Shock and Horror
One week had passed since the Trial by Combat between Marion and Richard. The duel had not changed a great many things. Yet the queen’s demeanor had shifted noticeably before and after the event, and many of the servants within Venterum Castle were taking Queen Richelle’s transformation in a positive light.
The queen had grown far more mature. She no longer found fault with the maids’ work, and her behavior had become considerably more cautious. Naturally, the number of times Virginia scolded her had decreased. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that she had not simply become more adult, but more feminine.
For the past week, the queen had not engaged in any martial training. That did not mean she had fallen into depression, lost all her vigor, or neglected state affairs. Queen Richelle was a monarch who knew how to separate public duty from private matters. She had simply stopped her combat training while continuing to handle government business as usual. And that was not all.
Queen Richelle, who had once loathed them so intensely, no longer refused to wear skirts. The maids had all been astonished at first, but now it had become routine. Virginia, who had longed for this very change, grumbled that it felt too unreal to accept.
The situation was not much different for Marion. After finishing all the administrative work for the County of Zad, she still had time left over even after extending her hand to the trivial chores of Venterum Castle. She had never imagined she would one day miss that hellish training.
Marion shook her head lightly. She had only just been freed from it; wishing to return to that training would be absurd. Whether Richard would resume the regimen someday was unknown, but for her to actually desire it was out of the question. She tried to shake off thoughts of training and called out to Herbert.
“Your Eminence?”
“Yes, Your Highness?”
“Is there nothing I can help with?”
He let out a dry chuckle.
“Unfortunately not. Not unless Your Highness becomes my subordinate.”
“I can’t say I’m particularly disappointed.”
“To be honest, neither am I.”
Herbert said this and buried himself once more in the mountain of documents. Marion turned her gaze toward the pile of papers Herbert was holding—reports awaiting Queen Richelle’s, or rather Richard’s, approval. He too seemed quite bored with the wait, though not as much as Marion.
She observed him carefully. Richard’s change was not limited to abandoning the martial training that had tormented Marion. He appeared to have lost all resistance to wearing dresses. Even now, the garments he wore were unmistakably feminine Edinian-style dresses, no less womanly than the ones he had worn during the trial. The outfit that had been shredded during the duel still required more time to repair properly.
However, Richard wore almost no makeup. No matter how docile and feminine he had become, applying the cosmetics that had triggered the Trial by Combat without hesitation would still provoke revulsion. His face bore only light foundation, but the bruises and swelling had mostly faded, leaving no unsightly traces.
“Prince Consort Marion?”
“Y-yes, Your Majesty?”
Marion answered with a start.
“Why are you staring at me so intently? Is there something strange about my face?”
“Not at all, Your Majesty. Please forgive my rudeness.”
“It’s fine. We’re husband and wife—what’s the harm in looking at each other’s faces?”
Richard spoke as if it were truly nothing. Marion could only nod and reply, “Yes.” Seeing her reaction, he added,
“Please bear with me for not wearing makeup. One week… one week still feels a little short to cool my anger. I don’t wish to see Kelly just yet.”
This had been the pattern for the entire past week. Something was terribly wrong. Richard no longer seemed like the same person at all. For Marion, it was suffocating. She could hardly ask him directly whether it was acceptable for him to face her like this.
There were few people she could even discuss the matter with. Unable to endure the frustration any longer, she left the queen’s office—though not without a polite farewell.
“Then I shall see you this evening, Your Majesty.”
“Very well. Shall we have dinner together?”
“Pardon? I’m sorry—did you say dinner together?”
She doubted her own ears. Richard looked puzzled and repeated himself. The words that left his mouth only bewildered her further.
“Why are you so startled? Have we not shared a single supper together since our marriage?”
Prince Leo stood before the office door and gave the royal guard a meaningful look. The guard announced loudly into the chamber.
“Your Majesty. His Highness Prince Leo has arrived.”
“Let him enter.”
Leo asked the guard,
“I’m sorry, but could you open the door for me? My hands are rather full.”
The guard, however, offered an awkward smile. Leo sighed and asked,
“Is the Chancellor inside?”
“He is.”
Though still young, Herbert was as stubborn as a sixty-year-old man. He reacted with extreme sensitivity to anything that disturbed the royal hierarchy, and even more so since the recent Trial by Combat. Even though Leo was a prince, he was technically nothing more than a mere secretary. One could only imagine the trouble that would follow if he ordered the royal guard stationed at the queen’s office to open the door.
While he debated whether to set the stack of reports on the floor and open the door himself, the door opened on its own. Of course, it had not truly opened by itself. Marion stepped out, and Leo, moving with the agility befitting Richard’s brother, avoided colliding with her.
“Prince Consort Marion?”
“Ah, Marion. It seems your work is finished.”
“Yes. Does Your Highness have reports to deliver?”
Leo found Marion’s gentle tone slightly repulsive. Of course, she still possessed delicate features, yet her appearance was now sufficiently masculine. He tried not to show his discomfort as he answered.
“Indeed. As always.”
“You must be busy. Though… for someone so busy, that seems like quite a large stack of reports?”
Marion had seen correctly. Most of Leo’s documents concerned the new firearms known as muskets and the iron cannons. But he could not reveal that either. No matter how much the North and Zylan served the same monarch, and no matter that the leader of the North and the Queen of Zylan were married, the two realms had not fully become one country. He gave a suitably vague reply.
“Military finances are always insufficient. Especially after a war.”
Fortunately, Marion seemed to accept the explanation and let it pass. She bid Leo farewell and left Richard’s office.
“Then I shall take my leave, Your Highness Prince Leo.”
“Farewell, Prince Consort Marion.”
Leo bowed to Marion and entered Richard’s office. As he moved to close the door, Marion called out to him.
“Ah, one moment, Prince Leo.”
“Yes?”
Marion hesitated slightly.
“After you finish your report to Her Majesty, could you spare me a little time to talk?”
“I’m not sure… The duties entrusted to me are rather heavy…”
Leo was not exaggerating. Though he was only a secretary, his status as a prince and his exceptional intellect had given him a significant role in the development of new weapons and the allocation of the military budget. And important roles naturally came with heavy workloads.
Seeing his worried expression, Marion said,
“It won’t take long. But it is an important matter.”
He had seen that look on her face before. Although her appearance had changed greatly, it was rare for the once-cold Marion to wear such a serious expression. It had to be something of considerable weight. He nodded.
“Very well.”
“Then I shall visit Your Highness’s quarters shortly.”
Leo was genuinely curious about what she wanted. But he had already delayed too long. From inside the office came Richard’s voice calling him.
“Leo?”
Fortunately, there was no irritation in his tone.
“You’re taking quite a while. Is something the matter?”
“Ah, no, brother. I’m coming in now.”
“These are the reports from the Polbury Royal Arsenal, brother.”
“…They must be quite important.”
“Yes, they are.”
Leo placed the thick bundle of documents on Richard’s desk and turned his gaze toward him. He was slightly startled. In the brief moment it had taken him to enter the office and set down the reports, Richard’s expression had changed to one of remarkable discomfort.
“Leave them there.”
“Yes, brother.”
Leo bowed and turned away, tilting his head in confusion. He could not understand why Richard looked so uneasy. It could not be because of the workload; Richard had always handled far more than this. Nor could it be the new tasks he had brought. The development of iron cannons and muskets was a project Richard was vigorously promoting. Then why?
Could it be because he had dawdled outside talking with Marion? That seemed unlikely. Although Richard’s personality was difficult to pin down, he was not a petty man. Leo gave an awkward smile. In some ways, the current Richard was truly, in his own fashion, impossible to read.
He was about to leave with that thought when a problem arose. Richard called out to him in an angry voice.
“Leo.”
“Yes.”
He turned back. Though Richard had called him in anger, his expression now looked calm. Leo was utterly bewildered. With a stiff face, he waited for Richard to speak.
Richard hesitated for a moment, then said,
“That… it feels a little strange for me to say this, but…”
“Please speak, brother.”
Richard’s face flushed red and he stammered. Leo had never seen Richard so uncertain. It was quite shocking. Richard had always been overflowing with confidence.
Richard continued,
“Could you… stop calling me ‘brother’?”
“Pardon?”
Leo was stunned. There had been a few occasions when the atmosphere had forced him to address Richard formally as the realm’s highest authority rather than with familial affection. Just last week had been one such time. But Richard’s current attitude was on an entirely different level—no, it was nothing short of shocking and horrifying.
Richard said,
“No matter how masculine I may be, ‘brother’ is a bit much, don’t you think?”