Delfina clapped her hands and smiled brightly.
"It's also great to spread the grass. Ave also needs a space to run and jump comfortably."
"That's right. Furthermore, the Jade Palace where our Prince Cesar stays is in such shabby shape. It would be difficult if anyone saw and thought Her Majesty the Queen despised me and my husband, wouldn't it?"
“Sure, that's something that deserves punishment.”
I smiled evilly and looked out the window. There, I saw the knights of the White Rose Cross standing around talking to each other.
"That's interesting, those strong guys who stand guard in front of our Luc Ngoc Palace every day look like they have a lot of free time, don't they?"
"If we give them work, won't they be happy? Labor is glorious."
We said then looked at each other, giggling.
The fact that Countess Elvira did not appear bothered me. But hey, it's probably nothing, right? Festivals are more important.
“Cesar, let's go to the festival.”
"Festival?"
"We're going to rehearse for the gala. Have you ever been out of town?"
Caesar nodded. I smiled more mischievously and added:
“So have you ever sneaked out?”
Cesar quickly shook his head. Both Delfina and he were brand new to the festival thing.
“Leave it to me.”
Among the three of us, I am the one who knows the festival best. Therefore, I need to guide them well to create good memories.
It seemed like a great idea for the three of us, Delfina, Cesar, and I, to go see the festival together. However, to do that, many things need to be prepared.
The first thing to do is to assign the job to those annoying knights of the Order of the White Cross. It's a lot of work, enough for them to have no free time to pay attention to us.
We excused ourselves from sunbathing, brought blankets and joined Cesar, Delfina, and Ave in the garden. As we stepped out, the knights of the White Rose Cross Association immediately approached.
With every step I took, the keys on my belt rattled, and I felt their eyes on my belt. Because this is an item that only the owner of the citadel is allowed to use.
“Hey you.”
I called a familiar person among them. That was the captain of the guard, the one who was strangled by Cesar. But his appearance has changed a lot.
The golden ring, the captain's symbol, has disappeared. The metal buckle on the chest, the symbol of the captain of the guard, is no longer a relief of a two-winged eagle but only has one wing. Furthermore, his arrogant attitude had disappeared without a trace, his appearance looked much shabbier than before, and he was also holding the support equipment of another knight standing next to him.
“Aren't you the leader of this team?”
I asked curiously, his face was red and he was speechless. Another man stepped out from behind.
It was a brown-haired man with a muscular body and an extremely cold expression, looking at me strangely.
"Glory of the Holy Cross, Your Royal Highness. I am Vittorio, captain of the 3rd division's guard, just transferred to the 2nd division."
He bowed to me in a low voice. I tilted my head.
“You mean the captain of the guard was replaced without any report to me, the owner of this Jade Palace, do you know?”
I asked, they nervously rolled their eyes continuously. Vittorio, the new captain of the guard, cleared his throat and answered on their behalf.
"Please forgive me, Your Highness. The fact that I was sent here is something new today. Furthermore, everything that happened was in a state of chaos."
I smirked.
"Chaos? You knights were unaware when I almost drowned in the pond. Are people like you still valuable as guardians?"
Delfina, standing next to her, also chimed in.
"Certainly. There have been several times when they neglected their duties when their Highnesses were in danger."
I glanced at them with contempt, tension clearly visible on the knights' faces.
“Maybe you should report it to your superiors.”
I intentionally shook it
belt
given directly by the Queen on her fingertips, creating a jingling sound. They clearly understand the meaning of this action.
A heavy silence prevailed. Everyone broke into a cold sweat. I started a speech in a high-pitched tone.
"Okay, I'll ask again. What is your job?"
Vittorio, the new captain of the guard, hastily answered.
"That is. Ensuring the safety of your Highnesses and—"
“Safety guaranteed.”
I interrupted him. He glanced at me and then swallowed his saliva out of nervousness.
“Safe, safe……”
I shook my head, pointing at this messy garden.
"Captain of the guard Vittorio. Look, does this place seem safe?"
The garden is desolate with dry branches and rotten roots. Abandoned items, broken ceramic pieces, and even pieces of glass were scattered about. Those things look pretty dangerous.
He didn't know what to do, so he just swallowed, then cleared his throat and answered.
"That. Yes. It's not too dangerous..."
"Hmm, does that answer mean that according to the captain of the guard, this place is safe? So how about trying to roll around here?"
“……”
He fell silent, as if he had been hit in a weak spot. Several times he showed a puzzled expression, not knowing what he was thinking.
“Since this place is so safe, why don't you lie down there and make yourself at home?”
When I urged and shouted, he immediately bowed his head.
“Sorry, Your Royal Highness the Princess.”
"Okay, it's good to know your mistakes. Then you guys have to make this a 'safe' place for me."
“Your Highness means ‘safe’?”
I tilted my head a few times then smiled innocently.
"A dangerous and scary garden like this, isn't it too bad? It looks so uncomfortable and lonely. I want to plant more trees. And lots of flowers too. Just in time, this is the 'White Rose Cross Society', so please plant some roses for me, worthy of that name."
“Us?”
“What do you mean to make us do it?”
At my words, they simultaneously raised their heads in protest. Because growing roses is a job that requires a lot of labor.
To grow roses, you must apply enough fertilizer. That means they have to spend all day moving dirty bags of manure mixed with chicken manure in wheelbarrows. The quantity was huge, and they had to dig deep to bury them to avoid the bad smell. In short, it was hard, dirty and smelly work.
In fact, in the Royal Palace there were servants who specialized in this job. It is understandable that forcing noble children, who were raised in luxury, to do work that only lowly people would do, makes them uncomfortable. Furthermore, the one giving the orders was me, the person they despised and despised.
I raised my head arrogantly again and gave an order.
"I also want to spread the grass. The ground must be leveled, without a single stone remaining. So that Prince Cesar can walk 'safely'."
That means they have to spend their days picking rocks in this gravel garden, pulling weeds and doing heavy, bent-over work.
"Surely you guys aren't so bad that you can't do this? You're knights. It's said that someone can move an entire mountain with a shovel, let alone the knight of Her Majesty the great and honorable Queen? There's no way this small garden can't be changed."
When I mentioned the Queen, their eyes were filled with despair. Whether the Queen or them don't like me, the fact that the Queen officially rewarded me is an undeniable fact.
“If you can't do it then…”
When I intentionally prolonged my sentence, Vittorio glared at me and then quickly shouted.
“We will fix it immediately.”
At that moment, I smiled brightly and clapped my hands.
"Ah, that's right. I want a pond. 'Our prince' loves to play in water."
“Ah, the pond……”
“Wouldn't it be nice to plant more water lilies and release some small fish?”
Their faces gradually turned pale. Growing water lilies is also hard work. They had to fight leeches, compact mud to the bottom and plant lotus roots by hand.
“Yes, after all, during the festival time, isn't the job of guarding the Royal Palace quite leisurely?”
“T-That……”
“Or, you can't do it?”
I glanced at him, and he answered in a voice that lost all strength.
“We will fix it……”
Finally, I smiled brightly and brightly.
“That's right, the sooner the deadline the better.”
Vittorio was sweating profusely, swallowing saliva.
“Exactly how long……”
“About three days is okay?”
The whole team groaned, then immediately sent angry looks to one person. That was the former captain of the guard, who once commanded this 2nd division. Although this coercion had a legitimate reason to go see the Spring Equinox festival, I didn't need to worry about where their resentment was directed.
Noticing the harsh gaze from his teammates, he felt awkward, his shoulders shrinking. Soon, his face turned white as lime.