“Okay! Shu will write every single day! Bye-bye, Mama!”

And even if he did, why would he ever want to marry into a disgraceful Ordo woman’s family?

“Shall we go up to your room and read ‘Hippity-Hop Miss Pink Bunny,’ Princess Shu?”

Rose set aside her wishful thinking and wrapped Shurelli’s small hand carefully in hers, the hand of a child who might one day be the last of House Ordo.

She simply could not picture a future where reckless Piar, or even Rose herself, married a wonderful partner and raised a beloved child.

“Can Shu sleep in Aunt Rose’s room tonight too?”

So was it a foolish dream to hope that peace would come to the family before the loving Shurelli grew old enough to learn the truth about Ordo’s shame and be disappointed by it?

“It would be my honor to tuck you in, Hippity-Hop Princess Pink Shu.”

“Aunt Rose is Hippity-Hop Pink Auntie! Hehe!”

Someday, when her niece had grown into a proper young lady, Rose wanted to make sure she would never be forced into a painful choice because of her father’s family’s dishonor.

“Do you wish to wed my Julius? Then sever your ties with House Ordo.”

Let it be Rose alone who ever had to endure that humiliation.

❀❀❀

A rare peace had settled over House Ordo. The troublemaking brothers were on their best behavior, pretending they wanted to play with Shurelli and staying put inside the castle.

Rose took advantage of the unusually quiet stretch and finished proposal handkerchief number nineteen.

The evening that followed, curled up with a warm, soft child in her arms reading a picture book, was a small piece of heaven.

“……And so, Hippity-Hop Miss Pink Bunny became a princess of the Kingdom of Shangri-La. Hippity-Hop Prince Blue Bunny celebrated and sent her a whole heap of presents.”

“A chick-yellow wool hat and a sailboat and a rocking chair. Right?”

Shu perked up when they reached her favorite part and recited what came next. They had been reading this picture book since she was four, and now at six she had every word memorized. The worn cover was only natural.

“Aunt Rose’s favorite gift is the sailboat. What about Shu?”

Rose pointed to the page with the presents and asked.

“Shu likes the wool hat. It’s made in the shape of ears so Hippity-Hop Miss Pink Bunny can wear it. It’s so, so cute.”

“Hmm. A hat with bunny ears…… that really does sound adorable.”

If she mentioned it to Vivi, she’d have an identical hat made within two days. And if Rose bought her some fine yarn to make one for herself at the same time, Vivi would spend the next while as Rose’s devoted ally instead of trailing after Anne.

“Aunt Rose got a present from a prince too, didn’t you?”

Rose had been smiling fondly, imagining the gift she would give her niece, when Shu’s unexpected question made her tilt her head.

“Hm? A present?”

“You have a pretty new ring, Aunt Rose.”

Shurelli’s short, chubby finger pointed to the ring finger of Rose’s left hand, holding the book.

“Did a prince give it to you?”

No! What prince!

Rose startled inwardly, then quickly steadied herself and let her eyes go soft.

“Well, you see, not long ago, Aunt Rose was on an adventure in the forest and ran into a terribly frightening-looking monster……”

“A monster? One of the fog forest’s monsters?”

Shurelli’s round eyes went wide. The same way they had when Hippity-Hop Miss Pink Bunny found herself in danger just moments ago.

“That’s right. And this one was even bigger than Aunt Rose. But it was all alone, just sitting in the hot spring having a bath by itself. You know, don’t you, Shu? Most monsters actually live just like ordinary forest animals.”

“Shu knows. Some monsters even grow and eat plants just like people do. Monsters like that take such good care of flowers and trees that we should protect them.”

“Our Shu really is so clever.”

Rose stroked Shurelli’s hair fondly as the child eagerly explained everything she had learned.

“Anyway, this monster also seemed like a gentle sort that didn’t eat people. And it looked hungry, like it hadn’t eaten in days, so Aunt Rose shared some candy with it, and then……”

It produced a rose diamond, just like that.

The son of Camelot, a creature Ordo considered lower than a monster, had handed over a beautiful gemstone in exchange for candy.

Jacques the chief butler, born the eldest son of a distinguished jeweler and nearly destined to carry on the family trade, had appraised the ring, and his verdict had been unambiguous……

“It is without question a rose diamond. A remarkable piece. If this stone is a fake, then I, your chief butler, will never again call my father my father!”

Rose looked down at the ring again, still slightly dazed.

That Jade…… so the rumors about him raking in a fortune through wager duels all across the Sibell Empire were true. Enough that the cost of building a whole fortress had become pocket change to him.

“Shu wants to see the monster Aunt Rose met.”

Shurelli clasped her hands together, eyes bright with excitement.

“That would be dangerous. No matter how gentle a monster is, children must be careful, extra careful. A large creature especially is not something you should ever get close to.”

Rose made an exaggerated face to show how frightening the very thought was, but Shu covered her small mouth with both hands and whispered.

“Maybe it isn’t a monster, Aunt Rose.”

“Maybe it’s a prince under a spell.”

Her eyes, gazing up at Rose’s face, sparkled like the precious stone set in Rose’s ring.

“Shu knows. Shu has read so, so many stories about wonderful princes and princesses. The monster that gave Aunt Rose a pretty ring is really a kind and wonderful prince. Shu is sure of it.”

What a sweet story she had imagined.

“Hmm…… you think so? Maybe it really was a prince who had been turned into a monster.”

Rose nodded with a solemn expression, quietly laughing to herself at little Shurelli’s innocent imagination.

A prince. Well, when she thought about it, Jade was the heir of a great lord, so in Camelot’s eyes he was probably something close to a prince.

The prince of the savage gorillas. Not kind or wonderful in the least, but a gorilla prince all the same.

“But Aunt Rose isn’t a princess. What a shame. So it would be best to let the gori, the monster prince go find a real princess.”

Picturing herself bringing Jade to meet Shu made her want to burst out laughing.

Bringing a Camelot into Ordo and introducing him as my prince?

What a joke.

“No. Aunt Rose is a princess.”

Shurelli stated it firmly, completely captivated by her own fantastical story.

“Aunt Rose is strong and brave and punishes people who do bad things. People like that turn out to be a princess or a prince from a faraway land. That’s why the prince who was turned into a monster came to find Aunt Rose. Because she’s his destined partner, the one who will break his sad curse.”

Rose had been listening, drawn in without realizing it, when a vague unease made her brow furrow.

Aunt Rose punishes people who do bad things…… why does Shu think that?

Of course, Shurelli knew Rose had once been a knight, and she would know the traditional idea that a knight’s duty was to uphold justice.

But Shurelli also knew Rose had set down her sword long ago.

The troublemakers Rose punished were mainly Anton and Piar. That was bound up in family matters a young child like Shurelli had no business knowing about. The Ordos put on a good performance in front of Shurelli, so there was no way a small child would have noticed what went on in the household.

“……Shu knows a lot of things Aunt Rose doesn’t.”

Rose simply pulled Shurelli close and stroked her back gently.

Shu probably just imagined that her aunt, the family’s heir, did something similar to what Grandfather Robert the stern lord did.

“Aunt Rose isn’t sure, but it does sound wonderful, the way Shu tells it. How happy she would be if a strong and brave prince appeared and became her partner.”

A foolish thought crossed her mind: maybe Shurelli had seen straight through to what Rose truly longed for.

Because in the end, Rose had been alone all this time, quietly hoping for exactly that kind of impossible husband.

Waiting for a fantastical figure who could only exist in a fairy tale.

“That really would be lovely. If a prince came looking for Aunt Rose……”

Using Shurelli’s story as a mirror, Rose looked inward and let out a small, self-deprecating laugh.

Ah. So that’s what I’ve been doing.

I’ve been refusing perfectly decent suitors while wishing for a perfect prince, like a child who knows nothing of the world.

It was time to make a decision. Before it was too late.

“It will come true, Aunt Rose.”

Shurelli nestled deeper into Rose’s arms and whispered.

“Shu knows. So don’t go to someone else. Aunt Rose is going to meet a prince with perky ears and the softest, fluffiest tail. When that happens, show Shu the prince too. Shu will decide if he’s a good person or not……”

The child’s cheeks flushed a rosy pink as she spun out her sweet imaginings, and then, mouth still open in a little O, she fell asleep. Rose chuckled softly, tucked the blanket snugly over Shurelli’s tummy, and laid her own head on the pillow.