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AT the end of the month, Sara received word that Firmin’s troop had returned to the royal castle. Sara, acting as Princess Hermine, listened to the report of the expedition from the captain.
But Sara couldn’t ask anything about Firmin, not even “How is he doing?” So Sara stood there about to burst with impatience, listening to the captain who totally believed she was Hermine.
She had already sent the letter to Hermine. She hadn’t heard any reply, but the chamberlain who acted as her go-between had reported that Hermine looked very happy, so Sara assumed there wouldn’t be any problems.
While all that had been going on, Sara gleaned some information about her husband-to-be.
“This is Prince Richard…”
A maid had brought Sara a very thin box with three items inside: a letter sent by King Ferrier, a brief informational sheet about his older brother Richard, and a portrait.
The portrait was done on a canvas roughly the size of a large book and depicted a young man looking straight ahead. It was done in grayscale, so Sara had no idea what color his features were, but his hair nearly reached his shoulders and had a slight curl, and his eyes were—for some reason—half-closed. He would probably have looked quite handsome if he smiled, but his lips were turned down in a sullen grimace.
I certainly get the feeling he’s intelligent and blue-blooded, but… Maybe it’s just customary for portraits to be taken with such a grouchy expression?
Sara tilted her head, asked the maid to prop the portrait upright, and turned her eyes to the informational sheet.
Richard would be twenty-four years old this year. He was the son of the former king’s concubine but was adopted by the queen after his mother’s death.
Sara remembered how her tutor had explained to her that the queen of Ferrier had given birth to a prince before but that he had died more than twenty years ago. Afterward, the queen had difficulty getting pregnant, so the king took on a concubine, who gave birth to Richard.
Eight years later, the queen was blessed with a son—the current king—and then adopted Richard after his mother died in an accident.
How incredibly generous and understanding of the queen… Although, I suppose she’s called the “queen mother” now.
As Sara continued reading, her expression grew more and more grim.
Richard apparently strongly disliked other people and shut himself away in the royal villa. Moreover, he spent most of the day isolated in his private quarters, rarely venturing out even to the adjoining hallway, and the only way to get in touch with him was through his chamberlain.
The sheet went on to say that Richard was a very learned man and that although the king relied on him behind the scenes when it came to political matters, Richard would never go out in the spotlight himself.
The document ended by mentioning that Richard wore a white mask at all times, that this was his own preference, and that asking him to remove the mask was forbidden.
You’ve got to be kidding me!
Sara trembled so much that she nearly dropped the paper, but she managed to hold on to it. She wasn’t sure if Hermine knew about these reports, but she was sure the princess would never want to marry someone like this.
Nevertheless, despite looking slightly surly and listless, Richard was quite handsome and knowledgeable. He was also half brother to the king, who loved him dearly, so there must have been many women clamoring to marry him.
But despite all this, he was single, and this was likely due to his shortcomings being too serious for these women to overlook…
I have a rocky road ahead of me…
Sara’s entire body nearly sagged at these hopeless prospects, but she quickly pulled herself up straighter.
Even if this marriage wasn’t what either of them might want, both she and the prince had their own baggage. Sara couldn’t say she felt great about deceiving her partner (even if it was at the king’s order), but she certainly couldn’t get found out as an imposter, either.
No matter how eccentric he is, we’ll just have to get along—or at least be amicable enough to not argue!
“All right!” Sara muttered to herself with renewed resolve.
She looked closely at the portrait. Richard’s face simply stared back at her with a look that seemed to suggest the world was ending.
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TIME slipped away from Sara in the blink of an eye. In only five days’ time, she would finally be leaving for Ferrier.
“What…are you saying?” Sara asked, the book on Ferrier history that she had been reading falling to the floor at the maid’s sudden announcement.
She couldn’t believe it.
She didn’t want to believe it.
What did she mean, “the viscount’s son Firmin is going to marry his girlfriend, Sara”?!