‘It suits you well.’

When she said she would go outside, the servants brought medicine to change the princess’s hair and eye color. So her hair turned brown, and her eyes changed to green.

Along with her, Reibella’s hair also took on a brown hue. It was due to the head maid’s suggestion that pink hair was too noticeable.

“It’s a fruit candy!”

At the end of the stick that the girl waved gently, there was fruit inside the transparent candy.

“It’s delicious. Try it quickly.”

The princess smiled brightly while putting the tangerine-filled candy in her mouth. Reibella was surprised to see her eating food that hadn’t been tested, but the princess just shrugged her shoulders.

Then she held out and waved the fruit candy in her other hand. Reibella accepted the candy with thanks.

“Since Lady Dona and Michelle said they’ll arrive shortly, shall we watch that performance over there?”

The princess’s eyes rolled toward a circus performance venue.

‘It might be better to stay in one place, actually.’

When Reibella nodded readily, the excited princess moved forward.

Just as Reibella was about to follow as if being led, the princess bumped into someone, causing the flower-shaped pin in her hair to fall to the ground.

Unaware of this, the princess hurried along with excited steps.

The flower-shaped pin was a birthday gift from Dona, she had said. Since she cherished it greatly, she said she only wore it when meeting with Dona.

Reibella confirmed the knights were following the princess and immediately picked up the pin from the ground.

And just as she was about to follow the princess…

Suddenly, crowds poured out from where the circus was being held.

Reibella tried to push through the crowd to reach the princess, but whether the knights had driven out the spectators or not, everyone was moving urgently, making it impossible to get close.

Only after watching the crowd disperse for quite some time could Reibella enter the circus tent.

Since the interior was sparse, Reibella thought she could easily find the princess.

However……

‘Where is she?’

No matter how much she looked around, the princess was nowhere to be seen. Moreover, the knights who should have been hovering around the princess were also not visible.

‘Surely, she hasn’t been kidnapped?’

No. If she had been kidnapped, the knights would have rushed out in droves to search for the princess, so that couldn’t be it.

‘Then did she go somewhere else in the meantime?’

Going somewhere else without saying anything?

Could it be that they abandoned her?

‘No. The princess isn’t that kind of person.’

If they were going to abandon her, it would have been more certain to do so in a remote mountain area rather than the capital center.

‘Then either they temporarily left due to the crowd, or they went without realizing I was missing.’

They might have temporarily vacated the area, judging it could be dangerous due to the large crowd.

Or perhaps they had coincidentally met another lady here, and being preoccupied with that, hadn’t realized that one maid had disappeared.

Whatever the reason, the fact that she was separated from the princess was crystal clear.

……What should she do?

‘Have I become a lost child?’

And with just the princess’s precious pin in hand, at that.

This situation, it would be fine, right?

‘……Should I go back?’

Though she thought about looking around more, it seemed likely she would just get swept away by the crowd again with her tiny child’s body.

‘With the princess’s personality, she might come looking for me as soon as she realizes I’m missing.’

If they had temporarily withdrawn due to the large crowd and safety concerns, they would likely return here soon to watch the circus. Or even if they belatedly realized they had forgotten one maid, they would surely come here, the last place they had seen each other.

So Reibella decided to wait a while.

Taking a seat near the entrance to the performance venue, Reibella casually watched people passing by.

‘Everyone looks so happy.’

Children holding their parents’ hands, children in their parents’ arms.

Couples walking by swinging their interlocked hands and merchants smiling as they sold goods at bustling stalls.

It was a world full of happiness.

‘Looking at it this way, it really feels like I’m the only one detached from this world.’

A life with no one to search for you, no one to walk with.

‘Though I couldn’t see them, there must be many people who are struggling.’

Somewhere, there must surely be people living lonely, desolate, difficult, and painful lives. But seeing all the people before her eyes looking so happy, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she alone was unhappy in this world.

‘What’s so special about happiness?’

When her family was exterminated and she lost her parents, she thought it was the end of the world. There was a time when everything felt empty and meaningless.

But now there were quite a few enjoyable things.

On days when the sky was bright and clear, it was enjoyable to take a nap under a large tree feeling the gentle breeze, and it was quite happy when she sat in a small corner where no one visited, eating fruit secretly picked from the garden trees while savoring its sweetness.

A smile naturally formed on her lips when she conversed with the red-eyed boy.

‘I’m happy enough now. I’ll be even happier in the future.’

A day will surely come when she’ll be ten times, twenty times happier than now, when everyone in this world will envy her.

Thinking that way somehow made her heart swell. Strength welled up. A smile seeped onto her lips.

‘I wonder when the princess will come.’

I hope she comes looking for me soon. 

 * * *

 ‘……Did they completely forget about me?’

Otherwise, there was no way there would be no news after waiting for nearly an hour.

The knights, the maid who came together, and the princess. They must not know that ‘Reibella’ had disappeared.

‘Was my presence this insignificant?’

Well. Come to think of it, even when walking around the imperial palace, people strangely failed to notice Reibella’s existence. Perhaps because she didn’t appear even once in the novel, even her presence was faint.

‘No. They might not realize it because they’re too focused on something else.’

They might have really met the ladies, or found something interesting and become completely absorbed in it, forgetting about her.

‘I’m like a lost child waiting for their mother.’

Like that crying child beside me.

Reibella’s gaze turned to the small child sitting next to her.

She was a girl who appeared about four years old, who had arrived crying a little while ago.

When the child first approached crying, she thought the parents would come looking for her soon. Worried about being misunderstood as making her cry if she approached, she had just watched quietly.

But even after quite some time had passed, the parents didn’t appear. The child, overcome with fear, just continued to sob.

Because of that, people’s gazes were starting to fix on them.

Saying why wasn’t she taking care of her sister.

Telling her to quickly comfort the child because it was noisy.

Though she felt upset at the unfair accusations, Reibella was also concerned.

So she carefully asked.

“Did you lose your mom?”

The child who had been sniffling all along slowly nodded.

‘What do people usually do when they lose a child?’

First, when they realize their child is missing, they’ll be shocked and hurriedly look around calling the child’s name. They would surely search here and there for the child, and then find the capital guard.

‘I should take her to the guard.’

After finishing her thought, Reibella said to the child.

“Shall we go look for your mom? There are capital guard knights over there. If you stay there, your mom will come looking for you.”

“……M-mom told me to stay still. She said she’ll definitely come find me.”

“Did your mom tell you to stay in that spot if you got separated? That she’d definitely come find you?”

The child nodded.

‘Isn’t this a signal not to follow?’

That’s usually what happens when they’re about to abandon a child……

Though she was a bit worried, looking at the child’s appearance, except for her face that was messy with tears, her braided hair was neat and her nails, lips, and visible body were clean.

She was undoubtedly a child who had received loving care from her parents.

If they lived nearby, asking about the parents’ faces or names to find them could be one way.

“What does your mom look like?”

“Like mom……”

“……Right, she looks like mom. And dad looks like dad?”

The child’s head bobbed.

“What are your mom and dad’s names?”

The child shook her head. Being in what was probably the biggest crisis of her life, she seemed unable to think of anything.

‘It might be better to just wait.’

If they didn’t come after waiting a bit longer, it would be better to go to the guard with the child.

But before that, there was a need to stop the child’s tears.