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A cup of warm tea sat in front of me. Conversely, a large pile of documents and a sandwich—which would be easy to eat while working—sat in front of Reynaldo. Being prime minister keeps a person busy, I realized all over again.
“Sorry for the mess,” Reynaldo apologized. “I haven’t had time to clean the room.”
He was using the spacious office of the former prime minister, who’d been condemned and relieved of his duties. A sofa sat in front of the large desk to facilitate meetings. There was also a line of desks in the adjacent room for the prime minister’s secretaries.
With the hour being so early, no one else had arrived for work yet. Nevertheless, Reynaldo called a servant to prepare him a meal. The sandwich seemed emblematic of how he’d been eating as of late.
“Are you eating proper dinners?” I asked.
Previously, we’d been having dinner together, but in the past couple of weeks, no such opportunities had arisen. As a result, I had no idea what his nightly meals looked like. When I inquired about this out of concern, he responded with a smile. Apparently, his dinners weren’t much different from this breakfast.
“I tend to prioritize work,” he said.
“You’re going to ruin your health that way,” I chided.
“I suppose so. What a conundrum…”
Is he actually taking this seriously? I observed Reynaldo sinking deep into thought. Eventually, he looked in my direction, as if something had just occurred to him.
“Since we both work at the palace, why don’t we have dinner together?” he suggested. “If I make plans, I won’t forget to eat.”
“And you want those plans to be with me?”
“Of course.”
I usually ate dinner in the dining hall. Occasionally, I ate with the knights, but I’d never made food in my room or gone out to eat. Since this would be similar to what I usually did, I nodded in agreement.
“Thank you,” Reynaldo said. “Do you mind coming here after work then?”
“Um, to the prime minister’s office…?”
That was a tall order. I could just imagine recoiling at everyone’s stares.
“I’ll let everyone around here know of our plans,” Reynaldo offered.
What could he say, exactly, to make everyone feel at ease with a lowly handmaid having dinner in the prime minister’s office?
“Your grace,” I said.
“You agreed to call me Reynaldo in private, remember?”
“…Are you getting any rest, Reynaldo?” I corrected. “You look very busy.”
My eyes turned toward the documents piled around the room. I worried about Reynaldo’s health. He was probably one of the busiest people in the palace right now. Being the ringleader of the coup and the new prime minister, not a day passed without me hearing his name in the palace. This was true among the knights as well. Reynaldo had taken on an unimaginable workload, second only to King Rizel.
After finishing his bite-sized sandwich, Reynaldo answered my question. “This workload won’t last forever. Once things calm down, it won’t be so bad, and I’m getting enough rest. Thank you for worrying about me, though.”
He grinned at me. I kept drinking my tea, unable to say anything.
“Honestly, I never intended to become prime minister,” he continued. “Compared to my revenge, I didn’t give a damn about this country’s future. Yet when King Rizel pleaded with me to take this job, I decided to give it a chance. To my surprise, I find the work rather interesting.”
Reynaldo wore a cheerful expression, having found purpose in his work. His eyes sparkled like a young boy who’d gotten his hands on a new toy.
“Also,” he added. “Since I purged everyone who slandered Rosemary, I’d like to inform future generations about how wonderful she was.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, nearly spilling my tea.
“I plan on building a memorial to her in the palace. Likewise, I would like to immortalize her great deeds in a book. I’m in the middle of drafting an outline for a proposal right now. When the memorial is finished, I’d love for you to see it, Mary.”
“P-Please don’t do all that…”
“My apologies, but the king has already approved the memorial. The schedule for its construction has been decided upon as well.”
I cast my eyes down. Prime Minister Reynaldo’s terrifying enthusiasm left me speechless. Suddenly, I remembered my dream.
Should I speak to him about what’s been worrying me lately…?
Since he had so much love and respect for Rosemary, hearing his opinion could prove helpful. Still, I hesitated, wondering if I should speak my mind.
“Um, Reynaldo…” Steeling myself, I looked up and spoke. “If you hadn’t known I was Rosemary’s reincarnation, what would you have thought of me?”
Lately, I’d been worrying about how my current self compared to Rosemary. Until a while ago, I hadn’t even remembered my past life. Yet, upon regaining Rosemary’s memories, I’d considered them nostalgic. I even loved the people from my past, such as Albert and Reynaldo. Ultimately, however, those memories belonged to Rosemary. Those feelings and recollections weren’t necessarily mine.
Was Albert’s profession of love directed towards Rosemary and not me? What if he saw me as his childhood friend rather than as Mary? If he hadn’t known me to be Rosemary’s reincarnation, would he have noticed me?
As a result of these concerns, I’d wound up asking Reynaldo a bizarre question.
“Um…” I mumbled. “Speaking hypothetically, of course.”
Why did I even ask that question? I wondered, regret washing over me.
After a brief silence, Reynaldo took a sip of tea and looked at me. “That’s a difficult question. If I hadn’t known you were Rosemary’s reincarnation…” His lips tugged into a self-deprecating smile. “Well, you would have ended up despising me, I’m sure.”
His answer took me aback.
“I would have?” I asked.
“Indeed. Do you remember our first conversation? I attempted to threaten you into becoming Prince Rizel’s fiancée.”
I did remember. Reynaldo had treated me like a tool, even attempting to use my family members as bargaining chips. I’d gotten angry and scolded him, comparing his actions to his father’s, whom he’d hated. By doing so, I practically outed myself as Rosemary’s reincarnation.
“Did you know that most people consider me a cold-hearted man?” Reynaldo asked. “They’re exactly right—I’m not a kind person. So, if I hadn’t known you were Rosemary’s reincarnation… I would have treated you horribly. You would have hated me, and I would have regretted my actions.”
“But why…?”
Certainly, I remembered Reynaldo treating me horribly. Still, I didn’t understand why he would have regretted his actions.
Reynaldo donned a sad smile. “Because, by the time I came to know you deeply and loved you as Mary, you would already have despised me.”
Once he’d finished speaking, Reynaldo stood up and circled around to my side. His face closed in on mine, our noses touching, and he kissed me lightly on the ear. The gentle, warm sensation felt distant. While reaching up to touch my ear, I gazed at Reynaldo, whose face was still close to mine.
“Why?” I asked, straining to speak.