How to Prepare for a Marriage
Among the courtiers of the imperial palace, Cayena had acquired a new nickname.
Beast Tamer.
Though no one dared speak the irreverent moniker aloud, it spread in hushed whispers all the same. The fact that Cayena had managed to calm Rezef had left a profound impression on many. News of how she had shown mercy by tending to a maid even after suffering burns herself circulated just as widely.
The report reached Emperor Esteban’s ears in the blink of an eye. He watched his daughter with an inscrutable gaze as she set out handmade snacks.
“Is the preparation for your coming-of-age ceremony proceeding well?”
Cayena answered with calm composure.
“Thanks to Your Majesty’s gracious care, everything is moving forward without issue.”
How could there have been no issues?
In recent days Cayena had been poisoned and burned. Misfortune seemed to dog her steps, incident following incident without pause. Yet for all the turmoil surrounding her, the imperial palace itself remained tranquil. It was clear proof that Cayena was handling matters with wisdom.
The emperor studied her for a long moment, then gave a soft chuckle. He had once thought her utterly pathetic, yet it seemed his blood truly did run in her veins.
“A coming-of-age birthday comes only once in a lifetime. There must be many details that require special attention.”
The attendants waiting behind him stepped forward in a neat line and respectfully offered what they carried.
“It is rather late, but please make use of these.”
Banquets operated on a fixed budget. The original Cayena had poured a large share of that budget into her wardrobe, leaving the preparations somewhat strained. Knowing this, the emperor had supplemented her allowance with additional jewels.
Cayena rose at once and bowed deeply to her father.
“I shall never forget the grace you have shown me, Your Majesty.”
“This coming-of-age ceremony is an important occasion for you as well.”
As the emperor said, the ceremony carried genuine weight. It would be the first full-scale banquet held to find a suitable husband for the empire’s only princess, Cayena Hill.
“Is your body recovering?”
It was a question he would never have asked before. The emperor reflected that even a man as rigid as himself must be growing old.
“I need only continue applying the ointment.”
“The imperial family would not be shaken by dealing with a single house like the Benzemans.”
Cayena smiled quietly and spooned the pudding she had brought into a small crystal bowl. Had she truly intended to crush the Benzemans, he would surely have rebuked her for excessive severity.
“It is not overly sweet. Please try some.”
The snacks Cayena had prepared suited the emperor’s palate perfectly. Had anyone managed to please him so well of late?
He began to understand why that scoundrel Rezef had lately been obeying his sister’s words so readily.
“A maid may seem to you now like nothing more than a lowly servant who waits upon you, but properly managing such subordinates is a matter of great importance.”
He offered the advice for his daughter’s sake.
“Much like Chief Chamberlain Luden, you mean?”
Luden, standing nearby, smiled gently and inclined his head.
“You honor me.”
When he answered with such good-natured ease, the emperor laughed as well.
“Luden is the finest subject I have kept in all my life.”
“I will take Your Majesty’s words deeply to heart. As it happens, I have been considering taking on a few new maids, though I am uncertain how best to proceed.”
The emperor knew full well that every maid stationed in the princess’s palace answered to Rezef.
Until now he had paid the arrangement little mind, but the situation had changed. This was the first time Cayena had expressed a desire to gather her own people.
Yet even if she brings in newcomers, they will only fall into Rezef’s grasp.
The emperor set his silver spoon down.
One cannot expel people without proper justification.
In noble society, justification carried considerable weight. If one wielded power arbitrarily without it, no one would trust the imperial family. This was a problem she would have to solve herself.
Though the emperor now regarded his daughter with leniency, he did not cherish her enough to grant her special favor. Cayena understood this perfectly. Everything she did now was merely laying the foundation for future moves.
In any case, all the maids must be replaced.
There was a difference between signaling that she possessed such resolve and remaining silent. It would serve as a signpost for how she would act when the decisive moment arrived.
Cayena smiled as though she knew nothing. The wisdom permitted to her at this stage extended only this far. It was not yet time to reveal deeper insight.
Instead she chattered lightly about how she had made the pudding. Whether the information was useful to her listener mattered little. The true purpose was to plant in his subconscious the interests and activities that occupied Cayena these days. She behaved exactly like a girl who had only just begun to dream of marriage and family life.
The emperor’s elderly attendants watched with satisfaction as Cayena fulfilled her filial duties. Advanced in years themselves, they found it regrettable that the emperor—however cold a father he might be—was seldom visited by his children. Cayena made full use of that old-fashioned sentiment.
Chief Chamberlain Luden spoke to the emperor with careful subtlety.
“Once Her Highness marries and leaves the palace, you will surely feel lonely, Your Majesty.”
Cayena’s gaze shifted to Luden. He offered her the faintest smile and a quick wink.
It seems he means to lend me a hand.
She laughed softly to herself.
Emperor Esteban nodded at Luden’s remark.
“Indeed. Once she comes of age, marriage will not be far behind.”
Cayena feigned ignorance.
“Is there any need to hurry? It would be pleasant to remain at Your Majesty’s side a while longer and marry when the time is right.”
While a prince’s marriage concerned the direct line of succession, a princess’s marriage was all too easily used as a political tool. Luden smiled at Cayena for giving precisely the right answer and continued with polite deference.
“However, since Your Highness has no sisters, it will be difficult to receive guidance in preparing for married life.”
“Hmm…”
The emperor realized anew that there was no one to oversee Cayena’s marriage arrangements.
Originally she had possessed a nanny who could have managed such matters. Baroness Clarence Eliban had been that person, but long ago Rezef had sent her into exile on the pretext that she had deceived the imperial family. Afterward Rezef’s own nanny had cared for Cayena as well, yet because Cayena disliked her, that arrangement had ended quickly.
All the maids in the princess’s palace now are unmarried young noblewomen.
Noble daughters typically learned about married life from a nanny or a married chaperone before their own weddings. Cayena, however, had no one to fill that role.
“Now that I think of it, the princess’s palace does seem short on servants.”
“This is quite sufficient.”
Emperor Esteban clicked his tongue, thinking he had been too neglectful.
“Should we not secure a chaperone for you before the coming-of-age ceremony?”
In her first life she had held the ceremony without one. Rezef had suggested appointing his own nanny as chaperone, but Cayena had refused. The married imperial ladies had shown no interest in guiding the extravagant princess.
At that moment Luden spoke.
“If it is Baroness Clarence Eliban, she would tend to Her Highness’s marriage preparations as diligently as if they were for her own child.”
The attendants froze. Even Cayena paused, her hands stilling over the pudding bowl.
I never expected him to mention Lady Eliban so directly.
Baroness Eliban—milk-sister to the late empress and Cayena’s former nanny—was indeed the ideal chaperone.
Cayena recalled the childhood years when she had leaned on the baroness in place of her early-deceased mother.
“…I miss Lady Eliban.”
At her words the servants glanced nervously at the emperor. The decision to exile Baroness Eliban had been endorsed by both Rezef and the emperor. For reasons no one fully understood, the baroness had fallen from the emperor’s favor.
Time is truly merciless.
Esteban, who had only days left to live, had reflected on his life many times of late. In doing so he had learned to forgive what he once could not and to grieve what he once had not. His cold nature remained, yet he had grown far more lenient.
Luden had seen through that change and offered counsel that would benefit Cayena.
When she was small she resembled the empress greatly, but now I see traces of myself in her as well.
Cayena’s beauty came mostly from her mother. Yet the proud slant of her eyes and the brilliant blue irises that seemed almost frozen were exact replicas of Emperor Esteban’s own.
The emperor had no intention of replacing every maid in the princess’s palace for Cayena’s sake. Even so, recalling a single former nanny to the palace was a favor he was more than willing to grant.
“Lift the house arrest on Baroness Clarence Eliban.”
Cayena bowed at once.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
The emperor waved a hand.
“I must rest now.”
Cayena helped him settle into bed before leaving the chamber. Luden personally escorted her.
“Thank you, Luden.”
“Thanks to Your Highness, His Majesty’s mood has been excellent of late. How could I fail to assist you?”
Luden offered a relaxed smile.
To win over the emperor, I must first secure Luden’s goodwill.
Cayena beckoned to the maid waiting with a basket.
“I made plenty of pudding. Please share it with everyone.”
An attendant quickly accepted the basket.
“Thank you for your thoughtfulness, Your Highness.”
Cayena smiled brightly.
“The pleasure is mine.”
Indeed, not just anyone could earn the emperor’s favor. The cunning old raccoon Luden had recognized Cayena’s potential at once.
When the doorman opened the reception-room door, Cayena lifted the hem of her dress and stepped forward.
Yet her steps halted almost immediately. Her eyes had met those of Raphaelo, who sat waiting on a chair in the corridor.
…Rejecting five meeting requests in a row may have been rather harsh.
Even so, she had not expected him to come seeking her so openly. That Raphaelo Kedrey would come to her of his own accord—
Upon seeing Cayena, Raphaelo rose and offered a flawless court bow.
“Raphaelo Kedrey greets Your Highness the Princess.”
Cayena deliberately pretended ignorance.
“…It is good to see you, Lord Kedrey. Have you come to call on my father?”
“No.”
Raphaelo did not soften his words with courtesy.
“I came to see Your Highness.”