Guardians of the Prince

I was tuckered out myself, and my memories of that night through till the morning are vague, but when the prince and I woke up the next morning, we were on a bed in a guest room in the castle. Lemonina was staying in the same room, and we were both happy the other was safe.

“Well, it’s been busy, but the curtain’s only just rising on this stage,” Lemonina said, and winked. Finally, we were going to meet the palace personnel supervisor.

After breakfast, Lemonina and I met them in the drawing room, with the prince in tow.

Mr Tsuguru, the personnel interviewer, who’s troubled look seemed to be his default expression, was a thin man who, somewhere in his fifties. The navy blue robe he was wearing had golden threads embroidered in it.

“It’s been a while, Mr Tsuguru.”

It seemed Lemonina and this person were old research buddies.

“Lemonina, this is the child you want to put up as a candidate to be adopted by Lady Solamire? Explain what’s going on, please, from the beginning?” Mr Tsuguru asked, looking at the prince, who was enthusiastically scaling the back of the sofa.

“It’s an embarrassing story, but,” Lemonina said, looking down, her eyes heavy with sorrow. Ah, she’d already stepped into her role. “Actually… I had a child when I was young.”

“What!” Mr Tsuguru was taken aback. “When– when you were young!?”

“Right after I graduated.”

“I– who was your partner, Azan? Or, Zahks? Wait, was it Yudil!?”

Jeez, okay.

“I can’t tell you that. No matter which one of them was the father, every man among them is a black-hearted moron, and I don’t know how much use my current social status would be if any of them found out this child existed. I’m sorry for getting my grandchild wrapped up in all this too.”

Lemonina shook her head. Was it possible she had terrible luck with men?

“I– you– grandchild!? You even have a grandchild!? No, I’m– sorry… Please, continue.”

Mr Tsuguru took a quick drink of his tea, choking.

“I do, but hear the whole story. My child was a boy, but I didn’t want the father to know, and I had work I wanted to do… I’m embarrassed to say, but I left him with a family that lived further inland, on the continent. He grew up fast and became an adult, and eventually got married to a certain woman. That woman is Kohme, here.”

I silently bowed my head. Oh man, don’t laugh, don’t laugh.

“I already think of Kohme as my daughter, and I thought the two of them were happily married, but… The truth is, my son’s been causing trouble. Well, it’s not just my duty, as a mother who abdicated my own child-rearing duties, but… At any rate, my son is a serial adulterer. It seems Kohme’s had an extremely hard time of it.”

Lemonina touched my shoulder lightly. Oh yes, thank you, I’m okay, stiff upper lip and all that.

“And so in the end, my son got one of his mistresses pregnant, and in the course of time, she gave birth… He ended up running off with that other woman and abandoning the child they’d had together. Despite the circumstances, Kohme took custody of the child and has been raising him… This is that boy, the one called prince!”

Yup. This was the tale Lemonina had dreamt up.

She’d asked me if I wanted to be her daughter, but when she’d said ‘something not too far off’ I hadn’t understood what she meant. In short, she’d been thinking of me as her daughter-in-law – the woman who would be married to her son.

I was now only someone who’d taken in the child created between my ex-husband and his extra-marital lover. Even if I ended up living at the other palace, at Shiz Cagna, I wouldn’t have to cover everything up. And if I did end up talking about my two sisters, Koaya and Nanao, I could do so naturally.

When we’d talked about it in the dining hall in the Shin research city, Lemonina had dreamed up this scenario where she’d thoroughly disparage her fictitious son (my ex-lover) and this mistress. We’d gotten some alcohol in us by that point and I’d ended up on the floor I was laughing so hard. Mr Kahzam-as-timp had been quite surprised when he came upon us.

Maybe it was a little mean, doing something like this so suddenly. But just imagine, Nanao and the prince could’ve been raised in the same household for a while.

Thinking of the two of them playing together made me so happy I wanted to cry. What a wonderful idea!

Rough memories were being overwritten by new stories. Ah, coming to this world had saved me. I felt the same tender affection I’d had when I saw the bouquet in the Garden of Stars.

Lemonina’s performance continued.

“Kohme’s raised him this far, but she wanted to consult with me, of course, and so she came all this way to meet me. Just about the time she made it here, I heard about Lady Solamire… I wanted Her Highness to adopt him, for her sake, and the sadness she must feel on losing her own child.”

You can’t tell in her eyes that Lemonina’s lying!? I stared at Mr Tsuguru, wondering how he couldn’t know.

“If Lady Solamire does end up raising him, it would erase his lineage. Please, I thought you might help me. Perhaps you could give this child your recommendation?”

How many bloodlines would the prince have to conceal?

“And also, with all this being as it is, Kohme’s ended up on her own, and she’s looking for a job. I was wondering if she might be made his wetnurse, so she could continue to help raise him. He’s quite fond of Kohme, and Kohme’s been a great help to me… I give you my assurance on her identity. Of course, I’m not from Vio Rizonna, I won’t be able to act as prince’s tutor, but…”

Lemonina had even thought of that.

After all, I had in fact been taking care of the prince since he was born, I knew what he liked, what he didn’t like, what his favorite foods were, everything. And the prince was indeed fond of me.

Given that, it would be weirder to think of my lineage and the prince’s lineage as separate. Thinking of us as a set was better. She’d obviously given the plan some deep thought.

But in this scenario, Lemonina and the prince were now connected by blood. And that was the sole remaining proof of the lie.

It wasn’t so simple to find out whether people were related by blood here, but apparently it was possible if both parties had Shin names. When the prince got bigger and his name came to the fore on his left ring finger, someone might do a detailed examination, and the fact that they weren’t related by blood would be exposed.

Lemonina had answered my concerns without blinking an eyelash. “I’ll just act like I had no idea. ‘You mean this isn’t my grandchild!? My son’s mistress tricked us all!?’ ”

In other words, we’d pretend this mistress had an affair with yet another man, and the child of that affair was the prince. Wow, what a mess.

“Anyway, by that time, prince will have been raised in the royal household for how many years? He isn’t really in the line of succession, so he won’t be thrown out. And His Highness and Lady Solamire can protect him.”

Seeing Lemonina wink, and I’d finally been able to calm down.

“I– I understand the circumstances. I’ll discuss the matter with His Highness and Lady Solamire, and they’ll consider it privately. Being Lemonina’s grandchild, I don’t think there’ll be an issue. I’ll try and put in a good word for you as well, Miss Kohme.”

Mr Tsuguru seemed somehow dizzied by the situation, and went home with that promise.

When the door closed, Lemonina and I both heaved a big sigh as if the door closing had been a sign between us – and then, we looked at each other and giggles slipped out of us.

“Sorry, prince, you’ve got a weirdo for a dad now,” Lemonina said, and the prince looked blankly up at her.

It was barely afternoon when it was decided that the prince would have a face-to-face meeting with the royal couple. At the request of the royal couple themselves.

It wasn’t an official audience, so apparently it would take place in a drawing room used by the royal household, rather than some grand space like the audience chambers.

I left the guest room under the guidance of a maid, and I headed towards the main palace for the first time. Yesterday had been such a kerfuffle, and even when I’d returned with the prince we’d come in through the back gate and gone straight to the guest room.

A vast garden was visible from the passageway, and as we entered the main palace’s hall I caught a glimpse of a fountain’s glittering spray out of the corner of my eye. An extravagantly massive spiral staircase rose up from within the main palace. With a sense of awe, I looked up unconsciously, and a decorative ceiling painted with all kinds of different animals looked down on me from far above.

We headed up the spiral staircase just a little, and strode purposefully down a long hallway on the second floor. Of course this hallway would be pretty plain, I thought to myself, but then I noticed that there were subtle carvings on each of the pillars. The corridor itself was a work of art.

And the drawing room we were being led to…

This is a drawing room? She didn’t bring me to an art gallery by mistake?

A chandelier hung heavy, and multiple portraits and landscapes hung on the walls. Even the windowsill and the sofa arms were exquisitely crafted.

I took a seat on the sofa, but I couldn’t calm down. Please, little prince, do not get too rowdy. They had a lot of expensive looking vases and stuff in here.

Eventually there was a knock, and the double doors opened.

“His Majesty the King, and his Second Queen, Lady Solamire.”

The quintessential elderly butler came in and made an announcement, and then bowed neatly and stepped to one side. We stood up and waited.

The first person to come into the room was His Highness.

I’d heard he was fifty-five years old. If a lion became a human being, maybe this is the kind of feeling they’d give off, huh? His golden ringlets of hair, and beard of the same color were enough to make anyone think it. And his very gentle expression.

His eyes were the orange of a sunset, and he wasn’t fat, but his frame was sturdy, and he had a certain dignified presence. Unexpectedly, he was wearing a suit. As king, I thought he would dress more resplendently.

And the next person who came in… I had seen for just an instant the previous day, the person I’d always wanted to meet, Lady Solamire.

She was a tall woman, and the lightly-ornamented, ocean-blue, mermaid-line dress she wore suited her well. Her thick, chestnut-colored hair was done up, and she turned her big blue eyes towards me. I’d heard she was two years older than Mr Fatido, which would make her thirty-eight, but she looked very young, and beautiful.

Ah… The prince looked just like her.

Her face was smiling gently, but her eyes were already tearing up, and her fists clutched her handkerchief so tightly her knuckles were white.

Oh, true. There were still a lot of servants and their peering eyes. She couldn’t just let herself go and be overjoyed at her reunion with the prince.

Then another person came in after them, a plump woman who looked about in her forties, and quietly stood in the back behind the royal couple. She was wearing a navy blue pinafore-style dress and a white apron, and had a white piece of cloth on her head. I felt like her attire and her attitude was different from a regular maid, but I had no idea who she was.

After only a moment’s glance at the people who’d come in, Lemonina and I bowed our heads and waited. The prince looked up at us confused, and then gave a short little bow himself.

“Lift your faces. You grace us with your presence frequently, Doctor Lemonina Ruista,” His Majesty’s baritone resounded.

“It’s been too long, Your Majesty, Lady Solamire.” Lemonina lifted her head and flashed a smile.

“And these are your relatives Prince, and Kohme… correct?”

“Very pleased to meet you, Your Highness. My name is Koume Hino. This is the prince.”

I barely managed to recite the greeting I’d rehearsed, and gently touched the prince’s back. The prince spoke quietly.

“G’Afternoon.”

His Majesty chuckled, and replied, “Good Afternoon. I’m your… No, I am the king of this country, Ishdir Alraga Rizonna.”

I think he was about to say he was the prince’s father.

But the prince was going to be treated as an adopted child within the royal family, His Highness’s wish could never be fulfilled. Until the prince was old enough to protect the secret too, the truth would have to be kept from him.

I wondered what effect it would all have on the prince’s heart in the future. But I’ll be with you, little prince!

His Majesty turned to Lady Solamire.

“Solamire?”

Lady Solamire took a step forward, and bent down a little to meet the prince eye to eye.

“Good afternoon, prince. Thank you… for coming today.”

And then she looked up at me without changing position, and her voice shook. She seemed afraid.

“Kohme… Thank you.”

I couldn’t hold back the trembling in my own voice, but I did want to say the same thing to Lady Solamire. To the person who’d entrusted me with the prince.

“Thank you. Very much.”

Hearing me, Lady Solamire’s eyes widened, and she smiled, her face flooded with relief. It probably sounded a bit odd to the servants listening to our conversation.

Lady Solamire looked back to the prince, and gently reached out a hand to stroke his cheek.

“So cute. Can I pick you up?”

The prince looked confused, but he let her pick him up, and Lady Solamire closed her eyes and snuggled her cheek to the prince’s hair, and didn’t move for a little while.

How nice.

They were finally able to meet. How nice.

Nanao and Koaya quietly floated through my mind.

At that moment, I heard a voice from beside me.

“Miss Kohme.”

""

I turned around to see the woman who’d been standing behind the royal couple. At her urging, she and I went over to the window and turned to each other.

The woman seemed a bit troubled, but she smiled gently. There were kind wrinkles at the corners of her eyes.

“I am the person who is set to be employed as His Highness Prince’s wetnurse.”

“Ah.”

My chest thumped.

Tellner… Originally wetnurse to the prince’s older sister Princess Haluria.

“I don’t know how to apologize for letting His Highness get lost…”

“Please, you don’t need to apologize to me.”

“I don’t know how to thank you either, for finding him. I’m forever grateful.”

“Oh no… That’s…”

I was at a loss for words.

I thought it would be the royal couple to have the last word on who would be the prince’s wetnurse, but this woman seemed to think the job was already hers.

I might be stealing her job, what was I supposed to say?

Just then, Tellner gently approached and whispered to me.

“It was quite the proper Incident, with all that happened yesterday. It’s been decided that I’ll have to be kept out of sight for a while.”

When I looked up, surprised, there was a smile around Tellner’s eyes.

“But actually, Princess Haluria is getting married soon. Maybe by the time the princess is blessed with her own child, I’ll be in a position to come back.”

So in other words…

When Princess Haluria had a child, Tellner was going to help them, or rather, that’s what she hoped to be able to do, is that what she was saying?

“So I was hoping you’d be able to help me out with His Highness Prince,” Tellner said.

I was a little shocked, and I replied in a panic. “Yes, of course! I don’t have much experience, but I’ll give it my all!”

I don’t have much experience? 1 What was I, getting married?

Afterwards, Mr Fatido appeared a bit late, and seemed hesitant, at least at first.

Mr Fatido shot me a quick wink, and then said, exaggeratedly, “Ah, Your Highness, my dear sister, have you found a child to adopt? He seems a healthy young man. I am called Fatido.”

Or something like that anyway. The prince was practically oozing question marks.

“Hashiido?” he said.

“Oh, so you’ve learned my name already. What a clever boy, isn’t he, Solamire!”

Have mercy, I was already having enough trouble not bursting into laughter.

And then His Highness and Lady Solamire’s first child, Princess Haluria – the prince’s older sister – came around.

Princess Haluria was fifteen years old. She looked like Lady Solamire as well, but her hair was wonderful curls, just like her father. The pastel green, knee-length dress she had on suited her well.

She seemed to be aware of the fact that the prince was her brother by blood, and she rushed up to the prince as she came into the room.

“How cute! My name is Haluria. I’m your… I’m gonna be your big sister, how about that!” she said, grabbing a toy she’d brought with her from an attendant. “Let’s go play!”

The prince happily tottled over to the princess and the two of them started playing, warming up to each other almost instantly.

After that, Mr Tsuguru came around, and Lemonina and I answered his formal questions, with His Highness and Lady Solamire interjecting every so often, and then the meeting was over.

That evening, I was called to Lady Solamire’s private room by myself for another interview for the nurse position.

A female guard patted me down, and then a lady-in-waiting led me to a room, which was quite elegant in cream tones.

There weren’t any paintings or vases here, but every piece of furniture seemed like a work of art. I hesitated even to step on the carpet.

Lady Solamire was standing near a window, and offered me the sofa as she approached. One of her attendants immediately brought us tea, and prepared it for us on the table.

Lady Solamire sat down, a frown on her face. “We have many things to discuss today. If we require anything, I’ll ring the bell, so would you please wait outside,” she said to the attendants.

The door closed behind them leaving the two of us alone in the room.

The second we were alone, tears spilled from Lady Solamire’s eyes in big drops.

“Your Hi– Lady Solamire…”

I reflexively got up from the sofa and went around the table to kneel beside Lady Solamire. I wanted to hold her trembling hands, but I wasn’t at all sure if it was okay to just touch her, so my own hand waved around.

It was Lady Solamire who grabbed my hand instead. “Kohme, thank you. And also… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I…”

Lady Solamire moved to get down on her knees too, but I rather impolitely tried to stop her, and started chatting with a smile on my face.

“There are so many things I want to talk to you about, Your Highness. You absolutely have to hear some of this… I’ve always always wanted to tell you!”

Finally, I could talk about all the trouble of raising a kid!

“Oh, so you’ve raised girls then, just like me.”

“Girls and boys are so different, even when they’re little, aren’t they?”

“I was so surprised when I hugged him earlier, Haluria had such a different frame when she was little.”

“I know right! Girls are so fluffy, boys are kind of, more sturdy somehow.”

What was supposed to be an interview for a wetnurse position turned instead into some kind of neighborhood mom convention.

Along the way, Lady Solamire seemed to calm down, and let out a yell. “Oh wait! Fatido hasn’t been bugging you, has he Kohme? I told Kahzam and Lahzt not to let that idiot ever meet you, but every single one of those guys is so useless.”

It finally hit home that Solamire really was Fatido’s older sister.

Footnotes

this is a set phrase often used by new brides.