Aobara-hime no Yarinaoshi Kakumeiki Chapter 3

Hi all, I’ve been wanting to translate more, but have been sick and unexpectedly busier than I thought. I’m quite free right now though, so hopefully I can translate and post the next few chapters a bit faster before I go overseas! No promises though.

Anyway, enjoy 

Chapter 3: The Blue Rose Princess Thus Awakens (2 – 1)

Alicia lay alone in her bed staring at the lace dangling from the bed canopy overhead, as she tried to make sense of her situation.

King James and the head lady-in-waiting Henri Fourier, who were in the room until some time ago, were already no longer here upon hearing that Alicia wanted to rest. Alicia had a lot she wanted to ask the two, but it seemed like she was the only one who felt that the present situation was strange. If she imprudently asked questions, she would have definitely been thought of as weird.

However as far as Alicia was concerned, setting aside some time so that she could recompose herself for a moment was the right thing to do.

To start with, the most significant discovery was that there was no mistaking that Alicia was a ten-year-old little girl. Her memory had been cloudy from the second she woke up, but thinking about it calmly, she, herself, was a princess that had just welcomed her 10th birthday last month.

So what was that she saw just before waking up in bed? If Alicia were to consult an outsider, that somebody would have probably replied with "It was just a dream. Don't worry about it."

At any rate, Alicia had been laid up in bed since around yesterday noon after breaking out in a high fever. Because of that, her consciousness was hazy and while she was being taken care of by the doctor, maids and others, she blacked out and fell asleep. Thus it somewhat made sense when she thought about how she saw that dream that left such a horrible aftertaste.

Still, Alicia was positive.

That it was not simply a dream.

That those were memories.

Events that happened to her in the remote past.

(This is all very strange&h.e.l.lip;)

Alicia's sweet face frowned as she stared at the underside of the canopy.

The ghastly incidents that attacked her in her dream&h.e.l.lip;for Alicia who had just turned ten years old, it was impossible that she would hold memories of such events and the surrounding circ.u.mstances. Even so, Alicia knew of the night of that revolution.

To be accurate, she had remembered. If she dared to forget such intense memories, one would even express doubt. Even when she recalled these memories temporarily—the sensation of losing blood and the fear of her whole body dissolving into eternal darkness—it was like it happened yesterday.

Anyway, she had died once and was now living the same life once again.

(&h.e.l.lip;Arghhh, seriously! It's like the more I think about it, the cloudier it becomes.)

How was she still alive, when she was supposed to have died?

Why was she going through life once again when her life was supposed to have ended?

At this point, there was too little information to resolve these questions. Alicia tried to remember the sequence of events that led up to the night of the revolution. For convenience, she decided to refer to it as her "past life". However, no matter how much she racked her brain, nothing came to mind other than the scenes and knowledge that she recalled from her dream.

This was a grave problem beyond "I can't remember clearly and feel gloomy". More specifically, this was a matter in which she might end up meeting that sort of ending to her life once more.

If she had her memories from her previous existence, she'd probably be able to avoid the future that awaited her by nipping dangerous situations in the bud one by one. Unfortunately, Alicia only had memories of the "Night of the Revolution". However, it was clear that if she continued as she was without taking any measures, she would probably end up dying in the same manner again.

(A-Anything but that!)

In hopeless thoughts, Alicia tossed and turned on her bed. It was much more preferable for her to lose her life forever than to meet an ending that miserable a second time.

Aren't there any clues? Anything, no matter how trivial, would be good.

As Alicia fervently tried to reel in any memories, there was an una.s.suming knock on the door.

"It seems that your condition has improved greatly. However you were considerably pale when you woke up this morning."

As the maids Annie and Martha prepared dishes nearby, Henri Fourier put her hand against Alicia's forehead and announced that she felt relieved.

Lady Fourier was a marchioness who was formerly a court lady appointed to attend Alicia's deceased mother—otherwise known as the Queen—in her room and was an old-timer, having served at the royal palace for a long time. She was not the most affable, but was a fair person with a vast knowledge that transcended time and place and an att.i.tude with a core of righteousness. She had thus acquired the deep trust of the King and the rest of the ladies of the royal court.

Come to think of it&h.e.l.lip; Alicia thought back vaguely about not seeing Fourier on the night of the revolution. Whether she simply happened to not see her or if it had occurred after she had already retired from working at the royal palace, she did not know that far. Possessing only a small fraction of her memories was severely inconvenient.

"Earlier&h.e.l.lip;that was after I saw an awful dream. Didn't I make a noise?"

"Yes. I wondered if your high fever hadn't come down, that I even turned pale."

When Alicia probed in a casual manner, Fourier nodded without paying much attention to it. This excellent court lady appeared to comprehend the unrest coming from Alicia, who had recovered her memories, as an effect of the considerable damage to her physical condition.

Alicia kept quiet and put the bread porridge that Annie had prepared for her in her mouth. In all honesty, the uneasiness towards the future that was awaiting her weighed heavily on her chest and did nothing to bring forth her appet.i.te. But while she was forcibly gulping down her meal, she kept back the recollections from her dream inside her chest.

There was no doubt that Fourier could be depended on; however, it was hard to say that she had a flexible personality. For example, if Alicia were to speak frankly about the fated day she was expecting to arrive in the near future, Fourier was likely to think that Alicia had become insane.

It was not only Fourier. As Alicia lay in bed she pondered to herself—"don't confide in anyone about your memories from your previous existence"—as she strengthened her resolve. She by no means thought that people would believe her and besides it wasn't a good idea to speak of something she couldn't even explain well herself in the first place.

When Alicia pretended to be calm as she was struggling to swallow the porridge that felt heavy like lead, Fourier furrowed her brows in concern.

"Although your fever has come down, the fatigue from last night might still be remaining. You should not attend this evening's ceremony."

"Ceremony? Umm, what kind of ceremony is on today?”

Alicia c.o.c.ked her head slightly, having been caught off guard. Fourier seemed to have predicted such a response from Alicia and answered without hesitation.

"The ceremony is in recognition of the service of the envoys who are returning today from Ealdar. As only n.o.bles within the country are invited, His Majesty has said that there is no need for you to go as far as straining yourself to attend. I too am in favour of this this time."

Indeed, if that was the subject of the ceremony, then it's no wonder she had no recollection of it. Alicia by nature disliked places where large numbers of people gathered such as royal ceremonies. Because she lost her mother when she was very young, her father had been soft on her and unless it was a large ceremony involving foreign diplomacy, she seldom attended.

"In that case, I shall be spoilt by father&h.e.l.lip;"

Alicia felt uneasiness in her chest as she tried to reply with a smile of relief.