“I can’t hear anything.”
“Cool your head.”
“My heart is colder than ever. It’s because of my father. I didn’t know you would treat me this coldly.”
Grand Duke Luxen held back his words before turning around.
“Get ready to leave quickly.”
He only thought about getting out of the castle quickly before Bianque changed her mind and decided to imprison him in the fortress-like castle.
“Lord Valquiterre.”
The servant who had been ordered by the Grand Duke of Luxen came to escort him to the hanging garden.
“We will be leaving soon. Hurry up.”
“Understood.”
Valquiterre rose from his seat, caressing the small acorn tree with his fingertips.
However, his feet did not move. He took out a handkerchief from his bosom.
“It took root so easily. I wonder if it will grow in a foreign land.”
After a while, Valquiterre left and the gardener returned.
“What is this?”
A deep hole the size of two fists was visible in the spotless garden.
The gardener opened his eyes and stared at the spot.
“But what did I plant in this spot?”
No matter how hard he thought about it, nothing came to mind.
The gardener quickly swept away the soil that had fallen around and pressed the hole flat.
There was no trace of Valquiterre's presence where he had left.
Leonie groaned, holding onto a thread that she couldn’t solve or unravel on her own.
‘If I hadn’t told the divine tree about Valquiterre, wouldn’t that have happened?’
She wondered if the seeds of a great disaster that took many lives were because of one word she had told.
On the other hand, the secret of the divine tree Arbor was a myth related to the legend of the birth of the continent.
Leonie’s life, chosen as the fruit of Arbor, existed as part of the myth.
Even after the divine tree burned down, she didn’t share or reveal the village’s secrets or the contents of the prophecy with anyone.
It felt like holding a hot iron ball in her mouth all these years, knowing that Evan had committed suicide because of her absence.
“I really wanted to come here once to confirm it.”
The fact that the voice of the God who intervened in the human world had been completely taken away.
The divine tree Arbor was damaged to the point where it was impossible to tell what had originally been there.
The large tree, as big as a house, had burned, and its thick branches, as big as a door, had fallen to the ground as charcoal, leaving radial marks near the trunk.
“I wondered if the sacred tree was growing again.”
The area was full of weeds.
There was no trace of the unique and precious leaves that were unlike anything else on the mountain sprouting new trees.
“The children of the tree have all been liberated.”
Evan said. As he said, the secrets that had to be kept and the prophecies that had to be kept had all disappeared into the back pages of the era.
“Now be my wife, Leonie.”
She smiled as Evan wrapped his arms around her shoulders.
Soon the smile disappeared from her lips and she lowered her eyes.
“You saw it when you traveled to the castle of Valmonde this time, right?”
Her body was truly a mess.
Thanks to Kaian, she received the best treatment she could at the time, and her job at Salon Arvo was luxurious and comfortable, so she was able to maintain her current condition.
She thought that she could not continue her relationship with Evan.
He actively knocked on her heart, so Leonie changed her mind about going to the capital and taking up the salon job again.
However, they were not as happy as before.
In a family with a grown daughter, grandchildren, and a son-in-law, they had no time to be secretive, and Leonie was afraid of showing him her burn scar without covering it up.
Things changed when they traveled by carriage to the castle of Valmonde, a land where the cold never went away.
For the first time, Leonie had no choice but to show Evan her scar without covering it up with makeup, which was almost like a disguise.
Because of the cold weather, the scar, which did not function properly as skin, became stiff and pulled and sore.
Since she could not apply ointment if she covered it up with makeup, she could no longer hide the appearance that she had been reluctant to show to her husband.
“I am not as healthy as I used to be. As you can see, my body is sick, so I have to be careful all my life.”
Leonie realized that she was saying cruel things to Evan.
She should have drawn a line and treated him like anyone else before going to the capital. The wall she thought she had built so tightly collapsed at Evan’s words that he had no intention of letting her go.
“You think we used to be good together, but I’m not that person now.”
Wouldn’t I become a burden to Evan, who could live comfortably with this uncomfortable body?
Leonie didn’t want to be like that.
If that were the case, it would be better to leave the past as a good memory and go our separate ways...
“Nonsense.”
The thoughts she couldn’t finish were cut off by Evan’s decisive words.
“Health comes and goes, and if it doesn’t, it comes back if you do well.”
“That’s not easy.”
“Kaian saved Claudel from vomiting blood.”
Leonie was speechless. Who would have thought he would bring up her daughter’s misfortune in this context?
“A couple isn’t all about love, right? They live by loyalty and affection.”
“But...”
“When you and I became a couple, did you think we would break up if I got hurt?”
Her eyes widened in surprise.
“Is there a standard? How much pain would you have to get to break up? If you lost an arm or a leg, you would become a burden that couldn’t be a human, so did you think you would hit me in the back of the head then?”
“No. That’s not it.”
When she was taken aback, Evan said indifferently.
“It’s not like that, so why are you making such a fuss? Nothing will change.”
“It’s hard to do anything with this body.”
“If you can run a salon without any problems, isn’t it okay?”
“If we’re going to live together, we’ll have to take care of a lot of things.”
Evan snorted without realizing it.
“Don’t you remember? When we lived together in Plogne, you sometimes made bread or cookies. The rest of the housework was all my job.”
That’s right. Since Arbor’s Fruit also served as the village chief representing Plogne, Leonie had the duty to treat and respond to those who visited the village.
Since she was busy with outside work, most of the housework and raising Claudel fell to Evan, who had free time since he was not from Plogne. Not only did he do most of the housework, but when Claudel was taking a nap, he would leave the sleeping child at the neighboring Hannah’s house and leisurely walk into the mountains to catch large wild animals or chop up a few loads of firewood and return on his shoulders.
“That can’t be a reason for us to break up, Leonie.”
“Yes.”
Only when she answered properly did Evan’s face relax.
“I think it would be better to go down the mountain before the sun sets.”
Evan held out his hand to her.
Leonie took his hand and slowly left the village of Plogne.
The wind that swept through the ashes of the dead sacred tree tickled her cheek.
It was the kind of wind that seemed to contain Arbor’s last will and testament to farewell.
The wind blew.
It was a gust of wind that was unsuitable for the early spring season.
The gardener in charge of the hanging garden lamented as he watched the dirt blowing across the smooth white stone floor while planting small flowers for spring.
“What a wind!”
In that scene, Valquiterre slowly looked around the hanging garden.
It was the first time he had come out of the bedroom where he had been held. He seemed to have lost weight because he had not eaten properly, but his face, which was naturally very slim, looked mysteriously beautiful.
He was wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a cloak.
He walked around the hanging garden in his long boots as if he was going on a long journey, and then sat down on the garden stone where he had placed the earth.
The acorns that Claudel had planted before had grown quite a bit.
They had grown slowly and were now only about a hand and a half tall, but they had sprouted new shoots on their small branches, and this year they seemed to be putting on some leaves.
While he was wandering aimlessly around the garden, Bianque and the Grand Duke of Luxen were arguing in the office.
Bianque had completely lost her former youthful and lovely appearance since she became Queen.
“You are really too much. How can you not take my side even once?”
As if her previous immature appearance as a Princess was acting like that.
She straightened her body, her eyes were tense, and she gave orders, and it was said that Queen Sylvia looked like had risen from the grave.
“A monarch should set the foundation of the country straight.”
“Don’t scold me.”
“You want to marry your brother who you have grown up as siblings with all your life? Why are you putting so much effort into something impossible? Valquiterre is still my son.”
In the past, Bianque would have whined and clung to the words of Grand Duke Luxen, saying, “Father, please do as I say. Yes?” But now, Bianque glared and insisted on getting her way.
“Father, just strike Valquiterre off the family register.”
“Bianque!”
“He’s not even your son, so why don’t you support my will as your own daughter?”
Grand Duke Luxen was also about to set off on a long journey.
“I can’t allow it. How can I, as a father, watch my daughter marry my son?”
“Ha.”
Bianque sighed in annoyance.
“It seems like it will take time. I can’t leave Valquiterre in the Kingdom of Oberon like this, so I’ll take him to Luxen.”
“Why are you doing this? Then what do you want me to do?”
“Did you think that anything would go your way once you became Queen?”
Grand Duke Luxen said sternly.
“Didn’t I tell you why Sylvia didn’t want you to be Queen?”
“Yes. Now I see for sure,”
Bianque grumbled.
“To think that I mistook a father who couldn't even grant the wishes of his only biological child for the only person I had left in my life to be on my side.”
‘If I hadn’t told the divine tree about Valquiterre, wouldn’t that have happened?’
She wondered if the seeds of a great disaster that took many lives were because of one word she had told.
On the other hand, the secret of the divine tree Arbor was a myth related to the legend of the birth of the continent.
Leonie’s life, chosen as the fruit of Arbor, existed as part of the myth.
Even after the divine tree burned down, she didn’t share or reveal the village’s secrets or the contents of the prophecy with anyone.
It felt like holding a hot iron ball in her mouth all these years, knowing that Evan had committed suicide because of her absence.
“I really wanted to come here once to confirm it.”
The fact that the voice of the God who intervened in the human world had been completely taken away.
The divine tree Arbor was damaged to the point where it was impossible to tell what had originally been there.
The large tree, as big as a house, had burned, and its thick branches, as big as a door, had fallen to the ground as charcoal, leaving radial marks near the trunk.
“I wondered if the sacred tree was growing again.”
The area was full of weeds.
There was no trace of the unique and precious leaves that were unlike anything else on the mountain sprouting new trees.
“The children of the tree have all been liberated.”
Evan said. As he said, the secrets that had to be kept and the prophecies that had to be kept had all disappeared into the back pages of the era.
“Now be my wife, Leonie.”
She smiled as Evan wrapped his arms around her shoulders.
Soon the smile disappeared from her lips and she lowered her eyes.
“You saw it when you traveled to the castle of Valmonde this time, right?”
Her body was truly a mess.
Thanks to Kaian, she received the best treatment she could at the time, and her job at Salon Arvo was luxurious and comfortable, so she was able to maintain her current condition.
She thought that she could not continue her relationship with Evan.
He actively knocked on her heart, so Leonie changed her mind about going to the capital and taking up the salon job again.
However, they were not as happy as before.
In a family with a grown daughter, grandchildren, and a son-in-law, they had no time to be secretive, and Leonie was afraid of showing him her burn scar without covering it up.
Things changed when they traveled by carriage to the castle of Valmonde, a land where the cold never went away.
For the first time, Leonie had no choice but to show Evan her scar without covering it up with makeup, which was almost like a disguise.
Because of the cold weather, the scar, which did not function properly as skin, became stiff and pulled and sore.
Since she could not apply ointment if she covered it up with makeup, she could no longer hide the appearance that she had been reluctant to show to her husband.
“I am not as healthy as I used to be. As you can see, my body is sick, so I have to be careful all my life.”
Leonie realized that she was saying cruel things to Evan.
She should have drawn a line and treated him like anyone else before going to the capital. The wall she thought she had built so tightly collapsed at Evan’s words that he had no intention of letting her go.
“You think we used to be good together, but I’m not that person now.”
Wouldn’t I become a burden to Evan, who could live comfortably with this uncomfortable body?
Leonie didn’t want to be like that.
If that were the case, it would be better to leave the past as a good memory and go our separate ways...
“Nonsense.”
The thoughts she couldn’t finish were cut off by Evan’s decisive words.
“Health comes and goes, and if it doesn’t, it comes back if you do well.”
“That’s not easy.”
“Kaian saved Claudel from vomiting blood.”
Leonie was speechless. Who would have thought he would bring up her daughter’s misfortune in this context?
“A couple isn’t all about love, right? They live by loyalty and affection.”
“But...”
“When you and I became a couple, did you think we would break up if I got hurt?”
Her eyes widened in surprise.
“Is there a standard? How much pain would you have to get to break up? If you lost an arm or a leg, you would become a burden that couldn’t be a human, so did you think you would hit me in the back of the head then?”
“No. That’s not it.”
When she was taken aback, Evan said indifferently.
“It’s not like that, so why are you making such a fuss? Nothing will change.”
“It’s hard to do anything with this body.”
“If you can run a salon without any problems, isn’t it okay?”
“If we’re going to live together, we’ll have to take care of a lot of things.”
Evan snorted without realizing it.
“Don’t you remember? When we lived together in Plogne, you sometimes made bread or cookies. The rest of the housework was all my job.”
That’s right. Since Arbor’s Fruit also served as the village chief representing Plogne, Leonie had the duty to treat and respond to those who visited the village.
Since she was busy with outside work, most of the housework and raising Claudel fell to Evan, who had free time since he was not from Plogne. Not only did he do most of the housework, but when Claudel was taking a nap, he would leave the sleeping child at the neighboring Hannah’s house and leisurely walk into the mountains to catch large wild animals or chop up a few loads of firewood and return on his shoulders.
“That can’t be a reason for us to break up, Leonie.”
“Yes.”
Only when she answered properly did Evan’s face relax.
“I think it would be better to go down the mountain before the sun sets.”
Evan held out his hand to her.
Leonie took his hand and slowly left the village of Plogne.
The wind that swept through the ashes of the dead sacred tree tickled her cheek.
It was the kind of wind that seemed to contain Arbor’s last will and testament to farewell.
***
The wind blew.
It was a gust of wind that was unsuitable for the early spring season.
The gardener in charge of the hanging garden lamented as he watched the dirt blowing across the smooth white stone floor while planting small flowers for spring.
“What a wind!”
In that scene, Valquiterre slowly looked around the hanging garden.
It was the first time he had come out of the bedroom where he had been held. He seemed to have lost weight because he had not eaten properly, but his face, which was naturally very slim, looked mysteriously beautiful.
He was wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a cloak.
He walked around the hanging garden in his long boots as if he was going on a long journey, and then sat down on the garden stone where he had placed the earth.
The acorns that Claudel had planted before had grown quite a bit.
They had grown slowly and were now only about a hand and a half tall, but they had sprouted new shoots on their small branches, and this year they seemed to be putting on some leaves.
While he was wandering aimlessly around the garden, Bianque and the Grand Duke of Luxen were arguing in the office.
Bianque had completely lost her former youthful and lovely appearance since she became Queen.
“You are really too much. How can you not take my side even once?”
As if her previous immature appearance as a Princess was acting like that.
She straightened her body, her eyes were tense, and she gave orders, and it was said that Queen Sylvia looked like had risen from the grave.
“A monarch should set the foundation of the country straight.”
“Don’t scold me.”
“You want to marry your brother who you have grown up as siblings with all your life? Why are you putting so much effort into something impossible? Valquiterre is still my son.”
In the past, Bianque would have whined and clung to the words of Grand Duke Luxen, saying, “Father, please do as I say. Yes?” But now, Bianque glared and insisted on getting her way.
“Father, just strike Valquiterre off the family register.”
“Bianque!”
“He’s not even your son, so why don’t you support my will as your own daughter?”
Grand Duke Luxen was also about to set off on a long journey.
“I can’t allow it. How can I, as a father, watch my daughter marry my son?”
“Ha.”
Bianque sighed in annoyance.
“It seems like it will take time. I can’t leave Valquiterre in the Kingdom of Oberon like this, so I’ll take him to Luxen.”
“Why are you doing this? Then what do you want me to do?”
“Did you think that anything would go your way once you became Queen?”
Grand Duke Luxen said sternly.
“Didn’t I tell you why Sylvia didn’t want you to be Queen?”
“Yes. Now I see for sure,”
Bianque grumbled.
“To think that I mistook a father who couldn't even grant the wishes of his only biological child for the only person I had left in my life to be on my side.”
“Cool your head.”
“My heart is colder than ever. It’s because of my father. I didn’t know you would treat me this coldly.”
Grand Duke Luxen held back his words before turning around.
“Get ready to leave quickly.”
He only thought about getting out of the castle quickly before Bianque changed her mind and decided to imprison him in the fortress-like castle.
“Lord Valquiterre.”
The servant who had been ordered by the Grand Duke of Luxen came to escort him to the hanging garden.
“We will be leaving soon. Hurry up.”
“Understood.”
Valquiterre rose from his seat, caressing the small acorn tree with his fingertips.
However, his feet did not move. He took out a handkerchief from his bosom.
“It took root so easily. I wonder if it will grow in a foreign land.”
After a while, Valquiterre left and the gardener returned.
“What is this?”
A deep hole the size of two fists was visible in the spotless garden.
The gardener opened his eyes and stared at the spot.
“But what did I plant in this spot?”
No matter how hard he thought about it, nothing came to mind.
The gardener quickly swept away the soil that had fallen around and pressed the hole flat.
There was no trace of Valquiterre's presence where he had left.
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