The Princess in the Chicken Coop - Chapter 2.5
[An aura-wielding knight, for my protection?]
“Yes.”
In an era where the number of magicians was decreasing and their abilities were drastically declining, it was natural for knights to rise in status. With the increasing number of knights came greater differences in skill levels. At the pinnacle of these knights were the aura users.
This meant the knight before her was just as rare and valuable as a magician.
Unable to read Soria’s expression, Lenok proudly straightened his shoulders.
“What do you think? This is my favor to you for your contributions to the empire.”
Lenok waited for praise with a satisfied expression.
It seemed somewhat reasonable that he expected at least that much, considering how much effort it took to pry Megan away from the protesting Knight Commander.
However, Soria turned her gaze away from the confidently smiling Lenok and looked at Megan instead.
[You must have been through a lot, Dame.]
The servants who couldn’t understand Soria’s words maintained perfectly peaceful expressions. The maids’ expressions were equally serene. Even the emperor’s aide looked at Princess Soria’s clucking with a gentle face.
Had they understood, they would have all grabbed their necks in shock and begged Lenok to punish Soria, but unfortunately, her words could only be heard by a chosen few.
And one of those few, Lenok, had long grown accustomed to her attitude, so the only one who was flustered was…
“N-no, not at all! As a knight who has dedicated body and soul to His Majesty, whatever the mission might be…”
Only Megan.
“Ha! Princess Soria, you seem to misunderstand, but assigning Dame Megan as your guard itself means that I…”
[If I may remind Your Majesty, since you seem to have forgotten, I am a magician.]
“What of it?”
[Assigning an aura user as a guard to a magician! What a waste of talent!! It’s not like we have an abundance of talented people!]
“No, you see, this is my way of showing you…”
[The talent is crying, Your Majesty!]
If you’re going to use them like this, you might as well give them to me! Soria cried out, lamenting Lenok’s personnel decision.
Lenok protested indignantly.
“Ha! Why should you snatch away a knight who has dedicated their sword to the empire!”
[Haven’t you heard of asylum? Asylum? If nationality changes, they’re no longer an imperial citizen, thus no longer an imperial knight!]
“Asylum!! Princess, you clearly don’t understand, but currently, the most prosperous and pleasant country on the continent is this Crotia…”
[Though Syenn is a small country, it values its people highly!]
“I value them too! Very highly in fact! Do you even know how much effort I had to put in to take her away when the Knight Commander absolutely refused to let her go?”
[The Knight Commander must have had quite a struggle too!]
Megan blankly looked back and forth between the man and woman who showed neither courtesy nor consideration for each other.
She had risen to this position through recognized talent despite her commoner birth. While effort played a part, it was also possible thanks to luck being on her side throughout the process.
Luck. Megan quietly thought. It seemed that faithful companion called luck was starting to run dry.
She looked once at Soria and Lenok who were starting to get heated, and once at those who awkwardly watched the emperor boasting while completely misreading the situation.
‘Perhaps it’s better not to understand.’
Those two need to find true, destined love to break the curse?
Megan’s eyes darkened with despair.
‘…I wonder if that’s even possible in this lifetime.’
She meant it sincerely.
***
[Good heavens. Really. A guard!]
After discarding the cumbersome necklace and crown in the distance, and having managed to slip away from her guard Megan, she shuddered as she voiced her complaints.
[I’ll have you know I’m perfectly capable of protecting myself, even as a chicken!]
Of course, she soon hung her head with a deeply self-loathing expression after realizing she had referred to herself as a ‘chicken’.
Soria continued walking while muttering.
[A chicken. A chicken! No, Soria. Get it together. You’re human. Human!]
Her voice sounded somehow sorrowful as she muttered like she was trying to brainwash herself.
So distracted, Soria didn’t even realize how far she had wandered. It was a mistake born from being used to the Syenn palace, which could be fully toured in a day if one was determined. The imperial palace was considerable in size even just counting the palace alone, so getting lost was inevitable.
Suddenly coming to her senses, Soria raised her head and blinked blankly. Only then did she realize that she had lost her way.
[…Huh? Where exactly am I?]
Soria looked around. Until just moments ago, expensive and luxurious items had been everywhere. Paintings lined up along the walls, vases, and brightly blooming flowers.
But now the four walls surrounding her were bare, without any decorations.
Forget decorations…
“You bastard!! You call this an onion? Huh? Is this what you call an onion?!”
Busy people moving about, endless shouts ringing out, and billowing smoke rising up.
Soria, feeling uneasy in the unfamiliar atmosphere, took a slight step backward.
Though she didn’t know where this was, she thought she should flee first. Just as she was thinking this, her eyes met with those of a man who was walking out while breathing heavily.
Blink. Blink.
“Huh? Why is there a chicken…?”
The servants and maids had already been briefed about Soria. Her golden-yellow eyes and tail feathers that had turned slightly golden.
Because of this, they could identify Soria even without her crown or pearl necklace.
However, most unfortunately for Soria…
“A chicken…”
[No, I’m…]
The kitchen staff hadn’t yet been informed about her.
“Cluck!”
And since the head chef was neither a magician nor a knight, he couldn’t understand Soria’s words at all.
“Cluck?”
To be more precise, to him who had handled countless chickens, Soria was just a chicken.
A slightly unusual-looking chicken.
But no matter how unusual a chicken looks, it’s still just a chicken, isn’t it? Naturally, he thought that one of tonight’s dinner ingredients had escaped.
Not only had an ingredient escaped, but it was also wandering freely around the palace! How could this be acceptable? If any distinguished guest were to see this, he would surely be held responsible for everything.
The head chef’s eyes glinted as he finished this thought.
“A chicken has escaped!! What have you all been doing, not properly managing the ingredients!!”
It was a shout that made the kitchen reverberate. The head chef rolled up his sleeves with a grave expression.
[No, I’m not a chicken… Kyak! Kyaaak! Knife, knife, kniiiife!!]
And at his grave demeanor, Soria fled in terror, forgetting even her magic.
In the head chef’s hand was the knife he had been using to chop onions, and that knife was now pointed at her. Soria, who had never faced a knife in her entire life including before being cursed, was terrified by its sharp edge.
[Kyaaaaaak!!]
With her reason gone, she moved purely on chicken instinct.
“Cluck, cluck-cluck-cluuuuck─!!”
Making full use of her experience of being caught once by Lenok, she desperately took flight. Her chicken feet kicked off the ground with force. The skills honed over 147 years hadn’t gone anywhere.
The head chef stared blankly at the tail end of the chicken that had barely escaped his grasp, then burned with anger.
“Stop right there, you damn chicken!!”
Swoosh, swoosh─.
The kitchen knife being brandished in the air was threatening. However, Soria, who had been running like mad just moments ago, suddenly stopped as if she had never been running at all.
‘Damn chicken, he says. DAMN CHICKEN!!’
The princess, who had never heard such vulgar language even in passing throughout her entire life, turned her head with eyes full of rage. Her eyes blazed as she looked up at the much taller head chef.
[How dare you!! I am Syenn Brianne V. Sori- Kyak! Kyaaaak! Just listen when someone’s talking!]
“Get over here!”
The head chef stomped his feet in anger, huffing and puffing as Soria kept slipping through his grasp. How could a chicken be this nimble?
The eyes of the man who had dedicated his entire life to cooking began to blaze.
“I’ll show mercy and roast you whole, so just quietly let me catch…”
His forcefully swung hand caught Soria’s leg. Naturally, her vision swayed for a moment.
As her body tilted along with her wavering vision, a gleam appeared in the head chef’s eyes.
“Got you!”
His arm stretched out as if to snatch Soria right away. However, there was someone faster than the head chef.
“What’s going on here?”
Lenok asked while catching Soria, who had nearly planted her face on the floor.
The head chef, annoyed at the unexpected intruder, looked up irritably but immediately prostrated himself upon seeing Lenok.
“Y-Your Majesty!!”
[Oh my! My wings, my wings are alright, aren’t they?]
Soria finally let out a sigh of relief at the appearance of a familiar face.
Lenok looked at the head chef while pushing away Soria, who kept trying to burrow into his arms for some reason.
It was pure coincidence that this strange scene had caught his eye while returning to the palace after finishing his work.
A head chef running around with a kitchen knife, and a white chicken being chased by said chef.
Normally, this would have been a sight he wouldn’t have given a second glance, but when the chicken being chased starts speaking, that’s a different story altogether.
“…I asked what’s going on here.”
“My deepest apologies!! Due to poor management, a chicken escaped and I was trying to catch it!”
“Esca…”
Escape, he says. Lenok looked down at Soria with an odd feeling, his gaze asking what exactly was going on here.
Soria avoided his gaze. Her beak was tightly shut, clearly indicating she wouldn’t answer. However, no explanation was necessary. From her somewhat reddened face, Lenok could roughly guess the situation.
‘Not only was she mistaken for a chicken, but she was running away like mad, is that it?’
Looking at just the facts, it was enough to make one’s head spin.
While the imperial palace was vast, it was also filled with many people coming and going. Running around like mad in such a place, she was bound to be noticed.
‘Rumors will surely spread.’
Considering the nobles who were already reluctant about Soria, this development wasn’t particularly good. Such ridiculous gossip before they could even win their hearts over.
Surely that would be the case, and yet…
“Pfft.”
Lenok barely managed to hold back the laughter that threatened to burst out. Though he couldn’t stop the sound of air escaping.
The head chef, who had slightly raised his head, wore a puzzled expression.
