A girl opened her eyes.
A morning like any other in her room.
She observed her canopy bed as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
Her large, ruby-red eyes turned to the door, which was being gently knocked on.
"Enter."
The girl said it as if calling a dog.
The door opened, and a woman in Victorian maid clothing appeared.
"Good morning, ojou-sama."
After her cordial greeting, she headed to the other end of the room.
The girl watched as she walked elegantly, passing by enormous stuffed animals and a table with a large mirror amidst all that.
Upon reaching the end of the room, the maid pulled open a large part of the curtain in one go. Sunrays entered through the window, making the girl cover her face. The maid didn't notice because she was tying the curtains with the rope hanging at the side.
After that, she went to the girl's bed, elegantly removed the sheet, and arranged it down to her small feet.
After folding the sheet, the girl turned on her side on the bed, and the maid placed two fine cloth slippers underneath for the girl to put on. There was a red carpet covering the entire room; even the maid used the same type of fabric to enter.
Before getting off the bed to put them on, the girl said a few words to the maid.
"You're fired. Your greeting lacked respect, you made noise while walking and that woke me up, you allowed my fragile eyes to be exposed to the harmful light. Before you leave, call another maid."
The maid, without saying a word, only nodded her head. But as she stood up, tears could be seen flowing from her like waterfalls.
Upon leaving the room, she left the door open. The girl didn't hear it close and, shaking her head, said, "The service loses class every day. Is it so hard to hire capable commoners or nobles?"
She got off the bed delicately and put on the slippers with the same grace.
She headed to the table with the large mirror, and there was a golden-colored stuffed bear waiting for her.
She picked it up and sat down to wait for some maid to come.
Then a voice sounded from the door. It was an old maid who had come to attend to her.
"Good morning, ojou-sama. Did you wake up well on this pleasant morning?"
The girl, upon hearing it, responded.
"Yes, that is how a maid should present herself. You may enter."
"Thank you for your words. Excuse me."
Without making noise, the maid walked to the girl and then, delicately, took her long blonde hair. It was very golden to be just blonde hair.
After taking it affectionately, she proceeded to brush it with a comb encrusted with diamonds.
The girl remained still despite feeling a bit of pain, as her own hair became like that in the mornings. She couldn't blame anyone for there not being a beauty product to help her with it.
"May I ask you something, ojou-sama?" said the maid politely.
"What is it?" responded the girl, imagining what it was.
"May I ask you to please not fire the new girl? She hasn't been learning the proper manners for very long. I apologize if my question interferes with your wish."
"..."
There was a small silence, and the girl responded timidly.
"I-I know... I was just trying to make her understand that her behavior would bring her problems at her job... m-maybe I overdid it a little..."
"Just a little, Ojou-sama?"
"Guhh!! You sure are persistent, Felicia!!"
"Ara~ ojou-sama got upset with me. Will I be fired, perhaps?"
At her little joke, the girl quickly turned to look at her. Her ruby-colored eyes were moist, and with a tearful voice, she said, "Don't even say that as a joke!!"
Upon hearing that, the maid screamed internally, (The ojou-sama is so cute!!) followed by, (She's so adorable with those rabbit eyes! I want to dress her up like a limited edition doll!!) Those and other disturbing thoughts presented themselves in her head.
After calming her, they returned to brushing her hair, but before the second brushing, she asked her highest priority.
"Ojou-sama, can we reintegrate the recently fired girl?"
With a "Hmph!" she responded, adding.
"Likewise, my father is the only one with that power. My brother is at the military academy, and mother is busy with the queen. My word is the most inferior in the family. If she believed that, her head is very messed up as a human being."
Cruel words came out of that little mouth. That girl...
"I suppose I should tell her that the kind Alisa-sama allowed her to redeem her mistake, fufufu."
...was Alicelotte von Bismarck.
After finishing her long hair, she tied it into a large ponytail, and then they left the room to go to the bathroom to brush her teeth and take a bath before breakfast.
◇◇◇
"Ojou-sama, your dress is ready for today's party."
The maid named Felicia spoke to Alisa after finishing her breakfast.
"Understood. Will father and mother go today, or just me, alone again?"
"The master and mistress will be busy with various matters. Your brother is busy with the academy, and his day off passed some time ago."
"Is that so, very well. Have my carriage ready to arrive before dark."
"As you order, Ojou-sama."
The maid withdrew after that, after showing her respectful dismissal.
The girl was eating her dessert. It wasn't the first time this happened to her, and she was used to it, but a shadow of loneliness was reflected in her beautiful eyes.
◇◇◇
The place was a party area in the palace of the Kingdom of Altfode. It was a meeting hall that had been arranged to celebrate a small social gathering.
Despite being a meeting hall and a small social gathering, the place was very huge, and the guests were over fifty children of the aristocracy. Counting the adults and servants, the number reached almost one hundred thirteen.
The surroundings were bustling with people wanting to greet the prince. Among the bustle, one group stood out: several adults praising a girl of about eight years old. Her dress was white with flower adornments sewn to form a band.
"Truly, Miss Alicelotte, for being a young girl, you are very mature for your age."
"Even though my daughter is the same age as you, you behave much more educated and sophisticated than her."
"I would like to have a daughter like you. Your beauty will increase with your bodily growth."
She received many compliments from the adults. That was because she displayed the grace of the young daughter of a duke's house.
That's what the girl thought, but for the surroundings, it was very different. Rather, it seemed like she was boasting her pride as a duke's daughter to the adults, which bothered some.
A guard entered the room to make an announcement.
"Everyone, please pay attention! His Highness the Crown Prince, Liam von Altfode-sama, is entering!"
The people suddenly fell silent, and the door opened. A boy with platinum-colored hair entered, and the people around him crowded to greet him.
Alisa watched them and waited for the crowd to thin a bit to go greet him, but someone approached her, and she greeted him.
"Good evening, young Klein of House Kingsfort."
"Good evening, Alice. Are you enjoying your evening?"
It was a boy of the same age. His hair was blonde, covering his left eye, and with emerald green eyes.
"Yes. The adults have praised my correct way of behaving. Undoubtedly, I am a great example to follow for the young aristocracy."
"Is that so... look, the prince is no longer being hounded by the adults."
Alisa looked where Klein pointed and, with an elegant curtsy, said goodbye to go to the prince.
She didn't notice that the boy's gaze transformed from a sweet smile to a face of repugnance.
In his thoughts, he was saying terrible words to her as he watched her talk with the prince.
(She truly is a very bothersome woman. She doesn't realize the adults are only trying to get to her father through her. The other children know it and that's why they don't approach her.)
The prince made a face of discomfort that was barely concealed when talking with Alisa. He asked her to excuse him because he had to go greet other equally important people.
Alisa gave him a curtsy when saying goodbye, but her face looked a little depressed. She didn't notice that the prince's face changed its expression when a somewhat untrustworthy-looking adult spoke to him. Only Klein noticed it and headed there, but not before noticing that Alisa was alone and stayed in a corner eating cake until it was time for her to be picked up.
◇◇◇
The party time had ended, and finally, her carriage had arrived, but not before saying goodbye to the prince. After leaving the room, she peeked through a window to see how the prince smiled with his guests. During the entire party, he never showed that expression while he was near her. She proceeded to leave the palace to enter her carriage.
Her carriage was what one would expect from someone of high society and aristocracy. It had elegant adornments and her family's crest on the doors, the rear, and even on the horses pulling the carriage.
She was seated like a young lady, but as time passed, she slumped like a deflated cushion.
She looked out the window and observed the scenery around her as it changed from fine, classy mansions to simple, unadorned urban areas.
The carriage suddenly stopped because a strange train they called a bus was passing in front.
A cart stopped beside it. The cart looked very old and would collapse at any moment. Unlike the carriage, which used horses—four, in fact—the cart had only a donkey which transported a strange object called a plasma tree that serves as a motor in this world.
She paid no attention to them, much less to the bad smell emanating from the people in the cart, who were two: a father and his son. The carriage driver did notice but couldn't do or say anything.
The boy spoke to his father...
"We had to come to the capital because that stupid kid broke the boat's motor. When I get back, I'll make him work more than this donkey!!"
And the father responded.
"Lyle, I already told you he's a fool. He was surprised when that builder used a worker unit to move the rocks to the other side of the house. I truly wonder what I did to have such a foolish child?"
She didn't hear the conversation despite it being very loud. She thought they were commoners due to their lack of education and the rags they wore.
It seemed the last bus was finishing crossing.
She thought that this torment would finally end.
"Truly, having a son as foolish as Rudel is a headache."
Only that simple phrase made her move her head towards the direction from which that voice came, but it was too late. The carriage and the cart were going to different destinations, but she only paid attention to that word.
"Rudel..."
For her, that word held no sense or meaning... but that was what seemed strange to her. She had never heard of someone having the name of an object. She was bewildered.
Her gaze suddenly focused on the moon, which shone so intensely that its glow illuminated the streets and cities.
Her hand on the carriage window stretched inside as if trying to reach it. She didn't know why she was doing that, but it seemed she was trying to reach for something or someone.
◇◇◇
At the same time the girl raised her arm trying to grab the moon, a boy was also doing it, giving the impression of wanting to escape from there.
He was in a field cultivating until late at night. He was ragged and his hair was disheveled.
The boy was suddenly called by an older boy who, like him, had the same hair color. Dark black.
"Hey, if you're done, come inside. It's getting cold... What's with that look?"
After being called by the boy, the child turned to him.
He had eyes that seemed to be those of a hunter. He had bags under his eyes, perhaps from not sleeping much. The child responded like an obedient dog without sounding offensive.
"This is just my face. I'm not looking at you with ill will."
"Is that so... anyway, come in now."
"... Okay."
The boy entered, leaving the door open while the child murmured to himself as he left a large adult shovel in the shed.
(It truly is horrible to live in a fantasy world...)
He was called by the boy once more.
"Rudel, hurry up already!!"
"Coming."
The child entered his small, dirty, battered house to sleep and repeat this again tomorrow.
◇◇◇
Alisa had already arrived at her home in the royal capital and was ready to sleep after a normal day in her normal life.
The only problem was that she couldn't stop thinking about that strange name.
"Rudel..."
She murmured that and then closed her eyelids to wake up the next morning to a new day in her normal life.
Unfortunately, this sad girl was destined to suffer a terrible fate in the future. She would become a villainess in this world, this fantasy world with an RPG theme. She would harass her rival, the main heroine, both verbally and physically, only to then receive a punishment that would end her life, but...
"... Rudel..."
Said the girl, sleeping peacefully.
Destiny is not written in stone, and a new morning will open for her in the future, one where she can be happy, as her name indicates.