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Chapter 24
“…Ha.”
Harnen finally closed his eyes.
“Makes sense… now even the Emperor himself…” he muttered, then snapped his eyes open and glared at As.
He spat out his words as if chewing them.
“I’m going, alright? I said I’m going.”
“Harnen, aren’t you on vacation right now? Then why is His Majesty calling you?”
I blinked wide-eyed and asked Harnen.
Harnen turned to me with a radiant smile spread across his face.
“I was on vacation. Until just now.”
“Until just now…?”
“My dear superior said he’ll double my vacation days if I come back right away. What choice do I have?”
Grinding out the words, Harnen sighed and turned back to me.
“Einra, remember this. If anything happens, call Lord Eliaie no matter what. Got it?”
It wasn’t like the casual reminders he always left me with when we parted—this one was heavy with solemnity.
I smiled faintly and nodded.
“Of course. I promise I will.”
“Even if it seems trivial or insignificant, don’t let your guard down. No, better yet—just call Lord Eliaie every time you get startled.”
“What’s that supposed to mean.”
I laughed aloud.
Maybe my laughter didn’t reassure him, because Harnen drilled it into me several more times like he was force-feeding me instructions.
Even though I repeatedly told him I understood perfectly well, he still couldn’t shake off his worried expression.
“Harnen, I really will be careful. I won’t let my guard down even a little. If anything happens, I’ll use spirit magic right away. Promise.”
At last, I spoke with all traces of laughter gone, declaring it solemnly.
Harnen looked down at me with a face full of words left unsaid, then let out a long sigh and walked over to As.
“I picked this up on the way here. Use it if you want, or don’t.”
He grumbled and tossed the thing in his hand.
As, startled, caught the small glass vial shaped like a little flask.
“This is…”
“If you get caught using that carelessly, you’ll be dead for real.”
Harnen growled the words as though the very act of giving it away disgusted him, and before I could even scold him for his unrefined language, he used magic and disappeared.
“He vanished in an instant…”
I muttered while staring at the spot where Harnen had stood just moments ago.
It had been a while since I’d seen him. It would be a lie to say I wasn’t left with a hollow feeling.
Maybe my face betrayed it.
As, watching me intently, spoke up.
“Einra, shall we go for a walk?”
“A walk?”
I blinked in surprise, then smiled and nodded.
“Sure, let’s do it. A walk.”
The spring garden was bursting with flowers in full bloom.
As looked around at them and then turned to me.
“Did you pick and plant all these flowers yourself, Einra?”
“Mm, no.”
“Then?”
I scratched my cheek with an awkward laugh.
“Well… I just planted the seeds Sylavies brought me, more or less randomly. Haha.”
When I first moved into this house, I knew so little about flowers that I had no idea how to decorate the bare garden.
Noticing my troubles, Asiltes, the Wind Spirit King, had Sylavies gather flower seeds from all over the world, and then Noasine, the Earth Spirit King, cultivated the soil himself and planted them for me.
The result is this very garden.
I chuckled softly as I looked around.
So in the end, this garden was really the masterpiece of the two Spirit Kings.
“That’s… funny.”
As laughed aloud, his clear laughter ringing out across the garden.
It was such a pleasant sound that I found myself laughing along without realizing. Then As spoke again.
“Then does that mean Einra doesn’t even know what flowers are growing here?”
“Yeah…”
I admitted sheepishly. As’s red eyes crinkled gently.
“Should I tell you, then?”
“You know a lot about flowers?”
I widened my eyes and looked down at him.
The boy, looking a little embarrassed, avoided my gaze but nodded.
“Just… a bit more than most people.”
“Wow… You’re really going to be loved by your wife someday.”
Not only could this little noble boy cook well, but he also knew about flowers?
I said it in admiration, and for some reason As flushed around his ears and glanced at me shyly.
“…Really?”
“Yeah. People who care about animals and plants are almost never bad people. And people like good people. So your wife will definitely love you.”
“…Love… that’s something I never even dared to hope for.”
Covering his face with both hands, As mumbled something.
I didn’t catch it, so I tilted my head closer. “Hm?”
After a short silence, As shook his head quickly and changed the subject.
“Flowers… I’ll tell you about them.”
His small hand pointed at a round blossom growing nearby.
“This one is a hyacinth. Since it’s blue, the flower’s meaning is ‘steadfast love.’”
“Oh, so this is a hyacinth! I’ve heard the name and seen the flower countless times, but I never realized that was what it was.”
“The white, pink, and red ones next to it are daisies. Their meaning is…”
As explained the flowers one by one, his voice gentle yet never dull.
The spring sunlight pouring down was warm, and the soft spring breeze carried the scent of flowers, sweet and heady.
The rustling of garden leaves swaying with the wind sounded faint and far away.
The moment felt so peaceful that a smile came to my lips without thinking.
Cornflowers, muscari, jasmine, lisianthus…
As we strolled slowly through the garden, I began to truly learn the names and meanings of flowers I had only recognized by sight until now.
Beyond what As told me directly, I pointed at each blossom that caught my eye, asking what it was and what it symbolized.
Then suddenly, my eyes fell on a bluish-purple flower blooming nearby.
“What about this one?”
“That’s delphinium.”
“Such a pretty name.”
Smiling, I crouched down in front of the flower and gently touched its soft petals.
“What does delphinium mean?”
I asked lightly, as I had with the others.
But unlike before, As didn’t answer right away.
After a pause, his low voice finally came.
“…‘Why do you not love me?’”
For a moment, my heart gave a heavy jolt.
I was suddenly reminded of how As always asked me over and over if I truly didn’t hate him.
And also of Aches, who avoided me so much he went so far as to put his mask back on.
I slowly withdrew my hand from the petals.
My chest felt tight, fluttering strangely.
When I looked back at As, he was staring at me as though waiting for an answer.
Why…
Why are you looking at me like that?
The thought rose inside me unbidden and then dissolved.
I suddenly felt like crying.
“…That’s… the flower’s meaning.”
As, who had been holding my gaze, turned his eyes away and added quietly.
I snapped out of my daze and darted my eyes around, flustered.
An awkward silence fell between us.
I felt I wouldn’t be able to focus on the walk anymore, so I scrambled for an excuse to retreat.
“Ah, right! I baked some cookies, but I completely forgot because of our walk! As, I should head inside quickly. What about you?”
“…I’ll stay out a little longer.”
“Then I’ll go in first!”
With that, I hurried into the house.
Click—the door closed.
My heart was pounding violently.
Leaning against the door for a moment, I then dragged myself to the sofa and collapsed weakly onto it.
…Something’s wrong.
I thought, pressing down hard on my still-thundering chest with both hands.
Why does this boy’s face keep overlapping with Aches’s?
“Aches would never smile at me the way As does…”
And logically speaking, there was no way the war hero, currently being celebrated in the capital, would suddenly be here in my house in the form of a child.
Right?
Surely not.
But… there were too many things that didn’t add up to just dismiss it.
A face so similar he could be Aches’s own son.
The calm composure the boy had shown even in unbearable pain from his burns.
His uncanny grasp of my exact tastes in cooking.
The cryptic things As sometimes said.
And even Harnen, who claimed there was no way he wouldn’t know As.
“Could it really be…”
I whispered, then shut my mouth.
And if As really is Aches, then what?
All this time, I’d been too afraid to face Aches, running away again and again.
Even when I felt something off about As, I’d forced myself to ignore it for the same reason.
Do you even have the courage to speak with Aches properly?
The mocking question surfaced inside me.
I couldn’t answer.
Of course I didn’t.
Then bury your doubts and move on quietly.
Don’t shatter the fragile peace right in front of you.
Coward. I cursed myself. Slowly, I closed my eyes.
Just as I always had, once again, I chose the peace right before me.
Even if it was a false peace.
…Never imagining that tonight, that peace would shatter into pieces.
