TIME passed quickly, and eventually, the sun began to sink, and Cesia and Maria set off back to the castle. This time, their cart was light, as they had unloaded all the goods they had brought to the orphanage.
“My break was supposed to be only in the morning, but I ended up taking the whole day off,” Cesia said.
“It’ll be fine. I changed your afternoon plans to volunteer work before we left.”
Cesia looked troubled, but Maria laughed cheerfully. One of a noblewoman’s important jobs was to donate to orphanages and engage in other forms of social work. That was something Cesia had to get around to experiencing, but she also worried that the change of plans had inconvenienced her instructors. As she wondered whether she should bring that up, Maria smiled sarcastically, something rare for her.
“There isn’t anything wrong with using your authority, Cesia,” Maria said.
“I know,” Cesia replied after a pause. “But I know that, while His Royal Highness has a right to use it to carry out his duty, I sometimes feel like I’m not in a position where I’m allowed to do that.”
In addition to everything else that had happened recently, what Layne had said to her at the Second Division had caused her to lose her usual determination. She hung her head, and when Maria saw that, she drew her close to her with one arm. As her friend held her, she let slip a complaint that she would have never let herself say around Marcus. “All of my efforts up until now have paid off, and I’ve used them as stepping stones to advance forward.”
“Yeah.”
“But noble society is full of things I don’t get. I know that I can’t just put up a good-looking front, that I actually have to understand the meaning of everything and respond correctly on the spot; otherwise, I’ll fail… But I still don’t have the knowledge I need to understand it all and make the wrong choices,” Cesia said. She bit her lip, frustrated by her worthlessness. Learning martial arts and magic hadn’t been easy either, but she had built up confidence that told her that with concerted effort, she could improve herself and conquer her weaknesses. However, that confidence was meaningless in high society. Raised as a commoner, she found herself alone and was constantly worried that no matter what she did, she would fail.
“I don’t know anyone who hasn’t failed at least once,” Maria said quietly. “It’s fine to make a few mistakes, Cesia.”
Cesia shook her head. “If I have a poor reputation, it’ll cause trouble for him.”
“Marcus doesn’t care about something like that,” Maria said confidently. She was Marcus, after all, which meant that was what he really thought, but Cesia couldn’t just nod along and agree. Noticing Cesia’s hesitation, Maria continued. “Is there anything else you’re worried about?”
Maria’s kind voice intermingled with the sound of the rattling cart. Cesia had expended all her energy playing with the children the entire day, and the voice of a person she cared about, combined with their body’s warmth, relaxed her, and she expressed the dejected feelings she held in her heart.
“I don’t want His Royal Highness to hate me.”
“Hm?” Maria tilted her head in confusion. Marcus had just said that Cesia’s mistakes didn’t matter to him. It felt like she was missing something. “Where did you get that conclusion from?” she asked, smiling awkwardly and patting Cesia on the head.
The cart slowly advanced along the well-maintained road between the fields. A few far-away houses were visible here and there, but they couldn’t yet see the city, and no other people were on the road. That peaceful scenery clashed with Cesia’s serious tone.
“Because I…” Cesia began. “If I don’t win, if I’m not useful, one day, he might grow to dislike me and say, ‘I don’t need you anymore.’ It’s always been like that for me.”
Maria finally recalled how Cesia had lived until then. Until Marcus had found her, Cesia had been working without pay as a maid in the Diane residence and had been treated as such. Her uncle had been taking care of her—albeit in name only—and she hadn’t been able to turn to anyone for help. She had tried to get compensation by attending the Royal Academy in place of her cousin.
Cesia was more skilled in delicate magic than she would have learned at the academy because she needed to be to survive. Her creed was constant, determined resistance because it would have been over if she lost. She couldn’t ignore a girl who looked unhappy because no one had helped her when she was alone.
Marcus and Maria had always wanted to help Cesia. Both wanted to hug her tightly and tell her it would be okay. They wanted to hug Cesia when she was still a small child and tell her that they loved her.
The cart slowed and finally came to a leisurely stop. Maria looked around. No one else was coming, so it wouldn’t be an issue if they occupied the road for a while. She turned to Cesia and said, “Cesia.”
“Hm?”
Maria took Cesia’s hand and stared into her eyes. “I love you, Cesia.”
Unable to poke fun at Maria’s serious tone but also unable to straightforwardly accept her words, Cesia looked perplexed and didn’t reply for some time. “What’s with this all of a sudden?” she asked.
I don’t know how much my words will resonate with her, but as long as something sticks, I don’t care, Maria thought. If I can be a small candle that brings her warmth and lights her way when she feels alone, then that’s all that matters. She noticed Cesia’s confusion, but she continued. “I don’t love you because you’re smart, or talented, or whatever. Even if you were a child who couldn’t do anything, I’d still love you.”
Cesia was silent.
“If you were a bad kid, I’d scold you if you did something wrong, but you’d still be important to me, and I’d never hate or abandon you. Never.”
Cesia was still confused, and her gaze was wandering—like a child who knew she had just done something wrong. “But—”
Maria wrapped her arms around her and gently rubbed her back.
As Maria embraced her, Cesia noticed her pleasant scent and sniffed. Maria always had a feminine fragrance, but after an entire day outside, she smelled like fresh grass and flowers—almost exactly like Marcus. With that, it clicked, and Cesia truly, actually realized that Maria and Marcus were the same person. Both Maria and Marcus were speaking to her now and hugging her tightly. Physical contact with Maria had been nothing special, but now, she blushed.
“I love you, Cesia. You don’t have to worry about anything. We’re going to be family,” Maria said.
That word startled Cesia. “Family,” she repeated. It didn’t feel like a real word.
“That’s right.”
She had once had family and had thought she had lost it forever. When she had been with her parents, they had been poor, but she hadn’t had anything to fear. Her father and mother were there, and the world was perfect. When they passed away, she had lost everything, and the world had turned cold and frightful, and everyone had been an enemy. Now, she had no family; it had gone away once before, and she had thought she would never have one again.
“You’ll be my family too, Maria?”
“Of course. Marcus and I both.”
Cesia stared at her. “Can’t even family come to hate each other?”
“You’re still saying that? You’re so persistent,” Maria said, pinching Cesia’s nose and pouting. Her beautiful, jade-green eyes sparkled as she stared at Cesia. “If that ever happens, we can just fight a whole lot. We’ll be getting married, which means we’re making a promise recognized by God, and we can’t easily break that vow. So we can just fight until we’re both satisfied.”
“Fight until we’re satisfied…”
“That’s right. If you make a mistake, I’ll scold you, and if I make a mistake, you’ll scold me. If we can’t come to a compromise, we’ll argue until we’re satisfied.”
“We’ll argue?”
“Of course. We’re family, so let’s fight without holding anything back—we’ll be together for a long time, after all,” Maria said, smiling.
Cesia nodded slowly. “You won’t hate me?”
“Never. Even if I get angry, and even if we fight, I’ll never hate you. If you’re ever worried, we can tell each other what we’re thinking. We can convey our feelings to each other like we are now.”
Tears welled up in Cesia’s eyes. “I wonder if we really can…”
“We can find out how we’re different from each other, then make up for that together, slowly but surely. Eventually, all our rough spots will neatly click together, and we’ll get along even better than we do now.”
Maria smiled, and Cesia felt things really would turn out that way. Maria was strong and honest and had always been by Cesia’s side. If she said it would be okay, Cesia felt like she could move forward, no matter how afraid she might be.
“That’s why it’ll be okay,” Maria said.
“Okay,” Cesia replied, and as she lowered her gaze. Tears ran down her cheeks. A gentle mist of magic energy drifted by, and Cesia felt a kiss on her forehead. Hurriedly looking up, she saw that, without her realizing it, Maria was no longer there, and instead, Marcus was sitting next to her.
“Your Royal Highness?!” Cesia exclaimed, looking all around. It would be a big problem if anyone saw them.
Indifferent to her worries, Marcus carefreely laughed. “Sorry. I might let my friend be the one that gives you advice, but I can’t very well let her kiss you, can I?” he said, smiling mischievously. He pulled her close to him and tenderly kissed her.
Cesia’s prince was strong and kind, and he was also an incorrigible brat.