"This is really good." Melty said with a cheerful smile as she tried her pound cake, eating it happily as she sat across from Rozemyne in the room reserved for tea parties, if Rozemyne had any.
"I'm glad you like it." Rozemyne said, twitching slightly as she noticed that a bit of the honey was stuck to the corn of the little princess's mouth and wondered how exactly etiquette would dictate someone to react in this situation.
Honestly, Melty was so cute she was tempted to wipe it up herself, but instead she just passed her a napkin so that as a subtle way of informing her she needed to clear herself up.
"You said Her Majesty wanted you to speak with me. She must hold you in really high regard if you are already acting as a representative at such a young age." Rozemyne said as a means to start the conversation.
"I have studied hard to prepare myself for the future from a young age, but I am afraid that her use of me has more to do with her being spread too thin, rather than her trust in me." Melty said in a humble manner that Rozemyne approved of. "I do not know how much of the international scene you are aware of, but my mother is in the middle of negotiations with the other countries in order to try to stop an all out war.
"At the same time, she is attempting to reclaim control of our own country after the treasonous acts that have transpired in her absence. And she is trying to organize a secret task force to be prepared to stamp out the traitors without them noticing."
"Being Queen certainly isn't easy." Rozemyne said, feeling sorry for the woman.
Having your husband basically declare war on the rest of the world while you were out… she must be pulling out her hair in rage.
"My mother sent me here to inform you of the exact extent of the situation, and determine what your intentions are." Melty said in a professional manner.
"If you are talking about the fact that there are separate Waves of Calamity going on in the other countries and that Melromarc is on the verge of war, I only just found that out recently. A representative from Siltvelt informed me of the situation, though he seemed to think that I was working under Her Majesty's direct orders, something I didn't dissuade him of." Rozemyne said as she took a sip of tea. "As for my intentions, Lord Ren and I are planning on leaving the country after this next Wave."
"L…Leaving." Melty stammered, seeming panicked. "By leaving, you don't mean leaving leaving, do you?"
"Ah, no. Our current plan is only to visit the other nations to sync up with their Dragon's Hourglasses, not to change our base of operations." Rozemyne said, understanding that the thought of two of the four Heroes already bearing a grudge scaring the princess.
"Oh, that is good then." Melty said with a sigh of relief, a hand on her chest.
…The girl was too expressive. Her manners were good, but she was too easy to read for a Princess. She wore her heart on her sleeve.
"You don't need to worry. I don't blame your people for crimes committed by a select few. Nor do I seek satisfaction for it. Lord Ren is upset, but ultimately just wants to do good." Rozemyne said, trying to comfort her.
"I am glad to hear that, and I am sure mother will be glad to hear it as well." Melty said with a smile. "But I didn't just come to Alexandra to tell you about our situations. Mother wanted to ask a favor of you."
"A favor?" Rozemyne repeated, curious about what a member of the Royal Family would request from her as a favor.
Though with royalty, the word 'favor' was equivalent to 'I'm sorry for this selfish order', with varying degrees of blatency.
"Mother has been very impressed with your abilities managing this city, and she wanted to ask if you would allow me to study under you, as practice for eventually managing a Kingdom." Melty said, surprising Rozemyne.
"Her Majesty wants you to assist in governing Alexandra?" Rozemyne said, making sure she understood the situation.
Melty nodded. "She says that if I am to be Queen someday, I will need to gain experience."
…Rozemyne was stunned.
It wasn't unusual for Royals and Archducal Candidates to act as understudies to those with experience and training, Wilfried had been made to study under Bonifatius for that very reason, but it usually was a member of the extended family. For a Royal Princess and apparently the next Queen to not only study under someone who isn't of Royal blood, but was also a foreigner, that was odd.
…But would she turn the girl down? Could she even do that? This was a direct request from the Queen of the country. Saying no would have long reaching consequences, even if done behind closed doors like this.
"I understand and will do my best to teach you everything I know." Rozemyne said with a nod, accepting her fate. At least Melty was a cute little girl. She didn't think she could handle it if she had to be Anastasius's coach. "But what about your retainers? When will they get here?"
"My retainers?" Melty said, a little hesitantly.
"That's right. A majority of your work is going to be learning how to make use of your people and making sure they have the experience they need to assist you and train others to do the same." Rozemyne said with encouragement. "Retainers are as important to a ruler as their own arms and legs, maybe even more so. You need to be sure to raise them well and learn to make the best use of them."
"I… I see." Melty said. "But I… Don't have any retainers."
"...What?" Rozemyne said in complete disbelief.
She didn't have any retainers? But she was a princess for crying out loud. A crowned princess even. How could she NOT have retainers!?
"Ever since my older brother was poisoned, my mother hasn't allowed anyone near me save for her Shadows. Even my father was never permitted to approach me, and my older sister was considered out of the question. So I… don't have any retainers of my own." Melty admitted.
Rozemyne sat in stunned silence as she mauled this over in her head.
The situation in this country was a lot worse than she thought if the crown princess had to live in complete isolation out of fear of assassination by her own people.
"Well, I suppose that is to be expected. I didn't have any retainers other than my guards and nanny until I was ten either." Rozemyne said, trying to act as if this wasn't a big deal. "For now, I'll just lend you some people so you can get used to the different kinds of things different retainers do and how to best utilize them."
"Thank you so much." Melty said with obvious joy. Too obvious. She needed to be schooled in hiding her emotions.
"Leafy. Please fetch Aqua, Terra, Amethyst, Topaz, Sapphire and Milk." Rozemyne said to the Library Rabbit at the door.
"Yes, Lady Rozemyne." Leafy said before going to do as she was told.
"In the meantime, let us determine your strong suits and weaknesses. Tell me what you know about the factors that affect the long term stability of a trade relation…"
Rozemyne started to quiz Melty over various aspects of governing to see how far she had progressed in her education. And in this, her Royal Upbringing became more obvious. Despite only being of the age that most children would be first entering the Academy, she had a basic understanding of most of the non-magical material in the Scholar and Archducial Candidate courses. All the while, Sora did his best to answer the questions, despite having never learned it.
There were a few gaps in Melty's knowledge. For example, she wasn't aware of the effects of stockpiling on the people's perspective of the cost of living, or the dangers of having too positive of a trade balance with a neighbor, but she knew most of the basics.
Rozemyne would reproduce the study guides she had from her academy days and create an exercise plan for the girl to follow during her spare time.
It took a little while for Leafy to return, since several of the people who Rozemyne asked for had been out and about, doing their various jobs, but when they did arrive, the seven Library Rabbits, including Leafy, lined up in front of Rozemyne and Melty.
Aqua, Terra and Amethyst looked similar to Angelica, Cornelius and Leonore respectively, only as rabbit eared children. Each of the three of them had swords at their waists and wore basic magic stone armor.
While they looked like cute little rabbit people, all three of them had participated in monster hunting, and between that and Rozemyne's 'praises', their levels had all reached 100 very quickly. Though Crystal Library Rabbits weren't as naturally powerful as Royal Filolial, they were still far stronger than your average humans, due to the buffs of the Legendary Holy Shield.
As for Topaz, Sapphire and Milk, they looked like Queen Eglantine, Head Librarian Hortensia and Prince Hildebrand. Milk didn't even look like a younger version of Hildebrand, just Hildebrand with rabbit ears. They wore the robes of scholars and looked very happy to have been called on.
In total, there were two boys and five girls. A fairly good balance for Melty's first retinue. "Thank you all for coming. I would like you seven to meet Princess Melty. Starting today, you will be working under her. Please follow her instructions the way that you would mine." Rozemyne said, introducing the seven Crystal Library Rabbits to her new apprentice.
"Understood!" The seven of them said together, getting a nod of approval from Rozemyne.
"Melty, these seven will be acting as your retainers during your stay here. Aqua, Terra and Amethyst will be assigned as your guard knights and will be in charge of protecting you from harm. Topaz, Sapphire and Milk will be your scholars, who you can delegate gathering information, prep work and middle management jobs to. And Leafy will be your attendant, in charge of assisting you in any everyday task and helping you manage guests." Rozemyne said as she introduced them. "That said, these are only guidelines. It is up to you to figure out what arrangement suits both you and them the best so that you can all work together."
"Ah yes. Thank you." Melty said, seeming a bit disappointed. "Lady Rozemyne, could you by chance assign me one of the Filolial as well? I… have a fondness for them."
Rozemyne blinked before giving Melty a disapproving look. "Melty, as a royal, you shouldn't let your personal wants be so obvious. It invites bribery."
"Ah, I'm sorry!" Melty said, not used to being scolded by people other than her mother, only for Rozemyne to giggle.
"I'm only saying that because it is my duty as your instructor. I can't remember how many times I was scolded for making my love for books too obvious." Rozemyne admitted to the girl before glancing over towards Sora, who was still hanging around. "Sora, would you mind assisting Melty as well?"
"Me?" Sora asked, surprised.
"You two are already friends, aren't you?" Rozemyne said. Sora was too much like Ferdinand, so Rozemyne wanted him to have some friends, even if she had to push him into it a little.
Sora thought about the pros and cons, about how he wouldn't be able to hunt as much as he used to and how the other Filolial might catch up to him in level if he wasn't careful… but he would also be around Melty, who would be around Rozemyne.
"If that is what you wish, then I will help her in any way I can." Sora said, puffing out his chest.
"Thank you so much!" Melty said, happy as could be.
Rozemyne chuckled before moving on to the next topic. "Melty, there is going to be a meeting between the four Heroes tomorrow afternoon. I'm going to teach you how to prepare for these kinds of social gatherings and what preparations need to be made. First up is information, ask your scholars too…"
And with that, Rozemyne began her tenure as the teacher of the future Queen of Melromarc.
May the Gods have mercy on their souls.
Atla woke up, her sightless eyes looking at both nothing and everything at once.
With the obstructions within her body resolved, the world, in that strange way she saw it, seemed so much clearer than ever before.
While she had always been able to perceive the world around her, sensing the way energy moved through the objects and people in her immediate area, the range of that power had expanded from being a few dozen feet to capsulating the entire castle. Every single living thing, down to the smallest little fleas, showed up as a bunch of figures made of light within her 'sight'.
But all of those small lights seemed dull in comparison to one of them, a ball of pure radiance that was coming from just outside of this small room that Atla was in.
The Demihuman girl pulled herself out of the potion she had been sleeping in and started to walk towards the light, pulled by it like a moth to a flame. She didn't care about the weird feeling of the potion sticking to her skin and hair and how it dripped from her clothes and tail. All that mattered was that light.
Atla opened the door of Rozemyne's hidden room from within and stepped out into her bedroom, walking over toward where the Archduchess slept soundly, her soft breathes like music in Atla's tiger-like ears. She stopped by the sleeping young noblewoman and spent a moment just basking in her brilliants.
When Atla first saw Rozemyne and felt her power, she had been convinced that she was an angel in human form. The volume of her magical power in comparison to her lifeforce was simply not something that could have been mortal. But now, standing next to her when she didn't have her shroud on to conceal her glory, Atla realized that she was mistaken.
Lady Rozemyne was no angel. She was a GODDESS.
Her light was like that of the world itself, all of the aspects of nature rolled into one, like the power of an entire Leyline had been concentrated into a single vessel.
It was beautiful and warm. And some of that power, the elegant light, was now inside of Atla as well. She could feel Rozemyne's power within her, pulsing like a second heartbeat, so strong and comforting at the same time. She could feel that bond she now shared with her Master and as she held it close she felt a whirling of emotions.
Atla stood there in silence for a few moments, staring at Rozemyne's sleeping form. The she pulled back a corner of the blankets and slipped into the bed with her, hoping that Rozemyne wouldn't mind her wet hair and clothing.
She snuggled up close to the Goddess and in the comforting warmth of her glow, she drifted back to sleep.
The day before had been tough on Rozemyne, as she had been trying to show off for Princess Melty.
So while she would have normally been a little lazy and skimmed the reports on all of the individuals in this upcoming conference, only really examining important bits of information, she instead worked with Melty to commit every last detail to memory.
Basically the entire life stories and background of every single companion to the heroes, which cross references in order to determine what was established fact and what was rumors.
The Library Rabbits were good at their jobs and the job of a Scholar was to document EVERYTHING. Every single rumor and every piece of filed paperwork that they could get their hands on in the last two weeks had ended up on Rozemyne's desk regardless of its apparent worth.
Melty had questioned why it was so detailed when looking over a list of the food items that one of the Hero parties would buy, but Rozemyne told her that it wasn't a Scholar's place to decide the worth of information. That was HER job.
Then she showed how even the information about the Bow Hero's food orders showed inconsistencies and helped to prove that there was a hierarchical system among his members. This also meant that there could be dissatisfaction within the ranks because of unequal treatment, meaning a weak link that could be exploited. And even if not, publicly outing him for it could cause embarrassment and leave Itsuki flustered and on the back foot if he tried to take the high ground against them.
To Rozemyne, this was just basic politics of the kind one would see at any tea party at the Royal Academy. Even if it might look like a high profile murderer investigation, it was the baby stuff when it came to noble tea parties. But to Melty, she was left speechless and amazed by Rozemyne's tactics.
But eight hours of digging through documents had been tiring work, and the sun had long set when Rozemyne had finally crawled into bed.
But she had slept well as was very comfortable, all the way until morning, when Indigo had come to wake her up.
"W…What are you doing in Milady's bed!" Indigo shouted, startling Rozemyne awake.
"Huh? Wha…?" Rozemyne said, looking around before noticing a pressure on her stomach and a pair of arms wrapped around her. She looked down to see Atla hugging herself closely to Rozemyne's body, her head pressed up against Rozemyne's stomach in such a way that her tiger ears were tickling the bottom of Rozemyne's breasts.
Atla started to wake up as well, stretching slightly and pawing at her eye in an adorable fashion, her hair and clothes disheveled by the Jureve that still clung to her. "Good morning, Master." Atla said with a half yawn.
"Um, good morning. It is good to see you up." Rozemyne replied, reaching up and giving her a scratch behind her cute little ears, which Atla leaned into.
She was shocked to see the girl out of the Jureve already, but then recalled that the Legendary Holy Shield had an effect that boosted the effectiveness of all potions that she made, and further boosted them at time of use as well.
It seems she had underestimated just how powerful the Jureve was.
"Don't just lie there, get out of Milady's bed!" Indigo shouted, blushing a bright red.
"...Don't want to." Atla said before pushing herself face first into Rozemyne's chest, drawing out a squeak of surprise.
Indigo was shocked, his face turning even redder before he shouted once again. "I said stop!" Then, he leaped on top of them as well, pushing both Rozemyne and Atla out of the bed and causing all three to end up on the ground in a tangle of limbs and sheets.
Both of them seemed more interested in hugging Rozemyne than actually dislodging the other.
Two little cuties fighting over her… Rozemyne could definitely think of worse ways to start the morning, as she played with their ears.
It is a little creepy, until you remember that Rozemyne is physiologically 14 (she looked like she was 7 until after she turned 14), and her emotional age is all over the place. Where as Naofumi was 22 and emotionally dead inside.
Though there are many times in the series that Rozemyne shows that she is much more attracted to the feminine form than the male one.