“I shall send you another should it ever wilt,” Tiana said. “But take this as an opportunity to practice your magic. Try cradling it in moisture and cool air to have it bloom as long as you can.”
“I-I’ll do my best!”
The queen affably snickered at the girl’s heartwarming enthusiasm.
From that day onward, the girl bound by a constant failure to express herself was always seen with her beloved’s seal in her hair. Wherever she went, she showed the world that her heart was taken. All the while, she truly believed in the charm that the boy’s mother had given her.
Unfortunately, there was an exception to every rule.
After finishing her studies for the day, Lieselotte was slated to partake in tea with Tiana and Siegwald. The prince was already waiting in the gazebo when the two ladies arrived. He began beaming as soon as he saw the flower in Lieselotte’s hair.
“Wow, that’s my flower!” As previously mentioned, one hundred percent of people would come to this conclusion, and Siegwald was no different. He eagerly expressed his unbridled enthusiasm.
“N-N-N-N-N-No!” Lieselotte stammered. More out of reflex than thought, the red-faced girl began spouting nonsensical excuses. “This is just a lirene! I know it happens to be your royal seal, but this is originally the Goddess Lirenna’s flower, and it wards off magic, and it’s for my magic practice, and Her Majesty gave it to me, so—so you’re wrong!”
“Oh, okay...” Lieselotte’s shouting had tempered Siegwald’s excitement into a mere mumble. “Sorry, I should’ve figured. I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean it. It’s just that I put lirenes on things that are important to me, and I was kind of happy that we were matching...”
“I-Important to you?” Lieselotte held her cheeks in both hands and stared at the ground.
“Mm-hm! I don’t go around putting it on just anything! There aren’t that many things you’ll be matching with, so feel free to keep wearing it...okay?”
Sieg hurried to try and calm her down. He was so panicked that he didn’t realize he’d used the word “Mm-hm,” which he’d been doing his best to stop using. In return, Lieselotte began awkwardly nodding without bothering to look up.
“W-Well, um, I s-suppose that matching flowers w-wouldn’t be so bad. Of course not. As little as it means, we are engaged. Having the same flower as your seal isn’t a problem at all. Lirenes are rare, but they’re a popular design even among commoners—it’s not like this is just your flower. Oh, and it protects me from magic! So I should keep wearing it.”
“Mm-hm! And best of all, you look really cute with it! The white petals are so pretty in your golden hair. You’re closer to Lady Lirenna than I am. I’m sure the Goddess of Creation must have blessed you with her favor!”
“Th-Tha—um. Thank y-you, um, very much...”
Lieselotte was a vivid red by the time she managed to squeeze out the last of her thanks. On the other hand, Siegwald waited for her to finish with an innocent and thoughtless smile.
Tiana was watching the whole scene unfold a short distance away. She’d retreated from the gazebo with her trusty lady-in-waiting when she’d sensed that they were about to have a moment together.
Yet the garden was now filled with an indescribable mood. The queen furrowed her brow. Turning to the maid holding her parasol, she hid her lips behind a fan and began to whisper.
“Do you think Sieg might be a tad... Nay, do you think my darling son might be an utter idiot? How anyone could believe that to be a coincidence is beyond me... You don’t think little Lieselotte truly believed that her excuses would work, do you?”
Wholly unable to accept that her son was not among the hypothetical one hundred people with functioning brains, Tiana couldn’t help but disparage him.
“Ahem.” Her maid first cleared her throat in an attempt to gloss over her employer’s frankness. “Well, I admit that His Highness may be a bit dense. However, I believe he intentionally forgoes expressing personal opinion due to his constant social interactions as the crown prince. I can only assume this is his answer to the challenges of royal life, or at least a coping mechanism of sorts. Above all else, I surmise that in this particular case, it is simply because he is with Lady Lieselotte.”
Tiana paused. Hearing her maid so sure of herself caused the queen to scooch even closer and whisper in the quietest voice she could manage. “...You know something, don’t you?”
The servant considered for a moment whether or not she ought to tell Tiana what she knew. However, she quickly concluded that both her paycheck and oath of loyalty were tied directly to the queen, not the young prince. In fact, she’d been serving Her Majesty since before the boy was born.
“Some days ago, the two of them received instruction in the blade from General Riefenstahl. At the time, His Highness confided in me, saying, ‘Lieselotte is cute, smart, works really hard, and she’s good at everything from the sword to the spear... She’ll never like someone like me just because we’re engaged.’”
“Ahhh,” Tiana said with a grin. “A match made in heaven, I see. You’re telling me my boy’s the type to lose confidence in front of the girl he’s truly in love with? ...My goodness! Why don’t they just get married already?!”
Although the queen suddenly exploded in volume, her maid continued to whisper in her ear.
“You may be pleased to know that the two are already betrothed.”
“It won’t be long before I see my grandchildren!”
“Your Majesty, you’re getting ahead of yourself.”
“Oh, dear, silly me. The wedding comes first, doesn’t it? We’ll need to prepare a whole wagon of lirenes to shower them with!”
“Madam, that is still seven years away at the earliest. Marriageable age is sixteen.”
“Too long! What will we do if someone swoops Lieselotte away in that time?!”
“I’m sure the lirenes will protect her. It is a crying shame that His Highness is the exception, but I doubt anyone else will fail to understand their bond after seeing the flower in the young lady’s hair—much less make a move to disturb them.”
The women had abandoned all semblance of secrecy. Both Lieselotte and Siegwald turned over to look their way; as Tiana gazed upon the two precious children, she began to see the outline of a happy future.
“Well,” the maid said, “I suppose someone growing up on the outskirts of the kingdom with no concept of royalty or symbolism might not understand...but someone like that would never interact with the crown prince or the first daughter of a marquis. So long as Prince Siegwald doesn’t genuinely believe that Lady Lieselotte hates him, I’m sure it will all turn out fine.”
These words filled the queen consort with confidence. Assured of a happy future, Tiana ran over to the children with a brimming smile.