"My name is Rishe Irmgard Weitzner. I'm honored to make Your Highness's acquaintance."
"I am Kyle Morgan Cleverly."
Kyle knelt fluidly before Rishe. It was a perfect display, as if he were a knight instead of a prince. His eyes lowered, and the light shone through his eyelashes as if they were sculpted from ice.
While down on his knee, Kyle spoke without a hint of self-consciousness. "Your beauty is like that of a goddess."
Goodness me…
Looking up at her with an earnest gaze, Kyle went on, "I'm delighted to meet you. I pray you forgive my rudeness at daring to speak in your divine presence. I had assumed that His Highness Prince Arnold's fiancée would be beautiful, but how was I to imagine a woman of such exquisite grace?"
O-ohh… That's right.
"All the gold my country boasts could not possibly compare to your radiance, Lady Rishe. Even flowers in bloom would be ashamed of the poor display they make against your splendor."
Forcing a straight face, Rishe recalled an important aspect of Coyolles culture: Men practically worshipped women. This etiquette was pushed from their youth. If a man spotted a woman in Coyolles trying to walk down a muddy path, he would drop whatever he was doing and escort her to her destination in a gentlemanly manner. The higher the status of a man in Coyolles, the more he practiced this behavior.
I'd heard it was all for the harmony of the household. They spend long winters trapped in close quarters, but…wow.
As this was merely the custom, Kyle had no ulterior motives for complimenting her in such a way. However, as a man known for his diligence, he delivered these compliments with such fervent sincerity that he'd largely convinced ladies on the other end he meant every word.
"I hardly deserve such praise, Your Highness." Rishe smiled and let the compliments go in one ear and out the other. She had other things to focus on.
Prince Kyle is so pale!
Her heart sank as she looked down at the man kneeling before her.
I mean, he's always pale, but now he's almost blue. His index nail is cracked all the way to the skin. Even his inner eyelids have a ghastly pallor! His posture is lacking, and his voice is quieter than usual as well.
She quickly calculated the nutrients and medicines necessary to treat the prince's current condition. During all this, Kyle continued to extol her.
"Your bride is beautiful down to her very fingertips. It's as if she's dripping with gems."
"Oh!" Rishe exclaimed. "Thank you! We'll be manufacturing this nail polish here in Galkhein in the future. I hope it makes it to Coyolles as well! Say, Prince Arnol—"
"…"
Rishe glanced at her fiancé and was shocked by the ice in his eyes as he looked down at Kyle.
Huh?! Did I miss something?
The look on Arnold's face was so cold it could have sent a bystander running in fright. There had to have been some crucial clue in Kyle and Rishe's conversation just now.
Before Kyle noticed, she reached out and tugged on Arnold's sleeve. "Your Highness…"
"Yes?"
His expression softened somewhat, and he addressed Kyle once more. "That's enough pleasantries. Please, sit. Relax. Make yourself at home."
"I graciously accept. Lady Rishe, please do excuse any impropriety on my part in the face of a divine beauty such as yourself."
"Don't be ridiculous. For that matter, I am not yet a member of the royal family. Do not feel you have to treat me with any overabundance of courtesy."
After that, they were finally able to sit and chat. When the conversation began in earnest, Arnold displayed the usual surliness without a hint of his earlier chill. They spoke for a good half an hour without Kyle's intentions becoming any clearer.
"We'll have a servant escort you to your room. I do hope you recover fast from your exhausting journey here."
"I appreciate your concern. I'm thankful for the opportunity to rest."
Rishe and Arnold stayed behind after Kyle left the room. Rishe leaned back in her seat and took a deep breath, tired after the tumultuous downpour of social pleasantries. Being alone with Arnold helped her regain some of her equilibrium—although this comfort struck her as odd.
"Did you learn anything from that, Prince Arnold?"
"Not at all. He only brought up safe subjects. I have no idea what he's doing here."
"Huh? Then why were you looking at him like you were trying to murder him with your eyes?"
Arnold brought a hand to his chin, completely indifferent to Rishe's surprise.
"More importantly, it seems Kyle's brought a couple of scholars with him from Coyolles. There will be an information exchange between them and some of our own. Would you like to attend?"
Rishe perked up at the unexpected opportunity. "You wouldn't mind?"
"We're entertaining him, so we might as well get something out of it."
"He is here to congratulate us, at least ostensibly. I'd like to be there, though. Oh, and I've heard that His Highness is sickly. I have some medicine for him to try."
Rishe hadn't expected to see him now, but Kyle had been invited to their wedding. She had the cure to his illness prepared to give to him whenever he was here. She knew all the medicinal herbs required for his recovery by heart.
"If the scholars from Coyolles can verify my methods, then I won't have to sneak it into his food."
"…What?"
"Well, if I just handed him some medicine, would he take it? He'd be suspicious."
In her non-apothecary lives, Rishe had sent anonymous letters informing her former master of the medicine that would cure Kyle. The ambitious woman would do anything in the name of research, so despite how suspicious Rishe's letters had been, she had followed the instructions regardless.
"I'd like him to start taking the medicine sooner rather than later—adding it to his food just seemed expedient."
Arnold frowned.
"Just…kidding?"
"That doesn't sound like a joke, coming from you."
Arnold had said something very similar once before. In truth, Rishe was half-serious, but she decided to stay quiet about that.
"In any case, brace for the next annoyance tomorrow. We're holding a welcome party for Kyle. As much as I would love to skip it, we'll have to attend."
"Right. I'll be ready."
"The best way to let Kyle and Lawvine meet naturally will be at the party. I'm sure Kyle will catch on to our warning and handle it diplomatically… Hey, what's with that look?"
Arnold frowned, seeing Rishe stiffen with surprise. But her promise to Theodore left her unable to reveal her inner turmoil.
If Lord Lawvine comes to the party…
It was perfectly reasonable for him to come, but Rishe still broke out into a cold sweat. The count's attendance would make interacting with him unavoidable.
He'll find out that I'm Lucius!
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