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Chapter : 5
Yellow Roses
‘I barely made it back before anyone else woke up.’
Lowell let out a sigh of relief as she looked around the quiet dining room, reassured that it was still before wake-up time. If anything, she seemed to have some time to spare. Maybe she should go back to her room and get a little more sleep…
“Lowell!”
“Eek!”
At that moment, a hand suddenly landed on Lowell’s shoulder. Caught off guard by the unexpected touch while she was already tense, Lowell yelped and jumped up from her spot.
“Where have you been?”
“That scared me…”
When she turned around, she saw her fellow maid, Ella, standing there with her hand still on Lowell’s shoulder.
“Where did you sneak off to, coming back like that?”
“Huh? I just came from the young lady’s room—”
“Liar. I can see the hem of your skirt is wet. And what’s with that bouquet?”
Ella glanced at the bouquet Lowell was holding and curled her lips into a mischievous, triumphant smile, as if she’d caught her red-handed.
“You know, you disappeared all of a sudden while we were cleaning the garden yesterday too… Doesn’t that seem suspicious?”
“Well, that’s…”
“If you keep this up, I’m telling the head maid you’ve been acting strange lately.”
“I told her to.”
A voice from behind cut into their conversation.
“I asked Lowell to go out and pick some flowers for me.”
“Ah—Miss…!”
“I’m sorry, Lowell. I sent you out so early in the morning.”
Standing there with her arms folded and a gentle smile was Aria. It was a kind smile, but there was an unmistakable firmness hidden beneath it.
“…No, it’s fine.”
At that gentle yet resolute smile, Lowell lightly bit the inside of her cheek and played along with Aria’s act.
“Ella, aren’t you in charge of cleaning the archives today? You’re not loitering in the kitchen instead of working, are you?”
“N-No! I was just about to go!”
Intimidated by the cold look on Aria’s face, Ella quickly bowed her head and hurried out of the dining room.
“Looks like you had a good trip.”
When only Aria and Lowell were left in the dining room, Aria slowly turned to her and said that.
“Ah, yes…”
Feeling Aria’s gaze fixed on the bouquet, Lowell replied in a mumble.
“……”
As she sensed Aria examining the flowers, Lowell thought she’d done well to listen to Leon and bring the bouquet. In a suspicious situation like this, without even a scrap of evidence, there would be no way out.
“Well, this much is something friends can do for each other.”
Aria met Lowell’s eyes and gave a small smile. And in that brief moment, Lowell thought she saw a trace of sadness in Aria’s eyes. Was it just her imagination?
“Shall we go to the room?”
While Lowell stood there absent-mindedly, Aria turned first and left the kitchen.
‘That’s…’
Lowell’s eyes caught sight of the fragments of that letter in Aria’s hand.
In this endlessly repeating time, it always arrived in front of Aria—but every time, Aria tore it to pieces the moment she saw it.
Even without reading it, Lowell knew immediately. The sender of that letter was Aria’s lover—the Count, Andy Davis.
At that moment, she realized that the sense of déjà vu she’d felt upon seeing Aria’s dim smile earlier had not been a mistake.
“Today’s weather is nice.”
Back in her room, Aria looked out the window and said that casually.
“Oh! Then would you like to go to the market district with me today? Winter’s coming soon, so—”
Hearing that, Lowell, who had been brushing Aria’s hair, brightened and eagerly blurted out her suggestion. A list of things they could do in the market district before winter flashed through her mind.
“It’s fine.”
Contrary to Lowell’s hopes, Aria cut her off immediately with a gentle smile. The tone was kind, but the refusal was unmistakable.
“Even if we look around the market, there won’t be anything special. It’s all the same. All pointless.”
After that, Aria added weakly, not even noticing that Lowell had stopped brushing her hair.
‘Well… that makes sense. Because of the regression, even if she goes to the market, she’d only see the same things over and over again.’
Watching Aria stare blankly into the mirror with empty eyes, Lowell felt a quiet ache in her chest.
“Ah, sorry. I keep saying strange things.”
Only after some time did Aria seem to notice Lowell’s worried face reflected in the corner of the mirror. As if trying to ease her concern, she added an awkward explanation.
So Lowell decided to pretend she hadn’t noticed Aria’s act. If Aria didn’t want to sink into a gloomy mood, Lowell was more than willing to play along.
After that, as she resumed fixing Aria’s hair, Lowell chatted lightly—saying things like how their young lady really needed her to personally handle her grooming.
Knock, knock.
Just as Lowell was fastening a bright yellow rose ornament into Aria’s hair, there came a sudden knock on the door.
“Miss. Count Davis has come asking to see you.”
“What?”
Aria’s gaze, which had been fixed on the mirror, flew to the maid standing by the door.
‘That man again…’
Seeing her reaction, Lowell immediately had the same thought.
“Tell him I won’t see him.”
Aria bit her lower lip briefly, then spoke firmly.
“Pardon?”
“Didn’t you hear me? Tell him I have no intention of meeting him.”
The young maid at the door flinched at Aria’s sudden sharp command.
“Ah! Y-Yes. I’m sorry. I’ll pass that along.”
Under Aria’s cold stare, the flustered girl hurriedly closed the door and left the room.
“Aria!”
Later, as the two of them stepped out into the garden, thinking of taking a short walk, a familiar and unpleasant voice called out.
Both of them stopped at the same time. When they looked toward the sound… there he was—the very person they wanted to avoid. Andy Davis, Aria’s former lover, was standing in the reception hall.
“Aria, I read your letter and was so shocked I came straight away.”
“Why are you—”
Aria took a step back, avoiding the man approaching her with a flushed face.
‘What? He’s never come inside the house before.’
Lowell, standing behind her, also widened her eyes in surprise.
“I let him in.”
Another voice interjected, accompanied by the sound of a teacup being set down.
Where Lowell craned her neck to look sat Aria’s brother, Zion Heinstein, wearing a relaxed expression.
“Aria, how many times have I told you? Act in a manner befitting the name of Heinstein. Treating a guest this coldly is discourteous.”
The slow curve of his lips carried the leisurely ease of a noble.
“Yes, Aria. I came straight up from Morto.”
While Aria’s attention was drawn to Zion, who had suddenly joined the conversation, the uninvited Andy Davis stepped closer, mentioning the name of the territory where Aria had lived until she was fourteen.
“……”
Perhaps it was his sheer brazenness. Aria was momentarily at a loss for words, and Andy took her silence as consent and continued speaking.
“What you wrote in the letter—you didn’t mean it, right? There’s no reason for you to suddenly do this. Look, I even brought you a bouquet…”
“Go back. I have nothing to say to you.”
Aria cut him off. Her voice was calm, but Lowell noticed that Aria’s hand was trembling slightly.
Then, just as Aria turned to leave, thinking the conversation was over—
“Aria! Is this because I asked you to send me a magic orb infused with mana?”
Andy let out a loud sigh and shouted at her back. Aria flinched reflexively and stopped walking, and Andy pressed on.
“Haah… I told you. My mother is sick…”
Now Andy was striding straight toward Aria.
“Please go back.”
But at that moment, Andy’s steps came to a halt. Lowell had stepped forward, spreading her arms to block his path.
“What is this?”
Perhaps because a mere maid had suddenly intruded into a conversation between nobles, an irritated question fell from Andy’s lips, and silence followed.
At the same time, Zion—who had been quietly observing from behind—shifted his gaze to Lowell.
“Please go back. You’re making our young lady uncomfortable.”
Lowell spoke boldly, not caring in the slightest who might be watching her.
“You—how dare you stand in my way—”
Andy glared at Lowell with a hardened expression, his body trembling as he raised one hand.
Whoosh.
Just as Andy’s hand reached near Lowell’s cheek, her body was suddenly yanked backward and hidden behind Aria.
“Go back, Andy. I wrote it in the letter too. We’re over.”
Aria said this while tightly gripping Lowell’s arm behind her back, glaring at Andy.
“And Brother, I have no intention whatsoever of showing courtesy to someone who is not my guest.”
Aria’s cold gaze finally turned to Zion.
“Then.”
With that brief farewell, Aria led Lowell away and left the reception hall.
“…What was that? Who does that maid think she is? She’s got some nerve.”
Only after Aria and Lowell’s footsteps had completely faded did Andy finally raise his voice, unable to contain the anger boiling inside him.
“……”
In contrast, Zion calmly lifted his teacup and sipped his tea.
“Sir Zion! Didn’t you say a bouquet would be enough to smooth things over quickly?!”
At that irresponsible reaction, Andy angrily lifted the yellow rose bouquet lying on the table. From the wilted flowers, petals fell in a soft scatter.
“Who do you think you’re raising your voice at?”
After briefly looking at the petals on the floor, Zion fixed Andy with a cold stare.
“Ah—n-no, I just—”
“Honestly. Have you never considered that the real problem is your failure to properly handle that naive girl? Tsk. Just how disgracefully must you have behaved when you came to the capital?”
Zion’s tone was even, but deep, barely concealed anger seeped out with every syllable.
“I-It wasn’t like that! We just spent time normally! And back then, Aria smiled happily at everything I said!”
Andy flailed his hands as he protested.
“That’s enough. It was my mistake to trust you. I’ll arrange lodgings for you in the capital, so wait there for now. And don’t do anything unnecessary.”
Cutting Andy off before he could say more, Zion set down his teacup.
Thud.
The motion was undeniably that of a noble, but the sound it made as it touched the table carried a clear warning.
