PART 3

There was actually no need for anyone to say anything more, especially since before Belfast was able to add anything to her words, Edinburgh’s face went ghastly pale in an instant.

Seeing that, Belfast went towards the kitchen’s door and opened them wide in one swing, dashing through the room without actually looking back and saying anything. But then she stopped for a moment and said:

「Nee-san, before doing anything else, please make sure that the breakfast preparations are completed. I shall be back shortly.」

Belfast flew through the cafeteria and jumped out of it onto the corridor, her aim to get back into the kitchen before the eggs Benedict would get a chance to cool down and turn cold.

As Belfast walked through the corridor, she was passing some of the shipgirls that just happened to wake up and were still yawning with their mouth wide agape, their clothes disheveled or in disarray. She then hurried up the stairs.

「I’d better hurry. That person can get really grumpy and moody if she is served cold eggs, and she can be like that for an entire day……」

When Belfast arrived at the top of the stairs, she could see a cloudless and blue sky from the window located alongside the corridor on the second floor.

And the fact that the sky was so clear and so blue was promising that this day would be even better and even more pleasant.

***

The private quarters of Queen Elisabeth, the one who everyone in the Royal Navy referred to as “Her Majesty”, was located on the far end of the southern corridor of the Royal Navy dormitory’s highest floor.

Originally, the allocation of the room around the dormitory was supposed to be decided by the classes of the shipgirls living in it. That is why, it was not all that unusual for the shipgirls of the same class to be grouped together on the same floor or corridor. In fact, Belfast and Edinburgh were allocated in the same room, as they were sisters of the Edinburgh class.

However, the class that was Her Majesty was the special exception from that very rule.

「Your Majesty, please excuse me, but I’m coming in.」

Belfast said that while she knocked three times onto the door to a certain room before she opened it and entered inside. And once she was in the room, what greeted her was a spacious and extravagant exterior, quite unlike any other room around the dormitory.

The floor of the room was covered with a fluffy red carpet, the same kind as the one you would find inside of the lobby of a luxurious five star hotel.

As Belfast was making her way through this room, the sound of her footsteps was muffled by the carpet so much that they actually could not be heard at all.

There was a magnificent chandelier hanging from the high ceiling. Passing underneath it, Belfast walked into a slightly smaller room with a huge bed placed right in the middle of it. There, on top of that extravagant bed, there was a small figure that looked like a fairy tale princess or a porcelain door, still asleep while breathing ever so gently. 

「Good morning, Your Majesty.」

But alas, Belfast’s words were met with no reply.

「It’s time for you to wake up, Your Majesty. The breakfast is about to be served.」

This time around, Belfast decided to speak up with a slightly louder voice.

「…… Breakfast…… I want to eat pancakes for breakfast……Munya~.」

Elizabeth must have finally registered that it was the time for breakfast, but she was still rolling around in her bed, mumbling to herself something incomprehensible.

「I’m sorry to disappoint you, Your Majesty, but for today’s breakfast we have eggs Benedict and beans. We also serve tomato salad on the side and onion soup.」

Belfast announced today’s menu to Elizabeth with a perfectly stoic expression, deliberately choosing to ignore that mumbling about the pancakes.

「…… Beans…… I can’t stand beans…… Bel…… eat them for me, will you……?」

「Your Majesty, being picky about one’s food is very unbecoming.」

Belfast gently scolded Elizabeth while looking at her in a patronizing way, and then she let out a deep and long sigh, seeing as that was getting her pretty much nowhere.

「Your Majesty, please wake up. It’s already about time for you to do so.」

「Uuuhh…… Just give me…… about ten more minutes……」

「Oh my, oh my. And what’s this? What is a cute and fluffy-looking Persian cat like you doing in a place such as this? Are you lost, perhaps?」

Hearing Belfast say those words all of a sudden, Elizabeth jolted up on her bed in an instant.

「Huh!? W-Where is it!? I want to touch it!! Bel, where is it!? Where is that cat that you were talking about just now!?」

「Yes, and a good morning to you as well, Your Majesty.」

After she said that, Belfast bowed deeply once more, and then she turned herself around, approaching a huge dresser wardrobe in the corner of the room, so huge in fact that you could easily fit an entire person inside of it and you would still have some space to spare left. 

Elizabeth, now out of bed and still in her pajamas, was looking around restlessly, trying to locate the Persian cat that Belfast was talking about just now. However, once she realized that there was no cat in here to begin with, her expression turned really sour as she glared daggers at the Head Maid.

「…… You tricked me just now, didn’t you, Bel?」

Elizabeth’s eyes narrowed into tight slits in anger, and she grabbed the edge of her pajamas so hard that her knuckles turned all white. Belfast bowed down her head deeply once again while facing her Master, all the while handling her a change of clothes that she happened to take out from the inside of the dresser.

「I am really sorry for that, Your Majesty. However, if I were to let you sleep for a while longer just like that, you would have to eat your breakfast all cold and while doing it all alone in that really big dining room. Surely that’s not a vision anyone would find appealing.」

「If it would come to that, I would just eat my breakfast together with you, Bel!」

As she got her small body off of the bed, Elizabeth started pouting angrily while she slammed her small and adorable fists against Belfast’s skirt.

「Listen here. It’s not that I mind eating my meals alone, because I do not. However, as Queen Elizabeth, I have a certain image that needs to be maintained. So that is why I cannot eat my meals all on my own. Or could it be that you think that I am not good enough for you to eat breakfast together with, huh, Bel?」

「Of course not. Doing so is going to be the highest possible honor for me, Your Majesty.」

「Fufun! Thought as much!」

Elizabeth snorted in satisfaction, puffing out her chest while also being at it. She then assumed a pose that made her look ready to get dressed for the day.

Belfast then politely put Elizabeth’s dress on the bed, and then proceeded to unbutton her pajamas from the top and going down, allowing the loose cloths to fall onto the floor.

「Oh well, since I am feeling rather hungry at the moment, let us proceed to the cafeteria at once! Besides, I love eggs Benedict! They are my favorite!」

Once Elizabeth’s shirt was all unbuttoned,  her cute little navel could be seen peeking from behind the falling fabric of her pajamas. When she took it off from her shoulders, her white and soft skin became lit by the morning sunlight that was shining through the window, looking delicate and porcelain-white.

Once that was done, Belfast picked up Elizabeth’s dress from the bed and put it on her through her head, and the fabric cascaded over her small body in a neat and fitting fashion.

「The eggs Benedict were freshly baked today, so I am sure that they are going to be to your liking and suit your palate, Your Majesty.」

「Believe me, that’s not the point that I am worried about in the slightest. You are the one who baked it, Bel, so I know that they are going to be delicious no matter what…… Oh yes, that’s right. Listen to this, Bel! Yesterday, I went to the pier together with Warspite, and then we went to the beach while we were also being at it. And then, there was this really huge fish in the water and ––––––」

「Your Majesty, I realize that you are excited to tell me this, but if you are going to wiggle so much in place, I’m afraid I won’t be able to dress you properly.」

When Belfast brought that matter to Elizabeth’s attention, she finally stood still for a moment, and the Head Maid was able to finish dressing her up properly with no other issues. Finally, as a finishing touch she put Elizabeth’s custom-made crown-shaped katyusha on her head, and once that was done Belfast stood up and clasped her hands together, looking at the fruit of her labor.