“It’s been a while, Your Majesties,” Christine said, offering the king and queen a majestic curtsy.
Jeanette observed from the side. They were in one of the chambers within the palace, and Dr. Jaquilla was next to her. Following the duchess, the two of them also lowered their heads before the royal couple.
The king, sitting upon a chair, happily addressed his sister.
“It’s been a while, Christine! Are you doing well?”
“Are your husband and sons healthy?” asked the queen with a smile.
“We’re all perfectly well, thank you,” Christine answered.
“Very good. And who’s that behind you?” the king questioned.
Jeanette stepped forward.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesties. I am Jeanette Roussel.”
“Jeanette Roussel?” Eric echoed. Thanks to Dr. Jaquilla’s impregnable defense, Meltia’s parents still hadn’t discovered that Jeanette was visiting the palace every day to teach their daughter karate. As the king tried to recall who Jeanette was, Christine supplied an explanation.
“She’s my friend, as well as Lord Claus’s fiancée.”
The king and queen stiffened as they realized Jeanette’s identity.
“O-Oh, right... So you’re his...” the king trailed off quietly. He must’ve felt guilty. “Ahem. I do feel sorry for what I did. I’ll pay you back with a gift the next time you visit...”
“Brother,” Christine interrupted flatly. “Do you really think you can resolve things that way?”
“Uh...”
As the king sank into silence, the queen spoke up to pacify the situation.
“Christine. We’re a family, so let me tell you this much: We were aware of the fact that Claus already had a fiancée. But...we just wanted our darling daughter’s dream to come true, even if only for a moment.”
“Exactly!” Eric added. “Tia’s always been weak, and when she was a child, we had no idea how long she had left to live...even though it was a load of hogwash. But now, she’s sixteen. Sixteen, you know? Sixteen! That’s old enough for her to marry. And as her father, I want her dreams to come true...” he emphasized, while the queen teared up at his words.
Christine listened to them with a polite smile, but behind her, Jeanette watched them fixedly. A vein of anger bulged on her temple.
“Well, I understand how you feel,” the duchess said at last after a heavy pause. “Tia is your long-awaited daughter, after all. If I managed to have a daughter now, I’m sure I’d fawn over her as well.”
The king nodded vigorously.
“Therefore,” Christine continued, “we don’t blame the two of you. Isn’t that right, Lady Jeanette?”
Jeanette took a step forward.
“Yes! I don’t blame either of you at all! If anything, I’m thankful to have had the honor of becoming Her Highness’s acquaintance! And thanks to her, I was able to develop lots of new products!”
She was telling the truth. Leaving aside the matter of Claus, becoming acquainted with Meltia had been a blessing for Jeanette. They were able to market Anemia-Be-Gone as the perfect drink for women, beloved even by Princess Meltia herself. Thanks to that, the sales are through the roof! Jeanette couldn’t help grinning at the recollection of just how much money the company had made recently.
“Really? Then I’m glad,” the king said with obvious relief.
“I also met with Tia recently, and I noticed she’s looking a lot livelier than usual,” Christine added.
“Ah, that’s true! It’s all thanks to Dr. Jaquilla’s treatment.”
Dr. Jaquilla bowed at the king’s praise. Meltia’s improvement was actually because of Jeanette, but the royal couple wasn’t aware of that. Jeanette also feigned ignorance.
“That’s great. In that case...” Christine’s eyes glinted. This was the critical phase of the plan. “Isn’t it time for Tia to return to high society?” she proposed with a smile.
The king’s face soured.
“High society...” he murmured, unenthused.
“Indeed. You just said yourself that she’s of marriageable age, didn’t you? If you’re able to think about such things, then isn’t it her royal duty to participate in high society?” Christine pressed. “Besides, Tia actually told me that she wants to attend a ball. I wouldn’t mind hosting one, if it came down to it.”
In reality, Meltia hadn’t said that she wanted to attend a ball, but rather that she wanted to dance with Claus. However, Christine chose a broad interpretation of the princess’s words that suited her own convenience. Technically, what she’d said wasn’t a lie.
Even so, the king didn’t look convinced.
“A ball? Hmm... I wonder...”
“What are you fretting about? It’s a part of a noble’s duties to attend a couple of balls here and there. That’s all the more true for a princess.”
“That may be so,” the queen said in support of her husband. “But Tia fainted during her debut. She was so depressed afterward! I’m worried that if she pushes herself too far, the same thing will happen again.”
“Your Majesty...”
“Hmm...” Eric muttered. “I’m worried as well. In the worst-case scenario, she may not be able to recover.”
“Not you too, brother!” Christine sighed.
The couple’s overprotective attitude was just as strong as the duchess had predicted. To them, Her Highness might still be a little girl, Jeanette thought. At least, that was how the situation appeared to her.
Christine was getting fed up, and her expression grew more severe.
“As Tia’s aunt, I believe you’re both being overprotective of her. Didn’t you just admit that Dr. Jaquilla’s treatment is effective?”
“I did, but that doesn’t mean my daughter’s ready to attend a ball,” Eric snapped.
Jeanette once more stepped forth with a smile on her face.
“Pardon my insolence, but may I say a word?”
“What is it?” the king asked, turning to Jeanette with apparent suspicion.
Most noblewomen would’ve been frightened to have the nation’s most powerful man look at them in this way. However, Jeanette felt perfectly fine. After all, she had faced Leila and Ariel in the past, as well as merchants and black marketeers who’d looked even more intimidating. The king might’ve been the most powerful man in the country, but it wasn’t as if a single misstep would cost Jeanette her life. At worst, she might lose her peerage or assets. As such, she continued smiling without a hint of fear as she spoke.
“Even if Her Highness attends a ball, she doesn’t have to stay from the beginning until the end. She could dance once or twice so as not to exhaust herself and then leave. That way, she’d still be able to say that she attended.”
“Right! That’s a great idea!” Christine joined in, quickly backing Jeanette up. “It may be asking too much for Tia to do everything perfectly the first time. But like Jeanette said, even just one dance would be enough. It would still become proof of Tia’s return to high society, and I’m sure it’d boost her own confidence. Don’t you agree, Dr. Jaquilla?”
“Yes, indeed. This idea has my seal of approval. I’m certain that Her Highness will be able to do one dance in her current condition,” Jaquilla insisted, pressing his hand to his chest earnestly.
The king and queen exchanged a look. They looked on the verge of arguing back, so Jeanette went on.
“And...I would like you both, as Her Highness’s parents, to have a little more trust in her.”
A flash of emotion swirled through their eyes at those words.
“Her Highness Princess Meltia is no longer a little girl,” Jeanette said. “She has her own will, and she’s a wonderful young lady who has worked hard to improve herself.”
Meltia was sixteen—she was on the boundary of child and adult. From her parents’ perspective, she was still a child they couldn’t help but worry about. But Jeanette was from the same generation as Meltia, and in her eyes, the princess had already begun ascending the stairway to adulthood.
All that’s left now is for her parents to trust her and let go of her hand.
Jeanette’s father had done the same for her. When the time was right, he had let go of her and watched over her while allowing her to do as she pleased. That was what it meant to trust one’s child.
And I think that’s how children become adults.
Jeanette’s glittering green eyes bored into the king. In the end, he pressed his hand to his forehead as he succumbed.
“So this is what it means to let the bird leave the nest, huh...? So be it. I’ll allow Tia to attend a ball.”
“But darling...!” the queen exclaimed.
However, Eric shook his head.
“My sister and that young lady are right. Becoming old enough to marry also means that you’re old enough to take responsibility. If we don’t trust that Tia’s ready to dance once or twice, then who will?”
The queen was at a loss for words. She turned her gaze to Dr. Jaquilla, silently imploring for his help.
“I’m ninety-five percent sure it’ll be fine,” he said.
“See? Even Dr. Jaquilla agrees. You’re the only one left,” the king urged.
At last, the queen steeled her resolve as well.
“Very well. But I want you to be around Tia in case the worst happens, Dr. Jaquilla.”
Christine’s eyes gleamed. She quickly looked at the physician.
“Do you agree, Dr. Jaquilla?”
“Of course.”
“In that case...” Christine smiled her most beautiful smile of the day yet. “It’s decided.”