THE room Sonia had used before going to the Royal Abbey was cleaned periodically. She went into the adjoining bedchamber, kicked off her shoes, and plopped down on her bed.
“...Ah!” Upon hesitantly testing her voice, Sonia was filled with relief to find it was back to normal.
Breathing a sigh of relief, she suddenly noticed something on her chest felt amiss where the rosary dangling on its silver chain nestled against her bosom.
“Huh...?”
She only touched it through her clothing, but it didn’t feel the same as usual. Unfastening the clasp, she pulled the rosary out from under her dress. What she saw made her tremble.
“What...happened?! I don’t believe my eyes!”
The ornately crafted silver rosary was tarnished pitch black.
“What’s going on?! No! This is too scary! Someone help me!” Sonia shouted and flung herself across the bed in a fit of tears. “Mom! Dad! Alexis! Help me! I can’t take it anymore!”
This was the first time Sonia had called out to her parents and older brother while crying, since her family had died when she was little. The sudden isolation had forced her to face loneliness, uncertainty, sadness, and indescribable loss. But even so, she had been able to get back on her feet because she was still young and had people who offered kind, gentle hands of support.
But things were different now. Not only did she have a fiancé, she’d be getting married soon. In other words, she was an adult. Once she inherited this massive fortune, it would be up to her to run the estate as the lady of the land. Now it was her turn to step into the advisor role.
“But I have no idea how to deal with this!” She punched her frustration out in her pillows.
KNOCK! KNOCK! The knocking at her door finally caught Sonia’s attention. From the sound of the frantic pounding, the visitor had tried knocking dozens of times. Occasionally she could hear him use that same title as always, calling, “Princess?” from the other side of the door.
“...Sir Chris!” Sonia breathed. She raced barefoot across the room to open the door.
“I came to bid you good night, but heard you crying. I was just about to fetch help. What happened, Princess?”
“S-Sir Chris!”
Breaking into tears, Sonia threw herself upon Chris. Despite his surprise, the knight gently stroked her shoulders.
“Princess, calm down. Could you explain what happened?
“My rosary...!”
“Your rosary?”
The blood drained from his face when he realized the tarnished lump clutched in Sonia’s hands was her rosary. But as might be expected of a knight of his caliber, not only was he quick to regain his composure, he even mustered a smile.
“This is proof it was protecting you.”
“My rosary was...?”
“That’s right. You earned its protection for being such a good person in your daily life,” he explained.
Sonia couldn’t help but smile wryly. Instead of claiming it was due to the strength of her faith, he said it was because she was a good person.
I feel like he’s coaxing a child.
In all reality, there was a sixteen-year age difference between them. He could very well see her as a child. Case in point, Chris was patting her on the head as if to say, “There, there. You’re a big girl.”
It was somewhat annoying he didn’t see her as a fellow adult, but more than anything, she found herself filled with a happy feeling that was warm and fuzzy.
“Do you have any other rosaries?” he asked.
“Yes, I have the one I received from the Reverend Mother...” Sonia said as she searched through her things. She found the small box it was stowed in and hesitantly began to open it in front of Chris. Fear that it would be tarnished as well made her hands tremble.
“Allow me,” Chris offered. Noticing Sonia’s trepidation, he took the tiny box and opened it slowly with great care. The two peeked inside...and were filled with relief. Wrapped in white silk, the platinum rosary emitted a divine light.
“It’s okay,” Sonia confirmed.
“Indeed.”
Chris took the rosary out of the box and put it on Sonia, who now wept tears of joy.
“Has this put your mind at ease?”
Sonia’s nod earned her more pats on the head. As Chris consoled her, his face appeared extremely kind, overflowing with compassion. He was protecting her—Sonia got that feeling from him.
It was extremely comforting, and she thought of him as more reliable than any rosary, so why was she filled with such disgust over a measly beard? Because he was going to become her husband in the near future? Or was it because her first love came too close to her image of the ideal man?
But still...
She hadn’t expected Prince Charming to come whisk her away from the abbey, to stay true to her, and be there for her all the time... A man possessing all of the traits she desired in a husband would never appear outside of a fairy tale.
At least she harbored a more realistic outlook in that respect than most other girls her age. As a result, she uttered no complaint upon learning that Chris was her fiancé. She was even beginning to make a conscious effort to somehow grow fond of his beard before the wedding ceremony.
Going by her own self-analysis, it was the experience of losing her parents in the past that gave her such a practical orientation. Here before her, a middle-aged knight was offering her a smile. And while he might be middle aged, he had earned the highest rank among knights, Diamant. He was most assuredly skilled. Unmatched by any youth, he boasted the strength and physique worthy of such a title. Such was the man renowned as the guardian angel of the kingdom.
However, his head was not the least bit swollen with pride. He was a fascinating conversationalist and sang improvised songs—his voice was a true delight to the ears, at that!
I’ve heard palace knights must become proficient at the seven liberal arts and master etiquette on top of combat, so it makes sense Sir Chris can do all of that.
Furthermore, anyone could plainly see he treated her with all the respect due a proper lady. While there might be a large age gap, Chris was a better catch than she could have hoped for out of a husband.
Nevertheless, Sonia found herself glaring with teary eyes at the forest of hair growing along his jawbone.
Why does my body reject his beard—just his beard?! Simply drawing her attention to the beard made goosebumps pop up across Sonia’s skin.
Chris must have thought it strange when Sonia suddenly glared up at him, for he brought his face down closer to hers. “Princess?”
“I-I’m sorry! I’m fine! Good night!” Unable to bear his face so close, Sonia fled to her room. Chris simply chuckled without any hard feelings.
“Good night then, Princess,” he said and shut the door she had left wide open. He truly was quite the chivalric knight.