Perhaps because of my mood, he felt like he was talking less.
He wasn't a very talkative man in the past, but he was even more so these days.
Even when we were together, he never opened his mouth first, and he often replied to my questions with a single answer.
As if there is something to worry about.
He started doing this after Letie left, so I kept feeling anxious.
'You didn't hear anything strange from her, did you?'
The day I fought with Lettier, I couldn't stand the verbal abuse and raised my hand.
I was worried that she might have said something strange to Kishian.
After a few thoughts, I asked him during lunch.
"Is there anything you're worried about these days?"
"What bothers me?"
"I feel like you've become less talkative. You seem to be lost in thought a lot of times."
I didn't have the patience to say anything else, so I asked him bluntly.
Kishian looked a little embarrassed, averted his gaze before speaking.
"I was going to tell you later..."
"What?"
"Actually, I want to show you something."
The foreboding that I had felt before grew even bigger.
What on earth is he trying to show me, so I wonder if he is talking with a sinking tone.
I nodded, hoping that it wasn't too serious.
"Show me, then."
"If you promise to empty all the food in front of you."
"..."
Someone is so nervous that my mouth is dry, but he still cares about how much I eat.
I thought I had a tenacious side, and I ate the meal that was given to me today.
Still, I was able to empty the bowl without difficulty because I felt a lot less rejection than before.
After confirming that I had eaten everything, Kishian said as he left the banquet hall.
"Follow me. You have to walk a little."
"Do I have to go far?"
"Not that much."
I was a little scared of what he was going to show.
I followed him under the guise of calmness.
He left the banquet hall and began to head for the east wing.
As far as I know, it was the place where the soldiers' training hall and the servants' residence were located.
While I was puzzled, he began to circle the annex and head towards the back.
"This is my first time going to the back of the East Wing. I thought it was a vacant lot, but is there something?"
It was a place I hadn't even been to because there was nothing on the map.
Heading for such a secret place, Kishian kept walking, stopping only when he reached the back of the annex.
In conclusion, there was nothing there.
Something unexpected was located in that large clearing.
"It's a glass greenhouse, isn't it?"
Kishian nodded and led me into the greenhouse.
When I opened the glass door and stepped inside, I immediately felt the warm air and the smell of thick grass.
"The former Grand Duke and his wife... So it's a greenhouse that has been neglected ever since my mother and father passed away. It has been so long since it has been maintained that the interior is a little dilapidated."
"Oh..."
"I was going to plant a few more trees and show them to you on your birthday, but I don't want it to look like I'm hiding something... Anyway. It has some shape, so I thought it wouldn't matter if I just showed it."
As he spoke, I scanned the interior of the greenhouse.
As it has been unmaintained for a long time, the number of plants does not seem to be very large yet.
If the previous Grand Duke had lived longer, and if the Kishian had inherited the family normally without coming to the imperial palace, this greenhouse would have looked different.
It was a greenhouse that had become as devastated as our eventful lives, but it was still filled with warmth as the air here.
"You were preparing for this, right? You seemed busy all the time, and your words were decreasing, so I was worried that something was wrong."
"Well... I do. I hired a gardener, but I was worried about whether he was taking good care of it."
I could see him averting his gaze.
It was embarrassing.
"Do you like it? After all, I should have cultivated it a little more before showing it?"
"No, thank you for showing me in advance. I love it. It was a pity that I couldn't see the flowers in winter."
As I said that, Kishian's expression brightened.
It was a slight change in his expression that I wouldn't have noticed before, but now I could clearly feel his emotions.
I guess the time we spent together was not in vain.
"Can I choose a flowering tree for the greenhouse?"
"Of course you can. The greenhouse originally belonged to the hostess of the Grand Duke."
He came over to me and gently wrapped his arms around my shoulder.
"It's all yours now, so no one will say anything to you even if you grow weeds."
I laughed lightly, and his gaze rested on my face.
He looked at me with a slight blank stare and shook his head.
"Weeds are ridiculous. It's a precious place you gave me. It's not enough to put only the loveliest and prettiest flowers in."
After that, I hugged him by the waist and whispered quietly.
"Thank you so much, Kishian. I will keep it as my most precious treasure."
He hugged me silently.
As I was buried in his arms, I could hear the heavy sound of his heart in my ears.
My heart began to cry out along with the warm and friendly sound.
I thought that if someone called this feeling happiness and this emotion love, I wouldn't be able to easily refute it.
***
As soon as Letie returned, the Emperor summoned his daughter.
He had returned from the Grand Siege earlier than expected, so he was worried that something might have happened.
When he saw Letie's face as she came to his office, he was convinced that something was wrong.
"Daughter, what happened? Why are you so dark?"
"..."
"What about the Grand Duke? And the Grand Duchess..."
"I don't want to talk about those two."
Speaking so bluntly, Letie averted her gaze.
As if there is something to hide.
In fact, Letie had one mistake that she wanted to hide.
The day she went to the Grand Duke after being slapped, she actually expected his comfort.
She acted like a pitiful victim of Elona's violence, so she thought she could buy a little sympathy.
However, she was mistaken.
At first, Kishian seemed to comfort Letie, but in the end, this was what he said.
It is not the Grand Duchess' fault, so don't make things big and move on in moderation.
The man who he thought would cross a little bit drew a line so firmly that shr couldn't resist the feeling of contempt for a moment.
She wanted to punish the man who dared to offend her.
So she said things she shouldn't have said.
'I shouldn't have implied that Elona wasn't the real savior.'
She wanted him to despair when he found out that the woman he had managed to capture was actually a fake, but she did it out of Impulse, and when her head cooled down, she regretted it belatedly.
After learning the truth, she was worried that he would run to the palace in anger.
Letie thought.
'No, don't worry too much. If he finds out that his wife is fake, won't he want to find the real thing?'
He couldn't help but be furious, but after all, if he knew the truth, he would want to get the real thing he had missed.
A real savior.
This was when Letie was immersed in mixed emotions such as fear and anticipation.
"Don't do that, tell me. Are they rude to you?"
Letie sighed heavily.
"It was rude. It was really uncomfortable."
"What happened? If you tell me, I will also take countermeasures."
"Then please hold a banquet."
"Banquet?"
The Emperor's eyes wrinkled a little at the sudden banquet.
Letie continued without hesitation.
"I don't feel so good. Please hold a grand banquet on my upcoming birthday. I think I will get better if I meet a lot of people, get gifts, and enjoy it that way."
"Ah, yes, it's your birthday soon, so I have to get ready. But in this situation, the banquet seems to be too much, so let's just keep it small..."
"Father!"
Hearing the sudden cry, the Emperor was silent.
Letie began to appeal to her father, who seemed surprised.
"It was really hard for me. Do you know how rude they are to me? I was treated like I had never been treated as a savior."
"..."
"Why can't you hold a banquet for me?"
The sound of the Emperor's saliva flowed out.
It was rare for Letiebto be so depressed.
If he made a child who was like a blessing from God, so sad, he didn't know what kind of disaster would befall him.
After thinking about it, he was about to answer yes.
"Your Majesty, the letter has arrived. Would you like to check it?"
Suddenly, the chief of the chamberlain came from outside.
Feeling a little annoyed, the Emperor replied.
"I'Il check later"
"This is a letter from Lord Siegmar. It is said that he witnessed a strange phenomenon in the Grand Palace and sent a letter in a hurry."
He was the one whom the Emperor had sent to the Grand Duke to spy on the Grand Duke and help Letie.
But he witnessed a strange phenomenon.
After much thought, he ordered the chief chamberlain.
"Bring it."
Support Novellate!
Comments
Post a Comment