Bonus Story: Hometown
I stood on a gently sloping hill in the McClain region, formerly known as the Hubert region. A sweeping view surrounded by nature stretched into the distance.
This would be an easy place to live, I thought.
As Mary, I’d never been here before, but I’d breathed this air and admired this scenery for many years in my past life. A wave of nostalgia crashed over me. Rosemary had loved this view as well. It brought back a childish urge to run around with outstretched arms without a care in the world.
“Mary,” Albert called out to me. He’d been talking to another man a short distance away, but now he gave me his full attention. “Sorry for making you wait. Let’s be on our way.”
“All right.”
I took his proffered hand, and we walked towards Rosemary’s grave.
✦ ✦ ✦
❅❅❅
PLANS to move Rosemary’s remains to her memorial were delayed, but some progress was made during Tia’s trial. Despite his injuries, Reynaldo was desperate to accomplish this task. Thus, we’d departed for McClain as soon as his doctor deemed him capable of moving. Albert and I had a wedding coming up, and I’d been taking care of the formalities on his behalf, as he was very busy. However, I accompanied him and Reynaldo on the day of the casket’s transportation.
Reynaldo and Albert—who knew Rosemary better than anyone—constructed her memorial on one corner of this large hill. I’d agreed to this idea. Rosemary had preferred this hill’s sweeping scenery to the stifling manor.
“Does this place bring back fond memories?” Albert asked.
I nodded. “I’ve been feeling nostalgic ever since we arrived here. Rosemary loved this view, didn’t she?”
“Indeed, she did. The garden was the only place to play inside the manor. Whenever we went out, it was usually to this hill.”
At the time, Rosemary hadn’t been able to walk around town often, as she’d been a candidate for the crown princess.
“This way.” Albert pointed towards a memorial stone in the distance.
Reynaldo stood in front of the memorial, which was surrounded by flowers. His blond hair swayed in the breeze, and he held white lilies. The scene was picturesque in its beauty.
“Reynaldo,” I called out to him.
He’d been staring at the memorial, but when he heard me, his jade-green eyes turned to me, and he smiled. “Mary, you’ve arrived. Welcome to your former hometown.”
“Thank you. It brings back so many memories.”
I looked at Rosemary’s name inscribed on the stone monument. The casket was buried deep within the memorial. After the burial, a priest would offer his prayers, and the soul of the deceased would return to Heaven. According to our scriptures, at least.
“Coming here reminds me of the days I spent with Rosemary.” After placing his flowers before the grave, Reynaldo stood and surveyed the distant landscape. “She brought me out here quite often. Since I tended to stay cooped up in the house, she wanted me to have a little fun.”
I hadn’t known this. While some memories of my past life were clear, others were fragmented. Occasionally, I couldn’t remember something Reynaldo or Albert brought up.
“The priest should be here soon,” Reynaldo said.
“Who else will be in attendance?” I asked.
“It’s just you, me, and Albert. Rosemary would feel more at ease that way.”
How typical of Reynaldo—the Rosemary supremacist.
Standing in front of the memorial, I folded my hands and offered a prayer. I wanted to tell her a million different things, but for now, I beseeched her to rest peacefully in her beloved hometown. Albert prayed beside me with his eyes closed. However, as a knight addressing his liege, he sat on his knees with his head bowed.
What is he saying to her? I wondered while peering at him.
Albert opened his eyes, looked in my direction, and smiled. “Your gaze is going to burn a hole through me.”
“S-Sorry,” I apologized.
Apparently, I’d been a little too obvious. I hurriedly looked away, only to find Reynaldo grinning at me, too.
“Feeling jealous, Mary?” he asked.
“N-Not at all!”
Albert stood up and sighed theatrically. “Now that just hurts my feelings.”
“Please don’t tease me like that.” My face grew increasingly warm. “I was just wondering what you were saying to her.”
“Me? I was telling her about you. Then I apologized for causing her so much worry. Lastly, I promised to protect this land.”
With Albert focusing on his job as the high commander, he rarely had time to visit his territory. Even so, he still wanted to give his best effort to being a feudal lord.
“I never planned on entrusting everything to you, Albert, so you needn’t worry,” Reynaldo said. “Everything will be fine. Should anything happen, I’ll be there to support you.”
While Reynaldo grinned from ear to ear, Albert’s expression darkened. “I don’t know whether to feel grateful or insulted.”
“My older brother might ask you to return this land to him,” Reynaldo added. “If that happens, let me speak on your behalf. You would have a difficult time turning him away, wouldn’t you?”
“…I suppose so.”
Reynaldo and Rosemary’s much older brother had originally been next in line to inherit the Hubert region. However, after his father’s fall from power and his sister’s execution, the lands had been seized, and he’d been demoted in court rank. To my knowledge, he still passed himself off as a viscount, but until Reynaldo brought up the subject, I hadn’t thought about him at all.
“Do you remember our brother, Mary?” Reynaldo asked.
I tried to recall him, but strangely, my memories were vague. “Not really,” I answered, shaking my head.
“That makes sense. Rosemary distanced herself from him as well. To Albert, however, he’s the older brother of his former liege, and they’re close in age. Dealing with him would be difficult.”
“That’s true,” Albert agreed. “Honestly, I’m grateful for the offer.”
“Think nothing of it. To make things even, why don’t you let me handle Mary’s wedding dress?”
Albert and I went silent. At that moment, we were probably thinking the same thing.
Wait, he still hasn’t given up on that?
When Albert and I announced our engagement, Reynaldo—for some reason—insisted upon tailoring my wedding dress. Relentlessly so.
“You can choose whatever style of wedding dress you like,” Albert had told me. Honestly, though, I wasn’t picky, so long as I liked the design.
Still, the palace was a small place. Not long ago, Reynaldo called me into the prime minister’s office, where a handmaid took my measurements in a separate room. To my horror, rumors spread around the palace in the blink of an eye.
“Reynaldo is choosing the wedding dress for a handmaid named Mary!”
“Mary is only pretending to be engaged to Albert. She’s actually marrying Reynaldo!”
As for the most shocking rumor—
“Reynaldo and Albert are using Mary to hide their forbidden love!”
In any case, I’d heard plenty of absurd gossip about myself.
According to the official story, I was a distant relative of Rosemary’s, which led to a friendship blossoming between Reynaldo and me. If the public believed that story, everything would have been fine and dandy. Considering the rumors of our secret marriage, however, I couldn’t choose my wedding dress with Reynaldo. Also, my engagement with Albert was publicly announced, so why were rumors even circulating in the first place?
“Reynaldo, didn’t I ask you to stop talking about this?!” I cried.
“What’s the harm if no one finds out?” Reynaldo countered. “If we use Albert’s name with everything concerning the dress, that should suffice, right?”
“How can you be so thoughtless? If the payments are traced back to you, our cover will be blown immediately!”
“In that case, let’s hire a personal designer under Albert’s name. He can pay the original fee, but all subsequent charges will be billed to me.”
I groaned. “This is getting way too convoluted…”
“Please, you two, we’re in front of Rosemary’s grave,” Albert reminded us in an even tone.
I came back to my senses and apologized quietly to her memorial.