BUT...isn’t he worrying a bit much...? Sonia had only spent one day sleeping due to her high fever. After that, she’d been put on bed rest for “good measure.” Whenever she tried to go out and about, she was promptly sent back to bed.
“We’re worried. Everyone cares about you greatly,” Chris explained with a smile when he came to check on her and offered her a bouquet. It was a magnificent bouquet of white and pink roses in full bloom.
“It’s from King Patrice,” he added simply.
“Wow...! They’re beautiful! I’ll be sure to thank him the next time I see him at the birthday celebration!” Sonia exclaimed.
“The doctor said it would be fine for you to be back on your feet tomorrow. Why don’t we head straight over to the palace?”
Sonia shook her head “no” at Chris’ suggestion. “I’d like to visit the Central Church first,” she said and revealed the rosary nestled at her bosom.
“Ah!” Chris gasped, his face growing dark. The rosary that had once emitted a silvery light was now pitch-black. Sonia’s eyes wavered with apprehension as she looked upon the heavily tarnished rosary.
“...I must uncover the root of the unearthly disturbances at the castle and the strange things happening around me...as quickly as possible,” she said, before heaving a long, heavy sigh. “Why...is this happening...? Is it possible the deaths of my mother, father and brothers—”
—were somehow related? Sonia was unable to bring herself to voice the last of what she had tried to spit out. She wanted to deny the possibility.
We weren’t plagued with all of these otherworldly terrors back when Grandfather was still alive.
“None of this makes any sense...” Sonia whispered hollowly. Chris gently patted her head. “Sir Chris...”
“It’s okay! You’ve got me! And I happen to be extremely lucky,” he boasted.
“Extremely lucky?”
He puffed up his thick chest to declare she’d heard right. “I’ve been in countless life-or-death battles and the like, but look! As you can see, I’ve come out of all of them in one piece, free of any debilitating injuries. The same can be said of the comrades-in-arms who fought at my side. As a result, our enemies always tremble in fear whenever I enter the battlefield. You can hear them yell, ‘Crisford Cortot has stolen all our luck!’”
“...Haha! You make it sound like you absorb all of the good luck around you,” Sonia said with a giggle.
“It feels like I’m vacuuming it up and scattering it around me... Hmn? Is it just me, or does that make it sound like I’m some sort of monster?”
Sonia had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing at the sight of Chris looking up with folded arms while muttering to himself, “That doesn’t sound right...”
“Jeez...! You’re so silly, Sir Chris...!”
“It truly is best when you laugh and smile. It brightens the spirits of those around you,” Chris said, relieved to see Sonia trying her hardest to hold back her laughter.
“You’re the one trying to make me laugh!”
“Laugh to your heart’s content. And repel that wicked spirit! I would do anything to ensure you can spend your days laughing.”
Everything about this man is strong, Sonia thought to herself, gazing upon the radiant smile Chris directed at her. He was gifted with a strong body, mind, spirit, and luck. It wasn’t simply because God had blessed him with protective magic. His very presence seemed like a beacon, shining light on those around him.
I’d like to become like him. Strong and resilient.
“Sir Chris, I won’t give up either. I’ll repel any bad luck that comes my way!”
“That’s the spirit, Princess,” Chris said encouragingly, seeing the clouds of worry had vanished from Sonia’s face.
“Um...” Suddenly curious why Chris referred to her the way he did, Sonia asked, “Sir Chris, why do you always call me ‘Princess?’”
“Huh? For a knight such as myself, you are—”
“But didn’t you call me ‘Sonia’ when you saved me from the carriage?” she asked, cutting him short. Chris turned bright red from head to toe in a matter of seconds, making her blink in surprise.
“Oh, jeez...! Where were my manners?! I was lost in the heat of the moment...!”
“Seeing as we’re going to be husband and wife before long, I don’t mind if you call me by my name...” Sonia ventured.
“I couldn’t! We aren’t married yet...! Please allow me to call you ‘Princess’ until we tie the knot,” Chris pleaded.
Not wholly satisfied with his answer, Sonia fixed suspicion-filled eyes upon Chris. She figured that as far as he was concerned, she was still just a child. Considering the many years she had spent in the Royal Abbey, she was well aware that she was somewhat ignorant in the ways of the world, after all.
For her trip to the Royal Palace, Sonia had reviewed dance and etiquette, lest she be a nervous wreck. And, as she was ignorant of the latest gossip and trends in dresses, she’d had to ask Chris as she worked on gathering as much information as she could.
Nonetheless, I’m of marriageable age! Doesn’t that mean I’m a mature adult in both mind and body?
But for a man in his thirties, did she come across as a naive little kitten?
Don’t tell me he...
Struck by another possibility, Sonia hesitantly asked, “By any chance, was there another woman you promised to share your future with, but were pulled apart from her against your wishes due to the King’s orders...?”
Chris was a knight in service at the Royal Palace. He could have promised to wed a lady who worked there. If he was remaining faithful to her, Sonia had unwittingly been terribly cruel. But Sonia’s fears must not have been warranted, for Chris shook his head so violently to and fro that she thought she could hear his neck creak.
“If I had such a woman in my life, regardless of the King’s orders, I wouldn’t have accepted this marriage arrangement,” Chris said.
“...Honest? You aren’t forcing yourself?”
Struck with another suspicious glare, Chris rubbed his head with its shortly cropped hair as if to say, “Oh, jeez!”
“I am a knight in service at the Royal Palace. It goes without saying the knights there have attained mastery of the sword and combat, but we must also be experts at etiquette, manners, and conversation. These are incorporated into the very nature of chivalry. In other words, it is expected and required for a knight to treat a lady with kindness and tender consideration. While I’ve interacted with women in the ways dictated by the chivalric code, my feelings were always pure.”
“So that means...you call me ‘Princess’ because of your chivalric code, not because you see me as a woman?” Sonia surmised, somewhat annoyed. She felt a slight pang in her chest as if something had jabbed her.
A long moment of silence passed between the two. A faint flush still dyed Chris’ cheeks red.
“...Aren’t you still put off by my beard? That’s why I’d like to continue playing the role of a ‘knight’ protecting the ‘princess’ a while longer. If you wind up wishing you’d never gotten stuck with a man with a beard...it will only make our marriage all the harder on you,” Chris explained.
“Sir Chris...” Sonia said, dropping her head. She hadn’t realized at all that he was doing this out of such care and consideration for her.
In all honesty, she had told herself that whoever the King picked would work out. She had resigned herself to her fate and decided, “There’s nothing I can do about it anyway.”
If I don’t get a say in the matter, I’d like to get along with my husband and enjoy married life, she had thought. But what if somewhere in my heart, I’m not willing to “resign myself to my fate,” so I chose to think “beards are scary”? If that proved to be true, she had asked Chris a horribly rude question when he had been nothing but polite according to knightly conduct. She hadn’t even stopped to think about how he must feel!
“I’m sorry... My behavior is to blame, and yet you—”
“It’s fine. I’m doing it for myself as well, so think nothing of it,” Chris said, cutting her short.
“But...!” Looking up at the face of the knight who treated her with infinite kindness, Sonia couldn’t help but stare in wide-eyed surprise. Chris was so red, he was like a freshly boiled lobster, steam and all.
“...Sir Chris?”
When Sonia said his name, Chris hid his mouth behind his fist and shyly averted his eyes.
“...I’m able to maintain my composure when I approach you as a knight. The thing is, I’d see you through the eyes of the plain old man, Crisford Cortot, if I shed my armor as a knight...”
“I...I see...” Sonia said, blushing in turn.
“For the record, I am not a pedophile. I do not have a thing for little girls.”
“I...understand...” Sonia felt like she was going to die of embarrassment. She imagined Chris must have felt the same.
“Well then, I’m going to contact the Central Church. Take care!” Chris said and rushed out of the room.
“Romance is complicated when you’re an adult...” Sonia whispered absentmindedly as she fanned her flushed cheeks.