonhardt-sama then entered the room… and immediately kneeled before me.
“Your Highness Irisria… Forgive me for putting you through so much.”
“It’s fine… I understand that it’s necessary… Please, raise your head.”
He seemed really sorry about it, and I couldn’t help but hang my head, fidgeting with my fingers, but I understood where he was coming from.
The chastity of royal and noble women is important.
Since I was an unmarried royal princess who’d been missing for years, and I’d actually been kidnapped by villains, “that” is a major concern… It was a matter that had to be confirmed as a top priority.
Especially in this world, because royalty everywhere was descended from the “sacred” Lightwing bloodline, people took this matter very seriously.
In fact, in the past, when an unmarried member of the royal family lost her virginity to some unknown person, she was asked to commit suicide, or publicly treated as dead from illness and had to spend the rest of her life in captivity. Hearing about it made my blood run cold.
Therefore, it wasn’t wrong for Aini-san to say that proving my chastity was in a way, protecting me.
Still, it didn’t change the fact that I nearly died of embarrassment!
Even if it was done by another woman, it’s just… ugh…
If there was a saving grace to all this, Aini-san performed the examination quickly without changing her expression, as expected of a professional.
“So, what’s the result, Miss Aini?”
“Aside from the existing condition of the legs, there’s no problem with her health. She’s the same person who went missing years ago.”
“I see… That’s good to hear.”
“In addition , her magical wavelength perfectly matched with the sample stored in this castle… The genetic test is still pending in the capital, but at this point, it is safe to say that she is the real Princess Irisria. As one of the Selectors, I guarantee it.”
“I’ll let His Majesty know about it. Thank you for your hard work.”
“There’s no need to say that. I was simply doing my duty.”
Aini-san smiled as she said that. Back when I was about to leave that town, I heard that she left the clinic in the hand of someone else and followed me to the capital. It’s likely that she was assigned as my personal physician.
The “Selectors” she spoke of were the ones who have the rights to nominate and vote for candidates who are eligible to inherit the throne when deciding the next king in this country.
In the past, there were seven such Selectors, six most powerful nobles and a representative of the Church of Ailene. However, the scope had been expanded in recent years, and several people from the general public (most of whom are often the heads of urban areas), as well as the heads of the Knight Order, civil officials, and distant relatives of the royal family who do not have the right of succession, had been appointed. Aini-san belonged to the last category.
Because Aini-san, a Selector, recognized my identity, I’d been officially reinstated to the royal family and granted the right of succession to the throne.
…I wondered if this is good or bad. I felt complicated, but at least I wouldn’t be executed for impersonating a member of the royal family.
“…Is something the matter?”
As the two of them continued their businesslike conversation, Leonhardt-sama noticed that I had fallen silent and spoke to me.
“Um… I had a lot to think about, that’s all. I would like to go out and get some fresh air. Is that okay?”
“Then you should go out of the room and up the stairs to the right to the balcony. Today’s weather is clear, and the wind is gentle. It’s just the right temperature.”
“Thank you very much… I’ll be back soon.”
I stopped Leonhardt-sama, who was about to move to escort me, with my gaze and left the room.
The path to the stairs… My feet moved without hesitation, as if this body remembered it, and I reached it immediately.
“…Iris? Done with the examination already?”
Just as I was about to climb the stairs, a familiar voice called out from the corridor on the opposite side.
“You too, Nii-sama?”
“Yes. It looks like that I’m undoubtedly ‘Prince Saulquez’ in this world.”
Nii-sama sighed.
Since we had the same destination, I naturally took the hand offered to me and began climbing the stairs while being escorted.
“What now? I’ll let you know that I’m not the biggest fan of this inheriting the throne stuff, it’s just too much…”
“I can’t believe it’s actually happening either.”
Somehow, I managed to form a wry smile in response.
After climbing the stairs, the two of us walked leisurely down the corridor. This floor was very quiet because it only has a lookout and the roof balcony of this Rolandia Castle, which is attached to the mountainside.
I didn’t know why, but I was aware of this castle’s layout. Nii-sama next to me seemed to be the same, as there was no hesitation in his steps.
“The balcony’s here. Watch your step.”
Nii-sama went on ahead through the exit leading outside, then suddenly took my hand and pulled me out into the balcony, where a pleasant breeze was blowing.
“Wow…”
“An amazing scenery, is it not?”
A rooftop garden spread out in front of me. Not just that, this Rolandia Castle, built on the side of the mountain and took advantage of the slope, was located high enough for me to see the entire city from above.
The view was simply spectacular.
Running to the fence, I grabbed the railing and looked out at the view. It’s the time of day when people were probably enjoying tea. The early summer sun was not too strong, but it gently warmed my body. The wind that blew quietly and gently swayed my hair was very pleasant. With this scenery as a backdrop, I felt a pleasant time flowing by.
And yet, this gentle scenery was making my heart race. It seemed to be the same for Nii-sama, who was looking at it with a distant look in his eyes.
“For some reason, I feel strangely… nostalgic.”
“Tell me about it.”
This place, which was supposed to be a different world for us, where we should have stood for the first time… was as if we had known it before…
(Author’s Note)
I’ll leave it to your imagination as to what happened during the examination.
APM - Translation 