(EP-167.1) Night #8

167 – Day and Night #8

Narmi could finally catch her breath after the sun had set.

It was the evening when everyone had finished work and returned home. Only then did she complete the piled-up tasks that had been pushed back.

“It’s finally over!”

Narmi stretched with a loud yawn. I almost chuckled, at the thought that Mirna would have not liked such unlady-like behavior.

No, even Mirna probably had moments like that when she was alone, stretching and yawning without care, right?

“What? It’s already evening! I can only rest now? Isn’t this just the same time as before?”

Narmi was clearly disappointed by the setting sun and the dim sky outside the window. She had been working all day, and now that she was finally able to rest, the sun had set.

As Narmi said, this was no different from when she only went out at night.

Of course, it was also because Narmi was inexperienced.

Mirna was quick at handling tasks, that was why she had free time. Narmi still needed a lot of practice to reach that level.

However, Mirna had been living like that all her life, so it would take a lot of time for her sister Narmi to accomplish the same.

I asked, hiding those thoughts.

“Work ended late today. How was it, living your sister’s life for a day?”

“… Today, today was awkward because it’s the first day. It will get better from tomorrow. I’ll finish my work quickly and take a walk during the day. I’m going to watch the flowers and mallard ducks…!”

Indeed, she was right.

It was still the first day, and she hadn’t quite gotten used to it yet. It was a valid excuse.

* * *

“So, I received the ball, and then Adjutant Hans, who was standing next to me, shouted, ‘Elga-nim, please kick the ball this way!”

On a languid afternoon lunch break.

Elga was enthusiastically sharing a story about playing soccer with the soldiers. The only audience of her story was Narmi Draco, whose ruby red eyes blinked as she listened.

I snapped my fingers next to Narmi’s face.

“Miss Mirna, your hands have stopped. These documents need your signature, and they have to be submitted right after lunch.”

“Rig, right-!”

Seukseuk, seukseukseuk.

Narmi had split her time to work and eat. She was working on her lunchtime. As a result, Elga, who had been animatedly sharing her soccer stories with the soldiers, furrowed her brow.

“What’s with you? We’re having an interesting conversation here, and you’re killing the mood. Hey, Mirna, what’s gotten into you lately, working even at the dining table? Where’s your grace as a noble?”

“…….”

If it was Mirna, she might have shot back at Elga’s sarcastic comment. Well, in the first place, Mirna wouldn’t have brought work to the table like Elga had said.

But Narmi could hardly afford to do that.

If she didn’t finish her quota today, she might have to work overtime into the evening. By then, even her break time would be gone.

Seueuk.

Then Aira, who elegantly wiped her lips with a handkerchief, said.

“It seems that the Draco Family’s matters have been keeping you busy. I’ve had those times too. Royal duties in the kingdom are always an endless stream of heavy work. I had numerous responsibilities to handle as the Queen-.”

Aira sighed as if she was really tired. Though that simply confused Elga.

“Cousin, have you ever been busy?”

“Of course~. But as a wise Queen, I found trustworthy and capable people to delegate the troublesome tasks such as our Court’s Theo.”

“… What, aren’t you just giving your work to other people so that you’re not busy!?”

“Dividing the work is one of the Queen’s duties~.”

‘That was true.’

A Queen would be considered a leader and it was their job to ‘lead’ the kingdom into prosperity. Plus, a good leader shouldn’t shoulder everything on their own, but instead find and delegate a team of people. Though, I didn’t think I’d ever received instructions from Aira since I had always managed the tasks on my own…

Aira smiled languidly, unaware of my thoughts. It was as if she was cherishing some happy thoughts for a moment.

“Well, then, my cousin Elga and Theo, would you like to join me in visiting the pond today? Yesterday, I saw the mandarin duck I was watching give birth. They’ll probably be moving to the main pond soon.”

Aira excitedly chattered about bird-watching at the pond. Of course, Elga’s response was an uninterested, “Really?”

Perhaps thinking that Elga’s response was bland, Aira turned her attention to Narmi, who was diligently signing documents.

“Lady Draco, would you like to take a walk together? You mentioned wanting to see baby mandarins, no?”

“Baby mandarins….”

“They’re designated as a protected species by the church. Even as the Queen, I am unable to touch them carelessly. The little ducklings would be following their mother. They’ll be cute, toddling around.”

“Hu….”

Narmi sighed.

“I apologize, but I have work to finish.”

“Ah, I see… That’s a shame. Well then, I guess it’ll just be me and Elga.”

Aira expressed her disappointment and stood up from her seat along with Elga.

“Theo, will you accompany us?”

“No, thank you, I think I should help Mirna-nim.”

“Hng, alright. Let’s go, Elganes.”

“What, why are you calling me like that all of a sudden? Ah, and Theo, the thing you asked for will be delivered to your dorm.”

With that, Aira and Elga left. Now all those remained were me, Narmi, and a pile of tasks that needed to be completed by the end of the day.

Seuk. Warak.

Narmi slumped down on the table. If anyone had seen her, they would probably think, “How could a noble lack grace?” Narmi probably knew it too.

“The work…. It’s not done yet…. I also want to see the baby mandarin ducks….”

But Narmi didn’t seem to care about such things anymore.

After several days of experiencing daytime duties, fatigue from the increased workload had begun to take its toll.

“Theo, if you want to go and have fun, feel free to do so. This is my work, so you don’t need to stay by my side. I’ve learned how to handle this to some extent now… I’d feel bad if you couldn’t enjoy yourself because of me.”

Narmi dismissed me with a crawling voice.

If Aira or Elga, who abused me to death, said something like this, I would have bolted as quickly as possible while shouting, “Theo is now a free Half-Fairy!”

But I couldn’t leave Narmi’s side because I also had my own plans.

“Let’s hang in there a little longer. If you push through a bit more, you can rest for about 10 minutes.”

“Eung….”

Narmi lifted her head with great effort. She bit her lips and trembled slightly while looking at the stack of documents she had to deal with.

She seemed on the verge of bursting into tears, but she managed to hold it in, and her pen resumed moving. Commendable.

Commendable─.

But at this rate, it wouldn’t be long.

If it got a little more challenging, Narmi might finally decide to release Mirna locked within her. But it was not like Narmi hadn’t tried her best. No, she did well.

To be honest, the amount of work assigned to Narmi was not something even I could handle alone.

Mirna, who had managed to deal with this all on her own and even created personal time, was truly remarkable. Now, it was about time Narmi acknowledged that and reconciled with her sister, Mirna.

But Narmi also had her own pride.

And said pride probably wouldn’t allow it.

Thus, I thought it would be best to put an end to this strange sisterly feud tonight.

“Narmi-nim, if you really feel sorry for me, would you spare me some time in the evening when you are done with today’s work?”

“… Spare some time?”

Edited by: faker