Night rain continued to fall outside the window, and besides the sound of rain, the waltz drifting up from downstairs faded in and out. Shade was inside the wardrobe, trying his best to imagine what was happening outside, but dialogue alone made it difficult for him to fully grasp every scene.
"Of course the Aurora Family has no such tradition. Just now, I merely saw a spider. Please allow me to apologize for my rudeness."
The witch said this, her answer extremely perfunctory.
"I've heard the rumors about you. You like—"
Shade, inside the wardrobe, could practically imagine Leisha saying this with a pretty frown.
"There's nothing I can't say. I like pretty girls."
Shade could also picture the witch saying this with a smile:
"Even a certain member of the Cavendish Royal Family. Her waist is beautiful."
For some reason, Miss Galina's image suddenly popped into Shade's mind.
"I know. My eldest sister."
Shade had guessed wrong. The princess Leisha spoke of in that helpless tone was Catherine Cavendish, thirty-three this year and already married. Delarion's eldest princess had married twelve years ago, to the firstborn son of Duke Hermons Shuton, then Marshal of the Royal Army.
The current Cavendish Royal Family was sprawling and flourishing. King Larus III possessed both remarkable fertility and a strong desire for children, something quite rare throughout the history of the Sixth Epoch. Shade could not even say how many elder brothers, elder sisters, younger brothers, and younger sisters Leisha had. Of course, that was also because he did not care about such matters.
"I heard their marriage is unhappy, and that Little Shuton has some strange quirks."
Leisha sighed. It was impossible to tell whether she felt sorry for her sister or was troubled by the marriages of royal family members:
"If