❀❀❀
THE next day, I was walking down the corridor when I spotted Sir Ray yet again. He must’ve been on the clock, because he was with a fellow knight. When the two of them reached the covered walkway, however, Sir Ray turned to his associate and said, “Actually, there’s something important I’ve forgotten to take care of. Could you go on without me?”
“Alright then.”
Once the other knight was gone, Sir Ray glanced over at the woman approaching from up ahead. It was Lady Iris, the aristocrat Mayna had mentioned yesterday, wearing an extravagant dress. And sure enough, her hair was very short...but she was wearing a large, stylish flower ornament that suited her perfectly. In fact, she looked to be on the very cutting edge of the trend. It wasn’t a look people with round faces (like me) could pull off, but with her slender figure and high cheekbones, she was the pinnacle of elegance.
“Oh wow...”
“She’s gorgeous...”
Lady Iris smiled as the servants nearby all swooned in admiration. Puffing out her chest, she strutted down the walkway—that is, until she noticed Sir Ray looking at her.
“Why, hello, Sir Ray,” she greeted him.
At this, Sir Ray donned a perfunctory, cordial smile quite unlike the way he’d smile around Mayna. “Hello there. I’m told Mayna cut your hair recently. It looks wonderful.”
“Hee hee. It does, doesn’t it? I’m glad I decided to take the plunge. Now I turn heads everywhere I go!”
“That’s strange. I’d heard you weren’t a fan of your new cut.”
Lady Iris smiled mischievously. “Oh, she told you? I was lying.”
Sir Ray furrowed his brows slightly. “Why would you lie about that?”
She shrugged. “That woman has all the luck. I wanted to take her down a peg.”
“What do you mean, she has all the luck?”
“She was chosen to be your Bondmate, was she not? That alone is proof enough! Surely dozens of women out there are wishing it could have been them instead.”
Was she one of them? I admit, there was a point in time (before I met Padell) that I thought Sir Ray was totally dreamy... It didn’t last long, though. I wasn’t too serious about it.
Lady Iris quirked a brow and scoffed. “And yet that honor went to some hairstylist from Myulan. She’s not even a Dragonkin! So yeah, I wanted to put her in her place. I’m sure she’ll get over it.”
At this point, I was expecting Sir Ray to knock her off her high horse, but surprisingly, he kept smiling.
“Please don’t treat her like that. She never asked for this.” Just then, his humble tone grew steely, and the light left his eyes. “And if you hurt my Bondmate, I will personally see to it that you suffer for your misdeeds.”
Lady Iris froze. Honestly, I’m not sure what she was expecting. If anyone messed with my Padell, I’d probably try to get revenge, too.
But it was clear Sir Ray wanted to solve things peaceably for Mayna’s sake, because he smiled and continued, “That hairstyle really does suit you, by the way. Absolutely stunning.”
But while it was obvious from his tone and body language what he really meant—“Mayna’s handiwork is absolutely stunning”—Lady Iris seemed to think he was referring to her directly.
“Y-Yes, I know,” she replied, blushing. “I like it quite a bit. I’ve been getting so many envious compliments—why, I feel like a new woman.”
“In that case, could you at least tell Mayna you’ve changed your mind?”
“...Very well, if you insist.” It was clear she didn’t want to get on his bad side. But then she said, “To be clear, I was always going to tell her. Honest. I’m going to need her to cut my hair again, anyway. She’s just so passionate about her work... When it comes to hair, it’s obvious she really knows her stuff. I couldn’t have gotten a better cut from anyone else.” She twirled a strand around her finger. “Besides, I was on my way to see her just now. She wanted me to stop by so she could show me some different ways to style it.”
At this, Sir Ray frowned. “She never did come to bed last night, did she...?” he muttered under his breath. I’d forgotten they were living together.
Mayna must’ve been worried sick, thinking Lady Iris was heartbroken over her new cut. She probably stayed up all night long brainstorming hairstyles in order to find a solution as quickly as possible... She did seem sleepy when I saw her this morning...
I snapped back to reality in time to notice Lady Iris strutting off down the hallway. Then Sir Ray looked in my direction. “Oh, Mona. Didn’t know you were there. You heard all that?”
I flinched. “Yeah... I got nosy and started eavesdropping. I’m sorry.” Ugh, why did I admit to that?! I’m so stupid.
Fortunately for me, Sir Ray didn’t get upset. Instead, he pressed a finger to his lips. “Don’t tell Mayna what I said to Iris, all right?”
I nodded timidly. “Your secret’s safe with me.”
He smiled slightly. “That being said, it looks like I didn’t need to bother—it seems Iris was going to have to acknowledge Mayna’s talent sooner or later. Perhaps I should’ve just stayed out of it.”
“Mayna really is incredible,” I agreed.
But the look in his eyes told me he desperately wanted to be there for her.
✦ ✦ ✦
❀❀❀
THAT night, after we helped the Princess into bed, Rebecca and I left her quarters. Our shift had ended at last.
Out in the hall, we found Mayna and Sir Ray walking together. Mayna had already put Her Highness’s hair into bedtime braids, and as such, her work for the day was complete. As for Sir Ray, he seemed to have finished his shift as well. My guess was that he had tracked her down so they could head home together.
“I invited Lady Iris to the castle today so I could show her how to style her new hair.”
“Oh really? How did it go?” Sir Ray asked innocently.
Mayna’s face lit up. “She really liked them! Every last one of them! And she told me she’d come around on her new cut, too. Apparently everyone’s been giving her lots of compliments!”
“That’s good to hear.”
“I’m just so glad to see she’s feeling better! Oh, and she told me to tell you she said hello...” She paused, frowning. “Specifically, she wanted me to tell you she was very nice to me. Is something going on with you two, or am I way off-base?”
“Can’t say I know what she’s talking about,” Sir Ray replied casually. Clearly he was a good liar. “Anyway, I’m really glad you got Lady Iris to change her mind about her hair. I saw her walking by, actually. Her hair looks great.”
“Hee hee! It really does, doesn’t it?” Mayna grinned to herself cheerfully.
This smile proved infectious, and soon Sir Ray was grinning along with her. He glanced back at us and shot me a wink, as if to say, “Our little secret.” I answered him with a curt nod.
Fortunately Mayna didn’t notice our exchange, but Rebecca was a different story. “What was that?”
“Oh, nothing.”
I wasn’t about to blab to anyone, much less Mayna. After all, I didn’t especially want to find out what would happen if I made Sir Ray angry.
Meanwhile, I envisioned Padell’s soft, warm smile. Sir Ray was certainly good-looking, but he was just too intense...
In the end, I think fate made the right choice for both of us.