Chapter 14: The Name of the Thread

“Then I’ll make your breakfast green peas only, Miss!”
“That’s not allowed!!”

The continuation of the dream vanished.

That line of thought disappeared thanks to Linsy’s voice, spoken to wake up the still-sleeping Faustina.
Faustina jolted upright so quickly it made her previous sleep seem like a lie, and she let out a shriek.

She had learned to eat broccoli, and she could manage parsley in small amounts.
But she still could not bring herself to like green peas.
She made an effort to eat everything on her plate, but whenever green peas appeared, her hands slowed dramatically.

If she were served a green-peas-only breakfast, it would never end.
To prevent that easily imaginable future, she got up.

“Ah, you’re awake now.
Good morning, Miss.”
“Good morning, Linsy.
No, that’s not it!
What was that just now!?
There had to be a better way to wake me up!”
“You did not wake up no matter how many times I called, so I used the method just before the final one.”
“That makes me more curious about what the final method is.”
“Would you like to hear it?”
“No.
It sounds like something I’d regret hearing.”

She did not want to regret it later.

“Now then, please wash your face first.”
“Okay.”

She got out of bed, and in the basin Linsy had prepared was water at a comfortable temperature.
She gathered her hair back, including her bangs, wet her face, then lathered soap and washed away the grime.
After rinsing off the foam, she took the towel and dried her face.

“Ahh.
That feels refreshing.”
“Next, we’ll fix your hair.
Miss, please sit in front of the dresser.”
“Okaaay.”

She handed the towel back to Linsy and sat where she was told.
After saying, “Excuse me,” Linsy loosened her gathered hair and slowly, carefully ran a comb through it.

“What do you do on your days off, Linsy?”
“Me?
Let’s see…
I go into town to enjoy shopping, or visit cafés with good reputations.”
“Cafés, huh.”

There were many stylish cafés in town, even ones not specifically for nobles.
She had gone incognito a few times dressed as a commoner.

“Which café do you recommend, Linsy?”
“That’s not allowed.”
“I haven’t even said anything yet!”
“You’re going to say you want to go, aren’t you?
That’s not allowed.
If you go, Miss, you’ll gain weight.”
“What do you mean by that!?
I like exercising, you know!?”
“The café I frequent is famous for its wide variety of pies.”
“Pies…!”

Faustina’s eyes sparkled.

Pies were Faustina’s favorite.
Especially that café’s apple pie, which was said to be exquisite and sold out quickly unless you lined up early in the morning.

“I went there once on a day off, but they were already sold out.”
“You went before opening, right?”
“Yes.
An hour before opening.
But there was already a long line.”
“An hour early…
That’s practically a battlefield.”

Still, an apple pie worth lining up an hour early for…

She wanted it.
Very badly.

At that moment, a clever idea popped into Faustina’s head.
As Linsy continued combing her hair, Faustina hummed cheerfully.

But.

“Miss, that’s unseemly.”
“It’s fine.
It’s just me and you here.
Cut me some slack.”
“What if Lord Kane came in at a moment like this?”
“Ugh…
Linsy, you’re really strict with me.”
“It’s all for your sake, Miss.”

She immediately stopped after being threatened.

‘Thank goodness…
It’s not green peas only.’

This morning’s menu was pancakes.
The toppings were fresh cream, peanut cream, several kinds of jam, butter, and honey.
Everyone could choose their own drink.
Faustina chose hot milk.

She wanted grape juice, but after accidentally splashing Elvira with it at Bernhard’s birthday party, she avoided drinking it when the whole family was present.

Knowing Linsy, if Faustina hadn’t woken up, she probably would have made Faustina’s breakfast green peas only.
Feeling relieved, she put fresh cream on her pancake.

“Hehe, Fana.
You look oddly relieved while eating your pancakes.”
“Linsy said something ominous.”
“If you wake up properly, it won’t be green peas only, so do your best to get up.”
“……”

It seemed that the green-peas-only comment had been Kane’s idea.
He patted his half-lidded sister on the head.

“I was just giving advice because everyone was having trouble waking you up.
Lending a hand when those below you are struggling is also an important role.”
“That sounds admirable, but it feels a little different.”
“Can’t be helped.
You’re Fana.”
“What do you mean by that!?”
“Don’t worry.
It’s limited to Fana only.”
“That doesn’t reassure me at all!?”

She knew he was teasing her, but Kane sometimes joked and then actually followed through, which made it scary.

Satisfied with teasing her, Kane finished his last pancake and asked a maid for more tea.
Faustina put a cream-topped pancake into her mouth.
Because the pancakes were mildly sweet, they paired well with the sweetness of the cream.

‘Next is jam.
Which one should I choose… hm?’

As she debated between blueberry, strawberry, raspberry, and marmalade, she felt a strong gaze from across the table.
Seated in front were her father Citrine and her mother Ludmilla, with Kane, Faustina, and Elvira seated opposite them in that order.
Sitting in the middle, Faustina guessed the gaze belonged to either her father or her mother.

Even without looking up, she could roughly guess who it was.
Since Bernhard’s birthday party, a rift had formed between parent and child, and they had only exchanged minimal words for weeks.
Thanks to her newfound ability to let things slide, Faustina did not mind much, but she also felt that leaving things this way probably was not good.

‘But what am I supposed to do in a situation like this?
Asking Her Majesty for advice about my dress for the tea party is one thing, but asking about my relationship with Mother too would be wrong.
Relying on her too much isn’t good either.’

There had to be an opportunity somewhere.
If she forced herself to close the gap and only made it wider, it would be meaningless.
Until the right moment came, she decided to pretend not to notice.

She placed marmalade on a bite-sized piece of pancake.

As she enjoyed the sweet-and-sour marmalade, Elvira began talking to Ludmilla about the dress she would wear to the upcoming tea party.

“Mother, about the dress for the tea party, I’m still torn.
They’re both so lovely that I can’t choose.”
“They all suited you perfectly.
We still have a little time, so let’s choose together.”
“Yes!”

Ludmilla looked delighted at Elvira’s sunflower-like, innocent smile.
Then she turned a stiff expression toward Faustina.

Elvira looked surprised at the sudden change in expression.

Just as Ludmilla was about to say Faustina’s name, Faustina swallowed her marmalade-topped pancake and shifted the conversation to Kane.

“Brother, are you having something new made as well?”
“Yeah.
Measurements are already done, and now it’s up to the designer.
Did you consult Her Majesty?”
“Yes!
She incorporated several of my preferences, and it turned out to be a wonderful design.
Mother, could you please ask the designer for me?”
“…Y-Yes.”

Perhaps it was her imagination, but Ludmilla looked dejected.
Wondering if she felt unwell, Faustina tilted her head, then saw her empty plate and decided that if her appetite was fine, there was nothing to worry about.
She reached for the peanut cream next.

Watching her with a wry smile, Citrine gently comforted Ludmilla, saying, “There’s no need to rush.”

—After breakfast, Faustina quickly prepared to go to the royal castle and boarded the carriage waiting in front of the entrance.

“Please take care, Miss.”
“Mm.
I’m off.”

She departed for the castle, seen off by several maids including Linsy.

She silently watched the scenery pass by at a steady pace.
She had seen this same view hundreds of times, yet never grew tired of it.
What had her past self thought, knowing she would never again be able to travel this familiar road and watch this passing scenery?

She could not come up with a good plan to break off her engagement with Bernhard.
If she continued on like this without doing anything to Elvira, she would likely obtain the future her former self had wanted.
She still had feelings for Bernhard.
But having been cruelly cast aside once, she had grown timid.

Bernhard was kind because Elvira had done nothing.
The heated lapis-blue gaze he showed at the birthday party had been directed not at Faustina, the fiancée who received the dress, but at Elvira, the fiancée’s younger sister.

“What do you call this again…
Was it ‘Fortuna’s thread’?”

Faustina lifted a strand of her sky-blue hair.

Fortuna, the elder of the sister goddesses revered by the kingdom, governed fate.
All human connections were determined by threads tied by Fortuna, and even the fate of the nation was decided by threads named prosperity, chaos, peace, and destruction that she wove.
Because the royal family and the church paid respect to the sister goddesses, the people too had long worshiped them as deities who brought protection and peace to the kingdom.

“Fortuna’s thread,” put simply, was the thread that bound a man and a woman together by fate.
A powerful thread that could never be cut, no matter what blade was used.

That was how it was told in old tales.

“Hmm…
If His Highness is Elvira’s destined partner, then who is my destined partner?
…It’s not, like, a straight-to-death thread, right?”

Maybe it was.
Haha, she laughed it off, but having said it herself, Faustina felt depressed anyway.

Although she felt down in the carriage, she switched gears as soon as she arrived at the castle.
Accompanied by a maid in the queen’s service and a guard knight, she headed toward the room for queen consort education.

Then, from ahead, someone familiar appeared with an attendant and guards.
The moment Bernhard saw Faustina, his face lit up and he hurried over.

“Good morning, Faustina.”
“Good morning, Your Highness.”
“You’re heading to queen consort education now, right?”
“Yes.
Are you going to sword training now, Your Highness?”

He wore practical clothing and carried a sword.
She also recalled him saying he tried to start his mornings with sword training whenever possible, though there were days he could not.

“That’s right.
In case of emergencies.
Mother often tells me about how you’re doing in your lessons.
She says you learn quickly and never break.”
“I still have a long way to go.
I cannot compare to Her Majesty.”
“Same here.
I’m nowhere near Father or Mother either.
That’s why I just keep working to get even a little closer to them.”

Unlike the handsome beauty of his older years, the effect of his boyish, sparkling smile was overwhelming.
Clinging to her composure with the strength of six well-behaved cats, Faustina screamed internally.

‘Nooo!
This feeling of being placed right at the edge and then shaken from below, I’m never getting used to it!’

For the sake of protecting that smile, she needed to end the engagement as soon as possible.

Urged on by the maid as time pressed, she bade Bernhard farewell and headed toward the queen’s room.

Just as she neared the door, she noticed figures standing there.

Queen Sierra, and one more person.
A boy with honey-colored hair and deep violet eyes looked up at Sierra with a slightly puffed expression.
When Sierra noticed Faustina and the others, smiling wryly, the boy looked over as well.

Faustina recognized him instantly.

One of the people she had caused great trouble for in her previous life, the second prince, Neige Luke Garcia.

Neige, whose face was so pretty he could be mistaken for a girl, widened his deep violet eyes—then smiled softly.

‘Prince Neige as a child leaves more of a “cute” impression than “beautiful” or “cool.”’

Idly thinking that his impression had not changed, Faustina approached Sierra, who beckoned her over.

“Good morning, Faustina.”
“Good morning, Your Majesty.”
“This is your first time meeting him, isn’t it?
This is the second prince, Neige.
Go on, introduce yourselves.”
“Yes.
It is a pleasure to meet you, Prince Neige.
I am Faustina von Wittgenstein, eldest daughter of the Duke of Wittgenstein.”
“I am Neige Luke Garcia.
I often hear about you from my brother and mother.”

Her curtsy was perfectly executed.

After greeting her properly, Neige looked up at Sierra.
Sierra wore a troubled smile, then called over a guard.

“Take Neige to the garden.
However, if there is even the slightest change in his condition, return him to his room immediately and summon a physician.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
“Thank you, Mother.”

He gave Sierra a radiant smile distinct from Bernhard’s, then left the area accompanied by the chosen knight.