“…A dream,” I muttered quietly before blinking my eyes. The morning sunlight pouring through the window was incredibly bright. It was more than enough to wake me up, even filtered through my lace curtains. “That was a memory from when I was six years old, or maybe five…?”
I tried to think back on any childhood memories that might add to the now-fading dream. Even back then, I was a glutton…or rather, I was highly interested in food. That was why I’d asked a servant to let me watch him harvest honey.
Big Brother Claude was there to escort me. Our mother had already passed away by that time, so Father and our other two older brothers were always very busy. It was why I naturally ended up playing with Big Brother Claude most of the time.
“I remember that moment. Big Brother Claude had a strange look on his face when he saw the queen bee and worker bees.”
I didn’t understand why at the time, and still wasn’t entirely certain of the reason now either. But Big Brother Claude felt little loyalty to the royal family and was a fundamentally lazy person. He’d even declared that he wanted to spend an entire year or two inside the house, with nothing but books and alcohol to pass the time. He was so hopeless sometimes.
Perhaps, as the exact opposite of those worker bees tirelessly serving the queen, he’d felt offended watching them.
“Well, it’s not as if he stopped eating honey over it…”
He didn’t seem to have any sort of grudge over the honey itself, at least. I’d never have even remembered that little exchange if it wasn’t for that dream. But I knew why it came to me—I was going to eat some delicious honey treats today.
“I haven’t been to Lady Fillia’s villa in so long.”
Lady Fillia was a candidate for queen who resided in the southern villa. She wasn’t particularly active as a noblewoman, but she seemed interested in keeping up her social relations, which was why I visited her from time to time. However, I didn’t know her as well as the other three candidates. We simply hadn’t found many opportunities to really sit down and engage in conversation.
I’d already served half of my time as queen. I wanted to understand her on a deeper level while I still had the chance.
Fortunately, I just so happened to receive an invitation from her.
Honey, the specialty product of the southern region, was now in season. Lady Fillia had invited me over knowing that I loved food and cooking.
“Hehe! I’m so excited.”
Of course, my main objective was to get to know her better. But on the inside, my heart danced at the thought of getting to try that honey. I’d always heard that it was absolutely delicious.
✦ ✦ ✦
LELENA and my maids helped me change and get ready before I boarded my carriage. I had a brief stop to make before heading to Lady Fillia’s villa.
“I want to know what the Gardener Cats are up to…” I said to Lucian.
The Gardener Cats had been strangely tense for the past few days. I spent the most time with Berry, who hadn’t changed much—perhaps because of her carefree personality. But the others were acting strange to various degrees.
Did I do something to offend them? Or did another human upset them in some way? I tried asking out of concern, but the Gardener Cats refused to reveal anything. The ones who used the second Gardener Cat field were acting particularly unusual, though I didn’t know why.
We arrived at the second field, where we were greeted by a very small party of Gardener Cats. It wasn’t as if they were collectively rejecting me, but their overall mood had obviously changed. They were busy tilling the soil and watering their crops, all the while sneaking glances in my direction.
“These Gardener Cats truly are acting strange,” Lucian said. “They were on edge when they first came to the villa, but it wasn’t as bad as this.”
“That’s how I feel too, Lucian,” I agreed.
It seemed it wasn’t just my imagination after all. I cast my eyes over the Gardener Cats, searching for a source of this change, and spotted one corner of the field. The area that had been empty only a few days ago was now sprouting little green buds.
“…That reminds me. They wouldn’t tell me what crop they were growing either.”
It was unusual for the Gardener Cats to keep secrets from me.
Curious, I took a closer look and discovered something interesting. The plants were unidentifiable, with nothing more than buds coming up. It was the Gardener Cats around them who were acting strangely. A few of them were standing around the space protectively at all times, checking for abnormalities. It was obvious that they were paying close attention to those plants in particular.
“Are you worried that the crop isn’t going to grow safely?” I asked Wheat, a light brown Gardener Cat, and watched as he broke eye contact with me. My suspicions had been confirmed. “Don’t worry, I won’t get in your way. I’d like to help ensure no one comes near and that the plants don’t die. Would that be all right?”
After a bit of thought, the Gardener Cat called for his friends. Wheat was trusted by the other Gardener Cats and had become something of a leader for them, but it seemed he still relied on the others when it came to big decisions.
“Meow meow!”
“Mraw?”
“Meeeow?”
“Mrawoh!”
They huddled together, conversing and glancing at me from time to time.
Their discussion continued for a while until Wheat gave one last cry. The others all nodded and turned to stare up at me.
“Meow meow, meow meow meow!”
“We’ll accept your proposal. Thank you for your help.”
With that, Wheat bowed his tiny body toward me.
✦ ✦ ✦
“WELCOME, Your Majesty. I’m honored to have you in my home today.”
Lady Fillia bowed elegantly outside of the shrubs spanning the perimeter of her royal villa. She wore a lemon yellow dress that was a perfect match for the spring garden. Its many frills and bows suited her small, dainty body.
Lady Fillia’s large eyes were slightly drooping—a light blue just like the sky in spring. Her curly black hair was glossy from the care she put into it. Not only was her family prominent enough to make her a candidate for queen, but the young noblewoman certainly wasn’t lacking in looks either.