The tepid air of summer grazed her skin.
The high midday temperature didn’t drop much in the transition to night and was still hot enough to draw a sweat. Perhaps it was the heat from the massive amount of people adding to the overall sultriness in the grand hall.
Rosemarie looked at the brightly illuminated hall from her spot next to the royals’ private entrance. She was here to attend the evening gala. Her hands were placed on her chest and shaking in tension and fear.
“Heidi, don’t you think the neckline of this is a little too open...? It’s lower than my collarbone. This is so embarrassing that I just want to go back to my room... Oh, but the waiting room will do, too. Let’s try that,” Rosemarie complained impatiently to Heidi beside her. She hadn’t worn a dress with a neckline this open since the wedding. Since she didn’t approve of showing too much skin during a midday event when she was attending to the masses at the Imperial Bout, her usual closed-neck dress had sufficed.
But now she was clad in a pink dress, made from the special fabric of the neighboring nation, Rivera. The smooth texture of the thin cloth was filling her with a sense of anxiety.
“No can do. You promised His Highness that you would be on your best behavior, did you not? Plus, that dress is what is in style nowadays. There is nothing odd about it.”
“But I’m fearful that it might be impolite toward the Crown Prince and Princess of Rivera...”
The crown prince and princess of Rivera that Claudio mentioned had arrived this afternoon. Rosemarie had accompanied Claudio to greet them. The crown prince of Rivera was probably already acquainted with Claudio and showed no surprise over his Silver Lion head; the crown princess, on the other hand, went deathly pale as if she had seen a monster. That pale face instantly transformed into a cow, filling Rosemarie with a bitter sense of anxiety.
(I mean, honestly, Prince Claudio isn’t even anything to fear.)
He may have had a lion head, but he himself was a charming and affable person. She certainly wasn’t one to talk, but she took offense to being judged based on appearances alone.
“Lady Rosemarie,” a dignified female voice called her suddenly from behind. She turned around, slightly wary, to find a girl standing behind her, clad in a light blue dress made from the same material as Rosemarie’s own pink dress. This girl, with all the poise of a prim and beautiful lady, was the Crown Princess of Rivera.
“Your dress is made from Rivera material, I see. It pleases me ever so to see you wearing it. Quite the immaculate fit on you.”
“O-Oh, thank you very much.”
The Crown Princess of Rivera had an amicable attitude and her head, this time around, was human. She didn’t seem to have any feelings of animosity toward Rosemarie, which was a real relief. She thought she saw the Crown Princess of Rivera looking around the area before smiling at her.
“It would seem Their Highnesses are not done speaking yet.”
“Yes, it would. Are you tired at all?” Her body was tense from anxiety, but she managed to eke out a reply without her voice trembling. Claudio and the Crown Prince of Rivera hadn’t arrived yet, which meant their diplomatic talks were likely running long.
“Oh, no. Not very much so. Since this is my first time in a foreign country, everything I see and hear is so new and exciting that I’ve forgotten about any fatigue I may have had. For example, I’ve heard that you, Lady Rosemarie, were wed having hailed from Volland.”
“Are you familiar with my mother country?”
“Indeed, I have heard that it is a religiously devout country with beautiful scenery. You must have been more shocked than I when you came to Baltzar,” the Crown Princess said, brimming with interest, her head not turning into a beast head the entire time they conversed. In which case, that meant she was being genuine with Rosemarie.
Albeit with some slight awkwardness, the two then proceeded to chit-chat for a stint. Soon, the tension freed itself from Rosemarie’s shoulders and they relaxed. However, that was when she was asked the question:
“Um, please do not take this the wrong way, but, Lady Rosemarie... does Crown Prince Claudio not frighten you at all?” The crown princess’s face had been all smiles before she said that, but it started to warp. In a similar vein to when Rosemarie had gone to greet her, her head turned bovine, covered in a velvety pelt of short brown hair. Her gentle sclera-less eyes stared at Rosemarie and her long tongue formed words.
“Honestly speaking, he is quite disturbing to me. I know they say that he is the avatar of a sacred beast, but that person as a husband would be...”
“He does not frighten me.” Rosemarie smiled. Perplexingly enough, even faced with someone now sporting a beast head, she didn’t have an ounce of fear.
For better or worse, the crown princess here was most likely being forthright. Although, one could have argued that it was a tad inconsiderate that she deemed it appropriate to voice something like this to Rosemarie, seeing as how she was Claudio’s wife.
“Prince Claudio is an extremely good person. He is a strong, kind, and wonderful individual whom someone as abject and mediocre as myself doesn’t deserve. Even if the people around him are frightened of him, so long as Claudio needs me, I would like to be right there by his side.” Claudio has had a human head this entire time and he had done things that hurt her feelings. Even if she were to see his head as the Silver Lion now, it would be too late; she wouldn’t be frightened of him.
“Also—”
“You can stop right there, Rosemarie.” Claudio’s voice abruptly cut into the conversation, and she looked to the direction it came from. There stood Claudio, holding his forehead with one hand, with the pleasant-looking Crown Prince of Rivera by his side. Rosemarie snapped to her senses upon seeing the part of Claudio’s face not concealed by his hand with brows knit in distress. She ruminated on the words she’d just said and froze up. The Crown Prince of Rivera started to chuckle.
“Your harmonious display of friendship is enough to make me blush. It would seem that my wife has made some rude remarks. I beg that you forgive her.” The simple yet honest Crown Prince of Rivera bowed his head as he spoke, and the Crown Princess followed suit apologetically. The two of them then took the liberty of entering the hall first.
“How long were you listening?” Once the two of them disappeared into the hall, Rosemarie finally came out of her loss for words and addressed Claudio, who looked to be in a somewhat awkward mood.
“Since ‘He does not frighten me.’”
“...I want to wear my bucket and hole up in my room.” Which meant that he listened to pretty much everything. Overwhelmed by embarrassment, she covered her face with her hands.
“I’ve put you in a bad mood, haven’t I? I’m sorry, please forgive me. I’ve been speaking so presumptuously. But... all of what I said is true.” She didn’t want him to think that she was just saying things off-the-cuff to suit the Crown Princess of Rivera.
Claudio wasn’t giving her a verbal response, so she slowly removed her hands and looked up at him. He put his hand on the back of his neck and averted her gaze. Both his face and ears were turning light red.
“Are you angry? Um...” Wanting to confirm whether or not Claudio was angry, she tried stepping into his line of sight, but he backed away as though surprised. Even though it was only slightly, she was disappointed.
“—I’m, um, sorry for ruining your mood and...”
“No, you’ve got it wrong. I’m not angry.” Although he said that he wasn’t angry, his blunt tone made Rosemarie scratch her figurative head. Claudio let out a huge sigh and then finally turned to her.
“It’s just because you’re dressed the way you are.”
“Huh...? Oh, I’m sorry. I had a feeling this would be improper.” It seemed that they weren’t making much headway in conversation, but once she slumped her shoulders, Claudio cleared his throat irritably.
“I swear, I hate myself sometimes. —Okay, I’m being unclear. I’m not trying to berate you. It looks so good on you, I don’t like the idea of you going in there and showing yourself off to all those people.” Claudio said, sulky, as Rosemarie blushed her face off.
She ended up wanting to read deeper into the subject, and it had thrown her mind into confusion. She glanced up at Claudio, and he turned away a bit bashfully.
“—Um, hello, pardon me, but I would appreciate it if you two would remember I’m still here. Also, I would appreciate it if you two would make your way into the hall now,” Heidi interrupted, her tone reserved. Rosemarie gasped, her shoulders jolting in realization. Her cheeks flushed; she felt as though a relative just saw her getting confessed to.
“Let’s head in.” After clearing his throat to collect himself, Claudio offered his hand. Grabbing hold of it nervously, Rosemarie took a deep breath and faced front. Suddenly, Claudio leaned over ever so slightly.
“About what you said to the Crown Princess of Rivera a moment ago... Hearing you say that you think about me in that way... it made me, um, well... happy. Happy, yes.”
Rosemarie’s eyes lit up at the word “happy,” the joy welling up from inside her and erupting onto her face as a big smile.
Once she stood at the entrance to the hall at Claudio’s side, the eyes of the people in attendance all drew toward her at once.
Several packs of beast eyes fixed on her, and several groups of human eyes also did the same. Her legs were quivering.
(It’s okay, it’s okay, Claudio is right here. There is nothing to fear. He won’t abandon me or anything like that anymore.)
As she said that to herself over and over again to convince herself, the hand she’d entrusted to Claudio was tugged suddenly, yet gently.
When she turned her attention over to him, her gaze met his powerful and reassuring pair of blue eyes.
The two of them both smiled with a slight nod at one another and slowly carried themselves forward.