Before she knew it, Calix was turning his head to look at her. Only then did she realize that she had spoken her thoughts out of her mouth, and Odelia was startled and shut up.
Odelia hurriedly adjusted her posture and forced the corners of her mouth up.
"Lady Judith has suddenly become unwell... I'm sorry, but I have been asked to take her place."
Calix silently rose from his seat and made room for her. As Odelia carefully sat down, Callix politely and resolutely pushed the chair back in.
Even though it was tea time as usual, whether it was because the place was different or because the two of them were alone in this large space, Odelia felt a strange tension and trembling.
Calix picked up his teacup and spoke.
"Is it beautiful?"
Odelia quickly nodded, realizing that it was a continuation of what she had said earlier.
Then Calix clasped his chin with both hands and smiled sadly.
"This white rose, or me."
It was an unexpected statement. Odelia stared blankly at Calix with her big eyes, then blinked in panic.
Soon, Odelia nodded slightly, as if to regain her senses.
"Your Highness."
When the answer came out so clearly and decisively, Calix blinked in confusion. He'd expected Odelia to blush and panic, but he hadn't expected her to respond so naturally.
But soon, he burst into laughter.
"I'm glad you found me pretty."
As for Odelia, she couldn't understand Calix's reaction, because he had been so undeniably beautiful, no matter how she looked at it. "Don't you know it yourself? Why would you ask such an obvious question?" That was her thought.
Then Odelia turned her attention to the garden for a moment.
"I had no idea there was such a beautiful greenhouse garden."
As if to cheer up the gloomy white rose bush overshadowed by Calix's beauty, Odelia expressed her admiration without exaggeration, and Calix put down his teacup and answered.
“It’s my mother’s greenhouse.”
“Her Majesty, the former Empress?”
"Yes, she comes here every day, leaving me, who is more beautiful than flowers."
The corners of Calix's mouth lifted as he spoke playfully, but a shadow of sadness hung over the edge of his smile. Odelia realized that his expression was a disguise, a disguise meant to conceal sadness.
She knew little about his mother. Unlike other nobles her age, she wasn't interested in the splendid court stories or the imperial family's later history. All she knew was a fragmentary fact, common knowledge to the entire nation: that she had suffered from an illness and died young.
Before the fall of the Rubis family, the sudden death of the Empress was simply dismissed as one of the unfortunate events.
However, Odelia belatedly learned the truth behind those fragmentary facts through a document that Calix had quietly handed her some time ago.
She fought to hold onto power until the very end, hoping to prevent the downfall of the Rubis family. However, her health was weakened by a chronic illness, and she gradually fell behind the Allied opposition.
With her power struggles waning and her health worsening, she could no longer bear to give up on life. This fact remained unknown to the public, so it was simply assumed she died of a chronic illness.
Odelia had one vivid memory. It was the first and last time she had seen her face-to-face since her very early childhood.
It was such a long memory; she could barely remember how old she was, yet she remembered her face strangely clearly. The sunlight that day, her smile, even her lovely, gentle scent.
Even to young Odelia, the former Empress was more beautiful than anyone else in the world. And her face was strikingly similar to that of Calix, who was now sitting before her.
But Odelia didn't tell that story.
No, she couldn't.
"...Maybe this was a refuge for you."
The words slipped out of her mouth without a second thought. Odelia quickly lowered her head, her eyes meeting Calix's.
"I'm sorry. I was presumptuous."
"No, you're right, it was a getaway for my mother, and now it's for me too."
When the answer came in a surprisingly soft voice, Odelia felt a distinct sense that this greenhouse was more than just a garden to Calix. A comfortable silence fell for a moment.
"So what are your impressions of coming into my greenhouse?"
Odelia tilted her head for a moment.
"Lady Judith would have been very happy, but I am sorry that she is not feeling well. It was not my intention to do so."
Then Calix frowned slightly and cut her off.
"No, not that. I mean, the impression you got when you came into my greenhouse."
Odelia remained silent for a while, and only after a long while did she speak softly.
“I... I realized that I am a worse person than I thought."
It was a rather unexpected sentiment, so Calix tilted his head.
"Why?"
"...It was only for a little while, but I'm so glad I got to be a substitute. That's what I thought."
"What the hell is that?" Odelia was surprised, not understanding why she thought that way, even though it was her own words.
"Now that I mention it, it's a bit embarrassing. Haha, ha... Just pretend you didn't hear what I just said."
Calix smiled and added quietly.
"That's why I like you, Odelia."
At that moment, Odelia's eyes widened.
At that moment, when she was speechless and blankly staring, wondering if she had misheard something, Calix slowly leaned towards Odelia, extending his hand without touching her.
"You're so honest."
Odelia felt a chill at the sensation of her disheveled bangs being touched. The best she could do was to awkwardly smile, saying, "Ah..." She took a deep breath, trying not to show it, and then realized the true meaning of his words.
She is honest and does not betray. This means she has a personality that makes her a good subject to keep. It's probably just a typical Calix expression.
"You are too kind."
For some reason, Calix's words of honesty pierced Odelia's heart.
"Well then, shall we get up?"
Odelia, seeing him slowly get up, sat up and bowed her head.
"Today, it was an honor to be invited to Your Highness's greenhouse, even as a substitute."
Just as she was about to break her stride, giving a small greeting, thinking it was all over, Odelia was startled by a light tug on her wrist and turned around.
Calix's hand was gently holding her wrist.
“Where are you going?”
"Yes?"
“We should go on a date.”
***
"You're lying, right? That you're sick."
Inside the carriage returning from the palace, Cedric cautiously opened his mouth and glanced at Judith, who was sitting next to him.
"Ohhoho, that's not right~."
Then Judith waved her feather fan gently. With her face half hidden behind the fan, she turned her head slightly and pretended not to notice.
"No, it definitely hurt a lot, but it's really amazing how I'm back to normal as soon as I get out, as if nothing happened. Oh, no, isn't that a relief, Lord Cedric?"
Cedric still looked at her with a suspicious look in his eyes, then crossed his arms.
"You're saying it wasn't a lie? You weren't told it after receiving a favor?"
Then Judith opened her eyes wide, chuckling behind her fan.
"Getting my fortune told? Who would I get my fortune told by?"
"You said that the auction-winning bid was also a conspiracy with His Highness the Crown Prince. Isn't that the case this time, too?"
When Cedric sharply retorted, Judith hit her forehead with her fan and shouted in frustration.
"Ah. I told you that's not really the case?!"
As they were being spared, Cedric suddenly turned his gaze out the window with a faintly clouded expression. Judith watched him quietly. After a moment of hesitation, Judith opened her mouth.
"Lord Cedric, do you like Lady Odelia?"
It was a split second. Cedric's face turned bright red.
"That, that, that...?
When Judith asked if it was obvious with that kind of expression, she clicked her tongue inwardly, thinking that even a dog would know if it passed by, but on the outside, she smiled brightly and nodded.
“Yes, I don't know.”
Cedric sighed deeply, looked out the window, and muttered quietly.
"Lady Herdel, whom I spoke to for the first time today, knows this, but Odelia doesn't..."
Judith became silent at Cedric's sullen response.
'Oh... you seem quite serious...'
She often feels sorry. But on the other hand, she recalls that day. Didn't she see it vividly? What did His Highness the Crown Prince look like then?
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