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Chapter 39
Elbadin entered the glass garden and walked toward the fountain in the center. The clear sound of water filled the empty space.
He gazed at the stream of water cascading from the fountain for a moment, then carefully ran his hand over the iron table beside it. Beneath the cold metal, he felt a fleeting illusion as if the warmth of that day still lingered.
This was the place.
The place where he had invited Radia to the grand duke’s residence and proposed to her.
The place where she had looked up at him, her eyes sparkling blue under the moonlight.
Her voice, bold and smiling, still rang in his ears: “Show me your world, Your Highness.”
Radia had been the daughter of a long-fallen baronial family whose name barely survived, yet for Elbadin, it had never been a problem.
Nor had the opposition from her collateral relatives and their retainers.
Elbadin had been willing to fight the families for her sake.
But…
I was wrong.
Elbadin slowly closed his eyes.
In the end, he had lost both her and their child, and the faith he had placed in himself was nothing but the arrogance of youth who relied solely on his own strength.
For eight years, there had not been a single day when he was free from the guilt of failing to protect the people he cherished.
Even this beautiful glass garden, created for her, may have become a resting place for someone else.
But for Elbadin, it was nothing more than a massive prison, a testament to his failure.
It was then.
The fingertips of his hand, which had been gently stroking the iron table, froze. A faint sound came from outside the glass garden.
Elbadin opened his eyes and turned his gaze toward the entrance.
Chatter, once faint, became clearer as the garden door opened.
“Oh, so it’s only for an hour.”
It was a child’s voice, speaking as if in conversation with someone.
“Don’t get greedy, Cookie. No, you can’t go over an hour. Ah, remember—you have to be back before dinner!”
“Huh? Are you going to keep talking back? Do you want to end up in a cage?!” A sharp, decisive voice scolded a small parrot, whose voice was tinier than the human speaking.
It was Lusilea.
Elbadin shifted his body, perched on the table, and crossed his arms over his chest.
Them again.
His narrowed eyes seemed to say.
He silently watched Lusilea, who had not yet noticed him and was talking to herself.
Brown hair, brown eyes.
There was no trace of Radia in her appearance, yet somehow, seeing this child made him think of Radia.
Was it because of her unwavering gaze, facing him head-on, or the way she confidently answered back without hesitation?
At that moment, Lusilea, tapping Cookie’s yellow beak with her fingertip, met Elbadin’s eyes dead-on.
“Ah!”
Startled, Lusilea clutched her mouth and shook her shoulders violently. Cookie, perched on her shoulder, panicked and flew off in a rush.
Th-the grand duke!
I’m going to be eaten!
Cookie shot toward the glass garden ceiling, and Lusilea mentally shouted:
You traitor! This is the second time! You know that, right?!
[What?! I didn’t catch that, Lucy! Huh? What did you say?]
You…!
Lusilea clenched her teeth as she watched Cookie’s tail feathers fly away.
Cookie’s mischief aside, the real problem right now was the grand duke in front of her.
As Lusilea slowly turned her head toward Elbadin, her heart seemed to fall to the floor and bounce back up.
Then, she brazenly smiled as if she hadn’t been startled at all.
“Hello, Your Highness. Fancy seeing you here again! Ahaha.”
Her awkward laughter echoed through the glass garden.
Lusilea stepped back cautiously, glancing around.
“I didn’t know you were here. If I had known—”
“You wouldn’t have come.”
“Uh… right. …Huh?”
Lusilea’s surprised gaze shifted to Elbadin.
“What? Did you think I wouldn’t notice? You were avoiding me.”
“….”
Huh? How did he know?!
Lusilea’s pupils darted back and forth.
I was sure I ran away fast enough!
Reading her expression, Elbadin spoke again:
“You probably thought you got away as quickly as possible.”
Gulp! Lusilea felt her hands fumbling over her head.
What! Can he see inside my head?!
She lowered her hands and forced a small smile, though her lips trembled slightly.
“I-I think you’re mistaken. I have no reason to avoid Your Highness!”
“Exactly.”
Elbadin stepped closer and asked:
“You had no reason to avoid me. You’re not afraid of me. So then, why were you avoiding me?”
“Ahaha… well, I didn’t—”
Lusilea lowered her gaze to avoid his sharp eyes. Seeing his feet, she suddenly shouted:
“Ah! Don’t step on that!”
“…?”
Elbadin’s step faltered just above the ground.
Lusilea hurried over and crouched by his feet.
Phew. She let out a long sigh and moved his foot aside.
Between the cracked stones, a small blue flower with delicate petals had bloomed.
“Wow… how did this bloom here?”
Seeing Lusilea’s suddenly bright expression, Elbadin asked:
“What kind of flower is that?”
Lusilea carefully dug around the stones and answered:
“It’s called Lumina. It’s small and lovely, often used as an ornamental plant, but it’s actually more famous as a medicinal herb.”
“You learned about herbs, huh? From your grandmother?”
Lusilea nodded, giggling.
“Yes. I used to go up the mountains with my grandmother to gather herbs and sell them.”
As they talked about the flower’s name and meaning, Lusilea suddenly remembered something:
“Oh, right… this flower is dried to make a painkiller, which is why it’s considered precious.”
In truth, Lusilea admitted she didn’t know much about the process of drying or making medicine herself—it was Briole’s responsibility.
“When my grandmother sold a small bunch of these dried flowers, she received two silver coins.”
Then Lusilea’s eyes widened in surprise as she looked around the garden.
The child who had been scheming to flee now looked as excited as a miner discovering a jewel.
She gulped nervously and her hands dug faster among the stones.
“I-I’ll move these two silver… I mean, this Lumina first.”
“….”
It sounded like she just called the flower “two silver”…
Elbadin narrowed his eyes as he watched Lusilea lift the flower by its roots and carefully transplant it into a flower bed.
She covered the soil and even watered it skillfully, her movements precise and delicate.
Elbadin watched silently.
A child who was not afraid, who stopped the grand duke, held aside his foot, and then carefully tended to a flower blooming between stones.
Elbadin looked at her in mild astonishment.
Finally, Lusilea straightened up with a satisfied smile.
She wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, smearing a little dirt onto her forehead in the process, completely oblivious.
“Done. Why was this flower growing between the garden paths instead of the flowerbed? Did it scatter its seeds? Either way, it was very dangerous. It almost got stepped on by Your Highness.”
“….”
Elbadin simply watched her silently.
The sight of her, proud and happy over a single flower with dirt on her forehead, reminded him once again of Radia.
Unconsciously, Elbadin reached out.
He gently wiped the dirt from Lusilea’s forehead with his fingertip.
Gasp!
Startled, Lusilea inhaled sharply.
Her round, rabbit-like eyes looked up at him, and Elbadin let out a soft, unaware chuckle.
Withdrawing his hand, he flicked it lightly and asked:
“So.”
“…Yes?”
“Why have you been avoiding me all this time?”
“….”
The question returned to its starting point.
