“Evelyn, my cousin Isolde’s daughter, the great Queen of Noël, welcome to my home! However, I didn’t expect you to arrive without any guards or notice.”
“Is there any need for an announcement or an escort to visit family, Duke Leonardo?”
“That’s true. Since you’re here, it calls for a grand reception. Please, come inside.”
Leonardo, current head of the Lioness family, greeted the unexpected arrival of Evelyn with a broad smile and prepared a lavish banquet in her honor. Every servant in the mansion was dispatched, carrying platters and hustling about, laying out a mouthwatering feast on a long table large enough for twenty.
Just in time for dinner, Evelyn had arrived at the perfect moment.
“Master, today’s main dish is Orbu Piglet, fed on pure grain and roasted over Snow Mountain Pine charcoal…”
“Enough, you may go.”
Leonardo waved at the endlessly chattering Butler, who finally looked relieved and withdrew with a bow.
“Well then, please enjoy the meal.” Leonardo offered a few polite words to Evelyn seated opposite him. “Had we known you would visit, we could have prepared an even grander feast. As it is now, I’m afraid it’s rather modest.”
His words were polite enough, but in plain speech, they meant, ‘Showing up uninvited, what are you up to?’
Evelyn took the offered wine from a servant with practiced grace and said in a languid tone, “Thank you for your hospitality, Uncle. As the rumors say, this is indeed a beautiful mansion, but I think it would look even lovelier with more flowers in the garden.”
“Planting flowers is no trouble. To make Her Majesty happy, I’ll see to it some are added soon. But to the point, may I ask the reason for your sudden visit?”
Leonardo made little attempt to hide his displeasure. In this world, who but this man dared show such obvious annoyance to Queen Evelyn? Witnessing this, Erica felt her mouth go dry, gulping juice from the table repeatedly, while the standing servants hardly dared breathe.
Perhaps sensing the tension at the table, Evelyn, while delicately slicing a piece of tenderloin, spoke lightly, “I believe my Erica has already mentioned it to you—regarding my Inheritance.”
“Ah, that matter.”
“I see, so the child in question is Duke Leonardo’s precious—Little Lord Charlotte.” Evelyn turned her gaze to the young boy sitting beside Leonardo.
Charlotte, who had been wide-eyed throughout the conversation, rose to his feet and gave a slight bow. “Your Majesty the Queen, I am Charlotte la Lioness.”
“What a clever child, rather unlike Emile.”
Emile, who had been frowning and focused on his meal, suddenly slammed his fist—clutching knife and fork—onto the table. “What’s that supposed to mean, are you calling me stupid? You barge into someone’s house and insult your host to their face!”
For some reason, Emile was furious and frustrated, feeling as if steam might burst from his head.
At this, his father Leonardo gave a bland reprimand, “Quiet,” and Evelyn simply ignored Emile’s words as a matter of course.
“Charlotte, how old are you this year?”
“Your Majesty, I am five years old this year.”
“I see.”
“Then, may I ask you a question?”
In that instant, everyone at the table froze, worried that young Charlotte might pose some improper or forbidden question to the Queen.
Across the room, maids covered their faces with hands and trays. ‘Goddess of Light and Fire, please protect our Lord.’ ‘What is he going to ask Her Majesty?’
But unlike them, Erica calmly enjoyed another glass of wine, knowing Evelyn was always especially gentle with children.
“Of course.”
With Evelyn’s permission, all eyes turned to Charlotte as he finally spoke. “May I ask, Your Majesty, do you sing like other Princesses?”
“Sing?”
Evelyn repeated the odd, whimsical question in apparent surprise, but before she could answer, Leonardo, swirling his wine with elegance, replied for her. “Charlotte, Her Majesty does not sing. Only Princesses sing this and that. Now, return to your seat and eat.”
Hearing this, Charlotte looked a bit disappointed as he sat back down. “You are so beautiful and noble, surely your voice is equally wonderful. What a shame.”
“Charlotte, when I was a Princess, I often sang with my sisters. Birds and deer would gather to listen.” The black-haired girl gazed into the air, as if lost in memory.
Evelyn singing happily was hard to imagine—Erica sipped her orange juice.
“But a Queen cannot, for there is no Queen who sings for joy.”
“Not even one?”
Of course not, because no one deserves to hear her sing, and thus there’s no reason to do so… The boy’s innocent question made Erica’s mind buzz. A Queen who sings? Erica poured herself a honey-melon juice.
If the Original Novel had been a Disney-style fairy tale, perhaps Evelyn would have had the adventures of a storybook Princess? Mmm, tasty.
The unexpected banquet went off without any mishap.
“So you really do mean I’m not smart enough…” Emile grumbled midway, but such sibling squabbles were common and not especially memorable.
After dinner, red tea, fruit, and cake were served at the empty table, and Evelyn brought up another topic. “Uncle, starting tomorrow you’ll need to report to the court. To establish Charlotte as my Inheritance, there are many matters to resolve.”
That such a confidential topic was revealed so openly shocked Emile and all the servants who heard.
“What? Evelyn, why are you making my brother the Inheritance?” Emile growled, turning to see how Charlotte would react.
“I’m the Inheritance… Does that mean I can become Queen like Lady Evelyn in the future?”
Queen? What is he saying, does he want to be a girl too?
Erica felt compelled to correct the boy’s misconception and took a sip of tea. “Lord Charlotte, you can’t become Queen, since only females can be Queen.”
“Lady Angelina, why can’t boys become Queen? I want to be an outstanding Queen like Lady Evelyn too.”
“That’s because…”
It was a truly philosophical question.
Why can’t men become Queen—because you seized the opportunity!
Thinking of herself as a wise elder sister, Erica was deeply vexed at being unable to give a proper answer without resorting to risqué jokes.
Ever ‘tolerant,’ Charlotte gave a resigned sigh. “Then, what about Princess? Princesses can sing as they please, it sounds wonderful… Actually, I’d rather be a Princess than a Queen, is that okay?”
This child… Why is he so obsessed with Princesses?
Is there something wrong with the Lioness family’s education? Erica poured herself another cup of tea.
“Charlotte, I’ll make special arrangements to the law so you can become a Princess,” Evelyn said.
“Wow.”
Hmm…
Erica took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and sipped her tea. Leonardo rubbed his face and said, “Ah, so many matters to deal with.”
Evelyn sipped her tea, replying calmly, “Since you are my uncle, you’ll handle them well.”
What seemed a simple remark unexpectedly left many in deep thought.