SONIA welcomed Pamela into her assigned guestroom and told her what happened from beginning to end. Somewhere along the line, she realized a maid was on hand. In all likelihood, Chris had arranged for her to be here. She was often impressed by the sensitivity shown in his kind consideration, but he hadn’t chase after her this time.
Isn’t this one of the most important times to go after the girl? It only drove the nail in further.
“Sir Chris has only resigned himself to marry me because of the ‘King’s orders’...” Sonia said. That fact made her vision waver and blur once more. “That’s why he insists on calling me ‘Princess’ rather than my name.”
The suspicion had drifted in her head hazily, never taking a clear form. Run ragged with the chaos of the supernatural disturbances, she tried not to add another element of unrest to the pile. Perhaps that was why her heart laid a thin curtain over her doubts. But now that those strange occurrences had calmed down, the curtain opened for her to face her “marriage” anew. And in doing so, she found...
“Sonia...have some tea,” Pamela suggested, placing the cup and saucer in front of her. “I know she’s your handmaid, but given the circumstances, I took it upon myself to ask her to brew it.”
Pamela urged again, “Have some,” before Sonia picked the cup up. There were also snacks such as biscuits and a layered cake arranged on the beautifully carved oval table. When Sonia looked with bloodshot eyes at the maid at her side, the woman smiled softly and bobbed her head.
“...Thank you,” Sonia said and sipped the amber tea with steam rolling and swaying from the cup. Mild sweetness wet her dry mouth, easing her nerves. Only now did she realize how scratchy and dry her mouth felt from crying too much.
“Pamela, you’re amazing.”
“How so?”
Sonia softly smiled at the bewildered look on Pamela’s face from suddenly being paid a compliment.
“You can see how I’m doing and show your concern without being overbearing. You’re able to gently give me exactly what I want... I’ve always admired that about you, clear back to our days at the abbey. You do it so casually but with a warmth that melts the troubles bogging down my heart. The acts of kindness you show have that power, Pamela... I’m sure you’ll make some lucky man very happy.”
After silently listening to Sonia’s confession, Pamela growled back in a deep voice, “That’s not true,” surprising Sonia. She dropped her gaze as if to cut Sonia out of her line of sight as she continued.
“You only think that because I was too afraid to do otherwise. I was always second-guessing everyone, desperate to ensure they didn’t grow to hate me. Unlike you, I was afraid of getting hurt if I wore my emotions on my sleeve or was true to myself.”
“Pamela... I didn’t realize you—”
“Anyway, let’s return to the topic at hand, shall we? The way Sir Chris is treating you is a much bigger problem than me, isn’t it?” Pamela asked, lifting her head up with a smile.
Overwhelmed by her uncompromising smile, Sonia nodded, saying, “Yeah.”
“Still...Sir Chris’ attitude doesn’t sit well with me,” Pamela said. “I thought that during your engagement and honeymoon, well...you’d be so lovey-dovey that you’d break into goo-goo eyed smiles whenever you looked into each other’s eyes.”
“...Maybe it’s my fault for fainting when we met,” Sonia suggested. With the scene in mind, she could hardly fault Chris for what he did or said.
After all, I bluntly rejected him through my actions, instead of just words.
“...Jeez. It truly was cruel of me to faint simply because he wasn’t Prince Severin,” Sonia reflected.
“But I think ‘feel free to go cheat on me’ is a bit much, too...”
“Cheat! Sir Chris didn’t say I should cheat, but—”
“Isn’t it the same difference?” Pamela interjected in a no-nonsense tone that silenced Sonia. This was the very reason why Sonia herself had gotten so enraged.
Pamela went on, “Supposedly once in a blue moon, you’ll hear of couples among the nobility where each party freely pursues romantic exploits with their spouse’s blessing... Perhaps Sir Chris supports such infidelity. I’ve heard that as a royal knight, he wasn’t for want in the terms of romantic pursuits.”
Sonia tensed as each word came out of Pamela’s mouth. “...Huh? This is the first I’ve heard that...”
“I listened in on the gossip while on standby for my Debutante Presentation. You two drew quite a bit of attention during your audience with King Patrice, you know?”
Pamela began to retell the gossip she’d overheard.
“So Sir Crisford has finally decided to settle down.”
“Do you suppose he’ll live in his wife’s house once he ties the knot?”
“If only I could have shacked up with him once first!”
“It’s a good thing you didn’t! Rumor has it he’s had a recent falling out with the Crown Prince and his wife.”
“Really? I wonder if the rumors of his trysts with the Crown Princess were true after all.”
“Perhaps that’s why His Majesty is trying to distance Sir Crisford from the palace.”
“It goes to show some ladies are hands off, even for the great Diamant Knight.”
“Does the Clare girl know any of this?”
“I heard she’s spent most of her life in the Royal Abbey, so I doubt she’s aware of such worldly gossip...”
“Does she know what it takes to satisfy Sir Crisford? What do you think?”
“She’s from one of the richest houses in the kingdom. Isn’t that alone enough to satisfy him?”
“But the Clare line also—”
“I quietly eavesdropped up to about there, but then my name was called, so I had to go up to the platform. I don’t know what was said after that...” Pamela concluded. Her voice was dripping with sympathy but fell on deaf ears.
It was only the inconsiderate gossip of a handful of ladies at the ball. But the content was more than enough to hurt Sonia.
He’s having an illicit love affair with the Crown Princess. Is that why Sir Chris keeps pushing off the marriage? Did King Patrice choose Sir Chris for me as an easy way to get rid of him? I can’t believe he’d do that after I’ve treated him like a father. Was I nothing more than just a pawn?
Renowned as the strongest Diamant in history, other nations feared Crisford Cortot to the point they warned each other, “Don’t hesitate to retreat if he appears on the battlefield.” King Patrice couldn’t simply exile him for committing a crime of romantic intrigue. In which case...
“...Was King Patrice using our marriage to kick Sir Chris out of the Royal Palace while ensuring he remained in Pharrell...? And he picked me because I’m ignorant of the affair...?” Sonia surmised. As the situation came to light, it pushed down heavily upon her heart. Struggling for air, she had to take several deep breaths.
“Sonia, are you all right?” Pamela asked. Her hand wrapped around Sonia’s shoulders. She wound up supporting Sonia’s weight as she sunk down.
“...Should I go along with this...? I’m not sure anymore,” Sonia replied. She knew this marriage with Chris was desirable both for herself and the Clare line. She realized it was difficult for those of noble birth to wed for love alone. Relationships could always be built after the vows were said. Such was the nature of marriage among nobility. Sonia had never been discouraged by this because her parents were an example of one such marriage, and she’d seen how they grew to love and care for one another. But Chris already loved the Crown Princess.
And here...I...was starting...to develop feelings for Sir Chris... Sonia could not marry him if he did not return her feelings.
“Is that why...Sir Chris told me to associate with a bunch of people? That way he could...” Sonia trailed off.
...be with the Crown Princess? she finished in her mind. Was he going to use me as his front for seeing her...?
Doubts rose relentlessly one after the next. Despite realizing they were self-centered assumptions, the overflowing suspicion pooled out of her heart, permeating the rest of her body. Sonia wrapped her arms around her trembling body. She shivered horribly despite not being cold. Her body didn’t want to listen once shock had seized control. It was a sensation she knew well, from when she had lost her family all those years ago.
“Pamela...!” Unable to hold herself back, Sonia cried out and leaned against Pamela.
“Sonia... You poor dear...” Pamela pulled Sonia into a kind hug and patted her on the back. “...Say, Sonia. Why don’t you call off your engagement with Sir Crisford?” she suggested.
“I can’t... King Patrice arranged this. It’s not my place to make that call...”
“What are you saying?! You’re from the most financially powerful household in the kingdom! If the Lord willed it, wouldn’t you be sitting on the throne instead? His Majesty won’t ignore the opinion of someone from such a prominent house,” Pamela insisted.
“But...”
“Sonia, you should go tell the King. Then you and Prince Severin can finally be together after all these years of pining for him...”
“Pamela...”
Sonia noticed that Pamela’s smile looked eerily dark as she continued to push and prod, but she convinced herself it was due to the hanging shadows of night.