“No matter how you look at it, that was far too rude, Lieselotte Riefenstahl!”
One spring evening, a girl’s cry rang out in the Riefenstahl manor, which was located in a corner of the royal capital. The servants immediately thought to themselves, Ah, our lady ran into difficulties with Prince Siegwald again.
The girl they served, Lieselotte, was kindhearted, but extremely clumsy when it came to expressing her feelings. To make matters worse, she was especially harsh towards her fiancé and one-sided crush, Siegwald, to prevent him from realizing she loved him. Upon returning home, she would hold her head in her hands and scream. That was her typical routine.
At such times, a certain middle-aged maid would enter Lieselotte’s room, and everyone would look expectantly at the maid, knowing she was the only one who could handle the girl’s plight.
Lieselotte was slumped over her bed, crying. The maid, who had been her nursing mother, gently ran a comb through the girl’s hair as was usual. Lieselotte’s breathing eventually calmed as the soothing motions continued.
“I wish I could be more honest,” Lieselotte murmured, still facedown. “Yet whenever I’m in his presence, I can’t help but be nervous. I’m overcome with feelings of adoration and I simply don’t know what to do...”
The maid listened patiently to her whimpers.
“Today, he was so kind as to call me cute, but I told him, ‘Please don’t joke around’ and ran away...” Lieselotte’s voice gradually became mixed with sobs. She trembled weakly as she spoke. “Later, I passed by him in the hallway. He greeted me, but his smile was so dazzling that it reminded me of our previous conversation. I didn’t know what to do, so I ran off without so much as a ‘hello’!” She began to wail again.
“In that case, you can greet him properly tomorrow,” the maid said softly. “Don’t worry. His Highness is a generous soul.”
Lieselotte shook her head. “That had to have been the last straw! I’m sure of it. He hates me now!”
“Then you’ll just have to make him fall for you again. With your beauty, intelligence, and grace, you can capture the heart of any man if you really try.”
Lieselotte forced a smile behind her tears. “Some have overly doting parents, but I have an overly doting nanny.”
The maid patted her twice on the back and stood up. “That’s not true. Now wipe your tears and stand tall, dear. When you do that, you’re the most beautiful princess in the world.”
“Well...I suppose I certainly wouldn’t suit him if I were crying all the time.” Lieselotte finally raised her head. Her eyes were puffy and red, but her tears had mostly stopped. “Thank you.” Her face was messy, but her smile was genuine.
✦ ✦ ✦
The maid grinned broadly and clapped. “Now that’s a lovely smile. You should show it to Prince Siegwald! He’ll be charmed in an instant.”
“I’m not sure about that...but smiling is a fundamental part of interpersonal relationships. I do wish I could smile all the time like His Highness.”
“Well, let’s start by trying our best to smile like him during greetings, all right?”
“A-All right. Although I don’t think I’ll ever be able to smile as radiantly as him...”
“Oh, is that so? Come to think of it, you did say earlier that he has a dazzling smile.”
“Yes... Yes, exactly! His Highness’s smile is wonderful—the most handsome sight in the world—and today was no exception. No matter how rude I am to him, he always smiles with such grace and composure. It makes me realize my own immaturity, and at the same time, I fall in love with him all over again.” Lieselotte sighed dreamily. “He is a real gentleman, kind and never arrogant. I truly feel blessed to be his fiancée.”
Prompting Lieselotte to sing Prince Siegwald’s praises was a necessary step in getting her back on her feet, but once she got started, there was no end in sight. Among the many servants who cherished her, this maid was the only one who could continue to listen to her gushing with a smile. That was why the others had looked to her earlier.
Lieselotte was the only person oblivious as to why her at-home review sessions only ever had one other attendee.