3. Sunruta Kingdom’s Magic Research Laboratory
I spent the next day in my room at the palace in a bum mood.
How did things end up playing out this way?
I kept thinking about things and sighing. Then thinking about things. Then sighing.
I got to my feet and walked over to the window. The blue sky outside was dotted with puffy white clouds, like cotton candy. Resting my hands on the windowsill, I watched as they slowly floated right to left.
Then I sighed again.
I was disappointed with how…timid I’d been ever since we’d arrived in the Sunruta Kingdom.
I was the princess of a kingdom. In the future, I would need to make connections with foreign countries. I’d need to be able to stand as a representative of Najir. But I hadn’t been able to do anything worthwhile during my time here so far. I’d just stayed shut up in my room instead.
If I wanted to avoid marriage with Daniel, it’d be in my best interest to create friendships with the other foreign royals. But I was too afraid to go walking around the palace grounds, in case I ran into Daniel or Karina.
Wow…I’m really pathetic…
As I stood gazing at the sky and feeling bad about myself, there was a knock at the door behind me.
“Yes?”
Wondering who that could be, I went to answer the door. My eyes widened in shock as I took in the sight of the unexpected guest standing in the doorway.
“Good day to you, Princess Annabel.”
“Princess Karina?”
It was Princess Karina.
Shocked stiff, I simply stood there holding the doorknob. Karina gave me a soft smile.
“You know, I recently had the opportunity to try some of the most delicious tea. Would you like to have some with me?”
Karina was holding a tray, on top of which sat a beautiful tea set with a floral pattern. The teacups were filled with an amber liquid that gave off curls of steam.
The steam brought a familiar scent to my nose.
“Is that…Dimple tea?”
“Hmm? You know of it? I actually tasted it for the first time just yesterday! It has strong floral notes; I’ve really quite taken to it!”
Dimple tea is a black tea grown in the Sunruta Kingdom’s Dimple region. Various petals are dried along with the tea leaves, making for a very distinctive floral tea.
Now why did I know about Dimple tea? Well, in my old timeline, when I’d lived in the Sunruta Kingdom as Daniel’s fiancé, I drank it all the time. It was my absolute favorite.
But Karina didn’t seem to know anything about that. She was just standing there genially smiling at me. If she’d sent a note inviting me to have tea first, that would be one thing. But to bring the tea herself…I couldn’t possibly say no to her like this.
I nodded to Ellie, who was standing at attention in my room, and led Karina and her tea set over to the table.
“How are you feeling about being abroad for the first time? Are you still nervous?”
“No…”
I wasn’t sure what to say to her. My response came out sounding very abrupt.
On the other hand, Karina seemed unconcerned as she sipped her tea and started telling me about her own first trip abroad. Apparently, she’d been to a country across the continent from Najir, where there was no custom of escorting ladies.
“No one offered me their hand, so I just stood there like a spare part! And the others just stood there watching me! It was the most awkward thing you could ever imagine!”
Apparently, Karina had arrived in this country and stepped down from her carriage, but no one had come forward to formally escort her. So, she’d simply stood there and waited. But since Karina was the honored guest, none of the people receiving her were permitted to make a move before she did. So, in the end, they’d all just stood around.
Picturing the scene in my head, I couldn’t suppress a burst of laughter.
That must’ve been extremely awkward indeed!
Karina smiled at me. “Oh, I’m so pleased,” she said. “Finally, I get to see you smile!”
“Pardon?”
“You’ve seemed very down ever since you got here, Princess Annabel, and your brother, Prince Charles, has been ever so worried about you. Prince Daniel has been most concerned as well. I was hoping a spot of tea would cheer you up.”
I gazed at Karina. Her smile seemed so genuine and uncalculated. I was honestly shocked.
It made sense for Charles to be worried about me. Daniel too, since he was the host. But why did Karina care?
Why was she worried about me, shutting myself away in my room? Why was she trying to do her best to draw me out and help me feel at ease…?
I looked down at the teacups Karina had brought. For a moment, I started to wonder if perhaps she had poisoned mine. Then I felt guilty for thinking such a thing.
Thinking about it more deeply, it made sense that perhaps this world’s Princess Karina and Prince Daniel might be very different from the ones I knew, in the same way that this world’s Edoile Licht La Boulacherie was so different from the old timeline.
That thought finally helped me begin to relax for the first time since coming here.
Karina was only a year older than I was. And we were both Princesses. With so much in common, it perhaps wasn’t surprising that we were soon chatting away like old friends.
Karina was just telling me about a dress she’d had custom-made when there was another knock at the door.
I certainly was getting a lot of visitors today.
But since Karina was here, I instead asked Ellie to answer the door. When she opened it to check who was there, she suddenly looked panicked and trotted back over to me.
“Princess Annabel, Prince Daniel is here to see you.”
“Prince Daniel?”
What is Daniel doing here?
I couldn’t even begin to guess. Turning to Karina, I could see in her eyes that she didn’t know anything about his visit, either. She shook her head softly. In the meantime, Daniel had already walked into the room. When he saw Karina and me sitting down to a pot of tea together, his eyebrows shot up.
“Good day to you, Prince Daniel. May we help you?” I got to my feet at once and attempted a proper greeting.
Daniel was dressed in loose-fitting yet aristocratic attire, very different from the splendid coronation suit he’d worn last night.
“I do apologize for barging in. Please, sit back down and relax.” Daniel gestured for me to return to my seat. “I heard that Princess Karina was here. I thought it perfect timing to make a visit of my own.”
“Er…you did?” I blinked at him, not following.
“Indeed, since you’ve come all this way, I thought you should know a bit more about my country. To start, I would love to show you around our state-of-the-art Magic Research Lab. Would you like to see it? I heard that Najir is a land replete with magical energy. I would love to get your opinions on it.”
“I…I would love to see it, yes!”
The moment I heard the words “Magic Research Lab.” I knew what my answer had to be.
I’d read about the Sunruta Kingdom’s recently developed Magic Research laboratory in a book Claude had lent me. He brought it over when I was in disgrace, confined to my room by Daddy after I’d gone into town by myself after dark. I’d had to take some time off from Grail Academy, and I’d been so bored.
But there’d been no Magic Research Lab in Sunruta when I’d come here to marry Daniel in my old timeline. The lab represented a significant discrepancy between timelines. For that reason, it seemed important.
“I’m so glad that it interests you. Princess Karina, what say you?”
Daniel smiled at me, then shifted his gaze to Karina. She batted her eyes, her face lighting up.
“The Magic Research Laboratory? That sounds fascinating. If Princess Annabel is going, I’d certainly like to come along as well.”
“Then it’s decided. But there are only a few days remaining before you both return to your homelands. We should do it as soon as possible. How about this afternoon?”
“That would be fine with me,” Karina said.
“I don’t have any other plans either,” I added.
“Excellent. I’ll reach out to Charles as well. I’ll call for you both at your chambers this afternoon at two o’clock.”
“Thank you.”
Karina and I both thanked Daniel, who smiled at us both. “Until later, then,” he said, leaving the room.