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THE queen mother, birth mother of the king and adoptive mother of Richard, lived in one of the best parts of the royal castle—a corner that overlooked a courtyard filled with roses that were in full bloom. And on that day, the weather was very nice, with barely any wind, so the queen mother waited for Sara under a gazebo in the rose garden.
“Wow… It smells so wonderful!” Sara cried as they passed by some of the flowers.
“Your Highness’s primary concern is how the flowers smell?” asked one of the knights. The rest of them chuckled.
They weren’t mean-spirited laughs—they were simply tickled by her comment—but Sara flushed red and suddenly realized she was in far too high spirits for such a serious occasion.
“Well…no. I just like way flowers and herbs smell…”
“The queen mother would be pleased to hear you say that. She enjoys picking flowers and herbs herself and filling sachets with them.”
“Sachets…”
Sara suddenly remembered the small bag that had hung from the wall in Richard’s study. It had seemed at odds with the rest of the gloomy room. Maybe Richard wasn’t actually interested in it himself, and the queen mother had made it and given it to her adoptive son.
Sara walked along the beautifully maintained rose-lined path with the knights and Claire, who carried Sara’s parasol, for some time.
Then the party suddenly came across an open space that was surrounded on all sides by rose hedges that formed a circle. A small waterway wrapped around a gazebo in the middle. The babbling of the moving water was very calming.
A woman in a dark green frock was sitting on a bench under the gazebo. Her dress was very simple—the only decoration was some silver embroidery on the chest—but when Sara took in the lady’s quiet beauty, dignified aura, and perfectly straight and correct posture, she just knew that no one else could pull that dress off like her.
The queen mother looked at Sara, who stood waiting at the bottom of the gazebo steps. Her green eyes softened, and her mouth formed a thin, curving line as she smiled.
“Welcome, Hermine. I’ve heard so much about you.”
Her voice was slightly husky and very soothing. Sara remembered once learning that the queen mother was almost fifty years old; her voice was both elegant and fitting of her age. Even though Sara was a woman herself, she couldn’t help feeling enchanted by it.
Sara felt close to trembling from nerves, but she pulled herself together, lifted the hem of her skirt, and curtsied.
“I’m very pleased to meet you, Your Majesty. I am Hermine of Saleilles.”
Then a thought cropped up in the recesses of Sara’s mind: I’ve gotten so used to introducing myself as Hermine. She almost wanted to laugh. Then she wildly wondered how the real Hermine would act if she were standing here right now.
The queen mother indicated for Sara to take the bench opposite her. As soon as she sat down, the maids began preparing their tea.
“Firstly,” the queen mother began, “it’s a little belated, but…congratulations on your marriage to Richard.”
“Thank you very much, Your Majesty.”
“I hesitate to bring this up, but…how are things with him? He hasn’t been rude to you, has he?” asked the queen mother, looking concerned.
Sara’s mind immediately went back to what Richard said and did in the study, and she froze.
But the queen mother saw her reaction, smiled apologetically, and slumped her shoulders, as if to say, “He can be a pain.”
“I always wanted to respect his desire to never be wed,” she confessed. “But your marriage into this family will act as a deterrent against aggression from Saleilles. My son Edouard has been engaged since he was very young, so Richard was the only one left… And so, you’ve become a part of this royal family.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The queen mother’s candid explanation helped Sara understand the bigger picture of her situation. She presumed that the queen mother laying all her cards out on the table like this was a show of good faith.
Sara was aware that Saleilles and Ferrier rested on a knife’s edge between peace and war, so she thought this honesty was a much better route than deceit or snubbing Sara as “better off not knowing.”
A memory flashed in Sara’s mind of the white mask turning away from her, and Sara took a deep breath.
“Your Majesty. I am fully aware that I am not the bride Prince Richard ever wanted. And…I had considered the possibility that I would spend my entire life without His Highness ever paying any attention to me—that I would be lorded over as the princess of a defeated kingdom.”
The queen mother remained silent but watched Sara attentively. There was no anger, displeasure, or astonishment in her expression. She held Sara in a comfortable gaze that seemed to say, “This does not surprise me.”
“But…His Highness does everything in his power to make sure I am never inconvenienced or wanting for anything.”
His fundamental attitude had been that Sara was not to get involved with him, but ever since she’d come to Ferrier, all her dresses, shoes, and pieces of jewelry were gifts from him.
He didn’t seem to know much about clothing, so he left almost everything to Claire and the other servants, but he took pains to ensure Sara’s life was without trouble, and if there was anything she needed, he saw to it that it was procured right away.
Sara explained all this to the queen mother, but still the woman’s beautiful eyebrows knitted together in concern.
“Those things are expected of a husband. I know Richard very well… Are you sure he hasn’t said anything rude to you?”
“Well… He certainly keeps me at a bit of a distance,” Sara confessed, feeling rather confused, “and he’s told me not to come to his study unless I have reason to.”
“Oh, he has?” the queen mother replied, eyes widening in surprise. Then she smiled brilliantly. “That’s wonderful!”
“It’s…wonderful?” Sara repeated.
“Of course! Richard never lets anyone into his study unless he really trusts them. I go to the villa to see him sometimes, and even I’ve never been allowed inside that room!”
“What?!” Sara gasped, blood draining from her face.
Even the queen mother—his adoptive mother—had never been inside his study… He’d never allowed her in his study. Yet Sara had barged right in without even giving him advance warning. Of course he wouldn’t have been happy with her after that!
“I-I’ve done something terrible…,” Sara muttered.
“Something terrible?”
“I just wanted to get a little closer to His Highness, so I made Daniel and Claire help me out…”
Sara confessed everything that had happened. The queen mother smiled the entire time. The maids finished preparing the tea, and the queen mother continued to look happy even as she elegantly sipped at her cup. Meanwhile, Sara was beside herself with worry as she admitted all her misdeeds.
“So, yeah…,” Sara finished, her words falling awkwardly into the silence.
“Have some tea,” said the queen mother. “For whatever reason, it seems drastic measures work better with that boy.”
“Drastic measures?” Sara asked, lifting her teacup.
The queen mother nodded, pointing in the direction of the villa with a slender finger.
“I understand why he doesn’t want to interact with other people, and I was never going to force him to… But I thought I had gotten through to him that he didn’t have to be that afraid—that he could relax a little more.”
Sara’s eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly. There seemed to be a double meaning to the queen mother’s words.
Maybe she knows the reason for Richard’s stubborn, self-imposed solitude…
It didn’t seem to be caused solely by a distaste of being around others or a dislike of making any effort, after all.
“You’ve clearly touched Richard deeply. The fact that he’s allowed you to come into his study is proof that he approves of you.”
“I don’t know about that…”
“It’s true. You know…I had heard that the princess of Saleilles was an incredibly quiet girl…” Sara’s heart dropped for a moment. “But that goes to show you can’t put much stock in rumors. You seem to be a very outgoing, positive person, and I’m so glad Richard married a girl like you.”
Sara’s lungs had regained the ability to breathe by the end of the queen mother’s speech.
The queen mother liked the real Sara. If Sara had stubbornly continued acting exactly like Hermine, she might have never been allowed to enter Richard’s study and might never have received the queen mother’s genuine blessing.
“It makes me so happy to hear you say that, Your Majesty.”
“I’m glad… Oh! What a beautiful corsage you have there,” said the queen mother, gesturing at the corsage—the heirloom from her mother—affixed to Sara’s chest.
Sara would always wear the corsage to cheer herself up in times when she wanted to feel particularly energetic or confident. Whenever she wore it, she felt like it kept her from dwelling on negative emotions.
“Yes. It’s not very expensive, but…it was given to me by my mother.”
“It was your mother’s… If it’s all right with you, may I hold it for a moment?”
“Of course.”
Sara would probably not have let a total stranger hold it, but she had no reason not to hand it over now. She removed the pin and placed the corsage on the tray a knight held out for her.
He presented the tray to the queen mother. When she took the corsage, her eyes widened in surprise. Then, in a rather unladylike fashion, her mouth fell open slightly and her green eyes narrowed.
“U-Um… Your Majesty?”
There was a short period of tense silence.
“…Oh, I’m sorry!” the queen mother said brightly. “I was just stunned by the gorgeous craftsmanship.”
A dark expression seemed to cross the queen mother’s face for a split second, but then it immediately softened back to normal. She took another close look at the corsage before returning it to the tray.
“It has some wear, but it’s very clear it’s been well looked after… You’ve been very careful with it, haven’t you?”
“I have. Oh—but His Highness gives me so many beautiful gifts, too! I wear different ones depending on the day.”
The queen mother chuckled.
“I understand… Hermine, please continue to look after Richard.”
Sara looked up at her. The queen mother’s green eyes were smiling, but Sara noticed just a hint of sadness at the corners of her lips.
“If you interact with Richard normally—the way you would anyone else—it will help him so much. I’m not suggesting you do anything special. Just…keep an eye on him and lend him an ear.”