Chapter 86

“Your Highness. You should go now.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Your Highness.”

“I said I don’t want to.”

“Then, I will tell His Majesty.”

Even if the girl stared intently, the servant was firm. If this chamberlain stepped back now, the times he spent with the princess would be pointless.

“Don’t do that,” she said.

“No. The time has already passed. The etiquette professor is waiting.”

“Arg… Liam! You are so mean!”

The girl was always vulnerable to her father. He never scolded her. But not like the mother, she could not stop to have a sense of awe when she met him. Especially when he called her—

“Hemelina.”

— with that low voice, nobody asked to do so, but she dropped her eyes and tilted her head.

And nobody asked her why she felt so scared, of course, because everybody was in awe of him so as the queen.

***

It was a bit of a sudden thing for him, even though he had Etutu and the most reliable messenger.

For some reason, the princess first came to the office. That alone was unexpected. The king wondered the reason, and at the same time, he welcomed her.

“What’s going on?”

Or he tried to, and this was the best he could express.

If somebody said there was not enough affection, that would be a lie. The princess resembled more to his wife than him, fortunately. She was also very lively. He had not yet found a more suitable modifier. When she blinked her bright red eyes, every people in the palace would try to do anything for her. It happened from the moment she started to walk alone. She was the princess, so there was no reason to spare any support for her. The child’s teacher was selected by the king himself. They reported about her every day. Most were praised. In addition, he watched her by himself, she learned the language at a pretty early age, and soon she started to look for a foreign dictionary.

Of course, the king thought that it didn’t matter if the child wasn’t so intelligent. Because she loved to dance and sing with her mother. At sunset, the child came back home with her mother from Ramon Vischeri. She visited there almost every day as if it was one of her favorite times. When he saw the dance of the girl of the blue hair like the dawn light that would shine the morning and the woman with a pinkish purple hair, he felt something soft from the deep of his heart. So, he worried nothing, but she would grow healthy. He would be happy if she just would stay here with her mother.

In short, for Lu Havre, the child was a vindication of evidence that he was in love with Ashtie and, of course, the second child as well. Ashtie was still sweet, soft, and beautiful. She slept next to him every night and smiled sweetly as she stroked her child. Lu Harve was caring about this child as much as he cared about Ashtie, as much as Ashtie cared about the child.

“I… have something to tell you… I’m sorry to interrupt you.”

“You are fine. Come in.”

Of course, the calm, indifferent voice was just natural. It was only in front of one person that his voice was filled with deep emotions.

“…Father,” she said.

He thought it would be until he was called like that.

Lu Harve’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

The princess could not afford to catch the emotion of that right at the moment because it was the most important moment in her life. She recognized his face changed a bit. She hardened her mind, or she had already decided.

The first step was difficult to take, but the second was easier.

“I have someone I want to be engaged to, Father.”

It was not surprising news to him. He always talked before he went to bed with the queen, so he heard something yesterday, a few months ago, and two or three years ago.

But the title she called him was surprising.

She almost bowed whenever he called her name. He knew that. So, he wondered what was going on.

A surprise was the first thing. It was, of course, a pleasure to immediately next. After that, he felt something soft like a cloud that he had felt when he saw his daughter with Ashtie. He had imagined it before, and he realized again, his imagination was not enough. He did not know he would feel such a satisfaction to be called father.

Lu Harve stood up from his chair. He approached the child in stride. He met her eyes and gladly spoke. He had so many emotions about this child. He remembered when she was born. It was still vivid. And there were many memories with her.

“Hemelina,” he said.

“Oh,” she thought, “what mother said was right.” Hemelina, who felt more relaxed, smiled at him.

So, all this started from a meeting four years ago.

More exactly, even that meeting also had a reason. The mother of the princess was the professor of Ramon Vischeri. In the king’s name or in the will of herself, the queen had kept the place so far. Soon, the students of Ramon Vischeri loved her dance classes. Satisfaction may vary, but one thing was certain; the queen proudly belonged to the outstanding faculty of Ramon Vischeri.

So, Hemelina visited there often. She was held by the maid and peeped her mother’s lessons. After the day, she walked the long hallway of the palace with perfect steps, and she entered the classroom. Everybody there was dancing and singing, so it was natural for her to try to follow that. Although she was a little bit clumsy. Soon, she became familiar with humming the songs and dancing with her mother and the other students.

When she became six or seven years old, she had been educated in royalty. She spent half or a day at the royal palace. But she still liked Ramon Vischeri. She still went there often. The maid and attendant, who had been rasing her since she was a baby, were also willing to follow. Several knights followed.

The princess, Hemelina, was really satisfied with her life. She was just happy. Her father was a wonderful person who was in awe, and her mother was just good to be with. There was no shortage of anything to wear or to eat. Everything was satisfying. It was fun to read books, learn to speak words, and study things like history. She walked around in the castle and walked the streets out of the city, with familiar servants who she had seen since she was a baby. One day, in these peaceful and relaxing days—

when she was ten years old. Her baby brother was born.

All attention was taken from her. Whether it was true or not, the princess felt so. She felt a little restless about the baby in her mother’s arms for twenty-four hours, even though she probably had the same. But, to go to the king who she only felt nothing but awe when she asked for a hug—

was impossible.

Then after a while, when her mother fell asleep, Hemelina glanced down at the baby, who was still wriggling in the cradle.

She stared at the baby for a while and realized something. The was strangely resembling her. She could not tell where exactly, but she felt strange. The red eyes of the baby were buried in his padded flesh. He blinked his eyes slowly.

Hemelina touched the baby’s cheek. It was hot, red, and soft. There would be nothing like this.

Hemelina fully realized.

It was a very natural thing that the baby got love from everybody as she had been.

So, she just thought she was in a fidget. She wanted to have something sweet. She headed out of the palace with her chamberlain. Three knights quietly followed them. As always, it was a normal day.

Until she met one man in the finest bakery in Radom.

“Wouldn’t it be better to ride the carriage?” Liam asked.

“It’s okay. It’s okay,” she answered.

“And Your Highness. Lemons are—”

“Oh, Liam.”

“Your Highness. We can ask the chef in the palace.”

“Liam. Aren’t you tired?”

“This is my duty to serve you, so I will never be tired.”

The princess told off Liam that telling her the same thing every time. She walked down the street, feeling the warm and bright mood of midday.

“I told you, the desserts of Lemons are sweeter and richer,” the princess said.

“But they are not good for your—”

“Stop, Liam. I like it here more.”

The words as usual continued, and soon she arrived at the shop.

“So, stop today.”

She put her hands on her waist with a somewhat determined look. Soon, the bell rang, and the shop door closed.

“…Liam.”

Of course, she was not scary. She was just cute and lovely, and that could be a problem. The girl with red eyes with lively red cheeks was always lovely.

Liam tilted his head like a sigh.

“Please don’t tell anybody. Sir Feltnum.”

“Hmm…Don’t worry.”

Hemelina went into the shop, whether other people followed or not and shouted out loud.

“Bris! Give me everything in here, today. No, except one or two, give me everything.”

“OK! Please wait!”

The owner of the bakery smiled. Then, he started to pack; colorful macarons, chocolate cakes, whipped cream cakes with fruit slices, brownies, almond cookies, yellow caramels, milk puddings, peach jelly, apple tarts, and cream puffs, and so on. She was a regular customer, and it was a familiar order, so his hands moved quickly.

“Lady?”

Noon, the time that the bread came out, had already passed, but many customers came to the store. So, Hemelina thought that calling was not for her. She had no room to think.

“Lady?”

And people would know the princess that coming here often.

“Excuse me, lady.”

He called her three times. Everybody in the shop looked at him.

“If you do that, the next person will not be able to buy sweets.”

She never was called except Your Highness in her life. Hemelina didn’t care about it. She rather felt it funny. To her, it was a nag from Liam.

“Yes?”

Unfortunately, the princess was the fastest one who reacted to that. She looked back a little. Liam was dumbfounded. Two knights were waiting outside; the only knight in the store was Feltnum. But he looked very surprised, too. The princess made a bigger smile. Hemelina raised her hand lightly, just in case, to stop the knight who would draw a sword.

“Me?” she asked.

“Yes, lady. I am telling you.”

With quite rude speaking of her, he didn’t budge an eye at all. He was very confident and also very respectful of speech. Hemelina, for a while, was confused to call him very polite or not.

“Mister. Please be careful with your word.”

Liam finally said something, standing in front of Hemelina.

The boy looked at him. He could not see him before, too busy to watch the girl that takes everything in the store.

“…Chamberlain?”

He was the man who dressed up neatly. On his black vast, there was a red brooch. The boy knew what that means. He looked at the girl with little trembling eyes. She had red eyes.

The boy knelt immediately. He apologized in the lowest position.

“I apologize, Your Highness. I was so ignorant that I could not recognize the presence of Your Highness. I didn’t recognize Nantes of Monvixo and called you like a normal person. I even didn’t show you the manner for Nantes. I made a big mistake, but everything that I say would be just excuses. Your Highness.”

And he held his breath. It would be no wonder if he would ask her to kill him. Hemelina quickly opened her mouth before the boy continued talking.

“It’s okay.”