My Secret Flower - Episode 1

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In front of the firmly closed gates of the kingdom.

“I’m sorry, miss. They said they had to burn everything immediately, so this is all that’s left.”

The head maid, who had managed the count’s residence in the capital, handed me a neatly folded letter and an urn while fighting back tears. It contained a short letter with my mother’s last words and the ashes and bone fragments left after cremating her remains.

How could something like this happen?

“Miss!”

The head maid quickly caught me as I staggered, suddenly feeling dizzy. My heart felt like it was breaking from the horrific and unexpected situation.

This summer was unusually hot. A sudden epidemic broke out in the capital, killing many people. By royal decree, the kingdom’s capital was to be sealed off until the cold winds returned, so I couldn’t even enter.

I had rushed over as soon as I received a letter saying that my mother, who was staying alone in the capital to prepare for the regularly held salons, had contracted the plague. But by the time I arrived, she had already passed away. To prevent possible infection, all the bodies were burned, so I couldn’t even be there to see her off on her final journey.

It was so absurd that my mother, who was so elegant and beautiful, had suddenly turned into a mere handful of ashes.

“Please go back quickly. The capital is not safe. If you stay here any longer and something happens to you, I won’t be able to face the Countess in the afterlife.”

“Is everyone safe?”

“Don’t ask anything, and don’t come back until the capital is stable again. Please keep that in mind.”

Clutching the urn and letter that the head maid gave me as a final farewell, I had no choice but to turn the carriage around.

My mother was the only person in my family I could confide in. The person I relied on and loved so much had suddenly passed away without warning.

The depth of that emptiness was like an abyss. I was so grief-stricken that I couldn’t stop crying, unable to express it in words.

The reality was that no one could survive even a brush with the god of plague. It was a natural disaster that couldn’t be stopped by human power, but I never imagined that my family would be caught up in it.

I had held onto a glimmer of hope all the way from the territory. I wasn’t even ready to say goodbye to my mother yet.

‘What am I supposed to do if you leave so suddenly?’

The black smoke rising from the sealed capital in the distance covered the sky for days. It was a tragic sight that showed how many people had lost their lives.

There had been plagues in the past, and they were said to be terrible diseases that killed almost half the population. It was cruel that such a contagious disease, which spared neither people nor livestock and wildlife, had struck the capital at this particular time.

Filled with indescribable emptiness and longing, I was immersed in sorrow all the way back to the main estate, soaking all my handkerchiefs.

“Miss, are you alright? I’m afraid you might collapse from exhaustion.”

Despite the worried concerns of the coachman and servant who came with me, I couldn’t stop crying. But how could I accept it indifferently when it was my own mother who had passed away?

The people of the kingdom who had experienced this sudden parting must have felt the same way I did. My father had been bedridden for days, unable to get up, ever since he received the report that my mother had succumbed to the plague. Fortunately, my two older sisters had escaped the capital quickly and were safe.

The road to the main estate was deserted because so many people had already fled. I had cried so much that my swollen eyelids were barely open, so I closed my eyes and tried to empty my mind as much as possible.

Suddenly, the carriage stopped abruptly, and I heard the coachman’s flustered voice.

“Wh-what?!”

I was the one who wanted to say, “What?!” I barely opened my swollen eyes, and the moment the carriage door burst open, a blood-soaked man came inside, and I almost screamed.

“H-huh…?”

The acrid smell of blood wafted in on the wind, brushing past my nose. He was covered in red blood from head to toe, so I thought he was a monster.

“Just, just a moment… cough Help me hide…”

The suffering man staggered and slumped onto the carriage seat, groaning. I was just shocked at the sight of the blood dripping onto the floor.

Looking closely, it seemed that his clothes were tattered and torn by blades. I could see traces of numerous wounds through the gaps. Blood was flowing from everywhere, and I thought it was only a matter of time before he died.

‘It doesn’t seem like the plague. Did a fight break out nearby?’

I couldn’t just stand by and watch. I didn’t know what situation this man was in, but I thought treatment should come first.

I didn’t want to see anyone else die again.

“Miss…”

“Let’s go. Immediately. Let’s go to the nearest village from here. We need to get him treated.”

Even if he was a stranger, life was precious. I had the doctor in the nearest village on the way to the main estate examine the man’s condition.

He had already lost too much blood and was barely clinging to life.

“It seems like stopping the bleeding should be the priority. But even if we do, I don’t know if he’ll survive.”

“Just treat him first. Don’t worry about the cost.”

“Um, are you perhaps from the kingdom? We’re a little hesitant to take in people from the capital because of the current epidemic.”

I understood completely. The plague was so contagious that it could easily devastate an entire village.

I showed the doctor my noble crest and explained calmly.

“I departed from the Mariel County three days ago and was on my way back after confirming that the gates were closed near the capital. I found this man on the way, and I heard that the gates were sealed yesterday.”

“Ah… P-please forgive my rudeness. I will take action as quickly as possible.”

The doctor, who had been arrogant until just now, prostrated himself and began treatment quickly after confirming that I was a noble. The sight made my mouth feel bitter. If I had been a commoner, he might not have even bothered to look at the man bleeding profusely, let alone treat him, and his life would have been in danger.

As I wiped away the blood with a towel soaked in clean water, I realized that the man’s hair was not red but a light gray. The sight of him wrapped in pure white bandages all over his body was a little eerie, like a corpse before being placed in a coffin.

“Um… Miss, your eyes are very swollen. Please use this to reduce the swelling.”

“Thank you.”

In the meantime, I used the ice pack that another staff member gave me to reduce the swelling in my eyes. I didn’t care that the people there suspected the relationship between me and the man. They would probably think that if a noble was shedding tears, it must be someone they cared about very much, and they would take even better care of him.

After quite some time, the man’s treatment was finished, and the doctor, wiping the blood from his hands, cautiously informed me with a cold sweat.

“I have done my best to treat him, but now the rest is up to him. He has lost too much blood, so it is difficult to guarantee that he will survive.”

“Thank you for your efforts. We’ll have to wait and see.”

I had a strong feeling that there was no hope. But I believed that he would not die like this.

I had felt a strong will to live in his hazel eyes, which had stared straight at me as he writhed in pain in the carriage, covered in blood.

So, I forgot that I had to go to the main estate and took care of the man there. If you asked me why, there were many excuses, but the biggest reason was that I wanted to see those beautiful, sparkling eyes again.

“Please live. Please…”

Fortunately, the bleeding had stopped, and his breathing was easier than before, but he didn’t seem to want to open his eyes at all. Was he just tired and wanted to rest?

It would take another two days by carriage to get to the main estate. I couldn’t bear to leave him here alone, and I couldn’t move him to the carriage as I pleased, for fear of opening his wounds.

One day, as I was anxiously worrying about this.

“Are you awake?”

He opened his eyes after three days. His eyes were unfocused, as if he had woken up from a deep sleep.

I tried to make eye contact with him and held his hand tightly.

“You were badly injured and got into the carriage I was riding in. Do you remember? I’ve treated your wounds, but they haven’t healed yet, so you shouldn’t move too much.”

I explained gently, calmly, as if soothing a child, so that he wouldn’t be surprised by the unfamiliar person and surroundings. His eyelids blinked slowly, and his eyes, which had been wandering around aimlessly, regained their vitality and met my gaze.

My heart pounded violently.

It was like a mysterious marble that didn’t exist in the world. His hazel eyes, which shone especially brightly as if sprinkled with gold dust, were more beautiful than any jewel. Looking at him closely, his face, which was a mess of scars, was quite handsome.

Straight, gray eyelashes. Sharply torn, upturned eyes. A sleek, high nose, and even his chapped lips were a pretty pink color.

He was a man who was better described as beautiful than handsome. I smiled brightly at him, but then my nose tingled as I thought of my mother, and I ended up bursting into tears.

“Thank you for being alive.”

I felt so sorry for my mother, who had passed away without being able to do anything about the incurable plague. If he had died in front of my eyes as well, I don’t think this wounded heart would have recovered quickly. Even though he was a stranger, I felt sorry for him because he looked like a big, injured dog who couldn’t move because he was hurt.

Fortunately, he had survived, but he spent almost the entire day in a deep sleep. When he was awake, he gritted his teeth as if he was in too much pain and sweated profusely. So, I decided to give him mild painkillers and sleeping pills.

I thought it would be much better for him physically and mentally to sleep.

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