Chapter 2 – Part 5

“…Princess? What is that on your face?”

“Cucumbers.”

“So I wasn’t seeing things. Why are you putting cucumbers on your face?”

“Haven’t you ever tried it? It makes your skin prettier.”

Despite having cucumber slices even on her lips, Riela spoke clearly, her mouth moving beneath the cucumbers without knocking them off. Impressive. Mail resisted the urge to poke one and simply stared at her in silence.

“You don’t need to do that—you’re already beautiful,” Mail said.

“I know! Honestly, I’m super pretty whether I do this or not. I’m just doing it because I’m bored.”

The one thing Princess Riela truly understood—beyond the ways of the world or reality itself—was that she was, in fact, very pretty.

Mail wasn’t even surprised by Riela’s brazen response. What did surprise her was how she had gotten used to this. Humans really were adaptable creatures.

“Princess.”

“What?”

“Hmm… Could you name three types of trees for me?”

Mail’s question came out of nowhere, but it wasn’t entirely without reason. She was imagining a future where she might need to go all out to play matchmaker between Riela and the emperor.

She had only just discovered that this emperor, in his boundless generosity, seemed to have a deep love for gardens. If Riela was knowledgeable about plants, that would surely help her make a good impression.

Of course, Riela didn’t disappoint.

“Even trees have names?”

“……”

“That’s amazing.”

The voice, asking in a tone that seemed sincerely curious, was oddly serious. Mail thought to herself that it was stupid of her to ask such a thing and quickly changed the subject.

“If you need more cucumbers, please let me know. I’ll add some more.”

The only way forward was to become as beautiful as possible. Mail tried her best not to imagine the difficult road ahead in too much detail. Otherwise, she felt like she might start crying.

***

“Seems like you enjoyed your lunch with the Marquis of Sozoba.”

After finishing the meal and starting the afternoon’s work, Banther spoke while watching his lord.

Banther von Mohaim. The second son of the Duke of Mohaim, he had shared many years with the Emperor since they were quite young. He currently served as the Emperor’s close friend, advisor, bodyguard, and sparring partner. Incidentally, he was still unmarried due to his busy schedule.

Without lifting his eyes from the documents he was reviewing, Rohayden responded.

“I trust you don’t mean that sincerely, Sir. It’s pointless to even say how miserable the meals with the Marquis of Sozoba are. How is it that I can feel his pettiness even in his breathing?”

“The Marquis is as tiresome as ever, I take it?”

“If you know that, then stop scheduling meals with him in the future. If he asks if I’ve eaten, just say I have. Even if it’s breakfast, tell him I’ve eaten.”

Reject his invitations with the same coolness and firmness as a lady brushing off an unwanted suitor’s advances, the Emperor commanded while stamping the documents. Banther, ignoring the comment, opened his mouth again.

“Is it that the paperwork is more amusing than lunch?”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Your expression has been good for a while now.”

More precisely, it had been since the Emperor returned from his brief outing after finishing his morning duties. Upon hearing this, the Emperor finally lifted his eyes from the documents. He had a peculiar look, as if he had just heard something odd.

“Are you saying I was grinning like a fool?”

“Not quite, but close enough.”

“Hmm.”

The Emperor, who had been contemplating whether to hastily stamp the document he had just skimmed through, set it aside. Then, as if reflecting deeply, he rested his chin on his hand and paused to think in a serious manner.

“I need to reflect on this. If the Emperor of the Empire is making such foolish faces, it undermines my dignity.”

“I didn’t say it was foolish.”

“Well, that was a joke. But was it really that amusing?”

Rohayden murmured to himself as he retraced his thoughts. The lunch, which was unpleasant enough not to require any recollection, was clearly not the cause of his good mood. It must have been the conversation in the garden that had brightened his expression.

In the Emperor’s mind, an image of a young lady with wide green eyes and dark brown hair emerged. She was more grown than a girl, yet somewhat awkward to fully call a woman.

“It was definitely… something new.”

“What are you thinking about?”

“Ah, come to think of it, this is all thanks to you.”

The Emperor suddenly recalled and glanced at Banther. The mask Rohayden had been wearing when he first encountered Mail in the garden—it had been none other than a gift from Banther.

At the time, the Emperor had been grumbling about how he could never quietly visit the garden without being noticed, so Banther had casually handed over a mask that had been lying around his house, telling him to use it if needed.

It was no ordinary mask; when worn, it magically altered the wearer’s hair and eye color. Even the voice became slightly higher. When the Emperor first received it, he had said:

“You expect me to wear this? The moment I put it on, I’ll look like a wanted serial killer.”

In truth, he wasn’t wrong. Though less unsightly than a full face mask, a mask that covered most of the face was still suspicious enough. Whether day or night, seeing someone in a mask naturally made people want to report them. This mask wasn’t much different.

To the Emperor’s exasperation, Banther had nonchalantly responded:

“A wanted serial killer would draw less attention than an emperor.”

“……!”

It was a valid point. The Emperor thought so too, and since then, he had taken to wearing the mask when visiting the garden. Over time, he grew somewhat attached to it.

That had only been about a month ago, but thanks to it, he had crossed paths with Mail and found himself in his current entanglement with her. So indeed, it was all thanks to Banther—no, it was a significant achievement on his part.

“I don’t know what I’ve done, but if I’ve contributed, then I think I deserve a reward.”

“The reward I have for you is my love.”

“I’d like to exchange it for vacation time or a salary bonus.”

“Tomorrow…”

“Yes?”

“Tomorrow, I think I’ll witness something incredible. When I return, I’ll seriously consider giving you that vacation as your reward.”

The Emperor smiled broadly as he said this. Then, after a moment, he shook his shoulders in silent laughter. Watching the Emperor chuckle to himself, Banther’s expression cooled considerably.

‘He must be overworked lately. I should inform the attendants to prepare a medicinal tonic.’

Recently, Banther hadn’t come across any fortune-telling advice that mentioned worrying about his superior’s overwork. Yet, here he was, thinking about what ingredients would be good for a tonic.

***

It had been quite an eventful day.

From the early hours, she had woken from a nightmare that left her hands trembling. In the morning, she made a bold and outrageous proposal to a mysterious masked figure in the garden—something Mail had temporarily forgotten about. By noon, she found herself in the garden again, this time in a private audience with the Emperor himself.

Wow, what a busy day.

Reflecting on the mental strain of such a hectic day, Mail prepared to rest in her quarters.

After experiencing so much, surely nothing else could happen. If the god of daily routines had any sense of fairness, this should be the end of it. She believed that although the god overseeing equality might be dead, the god responsible for distributing events and accidents was still alive and well.

“Mail, get ready to go out.”

Her belief was misplaced.

“……Huh? Where to?”

Still lying down, Mail turned her head to ask. While technically it was impudent of her, Riela didn’t seem to mind and focused on her adornments. The reply came from Rose, who stood waiting beside her.

“The princess has been invited to dinner.”

“Dinner? Now?”

“Yes.”

The clock showed around five in the evening. If they were leaving soon, it would be an early dinner. Still lying down, Mail blinked. Oh, an invitation to dinner.

‘But why am I going along?’

“Why am I coming with you?”

“You’re my attendant. You need to assist me.”

As she placed pearl ornaments in her hair, Riela replied nonchalantly. Mail narrowed her eyes.

‘Last night she left me behind, didn’t she? She told me to just stay and watch the room then.’

Mail’s mouth twisted in frustration at Riela’s contradictory attitude, tossing her aside when not needed, yet calling for her when convenient. And what assistance could she possibly provide during a meal?

“Hmm… Princess, a good attendant knows when to step in and when to step back. Right now, I think this is one of those times to step back. I wouldn’t be of much help at the dinner table. I’m not some digestion fairy, so just standing by your side isn’t going to help your food digest better…”

“We’re not going to eat.”

“Didn’t you say it was a dinner invitation?”

“We’re going to fight.”

“Oh, to fight… wait, what?!”

TL NOTE: More advanced chapter of this story is already up to the site. Visit dusk blossoms for more advanced chapters and stories