Queen Marie: 1-8 Late Night Stroll

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Queen Marie

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A late stroll has led to an unexpected discovery! Was this a one-off occurrence with them? Or have I overlooked it until now?

Info

Style: Recommended: Spring Gifts, Furtive Choker Rewards: 3,000 Gold, 600 Experience, 3 Reader's Coupon, 1 Gift Materials, 1 Clothing Materials, Cocoa (Cat), Floral Sunhat, Blueprint: Coiffed Elegance

Dialogue Choices

Either path will take me back to the palace. Which one should I take?

• Small path

• Must dance with Fersen in 1-7 Versailles' Rose

to unlock this choice

• Main path

• Must dance with Lafayette in 1-7 Versailles' Rose

to unlock this choice

Transcript

Expand for script.

• You: Sigh...

• After that night, I had to spend a few days resting from frayed nerves, and I still feel a little exhausted...
• Gabrielle: Marie, are you feeling tired?

• Gabrielle: Maybe you shouldn't attend the banquet tonight. The King may be the one hosting it, but I'm worried about your health...

• You: All right. Please help me inform the King that I'd like to spend some time to myself. I do need the rest.

• Gabrielle: I will. But the moon tonight is beautiful. Perhaps you could take a short stroll in the gardens?

• You: Hmm... Since everyone is at the banquet, the gardens will be empty. Okay then!

• Gabrielle: Let's get you dressed then. It'll be chilly out there... I don't want you catching a cold.

• Under the moonlit sky, most of Versailles is sound asleep. Only the breeze passing through the trees and the chirping of insects can be heard.
• I stand in the garden, and suddenly notice figures in the shadows. My attention is immediately drawn.
• You: (Everyone should be at the banquet. Why would there be anyone else taking a stroll in the garden...?)

• It's so quiet here that I can hear what they're saying, despite their hushed tones.
• Man: The light is too dim here, and I can't see your beautiful face... But you're holding a white rose, so you must be the one I'm waiting for.

• Woman: Yes, it is me...

• You: (A man and a woman? Meeting so late at night in the garden... Are they having a secret rendezvous?)

• Man: Thank you for giving me this chance. I've prepared a most precious gift for you and I hope that you will accept it as a token of my sincerity.

• The man speaks cautiously, with a touch of anticipation. His voice seems rather familiar, like I've heard it before.
• Woman: Then, I shall accept it...

• Man: That is wonderful, my Queen! The gift which you've been longing for will be yours soon, and I'm certain that you are the only one worthy of wearing it...

• You: (Did I imagine that? Did he just call the woman "Queen"?)

• A sense of foreboding comes over me and I sneak behind a tree and peer through the leaves at the two of them...
• I can't see what the guy looks like because his back is facing me, but the woman looks and even sounds very much like me!
• You: (...is she impersonating me?)

• She's imitating my movements, and I'm starting to panic... This can't be a coincidence. Perhaps this person knows me very well...
• I try my best to think about who I've talked to lately, who might resemble the person I see before me.
• You: (Gabrielle, Adelaide, the ladies in waiting, and all the aristocrats, even Jeanne who I saw a few days ago...)

• You: None of them could possibly resemble me this closely...

• I creep in a little closer to get a better look, but carelessly forget where I'm crouching...
• You: (Oh no!)

• Woman: Oh... my goodness, I must leave now!

• Man: Your Majesty, please don't forget what you've promised me. And please forgive me...

• The "Queen" hurries away without replying him.
• I'm about to yell for the guards, but the man nips into a side path and vanishes within an instant.
• You: (Heavens, how could I have been so stupid? I should have yelled for the guards the minute I saw them!)

• You: (...I guess I could go check out the spot they were standing in.)

• I reach the spot and try to look for clues, but I don't find anything amiss...
• You: (Perhaps I should search the paths they took when they left... All right then!)

• I follow in the "Queen's" tracks, off to the left, but I find nothing. All I can sense is an overwhelming, cheap perfume...
• Then I try the man's path, and I see something on the ground...
• You: I... Is this an initial?

• The pocket watch is finely crafted, and rare, even in Versailles. He's also evidently familiar with the layout of this garden, so he must be someone important.
• The impersonator, as well as their conversation, are making me feel incredibly ill at ease...
• You: (If I tell the King about this directly, will anyone believe me? It just sounds too incredible...)

• You: (All I can do now, is try to find out who that man is as quickly as possible... And get to the bottom of this!)

• You: ("My" opera singing performance is taking place just a few days from now, and all the aristocrats will be attending. It'll be a good chance to put things into action.)

• You: I was just taking a stroll, and all of this has happened... Oh well, I should return to my room and rest. And think of a way to find that man.)

• I come to a fork in the path. One branch is a small path that Fersen and I often used to meet on, and the other branch is a larger path that Lafayette often takes.
• You: Either path will take me back to the palace. Which one should I take?

Small path

• Ever since that ball... I've not seen Fersen for several days now.
• You: Maybe I'll bump into him along this path...?

• A man is standing next to the fountain. His dashing silhouette is a perfect match to the one in my memory...
• You: Fersen!

• Fersen: Marie?

• You: Why are you here? Did you sneak out of the banquet?

• Fersen: A banquet is no fun without you.

• Fersen: You know, I was jut thinking about you. About the first time we arranged to meet each other here...

• Fersen: And then you appeared.

• Fersen is like a blazing fire. The first time I met him, my heart melted like iron in a forge, heated up red hot and then softening...
• Fersen: Or perhaps I should assume that this is not just a mere coincidence?

• You: I, I was just taking a stroll, and I'm on my way back to my room.

• You: And... I was just thinking about you too...

• Fersen: How you do make my heart race, my princess...

• Fersen's eyes shine like the brightest star in the night sky... A star that belongs only to me.
• Fersen: My princess, I hope that this chance meeting will help ease all your troubles, and take away your exhaustion.

• His eyes are filled with care and concern for me. I freeze for a moment. Surely his senses can't be that sharp...
• You: How did you know...

• Fersen: You are the most important person in my heart. All of my attention is focused on you. How could I possibly not know?

• Fersen: My princess, what is troubling you? No matter how big the problem, I'm sure I can help you find a solution.

• You: I...

• I am unable to answer him right away. I'm not sure if I should tell him at all... I might get him into trouble too.
• Fersen: Don't you have any faith in me, Marie?

• Fersen: When I returned from the war, I swore to myself that I would spend the rest of my life loving you and making it up to you.

• Fersen: Even if I can't be your partner, I will not regret... I intend to become your one and only knight.

• Fersen's words are like a spell... So enchanting that I almost spill out everything that has happened.
• But the incident was just too unbelievable, and I... don't dare to tell him that I'm no longer the "Marie" he knows.
• You: I'm okay. Just a little tired...

• You: I'm going back to my room to rest. You should rest too! Goodnight, Fersen.

• Fersen: My princess...

• I ignore Fersen, gather up my skirt, and run off to my chambers.
• I sneak a glance over my shoulder and spot him standing forlornly by himself, looking in my direction with a look of intense worry...
• You: (Fersen, I'm sorry... I'll tell you some day when I'm ready.)

• I dash off as fast as I can, without looking back again. His wounded eyes... are more than I can bear.

Main path

• You: I should take the main path... After what I just saw, I should be more careful.

• The wide path is paved with stones. It's part of Lafayette's usual route, but I don't see him at all.

• It's been more than ten days since the costume ball, but everything that happened that night is simply unforgettable.
• Reminiscing, I start dancing slowly by myself in the moonlight. Suddenly, I hear the sound of hurried footsteps.
• You: (Guards? Oh no, if anyone sees me dancing by myself... Will it hurt my reputation?)

• Just as I'm about to flee, a stern and deep voice calls out from behind me, and my heart skips a beat.
• ???: Wait!

• I instantly quicken my pace, but within moments, a strong, sturdy hand catches hold of my shoulder.
• I scrape up my courage, turn my head and hit him with a piercing stare, daring him to mention what he just saw.
• Lafayette: My lady, it's me! The man you danced with that night...

• Lafayette: ...Your Majesty? It's you?

• You: Lafayette?

• His deep eyes burrow into me, and his gaze is just as stern as ever, and a little interrogative. Hard to believe that these are the same eyes that gazed upon me so gently and warmly that night...
• You: I'm sorry, Marquis de Lafayette... Your sudden shout startled me and I forgot my manners.

• Lafayette: Your Majesty... my apologies. I... I mistook you for someone else.

• I know who he's talking about, of course. And I notice that when he mentions her, a trace of warmth and love flashes across his eyes.
• He's so enamoured of "that version of me"... I'm surprised and overjoyed. My heart is melting into a pool of romantic moonlight...
• You: Oh, may I know who you thought I was?

• Lafayette: I can't tell you who she is. I've never "officially" met her, and I didn't get a chance to see her face.

• If I hadn't seen the way he was that night, his current sternness would have scared me to bits.
• A small trace of hope takes root within me, and I really wish I can hear the answer from his mouth.
• You: And what if I say that I won't forgive you for scaring me unless you tell me who that person is?

• Lafayette: Your Majesty... I fail to understand why you are being so insistent about this. It's something personal to me, and not related to you...

• Lafayette: That person's face shape... really is quite similar to yours. And even the dance steps... are so similar...

• You: ...Lafayette?

• Lafayette: ...

• His eyes widen and he stares at me... After a while, his handsome face starts to flush.
• Lafayette: You...

• Lafayette: No... Nothing.

• You: What are you trying to say, Marquis de Lafayette?

• Lafayette: It's late. It's dangerous for you to be in the garden alone.

• Lafayette: I heard that you opted out of the banquet because you're too tired. Maybe you should go back to your room to rest.

• Lafayette: For your safety, please allow me to escort you.

• I don't understand why his attitude has suddenly changed, and he's just like the way he was at the beginning... But his furrowed brows and his determined tone makes me too afraid to ask.
• You: Thank you, I... Well, please send me back to the palace then.

• Lafayette: I am honoured to do so, your Majesty.

• We are both silent on the way back to the palace, and the topic doesn't come up again. He seems even colder than ever...
• But then again... I might be mistaken, but sometimes he seems to sneak glances at me... Glances filled with warmth and love, just like the way he was that night...