Chapter 52
“Is that so? I am Sesra, head maid of the Liate Palace, where Her Majesty the Empress resides.”
As Free finished speaking, Ses approached politely and bowed to Zel. Free worried that Zel might feel out of place, being from elsewhere, but no such discomfort showed.
“My name is Zel. It’s a pleasure to meet you!”
Zel beamed and bowed just as deeply in return.
“And this is Cassie, who recently became one of Her Majesty’s attendants.”
Each time the word Empress was mentioned, Zel flinched slightly, but she still turned to Cassie with a smile.
“Nice to meet you.”
“Yes.”
With the introductions done, Free stepped back into the conversation.
“Zel will be staying here for a while.”
“Shall we treat her as an honored guest?”
Before anyone else could respond, Zel frantically waved her hands.
“No more special treatment, please! I’ve already been given far too much on the way here. I am a maid for the Princess!”
“But Zel…”
“If you want me by your side, then treat me as you used to—as your maid. That’s what I’m comfortable with. And besides, even as a maid, I don’t exactly act like one, do I?”
Free tried to protest, then gave a resigned little smile.
“You’re right. Very well then. Ses, arrange for Zel to serve as my maid again.”
“As you wish.”
“However,” Cassie interjected smoothly, “placing someone unfamiliar with the workings of this palace directly at Your Highness’s side might be premature.”
“I see.”
“Yes. A maid of Her Highness must receive proper training first.”
“That’s true, Cassie.”
“Exactly. Which is why I believe it’s too soon.”
“I understand.”
Free clasped Zel’s hand firmly.
“Cassie is right. But tell me, Cassie—”
“Yes, Your Highness?”
“—did you receive proper training yourself?”
Cassie froze. The lively sparkle in her eyes vanished at once. Normally Free would have let the matter drop there, but perhaps because Zel was present, she pressed harder than usual.
“Your Highness…”
“Do you have anything to say?”
“…At least I—”
“At least what, Cassie? Do you truly believe you’re fulfilling your duties well?”
For once, Free’s words were sharp. A faint smile tugged at Ses’s lips as Cassie stiffened. After so many fruitless attempts to correct the girl before, it was refreshing to finally see her checked.
“…Your Highness, everything I do is for you…”
“Zel also does everything for me. So you don’t need to justify yourself like that.”
“Your Highness, I only…”
“And again, you address me so formally. Cassie, I really don’t understand what goes on in your mind.”
“…Forgive me.”
Cassie lowered her head quickly, as if scrambling to recover.
“…It seems I overstepped. I let my words about serving Your Highness go too far.”
But the words came out stiff, almost theatrical.
Free could tell they weren’t heartfelt, but she didn’t want to show Zel any more of the ugly atmosphere. She shook her head gently.
“Enough, Cassie. No matter what anyone says, I intended to keep Zel by my side. So let it be known—this is decided.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Free had never before desired anything so strongly. And Ses, who had long wished for her to show such conviction, looked quietly pleased. She stepped outside, silently hoping Free would continue to want more.
Cassie, however, lingered like a rooted tree, unwilling to move.
“Cassie. Let’s go.”
“…Yes.”
Only when Ses tugged her firmly by the arm did Cassie finally leave, her face sour.
Silence descended.
At last, the two of them were alone. But Free couldn’t bring herself to turn around and face Zel. She simply stood there.
Then Zel slowly reached for her hand.
“Princess. Princess.”
“……”
“Now that it’s just the two of us, are you going to pretend not to know me?”
“Zel… You only came here because of me. I can’t bear the guilt—”
Zel suddenly wrapped her in a hug, patting her back.
“You know it doesn’t matter whether I was there or here. I don’t have a family.”
“Zel…”
“To me, you were my family, my friend, my everything. When you left, I wanted to follow—but I was slow. I only realized too late what you meant when you told me not to waste my life chasing you into barbarian lands, but to live peacefully in the kingdom instead.”
Free drew back slightly, eyes glistening.
“Zel, I—”
“So when the chance came, I came here. Walking the path that led back to you… Do you know how happy that made me? How grateful I was? It didn’t matter whether I was brought here by force or not.”
“I’ll… I’ll ask him to send you back. Please, Zel, just go home.”
“My home is here. My everything is here. Why would I leave, Princess?”
Zel, always so cheerful, held back her tears as she met Free’s gaze. That tenderness broke Free’s restraint; tears slipped down her cheeks.
“Zel… If only you had said you didn’t want to come. If only you’d sulked and complained like you used to…”
“How could I not want to come, when you’re here? My lady.”
At those words, Free’s tears gushed forth.
Like a child, she sobbed in Zel’s arms, years of pent-up grief flowing out in heavy drops.
She had tried to live as an ordinary woman here—to be kind, wise, to suit the title of Empress she had seized from Argent. She had done her utmost.
But all I ever wanted… was just to be myself.
Neither in Ezéan nor in this empire had she ever been wholly herself. Only with Zel. That was why her heart felt so fragile now.
“Zel… The truth is… I never missed Ezéan at all.”
“You didn’t? I thought you might have wasted away, but you look like you’ve even gained a little weight.”
“The people here treat me kindly. But… it hasn’t been pure happiness.”
Her voice trembled with sorrow.
“Really?”
Zel’s rough hand gently brushed Free’s cheek.
“Even so, I was happy here. Every day, I found happiness. Again and again.”
“Truly?”
“Yes. Everyone treated me so well. No one ever spoke ill of me.”
A faint smile softened Free’s lips. Seeing it, Zel’s dimples deepened too. Always so lonely, this woman—Zel wished with all her heart that she could keep feeling happiness.
“I’m glad.”
“Though… Sister Gaia did come…”
Zel’s smile faltered awkwardly, but she nodded anyway.
“More importantly—so you’re truly the Empress now?”
“Yes.”
“I was so shocked. I worried when I heard this was the land of barbarians. But if this is a place that makes you happy, then I want to spend the rest of my life here with you.”
Her words squeezed Free’s heart. She wanted to say she couldn’t—that she would soon be cast out of this palace—but instead, she only smiled faintly.
“For the first time, I’ve come to like a place. This place.”
“Have you?”
“Yes. For someone like me, with no family… it’s perfect.”
Free only nodded quietly, watching Zel’s bright smile return.
Zel’s Past
Zel had never known family.
She was an orphan.
Had it not been for the young crown prince Itar’s goodwill campaign—bringing orphans to tour the palace when she was fifteen, to win the people’s favor—Zel would have lived a life no different from any other nameless child.
Even among orphans, her case was different.
The Kingdom of Ezéan was wealthy and untouched by war. True orphans were rare. Most children in institutions were simply left there by struggling families who couldn’t afford to raise them.
But Zel was a true orphan.
Her father, a coachman, once jostled a nobleman slightly while driving a carriage. For that, he was beaten so badly he fell ill and died when Zel was seven.
The noble even demanded compensation: their only carriage was taken away to cover the “treatment” for a bump on the head.
Ezéan was generous to the powerful, but never to the weak.
Zel’s widowed mother tried to care for her alone, but how could a young woman with a three-year-old survive? Then sickness struck. An illness easily curable with one dose of medicine—yet she had none. She died when Zel was ten.
Her parents gone, she sought relatives, but they had come from another land. There were none.
Zel was sent to an orphanage.
“You’ll be adopted easily,” the headmaster told her. “So behave well, and be clever.”
Naively, she believed him.
In truth, families rarely adopted children with no kin at all. And at ten years old, Zel was far from ideal. She was adopted twice, but each time cast out again—too old, too independent.
“Well then, you may stay here until you’re grown, if that’s what you want,” the director said, pretending kindness. In truth, he was content to keep children, since the state subsidized the orphanage.
Still, Ezéan’s orphan policies were relatively generous.
And so, at the age of twelve, Zel first entered the royal palace.
