The day of our departure arrived in no time. I began my preparations that morning even before the sun had risen. Parfeil was the only one who came to help me. I put on a frilly pinafore dress that matched hers.
“Lady Mille-Feuille, it’s the start of your honeymoon! I’m super-duper excited!”
“Me too. And Parfeil, you’re quite energetic so early in the morning.”
“Of course I am!” Parfeil exclaimed.
Last night, Van and I had gotten so carried away talking to each other that we’d ended up staying up late, despite knowing that we had to wake up early. I regretted that we hadn’t been able to stop ourselves.
We were to depart quietly before sunrise, too early for anyone to see us. Van had woken up ahead of us and was no longer in the bedroom. I had never been an early riser, so I was jealous of people like Van and Parfeil.
I had finished loading my luggage onto the carriage the day before. Still, it wasn’t like I was going to travel empty-handed right now. I called on my white squirrels to gather around me and they popped out from everywhere. One after another, they climbed all over me, running all over my arms and stuffing themselves into my pockets.
“That’s fifteen, and... Ah, there you are.”
I couldn’t carry all of them, so I asked Parfeil to help out. One squirrel cozied itself around her right ear. It must have looked comfortable, as another one curled around her left.
“Um, Parfeil, are you okay with the squirrels curling up around your ears?”
“I’m fine! But, milady, could you please ask them not to make loud noises while they’re there?”
“All right.”
I told the squirrels on Parfeil’s head about her request, and they raised their paws in response. I let out a sigh of relief that they seemed to have understood me.
I used a secret passage to leave the room without being seen. In the garden waited a carriage that would be carried by a dragon. With Parfeil’s help, we rushed to the carriage and entered. Inside, Van, Lady Opera, and Madeleine were already waiting for us.
“Mille-Feuille, you are late. I arrived here first,” Lady Opera declared.
“And I was second,” Van declared. The two siblings folded their arms, proud of their accomplishments. I tried to argue that it wasn’t even our agreed meeting time yet, but they retorted that it was better to be early for these gatherings. I let them win this time.
Lady Opera’s outfit caught my attention. She was wearing a black wig and an unassuming dress. “Lady Opera, are you coming with us as an attendant?” I asked, to confirm my suspicions.
“Indeed I am! For this trip, I shall be hiding my identity and heading to Diamant as an attendant!” she announced.
Nowhere in the world would you be able to find an attendant this proud and haughty.
I glared at Van to silently ask him why he’d allowed Lady Opera to disguise herself as such, but he just averted his gaze. Perhaps he knew that it was impossible to reason with the royal lady and he’d had no choice but to let her do what she wanted.
“While we are staying in Diamant, I wish to be referred to as ‘Aura,’” she said. “Do you all have pseudonyms?”
“We do. I’m ‘Millefie,’ Madeleine is ‘Nene,’ and Parfeil is ‘Fel,’” I said.
“Hm? We’re not calling the little bunny ‘Bunny’?”
“That’s...” I was ready to shoot down the idea, but Lady Opera looked so dejected. It seemed that she really liked her nickname for Parfeil.
“Um, I’m okay with that nickname!” Parfeil chimed in.
“Really?!”
“Of course!”
I asked Parfeil in a whisper if she was sure about this. She said that it was fine since it was just a fake name. I had to be thankful that Parfeil was a very kind person.
Now that that had been settled, I turned to Madeleine. “It’s been a while.”
“Yes, it really has,” she replied. During her break from her duties, she’d returned to her family’s home to prepare for her wedding. “Mother was upset at me for not thinking about my upcoming wedding more.”
“I’m so sorry about that. I’ve been keeping you all to myself lately.”
“No, it’s not your fault. I’ve been putting your needs ahead too much as well.”
According to Madeleine, taking a break had let her finish a number of preparations for her wedding.
Parfeil pulled out a basket that she had stuffed under the seat and opened it up, revealing fallen leaves and fruit inside. The white squirrels jumped straight into the box, except for the ones on Parfeil’s ears. They seemed to find it more comfortable up there.
Our carriage was made to fit eight people. Other than the five of us, three knights were there to accompany us.
Lady Opera looked displeased by that and sighed. “I suppose we cannot have this be a normal family outing.”
Van addressed Lady Opera’s complaint. “Roche says that if we don’t have any guards accompanying us, he would actually be able to sleep at night.”
“He is getting more than enough sleep!”
While I sat there, amused by the siblings’ banter, I heard the signal for us to head out. The knight who would be carrying us in his dragon form must have arrived. I heard the flapping of wings outside. The carriage would be lifted up by a belt connected to the dragon’s body. I started to feel the carriage moving upward.
Next, a number of knights riding wyverns took off into the air. They were dragoons—knights specialized in aerial combat. Roche was among them. I caught a glimpse of him from the side—his tense expression made him look rather handsome.
“I sure wish Roche could be this gallant all the time,” I mumbled.
Parfeil, apparently overhearing my muttering, nodded in agreement. “He has a one-track mind for the Dragon Duke, so he really tends to ignore everything else.”
“He’ll never find anyone to marry at this rate.”
“Ooh, I agree with that.”
Roche was the eldest in his family and had no brothers. If he didn’t find anyone to marry, his family would have no heirs.
“Well, if I order him to get married, I’m sure he will,” Van interjected.
“That’s true.”
Outside, I saw Roche let out a big sneeze, seemingly in reaction to our conversation. I averted my gaze instinctively and ended up meeting Lady Opera’s eyes.
“Are you talking about something fun?” she asked.
“Kind of.” I decided to ask her about something I had been wondering about instead of elaborating further. “Um, Lady Opera, what are your thoughts on marriage?”
“I would like to get married someday too. However, I still have not found an ideal partner.”
Since she’d never brought the topic up, I had thought all this time that Lady Opera had no interest in getting married. I was surprised to learn that she had been mulling it over.
“If my brother had wished for me to enter into an arranged marriage, I would have obliged him. However, it would seem that he has no such plans for me.”
Van, upon hearing Lady Opera’s words, nodded. According to him, he would approve of her getting married if she found an ideal partner. How thoughtful of him, I thought.
“What kind of person would that be?” I asked.
“Hmm. I would say someone strong, sincere, and loyal. It would be even better if he had an adorable side too.”
Upon hearing that, everyone else looked out the window. Roche—a strong, sincere, loyal man—was right outside, riding his wyvern gallantly. Perhaps he might’ve even had an adorable side too, one that was completely unknown to me.
“Brother, if you find someone like that, I would love to be introduced to him.”
“Well, uh, um...” Van stammered. “I may have a lead on one. I might introduce you to him soon.”
“Really?! Then I shall look forward to it!”
Would Van’s matchmaking for Roche and Lady Opera succeed? I couldn’t even begin to predict the outcome.
Our journey to Diamant was proceeding smoothly. I’d thought that Madeleine would shirk away from everyone, but perhaps because she had been getting along with Lady Opera as of late, she had been joining in our lively conversations.
We stopped by one of the Dragon Duke’s family vacation homes to take a break and eat. I peeked out the window and saw that snow had begun to pile up outside. There had been no sign of snow in the capital when we left. This area was in the northern part of the Dragon Duchy of Éclair, and winters could get very cold up here.
The dragoons alighted one after the other. The wyverns must have been tired as well since they had been flying nonstop. I hoped they could all get some rest.