Chapter 56

This is a short story in two parts. I tried writing with Via as the main character after a long time.

The season to stay at the summer palace, Stefania, has arrived.

Stefania is located in the Retania Highlands, about half a day's carriage ride from the capital, and is a palace that remains cool even in summer due to its high altitude and is rich in nature.

For about three years now, it has become customary for the imperial family (and the accompanying nobles) to spend about ten days at Stefania every summer, and Via has always looked forward to this vacation.

The children run around the vast meadows, and sometimes they spread a large cloth on the meadow to enjoy outdoor lunches and tea.

Liberated from the formal life in the palace, Via warmly welcomed this small trip where she could be in touch with nature, but to be honest, there was one thing that Via was dissatisfied with.

When they came to Retania, Alex would go hunting or on long rides with his attendants, leaving Via behind.

Of course, Via knew that hunting was an important social event for the nobles. For the royal and noble families who would lead the army in battle, hunting was an unparalleled opportunity to hone their martial skills, and showing off their hunting techniques by skillfully riding horses was probably necessary for the men.

Moreover, it was the important duty of the noblewomen to welcome the men who returned from hunting, dressed up, and to entertain them at the banquet set up outdoors.

They prepared an abundance of wine and dishes under the trees, and held a grand banquet under the pleasant breeze.

The animals hunted were bled by the servants, and the men were served wine, while the musicians played music.

Under the clear blue sky, beautifully arranged dishes were brought one after another, and the nobles chatted and enjoyed their meals with wine in hand.

The meals at such informal settings tasted especially delicious, and Via enjoyed the banquet while entertaining the men who returned from hunting.

...She enjoyed it, but Via wanted to spend some time alone with Alex, even if it was just for a short while.

Walking along the paths in the woods together would be nice, or enjoying tea on a bench in the garden while feeling the refreshing breeze would also be good.

Via wanted to create memories with Alex at the summer palace Stefania.

The problem, she sighed, was that she couldn't ride a horse.

Her close lady friends went on rides with their husbands, and some very skilled riders even went hunting.

Because she couldn't do that, Via was left behind by her husband.

In Unchease, riding was a hobby for noblewomen, and it was rare for a noblewoman not to be able to ride.

A queen who couldn't ride a horse was unheard of in Unchease, and it could be said to be unprecedented.

This was a significant source of inferiority for Via, but since the emperor, the imperial prince, the guard knights, and the emperor's attendants all told her not to ride, she had no way to practice.

"If I'm going to be recorded in history as the first queen in Unchease who can't ride a horse," she lamented to her guard Camie, who replied seriously, "I don't think it will be written that way."

Via knew that, of course. She just wanted to vent a little.

Unable to give up on the dream of riding with Alex, she consulted the emperor's attendants, and Gruuk bluntly told her, "I think you should give up on such ambitions."

Amon, on the other hand, said with a changed expression, "If something happens to you, the country will be in danger," and Louis even said, "I heard that you were even rejected by the princess-worshiping Celta," with a face that seemed about to burst out laughing.

Indeed, Celta had rejected her.

When she asked lightly, "Would you accompany me if the emperor allows it?" he made a very unpleasant face and said, "I'd rather teach a pig to ride a horse than accompany the emperor."

While it was true that she had caused him a lot of worry by falling off a horse in front of him before, did he have to say that much? Via pouted.

He used to be a shy boy who clung to the back of her dress, but when did he change so much?

Well, joining the knights was certainly the turning point.

And from what Via could see, one of the reasons was Caine Carceus, Celta's best friend, whom she secretly suspected.

Caine, the heir of the Carceus family, is a well-balanced boy who has about eighty percent of Louis' good nature, Amon's knightly skills, and Gruuk's intelligence.

He is mischievous but reliable and a trustable optimist. That's the impression Via has of him.

Caine is a sharp boy, and when he was introduced to Celta once, he readily agreed to Via's request to secretly tell her about Celta.

Since then, he has been very helpful by telling her about Celta's mischievous behavior at the knight school that she didn't know about.

To Via, Celta is still a small and cute little brother.

He is good-looking, has good blood, and she worries if he might be lured by a strange woman, but he says, "I don't think so," while telling her about his views on love.

He apparently often says that he prefers a woman without ambition and that he doesn't consider women with fiancés or husbands as potential partners.

As an imperial prince, he might be a bit tired of women who approach him for his status and blood.

When Via thought about what to do, for some reason, he said, "Oh, I already taught him how to make children," and Via was taken aback.

He is a boy who surprises her in many ways.

On the fifth day at Stefania, Alex went on another ride with his attendants, and the children went out to play with their nurses, leaving Via with some rare alone time.

Actually, there was something Via wanted to do while staying at the Stefania Palace.

She wanted to give something matching to Alex's siblings, who had gathered for the upcoming family meeting.

The idea for the family meeting came when she learned that her sister-in-law, Sedia, was having a hard time in Sies. After much effort, she managed to call Sedia back, and after her debut and her own childbirth, Via wrote to her two sister-in-laws in Securt.

Since they were married to people from different countries, they couldn't meet just because they wanted to. The royal family of Unchease was also busy until Sedia's wedding, so Via proposed to meet in September or October, avoiding the hot summer months.

Since they were coming back to their hometown, she wanted to give them something memorable. But jewels were too common. While looking for something good, one of her maids told her about the recently popular glass crafts.

There were variously designed vases and wine glasses, as well as glass crafts shaped like animals, flowers, and trees.

Hearing that the glass reflected light beautifully, Via decided to call the merchant to the Stefania Palace to check the items.

Assisting the queen in such shopping is also part of the duties of her chamber maids.

So, at the moment, seven maids, including the head maid, Mrs. Renal, were waiting by the queen's side.

Incidentally, these maids were all noble ladies of good standing.

When she was a concubine, there were also unmarried young ladies like Eimi, but now all the women around Via were married. She wanted to be served by trustworthy women for a long time, so she arranged it that way.

Moreover, the position of queen's maid was very popular among young ladies about to get married, so if she recruited carelessly, it would be a big problem.

In fact, the three young ladies who served her when she was a concubine all ended up with what were called "golden marriages."

The first was Eimi Larandada, who, despite not being from a particularly high-ranking family and being of a late age, was chosen by a high-ranking nobleman in Unchease six months after Via became queen. She later gave birth to a boy and a girl and is now the nurse of the second princess, Fioradite.

The other two unmarried maids also married into good noble families, and Via herself was surprised at the coincidences.

When the nobles learned of this, they launched a fierce campaign to get their daughters into the queen's service.

...It was not easy for the ones on the receiving end.

Therefore, all unmarried women were politely declined.

She would not refuse to take a maid with exceptional circumstances, but such exceptional circumstances were not so common.

Soon, one of the attendants announced the arrival of the merchant, and the queen, who had been chatting, turned her eyes towards the door, putting on a refined air.

Unlike the palace, the summer palace allowed for a certain degree of freedom, so it was possible to invite a merchant directly into the room.

To prepare for any unforeseen events, the guard knight Camie was on standby inside the room, but the merchant's background had been thoroughly investigated, and a body search had been conducted.

Incidentally, a background report had also been delivered to the queen, but Via did not bother to read it.

Since she had no acquaintances anyway, she thought that as long as the merchant had a reliable background, it was fine.

But, there was one. A rather unbelievable acquaintance.

"This is Claius Helg of the Helg Trading Company, which deals in a wide range of glass crafts.

I have heard that he has a keen eye, and the glass crafts he handles are favored by the royal family of Sies and the influential nobles of Galantia."

Claius Helg?

Via, who had a vague sense of familiarity with the name introduced by the maid, couldn't help but look directly at the young man, and the moment their eyes met, she regretted it.

Why is this person here!?

On the other hand, Helg was staring at Via with a stunned look.

Normally, he should have lowered his head in respect and not made eye contact, but it seemed that such common sense had flown out of his head. He was just frozen, staring at Via.

Via felt her legs go weak, but there was another person who reacted to the name.

It was Camie, who was on guard at the scene.

That young man from the merchant family in Toua... Camie almost clicked his tongue.

When Via was a governess in a quasi-noble family in Toua, Claius, the heir of the Helg family, fell in love at first sight and proposed to her.

Because of this, Via was forced to go into hiding, and the name of that troublesome young man was still lingering in the back of Camie's mind.

On the other hand, the maids who were waiting by the queen's side began to exchange suspicious glances, noticing the merchant's frozen, wide-eyed state.

Incidentally, the maids knew that Via had once gone down to the common people.

The emperor had decided to give them some information about her convalescence at the time, as there were many unnatural points that would be questioned, and it would be better for the queen's protection.

However, they were not given detailed information about her disappearance, so the maids did not know Helg's name.

Noticing the commotion in the room, Camie interjected in a stern voice.

"Your behavior is disrespectful to Her Majesty. Bow your head!"

The stern reprimand finally brought Helg back to his senses, and he hurriedly prostrated himself.

"I am deeply sorry! I couldn't help but stare at Her Majesty because she is the spitting image of my fiancée, who went missing!"

She's not my fiancée! Via screamed in her heart.

Well, her employer might have accepted the proposal without her knowing, so it might have been conveyed to him as a fiancé, but Via was not convinced.

Oh, I had a terrible time back then... Via reflected on the past once again.

Via was a governess at the Agashi family, a quasi-noble family, where a sixty-something lady was raising her granddaughter after losing her son and daughter-in-law in an accident.

The job of a governess is a position that guarantees a certain status, but if the employer is a middle-aged man, there is a rare chance that he might take advantage of the young governess, so Via thought that the Agashi family was chosen for that reason.

It seemed that the lady's character had been investigated, and indeed, the lady of the house, Mrs. Agashi, was a very kind and gentle person, and Via had no complaints.

However, because Claius fell in love with Via at first sight, her fate took a strange turn.

Claius, the heir of a large merchant family, was not only talented in business (after all, he was later called to the queen's summer palace), but also had a good appearance and a gentle personality. When the lady of the house learned that he was infatuated with Via, she began to aggressively pursue the match.

Her intentions were good.

Worried about the orphaned Via, the lady of the house thought that "marrying into a good family is a woman's happiness" and accepted the proposal from the Helg family, leaving Via in a difficult position.

Finally, Via had to leave the house in the middle of the night, and after many twists and turns, she ended up where she is now.

On the other hand, the maids were slightly frowning at Helg's words.

"A woman who looks like Her Majesty?"

And they shook their heads, as if it were impossible.

"Surely not. I cannot imagine there being another woman like Her Majesty in the world."

In a way, they were right.

Because it was her.

Facing the prostrate Helg, Via made up her mind. Now that it had come to this, she had no choice but to deny it.

After all, if it were known that the queen once called an old lady of a quasi-noble family "madam," it would not be good for her position.

Helg's fiancée had gone missing and was still missing, so that was the final decision!