#9.
To Prince Archie,
Where I am, there’s an enormous downpour today. The rain is so heavy that neither an umbrella, a raincoat, nor rain boots are of any use. Such things wouldn’t happen in Windsor’s early green moon, would they?
Anyway, rain or not, I have to go to Portobello this evening. Do you understand the heart of a working person who has to venture out in such heavy rain? I am worried about whether I might die while venturing out into the water today.
So, send me a letter quickly without regretting it after I die. If you haven’t been swept away by a storm yourself, contact me soon.
I hope your letter will be inside the box when I return.
Morning of June 12, Cordelia.
* * *
To Cordelia, hoping you are alive.
Did you receive the manuscript well?
If you read it, you would know what happened.
On the eleventh day of the early green moon, Archie Albert.
P.S. It is raining here too. It is a strange and pleasant coincidence.
* * *
To the annoying Prince Archie,
First of all, let me answer.
No. I have no idea what happened!
What about the manuscript, and why am I still unaware of anything?
I will write that story for you now, even if my arm hurts.
While I write, you should write the next story.
And let’s exchange letters.
How about it? Don’t you want to hear my story?
Something really amazing happened to me today.
P.S. Did I mention? I am quite pretty.
Wednesday night, June 12, a happy Cordelia.
* * *
To the quite pretty Miss Cordelia Grey,
Suddenly boasting about your beauty is useless.
Not that I’m saying I would be more beautiful, but we can never see each other face-to-face, can we?
Anyway, right now, I am feeling what you must have felt all this time.
It’s an itching feeling to hold back from the next curious story.
Apologizing for making you anxious all this time, I will write the long story from yesterday to exercise my itching arm.
Let’s see, where did I leave off last time?
Yes, it was where I mentioned finding the princess’s cabin.
Cecil, with a more sinister expression than Lady Macbeth, asked me what I was talking about. I explained the situation with a bit of a lie mixed in. I told a little lie as if the initial discovery never happened.
I said that I went to the monastery to get more books and saw the cabin where the princess and the knight lived. I mentioned the grave and tombstone in the backyard, the picture in the room on the second floor, and the story of Princess Edwina’s child in the painting.
After I finished my story, Cecil sat silently for a long time without any reaction.
She sat quietly as if chewing over what I had said, then after about five minutes, she suddenly asked me,
“Did you tell Mother?”
“I’m telling my sister first.”
“Why?”
“Why do you think?”
Cecil bit her lip with a blank face and said,
“The Queen would want to put the princess’s son on the throne. The late king would be clapping and cheering.”
I tried hard to deny what she had already figured out without further explanation.
“That’s not certain.”
“No, it will happen.”
Cecil shook her head. Her bowed white face, in the shadows of the late afternoon sun, made it hard to tell what expression she wore.
As you said, she might have been deciding to kill all the red-haired boys in the kingdom. Before her resolve hardened, it was my turn to act. I quickly handed over the book I had prepared. Cordelia, the one you made.
“What is this?”
“I found it in that house.”
Cecil quickly read through the text.
The beautiful words described how the princess wandered for a long time searching for the knight, going through various adventures, and finally, the two met, confirmed their love, and settled in the forest. As soon as she closed the book, I quickly spoke up.
“I will show this to Mother. And to the late King too. With this, I can persuade them both.”
“What do you mean by persuade?”
I took Cecilia’s hand.
“Sister.”
“What?”
Cecilia’s face turned a bit red. Oh, don’t think it’s because I am handsome. We share 100% of the same blood, and Cecilia is the only woman immune to my indescribable beauty.
Cecilia was embarrassed because we are not close enough to hold hands like this.
I seized the moment of her confusion to say something that would catch her interest.
“I am always on your side. Even if people think you are unbelievably wicked.”
Cecil stepped hard on my foot. Fortunately, it was my foot; if it were my arm, it would be hard to write this letter to you now. Cecil growled and said,
“Speak clearly.”
“You know what I mean. No matter who the princess’s child is, I think you are the one fit for Windsor’s throne.”
“Archie Albert, I know you have no ambition for the throne. But…”
“I know what you mean. You think Princess Edwina’s son might be different, right? Even if he isn’t, the late King or Queen will instill ambition in him?”
“Exactly, you scoundrel. Unless that child isn’t a runaway like you, escaping to the Lethe Monastery every day.”
“Maybe I can make him a runaway like me. And I can come to my senses and stand by your side.”
“How?”
“First, read this book. If she reads this, wouldn’t it alleviate some of Mother’s guilt about leading Princess Edwina to an unhappy death?”
“It’s too naive to think a book like this would erase 30 years of guilt.”
“Maybe. But it’s a really romantic story. Our Queen Adelaide is a very romantic person.”
I then pointed to the portrait of Mother and Father on the wall. Recalling how close they were when Father was alive, Cecil’s eyes softened a bit. Finally, Cecil reluctantly nodded.
“With that silver tongue of yours, Archie, maybe you can do something.”
After that, everything went smoothly.
I quickly handed the book, made from the princess and knight’s manuscript, back to my sister.
“You found it.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I mean, it was you who found the princess’s cabin and discovered this book.”
Cecil immediately realized my plan to pass all the credit to her. But she shook her head in disapproval.
“You were the one sneaking in and out of the monastery, playing with old Bedder. And I haven’t fully decided yet. Depending on the Queen’s reaction, I might,”
“You might think about finding and killing Princess Edwina’s son?”
Cecil didn’t respond. She seemed hesitant about which path to take. At this point, I felt I needed to persuade her. I used another book that you, Cordelia, had given me. Not the manuscript of the princess and the knight, but another book.
“Listen carefully, Cecil. We’ve read Macbeth. Think about it again.”
“Why are you bringing that up to show off? Do you think that after I kill that child, I will be trembling like Macbeth, haunted by ghosts and unable to do anything, going mad?”
“No, Cecil. I know you well. You were the girl who laughed with five foxes draped over your shoulders at just twelve years old. The one who broke your ten-year-old brother’s wrist without hesitation to escape kidnapping.”
“I fixed it.”
“Who’s saying otherwise? I just want to say that I know you well, Cecil. If a ghost came, you’d kill the ghost too.”
“Then why are you bringing up Macbeth?”
“You’re not Macbeth; you’re Lady Macbeth. Follow her plans. That’s how you can succeed.”
After saying that, I paused briefly and then recited Lady Macbeth’s line.
“Look like the innocent flower,”
Cecil completed my sentence.
“…but be the serpent under’t.”
We exchanged looks, faces close together like co-conspirators. It had been a long time since I had such a long conversation with Cecil. Overwhelmed, I tried to hug her, which led to a brief scuffle where she nearly killed me. Then we sent for an audience with Mother and the late King.
While waiting for permission, I spoke to Cecil.
“Hiding the serpent and appearing like the innocent flower is what you must do to become queen. You know that, right?”
Cecil knew this.
Her courage as a warrior was accompanied by the fierce brutality of a warrior’s temperament. Her outstanding abilities were often undervalued due to her cold demeanor, which made it hard for her to win people’s hearts. Many thought her habit of always stepping back to observe was sly.
Yes, my sister was intelligent but lacked virtue. Both Mother and the late King had some mistrust towards Cecil because of that. This was truly a good opportunity for her.
“Why are you handing this over to me?”
“…Because I love you?”
Almost got hit a few more times for that, but I answered again.
“I told you. I’m on your side. I’ll just go find that red-haired child.”
“And then?”
“And then? Well, then I’ll enthusiastically participate in our happy family reunion.”
Cecil laughed. I saw the face that only appeared when she was completely at ease.
After that, everything went smoothly.
Cecil and I appeared before Her Majesty the Queen, and we told her we discovered the princess’s cabin together. Cecil recited the manuscript of “The Princess and the Knight” in front of the Queen, saying she found it in the cabin.
Cecil’s clumsy and blunt voice trembled as she read, making the story even more moving. Knowing that the princess had not died but met her love and lived together in a cozy forest, the late King shed tears for the first time in a long while.
When he hugged Cecil while sobbing, I felt a tear slip out of my eye despite my triumph. Mother looked at me with an expression that couldn’t decide whether to cry or laugh. I was about to tell her she could stop blaming herself, but instead, I said,
“It’s all thanks to Cecil. She has already organized a search party to find Princess Edwina’s son.”
I said, looking at the crying King and Mother.
“A search party?”
“Yes. Based on the dates in the painting, the child would be a little younger than Cecil or me. Judging by what was left in the cabin, he couldn’t have gone far.”
“You figured that out?”
“Yes, if you see the cabin, you’ll notice there are no remaining shoes or clothes. The orange juice glass, the roasted onions, and the white bread were left behind, indicating they left the cabin in a hurry. They wouldn’t have had time to pack all their clothes. And since there are no clues about who the child is, he must be a very humble boy.”
Cordelia, did you notice? Yes, I had already started reading the Sherlock Holmes book you gave me. I knew that mimicking his deduction would impress everyone. As expected, Mother and the late King nodded deeply. I quickly gave credit to Cecil.
“Cecil investigated all this. And she entrusted the next steps to me.”
When I said that, Cecil swiftly continued.
“If Mother permits, I would like to entrust Archie with the task of finding that child.”
“Cecil, did you really organize a search party to find that child?”
“Yes, Mother. The most important thing now is to bring Princess Edwina’s child back to the royal family. Isn’t that right, Your Majesty?”
When Cecil said that, the late King seemed a bit moved.
“Cecil, just call me Grandfather.”
Since I had said all this, I quickly seized the moment to speak enthusiastically.
“If we bring him to the royal family, there will be much to teach him. He grew up alone in a cabin in the forest.”
Her Majesty the Queen nodded.
“Mother, having experienced the deaths of his parents, he is probably lonely now. I want to find him quickly and show him that he still has many family members by his side. Educating him as a successor and teaching him royal etiquette can come later. That’s not why we are looking for him. We need to create an environment for him that is free of any stress. Perfect love.”
“Free of any stress…”
The late King murmured.
“Yes, before teaching him about kingship or military strategy, we need to give him love. What do you think, Mother? Don’t you agree?”
The Queen had a somewhat reluctant expression but nodded.
Cecil looked at me and smiled like a snake.
I returned the smile to Cecil like an innocent flower.
How about that, Cordelia? Will you praise me now?
———= Afterword ———=
To all readers,
Like an innocent flower, I will update daily,
but like a wicked serpent, I seek your favorites, recommendations, and comments.
To plan a storm of updates in return for your support, I will go write diligently like a hardworking ox.
P.S. and TMI: Before Archie held Cecil’s hand, the closest skinship they had was when Cecil’s saliva landed on Archie’s cheek. Yes, she spat at him… Truly an ideal sibling relationship, right? That story will be for another time. Thank you for reading today.
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