Chapter 66
“Thank you for returning alive, Princess. It is an honor to be entrusted with your protection once again. I will guard you with my life.”
When I woke up in the morning and opened the door, a young man, much taller than me, was standing there, saluting.
I wasn’t fully awake yet, but I could roughly gauge the situation. Since I was now Lemonie, it made sense that she had a bodyguard. Yesterday, the head maid had introduced her personal attendants at length, and today seemed to be the day the knight assigned as her guard made his appearance.
“Ah… yes…”
I tightened the shawl draped over my negligee. I had hoped that, like the other attendants, he would start chatting on his own once I gave a half-hearted smile, but he just stared at me with an expressionless gaze.
His black eyes contrasted sharply with his red hair, piercing straight through me. Unlike the other attendants, his gaze showed no sign of consideration or care—but neither was it rude. Somehow, he seemed to regard Princess Lemonie as an equal.
“If you’re my bodyguard, does that mean you follow me everywhere I go?”
“…Of course.”
Apparently, my question was unexpected, because his stoic expression flickered briefly. Oh dear. That must have been a weird question for a princess to ask. Asking for his name next might make things even more awkward.
“Oh, right. Excuse my mind wandering. Anyway, thank you.”
I wasn’t even sure why I was thanking him, but with that, I slammed the door shut. Beyond the closed door, I could sense him standing silently.
I was doomed.
A chill ran down my spine as I swallowed hard. If I was going to keep living as Lemonie for the time being, I really needed advice from the real Lemonie.
“His name’s Kaïs.”
I went out to the garden to find Reilia and, following her advice, asked a maid for a tea set before asking about the young man.
“He’s been your personal bodyguard since he was a child. Honestly, not a very interesting fellow…”
Reilia’s pale green eyes, holding the teacup elegantly, seemed to pause somewhere in the distance. I turned to look and saw a man waiting at a short distance from us.
He was partially hidden in shadow, making it hard to distinguish him, but his black eyes were unmistakable. His gaze, still fixed on me, carried more than just the duty of a bodyguard.
“…If possible, don’t talk to him. He and I never got along, so even if you act like he’s invisible, he won’t mind. See how he’s glaring at me? Kind of creepy, isn’t he?”
Reilia, sticking close to me, raised her eyebrows. Creepy? More like… a little intimidating.
“Why didn’t you get along?”
“I’ve caused a lot of trouble before.”
Her casual answer immediately explained his serious expression. I nodded slowly and refocused on tea time. From what I could tell, Kaïs wasn’t someone I really needed to worry about. I had no intention of causing any accidents like the real Lemonie did.
But someone always has to make the mess while someone else cleans it up.
“I-I’m sorry, Princess! Truly, I’m so sorry!”
By the third day at the Duke’s estate, I finally understood the real Lemonie’s status.
“Y-You need your shoes polished…”
“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”
“N-No? Should I, perhaps, l-lick them?”
I leapt up in shock at her words.
“Why would you lick my shoes?”
The attendant had only dropped a bit of salad. When she absentmindedly wiped the salad off my shoes, the maid dropped to her knees, bowing with a terrified expression.
“O-Oh, years ago, Princess, you said that if an attendant got something on the master’s body, we should wipe it off with our own bodies…”
Her frightened voice echoed through the dining room. Normally, such nonsense would have provoked murmurs from the surrounding staff, but they were silently staring off into space, seemingly accustomed to the restored normalcy.
“Stand up first.”
“Pardon?”
“If you keep kneeling like that, you’ll ruin your knees. Get up quickly.”
I said this, trying to hide my own embarrassment, and the maid slowly rose.
“I’ll take care of the shoes myself, so don’t worry.”
This was far from the only strange thing. I caught the wrist of another maid who was trying to clean up the spilled salad.
“Don’t replace food just because a little salad fell.”
People’s attitudes toward Lemonie fell into two categories. One: they froze completely whenever they saw her. Two: they shamelessly fawned over me.
“Has Princess Lemonie changed a bit, don’t you think?”
“I don’t know. She’s always been unpredictable. Who knows if her mood will suddenly flip again later.”
“Of course, it’s good that she returned alive, but honestly, I felt most comfortable when the Princess was doing what she wanted in prison, as a warden…”
Walking down the hall, I often overheard gossip behind me. I didn’t care as long as it wasn’t directly in front of me, but compared to the welcome I had received on the first day, it seemed Lemonie didn’t have a great reputation at the Duke’s estate.
“You’re not drinking cold water?”
It was then. I had stayed inside to avoid stress, sipping water, when a quiet, low voice came from behind me.
“You’ve changed a lot in five years, Miss.”
“Pardon?”
“I recall you always drank tea brewed with hot water. I wondered how long you could endure it without feeling the burn on your tongue.”
I was coughing in surprise as he approached the table with long strides.
“And where did you learn such polite speech?”
A sudden chill ran down me. He didn’t even need to whisper; his deep, low voice cut into me as if he were right beside me. I finally understood why Lemonie had told me to ignore him. Kaïs was different from the others.
His personality, and even his perceptiveness.
“At the prison.”
I set my cold glass down slowly and smiled. His piercing black eyes drilled into me. Facing them was like staring into a black hole; a shiver ran down my spine.
“Why are you staring like that?”
Still, I couldn’t look away first. We remained locked in that meaningless gaze until a sudden knock interrupted us.
“Come in.”
I realized I had been holding my breath. A maid carefully opened the door. When I looked up, Kaïs remained in the corner as if he had always been there, watching me.
“Sorry to disturb you, Princess, but His Excellency has arrived.”
Finally.
I rose with delight. If Duke Christina had arrived, after meeting him, I could finally attend tea time or the reception properly.
“Good. Let’s go quickly.”
“…Should I change you into a different outfit if you have one you prefer?”
“This one is fine.”
“The Emperor has arrived with His Excellency as well. He wishes to see Princess Lemonie.”
“…What?”
The shawl I had hurriedly draped slipped from my hands. The Emperor wanted to see me. I stood there in disbelief, suddenly wishing I could see the real Lemonie.
“Oh, you’re intact. Let me see your face.”
I hastily finished dressing as instructed by the maid, struggling with a tight corset, a high updo, and heavy crystal ornaments.
Reilia seemed to have rushed out upon hearing of the Emperor’s arrival, but perhaps aware that this was not the real Lemonie, she peeked from the corridor with anxious eyes.
Fortunately, the first person I saw was a middle-aged man who looked remarkably like Lemonie. Probably Duke Christina. He examined my face, clasped his hands in thanks to God, and suddenly embraced me.
“…It’s been a long time, Your Excellency.”
I debated calling him father, but “Your Excellency” seemed more appropriate in public. Thankfully, my tone seemed acceptable.
“It has been a long time. I am truly grateful to see you again, and thankful to God, and to you for surviving such harsh conditions. Those noble prisoners in that prison supposedly all turned into monsters. It was heartbreaking. The social circles are in chaos because of Drace Prison. Some even wish to visit the prison to see what became of the inmates. Compared to them, I am truly fortunate.”
Relief washed over me as I saw his excited yet melancholic expression. Duke Christina seemed not to suspect that the soul inside me was not his daughter. Perhaps it was fortunate to meet family in this urgent situation.
“Princess Christina, I am thankful for your return as well.”
But as soon as someone entered, all the attendants bowed respectfully. The Emperor.
“May the glory of the Southern Empire be with you. I greet Your Majesty.”
Am I doing this right? Right, Lemonie?
I awkwardly held my dress, bowed, and glanced down the hall. Reilia shook her head in disapproval.
I was doomed.
“Let’s skip formalities for now and get straight to the point.”
As tea was served, the Emperor’s expression darkened. I swallowed nervously, feeling the tension.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
I had expected a happy ending after escaping, but suddenly I was in an imperial survival drama. What next? Would I be interrogated as a survivor of Drace Prison?
Just then, the Emperor gently took my hand resting on my lap and spoke in the softest tone he could manage:
“…May I ask a favor of you? Could you meet Deon, the leader of the divine beasts?”
