And This Too Shall Pass
WHILE VIOLETTE AND ROSETTE chatted gaily, Marin was hard at work beside them. Bracing herself against the sun and warm temperature, she replaced their tea and snacks as needed and bustled about fulfilling any wishes they voiced.
She was deliberately putting ten times her normal energy into that day’s tea service. After all, Violette had never invited a guest to the mansion before. And her very first guest was a princess from the neighboring kingdom who’d come to be the future queen, no less! Marin wasn’t one to fawn to authority, but simply because Rosette was Violette’s friend, Marin felt it was her duty to show the princess the utmost hospitality.
“I’d love to invite you to my place next time,” said Rosette, “except we haven’t settled on a home yet.”
“The coronation won’t happen for quite some time, will it? Where are you living right now?”
“Prince Claudia needs to travel a lot at the moment. I live here and there to stay close to him. I imagine we’ll settle down eventually, but I might as well enjoy a variety of experiences while I can.”
Violette giggled. “All right, then. Will you give me your address once it’s settled?”
“Of course.”
As Marin went about her duties, it took all her efforts to restrain herself from smiling softly at the sound of Violette’s peaceful voice. The fond look in the maid’s eyes resembled that of a proud mother seeing her daughter bring a friend home for the first time. It was a relief that the once guarded Violette had finally found a companion she could open up to. Marin was happy, though also a little sad.
It was because Marin knew firsthand just how hard it was to learn to trust that she felt relief, rather than loneliness, at Rosette’s providential arrival in Violette’s life.
“I’d love to have you over to my home, of course, but I’d also love to invite you to Lithos someday.”
“I’ve been wanting to travel there too…but it’ll be quite a while before I’ll get the time off.”
“And the journey there and back alone takes time. When you factor in lodgings, you might need a whole year for the trip if you started today.”
“It’ll take even longer once Prince Claudia is crowned.”
“Yes, I suppose so… We can’t exactly ask him to adjust his royal duties for our personal travel plans. And won’t you be extra busy by that point anyway, Vio?”
“I guess I will… Yulan doesn’t seem to want to take me with him, but once Prince Claudia becomes king, I doubt he’ll have much say anymore.”
“Since Lord Yulan’s main duty is diplomatic relations with Sina, we’d have to take their culture into account as well… So who knows?”
As Marin listened to them talk, she realized once again that the world they lived in was leagues apart from hers. That gap in social status was something she could never fathom; each passing year in Violette’s service thrust new revelations upon her. For a time, that frustrated her to no end. Now that Violette had made a friend in the same class as herself, however, Marin wouldn’t need to worry about that anymore.
“Oh…”
As the wind rustled her skirt, Marin checked the sun’s position. It wasn’t yet dark, but the wind had picked up. Depending whether the two girls chose to stay outdoors or go in, Marin might need to adjust the temperature of their tea. And if they decided to stay outside, she’d have to bring them blankets.
“The winds have picked up, Lady Violette. Would you like to go inside?”
“Wow. I didn’t realize how long we’d been out here. Yes, let’s go inside before we get cold.”
“Good idea,” Rosette agreed. “Thank you.”
“I’ll escort us to the parlor. Marin, could you prepare more tea?”
“As you wish, my lady.”
Watching the pair walk through the door behind her, Marin quickly cleared the table, then headed to the kitchenette. She was going to have another servant clear up the terrace, but she wouldn’t let anyone else serve Violette personally.
They just had herbal tea… Maybe I should make them some coffee. I’ve heard Rosette isn’t a fan of sweets, but as luck would have it, Chesuit has stocked the kitchen with a variety of beans suited to Yulan’s palate. I’ll make Violette some Earl Grey tea. I could always make her milk tea, but I think plain tea would pair better with the sweets she’ll eat.
“Somebody’s sure having fun.”
“Oh, Chesuit—you’re back.”
Since the kitchenette had no door, Marin saw Chesuit as he walked by, apparently to start supper. He carried a wooden box filled with a number of vegetables of dubious origin—how many people he thought he was cooking for was yet another mystery.
“The young master found us a good supplier. It doesn’t look like I’ll need to travel far for groceries for quite a while.”
“It seems the young master noticed that you’ve transferred your freakish obsession with culinary education to him.”
“Gee, at least call it a passion,” Chesuit joked. “You know, I’m actually surprised he hasn’t made a stink about it. I’ve already pictured him making a sour face and ordering me not to overstep.”
“Well, that man isn’t interested in anything aside from Lady Violette.”
“I find his one-dimensionality kind of refreshing.”
Chesuit wanted to improve Yulan’s lack of taste. His desire to hear Yulan call his cooking delicious intensified his kitchen experiments—and the sharply intuitive Yulan caught on to that immediately. Chesuit wouldn’t have let any griping from Yulan stop him anyway, but Yulan saying readily, “Do whatever you like, so long as you don’t neglect Violette’s meals” was the last thing he’d expected. When that happened, Marin remembered being twice as surprised to see one of Chesuit’s rare jaw-drops. It wasn’t that Yulan was callous toward others—he simply had no interest in anything other than Violette. Naturally, Yulan himself was included in that “anything.”
“Violette has a guest, doesn’t she? What should I do about supper?” Chesuit asked.
“I imagine her guest will return home before then. They’ve retired to the parlor. Could you have somebody clean the terrace for me?”
“All right.”
Marin finished loading her tea cart and scuttled past Chesuit. The cart’s light rattle echoed down the hallway. Since their arrival, the mansion had filled up considerably, but there were still far too few people living in it for the number of rooms it had. She didn’t cross paths with other servants at work as one normally would, and in a little while, she arrived at the parlor door and saw a spray of red hair. It was Rosette’s youngest bodyguard. The girls had evidently chosen the room with the biggest windows today.
When Marin bowed to the redheaded young man, his eyes widened like a cat’s for just a moment before he discreetly nodded back. With traces of boyhood still in his face, he looked adorable rather than virile. He was probably no older than Rosette and Violette.
“I’ve brought the tea, my lady,” she called into the room.
“You may enter,” came Violette’s bubbly voice in reply.
She could tell just from Violette’s tone that she was having fun. Marin’s mind imagined the joy on Violette’s face without Marin willing it to…and, when she opened the door, that exact smile awaited her on the other side.
Feeling her own cheeks lift with uncontainable emotion, the maid knew she wore the same smile.