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ONCE Patricia’s hair was styled, the other servants and I all filed out into the hall.
“Are you sure you want to give out all that technical knowhow for free?” Rebecca asked me.
“Of course,” I smiled. “Despite how I may appear, I’m by no means dead-set on working as Princess Patricia’s personal hairstylist forever. Once she feels confident that she can live a happy life here, I’ll be returning to my home country. Thus, it’s only right that I teach you as much as possible before I go. After all, I imagine her thick, unruly hair must seem like a total nightmare to people with flat, straight hair, like yours. Which reminds me...I ended up braiding her hair Myulan-style for today. Is that all right with you?”
All through the braiding process, I had been on edge, expecting Rebecca to jump down my throat at any given moment...but she remained quiet to the very end.
“Yes, of course. It seemed to suit her quite well, after all. In Dragonkin culture, long, straight hair is seen as the ideal, but I get the sense that it would be rather difficult to straighten Her Highness’s hair... I’m starting to understand just how much someone’s hair type and overall ambience can affect what sorts of hairstyles look good on them.”
“Right?” I nodded.
Her expression softened. “The girls and I will do our best to learn as much as we can from you before you leave Vaxwald, but for the time being, you should be in charge of Her Highness’s hair. Some things are best left to the professionals, after all.”
And with that, she turned and strolled off down the hall, Sari and Mona trailing after her. Maybe she wasn’t as hardheaded as I thought she was... My heart filled with glee at the thought of the budding friendship between us—
“I always thought she was a bit of a hardass, but it looks like you’ve gotten through to her.”
I nearly jumped out of my skin. I spun around to find none other than Ray standing there.
“Don’t scare me like that! I didn’t hear you walk over!”
“I wasn’t trying to scare you. Your hearing is just worse than ours, that’s all.”
“Did you come here to insult me or what?” I shot him a glare, then decided to head to the servants’ canteen for breakfast.
As I was walking away, he called after me, “I overheard part of your conversation just now, and I think it would take too much time to train an amateur from scratch. I’ll speak to the palace attendant and have her hire another stylist. That way you can go home that much faster.”
I looked back at him over my shoulder. “I’m not leaving until Her Highness feels comfortable on her own.”
But Ray didn’t back down. “She has His Highness Prince Dario to look after her. She’ll be fine.”
“Yes, I’m sure she will be...in time,” I replied coldly, then turned away and hurried off down the hall.
✦ ✦ ✦
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AFTER my little spat with Ray, I was walking down the covered walkway next to the palace courtyard on my way to the servants’ canteen. There, I spotted Mona rushing over to a man I didn’t recognize. He had short brown hair and wore a knight’s uniform.
“Good morning, Padell! It’s lovely to see you first thing in the morning.”
This “Padell” gentleman gently embraced her. “Likewise. Nothing brightens up my patrol like getting to see you,” he rejoiced. “How much time can you spare?”
“Not much. I need to go get Princess Patricia’s breakfast and take it to her.”
“Ah, that’s a shame. Then again, I’m on the clock myself. What’s she like, anyway, this Myulan princess?”
“I’ve only just met her, but I don’t think she’s anywhere near as bad as the rumors claim.”
They were clearly crazy about each other. As they spoke, they gazed into each other’s eyes and smiled as though they were the happiest two people in the world. For someone like me, who was practically married to her job, it was hard to watch without feeling a twinge of envy.
After a moment, the two pulled apart and went back to their work. Mona was headed in my direction, and she quickly spotted me standing there, staring straight at her. She giggled.
“Busted... I promise I’m going back to work now, so please don’t tell Rebecca, okay?”
“I won’t tell her, I promise. Are you two an item, then?”
“Oh, yes, but we’re so much more than that. We’re Bondmates!” she sighed, a dreamy smile playing about her lips.
“Bondmates, you say?”
“It’s what we Dragonkin call our soulmates. Have you heard of it?”
“Oh, yes, I have. The Princess mentioned she was concerned His Highness Prince Dario might find his own Bondmate someday,” I explained, purposefully electing not to mention the “incident” with Ray. “Judging from the way the two of you were interacting, I can only presume true Bondmates share an incredibly flirty...er, intimate bond. Even an outside observer like myself can tell just how much you two love each other... I bet you wish you could be with him all the time, don’t you?”
Seeing them only served to further drive home the truth that Ray and I were decidedly not Bondmates. If we were, then surely he wouldn’t be so hostile toward me. At the very least, I couldn’t imagine Padell treating Mona like that—not ever.
Mona smiled softly. “Yeah... I admit, I do wish we could always be together. But being Bondmates isn’t about flirting all the time. The love you have for your Bondmate runs deeper than that, you know? You always want to put their happiness first, no matter what...and as long as they’re happy, then your own happiness doesn’t matter.”
I could see the love shining in her eyes, and paired with the way the morning sun streamed down over her, she seemed to radiate the warmth of a goddess... Personally, I was half-tempted to worship her, just in case.
“Supposing His Highness had a Bondmate... Let’s say he hadn’t put it together yet, but she had. What do you think she would do? Do you think she would interrupt the wedding between him and his human bride in order to stake her claim?”
“Sure, wouldn’t she? Wouldn’t you want to be with your Bondmate at any cost?”
“See, I don’t think so at all. I think she would keep quiet. After all, interrupting the wedding might cause strife between our two countries, and the Prince would feel just awful about the whole thing. A true Bondmate would never want that for their beloved. They would put the other person first... Wait, why are you praying to me...?” She stared at me as I pressed my palms together in front of my chest.
“You’re just such a saint!”
“Hey, c’mon, don’t tease me! You’re so weird!” She laughed and walked off.
Evidently a Bondmate’s devotion was not to be underestimated.