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SARA was incredibly nervous.
“Listen, Princess Hermine… You really don’t have to force yourself to do this. You know that, right?”
“I-I know… If I can’t do it, I’ll leave it to you. I just need your help.”
“…Understood, ma’am.”
Sara responded to Daniel’s uneasy look with a wooden smile before staring hard at the door in front of her.
She had been working with Claire for the past few days to come up with this plan—Operation Get Slightly Closer to His Highness.
Sara was fully aware that Richard didn’t like being around other people, that he did not welcome Sara’s presence, and that he was a solitary, hermit-like creature. She had no intention of trampling over his household policies or personal opinions.
How on earth could she approach him while still respecting his feelings?
That was when Sara and Claire came up with a plan that would allow Sara to go to the prince’s quarters regularly, even if only for a little while.
His Highness takes a tea break while doing his paperwork. Daniel or one of the other attendants usually takes him the tea set and serves him, so I’ve decided to tag along with Daniel for a little bit today!
That was how Sara had secured Daniel’s assistance and was now standing in front of Richard’s study, holding a tray that carried a teapot, teacups, baked goods, and various other items. Daniel and Claire were going to come in with her, so she shouldn’t have any trouble talking with Richard or heating the water for tea.
All right! thought Sara, mustering up her courage. She signaled Daniel with her eyes. He returned with a nod and knocked on the door to the study.
“Your Highness… It’s Daniel. I’ve brought your things for tea.”
“Right. Come in.”
Richard sounded in better spirits than Sara had expected.
Oh no… Is that because he thinks Daniel is the only one at the other side of the door?
Her relief at Richard’s tone was short-lived—when she realized the shock he was about to receive, the blood drained from her face. But Daniel, totally unfazed, opened the door and showed Sara inside.
Richard’s study was as dim as it had been before, but it wasn’t dusty. Even to Sara’s sensitive nose, the air in the closed-off room smelled relatively clear and even had a faint, sweet floral smell.
Scanning the room, Sara noticed a small sachet-like bag hanging from the wall. The prince may have been a hermit, but he seemed to take care of the daily cleaning, ventilation, and perfuming of his rooms.
Richard was sitting at his desk. He was so absorbed in what he was writing, he didn’t even look up at their arrival. And…
Unless there was something wrong with Sara’s eyes…Richard didn’t seem to be wearing a mask. His usual white one lay at the edge of his desk.
When Daniel closed the door, Richard brushed his bangs aside and looked up—right at Sara.
He’s—so beautiful!
The prince’s real face was so handsome, Sara couldn’t think of anything else. He was much more gorgeous, certainly, than his portrait.
His nose was perfectly straight. His lips were thin. His skin was pale, perhaps because of all the time he spent indoors, but his complexion wasn’t sickly. In fact, his fair complexion only enhanced the beauty of his sculpted features.
His eyes, which were depicted with a light shade of gray in the portrait, were a clear, bright green. Moreover, his eyes had been half-lidded in the portrait, but now, shocked at Sara’s sudden appearance, they were wide open, making him look many years younger.
But Richard’s real face was only exposed for mere seconds.
“What on—! Why are you here?!” Richard yelled, whipping his face away from her and grabbing hold of his mask.
He threw on his mask with such force, it was like he hit his own face. Sara had jumped at the growl in his voice and started to tremble. The teapot on her tray started to tilt and then fell—
“Ah!”
“Oh!”
Just then, the teapot froze in midair, slowly rose, and righted itself back on the tray. Stunned, Sara glanced back and saw Daniel raising his right hand, a look of concentration on his face. Sara quickly surmised that Daniel must have used some sort of ability.
“Th-Thank you, Daniel.”
“Not at all, ma’am,” Daniel said, smiling. “As long as you’re not hurt, that’s all that matters. However,” he added, turning to Richard with an exasperated look on his face, “I did warn you, Your Highness, did I not? Now that you’re married to Princess Hermine, you must be ready to receive her at any time.”
“You did, but…!”
“And besides, Princess Hermine already has a portrait of you, so there’s no need to hurry to put your mask back on. She’s already used to your face from seeing the portrait so many times.”
That’s not exactly true…
Daniel lectured Richard indifferently, but Sara felt like she was breaking out in a cold sweat. She certainly had looked at Richard’s portrait many times. In Saleilles, she had even kept it by her bed and wished it good night before she slept.
But a picture was nothing more than a picture. When Sara was faced with the real thing, any level of familiarity she had developed had flown out the window.
I had no idea he was that handsome…
Despite his withdrawn and antisocial personality, he was a royal. All royal and noble families were beautiful, even in Saleilles, and Richard was no exception.
Sara was both the distant relation of a duke and Hermine’s second cousin. Despite being the daughter of a lower-ranking aristocrat, Sara was said to be a great beauty herself and had taken good care of her looks since being brought in as Hermine’s maid.
Even so, as she stood before this beautiful foreign prince, she felt compelled to kneel and prostrate herself before him.
Sara could feel her face grow warm, but in the dimness of the room, no one else seemed to notice.
Claire urged her on, so Sara gulped nervously and lifted the tea tray slightly.
“U-Um… I’m very sorry for the sudden intrusion, Your Highness, but…I thought I’d bring your tea things instead of Daniel.”
“…You’re my wife, aren’t you? Are you to work like a servant? What is the meaning of this, Daniel?”
Richard’s voice was low under his mask, his displeasure evident. And yet, the target of his displeasure seemed to be not Sara but Daniel and Claire.