Those of us left on this side of the bridge were me, Prince Severin, Lord Nigel, Princess Mira, Mr. Meyer, Lord Hilbert, and just one Visselian soldier. Not a single one of the princess’s maids remained, so I volunteered to take care of her.
I walked over to her. “Aren’t you cold?”
“I’m fine,” she muttered. “I managed to stay mostly dry, aside from my jacket. What about you, Mrs. Marielle? Please don’t forget about yourself.”
“I’m also all right. I have my cape, and Prince Severin blocked most of the water for me.”
His Highness grumbled, “You’ve got some nerve using a crown prince as an umbrella.”
“You didn’t get wet in the places I was covering, so it’s only fair.”
We were given cloths to wipe off with, so we didn’t have to stay wet and shiver. I dried Her Highness’s hair for her, while the prince and Lord Nigel took care of themselves. We’d known it was going to rain, so we’d prepped beforehand. Only Lord Hilbert had arrived empty-handed, which was why he glared at us with contempt. I offered him one of our towels in response, but that only fueled his anger.
“Such an unthoughtful woman! Don’t just shove it at me in silence! Wipe me down!”
“Oh...” He’s asking me to dry him off? All right, fine...
“Cut it out, Hilbert.” Princess Mira stopped me and scolded him. “How could you say something so rude without giving thanks? Wipe yourself down instead.”
“She’s helping you out!”
“Just my back. I dried off the places I could reach on my own, and so did everyone else. Why can’t you?”
“It’s not that I can’t—I’m saying she has no respect for royalty. She’s the rude one!”
“Didn’t you call me the shame of Vissel? Look at how you’re acting now. Are you saying this is how we should carry ourselves?”
“Excuse me?!”
Prince Severin stepped in front of Lord Hilbert, who was about to fly into a rage. When Lord Hilbert shrunk back and shut his mouth, His Highness beamed an intense smile at him.
“If you need help, allow me to assist you. Hand that to me, Marielle.”
I placed the towel into Prince Severin’s outstretched hand.
“All right then, we’ll start with your head.” He gestured to Lord Hilbert. “Could you bend down a bit?”
“N-No,” Lord Hilbert stammered. “I couldn’t possibly make you do something like this...”
“Don’t be shy. I have two younger sisters—I’m very used to taking care of them.” His Highness wrapped Lord Hilbert’s head in the towel and began roughly rubbing it back and forth. “My youngest sister in particular is a tomboy, so I had to constantly look after her. When she’d fall into a puddle and cry her eyes out, I’d wipe her down and make her change, just like this. How nostalgic! That was when she was about six years old.”
I pretended to wipe my face to cover up my giggles. His Highness was teasing Lord Hilbert for requiring help like a child.
“Y-You don’t need to do this!” Lord Hilbert blurted out. “This is something women should do.”
“Since it involves your body being touched, wouldn’t someone of the same sex be better?”
“Th-That’s enough. I’ll do it myself!” Lord Hilbert snatched the towel from Prince Severin’s hand and pouted as he dried himself off. His Highness shrugged and smiled at Princess Mira, who seemed quite astonished. She grinned back at him with a mixture of gratitude and apology.
We’d been standing near the entrance to the castle, but the rain and wind only grew stronger and colder as they blew in, so we moved farther inside. This region was known for being cold, and the temperature only dropped during this kind of weather. The stone castle gradually became colder, and it grew dark, as if evening had fallen.
There were some rooms overlooking the bridge that had been furnished with several wooden benches so that visitors could rest. The windows here were made of glass, so closing them shut out the wind completely. We all sat down in one of these rooms and waited for the storm clouds to abate. The sounds of the rain knocking harshly against the glass were rather terrifying, and it was such a downpour that I couldn’t see the outside scenery at all. Sometimes, lightning would flash through the sky, followed by a huge sound that would shake the air shortly after.
Lord Hilbert complained to himself the whole time. “Why did this have to happen? I can’t believe security slacked off so much that they allowed a bomb to be placed on the bridge. Was no one watching it?”
Prince Severin answered lazily. “They’d supposedly been monitoring it, so I also wonder why. That bomb was probably planted before we got there, but the decoys were planted after. There’s no way we wouldn’t have noticed someone working to place them on top of the bridge, so how...?”
“Hmph. Perhaps the guards took a nap. This is Lagrange’s responsibility. I don’t plan on letting this end ambiguously—I’ll be sure to prosecute you all for this later on.”
“Indeed. Please pray that things end smoothly enough that you are able to do so.”
That statement only worsened Lord Hilbert’s expression. He searched for a response for a moment but evidently realized he couldn’t say anything back, so he turned away and kept quiet. He’d only gotten angry because of how anxious he was; he was actually scared and lashing out at us as his way of asking for help. I understood how he felt. I also hoped that the bridge bombs would be the end of it, but there was no telling what could come next. We were left on a deserted island in the midst of a lightning storm, so it made sense that he was frightened.
Mr. Meyer’s expression was also dark, and Princess Mira kept checking outside the window. Since we only had one guard left, we couldn’t just sit around and worry. Prince Severin and Lord Nigel were the only ones who were as calm as they usually were.
I rummaged through my pocket, wishing I’d brought some candy with me. Something sweet was just what I needed to soothe my nerves. Didn’t I at least have something to distract me?
His Highness nagged me about it. “Why are you rustling around? Do you need the bathroom? Go out into the hallway—it’ll be on your left.”
“That’s not it.” I glared at him. “I was just thinking I should’ve brought something with me. You as well, Your Highness. You seem very at ease, despite the situation. Are you all right?”
“What do you mean?”
“We’re in an old castle that was not only a battlefield but was also used as an execution site. Tons of people have died from violence here.”
“Marielle.” He plastered on an irritated smile and tugged at my cheek.
“Dat wurts!” That hurts!
“Your mouth only ever says unnecessary things!”
Lord Nigel laughed at us fighting, while everyone else looked on, exasperated but resigned.
Princess Mira’s gaze was fond. “You’re very calm, Mrs. Marielle. I’m impressed that you can stay so sound of mind. I suppose I should’ve expected no less of the Lieutenant’s wife.”
“Oh...” No, no, I’m anxious too. But in a place like this, I have to pretend to be collected so that you can stay reassured, Your Highness. “I’m used to things like this.”
“You’re...used to it?”
“I wonder why,” His Highness quipped.
“Me too. I’ve been involved in so many things after getting engaged to Lord Simeon...including your business, Your Highness.”
“Urgh... Don’t you dare mention that in front of Simeon. He’ll get depressed and think it’s his fault.”
“We’ve already passed that stage.”
Lord Nigel was holding his stomach and stifling his laughter with all his might. What’s so funny?!
He was gripping the walking stick he often used, which concealed a blade. Though he was an elegant playboy on the surface, he was always prepared for battle. After all, he was the leader of the Knights of the Rose, who were famous for being the strongest in battle, so having him on our side kept us confident. Lord Simeon must have also been relieved to know that he was with us. I didn’t want to let this fact slip, however. I felt it was best to keep Lord Nigel’s immense strength a secret. Prince Severin seemed to have the same idea, so he intentionally ignored Lord Nigel.
“There’s no need to worry.” Lord Nigel’s honey voice soothed us. “They’ll come back for us in due time. I’m sure we won’t have to wait long.”
He was trying to encourage the princess and suggest that all we had to do was trust Lord Simeon and the knights. She returned a small smile and nodded back at Lord Nigel’s dependable grin.
This exchange almost made the mood recover, but Mr. Meyer pulled it back down. “Shouldn’t we hide farther back? The culprit surely saw that we avoided the explosion. They may attack us again before we’re rescued.” His expression told us that we shouldn’t succumb to relief just yet.
Lord Nigel shook his head. “There’s nowhere for us to hide.”
“I’m sure there’s a room that can be locked in this castle.”
“It’d be better to stay near the entrance, instead of in a room they could trap us in.”
“It’s actually more dangerous to stay in during a lightning storm!”