Epilogue

Epilogue

 

THE RAYS OF THE SUMMER sun poured in through the window while a sea breeze rustled the curtains. Harriet was seated in front of a mirror, with Rishe standing behind her. Finished at last, Rishe put the scissors down and removed the cape over Harriet’s shoulders.

“What do you think, Lady Harriet?”

Harriet’s golden hair slid off the cape. Looking in the mirror, she noted that her locks were now up to her shoulders and her bangs were freshly trimmed. “Thank you, Lady Rishe!”

“It suits you spectacularly,” Rishe gushed as she put her scissors away. “And if it’s only shoulder length, it will dry much quicker, which leaves you more time for reading after a bath! The new makeup looks fantastic as well.”

The princess had on different makeup than what she’d tried the other day. This makeup emphasized the sharp-looking, almond-shaped eyes that had bothered her so much, granting her a dignified appearance. The makeup she’d tried before had softened her appearance; this time, Rishe had utilized the opposite approach.

“I-It’s strange… It brings out the harshness of my eyes, but I don’t hate it…”

“This is yet another function of makeup. You mustn’t always hide the parts of your face that you don’t like. You can bring out the best of them as well.”

“Bring out the best of them…” Harriet considered Rishe’s words. “Right, I see what you mean. I can’t just keep disliking parts of myself…”

Harriet studied herself in the mirror as if hardening her resolve. “Lady Rishe, I…I want to try! I always hated my personality, but I might be able to do something for my country. I’m a coward, but maybe I can bring out the best of myself and engage in careful politics!”

“Oh, Lady Harriet…”

It had been two days since Harriet’s abduction. The Fabrannian knights had been arrested and were currently ­being interrogated by Arnold’s Imperial Guards. Arnold was sure to work with Siguel on the accusations of counterfeiting and on Siguel’s future. He’d already sent a missive to Siguel. Harriet ­included her own letter, so this time, the real Curtis would come to negotiate with them.

I don’t think Lady Harriet is a coward…

It took a considerable amount of courage to stand before Arnold and claim all responsibility for the incident. Harriet had plenty of possibilities in her own future that she hadn’t yet realized.

“Lady Rishe…I’m going to break off my engagement to King Walter. This will impact Siguel’s place on our own continent.” Harriet looked at Rishe with fierce determination in her eyes. “But that’s why I’m going to try! Not as a doll of a princess but as a real person who thinks for herself! It…it might not be possible for someone like me, but…I don’t want to use that as a reason not to try!” Having said her piece, Harriet covered her face in embarrassment.

Rishe smiled. “I’ll do whatever I can to help. That includes looking after your health, Lady Harriet.”

Harriet lifted her head and picked up a small bottle on top of the dresser. “I’m still putting the medicine on my eyelids! I feel like the brightness isn’t bothering me as much anymore…”

“That’s good. You aren’t furrowing your brow as much as ­before either, are you? And I can tell that you’re making an effort to blink regularly, so I think you’ll recover quickly!”

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door—it was the head maid.

“Oh!”

“Lady Rishe, Prince Curtis is calling for you.”

“Thank you, Miss Head Maid.”

The head maid’s eyebrows lifted ever so slightly when she caught sight of Harriet. Harriet flinched at first but soon straightened her back.

Seeing that, the head maid murmured, “You look beautiful, Your Highness.”

“Huh?!”

“Lady Rishe, please come with me. I will walk you there.”

Rishe nodded and shot a look at Harriet that promised they’d see each other after. Smiling and waving back to her, Harriet genuinely glowed. Her summery dress and medium-length blonde hair suited her perfectly.

I’m so glad! I’m sure Miss Head Maid and Lady Harriet will be able to get along a lot better now too.

Still grinning, she went out into the hallway and made her way toward Raul with the head maid.

The head maid was silent for a time before turning to Rishe and telling her, “I may resign as Her Highness’s maid.”

Rishe wheeled on her, surprised.

Stoic as ever, the head maid continued, “I was of no help to her when Fabrannia abducted her. I’m so harsh to her every day, but I had no idea about the counterfeiting. When she needed me most, I couldn’t protect her…”

“Wait a second, Miss Head Maid! The way I heard it, you tried to protect Lady Harriet with your life, and she was very grateful to you.”

“The results are what really matter.” Evidently, she wasn’t strict just with Harriet but with herself as well.

Rishe frowned and tried to convey a portion of her thoughts. “I think going forward, Lady Harriet will find it very reassuring to have someone at her side who will be her ally no matter what happens.”

“But—”

“The reason I thought you were from Siguel and not Fabrannia was that it seemed to me like you scolded Lady Harriet as if you were her mother.” At that, the head maid’s eyes went round. Rishe smiled and added, “Of course, I do hope that you could scold her a little more gently in the future.”

“Even if I do continue to serve her, I’m not sure there’s anything I can scold her for anymore,” the head maid murmured, turning back in the direction of Harriet’s room. “She’s stopped slouching all on her own, hasn’t she?”

When she faced Rishe once more, the head maid wore a smile that was refreshed and just a little lonely.

Rishe returned her smile, nodded, and continued on her way.

 

---

 

When she arrived at Raul’s room, Rishe wasn’t quite sure what to make of the sight before her.

“I caused you all a lot of trouble.”

She could have rubbed her eyes in disbelief. The chief, who had all the flippancy of a jester and only apologized once in a blue moon, was bowing in deep deference to her.

I’ve never seen Raul so repentant!

Rishe found herself looking around for a clue as to how to proceed. But she’d parted with the head maid in the hallway, so she and Raul were alone in the room.

Raul wasn’t dressed as Curtis at the moment. He was supposed to continue acting as the prince’s stand-in until the real one arrived, but Curtis had a habit of shutting himself in his room sometimes, so Raul was using that as an excuse to shed the disguise.

“Don’t apologize, Raul. You haven’t done anything to harm me.”

“I’ve done you no harm? Are you serious?”

“Of course I’m serious. It’s the truth.”

He was utterly taken aback. Narrowing his eyes, he said, “If that’s what you think after a man drugged you, I’m really starting to sympathize with the crown prince…”

Huh?! Where does Prince Arnold factor into this?!

She didn’t understand, but she also felt like she couldn’t ask about it. All she could do was squeeze her mouth shut.

Raul shrugged and added, “Still, I can’t be contented with that. I plan to pay you back for all the trouble I’ve caused.”

That line was familiar to Rishe. At the beginning of her fifth life, Rishe saved a man who was alone in a forest. Using her knowledge as an apothecary, she treated his injury and carried him back to the hut he was using as his lair. That injured man had been Raul. Now that she thought back on it, it was rare for him to sport such severe injuries. Maybe he was panicking at the time because he didn’t have a way to save Harriet.

After he recovered, Raul told Rishe, “I plan to pay you back for all the trouble I’ve caused you.” At the time, she still hadn’t decided what sort of life she planned to live yet.

Rishe had answered, “Will you teach me how to use a bow, then?”

“A bow? What’s a fancy lady like yourself going to do with such a skill?”

“I don’t have any particular plans. I just like learning new things.” She remembered meeting Raul’s gaze head-on, excited about what sort of new knowledge and skills she could gain, and him smiling in amusement.

“Now, what will you ask of me?”

Rishe looked right into Raul’s red eyes and told him, “If you’ll do what I ask, then I’d like you to rely on your companions more.”

Raul gaped at her. “What?”

“The person who taught me how to use a bow a long time ago was just like you. He took everything on himself and was always smiling and lying. He was physically beside me, but it was as if he was a formless ghost.”

In her fifth life, Raul had smiled and said, “That’s not true,” but she thought her words might reach him now.

“I don’t want you to take everything on yourself like you did this time. I want you to show everyone around you what your face looks like when you’re happy and when you’re sad.”

“Me?”

“That’s right. I could never get my teacher to understand that, all the way until the end.”

Rishe was sure that Raul had also died in the forest where her life ended. Galkhein invaded and razed it to the ground so that there were no trees left where a hunter could hide. Raul had protected his troop and fought to defend Siguel’s knights, and Rishe was sure that his injuries had been more extensive than hers.

“If you’ll do as I ask, I want you to live the rest of your life that way. I want to see your real smile, when you really feel happy or contented.”

Raul appeared to be gazing into the far distance even though he was facing Rishe. “You’re so cute.” Then he said the exact same thing he’d said to Rishe a few days ago. “In fact, I want you to be my wife instead of the crown prince’s.”

“Honestly… I’m telling you, you don’t need to joke like that anymore.”

“Yes, yes, that’s right. You’re going to be Arnold Hein’s wife, after all.”

“Hrk!” It was the truth, but it felt strangely embarrassing to hear him say it. Rishe screwed her face up into a grimace, and Raul took a slow breath.

“Even if you’re in a political marriage…and you’re marrying royalty of Galkhein…”

“…Raul?”

There was a soft smile on Raul’s face as he gazed at Rishe. “I pray that you find happiness.”

“Yes. Of course I will!”

With that, Rishe took her leave.

 

---

 

Time passed in an astonishingly quick manner as Rishe tried to summon all sorts of resolve. The soft sound of the waves echoed on the beach at dusk. Rishe looked down at her pocket watch and took a deep breath, thinking to herself, Just ten minutes now.

She entertained the thought that she might be able to gain some semblance of calm in the next ten minutes, but that idea was shattered when the person she was waiting for called out to her.

“Rishe.”

Instantly, Rishe shot up and spun in the direction of the castle. “Prince Arnold!”

Arnold walked down the sunset-stained beach, eyes squinting in the bright light.

“Oliver told me you requested my presence. Did something happen?”

“I just wanted to talk to you, Your Highness.” Rishe ran to the prince and steadied her breathing before looking up at him. “I wanted to…make up, after our fight.”

“…”

“Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking by myself while you’ve been busy, Your Highness.” Rishe clutched her dress. “I’ve come to realize that I’ve been selfish.”

“That’s not true.”

Rishe blinked at these unexpected words from Arnold.

“I didn’t say enough.”

“Pardon, Your Highness?”

“The methods I’ve taken with you are indefensible.” Arnold reached out and tucked a stray lock of hair behind Rishe’s ear. He spoke slowly and deliberately. “Abducting a bride from a foreign country as a hostage… It’s the method my father has always employed.”

Arnold had told her once before that his father kept other countries under his control by demanding female hostages and marrying them.

“I’ve always hated how he does things, yet I ended up employing the same methods to make you my wife.” There was no distinct emotion on Arnold’s face save for his eyes, where a whole storm of emotions was flashing past. “I forced you to give me your hand and stole your future.”

Rishe’s breath caught.

“There’s nothing more I can ask of you. I don’t have the right.” Arnold scowled. It seemed like he was in pain but was trying to ignore it. “I don’t need anything more.”

Something in Rishe’s chest seemed to grind against itself. She was sure that Arnold had never allowed himself to want anything before. He had lived without desires and without those desires being fulfilled his whole life—up until now. He may have been the crown prince of a great nation, but he could probably count on one hand the number of things he’d obtained for himself in his life thus far. Rishe could tell as much even without him saying so directly.

“The point I have reflected on most is just that, Your Highness,” she interjected, earning a dubious frown from him. “I realized that your not wanting anything of me, the reason you think that way—it ultimately stems from me.”

“Hrm?”

“I thought back to the moment that you proposed to me.”

That night, Arnold had knelt before Rishe. “I’m apologizing for my baseless impertinence. Also, I’m asking you…” He had taken Rishe’s hand, looked into her eyes and finished, “…to become my wife.”

“I replied, ‘I reject your proposal,’ didn’t I?”

“Yeah.”

Rishe cast her gaze to the sand, took a deep breath, and then met Arnold’s eyes once more. “I’d like to redo that proposal.”

Before he could respond, Rishe reached for Arnold’s left hand. It was a large, beautiful hand. Not just because of the shape of his nails and the tendons underneath his skin; even the rough swordsman’s calluses were beautiful to Rishe.

“Rishe…?”

Rishe entwined her fingers with Arnold’s, desperately trying to convey her feelings to him. “I apologize for my impertinence back then. Also, I’m asking you…”

Mimicking Arnold’s actions from the night of his proposal, she pulled his left hand up to her mouth. Rishe steeled her nerves and kissed the base of Arnold’s ring finger. There was a light smack as her lips came away. She could’ve squirmed in embarrassment, what with the intimacy of the soft noise as her lips came away and the feeling that her heart was going to burst. She could feel her cheeks burning, so she hid her face in Arnold’s hand.

When she felt calmer, she locked eyes with him again and finished, “…to become my husband.”

Even her choice of words was an echo of Arnold’s. Had he noticed?

Yes, Arnold had witnessed her proposal with wide eyes.

“What are you…?”

“There!” Rishe squeaked, her face bright red and her voice quavering despite her best efforts. “Now both of us wish for this engagement. So that means you didn’t whisk me to Galkhein against my will!”

This was what Rishe had meant when she spoke of her selfishness. She’d been turning it over and over in her mind in the last couple of days when it finally hit her: Her initial rejection of Arnold’s proposal was the source of his guilt. Her counter­proposal should have undone it.

Yet Arnold gazed at her in silence.

“Did…did that not work?”

“…”

“I want to do everything in my power to grant any desires you might have of me. There are far fewer things I can do compared to you in your position, but…” Rishe scowled. “I want to spoil you in the same way you spoil me, Prince Arnold…”

If Rishe were to take a realistic view of matters, things probably wouldn’t change between them. Arnold’s heart remained unknowable to Rishe until she found a way in. And she still didn’t know the real reason he’d proposed to her or the true goal of the war he would ignite in the future.

But as Rishe began to formulate the wish in her heart, Arnold pulled their entwined hands toward him—a movement that was gentle but assertive. And as Rishe collided with his chest, he threw his other arm over her back. He enveloped her as if he would never let her go and whispered into her ear, “I accept your proposal.”

“Eep!”

His voice was low and husky, but she could hear every word clearly. “Will you stand by my side as my wife?”

“Ngh!” Rishe flinched at the ticklish sensation of his gentle voice in her ear. She agonized for a moment over where to put her hand before clutching the shirt fabric by his waist. “I’m already here, aren’t I?”

“Not yet. We’re not officially married yet.” His voice was matter-of-fact—but there was a note of petulance as well, and Rishe wasn’t sure what to do with that. In all practicality, there was nothing she could do about it. In both Rishe’s homeland and this one, women couldn’t marry until they were sixteen. Rishe’s sixteenth birthday wasn’t for another three weeks.

Since she couldn’t grant his wish immediately, Rishe settled on a promise. “I will become your wife, Prince Arnold.”

His embrace tightened, but it wasn’t painful. In fact, it felt like he was holding back.

“Say it one more time.”

It occurred to Rishe then that this was Arnold’s way of making his desires known to her.

“Rishe,” he repeated with a note of plaintiveness.

“Oh…just one more time?”

“…”

“If you don’t mind, I’ll repeat it as often as you like, Prince Arnold.” If this was his first request of her, she would grant it wholeheartedly. Then she went over what she said and realized it made no sense. It was irrational to respond to a marriage proposal again and again. “I-I’m sorry… That’s strange, isn’t it?”

“No.” Arnold smiled faintly. “I want to hear it.”

Rishe let out a half squeal as her cheeks flushed deep scarlet. She pressed her forehead against Arnold to hide them, but she also didn’t want to bother him by clinging in such a way. “I-I’m sorry…please let me stay like this for just a bit longer…”

“I don’t mind.” Arnold gave her a comforting pat on the back before saying, “I think you should put a little more meat on your bones, though.”

“Huh?!” Rishe flinched. Her head almost shot up, but Arnold had her in such a firm hold that she couldn’t move. “Are you saying I’m scrawny?!”

“No, it’s just…”

She worried he meant her appearance was unbefitting of the crown princess, but as that didn’t seem to be the case, relief flooded her.

Arnold rested his head on Rishe’s shoulder and murmured, “It feels like if I’m too rough with you, I’ll break you.”

Shock and then amusement whipped through Rishe. “I won’t break. It’s okay.”

When Arnold didn’t respond, Rishe realized he was unconvinced. She squeezed Arnold with the same grip he had around her. “See?”

Arnold patted her back in understanding and slowly pulled away from her. “I’ll be careful.”

“All right.” Apparently, her attempt to convince him of her hardiness had been unsuccessful. His words caused a twinge in her heart.

Anyhow, I don’t think our fight was all that successful. Oh well.

Rishe was satisfied with their reconciliation, at least. The thought made her smile as she gazed up at Arnold. Even on a sparkling beach bathed in the colors of sunset, Arnold’s blue eyes far outclassed everything in their beauty.

“It’s getting windy. Should we go back?” Arnold asked, holding out his hand to Rishe.

His offer to escort her was completely natural, which flustered her. She gingerly took his hand, trying not to let him see her nerves. And so the two of them walked off together.

I’m sure I can’t begin to comprehend everything that’s weighing on him. No matter how much I wish to change him, I know it won’t be easy. Still, I hope that one day, Prince Arnold can at last express a desire for his own happiness.

She understood that, but she couldn’t help wishing anyway.

No matter what ulterior motives were behind this proposal. Even if it’s not with me.

Rishe would stop Arnold’s war no matter what, regardless of whether that made her his enemy. She knew it was a betrayal to stay by his side while concealing her own ulterior motives.

I know all that, but…I want to make him happy.

Not through war—specifically Arnold’s war, which caused so much suffering to so many people, him included. She wanted to show him a world where he could desire something and then obtain it without bloodshed.

“Rishe, what’s wrong?”

She flashed Arnold a strained smile when he noticed her slowed pace. “It’s nothing. Let’s go back and eat! Of course, I can’t put so much meat on my bones that I can’t fit into my wedding dress.”

“Don’t worry. If it comes to it, I’ll call as many tailors as needed from all over the country until the dress fits you perfectly.”

“When you say that with such a straight face, it doesn’t sound like a joke, Prince Arnold. It’s kind of scary…”

Their light banter warmed her heart. She glanced back at the ocean every so often as they walked along the sunset beach. The light sparkled off the surface of the water, and Rishe squinted at it, Arnold’s hand firmly in hers.

 

***­

 

The lapping of the waves echoed around the seaside castle after night fell. Raul silently opened a door and surveyed an empty reception room. Without permission from anyone, he plopped down on one of the couches. Only a few minutes later, hard footsteps echoed from the hall outside, and the door opened again.

Raul’s lips curled in a smile as he spoke with purposeful levity. “I snuck in here for your sake, but you have no intention of hiding at all, do you?”

He twisted around and put an elbow on the back of the couch as the other man gazed on in cold silence. Eventually, he went and sat on Raul’s other side, his elbow on the armrest and his chin in hand.

Making note of his actions, Raul prodded him once more. “So cold. We’re going to be working together, so you could stand to be friendlier, don’t you think?”

“I’m not here to banter with you.”

“Oh, fine. I owe you, so I’ll do whatever you ask, even if it’s something so nefarious that you can’t tell your beloved wife about it,” he said. “So let’s have that little secret chat you requested…Prince Arnold Hein.”

His face as cold as it was beautiful, Arnold regarded Raul with ice in his eyes.

 

To be continued…