As soon as Flavia saw Rogero's face, she quickly rubbed her face with her palm. It wasn't enough for her to wipe away the tears that were already all over her face, but the thought of seeing him like this in front of her again made her furious.
“Can I at least lend you a handkerchief?”
At the same time, Rogero took out a really neatly folded handkerchief and held it out to Flavia. It had a light yellow border and was densely embroidered with apricot flowers, and no one could tell that it was an item that a man would carry. A bright spot suddenly appeared in Flavia's eyes.
“Now... Are you making fun of me?”
"Yes? What are you saying? I'm afraid it would be embarrassing for you to die because your face was so messed up. Not if you don’t need it.”
Rogero shrugged and put the handkerchief back in his pocket without even offering it twice. Flavia didn't know what to do, so she clenched her fists for a moment. She ended up showing herself like this to one of the people she least wanted to be caught by. It felt like all the blood was draining from her body.
“Anyway, what’s going on here? Are you here to offer some consolation to the surprised Crown Princess?”
“What does it have to do with you...?"
“If that’s the case, I guess I deserve some consolation. You think so, right?”
Flavia didn't respond and tried to walk past him and go back. However, the moment she took one step forward, Rogero's body moved and blocked her path. Flavia's eyebrows distorted horribly.
"Your Highness… Please turn stop it.”
“Your Highness the Second Princess, who must have grown up to be precious. She has been cared for like a flower in a greenhouse, so she probably doesn’t know anything about difficult things like war, right?”
"I beg your pardon? Now, what on earth are you saying...?”
“Of course, I am also a precious child of someone else’s country, but... I wanted to tell you a story I know. There is one thing that soldiers on the battlefield look for whenever they have time, even when their lives are at stake. What is it? Can you guess?”
Flavia's eyes shook violently as she did not understand his words. Rogero walked around Flavia in a relaxed manner, as if he were evaluating a statue.
Flavia's whole body was shaking as she heard his footsteps next to her, then back, then forward again. She was scared because she didn't know why Rogero was doing this to her. No, actually, she thought she knew. That was the creepiest thing.
“It’s a flower. Isn’t it funny to hear that these guys who cut bread that night with a knife that just cut off someone’s throat are going around looking for flowers?”
“W-what are you talking about...”
“The name of that flower is also strange. The word may be different in each country, but in Delaka it is called ‘one night with the devil.’ I don't know what they call it in Rotair. Well, I’ve never seen it here before.”
She has never heard or seen a flower with such a strange name. Flavia, clenching her teeth so that her chin was wrinkled, tried to leave again, but Rogero blocked her path again.
This time it was a more coercive gesture than before. The hands in his pockets, the slightly hunched posture as if he was telling a joke, and the smiling face were the same, but the aura radiating from his body was different. It seemed like if she tried to force herself to run away, he would just grab her by the back of the neck.
“Now, you must be wondering why the soldiers are looking for that flower so much, right? If you drink the pollen of that flower in tea or water, you can have amazing dreams that night. Don’t you want to know what kind of dream it is?”
Flavia's lips trembled. At that moment, Rogero walked towards Flavia and placed his hand on the button on Flavia's back. Flavia was so startled that she couldn't even make a sound at the feel of his fingers skilfully running over the thin hem of her dress. Rogero lowered his gaze and smiled, twisting his lips.
“It’s roughly like this. Do you understand? They are accustomed to living like animals, smelling blood, for as little as a few months or as long as several years, so it would be difficult to endure if they did not do that. Do you know what I mean?”
“I-I don’t know... I don't know... Why are you telling me this?”
Rogero, who walked away as if asking when he had approached, grinned. At the same time, he held up one of his fingers.
“But there is one serious problem. Sometimes, there are a few idiots who can't control themselves and spill a lot of pollen. If a person goes to sleep fine and suddenly comes out dead, there is a good chance that he or she ends up in the afterlife doing something like that. How can you tell? It's the scent. The scent remains.”
“...”
“The pollen from that flower has a very, very faint, peculiar scent. You'll never know in small amounts, but beyond a certain point, there's nothing you can do to cover up the smell. Did you know?”
"I... How do I know that! Please get out of the way now!”
Flavia couldn't bear it any longer and screamed. If she screamed this loudly, someone would have heard and come running, but no one came.
The surroundings were quiet. Underneath a fantastical landscape where the sunset that seemed to set the entire sky on fire was slowly being consumed by darkness, Rogero stood there like a devil that could not be driven away.
“I had forgotten that scent for a long time, but today the cookie that almost killed Nadin smelled like that. Wow, I was really surprised. For a moment, I almost forgot where I was.”
“I-you say that to me... Why...”
Rogero took a step toward Flavia. Flavia backed away as if she didn't even want him to touch her collar. As the gap between them widened again, Rogero stopped coming closer. But the gap itself was scary. Flavia lifted her shaking head and looked at him.
“The servants of Serene Palace said so. The smell of baking cookies wafted through the hallway all morning this morning. I heard that Her Highness the Princess has been baking cookies for hours.”
"What...! What are you talking about! It is a lie! That can’t be possible!”
"Is that so? But the chef said something different. He said that Her Highness the Princess wouldn't even let him into the kitchen to bake cookies. So he's lying to me? No, it wasn’t just one person, so should I say ‘them’?”
There was a rustling sound. It was the sound of Flavia collapsing as her legs gave out. She shook her head desperately, covering her mouth.
"No... I, I think so... That's not it, I...”
Incoherent muttering sounds came out like a spell between the fingers covering their mouths. Flavia, who was muttering to herself as if she were possessed, glared at Rogero with her wide eyes.
“The evidence... Without evidence, without evidence, what can you say to someone... Yes, I did bake the cookies, but I gave them all away! It has nothing to do with me!”
That was true. Only half of it was true. Flavia first distributed the baked goods evenly among her servants and maids. She even told them to bring it to the salon where Libencia had. Of course, this was done to avoid the suspicion.
There is no evidence anywhere. Flavia was breathing heavily, pressing down on her chest as if it was about to burst. The glass bottle had already made Anne Mille throw it away from her.
I may have baked my own cookies, but what can you do with that? Has anyone seen those snacks reached Astel Palace?
There was only one person, but she must have been returned by now.
“Of course, what the Second Princess said makes sense. There is indeed no evidence.”
When Rogero spoke, Flavia unconsciously raised a bright smile. She didn't even know that such an attitude clearly showed that she was the one who caused this situation.
“Well, look at that. Buying people without any evidence... What on earth is this... If you do something like this... Do you even know what happens? I, I am everything...”
“Because there is no evidence, you are going to deny it until the end.”
"What... What on earth are I denying? I am..."
“I guess you were planning to feed me and the Crown Princess something like that and bring people in by saying that the two of us are wallowing around shamelessly, right? If you were just a little smarter, maybe you could have succeeded. The pollen indeed has such effects.”
Rogero's eyes flashed like those of a wild beast in the darkness. Of course, it was just an illusion brought on by her own fears, but she was genuinely afraid and she flinched back.
“But the question is, what were you going to do after you did that? Could it be that you were even thinking about seducing Franz in the meantime? Do you think that a man hurt by the betrayal of his wife and friend will be easy to lure into bed?”
Flavia had no answer. Because it was true that she thought that way. No, no. She didn't even think about it that way. She just wanted to get rid of Judith. It would be better, she thought, if Judith were not to be seen before her eyes, since she could not stand it because she hated her. And she did the same to Prince Rogero, he had insulted her once, so she just wanted revenge.
Isn't it?
She couldn't even figure out what she wanted to do. Flavia, her mind going blank, opened her empty eyes wide for a moment, lost in fascination.
Rogero must have thought that it was positive that she didn't answer, and suddenly started whimpering and laughing. He had the kind of laugh that onlookers might make when a clown who appeared with all his bravado took a bad fall. He had no pity. It seemed like he was mocking someone who deserved to be treated so ridiculously.
“If you were going to do that, that’s really stupid. If that were the case, shouldn't you have fed it to Franz? If that were the case, I wouldn't have had to do this annoying thing. I wouldn’t have to suffer all this afternoon.”
"What...”
“Of course, even if you were to feed him something like that, I don’t know how he would react, that Franz. Since that piece of wood is also a boy if you feed him something like that, will he try to sleep with a dark-hearted woman like you? Or will it have no effect? Ah, I’m really curious about this.”
Flavia's face turned white. She bit her lip so hard that it was already bleeding faintly. She had heard many insults in her life, but this was the first time she had been insulted like this. Rather than hearing things like this, it seemed better to endure the vicious curses that Krald spewed out at random.
Rogero looked down at Flavia, who was sitting on the floor and unable to say anything. The surroundings had already turned blue and it was hard to see his face. But even in the meantime, only the eyes and the two pupils were clearly visible, which drove Flavia even more crazy.
“As you said, there is no evidence, so this matter may end up being buried like this. But keep in mind. If something like this happens again, I can’t take responsibility for it.”
“...Hey, shut your mouth. Noisy! Say no more! I'm not like that. What on earth did I do wrong that you’re doing this to me?”
“Never forget that I mean it when I say I can’t take responsibility. I've never let a guy who tried to slit my throat live. I hope you remember it well.”
Rogero just added those words and turned around to leave. Flavia laid her hands on the ground and opened her mouth as if her soul had been lost. Something was definitely wrong with her. But she couldn't figure out where she went wrong.
“Of course, what the Second Princess said makes sense. There is indeed no evidence.”
When Rogero spoke, Flavia unconsciously raised a bright smile. She didn't even know that such an attitude clearly showed that she was the one who caused this situation.
“Well, look at that. Buying people without any evidence... What on earth is this... If you do something like this... Do you even know what happens? I, I am everything...”
“Because there is no evidence, you are going to deny it until the end.”
"What... What on earth are I denying? I am..."
“I guess you were planning to feed me and the Crown Princess something like that and bring people in by saying that the two of us are wallowing around shamelessly, right? If you were just a little smarter, maybe you could have succeeded. The pollen indeed has such effects.”
Rogero's eyes flashed like those of a wild beast in the darkness. Of course, it was just an illusion brought on by her own fears, but she was genuinely afraid and she flinched back.
“But the question is, what were you going to do after you did that? Could it be that you were even thinking about seducing Franz in the meantime? Do you think that a man hurt by the betrayal of his wife and friend will be easy to lure into bed?”
Flavia had no answer. Because it was true that she thought that way. No, no. She didn't even think about it that way. She just wanted to get rid of Judith. It would be better, she thought, if Judith were not to be seen before her eyes, since she could not stand it because she hated her. And she did the same to Prince Rogero, he had insulted her once, so she just wanted revenge.
Isn't it?
She couldn't even figure out what she wanted to do. Flavia, her mind going blank, opened her empty eyes wide for a moment, lost in fascination.
Rogero must have thought that it was positive that she didn't answer, and suddenly started whimpering and laughing. He had the kind of laugh that onlookers might make when a clown who appeared with all his bravado took a bad fall. He had no pity. It seemed like he was mocking someone who deserved to be treated so ridiculously.
“If you were going to do that, that’s really stupid. If that were the case, shouldn't you have fed it to Franz? If that were the case, I wouldn't have had to do this annoying thing. I wouldn’t have to suffer all this afternoon.”
"What...”
“Of course, even if you were to feed him something like that, I don’t know how he would react, that Franz. Since that piece of wood is also a boy if you feed him something like that, will he try to sleep with a dark-hearted woman like you? Or will it have no effect? Ah, I’m really curious about this.”
Flavia's face turned white. She bit her lip so hard that it was already bleeding faintly. She had heard many insults in her life, but this was the first time she had been insulted like this. Rather than hearing things like this, it seemed better to endure the vicious curses that Krald spewed out at random.
Rogero looked down at Flavia, who was sitting on the floor and unable to say anything. The surroundings had already turned blue and it was hard to see his face. But even in the meantime, only the eyes and the two pupils were clearly visible, which drove Flavia even more crazy.
“As you said, there is no evidence, so this matter may end up being buried like this. But keep in mind. If something like this happens again, I can’t take responsibility for it.”
“...Hey, shut your mouth. Noisy! Say no more! I'm not like that. What on earth did I do wrong that you’re doing this to me?”
“Never forget that I mean it when I say I can’t take responsibility. I've never let a guy who tried to slit my throat live. I hope you remember it well.”
Rogero just added those words and turned around to leave. Flavia laid her hands on the ground and opened her mouth as if her soul had been lost. Something was definitely wrong with her. But she couldn't figure out where she went wrong.
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