Chapter 10

"Too much free time..."

This one phrase summed up her feelings about her life as the king's brother's wife.

Normally, a queen who marries into the royal family would accompany her husband on official duties and attend social gatherings. Moreover, the current king, Edouard, is unmarried despite having a childhood fiancée, so the king's brother's wife is sometimes asked to help the empress dowager manage events held at the royal castle.

However, Sara has no official duties to speak of.

That makes sense.

(I was sent here as a hostage to symbolize peace. There's no way I would be given any official duties.)

Additionally, her husband, the king's brother Richard, is a recluse who dislikes others. He assists his brother with official duties and reviews documents, but he never appears in public. Therefore, there's no need for Sara to accompany him anywhere.

Sara's only duty is to spend her time quietly as a hostage.

(Still, it's too much free time...)

Claire had suggested embroidery or poetry, but while Hermine might enjoy such activities, Sara honestly didn't. She preferred reading and walking to doing meticulous tasks.

(But, I shouldn't go out too much, it seems...)

Sighing, Sara heard a knock on the door.

"Excuse me, Lady Hermine. I've brought your tea."

This voice belonged to Claire.

"Yes, thank you. Please come in."

"Excuse me."

"…Oh? I smell lavender. Did you pick it?"

As soon as Claire entered the room, a gentle fragrance wafted through the air. Holding a silver tray, she looked startled at Sara.

"Ah! Yes, the gardener picked it for Lady Hermine… Did you know?"

"No, I just smelled it."

"…You have a good nose."

While preparing the tea, Claire said this, and Sara smiled and nodded.

Actually, Sara had a very good sense of smell. As a child, she could guess the evening menu just by the smell from the kitchen, surprising her parents and the servants. Even after becoming Hermine's lady-in-waiting, this skill proved useful.

Her ability to identify flowers and herbs in a basket by their faint scent was praised by Hermine as "almost like a superpower."

(…Hmm? Now that I think about it, was that really a compliment…?)

Realizing this now, Sara was brought back to her senses by Claire's amazed voice.

"Oh, I see! …Ah, then, can you tell what flavor the tea is today?"

"Hmm… I smell maral, so maybe it has maral slices in it?"

"Exactly! Wow, that's amazing!"

As Claire excitedly opened the teapot, sure enough, it contained maral slices cut into comb shapes.

Maral is a fruit grown in warm regions, and the maral Sara had eaten in Sarei was imported from Ferrie. Perhaps because it was from its native land, the maral slices were larger and more plump than those she had eaten before.

"Lady Hermine is amazing! It's as if you're one of us—ah, no, never mind."

"…"

Claire suddenly lost her momentum and looked down. Sara stared at her intently.

Claire was undoubtedly about to say, "like a superpower."

Sara wasn't sure if Ferrie had superpowers that involved identifying things by smell. But Claire had started to say it and then stopped. She must have thought that calling Sara "like a superpower" would make her uncomfortable, or even upset or sad.

"Claire"

"…Ah, about what I said earlier…"

"Don't worry about it. …You're right, it does feel like a superpower."

Sara smiled, and Claire looked at her with a troubled expression.

'Like a superpower'

This was a phrase that had been used to describe Hermine in the past.

Only Hermine knew how she felt when she said it.

But—thinking back, having a good sense of smell wasn't a typical skill for a noblewoman, and comparing it to something from Ferrie, which was once an enemy country, might have been more of a taunt.

(But Claire is different)

Having a good sense of smell was a natural ability, not a superpower.

But—being called "like a superpower" in this country might mean "like one of us."

As a hostage from Sarei, who was only a decorative king's brother's wife, the phrase "like a superpower" felt like being given a way to live in this country.

Gently taking Claire's hand, Sara saw her look at her with a frightened gaze.

"…I don't think it's a very refined ability. But if it makes me seem a bit more like you, I'm happy."

"Lady Hermine…"

"Don't worry about it."

Smiling, Claire's tense face gradually relaxed, and a slight smile appeared at the corners of her lips.

"…Lady Hermine is so kind."

"Is that so?"

"You are. …Lady Hermine, if there's anything I can do, please don't hesitate to ask me."

Though hesitant, this was surely Claire's way of responding.

Sara blinked a few times, then smiled—this time as "Sara" rather than "Hermine"—and firmly squeezed Claire's hand.

"Thank you! Claire, I have something I'd like to discuss with you right away."

"Yes! Ah, I'll make the tea, so please have a cup while we talk."

"Sure, I will."

The room was filled with the gentle aroma of maral tea.