Chapter 52

“Patience, let’s ride together.”

Since the Queen had given her permission, there was no way I could refuse. Inside the four-person carriage, Court Lady Charlotte and Mary kept their mouths shut. This meant the only ones talking were Princess Margaret and me.

“I’m so glad you came, Patience. Mother is in such a foul mood. If we were in the same carriage, I’d be suffocating,” the Princess complained.

To put it politely, her hair was a mess. It was tied with a ribbon for the sake of appearances, but the ends were still full of bedhead. I mean, the Royal Palace is supposed to have plenty of court ladies and maids, right?

“Don’t tell me… did you oversleep?”

As soon as I untied her ribbon, she thrust her head toward me, demanding I do something about it.

“Well, the palace maids don’t wake me up the way you do, Patience! Even though their way of waking me is terrible, I was the one scolded by Mother.”

It seems I’ve spoiled her. I should reflect on that, but first—the hair. I have to get it presentable before lunch.

The Queen had said it couldn’t be helped if the Princess wanted to ride with her lady-in-waiting, but I understood the hidden meaning behind her words.

“Mary, do you have a brush?”

Mary, the paragon of a lady’s maid, had a brush tucked in her handbag. Truthfully, Mary is better at styling hair, but doing so would crush the pride of the royal maids. Since I am technically Princess Margaret’s lady-in-waiting, Patience’s “permission” for me to do it was granted.

I chanted the lifestyle magic spell, “Become beautiful!” and the bedhead vanished, replaced by glossy, smooth hair.

“ I can only do a simple style, mind you.“

I brushed it into a half-updo and secured it with a ribbon. At this rate, my own hairstyle—thanks to Mary’s enthusiasm this morning—was actually flashier than the Princess’s.

Twirling the loose strands of her hair around my fingertips, I repeatedly cast the lifestyle magic “Become a curl.” Her hair transformed into ringlets reminiscent of my classmate Catherine. They weren’t quite at the level of “drill-hair,” but I thought they looked quite nice.

“Is there a mirror?”

Mary silently handed me a mirror. I then passed it to Princess Margaret. Apparently, it is improper for my maid to hand something directly to the Princess. How tedious.

“Oh, isn’t this lovely? From now on, you must do my hair in this style.”

“If there is time, I shall.”

Provided she doesn’t wake up at the very last second, that is.

“Tell me, where are we having lunch?” I asked, turning to Charlotte the court lady. In moments like this, it seems acceptable to speak up.

“We are scheduled for lunch at the estate of the Duke of Laforet.”

That’s a name I’ve heard somewhere before.

“Oh, we’re having lunch at Weirdo Albert’s house. Patience, be careful. The Duke of Laforet is even more of a weirdo than his son. You must absolutely not leave my side.”

Mary’s face turned pale.

“Sir Albert is simply a man whose love for music is so deep that he serves as the vice-president of the Music Club,” I said, trying to reassure her.

“My, that goes far beyond ‘love.’ Patience, if you remain this naive, you’ll end up confined in the Duke’s estate. You saw how the Duke stood out with his loud cheering and applause at the new song recital, didn’t you?”

Ah, so that was the parent who stood up in excitement. Come to think of it, he was wearing a very extravagant outfit.

“I understand. I shall not leave your side, Princess.”

I just hoped we would arrive before Princess Margaret—who had skipped breakfast—became truly cranky.

“I am so bored. If only I could play the lute at a time like this, it would be a distraction. Patience, tutors are accompanying Jane and Marcus to the Summer Palace. You are wonderful at Hanon, but you cannot play the lute. You must study under the music teacher.”

Just when I thought that might be okay, she started adding more requirements.

“You also mentioned you were poor at dancing. Since you are gifted in music, your sense of rhythm should be fine. You danced well at the Green Leaf Festival. With a little more improvement, you’ll likely earn your completion certificate.”

I was a fool for thinking that earning a dance certificate would give me more free time.

“I received my dance completion certificate during the spring term, so if you are exempted as well, we can enjoy music together during that time.”

Please, spare me from that.

“I must skip a grade to enter the Secondary Department, so I wish to devote that time to my studies.”

My protest was completely ignored.

“What are you saying? You’ve already received your completion certificate for Mathematics, and you’re mostly exempt from practical skills anyway. Surely you can share some musical time as my lady-in-waiting during the hours I am exempt.”

It seems my intensive dance training has been decided.

“Oh, come to think of it, Keith mentioned you couldn’t catch a horse. Surely it’s not true that you cannot ride?”

That Prince Keith! Always saying more than he should.

“I have never ridden a horse. Nor have I ever wished to.”

I refused flatly. But it was in vain.

“My, if you cannot ride, you will be in trouble when invited to a hunt. You must learn to ride during the summer break.”

I won’t be invited to a hunt, and even if I were, I don’t have a horse to go on, is what I couldn’t say. I’ve never even been on a horse in my previous life. I just hope I don’t fall off and die.

Court Lady Charlotte and Mary listened with their lips pressed thin into a line as Princess Margaret’s hunger-induced nagging continued.

Me? I was only half-listening. I’ll probably be forced into lute and dance practice, but I think the riding will be minimal. After all, the music-loving Princess Margaret can be easily bribed with Hanon duets. I wonder if I can remember Mozart’s Sonata for Two Pianos?