“That is … Ceres?” Heiga wondered aloud. She was aboard an airship along with her father. She expected a village or a town at the best. What she was seeing, however, was a full-blown city with stone walls and proper roads. If anything was amiss, it was that the city looked tiny. Her information about Ceres was a bit outdated, and it was a fast developing city. As if reading her mind, Szalai Rajmund who was standing alongside her, told her.
“Over half of the city is underground.”
“Underground?” she repeated, sounding surprised. The whole concept of thousands living underground was alien to her. In fact, it would be alien to almost everyone else in the world. Anyway, for the occasion, she was dressed in a fine exquisite red dress with golden accessories. Since she rarely wore dresses, this was mighty uncomfortable. She also had her hair down and combed to perfection. While still not remarkably beautiful, she looked the part at least.
“The city used to be just a humble farming village far away from the mountain. The duke relocated it to where it is now and built everything from the ground up.”
“Relocated a whole village? How many people are we talking about here?”
“Roughly, five thousand at that time. I do believe their population exceeds ten thousand now.”
“Holy -” She quickly stopped herself from speaking further because she was about to curse.
That wouldn’t have been easy, she thought. As a military personnel, she knew first hand how nightmarish it would have been logistically. One would need strong leadership along with capable vassals to pull it off in her mind.
‘It could have been fun, though… I would have loved to have seen that. I mean -’
Her train of thoughts were soon disturbed by her father.
“How are you feeling by the way? Are you nervous?”
“Maybe I am, a little. You must know that I’ve never met a man in a circumstance like this, especially when he is five years younger than me.”
Szalai groaned, feeling the inelegant situation he had placed her daughter in. He was desperate to set up the meeting and did exactly so. Now that they were on their way to the meeting, he was also feeling the awkwardness of the whole situation.
“Don’t fret, father. I didn’t blindly agree to this,” she said, noticing her father’s clouded face. “I know my duty.”
Her duty was to carry on the bloodline. With her siblings all dead, it was up to her to carry on. Her father could still indeed sire children as she stated before, but it would be awkward. He was in his twilight years and demanding him to continue the bloodline was too much of an ask when she was still in her prime age. In the end, she decided to marry one way or another. Since Kamil Fenchel was her father’s first choice, she decided to meet him first. If she rejected him, her father would find the next candidate.
“Just letting you know that this airship we are riding on was invented by him,” he noted.
Her eyes widened. “I beg your pardon?”
“He is a man of many talents. I don’t rate him high for no apparent reason.”
“Isn’t he just fifteen years old?”
“I believe he has turned sixteen now. But, yes, the point still stands; he is young.”
A prodigy was the only word that came to her mind. Still, no matter how talented, she had yet to meet him yet and she wasn’t even sure what she was looking for in men. She never really had any preference in men. Did she like muscular men or intelligent-looking men? She wasn’t sure. Regardless, she felt that her father wasn’t wrong in choosing him.
When their airship landed on a platform nearby the Fenchel manor, there was already a small crowd waiting for them at the bottom, which was fully expected. However, what was unexpected was that Kamil was present with Flora. Heiga, having met neither of them, didn’t recognize them while Szalai was quick to notice him and assumed that the blond woman next to him was his wife. He immediately knew that something was amiss. Alas, there was little he could do at this point and he had to let things play as they were. As they walked out of the airship, Nestor, flanked by a pair of guards, welcomed them warmly while leaning forward slightly with a palm on his chest.
“King and princess Rajmund, I welcome you to Ceres. My name is Nestor Vogel, the duke’s scholar. The duke is here to welcome you personally.”
Kamil and Flora were at the bottom of the platform. It was specifically for official business only and it was two-storied in height, which was higher than a normal platform, meaning they could not see Kamil and Flora from where they were unless they looked down from the edge.
“I thank you for your welcome,” said Szalai and probed right after. “Am I right to assume that the duke is with his duchess at the bottom?”
“You are correct.”
Heiga narrowed her eyes, understanding the implication. He should have been alone. It was her father’s intention to warn her without actually warning her verbally. She realized instantly that the duke was not in the favor of this meeting. All the preparation she had to endure, it was for naught. At this point, she fully expected her father to turn around and leave, effectively canceling this whole event. However, he did not and walked forth with Nestor. She felt humiliated at this point. Her father was desperate enough to still push on even after being given a subtle hint that this whole meeting was unnecessary.
‘What would we gain from this?’ she lamented internally. Nevertheless, they made their way down at which point he could see a couple waiting for them down below. She still wasn’t sure they were Kamil and his wife but was quite confident that it was them because they stood out from the rest.
‘Not a bad looking guy, if that’s him. He does look indeed young.’
His first impression of him was decent. She didn’t dislike him in an instant at least. He was wearing a tunic and pants which were the regular wardrobe for a noble. His short brown hair was a bit unkempt but wasn't too bad. His eyes were ocean blue, and he really did feature a very youthful look and could still be mistaken for a child if not for his height. In her opinion, he didn’t look like a fierce warrior. He looked more akin to a scholar which made sense since he invented the airship among other things supposedly.
When her attention moved to his wife, she felt as if her chest was being squeezed. It was a strange sensation which she was feeling for the first time in her life. She also felt her heart racing faster. Interestingly though, it wasn’t the sight of Kamil that made her heart race faster. It was Flora.
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‘What?’
She was utterly confused. Unknown to her, she was attracted to Flora, not Kamil. It would take some time for her to realize what was going on. For the time being, she was simply confused as to what was happening to her.
‘Her blonde hair is like literal golden threads… and they are shining like the sun…’
She was also smiling alongside Kamil, and she felt that her smile was simply divine. She was slightly shorter than her husband and featured short hair for a woman that barely reached her shoulders. Her hair color was golden blonde which was sparkling like the sea surface under the sunlight because it was well taken care of, not to mention perfectly combed. Oblivious to her, she was grinning like a fool and was even slightly drooling. Noticing a strange change in his daughter’s behavior, Szalai gave a weak nudge to her waist, at which point she wiped her mouth and regained her composure at once before anyone would notice.
‘I really don’t know what’s gotten into me all of a sudden…’
Simply put, she was a lesbian, a woman who was attracted to the same gender. She simply never found out about her sexual orientation because of circumstances she had been under. She had always met potential suitors but never women. She rarely encountered women aside from maids and never met a woman who was dressed up for an occasion.
“Greetings, I am called Kamil Fenchel,” said he as he leaned forward slightly with a palm on his chest. Flora did the same since she wasn’t wearing a dress but pants.
“My name is Flora Fenchel.”
Szalai, donning a bitter expression, responded equally formally but he did not make a gesture. After all, he was a king and had seniority on his side.
“It is good to see you again, Duke. I see that you’ve been busy.”
“Time is of essence,” he replied curtly.
“Anyway, this is my daughter, Heiga Rajmund.”
Upon introduction, she responded with a curtsy. Holding the hems of her skirt, she showed respect. She was even taller than Kamil albeit not by much and, although her dress was hiding it, she was more muscular as well.
“It is an honor to meet you, Princess Rajmund,” said Kamil, smiling. Flora followed the cue and repeated the sentence.
“It is an honor to meet you, Princess Rajmund.”
Heiga’s attention was mostly fixed at Flora. Her heart was racing, and she was starting to sweat a little, which wasn’t good at an occasion like this. More importantly, she had to ask something even if it may have come off rude.
“Milady, you are not wearing a dress?”
All women she had encountered in her life swore a dress of some sort. If they were working women, they wore robes with the exception of maids. Flora was the first woman she met who was wearing pants which also had wide bottoms. Honestly, it was a refreshing sight for her.
“She has always complained about wearing a corset, so I’ve forbidden her to wear one,” Kamil said, beaming a smile.
“I am forbidden to wear corsets,” Flora followed gleefully, also beaming a smile. Being forbidden from something was generally seen negatively. Not in this case, however.
“I, I agree about corsets!” Heiga replied enthusiastically, taking a step forward. “They are so uncomfort-”
Szalai cleared his throat to rein her in. Blushing slightly, she shut her mouth and took a step back.
‘This is really weird.’
They were soon invited in for a meal together and conversed casually for a bit.
“I see. So, you’ve just given birth to a baby girl,” Heiga said while nodding. “By the way, what is this? I’ve never tasted anything like this before.”
They were having boiled shrimps along with salted rice balls and red wine. The rice balls became Flora’s all-time favorite, thus it was usually present whenever Flora would eat. As per Gojar’s recommendation, Flora’s rice balls were covered with spinach for extra nutrition to replenish her iron and calcium. Of course, he was unaware of the two chemicals, but the knowledge passed onto him taught him that spinach was beneficial to women who had just given birth or had her period recently.
“I must say that the texture is very … alluring,” Szalai remarked with a broad grin. It was very refreshing for both of them to taste something completely new. Estana did have a port city, but it looked like whatever cuisine they had wasn’t spread inwards, or Tantan mayhaps had a blessed location where they were able to harvest shrimps.
“It’s called shrimp. They are caught in the sea,” Kamil explained. “And these white balls are rice, imported from Rem.”
The seeds were effectively confiscated, thus it wasn’t exactly “imported” per se. He was growing rice in underground farms and had the first harvest already. It wasn’t enough for everyone to eat but was certainly enough for Flora.
Szalai replied, “The sea, you say… We do have a port city in Kuka, but I don’t believe I’ve seen shrimps…”
Soon an interesting dynamic was formed at the table. Kamil conversed with Szalai mostly, and Heiga conversed with Flora, dividing the group into what were essentially boys’ and girls’ groups.
“Your hair color and green eyes… I would very much see the baby if I could,” Heiga said, her eyes sparkling.
“She is not even a week old… I am afraid that she needs to be isolated for the time being.”
“Her name?”
“Cecilie Fenchel.”
“How lovely! She must be cute, no?”
Flora seemed to resist conversing further but she eventually talked. “She held onto my finger the other day, and it was so tiny,” she said gleefully. “Then she’d giggle. I can’t wait for her to say ‘mommy’.”
Heiga appeared to be so engrossed in the conversation that she was paying no attention whatsoever to Kamil. Her father was quite perplexed as to what was going on. Additionally, he had never seen her being talkative like that. Regardless, the meal went on and was eventually concluded during which she exchanged barely any words with her potential suitor who she was supposedly to get along with. When they retreated to a guest chamber, Szalai immediately demanded what was going on and asked whether she was planning to flop intentionally.
“That was not my intention,” she replied. “In fact, I do plan to go ahead.”
“Go ahead as in?”
“I will marry the duke,” she declared.
She wanted to be closer to Flora, and the only way for that to occur was becoming his second wife in which case she could act as a big sister to her. Her idea wasn’t far-fetched although somewhat uncommon. There had been cases where wives of the same man acted sibling-like, supporting each other. His face displayed doubts as if he couldn’t fully trust her commitment. Regardless, he was glad that she was willing at least. Of course, her willingness was only half of the requirement. Kamil would need to give his consent as well, but he didn’t see it as a stumbling block because no sane man would reject marrying a royal princess who was the only heir of a whole kingdom. A child from their union would end up ruling Estana, effectively making Ceres a part of the kingdom. Even if the city would retain its independence, it would be only on the surface. Szalai released a sigh of relief because he felt it was a long shot that Heiga would go along with the deal. He couldn’t shake off a feeling that the meeting went awry, however. He wasn’t complaining since the result was good enough. For Heiga, she would sleep with Kamil only to produce a child or two, thus fulfilling her duty as the sole heir of Estana. She was actually looking forward to raising their children together with Flora. She could literally become her sister.
“I must ask, however. Why were you interacting with his wife so much? What is your motive behind such an act?”
She had to come up with a lie. She couldn’t tell him that she was attracted to her after all. Homosexuality was neither acknowledged nor even known. The vocabulary didn’t even exist in the first place. At the same time, because it wasn’t known, the stigma behind it wasn’t there.
“Wouldn’t it be better to work with her instead of against her? We have to acknowledge that she is the first wife, and the duke has clearly displayed that he has no intention to either sideline or abandon her.”
Her father nodded along. She spoke the truth. The mere fact that he brought her out when they arrived, it was a silent protest that he was against the whole idea.
“In that case, I will befriend her and work with her. It’d put my mind at ease that way. I don’t wish to foster a hostile environment.”
“I see that you’ve thought this through,” he said while nodding affirmingly. “I am glad that you are onboard with this.”
She beamed a grin, hiding a bitter smile behind her. She wasn’t sure about anything. She wasn’t certain about her own feelings at this point. What she did know for certain was that she wanted to get closer to Flora, and this was the only way. Either way, an interesting dynamic was about to be created between Kamil, Flora, and Heiga.