“Come to think of it...” Vyce said, letting down his half ponytail. His hair was unruly with a bit of a bounce, but it looked soft. He looked to Sophie. “I was talkin’ with Livio yesterday, and from the sound of it, you had a hand in makin’ things better for the knights, didn’t ya, little miss? Kinda funny since that’s the last thing you’d expect a proper lady to be focusin’ on. What inspired all that?”
Sophie could’ve sworn she’d talked about that at some point.
“Well, um...” Sophie tilted her head to the side, searching for the words. It had hardly been some amazing story worth telling to a king.
“A boy that I met a long time ago did, actually,” Sophie answered.
“What?”
“Oh?”
Sounding entertained, the “Oh?” belonged to Vyce.
The rock-hard “What?” belonged to Livio.
Sophie looked up beside her, only to find Livio making a face that seemed, well...almost like he’d plunged something terribly unsavory in his mouth. He didn’t seem happy at all.
Looking at Livio’s face, Sophie finally realized. Oh.
The knight who’d seen them off on their journey had warned Sophie, “Best not to tell that to Livionis.” They’d said talking about her first love might be a “land mine.” You can’t just nod along when you don’t get something! It was only barely still in her memory—it had just slipped out, fallen out even. Sophie had spilled the beans.
But still—no, really!
As far as Sophie was concerned, the boy hadn’t been her first love. Livionis was her first love. It was Livionis who had picked up the plea for help she could never say herself. He was the handsome-faced knight who’d taken her away, whose face seemed to melt before her.
It was hardly the sort of story to get jealous over in the first place. First and foremost, it was preposterous: the most precious gem of the gods who’d been practically smothered in divine love getting jealous over someone as lowly as Sophie? There was just no way.
Eh, it’s fine, Sophie thought, ready to just continue where she left off. Wonder why he looks so sour? Does he have to sneeze or something? Sophie dropped her gaze back to her tea.
“There was a boy who helped me feel better when I was very tired,” Sophie explained. “He aspired to become a knight.”
“Really?”
Livio’s “really” was completely flat. Sophie looked up in surprise.
Livio was staring off into space, his brow wrinkled despite the fact that his lips were still curved into a smile. What? That’s scary.
“And just what was he like, huh? The boy,” Vyce asked, making no effort to conceal the entertained look on his face. It was clear as day—he was toying with Sophie. On second thought, maybe it was Livio—who was making some sort of terrifying face at Sophie’s story—that Vyce was toying with.
What should I do? Sophie thought, glancing up at Livio.
“And?” Livio prodded, smiling.
It was a smile that wouldn’t have been out of place on an ice sculpture, beautiful and cold. See? That’s why I said it’s scary!
“Um...” Sophie looked away. “It’s just that I don’t remember his face very well—well, more like I couldn’t see it very well.”
“Was it at night?” Vyce asked.
“Oh, no—it was during the day,” Sophie answered. “It was after a tea party had ended. I was terribly exhausted, and I ended up just sitting down in the castle garden.”
At the edge of Sophie’s vision, she saw Livio’s finger, which had been resting on the table, suddenly bounce up.
Wonder what that’s all about? Sophie thought as she looked back on that day.
Sophie’s gaze fell to the tea swirling in her cup—just like the tea, Sophelia’s heart had been swirling that day. She remembered back then she had been all alone: It had all felt so pointless and bitter she’d wanted to cry.
“I don’t get along very well with my parents, and that boy got angry in my stead,” Sophie explained. “He said I’d done nothing wrong. It was so reassuring. I was absolutely delighted.” A smile had grown on Sophie’s face before she even realized it.
“Is that so?” Vyce said, sounding amused.
What is it? Sophie thought, looking up for a second time, only for Vyce to smirk.
“Well? What’d he look like?”
“Huh?” Sophie replied. “Well, um...his face was all swollen and red and covered with blood, so I don’t really remember, but...”
“He was injured?” Lunetta asked.
“That’s right,” Sophie said, smiling back at Lunetta.
“It sounded like he was aiming to become a knight, so I’m sure it was an injury he sustained while training.”
Sophie paused for a moment. “When I thought about how he was nearly the same age as me yet working so hard, it left me feeling braver.”
That day when Sophie was able to feel meaning in her role was the day that had brought her to life. Even when her heart felt like it might snap in two, even on the days when she just wanted to throw it all away, the resolve Sophie had found that day roused her to keep on going.
“I wanted to make it the sort of kingdom that wouldn’t make him regret choosing to become a knight—the sort of kingdom he could be proud to serve. I wanted to see him smile, just as he’d brought a smile to me in our time together.”
Sophie paused again. “No matter what sort of unsavory things happened from then on, remembering that garden was all it took for me to be able to stand tall.” Sophie looked back on that warm day in the garden long ago.