STVS 15

~Chapter 15~

“Haa… everything failed…”

I sat down in front of the servants’ quarters and let out a deep sigh.

To get straight to the point, my secret weapon—the heart-fluttering half-casual speech skill—had completely failed.

I’d thought that if it didn’t work, it would be because she found it cringe-worthy. But in reality, the young lady’s reaction came from a completely different angle.

“Are you getting cheeky and talking down to me?”

Ah. That angle?

Thinking maybe mixing in a bit more polite speech would help, I tried, “Have you eaten your meal?”—and immediately ran for my life. The young lady had flipped the table again.

In the end, everything went right back to square one.

No matter what I tried, the young lady reacted with pure disgust, and I kept repeating the cycle of pestering her and fleeing. At this rate, three months might pass in the blink of an eye…

As I kept sighing heavily—

“Did you run away again?”

I lifted my head.

A familiar figure came into view. A cute young maid with dumpling-shaped hair.

“Aso!”

Lately, Aso and I had grown quite close.

Before, we’d been friendly but oddly awkward. However, while I stayed in the infirmary, she nursed me at my side all day, and we naturally grew closer.

Aso could be a bit blunt, but surprisingly, we got along really well. When we sat together chatting, time flew by without us noticing.

Thanks to that, we talked about everything. Even the fact that I had falsely confessed to the young lady…

“You—you—you’re completely insane?!”

Naturally, Aso was horrified.

She’d thought the young lady had just gotten angry on her own and knocked me out. She clearly never imagined that was the reason.

“What are you even planning to do? Do you know how big of a mess you’ll be in if you get caught? Even if it’s a lie, that’s still toying with the young lady’s feelings!”

“If I just make sure I don’t get caught, won’t it be fine? If I treat the young lady with sincerity…”

“Do you seriously think that’ll work? Unless you end up genuinely liking her. Ugh, I’d be furious too. If a guy who flirted with me turned out to be doing it as a joke, I’d just—!”

I forced a bitter smile and turned my head away. Aso shot me a disapproving look before letting out a deep sigh.

“Fine. Since it’s come to this, just try your best. Who knows? The young lady might fall for it.”

“Sounds like your romance business isn’t going so well?”

At Aso’s sarcastic remark, my eyebrows drooped.

“It’s not easy.”

“I told you from the start. The young lady’s standards are sky-high. How could someone like you possibly meet them?”

“You’re right—her standards are insanely high. No matter what I do, she hates everything. I just want to see her look happy at least once…”

“Hmmm…”

Aso narrowed her eyes at me for a moment, then shook her head. She plopped down beside me and spoke as if it were nothing.

“Then why don’t you do something she actually likes? What does the young lady like?”

“I don’t know…”

“Then what has she been interested in lately?”

“I don’t know that either…”

“What do you even know?”

Nothing.

I scratched my head awkwardly.

Come to think of it, that was true. I didn’t know anything about the young lady.

The realization shocked me. I thought we’d spent quite a bit of time together, yet I knew absolutely nothing? I knew she hated me—but beyond that…

“Ugh, fine. Can’t be helped.”

Aso sighed.

“To be honest, I wasn’t planning to tell you because I hoped you’d give up. But judging by how you’re acting, you’ll never quit. So I’ll tell you just this one thing.”

“What is it?”

“You know there’s a flower garden next to Sonangwon, right?”

I nodded. I’d passed by it often while working as a manure carrier. Though I knew it wasn’t a place just anyone could enter…

“That garden was built by the estate lord specifically for the young lady, since she couldn’t go outside due to her illness. He wanted her to at least feel the atmosphere of the outdoors there.”

“Ah…”

“Before she locked herself in her room, the young lady used to spend a lot of time there. She especially enjoyed sitting in the pavilion and admiring the flowers.”

“……”

“Get it now?”

I blinked blankly.

A faint smile appeared on Aso’s face.

“What you should do.”

A halo practically seemed to shine behind her back.

* * *

The final method to win over the young lady.

Bring her flowers.

Since she’d been confined to her room, she hadn’t seen flowers at all.

Of course, I couldn’t move the flower garden to Sonangwon, so I figured the best option was to bring the flowers to her instead.

However, entry to the garden wasn’t allowed without permission. I immediately went to ask the head steward.

“You want to enter the flower garden? Why?”

He looked puzzled, but when I said I wanted to show flowers to the young lady, he happily granted permission.

“She’ll surely like that.”

I got Aso’s help choosing the flowers.

I knew absolutely nothing about flowers, so I sought out an expert.

“Ugh, I have to help with this too?”

And Aso was surprisingly competent.

I should’ve known when Madam Ma doted on her. She knew everything—from types of flowers to how to pick fresh ones, trim them, and even tie a bouquet.

I learned all kinds of flower knowledge and techniques from her.

When I finally completed my first bouquet—

“Miss~!”

I burst into the young lady’s room.

“I’m here! Were you well while I was gone? Didn’t you miss me?”

“Get out.”

“Aww, you’re happy to see me but pretending again! Anyway, I brought you a gift since you’re all alone every day. What do you think it is?”

“Get out.”

“Ta-da! It’s Baekjeonghwa!”

“I—”

The young lady, who had been replying automatically, suddenly froze.

Oh? Is it working?

“I heard you used to visit the flower garden often. But you can’t anymore because of your illness. I thought you might miss flowers.”

“……”

“These white, delicate blossoms—don’t they resemble you? The moment I saw them, I thought of you and couldn’t help myself! What do you think? Aren’t they nice? If we took walks together, you’d see flowers like these all the time—”

“……”

“Oh, of course, if you don’t feel like going out, that’s fine! I can just bring flowers to you like this, right?”

“I don’t…”

The young lady hesitated briefly, then turned her head away and said coldly,

“I don’t need them.”

I nearly asked back.

Really?

I could tell she was already paying attention to the flowers.

Even now—when I turned, saying, “Then I’ll just put them in a vase,” I noticed her collar twitch slightly, as if she were looking back at me.

I couldn’t help but marvel.

Does she like flowers that much?

It had been a long time since she’d seen them, so that was understandable. Still, I hadn’t expected such a reaction. Getting my first positive response made me feel strangely pleased.

Then I’ll bring them every day!

From then on, I braided bouquets daily and constantly went in and out of her room.

“Miss, today I brought gardenias! They’re beautiful white flowers, and they’re often used in medicine too. Isn’t that fascinating?”

“Miss, this time it’s crape myrtle! I didn’t know what it was, but it turns out it’s the hundred-day flower! The garden is filled with them in all kinds of colors—it’s gorgeous…”

“Miss, this flower is called mangucho! It means ‘a herb that makes you forget worries.’ I hope seeing it helps you forget all your troubles—”

“Miss, I brought purple jade hosta! The flowers are pretty, but the flower language is even better. Do you know what it is? ‘A bond ordained by heaven.’ Just like the connection between you and me—”

Of course, the young lady’s response was enthusiastic.

“I don’t need it.”

“I said I don’t need it.”

“Didn’t I tell you not to bring them?”

“Stop—!”

She snapped at me, but—

I knew it. She didn’t truly dislike it.

Every time she said she didn’t need them, she never stopped me from putting the flowers into the vase. Once, I even noticed the flowers had been slightly rearranged.

She must have touched them.

If that wasn’t liking them, then what was?

That’s probably why I became even more enthusiastic. But it seemed my behavior had started to burden her.

“Miss! What’s today’s flower~? It’s trumpet vine! Aren’t these vermilion blossoms stunning? I brought a whole bunch just thinking of you—”

This time, she finally exploded.

“What is wrong with you lately?”

“Huh?”

“Why do you keep doing things I never asked for? When did I ever tell you to bring these? Why are you acting on your own!”

“Huh? But…”

Holding the trumpet vines, I tilted my head.

“You like them, don’t you?”

The young lady shouted, as if struck in a sore spot.

“I don’t like them!”

I smiled and nodded. In my ears, it was already filtered as “I like them.”

Come to think of it, the head steward had mentioned she especially enjoyed trumpet vines. Wouldn’t she be even happier? Acting on impulse, I thrust the bouquet toward her.

“Alright, alright, I get it. Then why don’t you at least look at them up close this time? Maybe it’s because they’re in season, but the scent is really nice. If you bury your nose in the flowers, the fragrance is amazing—”

“Move it.”

“Just once, please. If you smell them, you’ll feel so much better. Here—”

“I said move it!”

Smack!

In an instant, the young lady swung her hand.

Her hand struck the bouquet. Startled, my grip loosened, and the trumpet vines flew into the air.

Moments later, the blossoms fell to the floor with dull thuds. I lowered my gaze.

“……”

The trumpet vines were completely ruined.