AFTER that, for some reason, Cesia got on a shaky, horse-drawn cart with Maria. She wore a simple dress and a pair of sturdy-looking boots and had braided her black hair. After having been made to wear a bunch of pretty but heavy dresses lately, she felt comfortable and in her element and unconsciously began breathing deeply. The person who drove the cart as it rattled over the cobblestones was a familiar, red-haired woman—Maria. Maria wore an outfit similar to Cesia’s, and her red hair was also braided. Does she know that we’re matching? Cesia wondered.
“Where are we going?” Cesia asked Maria, who was sitting next to her and gripping the reins.
Maria replied in a merry voice. “We’re almost there. If you’re tired, feel free to sleep.”
At that, Cesia rested her head on Maria’s shoulder and closed her eyes. The steady, monotonous jolting of the cart made her drowsy.
✦ ✦ ✦
As she drifted off into a light sleep, she heard a slightly lonely voice.
“So you’ll cling to me if I’m Maria.”
At that moment, she had no way to tell whose lips were the ones that brushed against her forehead…
✦ ✦ ✦
AFTER the cart had traveled for some time through tranquil farmland, they finally arrived at an orphanage on the capital’s outskirts. The stone building, which looked like it had originally been a church, was in the middle of a large plot of land. Sheets and laundry were hung up outside, fluttering in the breeze as they bathed in the sunlight.
“Is this it?” Cesia asked.
“Yeah. I sometimes come to drop off goods or check in on them. Carry some, too, Cesia!” Maria said, plopping a box full of secondhand clothes in Cesia’s arms. It was lighter than it appeared. As for Maria, she was carrying a basket of vegetables in both hands.
“I can hold more,” Cesia said, pouting, but Maria just laughed cheerfully.
Opening the orphanage door, children suddenly rushed out and clung to Maria.
“Miss Maria!”
“It’s been a while, everyone. I brought vegetables and clothes.”
“Thanks!”
All the children energetically thanked Maria, then took the packages from Maria and Cesia. Some began to take things off the cart and carry them inside.
An elderly woman, who had come out of the building after the children, beamed at Maria when she saw her. “Thanks for everything, Maria,” she said.
“You’re welcome. I’m sorry I can only come every so often.”
“Not at all. You cannot even begin to imagine how much you’ve helped the children with your coming here.” Next, the woman greeted Cesia and headed to where the children were.
“So you were doing this kind of stuff too, huh,” Cesia said.
“Occasionally. This place is far from the capital, so it gets few donations. I only wish the country could aid them more…” Maria said, shaking her head.
That must be a worry of hers as a prince, Cesia thought. Maria said nothing and took hold of Cesia’s hand.
“Miss Maria, who’s she?”
A small girl was standing right next to them before they realized it. Cesia frowned.
“She’s Cesia. She’s important to me, and I love her very much,” Maria said without a shred of embarrassment. The girl stared unblinkingly at Cesia.
Cesia couldn’t help but feel awkward. “You sure said that confidently.”
“Of course.”
As Cesia blushed, the girl pulled her hand.
“Play with us, Miss Cesia!”
“This way, this way!”
Another girl had come, and they both pulled her arms. Cesia felt flustered. She had hardly ever had any contact with small children and had no idea how to entertain them. Hoping for some help, she looked over her shoulder, but Maria was just smiling and waving her hand.
“Do you know how to make flower crowns, Miss Cesia?”
“Uh, no, I don’t,” Cesia answered. She had hardly any memory of ever playing games as a child.
The two girls smiled. “We’ll teach you!” one said.
In the garden full of small, blooming white flowers, each child spent their time as they saw fit; some ran around, and others stretched out on the ground. Cesia sat down in a corner with the girls, and they taught her how to make flower crowns. She found it easy to weave the stems around each other, but adding more tasks, like arranging the flowers by size and making sure the best-looking ones were in the center, made it so there were an unexpectedly high number of things she had to pay attention to. The girls gave her advice as she went, and before long, she was absorbed in making flower crowns. In the end, she had progressed enough to make prettier flower crowns than anyone else, and she gave them to the girls as presents.
“You’re really good, Miss Cesia!”
“Hey, am I like a princess?”
To be fair, she had made two crowns, one for each girl, and when she placed them on each of their heads, the girls smiled cheerfully.
Cesia felt the tension from her shoulders disappear and finally smiled. “Yeah. They look really pretty.”
The innocent girls said, “We’ll go show them off to everybody else!” and rushed away, almost tripping over themselves as they did. Cesia felt her heart grow warmer, watching their small figures as they ran away. Then, after some begging from the other children, she was conscripted to make even more flower crowns for everyone else.