Chapter 2: Slow and Steady Wins the Race, Hm?
FIONA was the adopted child of Charles Everett, the Central Temple’s pontiff. While clergy members often lived together in temple housing, he owned a house away from temple grounds. Though it wasn’t much compared to a noble’s residence, it was splendid enough for a commoner’s home. There, the two lived along with their servant, Ada.
She was technically an employee, but in reality, Ada was like Fiona’s mother. If she factored in the age difference between the older woman and Charles, her father, perhaps it would be more accurate to call Ada her grandmother. Yet her cheeriness and youthful spirit far surpassed Fiona’s, making her an important pillar supporting the Everett household.
It went without saying that she ate all her meals with the father and daughter. But when Fiona informed them at the dining table about the upcoming inspection at the lake, both Charles and Ada stopped eating, their hands frozen.
“His Highness is…accompanying you? He must be so busy. Well, knowing him, he’ll do whatever is necessary to go anyway.” Ada sighed softly, then resumed eating, carrying the spoon filled with meat to her mouth. Tonight’s dinner was slow-cooked stew. Both the meat and vegetables were tender, and the flavor was above reproach. The more one ate of the exquisite dish, the more revitalized one felt.
Charles’ expression was clouded as he stared at Fiona, full of happiness and food. “Don’t tell me you two are going alone?”
“Any move he makes automatically means the protection of his guards. Not to mention the coachman, so I very much doubt it will be just the two of us,” Fiona reasoned.
“But you will be alone with him inside the carriage. Ada, what do you think?”
While Charles and Ada discussed the situation with troubled looks, Fiona emptied her bowl of stew.
“At the very least, he has some degree of self-control. Put another way, it’s possible that she won’t have to endure more than the bare minimum.”
“You’re right!”
Charles suddenly raised his glass triumphantly at Ada’s comment, though Fiona wondered what exactly he was toasting. When Fiona sat down again at the table after refilling her bowl with more stew from the pot, he sighed heavily.
“As it is, they haven’t seen much of each other in recent years since he was so busy becoming the crown prince and all.”
“Based on hearsay, his attitude lately is bordering on sexual harass— I mean, extreme.”
“He looks like the perfect, gentlemanly heir to the throne on the surface, so anyone who doesn’t know the truth has no cause to be wary of him. And Fiona, the one who should have her guard impregnable against the man, is, well, the way she is. Besides, she’s at the age where we should start thinking about her marriage.”
Ada glanced covertly at Charles, but he couldn’t reply on account of the bread stuffed in his mouth. In fact, she doubted he heard her at all, seeing how immersed he was in eating. Who could blame Fiona or Charles, though, when Ada’s stew was just too darn delicious?
“Right then. The only option here is for me to join you both,” Charles decided.
“Don’t you have meetings scheduled with priests from all over the country?”
Charles froze when Fiona pointed that out. Since she was originally the pontiff’s aide, she knew his entire schedule top to bottom, front to back. And he had numerous meetings tomorrow, making it absurd for the pontiff to be absent.
“Gah! I’m a pathetic excuse for a father when I can’t even protect you properly, Fiona. There’s no helping it, then. Here, take this.” He reached into his breast pocket, took out a small sphere, and put it on her palm.
“What is this?”
“Keep it with you in case of emergency. If something happens, throw it. With all your might. Show no mercy whatsoever.” Charles’ eyes, glassy with anger, scared Fiona a touch, but more than that, she wondered what exactly he expected to happen.
“Are there bears at the lake?” she asked.
“No. A silver-tongued creature with fast hands who’s much more dangerous than a bear.”
“I see.”
Though she still didn’t understand what he meant, she knew Charles believed every word he said. So, if such a terrifying creature appeared, she would hurl the ball with all her might. In which case, it would be best to keep it somewhere easily accessible.
“Fiona, let me ask you something… What do you think of His Highness?” Charles asked.
Another puzzling topic, but Charles’ gaze was earnest.
“Hm, a very good question,” Fiona replied. “I’d like him to stop sneaking away at the first opportunity and do his job properly. Recently, anytime I visit the palace, he’ll come to see me without fail, which makes me wonder when he even gets any work done.”
While she didn’t know what exactly being a crown prince entailed, no matter how she thought about it, there was simply no way he could have so much time on his hands. And yet, he found her whenever she was in the palace. He combed her hair and fiddled with it relentlessly, enjoying himself. He was loafing around too much, in her opinion.
“That does sound like a problem, eh? Although you’ll be surprised to learn that His Highness doesn’t make any mistakes when it comes to his work,” Charles pointed out.
“Interesting. Oh, another thing is that he’s been much too close lately, physically speaking.”
“Ahhh! Right, right, yes. Well, at the very least, I’m glad you noticed! I wasn’t sure you did.” Charles almost clapped from delight, but why remained a mystery to Fiona. She hadn’t said anything to deserve that over-the-top reaction. “Now, tell us how you feel about him. Does he make you happy? Do you dislike him? Does he disgust you? Do you want him to stop once and for all? Be honest.”
After listing mostly negative things, he stared raptly at Fiona, waiting for her answer. She privately thought he should eat his stew, which he’d been neglecting for a while, before it grew cold.
“Well, there are times he can be a nuisance,” she said. “Anytime I’m reviewing documents, and he holds my hands, my efficiency plummets.”
“What else?”
“I find it difficult to concentrate when he stares intently at me with a smile.”
“Keep going.”
“I don’t think he needs to sit next to me every time we meet. When he does, even large sofas feel cramped, which annoys me.”
“So…that’s the lay of the land.” Charles’ shoulders drooped. He took a bite of the stew then put his spoon down again. “Ahem. Then, do you hate it when His Highness touches you?”
“No. Both Your Holiness and His Highness are my saviors. You are like a parent to me, and he’s like an older brother, so I don’t dislike him touching me.”
“Hold it right there, Fiona.”
Charles’ sharp tone startled her into looking closely at him. When she did, his eyes shone with more solemnity than they had all day.
“You know I want you to call me ‘Father’ and not ‘Your Holiness’ at home.”
“Oh… Um… Father.”
Once she obediently did as he demanded, Charles clutched his head with both hands and slumped on the table.
“A-Are you all right, Father?”
“Aaarrrggghhh! That’s it! I’m going with you tomorrow, Fiona!”
“For goodness sake, please stop making me remind you have a job to do!”
When they started arguing about him accompanying her, Ada sighed softly. “In the end, both the pontiff and the crown prince are birds of a feather.” Having finished her own helping of stew, Ada rolled up her sleeves and set about washing the dishes, a rueful smile on her face.