Chapter 39
Looking again, the difference in her demeanor that had made her seem like an entirely different person could indeed be explained by such words.
If he were to be honest, he preferred this quiet Lenasia over the haughty, pretentious princess inside the banquet hall.
Moreover, he had not imagined at all that she would recognize him and speak to him in Taringian.
With that thought, her figure, illuminated by the dim lamplight, seemed to exude a strange beauty more than it had under the brilliant chandeliers.
“If you are returning to your room now, shall I guide you?”
“Very well. I shall trouble you.”
Fortunately for Lenasia, the boy obediently followed her. Unlike the Taringian royal palace, which was simple in structure, the Aitalosian palace was far more complex and easy to get lost in.
When someone who lived here offered to guide the way, there was no reason to refuse.
Lena took a long stick leaning against the wall and hung a lamp at its end. The boy, following her as she led the way, fixed his gaze on the girl’s profile lit by the scarlet lamplight.
When the girl, who had been walking looking ahead, noticed his gaze, she offered a gentle smile.
Unlike those he had met until now, she did not approach him because of his looks and then recoil upon learning his origins. She did not openly sneer at him for being from a small, weak nation.
To the boy, to Godfrid, that was simply refreshing.
Instead, Lena walked ahead holding the lamp and laughed brightly. Unfortunately, how beautiful that smile looked, the Lena of those days could never have dreamed.
After that, Lenasia continued to dream.
“Lena.”
“Mama!”
Under the night sky, colorful lights filled the streets. A masquerade procession playing instruments swept past them.
“You have to hold Mama’s hand tight. It would be terrible if you got lost.”
“Okay!”
Lena clutched her mother’s hand tightly with her small one. Even to her young eyes, the festival streets were so crowded that if she were swept away by the current, she felt she might never see her mother again.
Life as a maidservant in a noble household was mostly hard, with little time given to properly rest.
But if there was one day when even the harsh masters gave their servants freedom, it was the Harvest Festival, which came once a year.
The woman, having brought her young daughter out for the rare occasion, enjoyed the sights here and there. They watched a performance by strongmen and bought street food to share together.
“Is it good?”
“Yes!”
As Lena spent the dreamlike night, something caught her eye. It was a wooden doll sold at a stall.
The child’s eyes instantly grew brighter than ever.
The doll, delicately carved and painted, was adorned in a splendid and pretty form just like a princess.
Seeing nothing but the doll, Lena stopped walking at some point. The woman looked back at her daughter and checked what lay at the end of her gaze.
“Do you want that?”
Startled, Lena shook her head. She had stared without thinking because it was so pretty, but she knew well enough that such a doll was far too expensive to actually buy.
“N-No…”
The clumsy lie quickly showed on her young face. Her mother hesitated for a moment, then went to the stall and paid the price of the doll.
“Wow!”
When she held the doll in her arms, Lena smiled as if she possessed the whole world.
“Are you that happy?”
The girl took her mother’s hand again and walked. The festival night was still dazzling and enchanting.
* * *
“Mama…”
The emperor’s bedchamber, with the curtains drawn back to let the morning sunlight seep in.
Godfrid, who had nearly finished preparing to leave, turned around at the faint whisper. Transparent tears were streaming down Lenasia’s face, half-buried in the pillow.
He hesitated, then reached out his hand. Whoever it was appearing in the dream, it was better to be pulled out into reality than to remain trapped in a sorrowful sleep.
“Lenasia.”
“…!”
Easily waking from sleep, Lena opened her eyes wide like a startled rabbit frozen stiff.
The man’s hand, touching her face, stroked her as if to comfort her.
“I have given instructions to Melgardi. When you go out, you must always be accompanied by an attendant.”
For a while, she could not comprehend what he had said. Lena, who had simply been blinking her eyes, soon grasped the meaning and bolted upright.
“…!”
Truly, he was saying she could go outside this prison-like bedchamber.
She looked at him as if demanding an explanation, but Godfrid, without elaborating on or retracting his words, left the room following the close aides who had come to receive him.
Left behind, Lena realized that she could finally go outside.
It was the day when the promise with Regnos was drawing near.
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