But Daniel blinked at her, looking puzzled, and then shook his head as if he couldn’t believe his ears.
“Nonsense! If I may take the liberty to say so now that we’re already inside the villa, we here are incredibly relieved that His Highness has finally found a wife!”
“…What?” Sara asked, staring at Daniel.
He smiled and looked out over the villa’s gardens. Sara followed his gaze and caught the eyes of several gardeners, who seemed to be in the middle of pruning the trees. They looked at Sara curiously at first, but then they started prodding each other, stopped what they were working on, and bowed in her direction.
“They’re the exclusive gardeners of this villa. All of us employed by Prince Richard have been really looking forward to your arrival! Although we’ve felt a little bad, as well…”
“You’ve felt bad?”
“Oh? Surely you know about our master, don’t you, Princess Hermine?”
Does he mean the part where Richard’s a hermit who hates other people and always wears a mask? Sara wondered.
“Even without the rose-colored glasses servants usually have for their masters, I can say that His Highness is incredibly kind—a very good man. However, he does have a slightly strong personality and he has a complicated past, which makes him prone to be rather brooding. We dearly hope that you two will live happily together, but we do feel guilty that a sheltered princess like you is saddled with being His Highness’s babysitter!”
…That might have been the first time Sara had ever seen an attendant treat their master like he was a baby. But Daniel’s theatricality was so funny, Sara couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“Not at all! I read about His Highness’s eccentricities in his informational sheet, but…you can’t really know a person without meeting them first, can you? Besides, I’m the one gate-crashing here in this political marriage, so I suppose that makes us even.”
“Wow…”
“Wh-What?”
“Oh, no, I’m sorry. It’s just…I always assumed you had a more romantic and naïve view of the world. My opinion of you has improved!”
Daniel said it in a joking way, but Sara felt her stomach drop—was she not acting the way Hermine would?
But when Daniel saw how anxious Sara looked, he laughed.
“Oh, it’s fine! You don’t have to be so stiff. It’s like I told you before, starting today you’ll be the second master of this villa. We’re Prince Richard’s allies—and yours, too. So just relax, and please come to us about anything.”
“Daniel…”
He looked at her with such a genuine smile. Sara felt a sharp pain deep in her chest.
I had convinced myself the people of Ferrier were a bunch of terrifying mutants, totally different creatures than the people of Saleilles… But that’s not true at all.
Daniel was the only person she’d been able to talk to so far, but he was so kind, and even the gardeners who’d bowed to her before seemed very gentle.
Maybe I really can be happy here… Maybe…
A spark of hope blossomed in Sara’s chest, and she smiled.
“Thank you… Could you show me the way to His Highness’s room, then?”
“Sure thing! Right this way!”
As they walked to Richard’s room, they passed by people who looked to be servants and the knights who guarded the villa. They bowed in the Ferrier style when they saw Sara and Daniel walking together, and then they smiled and said, “Welcome, Princess,” or, “We’ve eagerly awaited your arrival, Princess Hermine.”
Sara wanted to return all the kindness being shown to her.
Initially, she startled whenever they passed someone, but she gradually relaxed and soon became able to greet them with a very natural smile.
The friendliness seems to be just another part of the Ferrier landscape… And perhaps a positive consequence of Prince Richard’s personality?
In Saleilles, at least, servants never spoke to the royal family in such a familiar way. When royalty or nobility passed by, servants always withdrew to the recesses of the hall and lowered their heads. They were not even allowed to speak unless it was very important.
“Is everyone in Ferrier this friendly?” Sara muttered, watching a young girl of about ten who seemed to be a handmaid.
Daniel looked back at her and tilted his head. “Do we seem that friendly? I suppose it is true that His Highness allows us to be rather familiar and relaxed here at the villa, but isn’t it normal to greet someone when you pass by them?”
“At Saleilles, servants could never address their masters.”
“I suppose things are different over there… Oh! Would you like us to act a little more reserved around you?”
“No, it’s fine like this… I like it like this,” Sara said, a faraway look washing over her eyes.
Whether it was because Daniel noticed the emotion welling up inside Sara or for some other reason, he discreetly looked elsewhere. Eventually, he gave a small cough.
“Well… His Highness’s living quarters are just up ahead. As his wife-to-be, that’s where your private quarters will be as well, Princess Hermine.”
Daniel explained that the entire fourth floor was for Richard’s personal use. He did everything—from official business to eating and bathing—there. Occasionally the prince reluctantly went to go see his half brother, the king, but he otherwise basically never left the fourth floor. He was reclusive to the extreme.
Two men wearing light armor stood in front of the entrance—they looked like guards. They bowed to Sara when they saw her approach, then opened the door. There was a small foyer inside, to which Daniel gestured and explained the handful of doors lining the walls.
“Beyond those doors are His Highness’s bathroom, living room, bedroom, and study. Behind that white door is the consorts’ suite—those will be your private quarters, Princess Hermine. Your bedroom is connected to His Highness’s, so you can go to him quickly if he summons you.”
“R-Right…”
Of course… I did come here to become Richard’s wife, after all. If he orders me to visit him, I’ll have to go…
Sara had known this since she had agreed to be Hermine’s substitute, but hearing Daniel say it out loud made heat jump up to her cheeks.