Editing Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 7 Prologue (section)

===Part 1===
Dinner time was about to begin in an hour; everyone working in the kitchen of the castle had a tense expression and seemed to be emitting a vicious pressure. However, as if to break apart this atmosphere as if it were as thin as ice—

—Clang!

A booming voice reverberated throughout the kitchen.

“What are you doing!? Celestina! How many pieces have you broken now!?”

The chef immediately shouted.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

The seven year old maid desperately apologised, and crouched down on the spot to clean it up. Small fragments of the shattered dish were all over the floor. The cost of one of these dishes might have been enough to pay for one’s living expenses for several months…for the lowest ranking maid who was still only capable of washing the dishes, this was an astronomical figure. After she slowly cleaned up the debris of the dish, she suddenly felt a painful prick at her fingertips.

“What are you doing so slowly!? You useless trash!”

The chef revealed a terrifying face as he roared at her.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Guu…”

Celestina began to sob and cry. Because she had been born with an ‘abnormal’ left eye, tears only flowed out from her right eye. After she stretched out her dirty cuffs and wiped her tears away, she ran to pick up a broom.

“Kyah!”

The result of her running caused her to crash into the maid who was carrying the dishes of food. Celestina’s eye clearly captured the scene of the extravagant palace cuisine being knocked to the ground. What had fallen onto the floor was a stew of Chevron beef leg braised with red wine.

“*Gulp*…”

Sitting on the floor, Celestina almost subconsciously reached out her hand for the piece of meat which lay on the floor. Although it had fallen onto the floor, she usually did not ever have an opportunity to eat such high-grade beef…

“Oh my, look at this child’s greedy face! How shameful!”

The stern scolding drew Celestina’s mind back to reality.

The older maids surrounded Celestina on all sides as they watched her with surprise and contempt. All of them were adopted daughters of the Lafon family. To Celestina, they were equivalent to being her older sisters.

“How can such incompetent trash like you become a daughter of the Lafon family?”

“Because the Royal Family endorsed her.”

“Oh that’s right, I heard that Prince Uriel retrieved her from somewhere as a gift to His Majesty.”

“A whim of His Majesty the Prince has really brought us a lot of trouble. Why did he have to pick this child—”

“That’s enough, you guys!”

At that time, a maid with a livid expression suddenly shouted. It was as if they were looking at the face of death as they all stared towards the doorway. Her frightening presence suddenly spread fear to all of the maids who were present. Everyone stopped what they were doing, and looked towards the door. Even that fearsome chef was kneeling on the ground.

“—Sorry for disturbing everyone’s work.”

An extravagantly dressed noble appeared in the doorway. To hamper one’s progress, that was exactly what had just happened. The valiant and heroic figure who stood in the messy doorway — was the Third Prince, Uriel. —Uriel Alfred Seevers de la Rosa Chevron. He was the man who changed Celestina’s life. A few years ago, Uriel heard about the rumours of Celestina, and travelled a long distance to reach a remote village. Hailed as a ‘rare species’ Celestina was taken away from the village and was given to Zacharias III. The memory of when she first saw Zacharias III abruptly flashed across Celestina’s mind. After the majestic Chevron King gazed at Celestina’s left eye with concentration, he said to Uriel

—That left eye…is the same as what was written in the ancient literature records. This should be proof of the <Pluto Children>

—So you also knew this, father?

—You shouldn’t underestimate this King, Uriel. This girl will be handed over to the Lafon family to take care of her education. Be sure to let her become the right-hand of the King in the future, and she will devote her life to the king.

Like that, Celestina became an adopted daughter of the Lafon family. Because her mother was sickly and lived in poverty, Celestina had no other choice. But with the thought of doing this to allow her mother to live a good life at home, the confusion in her heart disappeared. The reason why her biological father abandoned the family was because Celestina’s magic eye made him feel terrified. Her mother was the opposite of her father, and poured her love into her daughter, and endured struggles to raise her single-handedly. As a result, it also caused her body to deteriorate… As long as she endured this suffering, her mother would be able to receive financial assistance. With money, she would be able to afford medicine to recuperate. As soon as she turned things around and thought in this way, she didn’t think that the bitterness that she suffered was significant at all—

Having appeared in the kitchen, the only thing that Uriel saw in his eyes was Celestina sitting on the floor.

''Why is someone of such a noble status in the kitchen himself?''

But presently, Celestina felt so ashamed that it was as if her entire body was on fire, and she did not care about that issue. She was afraid that her irresistible greed in wanting to pick up the piece of meat from the stew which had fallen onto the ground was seen by Uriel. Uriel walked over to Celestina’s side, and then politely stretched out his hand. The gesture was almost like a gentleman who was inviting a lady to dance.

“Celestina. This place is no longer worthy of your presence.”

“Eh…?”

Celestina tilted her head with a slightly puzzled expression.

“It’s my father’s orders. From today onwards, you are to be my younger brother’s exclusive servant.”