Chapter 206: Stevie’s Recollection 2
Chapter 206: Stevie’s Recollection 2
If it had been only me who was to serve as Prince Robin’s escort, I would have refused without question. But because Sister Lily was there, I accepted. Sister Lily had once served as Prince Robin’s night watch and had come to know his true nature then, so she said it would be all right. It was true that after Prince Robin recovered from his illness, there were rumors that he seemed like a different person. But rumors are only rumors, and it is common enough for them to leave one disappointed after one has trusted them.While I waited with Sister Lily for Prince Robin, he appeared quite normally. He raised no bizarre cries, nor did he act restless or suspicious. He was an entirely ordinary prince. For going out he wore clothes that would make him look like a wealthy commoner among ordinary people. I had heard that in the past, when he was dressed, he would undo the buttons the maids had just fastened, and that after they fastened them again he would undo them once more for amusement. But now he simply kept the buttons fastened in a perfectly ordinary way. And for some reason he was calm.
When we left the Rear Palace I wondered where we were going, only to learn it was the cathedral. Eeeeh!! Wasn’t that a bad idea? Sister Lily agreed, but the corner of her temple was twitching. She looked composed, yet wasn’t she panicking inside? Her worry was showing through, wasn’t it?
I remembered the anecdotes about the time Prince Robin went to the cathedral. He had gone with Lady Doreen, found the sermon boring, and poured the water from a pitcher that happened to be at hand over the priest. Or he had tried to climb the sacred statue, or had unfolded every folding chair and lined them up in the aisle — nothing but things whose amusement I could not understand.
None of the things I had worried about happened. While looking at Lord Robin’s back as he prayed fervently, Sister Lily and I had spoken every possible insult about him, yet he said nothing afterward. The way his back sometimes trembled must have meant he had heard the insults. Even so, he said nothing later. Even though his face had turned bright red.
After various events, I ended up being held by Robby-sama.
I never told anyone that I had been held by him, yet everyone noticed. The reasons given were "she became more womanly," "her manner toward people softened," "the rough edges thinned," "she gained composure," "she stopped being so nervous," "she no longer kept more distance from people than necessary," and so on. The one that made me happiest was being told "you became beautiful." The colleagues close to my age never said it, but the slightly older aunties praised me, and I was honestly glad. Still, does a woman normally change that much just from being held by a man?
Word that I had been held by Robby-sama reached Lady Doreen, and I began to be summoned by her from time to time. Lady Doreen was kind even to someone like me who stood at the very edge of the maids.
"Please think of me as a substitute for your mother. If Robby does anything that troubles you, tell me. I will scold him sternly from my side. I wanted a girl like you to keep company with Robby."
she said. In truth I only understood the meaning of those words after I learned that Robby-sama carried the nickname "Granny-killer." Apparently he had only kept company with older women, and Lady Doreen had been worried that he had no interest in young girls.
Strangely enough, I even came to be treated affectionately by the Queen herself. I think that was because I always accompanied her on her outside meals and attended to her front and rear. And because I was a maid who had been touched by Robby-sama’s hand. For some reason the Queen would summon me to her room and strictly instruct me in how to prepare tea, how to present the cup, how to drink, and how to clear away. All of it under the pretext of "so that no matter where Robin-sama goes, he will never be embarrassed." But that is surely the role of the woman who will become Robby-sama’s lawful wife. Even though Sister Lily and I were to accompany Robby-sama to the Mainz Kingdom, as long as Sister Lily was there I did not think there would be any stage for me to appear on.