I had just finished hearing the morning reports and was about to dismiss everyone when the doors burst open. My wife, the queen, stood there panting, and the instant our eyes met, I thought she was about to burst into tears.
The prime minister and other ministers were about to scold her for barging in, but they fell silent when they saw the look on her face.
She was always smiling, so it was incredibly rare to see her looking so sad, and no one quite knew how to react.
“What’s wrong?”
Lilia stood frozen in the doorway, but hearing my words seemed to bring her back to her senses, and she slowly walked over to me. Everyone watched, wondering what had happened. She greeted me, then spoke in a trembling voice.
“Setsuna sent a message.”
“What did it say?”
“It said, ‘I would like to receive my payment for the quest I previously completed for you. I shall be awaiting your reply’…” Lilia lowered her gaze.
“I see.”
“I hope he’s all right…”
“As do I.”
“Would you let me handle this?” she asked. “I’m the one who has to reward Setsuna for the quest.” She clasped her hands tightly in front of her chest and looked me straight in the eyes. She seemed to be turning over all sorts of thoughts in her mind.
“As you wish,” I said.
“Thank you. There’s one other thing I’d like to ask.”
“Yes?”
“I wish to have another maid assigned to me.”
“A maid?”
“Yes. I would like to have Sophia serve as my maid.”
I glanced over at Fred and Georges, Sophia’s brother and fiancé. They both shook their heads slightly. It seemed like the queen had come up with this idea just now and hadn’t told anyone about it beforehand.
“May I, Your Majesty?” Fred asked.
Of course… They must be trying to understand what’s going on.
I nodded, and Fred voiced the question that was surely on everyone’s minds. “My queen, what connection is there between having my sister serve you and Setsuna’s reward?”
I raised a hand to stop the queen from answering. “We can’t discuss that. There are some things we are unable to disclose at present.”
Fred nodded silently while I took a moment to mull over what we could share.
“First, the reward owed to Setsuna is to take care of Alto here in the castle.”
I phrased it like I was providing a piece of imformation, leaving no room for questions. Fred remained silent, waiting for me to continue.
“Sophia will be formally contracted as the queen’s maid; however, her primary duty will be to look after Alto. Once our agreement with Setsuna comes to an end, so will her assignment. The reason Sophia was chosen is because of her bond with Alto. Just earlier, Georges was telling me how well they’ve been getting along during his riding lessons, so I judged her the best fit.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
I hadn’t mentioned that Alto was shy around strangers, but anyone who knew him was already aware of that. It was just another reason why Sophia had been entrusted with his care.
“I’ll send word officially to her home tonight, so please consider it. I know you’re also preparing for a wedding, so I won’t force it on Sophia, but I do hope for a favorable reply.”
There would be doubts as to why Alto had been taken into the castle’s care, but I couldn’t reveal that without breaking my promise to Setsuna. I chose to end the discussion here to make that clear.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Fred said, his expression unchanged.
He was an outstanding knight, but in moments like these, I couldn’t help but think how inconvenient it was that his face revealed so little about his emotions.