Tomorrow, my birthday party would be held; a formal occasion where nobles from across the kingdom would gather. Up until now, Miss Bertia and I had not made our social debut, attending parties and festivals only as appendants to our parents. However, after debuting as the crown prince, I’d need to start appearing publicly with a partner.
The plan was for her to accompany me as my fiancée for tomorrow’s event as a practice run of sorts. While it was an official party with many nobles present, we were still children. Minor missteps were expected to be overlooked at this stage, allowing us to get accustomed to attending such events together.
In essence, it was a rehearsal for conducting ourselves as members of the royal family.
According to reports from the “errand runner,” Miss Bertia seemed to have mastered the basics of public comportment reasonably well. Yet, this would be her first time attending an official event.
It was crucial we had a meeting beforehand to ensure I could support her adequately. Suggesting this meeting under the guise of an invitation for tea prevented the marquis from easily declining, given the royal favor involved.
“We shall take our leave now,” I announced, readying to depart.
“As you are well aware, my daughter is unrefined,” he said, repeating unrefined a few more times for good measure, “but we kindly ask for your patience. She may exhibit many faults, and given her young age, please, I beg of you, show leniency.”
His words essentially meant, “You know she’s not perfect, right? You agreed to this knowing full well, so if she acts foolishly, please overlook it as childish antics, okay?”
Well, as long as it’s entertaining, it’s fine by me.
“Of course. She is my fiancée, after all. Should anything happen, rest assured, I will provide the necessary support, so please do not worry.”
With a smile, I made sure to convey my understanding of his concerns, locking eyes with the marquis and nodding firmly, ensuring he knew I took his request seriously.
After a moment of visible unease, it seemed the marquis finally understood my intentions from the gaze we shared. He sighed lightly, as if letting go of a burden, and said, “It is reassuring to hear this from a prince as talented and renowned as you… Miss Bertia, while Prince Cecil has promised this, you must still be cautious on your own.”
“Yes! Of course, Father!” Miss Bertia replied with unnecessary vigor. The marquis looked on with a mix of worry and affection before bowing deeply and departing.
Once the marquis had left, I turned to Miss Bertia. “Shall we go for tea then? Everything is ready this way.”
“Yes. Thank you, Your Highness!” she responded, and I offered a warm smile and extended my hand to escort her. She placed her hand on mine with a radiant expression.
Though she knew the proper conduct expected of a lady, she was still overwhelmingly spirited. I recalled her aspiration to become “a pure, strong, and beautiful flower of evil.” Indeed, she had slimmed down and was closer to what one might call beautiful, but her personality and behavior seemed to be moving in a direction quite opposite to that of a “flower of evil.” Is she really okay with that?
Pondering this, I led Miss Bertia to the guest tea room.
As we entered, Zeno, who had prepared the tea, noticed us and smiled warmly. “Please have a seat here,” he said, pulling out a chair for Miss Bertia. She sat down, and I took the seat opposite her.
Zeno began to pour the tea as we settled in. Miss Bertia looked at the tea and sweets placed before her with sparkling eyes, like a dog waiting on permission from its owner to begin.
One of Miss Bertia’s maids cleared her throat gently but intentionally.
Miss Bertia snapped out of her reverie and muttered, “My diet…” Her expression drooped like that of a dejected puppy. I couldn’t help but let out a wry smile at the sight.
In these moments, the contrast between Miss Bertia’s vibrant enthusiasm and her aspirations of regal composure created a charming dissonance. As we enjoyed our tea, I considered how best to guide her energy in a way that might help her achieve the elegance required of a future queen while still preserving the unique spark that made her so endearing.
“This cake is low in sugar. I’m not much for sweets, so I had it specially made,” I said, signaling to a maid, who then moved one of the cakes in front of me toward Miss Bertia. It was made to be less sweet, therefore relatively low in calories.
“Low sugar! Cake!” Miss Bertia’s eyes sparkled again at the sight of the dessert placed before her. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear her ears perked up and her tail wagged vigorously… A vivid illusion, indeed.
Miss Bertia… I understand you’re delighted, but let’s refrain from regressing into childlike glee, shall we? It’s charming now, but once you become the queen, such behavior might not be appropriate. Others might take advantage of that.
Of course, if it was just in front of me, I found it amusing and had no complaints.
“Please, enjoy,” I urged, and she happily stuffed a piece of cake into her mouth, savoring it as if it contained her happiest memories. It looked so delicious that I tried a bit myself, curious if there was something special about today’s dessert, but it tasted the same as usual.
After washing down the cake with some tea, I decided to ask about something that had been on my mind.
“By the way, Miss Bertia, you’re wearing a rather unusual scarf today, aren’t you?”
It was a sleek black fox scarf. While wearing such an accessory indoors was questionable, what intrigued me more was that if my eyes were not deceiving me, the “scarf” wasn’t just the fur—it seemed to be an actual, living fox.
“Your Highness has an eye for quality. It’s a lovely fur, isn’t it?” She looked up from her cake, a satisfied smile on her face.
Indeed, the pelt was magnificent, but that wasn’t really the point. How is it that this fox, which should by no means fit on her small shoulders, seems to be floating around her neck?
Unaware of its oddity, she appeared clueless to the bizarreness of the situation.
Zeno, maintaining his usual calm demeanor, was visibly struggling to suppress a twitch at the corners of his mouth.
“Indeed, the fur is magnificent. However, it seems to me that it has been subtly moving ever since I first noticed it?”
“Ah, you caught that? That’s strange. My father and the others didn’t notice at all,” Miss Bertia replied, a bit puzzled.
Her attendant maids seemed confused by our conversation, tilting their heads in bewilderment. However, the head maid quickly averted her eyes. Clearly, she was aware of the situation.
She then reluctantly shifted her gaze back to me, her eyes conveying an apology and seemingly leaving the matter in my hands.
“Well, it’s interesting, so let’s leave it at that for now. But please, do not bring it to tomorrow’s birthday party like this. Some might not appreciate seeing a fur scarf, especially indoors. I’ll talk to my father and get permission for you to bring it as a ‘fox’ next time, not as a scarf,” I suggested lightly.
“Indeed, wearing it indoors is odd, isn’t it? Understood! And… I’m actually relieved to hear that I can bring it as a pet. I found this little one, and it has refused to leave my side ever since… I couldn’t bear to leave it at home today, so I disguised it as a scarf to bring along.”
Disguised? Hardly seems disguised at all, really.