Chapter 5: The Riding Grounds

 

 

 

Chapter 5: The Riding Grounds

 

EACH time Amy pinched the back of her hand, she hoped she wouldn’t feel any pain, just so she could prove this was all a dream. But that moment never came—her hand just started to sting.

A carriage from the royal family had come to the Northland house to get them and was now quietly shepherding them to the riding grounds of the royal palace.

Dressed in her freshly made navy-blue riding dress, Amy squeezed her hands together on her lap, looked around the extravagant interior of the carriage, and let out a sigh like the grumble of a complaining cat.

“Mom… I’ve gained weight, haven’t I?”

“Of course. You’re very plump and cute, dear.”

Her mother, sitting beside her, tried to drive the point home by pinching her round cheeks, but Amy looked up with tears in her eyes. She didn’t need reassurance—she was looking for an explanation.

The whole reason Amy had intentionally put on weight was to provide a neutral, blameless reason for her to be removed as a contender to marry the Third Prince… Although, ever since realizing that increasing her weight also stabilized her magical powers, Amy wasn’t sure if the prince was her primary motivation anymore.

“But there were loads of skinny, beautiful girls at the tea party! I had assumed today was going to be a group outing, but I was the only one invited…”

The royal palace had even sent a messenger to personally carry the written invitation all the way to the Northlands’ house. The arrival of such an unusual visitor had even shaken up Claude, the ever-stalwart, composed butler of the Northland family.

When Amy had asked how many other people had been invited, the messenger smiled and told her, “Only you, my lady!” It was a wonder she didn’t fall over right then and there.

“Could the prince prefer bigger girls…? Like a chubby cha—youch!”

Isabelle started pulling at both of her cheeks midsentence and shut down her suspicion with her best smile.

“Scandalous, Amy! I have many friends in the castle, but none of them have ever said anything like that. And anyway, if I knew he liked chubby girls, I would never have suggested you put on weight.”

Amy nodded, knowing that was true.

“Then why is this happening?”

“Probably because you answered him with a yes.”

Amy had no idea she was accepting anything at the time, much less that he was extending an invitation! She thought they were exchanging parting pleasantries. But the more she thought about it, the more she wondered if he had just offered to be polite… It was very possible he considered her a huge pain in the neck because her thoughtless acceptance meant he had to follow through with his offer.

With hindsight, Amy now keenly understood the advice she had been given so many times before—that when interacting with others in society, she had to be very careful with what she said in casual conversation, even though she was a child.

“Cheer up, Amy,” Isabelle said with a sigh. “You have a cute new riding dress, and you get to see horses! Don’t you like horses? Grandpa would always give you rides on his horse, remember? Besides, you were fine talking to the prince at the tea party. It’ll be all right.”

“But that was because we only talked about animals last time…”

“Then just do that today, too!”

“I hope I can, but…”

Amy looked very reluctant. Isabelle gently stroked her cheeks and then drew back the curtain hanging over the small window of the carriage. Quickly glancing outside, she mimicked the tenor of a train conductor from their previous lives.

“This, uh…this carriage is approaching its final stop! We will soon be arriving at Royal Castle Riding Grounds Station! Make sure to leave your belongings! No, no, wait, even better!” Isabelle suddenly changed tactics. “A wise princess once said, ‘Courage need not be forgotten, for it is never remembered’!”

“I can’t believe you got both of those references wrong!” Amy laughed, finally cracking a smile.

Joking around almost made it feel like this was just a normal outing. When the coachman stopped the carriage and placed his hand on their door, all he could hear from inside was the sounds of their laughter.

But the one who opened their door with a grin was not the coachman but the Third Prince himself! Amy immediately clammed up again.

“Y-Your Highness,” she stammered.

“Welcome back. But please do call me Ed.”

“Th-Thank you for inviting me today, Ed…”

When Edward, still smiling, extended his hand to help her out of the carriage, it didn’t feel like he was doing it out of begrudging politeness or obligation at all.

…Could he genuinely have wanted to invite me?

As questions swirled around her head, she was led out of the carriage a little awkwardly by the prince. After she had descended, one of the knights serving as the prince’s guard helped Isabelle out while Amy exchanged brief pleasantries with Edward’s other guard, who was waiting for them, and the maids she had met at the tea party.

Unlike the day of the tea party, the sky was covered with thin clouds, but it was actually easier to be outdoors without needing a parasol to block the light.

The carriage had been parked right in front of the expansive riding grounds, in the back of which was a large stable. Several horses had been taken out inside the fenced area. They were either being attended to or casually walking around.

“It’s wonderful…!”

As expected, both the facilities and the horses were exceptionally fine. Her eyes were so glued to every magnificent detail, Amy forgot that the prince was still holding her hand.

“That black horse in the back is Ventus.”

He led her closer to the fencing and raised his other hand slightly. The black horse noticed it before his caretaker did and started happily trotting over.

Amy’s heart sped up as Ventus approached, his legs moving gracefully. Now that she saw him up close, she noticed he wasn’t exactly black—he was seal brown, a shade of brown so dark that it often appeared black from afar.

The caretaker finally caught up, and both he and the horse were introduced to Amy from the other side of the fence.

“This is the stable master, Marvin Douglas. Marvin, this is the Countess of Northland and her daughter, Lady Amy.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Douglas.”

Mr. Douglas was an elderly man with pure white hair and a white beard. Far from frail, however, his solid frame and the way he held Ventus’s bridle exuded strength and control. His hair color and age reminded Amy so much of her grandfather that she gave him a rare natural smile during their introductions.

“Please call me Marvin. I’d heard you liked horses and was really looking forward to meeting you. Now let me introduce you to Ventus, too. Ventus, come,” he ordered.

Ventus, who was stretching his neck over the fence toward Edward and lightly bobbing his head, looked very intelligent. Amy could also easily see from the state of his beautiful shiny black coat that he was being very well taken care of.

She was surprised. The way Edward was looking at Ventus and petting his snout appreciatively reminded her of how she behaved with Tigger.

Amy jumped in surprise when Ventus met her gaze, his eyes framed by long eyelashes. Why are animal eyes so captivating…? she wondered.

There were many types of magic in this world, but she had never heard of any that let people talk to animals. It was such a shame. Her heart practically sang at the thought of how wonderful it would be to converse with animals.

Nevertheless, he is a really beautiful horse.

As Edward petted the strong and wise animal, Ventus’s eyes nearly closed, absolutely content. Edward looked totally relaxed, too, and Amy started to understand that this was a relationship of not only trust but genuine love.

“He’s so cute…”

“Do you want to try petting him?”

“A-Are you sure? Uh, okay, then… Ventus, may I?”

As Marvin recommended, Amy slowly approached the horse as she introduced herself. When she touched him, his coat felt smooth and velvety. She stretched her arm and petted him around his neck, which was warm, muscular, and limber. It was different from Tigger’s soft, fluffy, heavy fur, but they both felt very nice.

Ventus looked like he was enjoying her gentle pets, too; he was breathing heavily from his nose, lightly blowing on Amy’s face with each exhale.

“That tickles!” she giggled.

“Why, you two seem to have become fast friends!” said Marvin. “If you’re that comfortable around horses, why don’t you hop on?”

“Oh,” chimed in Isabelle quickly. “Unfortunately, my daughter can’t ride on her own yet.”

“Then she can ride with me,” Edward suggested happily.

“Wha…?!” Amy’s mouth fell open in shock, but because she was still so close to Ventus, she protested in a whisper. “N-No, Ed, you don’t have to—”

“I’m very good at horseback riding,” the prince continued, smiling. “Riding with someone won’t be a problem at all for me.”

“His Highness is so skilled, he can even ride bareback,” Marvin added helpfully. “There’s no need to worry.”

“Wow, that’s amazing!” Isabelle gasped.

“M-Mother!”

I think so, too, but that’s not the issue here!

Amy’s complexion seesawed from red to white as she stammered and pulled at her mother’s sleeve. The stable master smiled at the two ladies and then cheerfully tossed Amy a lifeline.

“Well, even though you don’t have to worry about his riding skill, His Highness may not be used to riding with another passenger. Lady Amy will have to pardon this old geezer for the presumption that I may be her riding partner for the day, instead.”

“Indeed!” chirped Isabelle. “Amy always rode horses with her grandfather, so she’d probably be more accustomed to that arrangement.”

From the way Isabelle and Marvin laughed with each other, it was almost as if this had been their plan from the start. Amy breathed a sigh of relief.

Edward was the only one who looked a little disappointed, but when another horse for Amy was brought over, her attention was totally distracted by the new arrival, a light-brown female horse named Fente. Amy was very appreciative when she heard this one was so gentle, she had recently been used by Princess Florence for riding practice.

Amy whispered to Marvin in secret that she was worried about putting her weight on the horse, but he just smiled and told her it would be totally fine. It would be just as strenuous as placing a baby kitten on her back.

Amy wasn’t too sure about that, but it did help ease her worries. She still mentally apologized to Fente for being so heavy when she got on the saddle, though.

After Amy waved to her mother, who was going to wait for them back at the stables, they left the riding grounds and headed toward a walking trail. Marvin guided Fente to walk beside Edward and Ventus.

A wild, natural landscape expanded beyond the well-maintained road. From their high perspectives on their horses, the stunning view made Amy’s spirits soar.

Neither Edward nor Marvin could help but to smile at Amy as her golden eyes darted here and there, sparkling in genuine wonder, and she occasionally petted dear Fente’s back.

They had almost reached the halfway point of the trail, their conversation thus far on neutral and mundane topics, when the prince said those fateful words, spoken so casually, that shattered Amy’s tranquility.

“So, I want to talk to you about the fiancée candidate thing…”

Amy’s mouth clamped shut. Her heart stuttered in panic as the conversation she most desperately wanted to avoid was tossed at her so suddenly.

If she had been holding the reins, her reaction might have thrown Fente into a panic. Luckily, however, Marvin was so unperturbed it was as if he had suddenly become deaf.

“I may be off base, but I get the sense you think it’s a little too early to be talking about marriage.”

To Amy’s ears, it sounded like he didn’t want to move forward with the engagement, either. Her breath evening out, Amy nodded fervently.

“Th-That’s right… And also, my mind’s pretty preoccupied with Tigger at the moment,” Amy lied in a quiet voice. The real reason for her reluctance was that otome game. She couldn’t exactly tell him that, of course, but she hadn’t told him lies either. Amy’s whole world was Tigger right now, and she did think she was too young for marriage.

In this world, Amy was only ten years old. At that age, she would’ve still been in elementary school in her previous life, and in the last memories she had of that life, she had only been in high school—far too young for marriage. Even if early marriages were the accepted practice here, that didn’t change the way she felt.

Amy, who had stared at the ground as she spoke, couldn’t tell how Edward was reacting.

“I thought so.”

She was relieved. His voice, at least, had not changed. It sounded neither angry nor disappointed nor overjoyed.

“But to be honest with you, you were the only one I enjoyed talking to at the tea party.”

“What?!”

“The other ladies didn’t seem to be all that interested in animals.”

“Oh, so that’s why…”

Amy finally relaxed her shoulders and looked up. Her unabashed relief caused Marvin to secretly smile to himself.

“So how about—for now—we become friends, instead?” the prince proposed.

“F-Friends?”

“Yes. I’ll start going to school next year, but unfortunately my only close friend is Alec. That made me realize that we could talk about animals, but we could also talk about what you’ve heard about the school from Harold.”

Friends… If she wanted to completely rid herself of her worries about the game, it would be best not to have any interaction or contact with him whatsoever.

Amy knew that very well. But…

“Um… There really wasn’t anyone else you liked at the tea party?”

“No one. Even if they did have a cat or dog, they just looked bored when I tried talking about their food or care,” Edward said, smiling but looking a little embarrassed.

Amy pressed her lips together.

Edward loved animals. That much was clear from their conversations and how he treated Ventus.

She wasn’t going to quote Harold exactly, but there was some truth to his argument about his girlfriends. It was fun discussing things you enjoyed.

But Edward said he didn’t have anyone to talk about these things with…

Alexander was the prince’s friend and the son of the notorious cat-loving duchess, but he didn’t seem to have that great of an interest in animals. Other ladies would probably try to keep up with the conversation if Edward asked them to, but it wouldn’t be enjoyable for either party if it was forced.

Amy couldn’t immediately refuse his offer.

“But…I—”

“I couldn’t ask this of anyone else.”

Edward’s quick response cut through her confusion, and she could almost physically feel the sincerity in his voice.

As long as it’s just talking about animals and my brother’s stories from school…it should be all right…I hope.

Her conversations with the prince had been interesting. He even took care of his own horse, instead of leaving everything to the caretakers… Plus, he had such a gentle manner and tone of voice, she had never felt scared around him.

As she debated internally, she looked down and saw her chubby hands.

If he just thought of her as someone to talk to—not a fiancée candidate—it wouldn’t make a difference to him if she were fat or skinny. That’s probably what all this was about in the first place, she realized.

Then, when he would go off to school the following year, he’d probably be able to make friends right away. Amy was sure he’d choose a proper fiancée then.

That would be the expiration date for their friendship.

As soon as she thought this, her heart felt strangely unsettled. She had never before experienced the feeling of anxiety and dissatisfaction mixed into one.

The prince waited patiently as Amy remained silent. Only the rhythmic clomping of the horses’ hooves reverberated around them for a while.

“I don’t, um… I think that’s okay.”

Of course, just as Amy had opened her mouth to refuse him, the exact opposite answer had come out!

“Really?! Well…thank you! Now that we’re friends, may I call you by your name?”

“Huh? Oh, uh, s-sure.”

Huh?! What—what did I just say?! Wait, scratch that!

While she sat there, taken aback at herself, Edward whispered Amy’s name a few times, as if getting used to the feel of saying it, and gave her a dazzling smile.

That smile didn’t have a shadow of sadness anywhere.

“Well, Amy, we’ll go left at the next fork. There’s a stream down that way.”

“O-Okay.”

“I really hope you’ll be able to talk to me just like a normal person.”

Am I supposed to act all chummy with the prince right away?!

Amy was shocked at how quickly everything had changed, but Edward looked really happy… Once she saw his first genuine smile, she just couldn’t bring herself to take back what she’d said.

However, if they were going to talk as “friends,” they would talk about mutual interests only—animals, Alexander, and whatever tidbits about school she happened to hear from her brother. That was it.

These conversations were safe. They wouldn’t require any mental calculations or vigilance on Amy’s end, and they would never spiral into other topics.

Plus, if she thought about it, she was worried that rejecting his offer would only leave his opinion of her stained. With a casual friendship that would naturally grow apart when the prince got busy with school, they’d probably just become strangers with fond memories of each other.

And with a relationship like that, even if Amy did get into any trouble from the bad ending, she might be spared from receiving inordinately cruel treatment… But it didn’t take long for Amy to put a stop to that train of thought. She felt ashamed for thinking of Edward in such a calculating way when he was offering her genuine friendship.

But she still couldn’t stop the game’s opening screen or the “otome game villainess” novels from sneaking into her mind…

A little time later, when they had fallen back into familiar, casual conversation, Edward asked, “Do you have plans to get any more cats?”

“I do not— Uh, I mean…nuh-uh.” It was quite difficult trying to talk to him casually, but every time she spoke semi-respectfully, he would get a sad look on his face, so she’d correct herself midsentence. “However—uh, I mean…but Tigger only just started living with me. I think I will someday, though.”

She loved animals—she loved cats. So Amy wanted to give her cats the best care possible. She would welcome getting more naturally down the road, like the spontaneous way she met Tigger, but she didn’t want more just to start a collection.

Amy stared off into the distance, remembering Tigger, who waited for her again at home. He was quite used to her parents by now but still shy of the house servants.

As soon as I get home, I’ll give you lots of pets! Amy promised in her head.

“These days, I just always want to be with Tigger.”

“I understand that feeling. You really like him, don’t you?”

There must just be some things only animal lovers can understand.

“Yes, I love him!” Amy affirmed with an innocent smile, her whole face lighting up. It was the widest smile Edward had seen her make since their first meeting. He was momentarily struck speechless.

There had been so many other cats at the Coverdale house, and they had all been cute. Although she couldn’t bear to compare cats against one another, Amy herself had no idea why she had been so taken with Tigger.

Even when they were apart, the very thought of him warmed her heart and made her smile. Her mother would tease her that she must have fallen in love…but with a cat instead of a boy.

“I knew Tigger was special from the beginning… I just love him so much.”

“I-I see.”

“Ed? Your face is red… Are you hot?”

“N-No, I’m fine! I just got startled by something, you know, and th-that’s not very good for your heart, and…”

Amy couldn’t hear what he mumbled after that. He said he was fine, but Amy thought it might be better if they traded places, so he could ride under the shade.

She suggested the idea to him, but he just repeated that he was fine, which made Marvin laugh.

“My word, aren’t you adorable?” Marvin asked Amy, laughing.

“The adorable one is Fente!” Amy protested. “Just look at those long eyelashes! What a beautiful little lady!”

Marvin laughed again. “I think you’ve lost to a horse, Your Highness.”

“…Marvin.”

With a strange expression on his face, Edward looked forward. He seemed to have calmed down a bit, although the tops of his ears were still red. If he could return to normal so quickly, Amy figured he must really be okay.

As if Fente knew she had been complimented, her gait became even lighter. As Amy petted the smooth base of Fente’s neck, wondering if it would upset the horse if she braided her mane, Marvin suddenly pulled on the reins.

When she looked back, not sure why they had stopped so quietly and abruptly, she saw Marvin staring into the depths of the forest trail, his seriousness a stark contrast to his previous joviality.

Edward noticed immediately from his reaction that it wasn’t something trivial.

“What’s wrong?”

“A cry came from over there, Your Highness.”

Marvin put an index finger to his lips, motioning for them to be silent. Amy followed his lead and listened carefully. Then, she faintly heard the leaves rustling, the sound of the wind, and the weak, high-pitched cry of a bird.

The strained sound was nearly inaudible over the sounds of the leaves, and it didn’t last for very long. But Edward seemed to know that cry—his expression shifted at once.

“…Roodle?”

“I did hear he hadn’t returned since he last left to deliver a message…,” Marvin said, as if he’d suddenly remembered. The two of them exchanged glances and looked even more worried.

Amy, heart beating erratically in her chest, asked who Roodle was, and they explained it was a messenger bird from the royal palace.

A few years ago, the prince explained, he had gone out on a long horse ride and came across the fresh corpse of a bird. It looked like it had been killed by magical beasts. You could never let your guard down around magical beasts. When he investigated the surrounding area, he found a half-destroyed bird nest in a tree with baby Roodle, injured and weakened, inside. Edward adopted the orphaned Roodle, so young he couldn’t even fly, and raised him with Marvin and the other caretakers.

“His wings are so strong that he could fly to the ocean from here with ease,” explained Marvin. “So the person in charge of his care had gotten worried, because Roodle hadn’t come back at the expected time.”

“We have to check,” said the prince.

The three of them nodded and got off their horses, fastening them to a nearby tree. One of the escorts that had been trailing them at the rear of the party joined them as well. Coincidentally, it was the knight Darios, whom Amy remembered accompanying her at the tea party.

Edward was usually guarded by two knights, but Marvin, as a former member of the military, fulfilled the role of the second guard. Darios, therefore, was the only knight traveling with them—the other knight had stayed behind with Isabelle at the stables.

Darios was intense, with sharp, observant eyes that radiated complete focus and attention… In her past life, she would have pinned him for a member of the yakuza. But she was only frightened of his outward appearance—in every other respect, he was incredibly polite.

Looking at him, Amy reflected on her own self-centered, incorrect assumption that Knights of the Royal Guard were gangly, feeble men who cared more about outward appearance and social status than skill.

Marvin suggested that the rest of the group wait there while he went to check it out alone. Edward protested.

“I’m coming, too. It’s better to bring backup in case you get hurt, and I also helped raise Roodle. Amy will stay here.”

It was natural for him to get so worried. Even after Roodle had grown up and became a messenger bird, Edward would still care for him occasionally.

But this time, Amy shook her head in protest.

“I-I’ll go, too. I can do a little healing magic.”

The other three looked surprised at her offer.

Many girls started learning magic from a young age. However, being able to use it as a technique required training and the stabilization of the user’s magical power… This typically happened much later, around the time they went off to school.

Although Amy came from a family with high magical aptitude, in the end this was a matter of her individual talent. No one had ever thought someone so young could actually use magic—and healing magic, a very difficult specialty, at that.

“What…? You know how to use healing magic already?” Marvin asked, meeting Amy’s eyes with a serious expression.

“I’ve healed my brother’s fractured finger and cuts about this big,” said Amy, indicating with her fingers a width of about two inches. “But I’m, uh… I’m not sure how effective my magic is on animals.”

Any act of medical care is built on trust as the foundation. I just have to explain it better…, thought Amy as she clarified her statements.

“But I can’t make the injuries heal right away. It took a couple days for his wounds to heal and his bones to fuse back together.”

All this had happened during the family’s test to prove if she had learned how to do magic. Whether she could get a cat had depended on the results.

Harold had waltzed back home with a deep gash at the edge of his right eye—almost exactly where the otome game character had a scar—and two fractured fingers on his left hand to boot! But despite this, Harold had joked, “It’s just what you need for your test, isn’t it?” Apparently, he had not avoided the magical beasts’ attacks on purpose just to get injured…

The way her mother’s eyebrows rose when she learned that was terrifying. He sat there getting lectured with his head bowed while Amy performed healing magic on him. Amy agreed with her mother, privately thinking that it’d do him good to feel a little remorse.

Amy had trembled as she healed him, afraid the gash would leave a scar and transform him into a perfect clone of the character from the game. But she had used all the magic she had and healed it perfectly, despite it being quite a deep cut.

When she told them about this test, Marvin and Darios doubted their ears.

A wound incurred from a magical beast was very different from a regular sword cut. And Amy claimed she had healed one the day after it had been inflicted and without leaving a scar. Even with a bone fracture, recovery was unbelievable—the standard magical treatment only involved reducing pain and speeding up recovery, not fusing the bones back together.

Amy herself didn’t seem to know how amazing her story was, but Darios, who had suffered injuries during his training, and Marvin, a former member of the military, were keenly aware.

Only a few doctors in the royal capital could perform the level of healing magic Amy had performed. Healing magic worked by amplifying and accelerating the patient’s own powers of recovery. It was also vital to discern whether forcibly healing an injury was necessary, as it could be hard on the patient and often have an adverse effect on their recovery.

And although it was possible to counteract poisons and expel foreign substances with healing magic, it wasn’t all-powerful—if something was removed, it couldn’t be grown back.

Healing magic was also more effective when used by practitioners who had a thorough knowledge of the subject’s internal anatomy. From Amy’s memories of her previous life, she had advanced knowledge about the human body for this world, so her healing magic was effective as long as her magical powers were stable.

But unfortunately, she didn’t have any knowledge at all about bird anatomy… Besides, if that bird—which might be Roodle—didn’t have any strength left, performing any healing magic might prove to be difficult.

But Amy couldn’t just stand around and twiddle her thumbs!

Marvin, however, stooped down to Amy’s eye level and looked concerned.

“That is reassuring, but there’s lots of undergrowth here. You might get hurt on the thorny branches.”

“I’m wearing boots today, and I’m used to them already, so I’ll be fine! Wouldn’t it be better to treat him as soon as possible?”

They still seemed to be hesitating on whether to allow their guest—the daughter of an earl—to walk down a trailless path into the forest. But Amy flashed the high-laced boots that matched her riding dress and smiled reassuringly.

Ever since she was a little girl, the natural landscape—the mountains, the seas—that sprawled across her father’s land and her grandfather’s estate in the border province had been her personal playground. She had often swum, fished, and even climbed trees.

She had usually just stuck by her older brother’s side, but now that she thought about it, they probably weren’t the sort of adventures “noble ladies” were supposed to have. She supposed she had been allowed because her parents had both been reincarnated from a different world, with different expectations. Plus, they had always been an outdoorsy family.

At that moment, the sound of the bird crying reached them again. It sounded even weaker than it did before.

Edward nodded to Amy, who was so worried she felt on the verge of tears.

“We don’t have time. We’ll all go. Amy will come with me,” he said, suddenly grabbing her hand.

When Amy looked up, surprised, Edward smiled and gave her a nod. With the prince’s backing, Marvin finally accepted it.

“I’ll take the lead, then, and Darios will bring up the rear.”

Although Roodle was nearing retirement, he had the best track record of all the messenger birds. Edward was very grateful there was someone there who could perform healing magic. Both Marvin and Darios could do emergency first aid treatments, but magical remedies were often more effective.

Amy’s surprised eyes alternated from the hand Ed was holding to his face.

“E-Ed, I can walk on my own.”

“If you don’t want to hold hands, I’ll carry you.”

“C-Carry?!”

“It’s dangerous out there,” he explained simply. Amy’s heart thudded.

D-Does he even know what he’s saying?!

No matter how you looked at it, Amy’s body was going to be heavy in the prince’s thin arms.

Amy had wanted to gain weight, but she still felt shy about it in some respects. God forbid, if the prince were to collapse while carrying her bridal-style, she felt like she would lose an essential part of her identity as a woman!

She quickly grabbed his hand back and squeezed it tightly.

“…That’s a shame. Don’t let go, then.”

A shame?! What’s a shame?!

Pretending not to hear, Amy could only give a stiff nod after making sure their hands were linked securely.

Edward’s hand was surprisingly large and firm under his glove. Amy’s heart skipped a couple of beats. It felt so different from when she held her mother’s or father’s hand, but if this was what she had to do to avoid being carried, she didn’t really have a choice.

The forest was dense, just as she had been warned. But there was no hesitation in Marvin’s footsteps as he pressed on, pushing tall grass and branches out of the way, relying on the bird’s cries for direction.

Amy had started breathing harder, but she followed Edward and didn’t fall behind.

“It’s somewhere around here.”

After moving forward for a moment, Marvin stopped. There was a small, dark, wet spot on the tree in front of them, with white feathers scattered around it.

Amy sucked in a quiet breath, her heart shattering when the scene of the tragedy came into view.

Edward released Amy’s hand, removed his glove, and used his fingers to whistle loudly. There was a muffled noise very close by, as if in response.

Thank goodness, it’s alive…!

Marvin instantly used his arm to brush aside the thicket ahead, where the noise came from. Inside the thicket was a large owl with pure white feathers stained dark red, but with one of his wings extended, his attempts at movement were clumsy and awkward.

Amy gasped. “It’s Hedwi—”

“Roodle!”

Amy had totally forgotten to ask what kind of bird Roodle was… She had almost called him the name of an owl character from a famous fantasy movie and book franchise from her previous life. Fortunately Edward’s cry had dwarfed hers, and it didn’t seem like anyone had noticed her slip-up.

Amy had covered her blabbermouth with her hand, but she gasped at the sight of the pitiful bird.

Despite being weak, Roodle was very excited to see them. But it was dangerous for an injured bird to move. Marvin removed the coat he had been wearing, and when he covered the bird’s head with it, Roodle finally settled down.

“He calms down when he can’t see anything,” he explained to Amy, who was watching with concern as he wrapped Roodle up in the jacket.

“I see.”

“The bleeding seems to be coming from the bottom of his torso, just around the joint of his leg,” Marvin continued, holding the bird up.

Darios peered at the wound as Amy and Edward drew closer.

Marvin told them of his suspicion that Roodle had probably been coming back from wherever he had been injured, but he had run out of stamina and fallen here before he could make it to the castle.

“He probably hurt his wing because of the fall,” he continued. “But fortunately, it doesn’t seem to be broken.”

“That’s good—well, maybe good isn’t the right word for it…” replied Edward. “What caused the original injury?”

“This is no arrow wound, Your Highness,” said Darios. “I’d wager it’s from a magical beast.”

Roodle would go wild whenever anyone tried to get a closer look at the wound, so no one could say for certain, but Marvin, who also had some experience hunting magical beasts, agreed—it had almost certainly been done by such a creature.

Edward continued his inquiry with a stern look.

“But the flight paths of messenger birds avoid all magical beast habitats, don’t they? Darios, have you heard anything from the Order of Knights?”

“Just that there had been strong gales coming from the west last night. Maybe he had been blown off course.”

Marvin and Edward nodded at this.

It was to Roodle’s credit that he had managed to return so close to the castle in his battered state. Amy didn’t know what caused his injuries, but she knew she had to do something to fix them.

“U-Um, is it all right if I treat him now?”

“That’s right—yes, please do,” said Edward. “Please watch out for his beak and claws. He’s usually calm, but he’s very on edge right now.”

Nodding, Amy sat on the ground and gently brought the bundle that cocooned Roodle onto her lap without the slightest bit of hesitation.

She was a little surprised—he was heavier than he looked.

“There’s a good birdie, Roodle… You’ll be all right, now,” Amy said soothingly, removing her gloves.

Healing magic worked by touching the patient’s body directly. So as Amy continued to murmur sweet words to Roodle, she gently slipped a hand under the cloth. This way, he wouldn’t panic, and the cloth wouldn’t slip off midtreatment.

Edward kneeled next to Amy and looked on anxiously, but she couldn’t afford to worry about him. Because as soon as her fingertips touched Roodle’s feathers, he started twisting violently. When Edward put his hand over the cloth and called out to him, the bird calmed down once more. Roodle really thinks of Edward as his parent…, Amy realized.

His soft feathers were hard and stiff in places, probably because of the bleeding and the mud he had fallen into.

Poor thing… That must have been so painful and scary…

Each time she touched one of the stiff areas, Amy felt her throat tighten, and hot tears threatened to spill from her eyes.

Although they were separated by layers of cloth, it was surprisingly painful when Roodle’s strong claws dug into her thighs. But Amy knew this was nothing compared with how much pain the bird was in…

Taking a deep breath, Amy imbued her hand with magic.

---

---

🐾🐱🐾

THE riding grounds at the castle were enormous, as were the stables.

The stables were mostly composed of horse stalls, but it also had a residential annex for the caretakers and a large lounge, where royalty and nobles who were visiting or touring the facilities could sit and talk.

After being casually shown around the area, Isabelle had been ushered into the reception room and was feeling totally at ease, absorbed in conversation. Her conversation partner was none other than the Third Prince’s head maid, Hannah, who coincidentally had also been Isabelle’s governess as a girl.

“Hannah, I am so pleased to see you haven’t changed a bit!”

“That’s supposed to be my line, Lady Isabelle,” said Hannah. “So—was this all your idea?”

Isabelle blinked, staring back blankly, looking so innocent and childlike that Hannah could hardly believe she already had a teenage son.

“What were you thinking…?” tutted Hannah. “And when your daughter had such a beautiful face, too…”

Isabelle seemed to read between the lines, as she pouted and let out a sigh.

“I think it was a mistake, too.”

“But you can still—”

“Amy was an unbelievably beautiful little girl, but when she gained weight, she only became even more beautiful!” Isabelle exclaimed, lamenting about the unexpectedly adorable transformation. “She may be my daughter, but she’s killing me here!”

“K-Killing you?”

Isabelle started to gush about Amy in front of the entire party—Hannah, taken aback at how drastically Isabelle had misunderstood her, and the other maid and knight stationed with them.

“Her little cheeks are so round and plump, and her hands are so squishy and soft! Her stocky arms are just so full of life and vitality—they look so nice, don’t they? Of course, her health is always at the forefront of my mind, and I always try to balance her meals and physical exercise. And now her skin positively glows—her hair is so lustrous!”

“U-Um… Lady Isabelle?” Hannah managed to squeeze in, but Isabelle was just getting started.

“But Amy’s getting a growth spurt. With her metabolism so high, if we relax our routine, she’ll just shoot up in height and get skinny again! Maintaining her figure is quite a challenge! You see, despite how she looks, she loves being active. Even at home, she always runs around in the garden with her cat… But exercise is important. It wouldn’t be healthy if she didn’t get adequate activity.”

“I-Indeed…”

“And she burns up so many calories during magic practice, too… Well, Amy’s very willing to cooperate with me on things, so we do manage to maintain her weight pretty well. But—frankly speaking—I’d like to see her gain five more pounds. I’m well aware, of course, that our goal isn’t just a number on the scale, but I get so worried that if her petite frame were skinny, she could so easily be abducted and carried away! And then—”

“Lady Isabelle, please!”

“But, Hannah—! You’ve seen her, haven’t you? Those cute little chubby cheeks! Don’t you just want to squeeze them?”

“I, uh… I can’t say I do.”

Her cheeks certainly did look like they would feel soft and squishy, and the beauty of her facial features shone through the chubbiness surrounding them well enough.

But that was never the issue.

“I have no idea what you mean about ‘calories,’ but I can gather that quite a lot of work went into maintaining her figure. If it’s so difficult, then why go to all that trouble…?”

“Beauty standards change as quickly as the direction of the wind, you know. I just don’t think people should obsess over something so temporary that they lose sight of what’s really important.”

As Isabelle looked at Hannah, her gold eyes were filled with certainty.

Hannah had known for more than twenty years that whenever her former pupil had that look in her eye, her mind was made up.

“…His Highness is a very fine gentleman,” Hannah said.

“I agree with you there. But if he were a lord or a bard, it wouldn’t make a difference—all I want from life is my children’s happiness. That’s all. It’s just that simple,” Isabelle concluded impressively, like she had just finished giving a speech to parliament.

“But you couldn’t think of any other way?”

“You can’t change someone’s face or personality. And you must admit, it’s a pretty effective way of weeding out people who base their decisions on appearances alone. Besides”—she shrugged—“she draws power from her body when she uses magic, too.”

Hannah had known that Isabelle’s daughter had a high magical aptitude. She had also heard that Amy had recently started to get serious about her magical studies.

“That’s true,” Hannah admitted. “But she didn’t have to start so early.”

“She had her reasons. We didn’t force her into it—she wanted to do it more than anything.”

Amy had wanted to learn magic as quickly as she could so she could get a cat—that had been her clear purpose.

Isabelle chuckled to herself. To Amy, her reason for studying had been a matter of utmost importance, but Isabelle thought other people probably wouldn’t see it that way.

Isabelle was able to show others her daughter’s seriousness about magic simply by the speed at which she had learned it—which had in fact greatly surpassed Isabelle’s own expectations.

“I know you, Lady Isabelle, so I didn’t assume you had forced her to do anything absurd,” said Hannah. “Who is she studying under, by the way?”

“Sir Dion, at my father’s introduction. He said she was much more talented than she looked!”

Everyone there, including Hannah, gazed at Isabelle in amazement.

Sir Dion used to be the head magician of the royal palace. He was currently a teacher at the Royal Academy, but he was infamous for being mercilessly strict with his students. Even now, he was one of the top magicians in the country, but others found him very intimidating and had a hard time approaching him.

The knight in the room couldn’t help sitting a little straighter as he remembered the tough lessons Sir Dion had given him.

“Sir Dion?!”

“His teaching methods are very good, and he seems to get along well with Amy. That shy little girl is so taken with him, sometimes she’ll call him Professor Pop-Pop in secret!”

“What?!” cried Hannah, looking like she doubted her own ears. “That’s unbelievable. I— Oh!” Something started ringing in Hannah’s pocket. “My apologies.”

It sounded like a bell, but it was actually Hannah’s magical communication device. Isabelle urged her to answer with a pointed look, so Hannah quickly excused herself from the table and answered the call.

Although the magical device couldn’t be used at long distances, calls could be made within the castle grounds, making it very convenient for communication between the servants.

“Darios? What’s happened…? Well, yes… I understand. Please take care.”

Isabelle still had some time before Amy was supposed to return. But if one of the knights guarding them called, something unexpected must have happened. When no panic or impatient anxiety crept into Hannah’s face, however, Isabelle assumed it must have been a low-level emergency.

Isabelle slowly brought her teacup to her mouth and savored the flavor while Hannah finished the call.

“Did something happen to Amy and the others?” she asked.

“They found an injured messenger bird, so they should be returning soon.”

🐾🐱🐾

AMY and the others returned to the same place Isabelle had seen them off, with the prince on his black horse and Amy and Marvin on the bay mare.

The only difference was that now there was a lump of cloth in Amy’s arms.

Isabelle, who had waited outside with the head caretaker of the messenger birds, called out to her daughter when the party approached.

“Is that the injured bird, Amy?”

“That’s right. It’s a snowy owl named Roodle.”

“I heard you performed healing magic on him,” said the caretaker, full of emotion. “I’ve been worried all day when he didn’t return this morning. I can’t thank you enough…!”

As the caretaker looked up at Amy so appreciatively, she felt a little bashful.

“I did. But that was my first time using it on a bird, so please look over him and make sure everything’s okay.”

When she tried to hand Roodle to the caretaker, however, the bird—who had been peaceful and quiet the whole ride back—screeched loudly and stirred, resisting.

“Wh-What’s wrong, Roodle?”

When Amy held him tighter to avoid accidentally dropping him, he suddenly quieted down.

“…Are you all right now? Look, it’s your caretaker.”

But as she tried to extract him from her arms, he once again cried and resisted. After repeating this twice more, Marvin suddenly got off the horse and helped Amy down, bird and all.

“Whoa!” The swift motion took Amy by surprise. “Th-Thank you, Marvin.”

Marvin smiled. “He certainly doesn’t want to be parted from the nice lady who healed his wounds!”

She was pleased but also worried—he needed to be seen by a veterinarian.

“Roodle, won’t you let the doctor see you? Just once? I want to make sure you heal properly.”

Her words made no difference—he continued to squirm restlessly and cry in protest. Edward had gotten off his horse and joined her. She looked at him desperately for help.

“Amy, you’ll visit Roodle, won’t you?”

“Yeah! See, Roodle? I’ll come back to see you again really soon, so you can let go now. Please?” Amy spoke in nearly a whisper, leaning over the bundle in her arms and speaking through the fabric.

Roodle started to get a little quieter. Not wanting to miss the opportunity, she swiftly passed him to the caretaker. They could hear Roodle crying again in a sad grumble.

Amy was glad they had finally been able to make the handoff, but her suddenly lightened arms felt strangely cool… Roodle was crying out for her, and it broke her heart. She felt tears falling from her eyes.

“It’ll be okay,” assured Edward. “We’ll make sure he heals up perfectly.”

“I’m glad,” sniffed Amy, “but…”

“Your healing magic is amazing. Even though I was only sitting nearby, I could feel its warmth… So please don’t cry.” Edward removed his gloves and wiped the tears from Amy’s eyes with his fingers.

She jumped at his gentle touch, suddenly aware of how close they were standing.

“E-Ed?” she stammered.

The shock put a complete stop to her tears, and her cheeks flamed bright red. There was a soft smile in Edward’s silver eyes, as if he was relieved to see she wasn’t crying anymore.

“I’d be in trouble if Alec knew I had invited you to the castle and made you cry.”

Why on earth is he talking about Alexander…? She didn’t really understand, but the awkward expressions from everyone else were kind of embarrassing…

Momentarily disorientated, before she realized it was happening, Amy suddenly found herself making promises to visit the castle “frequently” so she could “visit Roodle.”

🐾🐱🐾

A week following the tea party but some time before the riding outing, Edward had paid a visit to the Coverdale estate. It was the first time he had been there in a while. Alexander was visiting for the weekend, and they were up in his room.

Alexander had ordered the room to be cleared, so the only other person around was the well-known elderly butler, standing quietly in front of the door.

Edward, who had taken his usual seat on the sofa opposite Alec, was finding it hard to speak. Nevertheless, he met Alec’s eyes as he told him what had happened at the tea party.

“That’s why I invited Amy to the riding grounds,” he concluded.

“Ah… So it was just as I thought, huh?”

Putting his teacup back on the table, Alexander folded his hands behind his head and leaned back on the sofa.

“Alec…”

“Don’t get me wrong,” Alec said, laughing. “It’s not like I fell in love with her or anything.”

Edward didn’t get the sense his friend was lying, but it didn’t totally feel like the truth, either. No matter what Alec’s feelings were, however, Edward’s own feelings could not be changed.

“But you did meet her first.”

“It’s not first-come, first-serve,” Alec said, laughing again. “To be honest, I was interested in her. But I prefer my girls a little skinnier.”

“I don’t care about looks,” Edward protested.

“You don’t? Well, you probably would think that way. You don’t really have a type, do you?” asked Alexander with a blank look. “I thought you’d like her, though.”

“Yeah… I want to talk to her more—talk to her properly—not just in short little bursts.”

“Hey, that’s great. But just so you know, I’ve met with her a few times, and she doesn’t seem interested in marriage at all.”

Edward had also gotten that sense from her.

Even though she was at a tea party intended for selecting a princess consort, each time he tried to even vaguely touch upon the subject, he felt her throw up an invisible, impenetrable wall between them. But they did end up having a lot of fun talking about cats and horses because of it, so maybe it had been for the better.

Edward sensed that Amy thought the engagement was something to be avoided rather than sought after. This was later corroborated by what the maid and the knight overheard at her table.

🐾🐱🐾

IT was a few days after the tea party.

The maid and the knight were a little nervous—they had never been in the Third Prince’s private room before. But luckily Hannah, whom they knew, was there, and the meeting proceeded smoothly.

“Lady Amy and the countess hardly talked about the engagement at all…,” the maid, Alyssa, testified. “Yes, they talked about things like the food and the fountain… No, she never talked about what she’d do after becoming princess consort, nor did she gossip about the other ladies or anything of the sort… After that, she complained about wanting to go home a lot. She talked about the cat she left back home. Her attention was drawn to the doors when the prince arrived at the garden, but she had not actually been looking at him… She was looking at a little bird. I nearly fell over in shock…”

The maid continued, “She was very polite to me about the tea. Told me it was delicious, thanked me for making it…”

For maids, making tea was just part of their job. Alyssa had been working at the castle for five years, and she had made tea hundreds—if not thousands—of times. Guests simply expected it to be brewed perfectly. Many didn’t even drink it and just wanted it out for show.

“I have been scolded about the tea before, but…that was the first time I had ever been thanked personally, and…it made me really happy.”

“I see… All right. How about you, Darios? You were with her ever since she arrived at the castle, weren’t you?”

“Correct,” Darios answered. “I acted as her guide from the moment she got off her carriage. I believe she must not have been used to seeing a knight’s armor, because she did stare at me initially.”

The countess had apologized for her daughter’s rude stare, explaining that Amy’s father worked at the Institute of Magic, and there weren’t any knights in their family. Amy’s grandfather had a small army on his border province, but the equipment and armor must have been different and new to her.

“I was a little worried that having someone like me as a guard would only make the lady cry, but she didn’t. She treated me just like she treated everyone else.”

Darios was tall, sturdy, and looked a little intimidating. If not for his suit of armor, he would more easily pass for a mercenary than a knight. He actually had a gentle personality, as well as a wife and child, but even his son’s friends were scared of him because of his appearance.

“When we had arrived at the inner garden, she thanked me, too, for showing her the way.”

The civil officials had crafted a plan at the tea party to see how the princess consort candidates would react when presented with knights who had, like Darios, slightly uncouth appearances.

Although he was the third child, Edward was still a part of the royal family and would still be involved with diplomatic affairs after marriage. The civil officials had also worked out the lessons his fiancée would need to take to fulfill her role as his wife in an official capacity.

“Then she muttered, ‘Well, I’m here…,’” finished Darios.

“…I see.”

All of this indicated that Amy really wasn’t enthusiastic about the arrangement. Edward looked at the maid and the knight and grinned in appreciation.

Hannah’s subtle investigation had revealed that Amy had started putting on weight right after the unofficial announcements had gone out to the engagement candidates. When Hannah had first learned this, her head fell into her hands, knowing this was just the sort of crazy plan Isabelle would come up with.

It became clear that Isabelle didn’t want Amy to become a princess, and Amy herself didn’t want to, either.

“…What will you do, Your Highness?”

🐾🐱🐾

“SO, what are you going to do?” Alec asked, interrupting Edward’s reverie.

Feeling a sense of déjà vu, Edward met Alec’s eyes again.

“Maybe we’ll start off as friends… But I think it’ll be up to her if she’ll be able to see me that way.”

“You’re not going to order her to be your friend?”

“Forcing her would be pointless. I want to talk to her just as she is now.”

Amy’s face always showed what she was thinking.

Edward could also simply order her to be his fiancée—choose her from among the candidates. But the moment he did that would be the moment her face clammed up and froze, forever emotionless. It would be no simple task to defrost it.

Edward puzzled over her methods… Why would she go so far as to change her body just to politely step down as a candidate? He didn’t understand why she would go to such lengths to refuse the position of princess consort, one in which she could typically have more of the things she wanted.

What he did know was that until she opened her heart to him, he’d never figure out the reason.

“Good. I wouldn’t stand for it if you did force her.”

“Alec…,” started Edward.

“Don’t worry, Ed. If you’re giving it your best shot and she’s not shooting you down, I’m just going to cheer from the sidelines.”

Edward could end it all with a royal order, but he said he wouldn’t do it… Alexander laughed.

“…That’s all you’ll be doing,” Ed stressed.

“Let’s hope so.”

After blowing through a few other topics, Alexander wished his friend luck once more and saw him out as Edward headed back to the royal palace. Alexander returned to his room and poured the last of the now-cold tea into his cup.

“Shall I brew you a fresh pot, young master?” the old butler asked.

“This is fine.”

“…Is everything all right?”

Alexander knew he wasn’t talking about the tea.

“I really like those two.”

“Indeed, young master.”

“It’s best if you can be a friend.”

“A friend, young master?”

“That’s right. That way, you can see everything much more closely without ever losing your position, don’t you think?”

As he returned his empty cup to the tray the butler was holding, Alexander thought about the slightly eccentric daughter of the Earl of Northland.

Although Alexander was the youngest child, he was the direct descendent of a duke, so he was used to people looking at him and calculating what they wanted from him or for him. Some people were better at hiding it than others, but everyone approached him with ulterior motives.

He was aware that he had grown a bit calloused over the years, having received looks like that since before he could remember, even as a child… At school, he was treated more or less equally, but there were still plenty of people ready to pander to him.

But Amy Northland was a totally different matter. She was quietly cautious.

Although he had provoked her during their first encounter, she treated him normally even after she had guessed he was the duke’s son. She was awkward, which had somehow removed the distance he had tried to maintain. She was incredibly serious, which had made it impossible to ignore a story he had washed his hands of.

Then, as he had gotten a little used to her ways, she showed him raw emotion—and then an unfiltered expression overflowing with tears. Amy may not have been used to interacting with people, but he believed she had simply been born with these qualities about her.

She’s interesting, he thought.

It wasn’t as if she had no common sense. She had a decent understanding of etiquette, too. But it was as if her understanding of interpersonal relationships was different from everyone else’s. Never selfishly seeking things from other people, she never had to be calculating or vigilant with others.

Amy was younger than he, but sometimes the way she thought about things made her seem his age or older. He would even lose track of time talking with her… Alexander had a hunch, one now nearly confirmed, that his childhood friend, with a life even more restrictive and controlled than his own, would be taken with her.

“Well, if Ed had planned on forcing matters with her to progress, I would have done things differently, too.” Alexander nodded slightly, the corners of his mouth turning upward. “Gramps, if a fiancée candidate were to step down after receiving an offer from a prince, it would be rather hard for her to find another suitor, wouldn’t it?”

“Indeed. For whatever reason, others would speculate that there must be something wrong with the lady. Many would also decline out of respect for the royal family. A good suitor would probably be hard to find.”

“Right. And then, if she were accepted by the family of a duke, that would tie up all the loose ends very nicely.”

“…I see. You mean to say that you won’t get married yourself until you’re certain of their fate, then?”

“I must really like her, huh… Well, we’ll see what happens,” Alexander said, sounding content as he reclined.