I hadn’t given her many opportunities to make friends before we came back to Ashbury. So I had no complaints if she wanted to broaden her world and do it alongside someone like Master Clark.
Today, Miss Elizabeth was visiting us, and she spoke up suddenly. “Lady Asher, did you know there’s a new social circle forming around Nonna?”
“A social circle? What do you mean, Miss Elizabeth?”
Elizabeth gracefully placed her teacup back on the table. She’d grown taller lately, and her figure had taken on a more mature appearance. She was a year older than Nonna and would be fourteen soon.
“At a recent tea party, a young lord from a certain earl’s family was proudly showing off his skills at the game of darts, which has become quite popular lately.”
“Ack…” Nonna looked away from me awkwardly.
“And he was quite skilled, as expected of someone boasting about it. However, while everyone else applauded him, Nonna was the sole person to refrain from clapping. On top of that, she watched him with a rather unimpressed expression. This must have struck a nerve with the young man. He turned to her and said, ‘Why don’t you give it a try, then?’”
“Um, Elizabeth, let’s not talk about this anymore.”
“Hmm? Why not? This is when the story gets interesting!” Elizabeth said innocently.
“I’d love to hear the rest, Elizabeth,” I said.
I knew exactly where the rest of the story was headed.
Nonna had behaved immaturely, which was no surprise since she was a child, and completely crushed the young man at darts.
When that happened, the young nobles, both men and women, took turns challenging her. I didn’t even have to hear about the results to know how that had turned out.
After all, my daughter had been hitting targets with rocks since she was little and practicing knife throwing for fun since the age of ten. Her level of experience was leagues above children her age who’d just picked up the game. It was only natural she’d won.
“Oh, I just got lucky, that’s all. Heh-heh,” she said.
“Right. I’m sure it was only a stroke of luck.” I smiled.
Despite my constant reminders for her to avoid ever casually revealing her cards, here we were.
“Well, I never thought something like that would cause such a stir. But now they’ve formed a darts club around me! I can’t exactly back out now, tee-hee.”
“That’s fine as long as it’s only darts,” I said pointedly.
“So you’re okay with it?”
“Yes. It’s just darts, after all.” I gave Nonna another meaningful look, silently asking, You haven’t shown them knife throwing, have you?
Nonna quickly shook her head, so it seemed my message had gotten across.
Just then, Master Clark, who had been quietly listening to the story, stepped in to back her up.
“Miss Victoria, Nonna may speak like this in front of you, but I promise she uses the proper manners of a refined lady in public. She’s been doing very well.”
“Thank you, Master Clark. I feel reassured knowing she’s with you.”
“Mother drilled manners into me relentlessly, but Nonna picks things up so easily. She always impresses me.”
Master Clark continued to act as Nonna’s escort, which I greatly appreciated. She looked genuinely happy when she was with him, like a girl her age should. Lately, I found myself thinking, They’ll definitely get engaged at this rate.
And although their betrothal wasn’t official yet, Lady Eva had already said, “Nonna is always welcome in our family. My husband is positively thrilled at the idea.”
I went to Princess Delphine once every ten days.
Our meetings were for lessons in Randallish. She already had a decent grasp of basic conversation, so now we were practicing common idioms and proverbs used in Randall.
“This is so much fun! I’ve never enjoyed language lessons before. I’d love to try out those elegant bargaining techniques you taught me at an actual shop someday!”
“Oh, please don’t, Your Highness. I’ll definitely get scolded if you do. Let’s keep this as our little secret,” I urged.
“Don’t you worry. My husband is a very generous man. He wouldn’t scold you for something like that.”
Speaking of the crown prince, he had been eerily distant when it came to me.
I suspected by now he had pieced together I was the culprit behind the commotion at the soiree when I first arrived in Ashbury. Since he knew I’d acted as a double, he must have an inkling about my background now. But he didn’t say a word about it. Not even a hint.
Jeffrey said, “Maybe he doesn’t want to risk upsetting me, so he’s keeping quiet about your identity.”
Still, the idea of a crown prince going out of his way to avoid offending a baron was very odd, to say the least.
As for Lord Edward, I’d left that matter alone. Since he hadn’t approached me, I saw no reason to stir up trouble.
I knew he deeply loved Jeffrey, so as long as I wasn’t a threat to him, I doubted he’d act against me. I wanted to be optimistic about that. Worrying about catastrophes that might never come to pass was just a waste of time.
Back at the northern wing of the castle, Edward Asher was deep in conversation with Dr. Wu, who oversaw medical care for the Third Order.
“Is it true you’re returning to Shen, Dr. Wu?”
“Yes, my parents are getting older, and I want to go back to set their minds at ease. My wife and my son have agreed to move back to Shen with me.”
“I see. That’s a shame. You’ve already arranged for a replacement, haven’t you?”
“Yes, I reached out to my cousin a while ago, and he agreed to work here for ten years. He’s quite capable, so I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.”
“That’s a relief.”
Dr. Wu hesitated, looking slightly troubled. “However, my cousin plans to bring along a young man named Yilkas, and I’m not sure where to house him. Could you recommend a room he could rent out, Chief?”
“Who is this Yilkas?”
“He’s the son of a prominent family in the medicine trade. I believe he was quite friendly with Nonna.”
“With Nonna?”
“Yes. Yilkas mentioned wanting to travel the world, but his parents opposed the idea. They only permitted him to move to Ashbury because they hold the Asher family in such high regard.”
“Ah, the son of the Enlokam family my younger brother stayed with.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“We shall take Yilkas in at my house.”
“Are you sure? That would be a great relief. Thank you.”
“Yes, ever since Nonna moved out, our home has felt quite empty, and my wife and my mother have been lonely. This will be perfect.”
“Wonderful. Yilkas is also trained in Shenese martial arts, so you could use him as a bodyguard as well. Just please, don’t assign him to the Third Order.”
“Not to worry. I wouldn’t do that.”
“I’m off to a tea party, Mom!”
“All right, be careful.”
“What about you, Mom? Where are you going today?”
“I’m planning on shearing the sheep with Miles. When we have enough wool, we’ll spin it and try dyeing it with the women who work there. One of them says she knows how to make a beautiful dye using tree bark and flower petals.”
“Every day is so fun, isn’t it, Mom? Shen and Randall were great, but I still love Ashbury the most.”
“Me too.”
Right now, I was most looking forward to dyeing yarn the color of Jeffrey’s eyes and knitting him a sweater with it.
“All right, don’t forget to smile and have a fun day today.”
“I will! I’m leaving now.”
The carriage with Master Clark arrived, and Nonna ran toward it quite fast for a polite young lady.
“Anna, I’m heading out as well.”
“Take care, darling. I’ll be waiting for you.”
“I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Jeff kissed my cheek and left. Now that he was deputy minister of military affairs, he was always busy.
“Well, I’ll head to the sheep farm now. Take care of things at home, Bertha.”
“Good-bye, my lady.”
When I left Hagl, I’d intended on living the rest of my life freely, unbound by anyone.
But then I met Nonna, Jeff, Lady Yolana, Mr. Bernard, Lady Eva, Master Clark, and Zaharo, and now I had put down roots in this kingdom.
Eventually, I even became involved with the royal family. I never would’ve imagined my life would turn out this way.
Although my life was a bit unusual, I was content with the days I spent with my family.
From now on, I would use any means necessary and play any cards I had in order to protect my family.