Miranda quickly pushed her from the balcony into the bathroom. The bath was already full of hot water, not that Misha knew when anyone had asked for it. Her mother had quite liked baths, so they’d had one in their forest home, as much of a luxury as that had been. Misha enjoyed soaking in the bath as well, so she had no inhibitions about taking one now, but there was something else in this situation bothering her.

  “Umm... I can wash up on my own, so don’t worry about it,” she said, deftly slipping out from between the attempted helping hands of the maids.

  Ever since she had been old enough to dress herself, she had bathed alone. For a girl who hadn’t even bathed with her mother in so long, the thought of having someone else clean her was a bit off-putting. And as one might have expected of someone her age, she didn’t want to disrobe in front of total strangers. A bit of a struggle ensued between the fleeing Misha and the maids trying to do their job, but it came to a close when Miranda returned to the room with a handful of herbs.

  “Here, Misha—if you like the smell of these, you can use them in your bath.” She turned to the maids. “It’s okay, she’ll be fine. Can you help me over here instead?”

  Although they were a little disappointed, the maids did as they were instructed and filed out of the room.

  Misha slumped to her knees. The maids hadn’t budged an inch for her own wishes, but one word from Miranda had completely changed their tune.

  Miranda chuckled, patting Misha on the back. “Everyone just wants to help you, Misha. They’re a bit jealous I’ve had a monopoly on you so far. Here’s an idea: Once you’re done with your bath, let’s get to know the maids a little. They’ll be taking care of us from now on, so we all need to figure out our boundaries, right?” Then Miranda tossed her bag of herbs into the tub, and a gentle aroma immediately filled the room. “These will help you relax. Plus, they’ll keep your skin smooth. I’ll teach you how to make them later.”

  With that, Miranda exited. Finally alone, Misha quickly slipped out of her clothes, washed off the grime of the day, and slipped into the bath to soak. The aroma had a refreshing hint of herbs and some kind of sweet flower in it as well. As she stirred the hot water, she felt a thickness to it as well.

  She sighed heavily, completely relaxed. A bathtub large enough to fully extend your legs was always a pleasant experience. Before long, she switched to massaging her muscles, easing the tension and stiffness.

  Running a bath this size must have been a lot of work. Misha had refused all attempts to help her bathe, but she at least had to properly thank the servants later for drawing the bath.

  Misha watched as her platinum-blonde hair floated in the warm water. The color itself was enough to remind her of her mother, and she couldn’t help the tears that threatened to escape her eyes.

  It was hard to believe not even three months had passed since they had been drawn out of their home in the forest by news of her father’s injury. And now Misha had come all this way, as if running away. She had kept herself busy to avoid thinking about her mother’s death. At the time, she’d been so preoccupied that she hadn’t even been able to get used to life in her father’s mansion before this journey had conveniently whisked her away.

  But every once in a while, the loneliness returned like a paralyzing chain wrapped tight around her chest. How long would it be before she came to terms with those feelings? How long would it be before thinking of her mother would make her happy again? The image of her mother that had lodged itself into her brain was not her beautiful, radiant smile, but the sickly pallor of her corpse.

  “Misha, hurry up and finish in there.”

  She must have spent quite a long time sitting there in a daze, as Miranda’s voice called through the door, bringing Misha back to her senses. After giving her hair and body a more thorough wash, she rinsed herself off. As she toweled off her hair, she recognized the faint scent of herbs clinging to her. She slumped her shoulders. The aroma was enough to show she’d enjoyed the bath for too long.

  Good thing it’s spring. It’d be terrible to catch a cold immediately after I arrived.

  Her first order of business was to get dressed. After donning a simple yet soft white dress that had been prepared for her, she stepped out of the bathroom.

  “Come here,” Miranda beckoned her over to a seat in front of a large dressing table, handing her a cup of cold water. There were mint leaves floating in it, making the drink all the more refreshing.

  “Please, allow us to take care of your hair,” a maid said as they quickly moved to relieve Misha of her towels, and with a look from Miranda, Misha relented and let them go.

  Her hair was long enough to reach her waist. Drying it all by herself was quite a bit of work. Normally she would pat most of the water out and then let the rest dry naturally, but she could imagine that was probably unacceptable when she was about to meet a king.

  “Your hair is beautiful. It’s a great color—and so glossy too. If I could spend the rest of my life tending to your hair, it’d be a dream come true,” one of the maids said as she dried Misha’s hair. She had bright red hair tied up tight behind her head. “And it’s so bright, it almost looks like it’s shining. Incredible...”

  “Your hair is quite pretty too. It looks just like sari flowers,” Misha replied.

  Sari flowers were large summer flora known for their bright red petals. The comparison drew a shy chuckle from the maid.

  “My name is Misha. Could I ask yours?”

  “I am Tia. And please, you do not need to be so formal with us.” Tia beamed, earning a shrug from Misha.

  “I’ve never lived in a place like this before, so I don’t know how else to act. You’re older than me, right? If it’s an issue of social standing, can we at least be normal when there’s no one else around? You don’t have to be really formal with me either. If you’re too polite, it feels like you’re really distant, and I start to feel lonely. And not just you, Miss Tia. That goes for everyone.”

  At Misha’s sad smile, everyone around her felt like they had taken an arrow to the heart. They were all immediately struck with the desire to turn her loneliness into radiant joy.

  Unable to hold herself back, Miranda wrapped Misha in a big hug. “Yeah, it’s a bit strange to deal with such politeness from people who are always around you, isn’t it? So, let’s all be good friends.” She looked over her shoulder and grinned at the two maids behind her and the butler standing at the far wall. Despite her voice sounding bright and cheerful, her eyes were anything but. They shone with a challenge: You wouldn’t dare refuse a girl as cute as this, would you?

  Tia, quite young and already head over heels for Misha, wasted no time in nodding. “If that is what you wish, Lady Misha, I would be happy to!”

  The other maid, a bit older and more experienced, hesitated but she eventually folded and gave a small bow. The last to capitulate was the butler, assenting with the silent motion of his chin.

  “Okay then, let’s get changed and make you beautiful. You’ve been invited to an early dinner after the formal audience.” Miranda’s bright smile set the two maids back to working.

  As Misha changed into the new dress and had her hair styled, she learned the other maid’s name was Isabella, and the butler’s name was Kino. Tia was sixteen years old, while Isabella was twenty-two and recently married.

  This being Misha’s first time wearing a formal dress, she felt uncomfortable in it. Awkward, even. The midnight-blue hues had an incredible sheen, and closer inspection revealed the dress was intricately embroidered with thread of the same color. A wide ribbon was tied slightly above the waist, where the fabric was gathered before the skirt draped delicately outward in an airy manner. White lace decorated the neckline, cuffs, and the hem of the skirt, adding a bright contrast to the darker, calmer colors of the fabric. Gemstones adorning the dress in its same deep-blue color sparkled as Misha moved.

  At first glance, one might have thought the dress was on the boring side, but every accompanying second spent staring at it revealed it to be more luxurious than it first appeared. It stood thoroughly opposite to the dress she had been wearing when she arrived. Anyone who saw it could see in an instant just how much the duke treasured her. There would be no one in the castle underestimating her standing. It was the greatest support a father could have given his daughter as he sent her to a far-off land.

  Unlike Misha, Miranda understood fully that people would judge others entirely based on the clothes that they wore, and so she was quite satisfied with the outfit. And even without all those ulterior motives, the princess-line silhouette suited a girl Misha’s age very well.

  More brilliant than any jewel on her dress, of course, was her shining golden hair, the top half tied behind her head while the bottom half flowed down her back. The deep colors of her outfit drew out the beauty of that hair even more. The careful brushing and oiling had made the strands smooth and silky. Her hair was so enchanting that others couldn’t help wanting to reach out and feel it for themselves.

  With the final touches of a pink diamond necklace and floral earrings, together with a bit of rouge, she was ready. Seeing herself in the mirror, Misha winced slightly in a nervous grin. Miranda and Tia both grinned at the endearing reaction.

  “It feels kind of weird. I don’t look like me at all.” The slightly redder tint to her lips gave an innocently mature impression.

  “We have some time to spare, so go ahead and relax. I’m going to get changed too,” Miranda said, leading Misha to a nearby sofa.

  Afraid of getting the unfamiliar dress dirty, Misha very much refrained from anything like tea, but she didn’t have much to do while waiting, and her attire made relaxing difficult. In addition to the dress, she was also wearing a corset for the first time, and although it wasn’t tied all that tightly, she didn’t find the experience pleasant. Instead of taking the time to decompress, she sat upright and uptight as she waited. On top of that, struggling with the volume of the petticoat under her skirt, she didn’t think she could stand up from a sofa this low on her own.

  “Princesses have it rough, don’t they? I have a lot more respect for them all of a sudden.”

  Her idle sigh brought a round of laughter from the maids.

  “Well, it’s something you get used to, I suppose,” Isabella said.

  “You look quite beautiful, though,” Tia added. They both tried to explain that she was just too young to be used to formal attire like this, and Misha smiled sheepishly.

  I hope I don’t have to wear this kind of stuff often enough to get used to it...

  Wisely, she decided to keep that thought to herself.

  She then felt something touching her skirt near the hem, so she directed her attention to the floor. Looking up at her in confusion with a soft whine was a rather perplexed Ren.

  “What’s wrong, Ren?” she asked the wolf pup.

  “Oh, absolutely not! No getting fur on the dress!” Tia shouted as soon as she saw Misha reach out to Ren. The wolf gave a yelp in complaint at being grabbed without warning, but he didn’t otherwise resist.

  “He seems to like you quite a bit,” Misha commented. Despite living with humans for a few months now, Ren was still a wild animal; he was always on guard. On their journey to Redford, it had taken a long time for him to let Geord and the other knights close enough to touch him. And yet, all he’d done to protest a stranger picking him up was whine.

  “I come from a barony out in the countryside that keeps hunting dogs, so I’m used to dealing with them. I took the time to introduce myself to this little guy while you were bathing.”

  “Hunting dogs...” Now that she thought about it, it made more sense that they would assume he was a dog than a wild wolf Misha had picked up along the way. But as she looked to Ren, she could see that as much as he sat quietly in Tia’s arms, he wasn’t all that pleased at being treated like a mere dog.

  “Ren, you flirt...”

  Ren barked in surprise.

  If they were going to be staying in Redford for a while, Ren being on good terms with Tia and the other maids was important. But somehow or other, witnessing it irritated Misha. Her muttered complaint got a surprised look out of the wolf pup.

  When they had first arrived, Misha had left to go take a bath, and the only other person he knew—Miranda—had immediately gotten busy with work. He had been left entirely alone. Noticing his unease, Tia had obtained permission from Miranda to borrow one of Misha’s handkerchiefs. Once the familiar scent had calmed Ren, Tia had given him some dried meat. (Which hadn’t even been salted! It was so good on its own!) There was no way he wouldn’t have taken a liking to Tia in that situation. He didn’t want to feel bad for that.

  Besides, his feelings toward Tia were nothing like his feelings for Misha. As far as Ren was concerned, he thought of Tia as “a sensible girl who can at least help take care of us, I guess.”

  “Ah! What’s wrong, Ren?!” Tia cried out in surprise, almost dropping him as he started to bark and howl.

  Intent on clearing up this misunderstanding, Ren deftly slipped out of her arms and landed on his feet, dashing to Misha’s side. But yet another pair of hands scooped him up before he could reach her.

  “No. You were already told you are not to sully the lady’s dress,” Kino commanded.

  Ren froze at the whisper by his ear. It wasn’t violent or threatening in the least, but at the same time it made his hair stand on end. His wild instincts told him he absolutely could not disobey this person.

  “He was probably confused at seeing you in such a different state. If you’ll excuse my language, your scent has probably grown quite thin after taking a bath, and with it overpowered by the smell of the herbs you used, he might’ve struggled to recognize you.”

  “Is that true, Ren?” Misha asked. For some reason, he was frozen solid in Kino’s arms. His ears were flat against his head, his eyes wet. “I’m not mad, don’t worry. Guess I surprised you a bit, huh? Sorry for teasing you. I was just a bit jealous of Tia.”

  Ren softly whined as Misha stroked his fur with care. As she pulled her face closer, he licked the tip of her nose. She giggled and leaned in again to rub her nose against his.

  “All better?” Misha asked.

  Ren gave a happy woof, his ears popping back up energetically. But when he tried to jump into Misha’s arms as he always did, he found he couldn’t move an inch. Kino wasn’t restraining him with any sort of force, but the wolf pup still couldn’t worm his way out of the butler’s arms. Ren’s ears dropped once again.

  “My lady is in her formal dress. I cannot allow you to get any of your fur on her. You will have to make do with me until she returns from dinner tonight.”

  As stony as his expression was, Kino gently stroked Ren’s fur. It did little to assuage Ren’s fear, though. The wolf pup’s tail was still curled between his legs.

  “It’s okay, Kino. I’ll take care of him.” Seeing the stress the wolf pup was under, Tia hesitantly offered to take Ren from the butler.

  “Oh? Very well, then.” But as Kino reluctantly moved to hand over the wolf pup, Ren took the chance to break free and jump, trotting over to the corner of the room where a number of cushions and blankets had been laid out to create a bed for him. Resting his nose on Misha’s handkerchief that had been left there, he closed his eyes.

  “Ren?”

  Ren’s tail gave a single wag at Misha’s voice, but otherwise he remained motionless. Apparently, he was going to take a nap.

  “He’s probably decided to stay away because if he sticks close, he’ll want to jump on Misha again, and he knows everyone will try to stop him. No need to worry. He’s a very smart boy,” Miranda said as she emerged from the bathroom, wearing a dress very similar to the ones worn by Tia and Isabella.

  Misha gawked. “You’re going dressed like that, Miranda?”

  “Yep. Does it look good on me?” Miranda replied with a grin and a twirl. The maid dress was long enough to cover her ankles, and with no petticoat underneath, it was also easy to move in. It seemed Miranda was planning on continuing to act as Misha’s servant.

  “That looks great. I wish I could wear something like that,” Misha whined.

  She was happy to have pretty clothes, but the unfamiliar outfit was already starting to fluster her. She also was pretty turned off by the whole idea of not being allowed to have physical contact with Ren when he was in distress.

  “We haven’t even started yet! You can’t be complaining already.”

  “But I don’t even feel like I can eat in this.”

  Miranda patted Misha on the head. “I guess not. You can take off the corset between the formal audience and the dinner. Your figure is good enough that you don’t really need it, and you should be fine without one if you’re wearing a dress like this.”

  A glance to Isabella standing by the wall got a nod from the maid. Miranda wasn’t particularly fond of corsets in the first place, considering what they did to your circulation and how they could warp your bone structure, so she was happy to have the maid’s assent.

  She could recognize why people would go so far as to harm their own health in the pursuit of beauty, but that didn’t mean she approved of it. There were other ways to ensure one kept a good figure, methods Miranda was much fonder of.

  Besides, Misha was still a growing child. Preventing her from being able to eat properly was downright abusive.

  “It’s dinner at a castle, after all. We want to enjoy it as best we can, right?” Miranda cheerfully said.

  “Yeah! I think I can manage until then!” Misha flashed a grin.

  After tidying up Misha’s bangs, Miranda stepped back to make sure nothing was off with the girl’s appearance. “You’re as pretty as the goddess of the moon, you know? First impressions are a big deal. Make sure you stand straight and tall.”

  After Miranda patted her on the back to help her relax, Misha stood up straight and smiled. Miranda looked at her proudly.

 

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