"Thank you, Gael." Vivi's voice was very soft.
After Gellert fell asleep, Vivi blew out the candle and returned to her room.
She sat on the bed, thinking about what had just happened.
Finally, Gellert's childish voice echoed in her ears.
"Sister, you will become a swan someday."
At some point, Vivi's tears had already filled her eyes.
...
On the Sunday after Christmas, Vivi was informed that she was to welcome a pure-blood wizard from the United Kingdom.
Vivi's aunt was actually a Dud, which was why she could be so tolerant with Vivi.
If not for their mutual sufferings, Vivi might have been kicked out after the second or third prank played on her.
Vivi didn't want to inquire about the specifics of the meeting, nor was she interested.
As the real niece of the Empress, Vivi naturally received a lot of attention, including a silver princess crown.
This was the crown from the time when her aunt was still a Duchess, before she married Franz she was a carefree Bavarian princess.
Never mind how the girls of the Grindelwald family disliked "Muggles," they ultimately still served the Muggle Royal Family.
And as the core strength of the Austria-Hungary's prosperous pure-blood wizard family, the Grindelwald family naturally had to attend this meeting.
After all, with over a hundred members, the Grindelwald family is a formidable force anywhere.
However, before departure, Vivi could not find her crown anywhere.
This was the crown her aunt had insisted she wear to the meeting yesterday.
She turned her room upside down but couldn't find the slightest trace of the crown.
With no other option, she set off, full of unease, bracing herself for her aunt's scolding.
Yet as she reached the palace courtyard, she ran into Hydra and William Minnie.
"Look, isn't this the Muggle Princess Dud Vira?" William Minnie said sarcastically. "What, you can't find your Muggle crown? Don't worry, if you look carefully, maybe you'll find it..."
"Oh dear William Minnie," Hydra chimed in mockingly, "I think this Dud Princess must have carelessly misplaced the crown somewhere again... Oh my, if you lose your job, what will you and your heterochromatic brother do?"
Vivi's fists involuntarily clenched tightly.
She could guess that these two had stolen and hidden the crown.
"Where's the crown?" she asked softly.
"Guess?" Hydra shook her head, "Ha, never mind, guessing is no fun, let me show you the way."
She raised her hand, pointing to a distant tree.
"See, it's hanging on that tree branch." Hydra glanced at Vivi's formal gown, smiling wickedly, "Well then, let's see if you value the crown more, or your dress... Or if getting the crown means ruining your dress, let's see how your aunt scolds you..."
"Dud Vira, go get it yourself!" William Minnie made a face.
"William Minnie?" Hydra patted William Minnie on the shoulder, "Be polite, we are pure-blood wizards participating in an important event, we should have our etiquette... We should address her as... Muggle Princess."
Vivi couldn't care less about their ridicule, she was in a daze as she ran to the tree with the crown hanging.
But the tree was too tall, and being a lady, she had no idea how to climb trees, so she could only anxiously gaze at the crown hanging up high.
"Muggle Princess, go on." Hydra laughed maliciously, "Maybe you can climb up like a monkey and take the crown down—but be careful not to fall and die."
Vivi stood beneath the tree, desperately looking up at the crown hanging high in its branches.
She didn't know what she had done wrong to deserve such treatment.
That's right, they were all Grindelwalds, all cousins...
Suddenly, a gust of wind brushed past her.
Vivi saw a boy flying by on a broomstick, wearing strange glasses, effortlessly taking the crown down.
After retrieving the crown, the boy turned his broom, drawing a graceful arc in the sky before steadily stopping in front of her.
"Here, your crown." the boy said softly, "Be careful not to lose it again—"
Vivi noticed that the boy in front of her spoke English.
Having studied under her aunt for so long, she naturally learned English and French, and could understand what Harry was saying.
"Thank you." Vivi replied in heavily accented English.
"A prince saving a princess? How cliché."
The sharp voice rang out again.
"What are they saying?" the boy in front asked, not understanding German.
German has always been one of the official languages of Austria-Hungary. In 1867, Austria-Hungary issued a language decree, primarily to uphold the status of German and Hungarian as official languages, while also somewhat recognizing and protecting the rights of other ethnic languages.
So these wizards from the traditional German regions of Austria-Hungary usually spoke in German.
"They said it's the classic prince saves princess scenario, which is so boring." Vivi translated for the black-haired boy in front of her.
Hearing this, the boy smiled brightly.
"Haha, I'm no prince." the boy scratched his head, "Have you ever seen a prince who's an orphan?—I mean, a prince without parents, without any relatives, haha... even attending Hogwarts on a bursary..."