My Secret Flower - Episode 13

I quickly left the spot, barely calming my pounding heart. Ash, who was secretly holding back laughter, and Evelyn, who was wary of him, followed me into the mansion.

“What is it? What’s going on? Huh? Who is he? I’ve never seen him before. Surely he’s not someone you’d, like, buy a night with, is he?”

Despite Evelyn’s interrogation, I couldn’t bring myself to speak and became as silent as a mute who had swallowed honey. I was too busy thinking about how to explain.

I went straight to the dining room and sat in the chair that Ash pulled out for me.

“Today, since Lishua has a guest, I will excuse myself. Have a pleasant time.”

“It’s okay if you stay…”

“It looks like you two have a lot to talk about. I’ll have my meal separately and then look around the estate.”

“Thank you, Ash. Be careful. There are a few things to keep in mind, so be sure to ask the butler and check before you go.”

He smiled gently, nodded, and lightly kissed my cheek. Evelyn, who was sitting across from me, saw the scene and her eyes trembled. Then, she deliberately placed her elbow on the table with a thud and rested her chin on her hand.

“You, sit down for a moment. I have some questions for you too, you know?”

How could she act exactly like my second sister?

The last time my second sister came, she put on a very haughty noblewoman act and dug into Ash’s personal information. I was so embarrassed that I couldn’t stand it and just sent Ash away. But now, unlike then, we have promised each other a future, so I thought there was nothing more to hide.

Ash, unlike his visibly nervous self-back then, sat down next to me with an unperturbed expression, subtly watching my reaction. Then Evelyn leaned forward, stared intently at Ash, and sparkled her light purple eyes.

“Ash, was it? Excuse me for being rude, but what is your relationship with our Lishua?”

“We have promised each other a future.”

At Ash’s straightforward answer, Evelyn’s eyes trembled and she looked back and forth between me and Ash.

“…Is that true?”

“There would be no reason to lie, would there?”

“Hmm. Okay. Then how did you meet?”

“I met her about eleven months ago, and Lishua nursed and cared for me when I was seriously injured. Thanks to her, I was able to save my life.”

Evelyn’s eyes turned to me, and she grumbled with a slightly resentful feeling.

“Care to explain? How could you not say a word to me? You’ve known each other for almost a year!”

“It’s just that we’ve known each other for a while. It was only yesterday that we officially promised each other a future.”

“…I never thought our Lishua was like this. Still waters run deep, what a bizarre thing to happen? I really couldn’t have imagined it.”

I don’t know why she’s making such a fuss about marriage as if it’s a bizarre thing. On the other hand, it might be because I’ve never been involved with a man before, so she’s witnessing a very unexpected situation.

“So, how far did you go? Seeing you two kissing earlier, it didn’t seem like it would end with just a kiss. Surely, you didn’t do anything bad to our Lishua, did you?”

Instead of answering, I blushed and avoided her burning gaze. Ash was busy holding back his laughter, subtly covering his lips with his fingers, and in the meantime, he held my hand tightly on my lap. That made me even more embarrassed, and my neck burned.

Fortunately, Evelyn didn’t pry any further. She just sighed in disbelief and shook her head lightly. I can roughly guess what she’s thinking. But sometimes it’s better not to know.

Ash squeezed my hand that he was holding tightly, carefully let go, and stood up.

“Then I’ll be on my way. I hope you have a good time catching up, as it’s been a while since you’ve met.”

Ash gave a polite greeting and left the dining room, and immediately, under the direction of the head maid, the meal was prepared. She probably didn’t prepare the food because she didn’t receive the news that Evelyn was visiting in advance. Nevertheless, seeing that a meal for two was immediately prepared, it must have been the meal that I and Ash were originally going to eat.

I was worried that he would have an inadequate meal.

“Please prepare a separate meal for Ash.”

“Yes, Miss.”

“Oh my gosh. Seriously. Our Lishua has changed a lot while I haven’t seen her. Is that the Lishua I know? Is it not someone else? Has her soul been switched or something?”

Evelyn seemed to be teasing me, but her expression was serious. I picked up a salad with my fork and changed the subject.

“More importantly, what brings you here without any notice?”

“The butler told you earlier. I came because I wanted to see the Countess.”

I heard that she came to spend the first anniversary of my mother’s death together. Evelyn genuinely liked my mother.

I sent her a letter to tell her that my mother had suffered a tragic accident last year, but unlike usual, the reply that would have come immediately arrived much later. It said that she realized at that time what it felt like to have the world collapse from the news I sent.

Even now, Evelyn, who had become depressed, drooped her shoulders unlike usual.

“I really can’t believe it. Honestly, even today, I thought that the Countess would greet me in person and hug me as usual. I don’t even feel it.”

“…I know. Me too. It just feels like she’s gone on a long trip somewhere.”

“Actually, I met the Countess in the capital a few days before that plague broke out.”

“You met Mother? You didn’t mention that in your letter.”

“I kept it a secret to tell you in person. You have no idea how itchy my mouth was.”

Evelyn, who was being even more brazen, took a deep breath slowly.

“That plague was really scary. It just looked like a simple cold, but people were dying in an instant. I’m only saying this now, but my sister also died from that plague.”

“Is that, really true?”

It was said that the number of people who died from the plague that struck the capital could not be counted. Even among the nobles, there were quite a few families who lost their heirs or heads of the family. However, since there were so many victims, they didn’t bother to ask each other who had died. They just greeted each other by saying that they were glad to have survived.

But to think that a member of the Brayton County family, even the Brayton Lady, would have been affected by that plague.

“Didn’t your sister get married back then?”

“She did. And it happened two months after she did that marriage caused so much trouble for our parents.”

I heard that the Brayton Lady’s marriage partner was a commoner. Because the family’s opposition was so extreme, they broke up and met again repeatedly, and I had hoped that they would be happy until the end, since they were a couple who had managed to get married with difficulty.

“Is that man okay?”

“He died with her. Since they were already married, our County family couldn’t even collect my sister’s remains. They said that the bodies of commoners were piled up in the square and burned all at once.”

“…The Brayton Countess must be very heartbroken. I don’t know how to comfort her.”

“That’s why I couldn’t go anywhere and stayed by my mother’s side. I can fully understand how she must feel, having sent away a close friend and a beloved daughter like that.”

We held each other’s heavy hearts and had a moment of silence as if in prayer. As if shaking off that heavy atmosphere, Evelyn straightened her back as usual and smiled brightly.

“Someone told me that it’s the will of nature, which people can’t do anything about, so instead of being sad, we should do our best to enjoy life. That’s how we honor those who died in vain.”

“You’re right. Crying and shedding tears won’t bring the dead back to life.”

“I was really worried about you. I was worried that you wouldn’t have recovered even now and would be crying alone. But I’m glad to see that your expression looks bright. The power of love is amazing, isn’t it?”

Love…

My cheeks flushed again and my eyes welled up. Evelyn, as if amused by my every reaction, covered her mouth and laughed excitedly, then clapped her hands as if she had remembered something.

“Ah! I heard an interesting story.”

“An interesting story?”

“A story about the new Emperor of the Empire.”

I don’t really care or have any interest in the topic, but I don’t know why they’re all so worked up about it. Evelyn, like me, had no interest in the affairs of the Empire, but what’s going on?

“Don’t tell me the Emperor has changed again?”

“How much do you know?”

“I heard that the third Prince, born to the only surviving daughter of the fallen Duchy of Vient in our kingdom, usurped the throne.”

“Then it hasn’t changed yet. You know quite a lot?”

“I heard it when I attended the tea party held at the Tepern County family last time.”

“Ah, that jerk? Is she still the same?”

There were three people who had been counted as Evelyn’s arch-enemies for a long time, and one of them was the Tepern County Lady. From a third-party perspective, the Tepern Lady unilaterally disliked Evelyn. However, because the Brayton County family had quite a bit of power, she couldn’t openly ignore her and just treated her as if she didn’t exist.

They could just acknowledge that they were different, but why were they so eager to tear each other apart?

“People don’t change easily. This time too, she subtly tried to match me with her younger brother.”

“Ha! No way. That’s absolutely not going to happen. If that ever happens, I’ll carry a lunch box around and stop you until my dying breath.”

“I have no intention of it either. So, what’s the story about that Emperor?”

“Ah! That Emperor, according to the stories I’ve heard, that new Emperor…”

Evelyn, who was always confident, looked around for some reason and even covered her mouth with her hand, whispering in a very quiet voice.

“Is a huge pervert and the craziest person in the world.”

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