Chapter 22

Spring was already gone, but there was no damp heat. The flowers, familiar with summer, were fully bloomed in the sun, and the white palace with a little gray glow was shining. The cool wind was blowing, and the warm and moderate days continued.

Ashtie, who wore thin, light clothes, entered the dining room. Her round shoulders and skinny collarbone were slightly sparkled with a touch of powder. Her dress that was softer than wheat swayed lightly in the wind.

She greeted Lu Harve, who had been there first. They exchanged greetings with a light smile. Familiar silence followed. It was already a daily routine for them. Once or twice a week, they ate meals together. Sometimes it was lunch, sometimes it was dinner. The conversation topics were usually about Wroclaw, the books they read, and other trivial things.

On the round table, there was a lot of appetizing, colored food. The rich soup, made with potatoes and fragrant mushrooms, smelled savory. The salad, mixed with lettuce, chicory, yellow nuts, and paprika looked very fresh. The canapés with cheese, olives, oranges, grapes, and cherries on top of the fine crackers, would stimulate their appetites more. There were glossy-colored steaks, salty meat and vegetable stews, and dishes with finely minced fish.

Ashtie slightly smiled at a fine-looking dish of fish.

It was three weeks ago.

Lu Harve languidly leaned back in his chair and rested his chin on his hand.

“Doesn’t it suit your taste, Princess?” he asked.

It was a strange discovery to him, who was staring at the table thoughtlessly with his chin propped on his hand. He had never asked anyone a question of such personal interest, but the princess was not colorless to him anymore. No, she was never. In the second thought, he asked if that person was not colorless to him. He had invited the head of foreign affairs to the palace before.

Much more, he often had meals together with the princess and had been talking about this and that.

He was not sure what color it was, but he was not one that would miss that strange thing by accident.

In Skara, people usually ate cold dishes and didn’t steam or boil food often. Even so, she ate some of a fish dish, so he never thought fish would not suit her taste. He didn’t care about that, at first.

But now, she has not touched the steamed fish, though she was continuing her meal in a flawless manner. Lu Harve slowly recalled the last time, the other time, and before then. She ate the flesh part of fish, but hardly ever ate fish with bone.

“Maybe she doesn’t like it?” he thought.

He became curious.

So, he asked her lightly, but her mood sank in a flash. At that moment, he lifted his back from his chair and slightly leaned toward the table. Nobody would notice if they were not paying attention to the atmosphere that appeared stealthily and faded away gradually.

“I don’t eat fish… well,” she bit her lip slightly and answered.

She thought that was really a petty excuse.

When she was 13, her mother was no longer with her. She realized that quickly, but it was hard to admit. The first day she ate a meal after a long time of crying, cooked fish was served. The fishbone was still there. When cooking seafood, it was a tradition to cook it after removing the bones and guts. It could be considered disrespect to royalty. Although she couldn’t scold the chef, she could at least point that out. But it happened often already to her, so she just didn’t mention it.

The child calmly lifted the fork.

But then, naturally, she remembered her mother. No, there was no moment that she did not think of her.

“Ashi, you have to de-bone the fish first,” the mother of Ashtie said. “I don’t want my baby to get a fishbone in her throat. Good girl, you eat well.”

The mother spoke to Ashtie with the sweetest voice in the world and a smile like sunshine. She watched her with a heart full of love.

She was thirteen years old. It was the age she could de-bone a fish. It was the age she could eat by herself, but she shed tears. They were helpless tears. Could anyone miss somebody so much like this? She wondered why her mother had to leave her–why she survived alone. The child could not have a meal anymore that day.

Since then, she could not touch any fish with bone. She knew it was immature and trifling. She was fragile and young, then. She had still been like this, although she was grown up and had passed the coming of age ceremony many years ago.

Ashtie thought the king would laugh at her. No, he might not laugh at her in her face, but he would hint his intention.

“Everyone would do that,” she thought.

Even she thought it was a ridiculous thing.

“Didn’t you eat the flesh of fish before?” the king nodded slightly.

“…Yes,” she said, after a short moment of hesitation.

“I will let the chef know about this,” Lu Harve said.

“I am very grateful,” Ashtie thanked.

“You are welcome,” he replied.

The king momentarily looked at Ashtie, who reflexively thanked him, then leaned back in his chair again, as if he were drowsy.

“Has the king ever laughed at me, blamed me, or despised me? No, he did not,” she realized.

He helped her to have a satisfying time when she was not taken care of in her own country. She was very grateful for the king’s goodwill and consideration, but she thought it was only because he had to keep his justification since he had not shown any personal interest in her. That was how she had thought of him the day she met him at the Royal Library. It would be just a simple and brief interest.

That was how she thought until she started to have meals with him once or twice a week.

Ashtie realized, while she was eating and talking with the king, that he started to have an interest in her.

It was no wonder. Since the first meeting, Del Monte III had never given her any negative feelings. She was very grateful for him–for his kindness. She was glad to talk about the book. He responded politely, and the more she talked with him, the more she felt pleased. It didn’t matter if the king didn’t show any other interest, and it was okay to keep talking about the book all the time.

But he asked her about her taste. The king had never shown interest like this until a few months ago.

About three months ago, the etiquette professor reported to the king. “Your Majesty. The princess finished her learning.”

Since he worked as a professor for his regular work, he only visited the palace once or twice a week. It has been a month since he started, so he only taught the princess five or six times so far.

“She learned this quickly?” he wondered to himself.

The manners of Monterobis were not easy to learn–especially the banquet etiquette–because they were complicated. Lu Harve looked at the professor.

“There is nothing more I can teach her,” he said.

That was enough. The librarians of the Royal Library had already testified that she was smart, and he knew that she was showing an excellent manner at mealtime. As the princess of Skara, she would have been used to complicated manners. So, she must have learned easily about the courtesy of this country, too.

About four months ago, Lu Harve learned something.

The spring breeze blew by his office. Some of the enormous stacks of reports in the corner were blown away, and Lu Harve had to clean them up. He was annoyed, but he leaned back in his chair once and rose easily.

Those were Yeref’s reports about the princess, her personal information, and her daily routines. Of course, he didn’t care about those. He only had an interest in the fact that she had been to Wroclaw, she was smart, and she enjoyed reading. So, he didn’t read carefully while he picked up the scattered reports. Then, there was something that drew his attention.

That day, at mealtime, Ashtie had waited for him. Soon, he entered the dining room. His steps were heavy and calm. Ashtie greeted him in a natural and flowing manner. She raised her head after his light gesture. She saw his face and it…

Was blushed. Blush?

“I heard you were a constant visitor to Wroclaw,” he said.

“Ah, Etutu might have told him,” she thought.

Etutu must have passed the detailed report to the king. Now he mentioned it, however, Ashtie did not think the king had read it carefully. If he had, he would have talked about Wroclaw from the first time he’d seen her. It didn’t matter anyway. So Ashtie just nodded.

It was a good thing for Lu Harve. He enjoyed reading, but he didn’t have many people with whom he could talk about it. Siblings? It would be nonsense.

He could not talk with other nobles. It was impossible at all on the battlefield. Etutu? That would be the most ridiculous thing. There were not many times that he actually saw somebody visit Wroclaw. Hanavah-lyene was the only one, but he could not stay in Monterobis long. The prince of Skara was another, but, to Lu Harve, the prince was nothing but a result of the treaty.

But unlike them, there was one, right in front of him, who was not colorless to him, and who also spent a long time in Wroclaw.

That day, he heard a detailed explanation about Wroclaw from her. She also mentioned good books in the Royal Library.

“Please, tell me more about it again,” he said as he was finishing his dinner.

The princess replied politely that she would.

And now, his clothing was lighter like hers. They were eating and talking about books.

“Elsir Shote’s novel, the secret of Alexandria, is also a good book to read,” she said.

“A novel?” he asked.

“Yes. This book features a very realistic description. It covered what might have historically actually happened. Some have commented that it is a little mythical, but it is more realistic than a fictional fantasy,” she answered.

“Is that so?” he asked again.

“Yes. There are three books in total. It’s right in the front area of the library, so it will be easy to find,” she said.

He thought that would not be bad and he would check it out tomorrow.

It was something he had never experienced. It was a little different from treating other opponents as a king–treating other servants, treating talented people. He had never tried to build personal friendships.

But a few weeks ago, he had asked her taste. She was always polite as if she were happy.

Had ever she ignored him? No, she did not. She was not in a position she could and didn’t look like she would in the first place.

He always did the math when he was dealing with other people. He logically and reasonably followed his cause. He always thought about how he could make a good impression as a king. Everything that he favored to others came from the calculations.

He knew he was offering a favor to the princess of Skara. Of course, he had a good cause. He also knew this was an unusual curiosity.

Although it was a limited topic, he had never before had meals with somebody this often and made conversation continuously.

He thought it was not a big matter. It was not something harming him. If so, he could give some right favors. He was most wealthy in the country and was in a position where he could give any favors to the others. It was a little different matter from the colorless world.

Just like that, the king continued his conversation with the princess. He knew he was giving personal interest and favor. It seemed like she knew about it, too. The princess continuously complied with good grace and manners.

So, the very next day, when he went to the library…

“Her Highness already borrowed the book.”

The princess mentioned she was reading the third book. Then, the first and second books probably were in the library. That is why he came to the library.

The librarian, who knew how fast the princess read, looked at the king’s countenance and said, “I think she has finished reading it all by now.”

Lu Harve was willing to go to the princess himself. When he read books, he felt comfortable having the entire volume. The palace was his own, so there was nowhere he could not go. It was that easy.

He put two books on the desk in his office and headed upstairs. Soon, he stood in front of her door. The maid, in a calm voice, but loudly enough that somebody inside could hear, called to the king’s visit.

But there was no answer. The maid’s face changed strangely.

“Isn’t she inside?” he asked.

“Yes, she is in,” the maid answered.

The maid had been standing at the door, and she had not seen the princess came out from the room. She was sure that the princess was inside. She said again that the king was at the door. Still, the princess didn’t answer; there was only silence. The maid began to panic and wonder what happened. It was surprising that the king had come to this room, but the silence of the princess was also surprising.

Lu Harve checked the maid’s face and ordered, “Open the door.”