Your Highness, The Lady You’ve Abandoned IS the Saintess!

After breakfast, I received my most-anticipated scolding from Selma.

As I explained to her what transpired yesterday, she held up her temples and chided me, saying how I was too easy-going, and that, I should put more thoughts into my actions. But how could she blame me!? I have been fascinated by Firman from the beginning, and his well-timed rescue came to me during my weakest times; I fell for it splendidly! I am a maiden in the age of eighteen years, after all! The age of love!

Furthermore, Selma. You spoke about taking time to know each other, but I am ignorant about love and its bargains.

I have been engaged to Maynard by birth and have always been by his side. I have never fallen in love with anybody, so, be it love’s timings, bargains, and anything else, I am helpless to them all. 

It will be fine, Selma. Firman is lovely anyway. He is both broad-minded and kind. Compare him to Maynard and they’re like night and day. I think I will be alright.

‘I believe the lady is committing a blunder by using Prince Maynard as a standard criterion.’

So you say, but I don’t have any other scrutinizing tool for the opposite gender than Maynard. A man who seems to be more sincere than him will look quite perfect to me. That’s easy-going, so you say, but if I would end up losing Firman by dawdling and worrying around, I would much rather plunge forward and follow my impulses.

‘Well, as long as the lady is satisfied. However, please do tell me promptly if that knight does so much as to cause you tears.’

She asserts; her almond-shaped eyes seemingly shone for a moment making me jolt inadvertently.

Selma is a maiden of four years older and has always been my trusty attendant ever since I was twelve. She is considerably beautiful and quite tall for a lady, unlike me, who falls slightly shorter than the average height. On top of it, she has firm strength in her limbs. I once got entangled with an drunk man in an evening party at one time, and she kicked the inebriate man in the stomach so mercilessly that he fell unconscious on the spot. 

It is requisite of maids and house employees for houses of considerable pedigree to be somewhat knowledgeable in any form of martial art, should their masters be put at any peril, but I think people of House Conrad greatly correspond to that end.

‘Shouldn’t you write about him to his lordship?’

‘Non, I will just introduce him upon my return. If I do write to them about him, they’d come rushing here.’

‘That does seem likely.’

‘Just how old do my dearest father think am I, I wonder?’

‘That cannot be helped, lady. I believe her ladyship is always his grace’s most adorable daughter in his eyes.’

I shrugged my shoulders and took a sip on the tea that Selma prepared beforehand.

When it comes to education, I was taught rather strictly, since I was supposed to be Maynard’s future queen. So despite my nonchalance and propensity to act in manners that would earn rebuke for impropriety, I can hold myself well in formal public settings. After all, I was made to study until I bled, even with music and other self-cultivations, so much that I’m considering making a living out of playing piano, or perhaps embroidery, which was drilled into me until my eyes turned white. Haha! 

But other than these things, I was quite terribly spoiled.

In particular, my father very extremely doted on me, perhaps out of guilt on having set his newborn daughter for royal matchmaking. He often places me on his lap and pats my head until my mother chides him for it, insisting that he overly fawns on his twelve-year-old daughter.

I’m sure if I ever went with the idea of introducing Firman as my lover through letters, he would gallop on his fastest horse to the duchy.

‘Which reminds me lady, where is Sir Firman?’

‘Firman left earlier; He apparently has business with the church.’

There’s a fairly large church within the Conrad duchy. It is under the management of Reverend Robert, a twenty-four year old man, much like my older brother, and is also rumored to become a cardinal soon. He is the son of the younger brother of the Duke of Lichtenburg, one of the three dukes of the kingdom. He entered the Holy Church at the age of nineteen and was ordained to run the church here in our territory. Regardless, House Lichtenburg and House Conrad have always been in good relations, so we have already been acquainted with Fr. Robert way before, and even used to be playmates in our childhood.

Selma’s eyebrows knitted together.

‘I have to say, I am not quite impressed. He is supposed to be your guard but left the place out of his personal business.’

‘Well… But, look Selma, he is a holy knight, it is only reasonable that divine calling takes precedence for him.’

There were also several royal knights left behind too, so shouldn’t he be excused from censure?

‘You’ve been anointed as the saintess, lady. It would trouble me if you are not more mindful of the dangers that comes with it.’

‘Uu-‘

Don’t make such a grave face, Selma. I have been strenuously informed—too persistently, even— by the priest with fully grown beard, that saintesses are often targeted; I know.

Or so I would like to say, but I have never really been in any sort of peril up to now, but even father said that I might be more safe in the duchy than the capital so I should be fine.

‘If a strange man abducts lady and forces marriage through fait accompli, do not blame me.’

Point taken.

Domestic or not, many men desires to acquire a saintess for their own. Those who take the normal route of sending marriage proposal, although tedious, are fine, while kidnapping and imprisonment, as Selma warned, are another thing. But that’s exactly why the duchy is safer. Our country house is situated in a remote country side that is scarcely populated, making suspicious movements faster to notice. It’s apparently easier to guard than the populous royal capital.

I escaped to the duchy from the bothersome mountains of letters and gifts that lay wait, but my father, on the contrary, praised me for the brilliant idea. It was my brother’s ingenuity and not mine though.

‘I may need to have a word with Sir Firman when he returns.

Oh goodness, my dear Selma, still so prickly over Firman’s departure.

I furtively sighed, and reached for the almond cookie on the tea platter.