My Secret Flower - Episode 17

Late afternoon. I went out with Evelyn, who wanted to visit her mother’s grave. And Ash accompanied us, ostensibly to protect us.

I wanted to give Evelyn some time alone in front of the tombstone, where she was struggling to hold back her tears. Ash and I quietly left her there and looked around.

“It really hasn’t rained in so long. The air is quite dry.”

“But I can feel dampness coming from afar, so I think it will pour soon.”

“That’s good news. I hope so.”

I intertwined my fingers with his naturally, smiled brightly, and slowly strolled through the grassy area again.

“Aren’t you lonely living alone?”

I asked teasingly, trying to probe him, but he answered honestly without any hesitation.

“I’m starting to reach my limit. Sometimes I regret yielding you to your friend. I don’t know why time is passing so slowly.”

“Bring keeps saying the same thing every night. He’s worried he’ll be resented later.”

I struggled to suppress the urge to sneak out while Evelyn was asleep and go to Ash’s room. I missed his warm embrace and wanted to be intoxicated by his passionate kisses.

As if he sensed my feelings, he led me to a more secluded spot, propped me against a tree trunk, and showered me with a passionate kiss. I had been stealing kisses with him every day behind Evelyn’s back. I definitely felt that the thrilling tension of possibly being caught made the atmosphere even hotter.

Rustle.

“How bold? Doing this outdoors in broad daylight.”

Just then, the sound of someone stepping on grass and an unfamiliar man’s nonchalant voice startled me. Ash, who had broken away from the kiss, drew the sword from his waist and glared back with a menacing expression.

‘Who is it?’

Rustle. Rustle.

The continuous footsteps were not those of an animal, but of a person. I wondered if Evelyn was playing a prank, but the sound was coming from the opposite direction from where she was. And the voice was completely different.

Besides, my mother’s grave is located in our Mariel family’s ancestral burial grounds, which is private property, so no one can enter without permission. They could be mistaken for intruders and punished.

What kind of crazy person would come here?

Soon, someone emerged through the tall grass.

“…Huh?”

It was definitely not someone from our territory. But what surprised me even more was the man’s hair color.

The same gray hair as Ash’s fell below his shoulders, shimmering. His face was also very similar to Ash’s, but he looked a bit cuter and younger. If Ash had the face of a handsome wolf, this man had the look of an adorable puppy.

‘Could it be Ash’s younger brother?’

I stared back and forth between Ash and the man with blue eyes, my eyes wide. No matter how I looked at it, they looked quite alike, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that they were brothers.

Ash sighed deeply at the sudden appearance of the man and put his sword back into its scabbard.

“I told you clearly not to come here.”

“I’m so upset I can’t even sleep. The more I think about it, the more my stomach churns. I couldn’t possibly die alone. You traitor.”

If you just listened, it sounded like enemies meeting on a narrow bridge, but the other man was smiling inappropriately, which was a little creepy. Ash just looked at the man with a pathetic look, and the man, who was just smirking at Ash, rolled his eyes and looked at me.

The man’s eyes were a slightly sky-blue color. It was like looking at an expensive sapphire.

And then, the memory of seeing those eyes two years ago flashed through my mind, and I snapped to attention.

“Oh? That handkerchief?!”

That’s right. I remembered. Two years ago, in the spring, when the weather was getting warmer, I was walking around the capital square with Evelyn, trying to visit a delicious dessert shop.

[Lishua. Look over there. Him.]

While walking down a secluded back street, Evelyn, who said that a handsome man was her ideal type, made a fuss and pointed straight ahead. A man at the head of a group that looked like travelers was that man.

His face wasn’t clearly visible because he had his hood pulled all the way up, but the youthful appearance that was barely visible between the hood was pretty enough for Evelyn to fall in love at first sight.

[He’s cute. Especially the color of his eyes.]

[Blue eyes are the best. Of course. Ah, I want to see him up close.]

[Go closer and look. Try talking to him. You’re good at that.]

[Oh my, how can I be so rude on our first meeting…]

I was feeling that Evelyn’s shy demeanor was cute, but then the man felt my gaze and looked directly at us. I naturally averted my gaze, but Evelyn got excited and jumped up and down, acting silly.

[Kya! He saw me! That person saw me!]

[Yeah. He did. Go say hello. Who knows? Maybe it will develop into a good relationship?]

[I want to, but how can I say hello on our first meeting? How embarrassing!]

Evelyn, who is usually so confident, becomes such a shy girl in front of pretty men. I chuckled because she wasn’t the Evelyn I knew, but then I was about to go back to the way I was going.

Thud-

‘…Huh?’

My foot got caught on something, and my body staggered, and I fell to the ground.

Of all things, there was a rock on the ground. I was so embarrassed and mortified that my face turned as red as if blood was pouring out of it.

Fortunately, there weren’t many people on the road, or I would have become a public laughingstock.

[Lishua! Lishua, are you okay?!]

[I’m, I’m okay.]

[What about your dress? It’s covered in dirt. Lishua, you have a nosebleed.]

I was so out of it that I didn’t even feel the blood flowing from my nose. I didn’t seem to have hit my face. I wiped it off roughly with my hand and was about to take a handkerchief out of my small bag when a strange handkerchief suddenly appeared in front of me.

[Are you alright? Please use this to wipe it off.]

The person who handed me the handkerchief was the man Evelyn said was pretty. I thought the man’s eyes looked like jewels even back then when I saw them up close. Even as my nose was bleeding, I couldn’t take my eyes off his sparkling eyes, and then Evelyn quickly snatched the handkerchief and held it to my nose.

[Thank you for your help. How can I ever repay this kindness?]

[It’s just a handkerchief, there’s nothing to repay.]

[Still, I’m so grateful. Since you helped me, I’d like to treat you to a cup of tea if you have time, are you available?]

Evelyn, whose intentions were obvious, acted as elegant as my mother and fluttered her long eyelashes as if showing them off. But the man just glanced at Evelyn without any emotion and answered while looking at me.

[I would be honored if you invited me, but I don’t think I can right now. If it’s not rude, may I visit you later?]

[Ah, of course! I’ll wash the handkerchief cleanly and return it to you when you visit the Brayton estate.]

[And you?]

It felt strange. I felt very uncomfortable because he didn’t take his eyes off me while answering Evelyn’s question. Besides, he even asked me as if he wasn’t interested in Evelyn’s answer.

[……Count Mariel is my father.]

[I see. I will definitely visit you sometime. I would like to savor the tea that you serve, miss.]

He gave me a charming eye smile and watched his back as he rejoined his group and left, and I clicked my tongue. I felt uncomfortable because something similar had happened before.

There were occasionally young men who tried to hit on me by using my friend Evelyn. My second sister said that I looked too haughty, so they were trying to approach me like a friend because they were afraid of being rejected if they confessed outright.

But that man openly ignored Evelyn. Evelyn showed that much interest.

‘He’s a bit of a jerk. His personality is lacking.’

If he ever came to find me, I was planning to pretend I didn’t know him and ignore him, so I washed the handkerchief cleanly and gave it to Evelyn. The blood-stained handkerchief didn’t come clean properly, so I made a new handkerchief and gave it to her as a courtesy.

But in the end, I heard that the man never visited our family or the Brayton estate.

But to meet him like this in a place like this.

Without realizing it, I lowered my hand that had been pointing and bit my lip. When I acknowledged him, the man smiled pleasantly and came closer to us.

“You remember me? I’m honored. I remembered the promise I made to visit you back then, so I’ve come now. But…”

The man’s blue eyes rolled towards Ash.

“I didn’t know that you and my brother were already, in that kind of relationship.”

“Brother…?”

“He’s my one and only brother. He selfishly dumped everything on me and said he was going to live alone, then suddenly disappeared without a word.”

If you just listened, it sounded like enemies meeting on a narrow bridge, but the other man was smiling inappropriately, which was a little creepy. Ash just looked at the man with a pathetic look, and the man, who was just smirking at Ash, rolled his eyes and looked at me.

As expected, the two were brothers. How could such a coincidence exist?

I was embarrassed because I was caught kissing Ash. I roughly understood what it felt like to want to hide in a rat hole.

But Ash clearly said that he didn’t have a good relationship with his younger brother. He said it took time to clean up the ranch and find a new owner, so did he hand it over to his brother?

I was confused because I didn’t know what was going on, but Ash narrowed his brow while maintaining an expression that was impossible to read.

“How did you know to come here?”

“It’s easy to find out the location of the territory governed by Count Mariel of the Vient Kingdom. Do you think I’m such an idiot that I don’t even know that much? I’d be disappointed.”

“This is private property. If you enter without permission, you won’t be left with your head.”

“Then kill me.”

I was more nervous about the brothers’ brutal conversation, and my palms were sweating. If I didn’t mediate here, a sword fight would really break out, and it wouldn’t be strange if someone died.

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