IDIBC Chapter 136

The Royal Palace of Resotia 

[To my beloved wife, Lienne.]

The following morning, I received the letter from Ricardo that I had been waiting for.

Written in his always neat handwriting, the letter carried Ricardo’s distinctive scent. I pressed my lips briefly to the paper, then lifted them away and slowly began to read.

[There is something I decided on my own, knowing full well you would scold me for it.]

Whatever could Ricardo have decided that would earn him a scolding from me? Suppressing the anxiety that crept over me, I read on, countless thoughts flickering across my face in quick succession.

“So what you’re telling me is — you want me to become the Queen of Resotia!”

I blurted the words aloud without thinking, alone in the room, and felt immediately embarrassed. I cleared my throat with a quiet ahem and turned my attention back to the letter.

After a line about how the sheer volume of affairs in Dermeier made it impossible for him to visit Resotia as often as he wished — a despair to him, he wrote — he went on to say that his solution to the problem was to come himself as King of the Principality of Resotia.

Even through the written word, it was plain to see that Ricardo was thoroughly annoyed.

The royal family of Resotia is appointed by the Dermeier Empire. Of course, a family once elected could not simply be removed at will. It required the Emperor’s decree, the consent of the Grand Temple, and on top of that, the agreement of Resotia’s nobility — a cumbersome affair by any measure.

For that very reason, over the past hundred years and more, Resotia’s throne had passed by hereditary succession.

As far as I knew, the current king even had a Crown Prince…

My thoughts reached that point, and I let out a small, involuntary laugh. This was none other than the heir of Rochester — a family now considered to hold power surpassing even that of the Emperor himself.

The Emperor’s decree, the Grand Temple’s consent, the Resotian nobility’s agreement — none of it posed any real obstacle to him.

Even so, his considerate explanation, seemingly mindful of my worries, continued.

[The current King of Resotia has also agreed quite willingly, so you need not worry. I have arranged for the present royal family to be treated in a manner befitting their station.]

When on earth had he managed to reach an agreement with the Resotian royal family? In all likelihood, they had barely managed to put up any resistance.

Though the line had endured for over a century, the royal house had always been required to obtain imperial sanction for every matter of governance — which meant they had long tended to regard themselves as high-ranking nobles merely granted the title of king.

[It was only after I pledged my support, from the throne of Resotia, for the Empress’s regency, that the imperial couple consented to my departure from the capital. I knew Schneider was relentless, but I never imagined he would press me this hard. Of course, I will need to travel to the Empire often, but at least we won’t be as far apart as we are now.]

The handwriting here was broad and free-flowing, and I could tell that Ricardo had been quite elated as he wrote this part.

[Resotia will no longer be called a vassal state of Dermeier. Nor will there be any need to seek permission for the crown we pass down to our children.]

Naturally. I felt my eyes narrow involuntarily.

[And besides — this comes very close to the ending you prefer.]

The ending I prefer?

[The ending is absolutely the Emperor’s ending. That’s the conclusion you love.]

I burst out laughing. He still remembered, with vivid clarity, what I had said that day in the library at Rochester.

Back then, I had believed that a happy ending and an Emperor’s ending could never be achieved together… Yet Ricardo — who was to become both my husband and my king — had gone and accomplished that impossible thing all at once.

[From now on, the power of Rochester will pass to the new kingdom you and I will build — it will become the power of Resotia’s royal house.]

His voice felt so real, so vivid, it was as though Ricardo were speaking the words to me directly. I nodded as though in conversation and slowly read the final lines he had left.

[So board the carriage I have sent and go to the Royal Palace of Resotia, and wait for me there. I will return to you without fail before the full rainy season comes to Resotia.]

[With every last measure of love I possess, Ricardo.]

At the very end of the finished letter, written in smaller script than the body of the text, there was a postscript.

[P.S. When you arrive, there will be a surprise waiting for you that I think you’ll love.]

The uncharacteristically endearing tone made me keep smiling despite myself, even knowing I ought to scold him. I simply could not bring myself to be even the slightest bit cross with him for having done something so enormous without so much as asking my opinion.

I thought to myself that the only surprise worth having was Ricardo himself — and yet I found a quiet anticipation for the gift already taking hold.

I composed my reply with care, then quickly set about preparing to leave for the Royal Palace of Resotia. He had told me to wait for him there, and so that was all there was left for me to do.

Because Ricardo had moved so swiftly, Resotia had not been given much time to prepare for its new King and Queen. Word of the change in royal house had not yet reached as far as the Fennel Count’s estate where I was staying, but Sabrina had relayed to me that there had been no shortage of commotion, large and small, in the vicinity of the palace.

Exactly ten days after the letter arrived, a carriage bearing the Rochester crest passed through the main gates of the Fennel estate.

That jet-black carriage, which had once carried Ricardo away to a new world, now opened its doors wide to carry me into an entirely new world of my own.

I could not help but be surprised by the person who opened the door.

“I trust you have been well?”

It was Freddy Fordwan — the most capable and devoted head butler of Rochester, and the man who would now become the Chief Chamberlain of the Kingdom of Resotia.

“Freddy!”

Freddy broke into a broad smile and extended his hand to escort me. Without a moment’s hesitation, I took it.

“I have so many questions…”

“Let us be on our way first. I’ll tell you everything during the carriage ride.”

“All right.”

Before we set off, I turned to look back at my family, who had come out to see me off. Like Freddy, every one of them was wearing a warm, bright smile.

Surrounded by the blessings of everyone I loved, I set out for somewhere new — and my heart kept up its pleasant, glad rhythm all the way until we arrived at the palace.

****

The Royal Palace of Resotia had just barely finished preparing itself to welcome its new King and Queen. The palace’s exterior, which captured all the beauty of Resotian architecture in its purest form, was striking enough to make one feel as though one had traveled back to an ancient age.

It exuded a timeworn atmosphere that felt exotic even to me, a Resotian, and the rich, vivid colors throughout gave it a certain warmth and loveliness.

‘So this is the Royal Palace of Resotia.’

It seemed somehow ill-suited to Ricardo, who favored wearing black, and a small, involuntary smile escaped me at the thought.

The carriage drew to a halt. I took a deep breath and stepped out — and was greeted by a great swell of cheering voices welcoming me.

“We are honored to receive Your Majesty the Queen.”

The unfamiliar form of address made my shoulders stiffen for a moment, but I lifted the corners of my lips and smiled as naturally as I could manage. Calling to mind the image of the Duchess of Rochester in my head made it a little easier to hold a composed and unhurried expression.

Once I had settled my excitement and taken a careful look around, I noticed that the palace attendants were somewhat different from those of the Dermeier imperial court. The men’s trousers were cut a little shorter, and the women’s skirts were narrower, giving an overall impression of greater ease of movement.

One of the ladies-in-waiting stepped forward to greet me, and I was soon guided by her to my chambers.

“Please rest for a little while, and we will have your bath prepared shortly.”

After the long carriage journey, I was weary and made it known that I wished to rest. The lady-in-waiting who had shown me to my room read my mood promptly and went outside to see to the bathwater.

Once she had gone, I looked carefully around what would become my new home.

In the Kingdom of Resotia, as in Dermeier, a husband and wife had separate bedchambers. The two rooms were connected by a sitting room where they could speak for a time and attend to light matters of business — that much was similar to the architectural layout in Dermeier.

Contrary to my expectation that I would be too unsettled in this unfamiliar place to sleep, I drifted off after a long bath. When I opened my eyes again, a deep darkness had fallen over the palace gardens.

“How long was I asleep?”

The lady-in-waiting assigned to attend to me was a woman named Riella, with light reddish hair and a sweet face. She had served as a lady-in-waiting to the former Crown Princess, and had worked in the palace for many years.

“You slept for three or four hours, Your Majesty.”

Freddy had explained she would only be looking after me for a time, but I found myself quite fond of her — she was careful and calm in her movements.

“Would you like something light to eat?”

“I’d rather read a little, actually. I had a nap, so I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep tonight.”

“In that case, shall we visit the archive?”

“The archive? Is it all right to go at this hour?”

“Of course. The palace library is currently being reorganized, so that would be difficult — but the archive below this wing is open at any time. There are mostly old texts, but it’s quite a delight to browse.”

Following Riella, I arrived at the archive to find it less like a library and more like a secret room housing the most important records of the royal house.

Just as she had said, the archive in the wing where the King and Queen resided held a great many very old books indeed.

“I’ve heard that some of the ancient texts here have survived nearly a thousand years.”

A thousand years ago would have been around the time the Dermeier Empire came into being.

Ever since the first Emperor of the Empire declared that Resotia would be preserved as a principality under imperial protection, successive Emperors had reportedly kept every historical text and artifact from Resotia housed here in this palace.

I had heard it said, but I had never once imagined I would actually see it with my own eyes.

“I’ll wait for you here, then. You go on ahead.”

“You won’t come with me?”

“Only members of the royal family and those appointed as custodians are permitted to enter.”

I swallowed quietly and gazed at the rows upon rows of shelves packed tightly with books. I was quite certain that someone with as poor a sense of direction as mine would be hopelessly lost within ten minutes if I let my guard down.

I drew a long breath, and the distinctive scent of old paper — found only in rooms full of aged books — seeped all the way into my lungs.

The thought briefly crossed my mind that I ought to simply go back to my room, lest word spread on my very first day in the palace that the new Queen couldn’t find her way around — but my feet had already carried me in between the shadowed shelves.

As I stepped inside, Riella took two paces back and angled herself so that the light at her back would illuminate the path ahead of me.

With the plan of walking in a straight line and retracing my steps to come back out, I set off slowly. A long shadow stretched before me, leading the way like a guide.