Chapter Six: Memorial Stone
“I love you.”
As Albert gripped my hand and professed his feelings, I looked up at him.
“May I hear your answer?” he pressed.
“Um, that makes me very happy, but…” I trailed off.
How should I respond? I stumbled over my words, unable to suppress the blush creeping up my cheeks. Meanwhile, Albert’s grip tightened, his face drawing closer. When his serious, dark brown irises were inches away from mine, I reflexively shut my eyes.
“I love you, Rosemary,” he proclaimed.
I lifted my head, stunned by the name he’d used. When I looked into his dark brown eyes again, I saw Rosemary reflected in them.
No, I’m not Rosemary!
As I tried to shout, I was startled awake, looking up at an unfamiliar ceiling. A fair amount of time had passed since I’d moved into a servant’s room. Regardless, I wasn’t used to seeing the ceiling’s wallpaper first thing in the morning. Groggy, I sat up in bed and looked out the window. The sun had only started to rise, and the weather seemed nice. However, my reflection in the window looked hideous compared to Rosemary’s.
“Dreams sure are honest,” I murmured to myself.
Though I’d be starting the day early, I got out of bed and headed to the sink to wash my face. Two weeks had passed since I’d started working for the chivalric order as a handmaid, and I’d finally grown accustomed to the flow of each day. At first, my constant thoughts of Albert made me overly awkward. That said, he was a great boss, never letting his personal feelings interfere with work.
But did he make suggestive comments to me in private? Why yes, he definitely did.
Also, the knights were the worst at mixing work and personal matters.
Albert’s feelings for me were already an open secret. As a result, many knights talked him up to support his romantic endeavors.
“Recently, banditry was on the rise in the capital, and the high commander caught their leader! Pretty cool of him, right?”
“Hey, Mary, did you know Albert sometimes visits the orphanage to play with the kids? He’s super popular!”
“Lady Edigma, listen to this!”
I could write a book about Albert based solely on the multitude of stories I’d learned from their bragging. Incidentally, Albert didn’t know what was going on, as his subordinates never acted this way in front of him. I didn’t know whether to praise or disparage their gung-ho attitudes.
At first, I was constantly perplexed. Embarrassment impeded my work, and I considered the incessant interruptions a nuisance. Eventually, however, the conversations became enjoyable. No matter what I might have said, I liked hearing about Albert’s achievements. After all, I harbored a deep admiration for knights, just as Rosemary had.
Is there a woman who doesn’t admire knights? I wondered.
So far as I knew, there wasn’t. Not until they learned the truth, at least.
Though many women applied to work as handmaids for the chivalric order, there was a high turnover rate. In the beginning, they were overjoyed to work for the knights they so admired. Unfortunately, the workplace could be stuffy, dangerous, and full of routine work. Thus, it could be a difficult job for someone who’d grown up in the city.
On the other hand, I’d grown accustomed to strenuous labor while living in the countryside. Personally, I enjoyed working for the chivalric order and found the job easy enough. Since the knights themselves didn’t stand on ceremony, we’d opened up with each other enough to have trivial conversations.
Even so, the constant stream of information on Albert still grated on my nerves.
“Perhaps I should take this matter to Sir Eva,” I murmured to myself one day.
If this happened to send shivers down the spines of a few knights, that was none of my concern.
After changing into work clothes and leaving my room early, I headed towards the servants’ dining hall. All the knights and palace servants lived in a lodging house within the palace. Of course, the former fiancée candidates hadn’t used this building, as we’d been handmaids in name only. Back then, we’d been provided with more elegant guest rooms. Now that I’d become an actual palace servant, this lodging house was my new home.
That said, the rooms were still of high quality, which was befitting of palace servants. Despite being low-ranking, most of us were children of nobles. Yes, there were commoners, but most were experienced workers with proven track records. Furthermore, they were only hired following strict investigations involving interviews and letters of recommendation. Discrimination based on status was still harsh, regardless of someone’s abilities.
Thanks to Sir Eva’s recommendation and my paltry status as a baron’s daughter, I got this job without any trouble. Even so, this would be a difficult position to obtain for most people.
But come to think of it, I’ve been bouncing around from one highly coveted job to another lately.
As usual, I sat at my designated window seat with a nice view of the grounds. Upon receiving my allotment of bread, soup, and salad, I ate. Obviously, everything was delicious, since the palace chefs prepared our meals.
Outside the window, I saw where visitors boarded and disembarked from carriages within the palace grounds. Despite the early hour, vehicles were arriving sporadically. In fact, I recognized the family crest on a single carriage that had just pulled up. Reynaldo disembarked from it.
Yes, I recognized that carriage as belonging to the Rose Duchy.
While popping a piece of bread into my mouth, I continued watching. Based on how early he’d returned to the palace, he’d probably ridden through the night. He did seem fatigued as he disembarked from the carriage. Noticing my gaze, Reynaldo looked up and met my eye. He waved, his expression softening. Flustered, I waved back.
“Huh…?” I mumbled, focusing on Reynaldo’s gesturing. After beckoning to me, he pointed to where he was standing. By all appearances, he was signaling for me to join him.
I nodded at him through the window, gulped down the rest of my soup, and put away my utensils. After jogging down the stairs, I headed to where he was. He was still waiting for me.
“Lord Reynaldo,” I said.
“Mary,” he responded. “Sorry for calling you down here so early.”
I looked around the square. The carriage had already left, and only Reynaldo remained. The early morning air chilled my skin, turning our breath white in the cold. I felt guilty for making him wait for me.
“It’s no trouble,” I assured him. “Did you travel all through the night to arrive back at this time?”
“Indeed—I went to check on Rose. I considered inviting you, but since I was leaving suddenly and would be traveling through the night, I decided against it.” Reynaldo remembered that I wanted to thank the people who’d taken care of me at his duchy. That put a smile on my face. “How’s your job at the chivalric order?” he asked.
“Everyone’s been treating me very well.”
Almost too well.
“Are you working today?” Reynaldo inquired.
“Yes, but I was planning on waiting in the dining room since it’s still early. Have you eaten yet, Lord Reynaldo?”
“No, not yet. Would you like to take a break in my office? I can brew you some tea while I have my meal.”
I gladly accepted Reynaldo’s invitation. My routine of having dinner with him and Albert hadn’t been possible since I’d started living in the servants’ lodging house. It had been a long time since we’d spent time together like this.
As the sun rose, my mood brightened. Thus, I followed Reynaldo.