Awayuki - Broccoli Short Story

"Tatarian Aster Plan"

I woke up before dawn.

No matter what happens the day before, I wake up at roughly the same time. It's a habit.

It's a little lonely this morning.

The reality of crawling out of bed alone in my room feels empty.

(The princess is still asleep... Besides, today is her day off. There's no need to wake her up at the usual time.)

Sometimes I feel like I want to let her sleep as much as she wants because I feel responsible for what I did last night. I've had enough sleep myself and I don't want to stay in bed.

Not her though.

Even so, I still have a feeling of nostalgia.

(………………When the Princess wakes up. I wish I could be by her side.)

What a silly sentimental thing to say. Wanting to spend time from the moment she falls asleep to the moment she wakes up.

(In front of the servants of Togo, we should avoid excessive behavior. We are, after all, "master and servant.")

And to begin with, we were close to each other given our positions. Even if the servants were to see me coming out of my master's bedroom in the morning, they wouldn't be bothered by it.

Maybe not...

(There are quite a few nobles who make advances on commoner servants. I don't want my princess to be lumped together with those guys.)

Anyway, this is a natural line to draw.

I don't think that the best servants of Togo would be spreading strange rumors outside, but still. Since I'm a servant.

“Even if the Princess has feelings for me, I shouldn't go too far”, I thought.

(The princess... might sleep until the afternoon. My princess has a hard time waking up after all.)

I made her stay up late last night, so she’s probably sleeping even more deeply.

Well, I guess I need to wake her up at lunchtime.

The sun has risen.

(...Tell the maids not to enter the princess's room. She can wake up on her own, but if it's past noon I'll go and wake her up.)

With today's plan in mind, I headed to the kitchen.

It will be breakfast and lunch at the same time, so I need to change the menu a little.

Preparing pork that needs to be simmered for a long time.

Then, to prepare the hoshoyaki, we removed the fish's guts.

While I was checking the condiments, I noticed an empty bottle.

(Oh, I used it all up yesterday. I felt like the meat dish was lacking in color.)

The jar contained salted olives.

I didn't use Togo's food budget, I bought it myself with my own money.

(It's delicious when made into tempura and served with alcohol.)

Whenever I'm having a drink on my days off, the princess somehow notices.

She came to check out the kitchen and said she wanted to try some, so I gave her some and she liked it.

Even though she doesn't drink alcohol, she can have persimmon cream cheese. Sometimes she asks for rolls or other snacks that I make for her.

(……Maybe I should buy some more now.)

When she wants it, but I don't have the ingredients… I would like to avoid this as much as possible.

By the time I'd finished preparing the food and cleaning and other tasks I wanted to do, the Touhou store would be opening. After giving instructions to the maids, I immediately headed for the central town.

I picked out a few random bottles at the store after I opened them to check. When I took out my wallet to pay, the silver sparkled and swayed.

It's a small netsuke that my precious princess gave me. Remembering the excitement I felt at that time, my eyes soften and I become defenseless. The one she chose for me was a snowflake.

This was obvious when I saw the decorations that imitated the shape of a snowflake.

I fastened the precious netsuke in my wallet and gently put it away in my back pocket.

(Although I have never honestly told the princess about this, I like receiving from her.)

For example, the clothes she picks out for me according to her own taste. Every time I receive an outfit, my heart aches with joy.

(To be honest, I'm getting carried away... or rather, I'm starting to lose control.)

Even though she has more than enough money, it would be no good to waste any of it on me.

So I don't think I'll be speaking my true feelings openly in the future...

Every time she picked out matching clothes for me, her servant, I felt fulfilled, thinking, "I am the princess's servant."

(It feels like I'm being dyed in the princess's colors... It feels good. Each time, I feel proud of myself as a servant.)

On the way home after finishing some personal shopping, just before entering the castle town, a certain store caught my eye. The Togo family has had a long-standing relationship with this craftsmanship shop, and I recently bought a new hairpin for the princess there.

There should still be some time before the princess wakes up. I made up my mind and headed in that direction.

"Oh, Awayuki-san. Are you out on an errand for the Lady?"

"······Yes."

I nodded to the familiar store owner and continued speaking. "I believe this place also sells netsuke, right? Can I see some?"

"Of course," the shopkeeper replied with a smile. He showed me only items that were worthy of a princess from Togo.

As if drawn to it, my gaze fell on the cherry blossoms with a pale purple dragonfly bead and a watermark.

"Is this it? As expected of Awayuki-san, you have a good eye! It's a trade item from Ginwan," said the salesman, "and it matches the color of her eyes."

(.... No.)

The glass changes color when held up to the light, and is closer to a Tatarian aster - my eye color than to the princess's. She and I have similar hair and eye colors, so I don't think anyone would suspect anything strange if she wore this.

But still I'm sure the princess would notice.

As long as only she and I know the true meaning, it's fine. It's not so bad to have more secrets between the two of us, and when I think about it, the corners of my mouth start to relax.

"This will do."

"Thank you! I will wrap it up right away."

My appearance is "different from other people's." I've had people be put off by it because it's not something you would normally see.

Perhaps that is why I felt a sense of alienation from Itehari for quite some time. I feel a stronger desire than ever to protect her from various things.

(It was the princess who gave me a place to belong.)

I want to protect her.

It's not a matter of whether I like her or dislike her. She's the one who gave me so much, and I treasure her so much.

(Perhaps, if the princess hadn't said that. I had been deceiving myself all this time, not even realizing my own feelings. I think I was able to do that.)

My princess really gets herself in danger. She easily enjoys unusual things in Itehari.

(She has many allies, but even so, if she lets her guard down, she'll be attacked. That's why I--)

For my precious master.

For my cherished lover.

As I left the store, I looked down at the beautiful small box in my hands.

"I hope you like it." I'm sure she'll be delighted.

She was not raised not to appreciate gifts offered with kindness. I'm sure she can understand the magnitude of my feelings to a certain extent.

(What face will she make?)

I want all of those expressions. This is a gift from me not as your servant, but as your lover.

I wonder how much importance she attaches to that meaning.

(She'll probably be surprised. Or maybe even embarrassed.)

Hoping to see my girlfriend's reaction, which was unlike me, I hurried home in the middle of the day.

Donate ❤