[V7C13] Untouched by the Sunlight

Having finished her nap in a room of Ausahorn Palace, Monica yawned while putting on her robe.

Monica was serving as a bodyguard, but that didn’t mean she accompanied Princess Cecilia around the clock. She and the other guards took turns, with shifts segmented by time.

Cecilia was attending the afternoon tea party hosted by Queen Wilma in a separate villa. Once she returns to Ausahorn Palace, it will be Monica’s turn to guard her.

Upon checking the clock, Monica realized there was quite some time until Cecilia’s return. She decided to patrol the garden before then. With her staff in hand, Monica left the room.

After walking a short distance outside the palace, she found someone sitting under the shade of a tree in the garden, doing some sort of work.

It was Karina, a girl in a maid’s uniform with her black hair tied in a large bun.

Apparently, Karina was using a knife to carve a palm-sized piece of wood.

After hesitating for a moment, Monica timidly approached Karina.

“Um, h-hello…”

Monica was shaking, worried about what she would do if Karina forgot about her. Meanwhile, Karina raised her head to face Monica while still keeping her hands busy.

“Oh, Monica-chan! Wahoo! I’m so happy to have someone to talk to! Ehehe.”

Seeing the innocent joy in Karina’s face, Monica could not help but feel delighted. She breathed a sigh of relief, glad that she spoke up, while glancing at the object in Karina’s hands.

The girl had crafted a palm-sized cat out of a wood chunk, and the curved line of its tail formed a graceful arc. Considering how her only tool was a carving knife, this was quite impressive.

“Are you, erm, making wood carvings?”

“Yeah, that’s right! Since there’s no real work right now, I have a lot of free time. Oh, but I have a bit of work tomorrow. Once that’s done, I’ll be free again.”

Despite her chatter, Karina’s hands never stopped carving. Monica was worried that the girl might accidentally cut her fingers, but those hands kept moving without the slightest hint of hesitation.

Karina finished smoothing out the corners and went on to etch the eyes and whiskers of the cat. Finally, she turned the carving over and began inscribing some sort of symbol. It was a mysterious shape that contained imperial letters alongside feather-looking motifs.

“…What’s that?”

“Well, I guess you can call it a signature to prove I made it. Cute, right?”

Monica let out a sigh of admiration at the pattern. It looked much too delicate and detailed to be carved out by a simple knife. Rather, everything about the wood carving seemed extremely beautiful.

After blowing off the wood chips, Karina whispered with great emotion.

“You know, I’ve always wanted to put a signature on the stuff I made.”

“…Eh?”

“Back in the place where I was born, girls couldn’t become craftsmen. All the workshops were off-limits to us. They let me work once I dressed up as a boy, but even so, they didn’t let me sign my works.”

This kind of custom was not necessarily limited to the Empire.

Although the restrictions had eased somewhat in Ridill, there were still many regions which, to this day, exclude women from fields involving fire, such as blacksmithing.

“Even in the future, I’ll never be able to sign my works… but, it should be fine for the stuff I make on my own time, right? And besides, this is my complete original…”

Towards the end, Karina’s voice drifted off into a mumbling tone, as she took a leather string from her pocket.

She threaded the string through the small hole in the wooden carving, then tied it, lifting it with her fingertips.

“Tada! Here, you can have it.”

Monica could do nothing but stare at the wooden carving of a cat dangling in front of her face. Karina put on a toothy grin.

“For you, Monica-chan, since you helped me out of a pinch! A commemoration of the first friend I made in Ridill!”

“T-Thank you very much!”

Monica cupped her hands around the wooden carving.

It wasn’t particularly large, and the leather string meant it would be perfect to hang on her bag.

“…Hehe, it’s cute.”

Monica smiled, causing Karina to smile as well.

At that moment, the sound of carriage wheels came from the direction of the front gate. Apparently, Cecilia had returned.

“O-Oh no, I have to go…”

“Aw, I wanted to chat more, but too bad. Good luck with your work!”

Monica pocketed the wooden carving and bid farewell to Karina.

＊　＊　＊

After returning from the tea party at the villa, Cecilia sat on a sofa and looked down absentmindedly.

Immediately after exchanging greetings with Monica, Cecilia invited her in a quiet tone.

“Silent Witch-sama, would you like to join me for tea?”

Cecilia had just returned from a tea party. This invitation meant that she had something she wanted to discuss.

Monica accepted the offer, and the servants quickly prepared their tea.

Only Cecilia and Monica remained in the room, with the other guards just outside the door. Monica felt her nerves tighten; this would be an important, confidential discussion.

“…Silent Witch-sama, what kind of man is Prince Lionel from your perspective?”

“Eh?”

The unexpectedness of Cecilia’s question made Monica let out a muffled sound.

Truth be told, Monica wasn’t particularly knowledgeable about the First Prince. On the other hand, she was quite familiar with the Second Prince——after all, he was her disciple.

Monica quickly went over everything she knew about Lionel. The first thing that came to mind was his considerate behavior at the recent dinner party.

“I think Prince Lionel is very, very… mature.”

If Louis were here, he might sarcastically ask if there was really no better way to put it. However, the kind-hearted Cecilia simply nodded in agreement.

“Indeed, I agree completely… He is very gentle and sincere…”

Having said that, Cecilia faltered in her words. Her fleeting smile transformed into a grieving frown, as if she was about to cry.

“…I am much too inadequate for him.”

That one sentence, despite her fragile tone, felt incredibly heavy.

Monica knew what emotions lied behind it. This was the voice of someone tormented by guilt and helplessness, crushing themselves with self-blame… much like Monica herself once did.

“Silent Witch-sama… Please, just for this single instance… forgive me for venting to you.”

Cecilia covered her face with both hands, beginning to confess in a hoarse voice.

“I am not the wonderful Saintess that everyone believes me to be. My brother put it this way: ‘You have no sense of self. Like the moon, you can only bask in the sunlight, unable to shine on your own‘…”

This was the cruel, hidden meaning behind the title of “Silver Moon Princess”.

Monica could easily imagine the Black Lion Emperor declaring those words in his arrogant tone. To him, Cecilia probably seemed like a lifeless puppet without any ego of its own. What’s more, Cecilia was aware of her faults.

“Prince Lionel is like a warm sun. But I… I have no qualification to receive his kindness or consideration… no qualification to become his moon…”

A sobbing voice could be heard from the gap between her hands covering her face. Almost reflexively, Monica found herself interjecting.

“U-Um, you know…!”

Monica didn’t know what burdens Cecilia was carrying, but she couldn’t just leave this alone… She had begun speaking on impulse, so her sentences were awkwardly formed.

“W-Well, um, I… I have, erm, someone I like…”

The sound of sobbing paused. Cecilia lifted her face, looking at Monica with teary eyes.

Why in the world had she brought this up? Though growing more and more hesitant, Monica kept speaking.

“I’m, erm, completely inadequate for him. Someone like me falling for him would, um, just be a bother… but…”

Closing her eyes, Monica envisioned the man in her heart. Just thinking about him made her cheeks warm, and her heartbeat quickened.

Monica folded her fingers together, as if in prayer, then continued.

“Even so… I think I should cherish my feelings… my love for him.”

Was it okay to love him or not?

Melissa had said, “Whether it’s okay or not is for you to decide.”

Thus, Monica struggled with her feelings… until she made her decision on that snowy mountain. She would allow the small crush within her.

“If I continue denying my feelings, eventually, I’ll end up denying all the kindness he has given me. That’s the conclusion I’ve reached… Um, s-sorry, I didn’t explain it very well. Uh… a cool acquaintance of mine said, ‘Nothing good comes from deceiving yourself about your feelings.’ So, erm, I thought I’d try putting that into practice…”

Monica knew that her feelings would never see the light of day. Hers was clearly an unattainable love. The timid Monica didn’t hope for anything more.

Nevertheless, she would not deny her feelings and pretend they never existed.

She had slipped a glass bead into his pocket when they parted. That modest “sneaky move” was a declaration of her determination.

As someone who lacked self-confidence, Monica couldn’t irresponsibly tell Cecilia to believe in herself. That said, she couldn’t help but hope that Cecilia wouldn’t deny herself too much.

Cecilia was an incredibly kind princess. She must be loved by her people.

By denying herself, Cecilia was essentially rejecting all of their love… and that would be incredibly sad.

As Monica began fidgeting with her fingers, Cecilia muttered quietly.

“…Um, about that person you like.”

“Y-Yes!”

“…Can you tell me more about him?”

Monica blushed all the way to her ears, nervously fidgeting at twice the usual speed. Talking about her crush was something she had never done before.

She began explaining, though half of her words sounded mumbled.

“He holds his back straight and acts decisively… He’s always composed, confident, and cool… I found myself wanting to be like him… and before I knew it, my eyes were always following him… Um, I-I really, really respect him!”

Towards the end, she ended up completely stumbling over her words.

“But, erm… I can’t say any more than this… please forgive me…”

The trembling Monica pleaded with embarrassment. Meanwhile, Cecilia wiped away a tear at the corner of her eye with her sleeve, then returned a gentle smile.

“Sorry, I’ve never chatted about such subjects before… It seems I’ve gotten a little excited,” Cecilia explained.

Although Monica didn’t quite understand the sensation of getting excited, it was good that Cecilia felt better now.

…But now, it felt like she ended up sharing an embarrassing story with little to show for it.

Despite knowing how rude it would be, Monica quietly muttered a complaint.

“W-Well, Cecilia-sama, you need to share your story too… Otherwise, it will be, erm, unfair, or something like that…”

“Y-Yes, you’re completely right. How could I be so shameless… Oh, um, but it’s my first time telling anyone about this kind of thing…”

Monica and Cecilia blushed as they fell quiet. Then, practically spontaneously, they both let out a shy giggle.

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