For Romantic Superpowers - Chapter 3 - Welcome To The Royal Palace

#3. Welcome To The Royal Palace

 

It rained on the day of her arrival. It was a gentle rain. Lia always liked rain falling softly like this. She especially enjoyed seeing the droplets resting lightly on the leaves in the forest. Somehow, it felt like the rain was welcoming Lia’s arrival, making her heart flutter with excitement.

 

Lia put on her attire once again. Shortly after Perth left, a letter guiding her about the palace and the clothes to wear upon arrival had arrived. Unlike Perth’s attire, it was a simple outfit without the elaborate gold decorations. Lia could tell immediately that it was a novice’s attire. Nevertheless, she liked the simplicity of it because it represented the uniform of the palace staff, something she had longed to wear.

 

“Lady, are you excited about entering the palace?”

 

“Yes, I am. Jacqueline knows too. My dream was to work in the palace.”

 

Jacqueline shook her head as if she couldn’t understand. Why would entering the palace be someone’s dream, especially for someone as noble as a Count’s daughter? Jacqueline’s skepticism was apparent.

 

Well, it didn’t matter. Lia couldn’t wipe the smile off her face. Moreover, she started humming a tune. It was a good day, with good weather, good mood, and good attire. Everything seemed perfect.

 

“How do I look? Doesn’t this uniform suit me well?”

 

“Why do you like such a simple uniform?”

 

“Why not? It’s not burdened with unnecessary heavy decorations, no flashy patterns, just clean and neat.”

 

“Besides, it’s white. Imagine how difficult it is to keep it clean. Someone who doesn’t think about practicality designed this outfit.”

 

“I guess you’re right.”

 

Lia nodded as she looked down at her uniform. The novice attire emphasized practicality, a white dress that came up to mid-calf, with only gold trimmings around the neck and at the hem. It had a lot of white areas that would easily catch the eye if anything stood out.

 

Before she knew it, the carriage had arrived at the palace. As the door opened, she noticed mud puddles on the ground. Lia lifted the hem of her dress to avoid splashing mud. Since it wasn’t a long gown but a short skirt, her knees were exposed.

 

“Ahem, ahem.”

 

Suddenly, she heard a cough next to the carriage door. When she turned her head, she saw a familiar figure holding an umbrella.

 

“Mr. Perth!”

 

He seemed embarrassed as he glanced at Lia’s knees, his ears slightly turning red. He was indeed someone with charming quirks.

 

“All the palace uniforms can repel dirt, so don’t worry and come down.”

 

“Really?”

 

Lia immediately let go of her hem. She extended her hand, now freed from the fabric, towards Perth, who wore white gloves. Although she hated touching people, this level of escort seemed acceptable. Still, Lia raised her hand as carefully as possible. As a result, she didn’t pay attention to her footing and stumbled.

 

“Oops!”

 

“Be careful!”

 

Instinctively, Perth reached out and caught Lia by the waist as she fell, preventing her from tumbling and holding her close to him. It was already the second time. Unable to lift her head in embarrassment, a stern voice spoke from above.

 

“You should work on strengthening your leg muscles, young lady.”

 

“I-I’m sorry. Thank you.”

 

As Lia was let go, Perth smoothed out his uniform as usual. The wrinkles on his forehead remained.

 

“Mr. Perth, you’re quite caring.”

 

“Pardon?”

 

His expression conveyed confusion. Even the puzzled look behind his glasses was as expected. He was an easily readable person. Lia giggled and covered her mouth with her hand.

 

“You caught me from falling twice.”

 

“But you were running into me, weren’t you?”

 

“Even so.”

 

Despite his aversion to physical contact, Perth always seemed to catch her reflexively when she was about to fall. Lia took it as evidence of his caring nature.

 

“Anyway, welcome to the palace.”

 

Lia responded energetically to Perth’s formal greeting.

 

“Yes! I look forward to it.”

 

Jacqueline couldn’t follow them into the palace. After exchanging final farewells, she followed Perth into the palace. Instead of the grand main entrance, they entered through a smaller side door. It was Lia’s first time entering the palace through this door.

 

“From now on, you can enter and exit through this door. It’s a door only used by palace employees.”

 

“Oh, I see.”

 

As if in disbelief, the rain stopped as they entered the palace. Inside, the climate seemed to be always mild thanks to the abilities of climate manipulators. It was natural and trivial, but everything seemed fascinating to Lia. With sparkling eyes, she followed behind Perth, who felt a bit burdened. Moreover, since she was looking around everywhere, it wouldn’t be strange if she stumbled at any moment.

 

“If you continue down this back alley, you’ll reach the first prince’s palace. First, you’ll greet the prince, then I’ll guide you to the residence next to the queen’s palace where you’ll be staying. Your luggage will be brought there as well. Lastly, I’ll guide you to the greenhouse where you’ll be working within the queen’s palace.”

 

It was a toneless explanation, yet very detailed and kind. He seemed like a kind person after all. Lia came to that conclusion on her own.

 

“Mr. Aide.”

 

“Just call me Perth, as you did earlier.”

 

Remembering how she called Perth ‘Mr. Perth’ without realizing it, Lia blushed.

 

“Mr. Perth.”

 

“Yes.”

 

As Perth’s name was called, he stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Lia. His face was expressionless, but having seen it a few times, Lia somehow felt it was friendly.

 

“Thank you for guiding me.”

 

“We haven’t even started the actual guidance yet.”

 

Surprisingly, he was also someone who liked to tease. Lia narrowed her eyes for a moment and replied casually.

 

“Is Mr. Perth my immediate superior?”

 

“No, I’m not.”

 

In the future, Lia thought it would be nice to work with Perth. But alas, it wasn’t so. Unconsciously, Lia let out a sigh.

 

“Since Lady Lia will be working at the queen’s palace, there will be a supervisor there specifically for the queen’s palace.”

 

“I see. Then, if you’re not the supervisor, why are you personally guiding me?”

 

“Well, as you said, I wouldn’t normally come out to greet each apprentice individually. But I have something to discuss with you.”

 

“Discuss?”

 

Lia asked, not understanding. Seeing Lia’s expression, Perth furrowed his brow again. His expression conveyed the meaning of how could she not know the reason.

 

“It’s an introduction.”

 

“Ah.”

 

Excited about entering the palace, Lia had forgotten about the introduction part. The absurd condition of meeting three unmarried men, one each month, during her three-month employment at the palace! Lia gritted her teeth inwardly.

 

“According to the contract, you should meet three men for one month each to fulfill the contract. So, it’s right to meet them from the first day, isn’t it?”

 

“Yes… I suppose so.”

 

Lia awkwardly smiled. Perth knew well that Lia disliked being introduced to men. However, he didn’t quite understand why.

 

“Do you not like it?”

 

“Not really… It’s not very pleasant.”

 

“Why is that? It seems like Count Penelope is quite keen on arranging a marriage for you.”

 

Perth pushed his glasses up with his finger. The condition set by the Count was to find ‘men Lia would fall for’. To find men who met the condition, Perth had to understand Lia’s preferences as much as possible. But if Lia herself had an aversion to meeting men, it complicated things. Finding an ideal match would become even more challenging.

 

“My dream was to work in the palace, not to get married. I’m not particularly interested in marriage.”

 

“Do you perhaps not have an interest in men?”

 

“Yes, I don’t have much interest in men…”

 

“Perhaps you like women?”

 

“Excuse me?!”

 

Lia was taken aback. Seeing her reaction, Perth realized that Lia didn’t like women romantically.

 

“Ah, I see. That’s settled then. The condition I need to fulfill is for Lady Lia to find a man she ‘falls for’, not necessarily ‘a man she’ll marry’.”

 

With that, Perth resumed walking. As long as Lia didn’t dislike men in general, he could handle the rest with his abilities. Watching Perth’s back blankly, Lia soon snapped out of her daze and hurried to catch up with him.

 

“Do you know what kind of man I would fall for?”

 

Seeing Perth’s overly confident attitude, Lia suddenly became curious. Since Lia herself had never been interested in men, she hadn’t properly established criteria for what kind of man she liked. She became intrigued by Perth’s confident introduction of a man who would be ‘fall-worthy’.

 

“Well, if you’re an average woman, you’d probably like most average men.”

 

“Have you found someone already?”

 

“Didn’t I tell you? You have to fill every single day for three months without fail.”

 

“Who is it?”

 

“You’ll see when we get there.”

 

He didn’t divulge where the man was, leaving it as a pleasant anticipation. Despite his demeanor that seemed to know no jokes, Lia’s suspicion grew as he refused to reveal anything. He wouldn’t just bring anyone, would he?

 

* * *

 

The road to the first prince’s palace was quite a distance even from the palace entrance. No matter how much they walked, the end of the garden seemed unreachable. But it was supposed to be a garden, yet Lia suddenly wondered why she couldn’t see a single flower.

 

“Mr. Perth, why aren’t there any flowers in this garden?”

 

It was transitioning from spring to summer. Even if it was the tail end of spring, there was no reason for flowers not to bloom. Most of the plants they passed by had no flowers at all. Even wildflowers, at the very least, should have been in bloom, but there was none to be seen.

 

“Oh, the first prince has a flower allergy.”

 

“Pollen allergy?”

 

“No, it’s a flower allergy. That’s what he says.”

 

As Perth spoke about the prince, he scratched his temple with his finger. His expression openly revealed his dislike for the prince.

 

“He confessed his love to his first love in his early childhood by planting a bunch of flowers in the garden and got rejected miserably. Since then, whenever he sees flowers, he gets itchy all over thinking about that first love. Anyway, due to such a pointless… for such reasons, he doesn’t allow flowers in the garden.”

 

“I see…”

 

In Lia’s mind, the image of the first prince collapses with a crashing sound. She didn’t know much about him, but she had occasionally seen him at parties in high society. He was tall and had a refreshing appearance. Moreover, he was said to have a charming personality, stealing the hearts of many noblewomen. To think that such a secret existed about him.

 

After hesitating for a moment, Perth turned to Lia and urged her.

 

“Pretend you didn’t hear anything.”

 

“How can I pretend I didn’t hear when I already did?”

 

“Then at least tell them I didn’t tell you.” 

 

“Do many other people know that secret?” 

 

“No. Only I, as the aide, know.”

 

“Then… even if I don’t say who it is, people will figure out who told me.”

 

Perth raised his hand to his chin and pondered for a moment. Then he nodded.

 

“…That’s true.”

 

Despite looking very smart on the outside, he seemed to have a clumsy side to him than she thought. Lia once again reminded herself not to judge people rashly based on first impressions.

 

“But at least pretend that Lady Lia didn’t hear anything.”

 

“Why?”

 

As they spoke, the two of them arrived at the first prince’s palace. Pushing aside the guards, Perth himself grabbed the handle of the office door. Just before opening it, he whispered to Lia.

 

“Because he’s the first person I’ll introduce you to.”