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Chapter 08
“Miss.”
“……”
“Miss?”
“H–Huh?”
“What are you thinking about so deeply?”
“It’s nothing.”
I waved my hand to brush it off, and Donna made a rare sulky face. Watching the corners of her eyes droop sadly, I gave an awkward smile.
I hope I didn’t make her worry for nothing again.
It had been two days since Donna returned to Centro. Thankfully, she was able to be at her father’s deathbed. As soon as she came back, she thanked me repeatedly and mentioned my recent outings.
‘I’m sorry I couldn’t keep my promise.’
Donna sniffled and took a deep breath.
‘I almost rushed back without even being able to see my father one last time.’
I later found out that the one who had tipped Donna off about my going out was none other than Gar. I thought I’d shut his mouth tight with a dagger, but apparently not.
“Hoo……”
I let out a deep sigh as I gazed over the colorful, lively flower market. Stalls lined both sides of the street, displaying potted plants and cut flowers.
‘Marry me.’
After being proposed to, and with Donna returning to Centro, I naturally hadn’t been able to meet Ero. What on earth had he been thinking when he proposed? And what had I been thinking when I agreed to see him?
I knew perfectly well that a relationship between a commoner like Ero and a noble like me wouldn’t go smoothly, yet I still met him. The freedom I’d gained after ten years had robbed me of my reason.
It wasn’t as if marriages between nobles and commoners had no precedent… right? Should I ask Donna? I called out to her as she accepted a single tulip from a merchant.
“Donna.”
“Yes, Miss.”
Donna answered with a blissful expression, burying her face in the tulip.
“If a noble marries a commoner, isn’t it really hard—”
“Of course it’s impossible!”
Donna blurted out urgently. The tulip in her hand bent pitifully under the strength of her grip, drooping its head. When I widened my eyes in surprise, she hurriedly hid it behind her back.
“Donna.”
“Miss, quite a few nobles meet commoners for amusement, but those relationships never develop beyond that.”
Donna fired her words rapidly. Yes, she was right. The more I listened, the more reality sank in. A scene from a romance novel I’d read years ago suddenly came to mind.
It was a story about a noble young lady who fell in love with a common man and was cast out by her family—a novel criticizing the rigid customs of noble society. The protagonists endured hardship and adversity to protect their love, but were they truly happy in the end?
Being with Ero made me happy, but we’d only known each other for half a month, which made me uneasy. I didn’t truly know him, and he didn’t truly know me. And if I confessed my status to him, he might feel betrayed and leave me.
One thing was certain: I had to tell him the truth.
“Ugh. My head hurts.”
As I groaned and held my head with both hands, Donna watched me carefully. Perhaps trying to lift my spirits, she picked up one of the potted plants from the shop and beamed.
“Miss, look at this.”
She approached me, making an effort to be cheerful—but unfortunately, her attempt backfired.
“It’s basil… Of all things, basil……”
The pot in Donna’s hands held basil. The smooth surface of its leaves gleamed in the sunlight.
“Why basil?”
Donna blinked several times, looking confused.
“It’s nothing. Really.”
When I lifted my head in frustration, the sky above was clear and bright, completely at odds with my mood. The sunlight was so strong it could make someone with a sun allergy sneeze—yet only dark clouds seemed to hang over me.
I lowered my chin and shook my head. No. I came to the flower market on such a nice day—don’t get gloomy.
I closed my eyes and inhaled the rich floral scent carried on the breeze, and my mood improved a little.
“The weather’s nice.”
I opened my eyes and stared at the basil pot in Donna’s hands. The leaves swayed violently in the wind. After some time, the wind died down and the leaves stopped moving—but one leaf continued to shake on its own.
“Donna.”
I tugged at her collar to get her attention.
“Didn’t you see that?”
“See what?”
“The basil leaf just moved.”
“Wasn’t it because of the wind?”
“But the wind stopped, and it still moved.”
Donna stared intently at the pot, but the basil leaves didn’t so much as twitch. That couldn’t be right—I definitely saw it move.
“Maybe you imagined it?”
Was that so? As I tilted my head in doubt, Donna hugged the pot and pointed at another flower.
“Miss, look at this!”
The moment Donna turned her gaze away, the basil leaf moved again, as if on perfect cue.
“Donna, the leaf moved!”
I raised my voice—rare for me—and Donna startled, staring at the basil. For a while, the two of us watched it as if trying to bore holes through it with our eyes.
“That’s strange. I’m sure it moved.”
As if playing a prank on me, the basil leaf stopped moving only when Donna looked at it. I rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand and focused hard.
“You must be very tired, Miss.”
Donna’s lips drooped with concern. No, really—I saw it!
“Hey, are you going to buy it or not?”
Suddenly, the flower shop owner barked irritably. Startled by the gruff voice, Donna asked for my decision.
“Miss, shall we buy the pot?”
It’s strange, but… maybe I should.
“Let’s buy it.”
When I nodded, Donna paid with the money in her pouch and purchased the basil pot.
“It’ll be nice to keep it in your room.”
She approached me with a bright smile, holding the pot. Watching the peaceful scene, I organized my thoughts. Right—like Donna said, I hadn’t been sleeping well lately. I must have imagined it.
“Let’s go, Donna.”
Smiling back at her, I had no idea what would happen afterward.
I had embraced a new life. As I adapted to unfamiliar customs over a long period of time, I thought to myself that no matter what happened next, I wouldn’t be surprised anymore.
“Pwah! I can finally relax.”
And yet—what was this? While I was briefly absorbed in reading, a creature appeared with its nose buried in someone else’s teacup, drinking tea. A tiny creature whose form was somewhere between a butterfly and a human.
It had the shape of a human with leaf-like wings. Those shimmering wings changed colors like opal depending on the light.
“Kyaa.”
Hey now—was it soaking in the tea like a sauna? And where did it even get that handkerchief resting on its head?
Right. I had been going out too much lately. I must be tired—yes, tired. After all that agonizing and worrying, my mind must have finally snapped.
I rubbed my eyes roughly with the back of my hand and looked again at the teacup. The creature was still there.
“Puh! Puh!”
Swimming now? The creature muttered to itself.
“Ugh, this cup is too small!”
At that moment, my eyes met those of the creature swimming in the tea.
“Huh?”
“Eh?”
We stared at each other in shock for a long while. The creature widened its eyes, floated on the surface of the tea, and flapped its wings, splashing tea everywhere.
It had waist-length green hair and beautiful, peridot-like eyes. I was momentarily captivated by its doll-like appearance, but soon shook my head.
“Who are you?”
The creature hurriedly flew out of the teacup and hid behind it.
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
Rubbing my eyes at the unbelievable sight, I heard it begin a countdown.
“One, two, three!”
On three, it leaped up, flew in a circle, and shoved its face—no bigger than a knuckle—right up to mine.
Its brightly smiling face held an innocence rarely seen in this world.
“Hi! I’m a plant fairy!”
Its sparkling eyes overflowed with anticipation. Hurry up and be surprised. Be amazed. Isn’t this fascinating? First time seeing a fairy, right? As I stood there dumbfounded, the fairy frowned.
“What’s with that reaction? I’ll come out again, so react properly this time.”
The self-proclaimed fairy held out a palm with a prim expression, gesturing for me to wait.
Thump, thump, thump.
It hopped—or rather, flew—behind the teacup again.
A few seconds later, the fairy reappeared, hair fluttering coyly, spinning above my head and scattering something glittering from its toes.
“Hi, I’m a plant—”
“A fairy? Where on earth did you come from?”
Unable to contain my curiosity, I cut it off. The fairy puckered its lips in displeasure.
“There!”
The fairy pointed to the basil pot I’d impulsively bought at the flower market that morning. So what I’d seen earlier hadn’t been an illusion.
The fairy quickly changed expressions and sniffed around me with curious eyes—sniff, sniff—like a puppy. Of all things, I never thought I’d see a fairy.
Facing a creature once called imaginary, my mind went completely blank. So… I’m really talking to a fairy right now? I barely managed to pull myself together.
“Come to think of it, you smell similar.”
“……Similar to what?”
Muttering to itself, the fairy shamelessly buried its nose in my hair.
“Sniff, I smell it. I really do.”
Smell? That couldn’t be right. I bathe regularly.
The fairy pulled back, stroked its chin, and narrowed its eyes.
“W–Why?”
Those pure eyes staring straight at me made me feel oddly embarrassed.
I awkwardly touched my face. Does this face work even in that world? Since it’s a plant fairy, how would it describe me? A flower? A tree?
“Sniff, sniff. There’s a smell.”
The fairy just kept sniffing, offering no real explanation.
Well then. I’d have to ask first. I covered my mouth with my fist and cleared my throat deliberately.
“Ahem. Violet?”
The fairy shook its head vehemently.
Then…
“Lavender?”
It shook its head even more violently, crossing its arms into an X. I named a few more purple flowers, but the fairy denied them all just as fiercely.
“Hmm……”
The fairy folded its arms in thought, then suddenly unfolded them, tapped its forehead, and flopped belly-first onto the table, rolling around.
“What was it again, what was it……”
“……”
“Ah!”
After some time, the fairy suddenly shouted and flew up.
What is it?! I straightened up and focused on its tiny lips.
“Fertilizer!”
“Get out.”
This fairy—seriously.
