I twirled a bit in front of the mirror, satisfied with the rather simple, light green-tinted, dress that Sophie has chosen for me, with a long-wing sun hat with a cute flower as decoration. Of course, I had to wear the facemask and gloves, but if I only had dark glasses, I would look like an incognito celebrity.

—How do I look? —I asked to the two attendants that were in the room with me.

—It suits you very well, madame —Sophie said, showering me with unconditional support as always.

—It’s decent enough —Carmila dryly added.

That was fine, as long as she didn’t outright rejected it, I knew I wouldn’t be embarrassing Violett.

—Now, for today’s special feature, the cutest baby of the whole country! —I picked her up from her crib and presented her to the audience.

She was wearing a light blue dress, a bit too fluffy and with a few too many ribbons. She also had matching mittens and socks, and a hat similar to mine.

—Approved —Carmila said, a hint of a smile drawn on her face.

—So cute~ —Sophie added.

I agreed with that sentiment, but…

—Isn’t it a bit too much? —I asked.

I had chosen the attire mostly by myself, but I was staring to fear I was falling into the same vice that the maids from my old home had.

—Babies are meant to be dressed like this, like puffy marshmallows—Sophie said—. We’ll take her opinion in consideration once she is a bit more grown up.

That made me feel relief, and now we were finally ready to leave. Yes, we. Carmila had chosen unilaterally that I had to be accompanied by a group of attendants.

—It is too dangerous to leave a noble woman as yourself alone in the city, even in broad daylight. Besides, we can help you carry whatever you might buy, and help you take care of Violet, and…

—It’s fine, I understand.

—Huh? —Carmila seems really confused by my reply.

I would really like to be able to move freely, but I wasn’t going to risk Violett just for being stubborn. Also, it was true that I would be going to need help carrying all the stuff, considering the list I had wrote the night before. We might even have to ask the goods to be delivered at our home, even if it could take a couple of days for them to arrive. Our transport had a limited size, only being able to carry six person maximum, and a bit of luggage on the back.

—Four of us will go with you —Carmila said once she had regained her composure—. That means me, of course, and I suspect you will like to take Miss Sophie along too.

The other two were Iridia and Nora, the latter who had been a guard for some time before starting to work for my late husband. She was still carrying a sword with her all the time, and was quite proficient with it. She was our expedition group’s unofficial bodyguard.

—You can relax and enjoy your trip, Madame, I’ll make sure both you and your daughter are safe —Nora said, this was probably the first time I had spoken to her directly.

—I’ll be counting on you, then.

Another maid came and whispered something to Carmila. She looked a bit shaken up.

—Er, Madame, as requested, Mr. Adrian is ready whenever you would like to depart —Carmila said.

—Oh! Then let’s go to the pier right now.

I moved to grab a bag I had prepared, full of diapers, a change of clothes, and almost everything else I thought I could think that Violett could need in our trip. Sophie moved faster, and insisted on carrying it herself. Without being able to say anything more, we left the house and walked through the paved road towards the pier. Our country was blessed by several rivers and lakes, as well as many man-made waterways, so many that people traveled through boats more efficiently and more often than by plain old roads. Our one-hour travel might take us at least half a day if we were to use a carriage, and it would certainly be a bumpier ride.

Of course, having these water highways meant nothing if we didn’t had anything to move the boats through them. Motors hadn’t been invented yet, and sails wouldn’t work reliably. So what moved our boats? Simply, pure brute strength. Most people used Kelpies, a creature that resembled a horse-mermaid, but others had marine snakes or other fancier creatures. The Dragonroot had Adrian.

—Adrian! Yahoooo! —I yelled when we were close enough to the river for him to hear me.

—Lady Rossane, Good morning! —Our “chafeur” replied.

He had been floating in the river right next to our boat, reading a paper, but got up and out of the water after I called him, closing the distance between us in seconds. He picked me up on his arms and made me sit on one of his shoulders, as he had done many times when I was a kid.

—Oh, so this is your baby, isn’t she adorable? —He said when I proudly showed Violett to him.

—Of course she is, I made her! —I said, and we both had a laugh, loud enough to awaken the baby. She just glared at us.

—Ma-madame, ple-please be careful… —Nora said, her hand firmly holding the handle of her still sheathed sword.

—Huh? What do you mean? I’m perfectly safe.

—But, madame…

—There is nothing to be worried —Sophie interceded—, Mr. Adrian has worked for the Dragonroot for generations; there is nothing to be worried.

I still couldn’t understand why Nora was so worried. Even Carmila and Iridia looked shaken up, though they tried to hide it and remained stoic. I tried to put it on perspective, thinking not as Rossane but as my previous life’s self. It was only then that I noticed I was sitting on the shoulder of a giant alligator-like beastman. I had known him all my life and I had ridden him even when I was a baby myself, so I didn’t see anything wrong or weird about it until now. I still trusted him, for me he was just like an older uncle who happened to be scaly, have very pointing claws and teeth, and was three meters tall. I started to wonder if Violett had inherited her villainess’ genes from my part of the family…

—I’ll try to go slow for the baby, but tell me if it still too fast —Adrian said, after we had gotten up on our boat.

—Got it, let’s go! —I said, and felt the sudden increase of speed.

Carmila was clawing her fingers on her seat. Iridia was smiling nervously, and Nora was holding tight to her sword. Sophie was too accustomed to it, and was just enjoying the scenery. I was enjoying the rollercoaster-like speed, and for her expression, Violett was too. Only forty minutes after leaving our property we were already reaching the city’s port.

—That’s a new record —Sophie said.

—Let’s try to break it when we return! —Adrian replied, now swimming slowly towards an available dock.

—L-let’s not… —Carmila said, and both Iridia and Nora nodded in agreement.

They didn’t let me get off the boat before I promised our return will be slower. Once I did set foot on the wooden planks, I stretched my arms, one at a time to keep Violett on the other. Of course, both of us were wearing facemasks, I had gloves, and Violett was still wearing her cute mittens, even when she would occasionally try to bite them and release her hands. It’s not like she was going to be touching anything, but I still needed to keep an eye on her.

—The doctor said you don’t need to use a facemask, but gloves would be recommended. —I told them, and each put on a pair of gloves.

One of our chefs was able to use “Purify”, so even if they attracted some bad miasma or bacteria, she would be able to clean them when we returned, it was only me and Violett who were in direct risk.

—I feel a bit redundant —Nora said—, it’s kind of pointless for me to have come if you had Mr. Adrian to protect you.

—Oh? He isn’t coming to the city —I bluntly said.

—Eh? Why?

—I’m not good with places with lots of people —Adrian answered himself, rummaging through a compartment in the boat—, I have a few books I can read, so you can take as long as you want. Ah, but if you do need help, just call me and I’ll be there in a second.

I nodded and walked away, barely being able to contain my excitement. It had been almost five months since I had come to the city, and there were lots of places I wanted to visit. Just before I was able to set a foot in the city itself, a pair of spears suddenly blocked my way.

—Halt! —said one of the soldiers holding the spears, in a very loud and demanding voice—, identify yourself.

I growled, seeing red. How dared he speaking in that tone after daring to get his weapon close to my baby.

—How imprudent! —Carmila said before I could said anything else—, you are disrespecting Madame Rossane Dragonroot, heir of the Dragonroot’s clan, and current head of the Cygnus’ fiefdom.

She was almost as pissed off as me, but a lot more eloquent. The guards immediately backed up a bit, confused, but their spears were still blocking my path.

—N-no, that’s impossible —the other guard said—, the heir of the Dragonroot’s clan would never appear in the city wearing such a simple dress, much less carrying a baby! We’ll take you in for interrogation!

She tried to grab my free wrist, but my attendants blocked her attempt. I also heard the water behind me moving, Adrian getting out of the water and getting ready to get involved.

—What might this uproar be all about? —a gentle voice said, as she approached.

The guards jumped on surprise, turned towards the newcomer, and kneeled.

—Your Majesty, we caught someone pretending to be the heir of the Dragonroot’s clan.

—Hmmm, I see —the very pregnant woman got closer, enough for us to see her, despite the warning of her guards —Is it really you, Rossane?

She was, without doubts, the Queen Erzebeth III. My attendants also took a knee when they recognized her, but I just bowed my head.

—It’s a pleasure to see you healthy, Your Majesty —I said in a very formal and respectful tone.

I raised my head and I saw the Queen barely able to contain a giggle. Her expression made me laugh, and she started clacking in response.

—Y-your Majesty? —the guards worriedly asked.

—I… I am fine —the Queen said between wheezes.

—Madame, could you explain yourself a bit? —Carmila asked.

—Allow me —Erzebeth spoke, having regained her composure—, Rossane and I have known each other since we were kids.