My Secret Flower - Episode 6

Then one day, my second sister, the Marchioness Roant, visited our territory before returning to the capital.

“Shua! Our youngest, were you alright? Have you been well?”

“I missed you, Sister.”

“Let me hug you once, my sister. Haven’t you lost more weight?! You’ll be nothing but bones at this rate!”

My second sister, who greeted me with a flurry of excitement as soon as she arrived, was as lively as ever. Just seeing her made me smile, and she played a significant role in brightening up the surroundings in an instant.

After confirming each other’s well-being, we visited our mother’s grave together in the Mariel County family’s ancestral burial grounds and reminisced about the past.

How much our mother, who endlessly loved her three daughters, had shown affection for the main family and the territory. How she was a kind mother who always showed a pleasant smile like a soft spring breeze.

“I want to be a friendly friend to my children like Mother, but it’s hard to do that with my own kids. If they’re quiet, they’re causing trouble. I wonder how Mother never got angry even when she saw that.”

“Is your first already five years old?”

“Yeah. She’s so energetic, just like me. But her father was also a troublemaker when he was young, they say.”

My second sister seemed quite happy too. It was hard to believe that she was a mother of two sons, she was so young and beautiful, and she resembled our mother the most. So, to be honest, I felt more familiar with my second sister than my first.

“More importantly, I’ve been wondering since earlier, Shua, who is that man?”

“Ash?”

“His name is Ash?”

“Yeah.”

I explained to my second sister how I met Ash. How I met him on the way back to the main house with Mother’s ashes and treated his injuries, and how I felt like we had grown fond of each other.

“I knew it. The way you two look at each other is a bit special.”

“Does it show?”

“His status isn’t clear. No, if Father is going to give you the family title, does status matter? What matters is his character. Just being with you guarantees a countess title, right?”

My sister said that if he was a man who only loved me, there was no reason to oppose him. She didn’t think the man’s eyes were evil.

Then, as if she had remembered something, she chuckled and even clapped her hands.

“It’s kind of funny. The way that man looks at you is just like the way my sons look at me.”

“What does that mean?”

“They say children feel secure just by seeing their mother. Even when they’re playing, they come to check if I’m still there, and only after seeing me do they feel relieved and run off to play again? That man must feel that way when he looks at you.”

“…Is that a good thing?”

“They say men instinctively look for women who are like their mothers. He lost his family, right? He must think of his mother when he sees you. That’s probably why he looks at you like that?”

I was envious of my second sister, who even joked that her husband sometimes acted like a child, making her feel like she was raising three sons. I also had the desire to be that happy.

It was one day when we were leaving the cold winter and welcoming the warm spring. Even though it was daytime, a chilly wind was still blowing, so I was wearing a winter cloak and walking with Ash in the quiet, snow-covered garden.

“Lishua.”

He, who had been walking silently side by side with me, called out to me. My birthday was coming up soon, and his birthday was only two weeks later than mine. I thought it was fate that our birthdays were so close, and I was thinking about slowly progressing our relationship.

“Yes?”

“I need to go back to my hometown for a while. I thought I should tell you before I go.”

His words that he was leaving made my heart grow as cold as if it had swallowed a cold wind. I didn’t know what to say or how to react, so I just stared at him blankly.

I hadn’t heard him say that he would settle down here yet. Was he really thinking of leaving?

He had stayed here for quite a while, so I had secretly hoped that he would just stay like this. But it wasn’t like that.

It wasn’t like he was just eating food either. Since he recovered, he had been helping with the territory’s affairs, and even though Father didn’t trust him at first, he had been doing his job diligently enough to earn his trust.

So, I had taken it for granted that he would stay by my side. I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.

“…Are you leaving for good? Do you mean you’re not coming back?”

“I can’t promise that.”

His light brown eyes, which were looking down at me as he stood there, shone clearly. The sunlight reflected off the snow on the ground, making them tremble subtly with a more mysterious appearance.

The thought of never seeing those beautiful eyes again made me feel so sad and heartbroken.

I placed my trembling hand on my chest and calmly asked again.

“Can I ask what you mean by ‘I can’t promise’?”

“I have a ranch of my own. I’ve left it empty for quite a while, so I’m not sure what the situation is like. Recently, hungry beasts have been appearing frequently in the area.”

“Can’t I help you?”

“It’s dangerous. It’s almost abandoned now, so it’s even more dangerous.”

He shook his head and gave me the warm smile that he always showed me as he looked at me seriously.

“If I can sort things out safely, I will definitely come back. If I do come back, then I want to form a bond with you and be with you for the rest of my life. Would that be alright?”

My heart tingled, and a shiver ran down my spine. If I wasn’t mistaken, he also had feelings for me, just like I did for him.

The joy that he had chosen me. The overwhelming emotions that surged because he wasn’t leaving for good were too much to handle.

“Of course. Of course, it’s alright. I’ll wait. Forever. Until you come back.”

Expressing my feelings sincerely, I took off the necklace around my neck with trembling hands and placed it in his hand.

“This is my mother’s keepsake. It’s mine now, but I hope you’ll come back safely and put it back around my neck.”

“Such a precious thing.”

“That’s how much I like you, Ash. I really want to be happy with you.”

I confessed my true feelings to him for the first time. I hadn’t figured out everything about him yet, but I couldn’t hide my feelings. I didn’t want to worry about whether he was sincere or not anymore.

His scarred cheeks flushed slightly red. It wasn’t because of the harsh wind. It was because he was smiling so brightly that his neat teeth were showing, as if he was happy to hear the confession he had been waiting for.

He reached out his arms and hugged me tightly. I was momentarily flustered by his strong embrace, but then he lowered his head and lightly pressed his lips against mine as I stared at him blankly.

A warm, soft sensation melted on my thin skin. A kiss that made even the cool air feel hot soaked my heart.

“I feel the same way about you. From the moment I got on the carriage you were riding in until now, my heart has been unwavering.”

“Same here. Would you believe me if I said I felt fate the moment I saw you?”

“I will definitely come back. I will sort everything out and come back to propose properly. I love you, Lishua.”

After confirming each other’s feelings, he left without delay. The nanny said he left so coldly, but I thought differently. It was to fulfill his promise to me as soon as possible. He must have thought that if he didn’t do that, he wouldn’t want to leave.

‘I never thought such a novel-like thing would happen to me.’

I waited for him every day with a happy heart, recalling that day’s kiss. It became a daily routine to earnestly pray to God that he would return safely without any mishaps. I redecorated the room he would use when he returned, and I also completely changed my room, where we would live together after we got married.

So that he could consider this place his home.

The cold winter passed, and a perfect spring arrived, when new life that had been dormant in the ground bloomed again. The capital was also revitalized, and gatherings of nobles were revived one by one, so invitations poured in from many places.

I only selected a few important gatherings and tea parties that I had to attend.

“It’s been a while, Miss Mariel. It’s refreshing to see you alive again.”

“I’m glad you’re safe too, Miss. Thank you for inviting me to the party.”

I was coming straight from the territory to the capital, so I was a little late than the scheduled time and arrived last. The face of the Countess Tepern, who hosted today’s tea party, broke into a relieved smile.

I followed her into the party venue, greeted familiar faces lightly, and then sat down. Today, as always, the main focus of the conversation was on the Empire.

“The Empire is still a mess. They’re saying that they don’t know how many times the emperor has been enthroned already, and they don’t know how long the emperor who was enthroned this time will be able to maintain the throne.”

“Has the throne changed three times already since the late emperor passed away?”

“That’s right. The 2nd prince, then the 4th prince, and now the 3rd prince. It’s a very chaotic situation.”

“It must be as terrible as our kingdom, where the plague was rampant.”

Our Vient Kingdom was one of the kingdoms that belonged to the Empire. So, the story about the Majentis Empire was the main focus of other gatherings and tea parties.

Especially when it was a precarious situation with such a big impact as it was now.

Three years ago, after the emperor suddenly passed away due to illness, I heard that the one who took the new emperor’s seat was the 2nd prince, not the crown prince. It meant that the princes’ rebellion had occurred, aiming for the seat of the late emperor who had suddenly passed away.

Our kingdom was also uneasy about the chaotic situation in the Empire. At that time, there was no day when the story about the Empire was not talked about at any gathering.

Of course, I quietly drank tea as usual and listened to their conversation with one ear and let it flow out with the other.

[I heard that there are as many as six princes, including illegitimate children? After the 2nd prince killed the crown prince and ascended the throne, the 4th prince assassinated the new emperor.]

[Now there are officially only three princes left, the 3rd prince, the 5th prince, and the 6th prince. I heard that even their whereabouts are unknown.]

[You never know. The other princes may also be sharpening their swords to gain the throne.]

[What happens if all the imperial family dies?]

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