Beneath the Surviving Princess's Joyful Facade - Chapter 6

As Eirik entered the room, he saw Mrs. Maleca quickly lower her head upon making eye contact, while the large-framed Mrs. Dialle pretended to be preoccupied. On the bed, the princess, dressed in a drab gray linen dress, lay curled up. As soon as she saw Eirik, she flopped back and sprawled out.

“Does my wife usually wear such clothing?” Eirik asked.

“Yes, she changes clothes six or seven times a day,” Maleca replied.

Even the maids at the Cladnier mansion wore better clothes. Frowning at the prison-like garb, Eirik heard Mrs. Maleca continue in a sly voice.

“It’s the maids’ job to wash and dress her all day. So, we dress her in easy-to-clean clothes. Of course, as her husband, you might prefer to see her in something more beautiful.”

What was that maid thinking, saying such things? Eirik suppressed a bitter laugh and replied, “Thank you for your hard work. I’ll take care of my wife from here.”

The maids curtsied and left, hiding their true feelings. As their footsteps faded, Eirik walked over to the princess.

“You seem to be in a good mood today,” he said, sitting at the edge of the bed, trying to start a conversation.

The princess, who had briefly made eye contact earlier, soon lost interest and started playing with the ends of her hair, pouting her lips.

“This is our residence in the capital. You will be staying here and also traveling to the Cladis region. I hope you like it.”

As he observed her expression, he found himself studying her features. Though he had seen her face many times, he had always thought of her as pale and white. Now, he noticed her large eyes, delicate nose, and small, rosy lips.

For a moment, he thought the princess looked quite pretty. Then she began making strange sounds, puffing her lips and blowing air. He chuckled bitterly at the thought. What did it matter to him if she was pretty or not?

With a quiet sigh, he said to the princess who wouldn’t listen, “Rest for a while. Call me if you need anything.”

He returned to the makeshift study to sort through the remaining documents. Thanks to the open wall and removed door, he could still see the princess tugging at the blanket while reading his papers. By the time he reached the third document, the room had grown silent; the princess had fallen asleep.

Hours later, past midnight, Eirik returned to the bed to find the princess snoring softly. He gently pulled the kicked-off blanket over her and watched her for a moment, feeling a mix of emotions.

His heart felt constricted, and he found himself sighing more often lately. The woman before him was a central figure in the current predicament, yet he couldn’t find it in himself to blame her. Seeing her frail hands clutch the blanket tightly only deepened his sympathy.

After watching her for a long time, he lay down on one side of the large bed. Despite his mind being crowded with thoughts, the exhaustion from the previous sleepless night at the palace took over, and he soon fell asleep.

In doing so, he missed the moment when his wife, still snoring softly, opened her eyes and stared into the darkness.

***

The next morning, when Eirik woke up, Miesa was sitting on the floor, playing with her slippers.

“When did you wake up? You should have woken me up.”

He greeted her with a good morning as he drew back the curtains. Of course, there was no reply.

Eirik rang the bell, and the princess’s maids and the mansion’s servants quickly entered, each attending to their respective masters.

After a simple breakfast, Eirik watched his wife tear bread into pieces and scatter them on the floor before he stood up, offering another unanswered farewell.

As he entered the training grounds, he felt the weight of somber gazes upon him. Yet, he ascended the command platform with a composed demeanor.

The head of the Cladnier family, the Margrave, had not been involved in training for a long time, and the previous captain, Kelvanig, had retired after sustaining severe injuries in the recent war.

Consequently, Eirik, who had been the vice-captain, had taken over as captain just over two months ago. This period coincided with what could be called the engagement period.

The atmosphere among the knights, whom he faced for the first time since the wedding, was heavy and tense. Anticipating this, Eirik calmly issued training orders to the knights, behaving as if nothing had happened.

His composed demeanor left the knights with no room to openly express their dissatisfaction. They silently continued their morning drills and sparring. Eirik spent the morning observing their training and assessing the quality of the newly acquired armor and crossbows.

Meanwhile, Princess Miesa, having finished breakfast, began to wander around the mansion, with a maid trailing behind her like a shadow. After exploring for a while, Miesa’s steps led her to the maids’ workroom on the first floor of the mansion.

“Oh my, Young Madam.”

Seven or eight maids who had been sewing stood up abruptly to greet the unexpected visitor. The princess looked around the room and then plopped down on the floor.

“The princess often wanders around like this, so there’s no need to worry,” said Mrs. Dialle, the large-framed maid, to the anxious maids who were watching the princess with curiosity.

Miesa, seated on the floor, began scratching at the rug with her fingernails. Suddenly, she reached for the work table. One of the maids, startled, quickly grabbed a cushion bristling with needles and hid it behind her back.

“Oh, Young Madam, it’s dangerous to touch just anything. How about this instead?”

A maid handed Miesa a ball of yarn. The princess examined it, giggled with satisfaction, and began unraveling the yarn.

The princess quietly played with the ball of yarn. Watching her with a stern expression for a while, Mrs. Dialle suddenly spoke to the maids.

“I haven’t had a chance to eat while taking care of the princess. She seems calm now, so could you watch her for a moment?”

The maids readily agreed. Once Mrs. Dialle left, they cautiously gathered around the princess.

They placed colorful scraps of fabric within her reach, and the princess began to pull at the threads and chew on them. The maids watched her and whispered among themselves.

“…When I heard the princess was going to be our young madam, I thought a very scary person would come,” one maid said.

“Right? I was worried that one wrong word from me and I’d be dragged off and killed,” another added.

Being young and nimble-fingered, the maids soon started to chat more freely.

Just then, the princess walked over to a pile of clothes and plopped down on top of them. These were mostly the servants’ clothes, freshly washed and waiting for minor repairs. The maids exchanged worried glances.

“Is that alright? The princess, or rather the young madam, lying there?” one whispered.

“We did wash them, but still, these are the clothes we wear…” another replied.

It was the first time they had seen a member of the royal family up close. Unsure of what to do, one brave maid approached carefully to check on the princess. Seeing her peaceful expression, she turned and whispered to the others.

“She seems comfortable. Well, with so many clothes piled up, it must be quite soft.”

Another maid, peering curiously, muttered, “Wow, her hair shines even more than silver thread.”

“But does she really can’t speak at all?” a maid cautiously asked.

A few maids who had been sitting quietly finally spoke up.

“Whether she can talk or not isn’t really the issue right now, is it?”

“Exactly. Normally, someone this ill wouldn’t be seen outside their home, especially not in a noble family. For commoners, it’s unthinkable.”

“But as a member of the royal family, she can become a young madam of House Cladnier without any problems. That’s just how the world works.”

The maids exchanged bitter smiles and sarcastic remarks until an awkward silence filled the workroom.

“Hold on, what you’re saying is a bit strange. Now that I think about it, you three are all new here,” one of the senior maids interjected.