I meet Vincent at the teleporter. We cross it together and, once at the station, we take the one that goes directly into the palace.

  There, in addition to the crown employee, there are also a couple of guards. Palace security, I imagine.

  When we exit the portal chamber, we’re greeted by a wide, luxurious hallway with paintings on the walls and numerous candelabras for lighting.

  “We’re in the area of the palace where my family resides,” the prince explains. “No one comes here except family members and the staff. They’re preparing one of the rooms for you. Hand your things to a maid so she can take them there for you. In the meantime, let’s go to the garden. My mother and her ladies-in-waiting have prepared a small welcome ceremony for you.”

  “Oh, that wasn’t necessary.”

  When I cross the stone archway leading into the inner garden, I’m surprised by the warm air that envelops me. At this time of year, the temperature should be lower. I stop and look around to see if I can spot the source of the higher temperature. But there are no bonfires or braziers. Maybe it’s because of some spell?

  The prince, beside me, smiles gently, misinterpreting the reason for my pause.

  “Don’t be nervous,” he tells me. “My mother can be imposing as the queen, but to us she’s always been there, like any mother. She’s excited to spend some pleasant time with you now that you’re my official fiancée.”

  I nod and walk beside him.

  The garden seems like a small world unto itself with its crystalline water ponds, dark wooden bridges crossing them, and flowers opening their petals to the radiant sunlight. But above all, some plants I’ve never seen before catch my attention. They grow in glazed clay pots and change color following a pattern I don’t recognize. Their leaves are green one moment, then tinted blue, pink, or violet the next. It’s very beautiful.

  I never got to visit the palace in the otome game, so I wasn’t invited to the royal family’s private garden. I think Beatrice did get to be here when she was playing with Mary.

  In any case, for an indoor garden, it’s huge. I imagine it’s also a status symbol. It seems to me to be designed with great taste. The combination of its elements is harmonious and gives a pleasant feeling of tranquility and peace.

  After walking for a few minutes, we arrive at what looks like a picnic area surrounded by silver willows. The queen is seated at a low table. She’s accompanied by five ladies-in-waiting, all elegantly upright. Vincent’s mother, upon seeing me, graces me with a kind and welcoming smile.

  “Mother,” says the prince, inclining his head. “I have brought my fiancée, as you wished.”

  The queen rises without hesitation and comes toward me.

  I begin to bow in a curtsy, but she stops me, taking my hands in hers.

  “What a joy to be able to treat you as a daughter,” she says in such a warm tone that I feel my shoulders relax. “Welcome to our home. I hope your stay is comfortable and pleasant.”

  “Thank you very much, Your Majesty.”

  “Oh, please,” she laughs softly. “We’re family now. You can call me Eleanor. Strict formalities are unnecessary, especially today, when we’re in an intimate circle.”

  She guides me to the table, where a silver teapot releases a faint bluish mist. The herbs inside are violet in color, but when the tea is poured into the cups, they change to a brilliant emerald green.

  I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re related to the ones in the pots

  “They’re thermal herbs from the south, which I grow here myself,” the queen explains as one of her ladies-in-waiting serves us. “They change color to indicate if the tea is at the perfect temperature. Green means it’s ready.”

  “I’ve never seen anything like it,” I reply.

  “By the way, son, this is a women’s gathering. You can go. Don’t worry about your fiancée, we’ll return her to you in a while.”

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  Is he seriously leaving? I stare at him and he shrugs and obeys his mother.

  “I’ll be in the library,” he tells me, “waiting for you.”

  Some of the court ladies let out silly giggles as they watch him.

  “Let me introduce you to my ladies-in-waiting,” the queen says, reclaiming my attention.

  There are five. All from high nobility houses. I try to memorize their names, something I would never have managed on Earth, at least not on the first try. What a wonderful mastery, Scholar.

  We sit down. One of the ladies distributes honey and nut sweets while I bring my hand to the teacup. It’s hot. I bring it to my lips and drink carefully, so as not to burn myself.

  “I would have liked Lily to be here too, to welcome you to the palace, but she’s gone to the Marquess Dravenholt’s mansion. And Faith... but she told me she’s feeling unwell and is resting in her room. Have you two met in person? I know you’ve met Lily.”

  Oh. I have no idea if Bianca ran into Faith at some point. Considering she outranks me, I’m going to assume not.

  “Actually, no. Her sister...”

  I was going to say I know Sol, but how can I say that if she attacked me at the academy?

  “Oh, don’t worry about her sister’s matter. Vincent already told us you didn’t want her accused of attacking a member of the royal family, especially since the announcement of your engagement was so recent. No charges of high treason will be filed against her. In fact, Faith was very relieved when we told her. You’re very generous, Bianca. It’s clear you think of your own, and now Faith, the future queen and wife of your fiancé’s brother, is one of yours.”

  The ladies-in-waiting nod and make affirmative sounds, as if supporting that I did the right thing.

  Oh my! But I only intended for an eye for an eye against Sol not for it to become some kind of bigger retaliation. I didn’t even think about her sister being the future queen.

  As if I could think about that when her fiancé demanded to marry me.

  Between that and what he did to Catrina, that crown prince is like a rotten apple. He should be kept away from Vincent and Lily before he hurts them.

  I mentally scold myself for thinking about arranging some horseback riding accident or similar for the future king. He’s Vincent’s brother, so I’ll be nice to him and won’t attack him if he doesn’t start first. Again.

  Ugh, well that’s not helping...

  I realize the queen is eating one of the sweets while looking at me thoughtfully. I hope my face hasn’t conveyed any of my thoughts. He’s her son.

  We chat for a while about court and academy gossip, with the ladies-in-waiting actively participating in the conversation, and when there’s no tea or sweets left, I decide to bring up the subject before we say goodbye.

  “Eleanor,” I say, “there’s something I’d like to ask you.”

  “Tell me, daughter.

  Daughter... the queen is indeed warm and affectionate with her own. I feel somewhat guilty for thinking those things about Sigfrig. Not about the punch, though. He deserved that.

  “You see, Vincent doesn’t have a bodyguard. It makes no sense for me, his fiancée, to have one. First, when we were attacked in Solstar, I was the one who saved the situation, not the bodyguard, and second, I repeat that it makes no sense for the prince not to have one and his fiancée to have one.”

  “I see your point. When they assigned you one, you know why it was.” The ladies look at her curiously, but she doesn’t add anything more about the reason. “However, now as a fiancée, it’s true that if you have a bodyguard, Vincent should too.”

  “So you’re going to give him one?”

  Oh, Vincent is going to be pissed.

  “No.” She sighs. “He’s stubborn when he sets his mind on something. Normally he’s very reasonable, but he flatly refused to go to the academy with an escort. He says that would make other students treat him differently. Both he and Lily are very cordial with everyone and don’t like being treated differently for being royalty. That’s why they refused despite the incident in that aquatic dungeon.”

  I nod.

  Another little thing that was because of me... or the pup.

  “Then will you remove mine? I can defend myself very well. Better than Lily and possibly better than Vincent.”

  Several of the ladies bring a hand to their mouths to stifle an exclamation. If I understand them correctly, it’s not very normal for a woman to be stronger than a man, right?

  Or was it because of my lack of modesty?

  I’d tell them welcome to the 21st century, but for that there are still quite a few technological and social advances to go.

  “You’re right.” The queen nods gravely. “I’ll talk to my husband and we’ll remove him.”

  I glance toward a distant point in the gardens, where said bodyguard has remained waiting for me.

  No doubt it’s ridiculous.

  And all because I possess the queen mother’s legendary sword.

  If I were from a neighboring kingdom and wanted to undermine this one, since the gods forbid war, I’d do things like poison the water or sabotage the agricultural fields. I certainly wouldn’t waste time trying to steal a sword, no matter how good it is, to increase the life points of peasants. Of course, I’m also not a noble who’s been plotting petty intrigues for years, so I imagine killing me must seem perfect to them.

  Well, let them come if they dare.

  The major protection necklace saved me, and its spell is active again.

  As I decided after the attack, I want to learn some kind of magical shield. And besides, I’m alert in case it happens again, and I have no doubt that Ronan has some of his smaller undead watching over me.

  In any case, after a few minutes the queen concludes the welcome tea and one of her ladies accompanies me to the library.

  Along the way, we run into Sigfrig.

  She curtsies to him and so do I. He greets us curtly and walks past.

  I feel an ominous sensation. I don’t think he’s going to let it go, the punch. I need to do something before he makes his move. I clearly remember his last words were “You’ve dug your grave.”