375 Her Own Home
Hearing the Queen’s seemingly nonchalant words, there was sudden silence among the guests. It was so quiet, even the rustling of the leaves from the trees seemed unusually loud.
The Duchess of Candace let out a delicate laugh and broke this silence. “Oh, that is true, Your Majesty. We should always keep doing good deeds. We should all try to learn from you and the King.”
“For the first time, Lady Esther is joining us for such a party. I believe our guests are pleased to see the dearest friend of the royal family here with us,” said the Queen.
“Of course, Your Majesty. Lady Esther saved you and Prince Theron so she deserves to be here,” said one lady.
As the guests resumed chatting with each other, the servants served tea and snacks on the table.
“Is the Baroness going to continue serving Her Majesty as a lady-in-waiting?”
As Queen Theodora sipped the tea and enjoyed its aroma, she informed the curious guests, “Esther has been appointed as one of the custodians in the royal library.”
There were mixed reactions among the ladies. Some were quite pleased that Esther would not be accompanying the Queen anymore, though many were still worried as it was not something good to hear that Esther would remain working in the royal palace, meaning she would still be able to meet the Queen and the Crown Prince. However, they had no choice but to praise Esther in front of the Queen.
“It’s really a good thing, Lady Esther,” praised one of the ladies who appeared to be the wife of a marquis.
Esther could only smile and say a polite word of thanks, as she mostly focused on drinking tea instead of conversing. However, her smile caused the marchioness who praised her to stiffen. Even for a female, Esther’s beauty and elegance were hard to deny, and as one of the only two ladies Prince Theron danced with in the royal ball, the guests of the Queen were worried that she would manage to seduce the prince and steal the position that they dreamed for the young ladies of their respective noble houses.
“—though the reward is enough for her to spend her lifetime comfortably in wealth, Esther doesn’t believe in sitting idly and enjoying the wealth. She prefers to be down to earth, which is what impresses me the most about her.” The Queen could be heard talking to the duchesses. Her words were seemingly full of appreciation for the young baroness, but those who were sensitive knew they were directed towards the ladies who did nothing but idly enjoy the wealth and reputation of their families, spending their days shopping for dresses and jewelry and gossiping around.”
Others could do nothing but agree to what their queen said. Then, the flow of conversation went towards the circumstances within each of their respective families, and many of them started talking about their sons. The firstborn sons were mostly being educated by the lords of their respective houses as their official successor, while the other competent direct descendants had either trained to become a knight or joined the military of Megaris to rack up achievements and earn a title of their own. This caused many of the mothers to brag while complaining how their talented sons foolishly neglected the betrothed chosen by their families for them.
“Your Majesty, it has been some time since Prince Theron has come of age. I wonder, when are we going to see our Crown Princess?” one of the ladies asked.
“Soon. In fact, His Majesty and I were discussing it recently and we too think it’s time for him to get married,” the Queen replied.
This brought smiles to their faces as this was what they wished to hear.
“When will the selection process start, Your Majesty?” another one asked.
“I say you should keep your daughters ready,” replied the Queen as she knew why they were asking it. “I believe my son will choose the most deserving lady.”
“Of course, Your Majesty. Just like his parents, we all believe Prince Theron has keen eyesight and will select the one most suitable to be his wife.”
A certain quiet young lady was shaken by this news. Although Esther was glad that she was finally no longer the center of attention and was being treated like she was invisible, she felt uneasy hearing that Prince Theron would be selecting a wife soon.
‘Will he…?’
Chapter 375 (04/04/22)
After the tea party hosted by the Queen, Esther left to go to the manor which was rewarded to her by the King, which was situated in the southeastern district of Blackhelm, near the the outskirts and away from the bustling commercial areas of the city. Like the other noble ladies leaving the Queen’s residence, she too rode her own carriage, although hers looked simpler than theirs, as it was yet to bear the crest of the House of Burton.
On the way, Esther observed the crowd in the streets of the city. The capital of Megaris was truly lively and filled with vigorous energy, and not only commoners, a lot of people who seemed to be nobles could be noticed walking about, visiting shops and boutiques along with their escorts. It could be seen that the city’s inhabitants were living well, especially when she compared it to the more idyllic cities and towns in the western territories.
It was the same with palace life. Back when she was serving the Queen, she was often taken as a companion whenever Queen Theodora had to meet people or attend to her duties in the Vermillion Palace. Added to the fact that she had to work together with her fellow servants, Esther truly kind of missed her peaceful lifestyle back when she stayed on her own in the forest.
That was why she looked forward to the residence that the King and Queen of Megaris awarded her. Although Queen Theodora tried her best to keep it as a surprise, knowing how thoughtful the Queen was, Esther guessed that the manor given to her was something chosen with her preference in mind.
When her carriage reached the peaceful street where the manor was situated, Esther smiled in satisfaction. Her guess was right. Though many nobles would have probably shied away from using it due to its desolate location, it was perfect for Esther. Soon, the carriage reached the gate and was greeted by an old gatekeeper. Upon hearing that Baroness Burton was riding the carriage, the old man bowed to greet his new master before letting the carriage enter.
Past the walls surrounding the manor, there was a large piece of land with sparse greenery. Esther could already imagine herself designing the layout, thinking which trees to put and what kind of plants to purchase so that her residence would be filled with flowers and fruits once spring comes.
It took her several minutes from the gate to be able to see the elegant white structure that was now her new home. Even from a distance, she could see that it was a beautiful quaint mansion.The carriage crossed a small bridge built over a stream just in front of the mansion. When the carriage stopped in front of the mansion, the servant tending to the garden outside immediately realized that the baroness had arrived. The gardener ran towards the mansion and started calling the attention of the other servants, and soon, a group of uniformed servants waited nervously outside the entrance of the mansion.
The coachman arranged a stool for Esther to step down as one of the servants who seemed to be the butler assisted her.
When Esther stepped out of the carriage, all the servants bowed towards her. Aside from the gardener, the coachman and the old butler, all the other servants by the entrance were female.
“Welcome, Baroness Burton.”