Chapter 36
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“Lenasia.”
“Mm…”
“You are lost in sleep.”
Half-asleep, Lena clung to Godfrid.
It was less a conscious action born of knowing who he was, and more an instinctive movement she made as the warmth that had been beside her all along began to drift away.
Perhaps it was possible because the memory of holding him back in the morning as he was leaving for his office had remained in her body.
A faint smile spread across Godfrid’s lips as he laid her, who kept nestling into him, down on the bed. These days, Lenasia acted as if she had completely forgotten her grudge against him.
Whether that attitude was pretense or whether she truly no longer cared either way, he could not be sure, but what was certain was that Godfrid was in a good mood seeing Lena this way.
When she opened her eyes long after he had left, a different scene than usual unfolded before Lena.
First, flowers were decorated here and there. The pale pink, elegant roses brightened the atmosphere of the room considerably while still blending passably with the originally somewhat dreary room.
And girls she was seeing for the first time were cleaning and tidying every corner of the room.
Lena simply blinked quietly at the unfamiliar feeling.
“Ah, you are awake.”
When one of them spoke, the others also noticed she had woken up and approached her in a cluster. Among them was the familiar face of Melgardi, which eased Lena’s tension a little.
“Melgardi, who are these?”
“Yes. They are sent by His Imperial Majesty to attend to Lady Lenasia.”
“So many people just to wait on me alone…”
“To the extent that there are extra hands, Lady Lenasia will be made all the more comfortable.”
They each introduced their names and paid their respects to Lena. To varying degrees, most of them were girls younger than Melgardi.
Lena inwardly shrank at the sight of their eyes directed at her. She had been waited on as a princess before, but that had been in Aitalos.
After arriving here in Taringia, everyone except Melgardi had been cruel to her.
Since these people were also Taringian, she could not help but wonder if they secretly harbored ill feelings toward her, if they believed all the unsavory rumors about Aitalos.
But as if to let her know that such worries were excessive, they each looked at Lena with clear eyes and offered a word.
“Princess, shall I comb your hair? How is the color of your hair so mysteriously lovely?”
“You must be stiff after sleeping. Shall I loosen your body with a scented oil massage?”
“You are truly beautiful, Princess!”
‘Ah.’
Right. These children were all under the emperor’s orders, just like Melgardi, so even if they harbored antipathy, they would not show it outwardly.
And at least having it not shown outwardly was enough to give Lena a feeling of being respected.
With the addition of four maidservants in total, Lena’s space, where silence had usually drifted, was filled with liveliness.
Melgardi, who oversaw them, also seemed to have her workload eased, and the girls’ chatter drew Lena’s soul, which had been chewing on solitude in the stillness, out into bright reality.
She could lie on a soft chair, have her nails cared for while receiving a foot massage, and eat freshly baked Taringian sweets.
Unlike the nights, which were hours foretold by tension and exhaustion, Lena’s days now passed quite smoothly.
But even amid such comfortable living, Lena was counting down the days to the appointed date with Regnos, one by one in her heart.
Meanwhile, the emperor could not possibly know this, and it seemed he was gradually beginning to let down his guard.
“Princess, look at this!”
“His Imperial Majesty has sent a gift.”
The first was jewelry. The aquamarine, with its clear, watery hue, closely resembled the color of Lena’s eyes.
The large, lucid aquamarine was cut into an emerald shape and surrounded by pearls, bringing its elegant charm fully to life.
When it was strung on a pearl chain and placed around her neck, everyone praised how well it suited her.
But to Lena, it was laughable to wear such exquisite jewelry over a thin gown that would be stripped off in a matter of hours.
As if Godfrid’s thoughts had touched upon that very point, this time a gift of dresses arrived.
The seamstress sent by the emperor showed her easily over ten boxes of fabrics adorned with embroidery and patterns.
After choosing fabrics and dress designs and waiting a few days, the finished dresses began arriving one after another.
Not only dresses, but headpieces, gloves, stockings, cloaks, and even undergarments to match had been prepared in variety.
A wardrobe built just for her had also appeared. Lena could now spend all day playing dress-up in front of the mirror.
Yet it was just as laughable to possess splendid garments when she was in no position to go outside.
The emperor, too, was likely well aware of that fact.
“Godfrid.”
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