Special Story 17

A few days later, the ship arrived in Maurice, the capital of Gellang. Waiting at the dock were Sasha, Florin, and their son, Jace.

As soon as Maria spotted her cousin, her face lit up with a wide smile. The ship soon reached the dock and the gangway was lowered. Without hesitation, Maria ran straight toward Jace.

“Jace!”

“Mari!”

Born around the same time, the two were technically cousins but had a bond more like siblings. Since this was the longest they’d ever been apart, their joy at reuniting was even greater. Vivian and Florin also held hands and jumped up and down with delight.

“Princess Florin!”

“Vivi! You didn’t get seasick, did you? It’s been a while since you’ve traveled this far.”

“No, I was fine. It was more pleasant than I expected.”

Although Maurice was much farther away than their previous trip to Feifrea, and Vivian had been worried about seasickness, the journey turned out to be surprisingly comfortable. The food was good, and aside from the boredom of a week-long voyage, there wasn’t much to complain about.

“You—didn’t you even notice your own brother?”

“Huh? You were there?”

“Unbelievable.”

Vivian’s teasing made Sasha chuckle.

The reason Princess Florin and Sasha had come to Gellang was because of an oracle. Prince Garbo—now King Garbo—had received a divine message regarding his young son.

The fact that a divine oracle had come to the King’s son, who was only eight years old, raised concerns that Jace might receive one too. Deeply affectionate toward his younger sister, now married off to another country, King Garbo suggested she bring the child and visit Gellang for a while.

“Has the oracle been delivered?”

“No. I doubt Jace will receive one.”

The King and the temple officials seemed to think it was because Jace wasn’t a fully-blooded royal of Gellang. But Vivian and Florin exchanged meaningful glances. After all, Jace had been born after the rejection of a previous oracle—so it might be natural that no divine message would come for him.

“Well, since we’re here, let’s make the most of the trip and enjoy ourselves.”

Princess Florin spoke cheerfully. Though she had a reserved personality and often spent time alone in the palace, it was clear that returning home was deeply moving for her.

“There are a lot of people here who’ve been wanting to meet you, Vivian.”

“Me?”

“Of course! Like I said before, you’re quite famous in Gellang.”

Vivian looked surprised, not knowing what to make of it, but Florin explained kindly.

“The book you wrote, <Twenty Creative Ways to Show Your Love>, is one of the best-selling books in Gellang. A lot of noble ladies are already gathered at the palace, waiting to get your autograph.”

***

Armin and Vivian were ushered directly to King Garbo upon entering the royal palace. The King greeted them warmly. It was only natural—Vivian was Florin’s dearest friend and Sasha’s younger sister, and Armin, the Duke of Grey, was a politically significant figure.

After the formal greetings, Sasha and Armin stayed behind to spend time with the King. Vivian, meanwhile, left with Florin to meet the noble ladies of Gellang who had been waiting for her in the Queen’s palace. Word was that there were as many as ten of them.

Vivian was secretly relieved when Maria said she would rather stay behind and play with Jace than accompany her. With ten foreign noblewomen all eager to talk to her, Vivian knew she wouldn’t be able to give Maria the attention she needed.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay without me, Mari?”

“Yes! I want to stay and play with Jace.”

They would be staying at the palace for the duration of their visit anyway. Jace, who had lived there for over a month, already knew the layout of the place by heart. Holding Maria’s hand tightly, he looked up at Vivian and spoke with a sense of responsibility well beyond his six years.

“Don’t worry, Auntie. I’ll take good care of Mari.”

Two six-year-olds, neither much taller than the other—who was taking care of whom?

But this was the safest place in all of Gellang. There was little to worry about, even if the children ran about freely. Vivian nodded in agreement, though not without a word of caution.

“Make sure you don’t go anywhere dangerous. You know that, right?”

“Yes, Auntie Vivi. I’m going to visit my cousins with Mari. There’s nothing dangerous over there.”

“Cousins? You mean the Prince?”

“Uh-huh! All the kids whose moms came to see you today are gathering there.”

With other children around, Maria wouldn’t get bored. Unlike Vivian, who preferred lounging around in her room, Maria was incredibly sociable.

“Alright, then. Have fun.”

With Vivian’s permission, the children dashed off hand-in-hand, full of energy. Watching their excited little backs disappear down the hallway, Vivian shook her head with a fond, exasperated smile.

***

The Prince’s palace, where Jace and Maria had arrived together, was filled with children just as Jace had said. More than ten kids were gathered there. It was only natural that they were kind to Jace, the Prince’s cousin, and Maria, a foreign noble’s daughter.

Since the children rarely saw foreigners, they looked at each other with curious eyes. Though their accents were slightly different because they learned the Imperial language as a basic education, communicating with each other wasn’t a problem.

Maria quickly felt happy. Everyone was kind and gentle, so time flew by as they laughed and chatted joyfully. They played word chain games—Maria’s latest hobby—and talked about books published both in Gellang and the Empire.

Then the Prince made a suggestion: why not play hide-and-seek in the maze recently built in the garden? Everyone nodded enthusiastically.

“A maze? You mean that one that’s really hard to find your way through, Your Highness?”

“Yes, Lady Grey. We made it while tidying up the garden. What do you think?”

Maria hesitated a bit, recalling her mother’s warning not to do anything dangerous. Seeing this, Jace answered on her behalf.

“Wouldn’t it be a little dangerous if someone can’t find their way?”

“Oh? Don’t think about getting lost before even starting!”

Though the Prince’s words weren’t meant to be cruel, the other children laughed, and Maria felt a little hurt in her pride. Even though she knew Jace was just defending her, it felt like he was being teased instead.

“There’s no way I’ll get lost. Alright, I want to go into the maze too.”

“But Mari! Auntie said—”

“It’s okay, Jace. We can find the way, right?”

Maria silently promised herself she would find the path faster than anyone else there.

“Well then, everyone agrees. Let’s head outside.”

Unaware of Maria’s thoughts, the Prince spoke cheerfully, eager to show off the garden maze.

The children dashed outside as soon as he finished speaking. A total of twelve children came out into the garden.

“Is everyone here?”

The prince frowned slightly as he counted.

“I think one is missing. Who is it?”

At that, a boy about the prince’s age answered.

“Adrian is missing, Your Highness.”

“Oh, now that you mention it, Adrian really isn’t here.”

Maria leaned over and whispered quietly to Jace.

“Who’s Adrian?”

Jace whispered back just as softly, though there was no real need.

“He’s a noble the same age as us. I heard he’s the heir of the Duke of Reid. His mother, the Duchess, is a big fan of auntie. Something like that.”

If that was the case, then the Duchess Reid was likely one of the ten noblewomen gathered in the Queen’s Palace.

“A ducal house…”

The mention that Adrian was the heir to a ducal family, just like her own, piqued Maria’s interest for a moment. But Jace quickly added, “He wasn’t in the Prince’s palace either, so I guess he didn’t come today.”

At that moment, the Prince cleared his throat in front of the group of children. Then, he began to explain the rules.

“What Lady Grey pointed out earlier was actually a fair concern. But I believe the beginner’s maze will be easy for everyone to get through. It’s small in size and has a fairly simple layout.”

Sounds of relief echoed here and there. Though they had all acted brave, it was clear they had been just as worried, and Maria couldn’t help but feel a little better.

“If there’s a beginner’s maze, does that mean there’s also a more difficult one?” one of the girls asked.

The Prince nodded.

“Yes. I heard there’s a very challenging one too. The gardener said the two mazes are marked by the color of the hedges. So make sure to only enter the one with the light green hedges. The one with the dark green hedges is the harder maze.”

Light green. Dark green.

Maria repeated the words silently in her head several times to make sure she wouldn’t forget and accidentally enter the wrong one.

Soon, all twelve children drew lots to determine their order of entry, spaced five minutes apart. As fate would have it, Maria drew number one.

The Prince offered to swap lots with her, seeing the slight worry on her face. It was a kind gesture.

But Maria declined. Entering first also meant she had the best chance of finishing first. She was determined to come out before anyone else and impress them all, so she insisted on keeping her number.

Jace had drawn the very last number.

“Maria, are you sure you’ll be alright going in alone?”

“Of course! I’m perfectly fine on my own!”

She smiled brightly at Jace, who looked uneasy, then strode boldly into the maze.