Chapter 8: Cleaning a place with your own hands makes living there will be more satisfying

After the bandit incident, Rishe felt the knights begin to ease a bit in her presence.

Despite their initial reluctance to accept her help, they continued to report the injured men's progress and bring any concerns directly to her. In return, they took over gathering herbs from the surrounding countryside on their rest stops.

She hadn't done it for gratitude, but she was nonetheless touched. Gathering medicinal herbs had been second nature ever since her life as an apothecary, and it was foolish to ever turn down loyalty.

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Several days after the altercation with the bandits, the coach train finally arrived in the imperial capital of Galkhein.

"Oh my," Rishe murmured as they passed through the gates.

White stone buildings stood in straight rows, lining clean, orderly streets. The first stories all appeared to be shops, while the second-floor windows were festooned with flowers. Everywhere she looked were smiling faces, citizens turned out to witness their prince's return over the smooth brick roads.

Overlooking it all was the towering magnificence of the imperial palace.

"The capital is the seat of power in Galkhein," Arnold explained. "Several key trade routes converge here."

Rishe nodded, suddenly anxious to be out of the coach. More and more people were gathering to watch their progress, some carrying shopping bags in both arms or holding hands with children. Many of them waved, as if greeting someone dear to them.

Happy citizens and clean, orderly streets meant wealth. Galkhein was well-off.

Rishe couldn't help but grin at an adorable little girl watching them roll by with sparkling eyes. When she saw Rishe's smile, she blushed and leapt up in the air, laughing with delight.

The coach made its way through the city before passing through the castle gates. Lines of disciplined knights flanked the road, ready to greet the crown prince and his fiancée.

Arnold stepped out of the coach, holding out his hand to Rishe. She took it reflexively as she alighted. A prince would be expected to help any lady out of carriage, never mind his own consort, yet for some reason the knights looked a bit disturbed.

Rishe shot them back of look of innocent confusion.

"Our long journey is at last at its end, Your Highness, Lady Rishe." Oliver emerged from the ranks of the knights, bowing. He shot Arnold a curious glance. "How novel to see you taking the hand of your fiancée."

Ah! Rishe realized that she herself had willingly broken the condition that she had imposed. Arnold had offered his hand, but she was the one who accepted.

Arnold gave a little laugh of triumph. Rishe felt a rush of frustration at being tricked.

Oliver stared at them before leaning in to whisper in Arnold's ear. Arnold let out a breath of annoyance.

"Is something the matter?" Rishe asked.

"I sent orders ahead to have a detached wing of the palace prepared for us, but it seems the preparations are behind schedule. I'm sorry, but you'll need to stay in a guest room in the main palace for a few days."

"Oh, I don't mind if the wing isn't ready," Rishe said. "We can head over there now."

"It hasn't been used in quite a while. It'll be covered in dust."

"I said that I didn't mind if it was a mess, remember? But there's no need for you to put yourself out. By all means, stay in the main palace for as long as you need." Rishe had spent a life as a maid—dust didn't scare her. "Besides, I'm a hostage, after all."

"You could at least attempt to sound distressed," Arnold said with the slightest trace of petulance.

Rishe, who had a huge grin spreading over her face and her chest puffed out with pride, didn't respond.

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The detached wing turned out to be just a separate palace in the distant corner of the grounds—a scant four stories tall and, as advertised, absolutely swimming in dust.

Not so bad, though. Rishe had pictured decay and clutter, but it was mostly just bare. Bare and musty, but not rotten or falling apart.

"You can do whatever you want with this place. I'll be occupied over the next few days, but feel free to use the guest apartments in the main palace if you get tired of choking to death," Arnold said before he left.

According to Oliver, work had piled up while the prince was away, and it wasn't just a few things that could be dispensed with over a few days working around the clock.

Emperor Arnold Hein… He's just a crown prince right now, but I still wish I knew what's going on in his head. For now, I'll just focus on what I can do. Like make this place liveable.

She changed into her plainest dress and rolled up her sleeves. The knights who'd remained to serve as her guard kept watch over her as she went from window to window, throwing them all open.

In a stroke of luck, the weather was good, and the detached wing was well placed to soak up the sun. The lack of any creature comforts made it look ascetic and drab, but once it was furnished, Rishe had no doubt it would be lovely.

Leaving the top floors to air out, Rishe found the stairs to the basement. She pushed the heavy wooden doors open, and mice skittered over her feet.

The knights yelped as Rishe descended into the darkness.

"L-Lady Rishe, why are you going down here?"

"Cleaning supplies are usually kept in the basement. See?"

The knights followed her gaze to a duster, broom, dustpan, and pile of fresh cloths. She filled a bucket with water and went to work, rolling up a handkerchief to cover her mouth as she swept dust down from high on the walls. Then she swept up all the dust on the floor.

It's always satisfying to tackle a place this filthy.

She corralled the dust bunnies until they were piled up like snow in the center of the hall, and then she swept them out the open door. Once the floors were free of debris, she attacked them with the cloth.

"Lady Rishe, is there anything we can do to help?

Rishe was grateful for the knight's offer, but she shook her head. "Your job is to guard me, not do my housekeeping."

"This is quite the place to clean on your own, detached though it may be," The knight said hesitantly. "It's not too late to move into the guest chambers instead."

"That's all right. I like the place already."

Rishe remained steadfast in her refusal for one reason: Readying guest chambers was an awful chore. The palace maids would be expected to work overnight to prepare them, even if the guests were only staying a single night.

No speck of dust or strand of hair could remain. Certainly no wrinkled sheets. Rishe knew how exhausting and rigorous a maid's job was, how nerve-racking.

She refused to put the poor dears through such an ordeal for just a few days' stay. From the sound of things, the palace wasn't equipped with many housemaids. No doubt they already had their hands full.

"Besides, take a look." She held out her arms wide, gesturing to her sparkling clean floor.

The knights stared at the bright room in admiration.

Rishe continued. "Cleaning a place with your own hands makes living there that much more satisfying, you see."

The knights smiled their awkward but good-natured agreement.

Rishe worked tirelessly, and before long, the chambers where she would spend the night were ready. The knights offered to carry in the bed, which she allowed.

While they brought in furniture, Rishe started cleaning another room. She had run out of clean water, so she quietly slipped out to the well without informing the knights. It wasn't quite fair to them, but these were the palace grounds.

Surely she didn't need to be chaperoned everywhere.

Besides, they're guards in name only. They're clearly just here to report my movements to Arnold Hein, Rishe reflected as she walked through a courtyard full of flowers, bucket in hand. Iridescent butterflies cavorted playfully around her feet.

He doesn't seem in a hurry to introduce me to the king. Although if I'm just a hostage, that doesn't surprise me.

She hoped she got to meet the current emperor at least once. The future Arnold's violent conquest only began after he killed the man and made himself emperor, after all.

I wonder what happened to Arnold Hein after I died in my past life. Did he reign supreme after winning his war? Or did some country manage to put a stop to his conquest? Whatever the case, I absolutely cannot allow him to start a conflict this time. Being the empress of a wartime nation sounds like so much work! The very thought is unacceptable!

Perhaps they could divorce, but Rishe had a feeling that if Arnold decided to discard her in the middle of a war, she would fail in her mission to make it past the age of twenty. Better to avoid the situation all together.

Wait. When she thought about it, the cause of every single one of Rishe's deaths was Arnold and his war. I died fighting. I died of an infectious disease I caught while treating battlefield injuries. I died when Galkhein's army invaded…

Looking at her six lives, all of them had ended in more or less the same way.

Rishe found herself crouched on the ground, cradling her head in her hands.

Maybe we should get a divorce right now. But it wasn't in Rishe's nature to take back her decisions once she'd made them.

If I leave, I'll probably just die in some war-related disaster again. If I can't live apart from him, I should take this opportunity to learn everything that I can.

Rishe didn't know the cause of her repeating lives, but there was no guarantee that the loops were infinite. She had to operate under the possibility that this life could be her last. This required some thought, but standing around seething with anxiety wouldn't help.