Yotogi no Kuni no Gekkouhime - Chapter 1

Hello, I’ll be picking this novel up from now on. Nice to meet you all. I’ll be translating this novel from the start.

Two things to note before reading, first is I’m not native English speaker so my grammar, vocabulary might be unplesant to read but I’ll do my best to translate so that it doesn’t look like it is an edited MTL.

Second is that I used web novel version of this novel as the source, not the light novel.

Have fun reading!

Translator: Keeez

Chapter 1: Garbage dump princess.

Under the setting evening sun, a lone woman is wandering.

Dressed in luxurious crimson red dress, her long hair looks as if they’re gold threads adorned with a little bird-shaped ornament.

Not only just her clothing, her walking manner is also straight and elegant as well.

Just by looking at how she walks, anyone could clearly see that she’s a noble at birth.

However she, Arue Aquila, the first princess of Aquila Kingdom, is heading toward a place unbecoming of her appearance.

Which is a dirty stone building of small size, situated in the middle of the forest in a corner of the royal palace.

Standing in front of that building is an old gardener, upon noticing that Arue is approaching, he hurriedly run up to her before bowing to his master.

“Oh my if it isn’t Arue-sama. How may I serve you today?”

“I had just a bit of free time, so I sneak out from the party preparations.”

Arue replied back while cutely sticking her tongue out, like a child doing a mischief.

The first princess of the kingdom she might be, but she doesn’t take an arrogant attitude toward her servants.

Especially toward this gardener who knew Arue since her childhood, which made her acts very openly to him. Seeing Arue acting appropriate for a girl of her age made the gardener’s wrinkled face turns into a smile, then he said jokingly replied as if to lightly reprimanded her.

“You mustn’t do so my lady. Tonight’s event is an important one, as it is to welcome the prince of a great kingdom after all. You’re a princess so you shouldn’t be doing something like this.”

“I really do not wish to attend such a formal event like that. And if there’s truly a need for a princess to attend, then there should also be one other princess attending as well, isn’t that so?”

“Umumu……”

As Arue said so in a slightly stronger tone of voice, the gardener couldn’t replied back so he can only mumble quietly, troubled. Normally this is something that should never be spoken of. Currently in this Aquila Kingdom, the legitimate blood relatives are only the queen who governs this kingdom and her only daughter, Arue. Or so that is what the kingdom officially declared.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to blame you. It’s just that when I think about how that girl is forced to live in such a place, and yet only I can live in such a gorgeous place is, well, you know.”

“You’re such a kind person Arue-sama.”

“No I’m not kind at all. Even if I am indeed kind, that wouldn’t be enough. All I can do for that girl is comforting her.”

Arue mutters, lowering her face down as if in self-mockery.

“The sun is about to set my lady. I suppose Selene-sama is awake by now.”

“About this, my mother……”

“Yes, of course. I will keep this a secret. Since this is all we can do for the lady.”

“Thank you.”

Arue thanks him, and the old man turns around with a sincere attitude before unlocking the door of the building.

Together with the squeaking sound of the rusty iron door, the foul moldy smell comes out, sticking to her nose.

Arue immediately frowns upon smelling such an unpleasant smell that she has never been used to no matter how many times she comes here. She continues through the dimly lit stone corridor and walks up the stair leading to the second floor.

This building is a warehouse that is used by the servants to store worthless antiques, broken stuff, cleaning equipment and so on. Although there are many rooms in here, but since there are no items of value stored in here so this place is not cleaned and maintained very well.

It is truly as if this building is the garbage dump for the royal palace.

However, in the innermost part of this building there stood a door that is clearly different from others.

Instead of rotting wood, this door is made from iron and is sturdy, there are geometric patterns drawn on it. Arue reaches her hand to the pattern. Then the pattern faintly emits phosphorescent light, and the door unlocks with a clang sound.

This magic is for preventing intruders from entering the room as it guards the nation’s most important secret that shouldn’t be known to the public. And it is also a special seal that only those of royal blood can unseal. Arue didn’t immediately opens the door even though she knows that the door is already unlocked, instead she first knock on it.

“Selene, Selene, are you awake?”

“I am awake.”

Arue gently calls her through the door, and a voice that sounds as if the angel herself was singing, replied back from the inside. That adorable voice made Arue breaks into a smile as she slowly opens the door.

Beyond the door is a really, really small square room―― or rather, it should be more appropriate to call this a prison.

A simple bed, bare minimum daily necessities, and only a single small window for letting the light in.

In the middle of the room is a little girl dressed in shabby clothes, standing.

She’s rubbing her eyes sleepily, probably because she had just woken up, her soft white hair is a bit disarranged. Arue smiles wryly before patting on her head and start fixing her bed hair with her fingers as a comb.

Her name is Selene Aquila.

The second princess of this kingdom, never known to the public.

“Nee-sama, today, busy. Okay?”

She answered with faltering pronunciation, speaking as if she’s trying to connect each words together to form a sentence. The girl named Selene walks up to where her big sister is, looking up at her big sister with crimson eyes.

Arue always felt at ease whenever those caring eyes of her are looking at her.

Selene is the only person who genuinely look at and treat her as a girl, not a princess of a nation.

Yet, for such a kind-hearted little sister of her to be forced to live in such a place like this makes her angry.

From other people’s perspectives, Selene is like an abnormal existence.

In contrast to Arue and her mother who has blonde hair and blue eyes, Selene’s entire body, from her head to her toes, is pale white without a single mole, so much so that it’s as if it’s transparent.

Her pure white hair is at around shoulder length, her skin is as smooth as a pearl.

Her beauty is exceptional, as if the god had blessed her with overwhelming love, those pair of eyes are glittering like rubies. Her flower buds are yet to bloom as she’s still eight years old, but one can never predict how big of a flower it’ll bloom into when she grows up.

If only Selene’s abonormalities has been only in her appearance then it probably wouldn’t creep anyone out, rather they’ll create a rumor about how an angel has descended upon this kingdom. Then, why is it that she is hidden away in such a place?

The reason for that stems from Selene’s speeches and behaviors.

Selene is strangely mature in her behaviors.

She had never cried once at like ever since she was born, nor had she flings her limbs selfishly and trying to get her mother’s attention.

From the moment she was born, she has always look at the world as if she’s looking for something.

Even though no one had yet to taught her these things, but she’d fold her own clothes, clean the dishes, and tidy up her room neatly, and she’ll never do anything that’ll trouble the adults. All of her actions are un-childlike.

Despite all that, she have difficulty speaking comprehensively.

Most children can already speak to some extent when they’re three of age, however Selene can barely even communicate, she’d talk in broken language, it’s as if she’s a human from prehistoric era.

This contrast between her behaviors and speeches made other people feel that she’s abnormal, bizarre and creepy. As a result, the queen who is her mother starts treating her less as a daughter and more of a monster that shouldn’t be known to the public, trying to erase her existence completely.

However, the queen is still a human at heart, even if she’s a bizarre monster, but she couldn’t go so far as to kill her own daughter who she had carry and birthed from her belly. Selene is still related to her by blood, and she had the thin thread called royal blood flowing through her veins, these two reasons are the lifeline that saved Selene.

And so when Selene turned five, the queen locks her up in a cage in the corner of the royal palace, shutting it off with the seal. This small cramped room has become Selene’s entire world, and the only place where she’s allowed to live. Every time Arue thinks about this, she feels as if her heart is being torn apart.

“Hey, Selene. Do you know why onee-chan has to attend the party?”

“Un. Prince, welcome. For me.”

Arue speaks slowly for Selene so that she could hear her easily, and Selene immediately answered.

Since Selene is unable to speak fluently, everyone around her often branded her as not very bright in the head, but Arue understands that they think so is only because they had only interacted with her on the surface.

Since Arue knows that she couldn’t have guess the meaning of what she had just said this quickly if she was at the same age as Selene after all.

“Party, you surely wanted to attend as well……. I’m sorry. I don’t have the authority to get you out of here right now.”

Biting her lips, Arue place her hands on Selene’s shoulders and apologize to her apologetically. Selene place her little hands gently on top of hers while shaking her head. She’s trying to say that she don’t have to worry about it.

“Don’t want go out. Me, here, like.”

“Selene……”

Hearing those words, Arue’s chest tightens even more.

Certainly, the party at the castle might be very strict and formal, but there are no girls who wouldn’t want to attend such a lovely and gorgeous party like that.

Even if she’s still just a young girl, but Selene is still a girl nonetheless, there’s no way she wouldn’t want to attend the party.

But Selene understands her position well, so she said that she doesn’t want to go out so that Arue doesn’t have to worry about her. She’s refusing it just for her.

“Selene, please listen to me closely okay.”

Arue’s expression turns serious.

Putting more strength into her hands than before, she opens her mouth.

“Tonight, the prince that comes to our kingdom is currently on his journey throughout the continent to find wedding partner. He’s a prince from a great country. If I am chosen by him to be his bride, then that means I’ll be able to obtain his protection. In short, I’m today’s main merchandise. Do you understand?”

Selene nodded without saying anything.

Although this might be something that an eight year old would find it hard to understand, but Arue knows that she possess the intelligence to understand this level of diplomacy from her interactions with Selene in the past, thus she continued speaking.

“And right now I don’t have the power to oppose her majesty the queen―― okaa-sama’s decision to have you locked up in here. But, if I become the prince’s wife and ask her to reconsider that decision, then I might be able to get you out of here. So I’ll do my best to achieve that.”

Arue tried to give Selene hope by saying this.

But Selene only slightly frowns, her expression doesn’t look very happy.

“Don’t.”

“Eh!? W-, why? You might be able to get out of this prison you know?”

“Don’t want go out. Also, Arue-neesama, not merchandise.”

Arue is stunned when she heard that.

That is because her little sister genuinely cares for her, despite the fact that she herself is living such a miserable life in a place like this, unlike others who look at her as just a princess, a tool for connection with big and powerful country.

Arue is about to burst into tears, but she still manage to hold them back somehow.

However, Selene continues to speak the words that’ll stun her even more.

“Me, marry Arue-neesama. So, marry prince, don’t.”

“Eh?”

Selene’s words are so unexpected that it made Arue stunned, but after a while she responses.

“You see, we’re sisters and we’re also both girls right? And two girls can’t love each other you know?”

“Can. Because I like yuri.”

“Yuri? You really like lily flowers1 aren’t you Selene.”

“Not yuri flower, yuri, like.”

Arue titls her head, confused.

Sometimes Selene would says something that is very perplexing just like this one, so she can only wonders what she really meant when she said she likes lily. Although she can’t understand it, but she knows that Selene still likes her so she feels at ease.

Although her little sister lives in such a pitiful condition, she doesn’t resent her who received preferential treatment at all, on the contrary she honestly cares for her big sister’s wellbeing. Thinking about that gives Arue more and more willpower to do her best for her little sister’s sake.

“Wait for me Selene. It may be painful right now, but I’ll definitely bring you back to the brilliant sunlight. Then you wouldn’t have to live all alone in a place like this anymore.”

“Me, not alone though?”

Hearing her little sister said so like it’s nothing, Arue hugged her tightly.

Selene is a kind-hearted clever girl. She knows that her big sister hasn’t experience true love yet and that she doesn’t want to marry someone before experiencing it.

That’s why she’s saying to her that it’s okay to not sell herself to the prince, that she doesn’t have to sacrifice herself for her.

Because of her little sister’s kindness, Arue’s spirit fired up even more. Even if she herself doesn’t want to, but if it’s for Selene’s sake then she’d sell her body without a single regret.

“Alright! Onee-chan is going to give it her all! I’ll make the prince fall madly in love with me, then I’ll definitely get you out of here!”

Arue said so to Selene, all enthusiastic by herself.

She kisses Selene on the forehead while grumbling that she has never seduced anyone before, then she walks out of the room.

The pattern glows once again when Arue left the room, clink sound rangs out as the seal starts locking the door again. All that is left, inside this darkened room, after the sun has completely disappeared from the horizon, is only Selene who has her hand on her forehead, all alone―― Or not.

『To say that you’re all alone is quite unpolite of her isn’t she. Even though Selene-sama has me, the capable butler at her side.』

Suddenly, a charming baritone voice resounds in Selene’s head.

Without a surprise, she turns toward the source of that voice.

There, a shadow about the size of her palm jumps out from under the bed, appearing in front of Selene.

“Always, thanks, Butler2.”

『What are you even saying my lady! This Butler is will even throws his life away if it’s for princess-sama.』

“Life no need. Butler, I want, do usual.”

『So you wishes to go to the paradise. Understood.』

The shadow called Butler respectfully bows to Selene.

Selene gives him a little smile as response to his gesture.

Unbeknownst to anyone else, conversations like this has already become common occurrence for her.

In this locked room where moonlight and silence reigns, this should’ve been another never-changing night,

However, at this moment, the tale of Selene Aquila, later known as the Herald of Peace――the Moonlight Princess, is swinging into actions.