LSOV Chapter 10

010. A Walk

***

When I was alone, I didn't linger too long on thoughts of Rachel. I hardly had any information about her, and meeting her in person would be a better way to understand her intentions.

I had dismissed the maids and was walking alone through the duke's garden. Standing beside a flowering tree, I lifted my head and breathed in the scent.

Yes, this was a flower I recognized.

A cool, strong gust of wind blew from behind me. The hat I had lightly secured with a ribbon was carried away by the wind. A pale pink hat adorned with a sky-blue ribbon sailed through the air above the garden.

I lifted the skirt of my dress with both hands and chased after it. I wasn't running, but I still felt anxious, what if it flew away again?

The hat landed softly on the shaded ground of the garden. Seeing that it didn't seem to be dirty, I gently brushed it off and placed it back on my head. That was when I felt someone's gaze.

When I looked up, I saw Cedric.

Once again, I was standing near the window of his office. It was only about ten steps away.

I considered greeting him with a wave and passing by, but Cedric opened the window. With the glass no longer separating us, his cherry-colored eyes appeared even clearer. I walked closer to him.

"Good morning, Duke."

"Yes, good morning, Princess."

Was it still a bit too far to talk comfortably? I took one more step forward.

The first-floor windows of the mansion were much higher than the garden. I tilted my head up to face Cedric, and he bent forward slightly.

"I was taking a walk."

"I see."

"And then the wind blew, and my hat flew away."

"Yes, I saw."

"I'm glad I found it. It's a pretty hat, it would've been a shame if it had been damaged."

"I see."

His replies were consistently brief.

The fine weather had put me in a lighthearted mood. I smiled, clasping my hands together.

"The weather is really lovely today. The garden sparkles in the spring sunlight."

"Yes, it does."

Cedric's gaze briefly shifted behind me before returning to my face.

I wondered whether Cedric was alone in his office, or if Baron Hudson was there as well. Standing on tiptoe wasn't very ladylike, but since there was such a height difference between us, I figured he wouldn't notice. I lifted my heels just a little to peek inside the window, but it didn't work.

"Were you working?"

"I just finished."

"But it's still morning."

"There wasn't much."

In the Kingdom of Lundra, I didn't often see dukes up close. But whenever I did see them entering the palace, both the dukes and the clerks always seemed rushed and overwhelmed with work. I thought that Lundra and Owen were different in that regard as well.

"Princess, is there something you're curious about?"

Cedric asked while I was lost in thought. The fact that he was the one asking a question made me smile.

I could have asked about his steward, but instead I decided to change the subject.

"Since you're not busy now, I was wondering if you might take a walk with me."

It would be good to spend some time getting closer to the owner of the house. Even though we lived in the same space, we hadn't spent much time together.

"…You mean right now?"

"Yes. Would that be difficult, Duke?"

"It wouldn't be."

As he agreed, Cedric met my eyes. He held my gaze and didn't look away. Maintaining eye contact while speaking was certainly gentlemanly, though still.

"Will you be coming out through the window? I can help you down."

If he stayed inside and only looked at me through the window, how could we possibly go for a walk? I teased him lightly.

"I don't wish to harm you, Princess."

"How do you know I'm not actually quite sturdy? Just look at me."

I spun around once on the spot. The skirt of my dress flared wide before settling again. The hat, which I hadn't tied with a ribbon, started to slip, so I caught it with one hand and continued.

"I might be a very resilient woman, you know."

Cedric's impassive gaze moved briefly to my fingertips, then returned to my face.

"I'll save that for a more dramatic moment."

"What a gentlemanly refusal."

It was a very mild response, one of those polite phrases gentlemen and ladies commonly used when declining something. Cedric asked me to wait a moment and disappeared back inside.

Soon after, he emerged into the garden. With a neat stride and a measured pace, he walked up to me and stopped in front of me. I placed my hand atop the one he offered. Cedric adjusted his speed to match mine, and our steps together felt light.

The owner of the estate personally introduced me to the garden. Whenever I pointed at something, Cedric explained it. He didn't seem to know much about the sculptures scattered around, but he was quite familiar with the names of the trees and flowers.

I made an effort to remember the names of the flowers he told me. When we passed butterflies resting on blossoms, I walked softly so as not to disturb them. Whenever a pleasant breeze blew, I held onto my hat and smiled.

After the walk, I exchanged farewells with Cedric and returned to the third floor of the mansion where my room was. Leaning against the corridor window, I looked down at the garden.

Mm-hmm. Thanks to the owner's guidance, I finally understood the layout of the garden. That area was the backyard directly in front of Cedric's office, and beyond that—hidden behind a large tree—there seemed to be another section. I wondered what was back there. And over there was the place where the autumn leaves would turn especially vivid in fall. At the far end of the garden, tall trees stood like a natural boundary.

I found the cozy atmosphere of the garden very pleasing. Starting tomorrow, I thought, I could have picnics in the places Cedric had suggested.

Half of the garden was bathed in sunlight, while the other half lay in the shadow of the mansion. As a result, the grass appeared pale green in some places, deep green in others, and even bluish in certain spots. When a light breeze passed through, the grass swayed with it, and the garden's colors changed once again.

Sunlight reflected off the leaves and stabbed briefly at my eyes. I closed them, then opened them again. It didn't hurt.

***

It was the spring of my eighteenth year, a weekend. I was in my room, getting ready to go for a walk.

My hair was still being done. When there was a knock at the door and I asked who it was, it turned out to be Shade. Since busy Shade had taken the time to come, I didn't want to send him away to wait elsewhere while my hair was being finished.

"Shall we go for a walk together today?"

So I told him to come in, and that was the first thing he said.

"I'd love to, but my hair still needs more work."

Shade walked over to me as I sat in front of the mirror. The maids bowed politely to him.

"May I do it?"

"You know how to tie a ribbon, Brother?"

"I learned."

"From whom?"

In the mirror, Shade met my eyes and smiled. The ends of his eyebrows tilted slightly.

"An old connection."

I already knew that Shade had such a past. A few years ago, he had broken off an engagement. After that, rumors spread throughout the kingdom—people worried that the twenty-eight-year-old unmarried Crown Prince had no interest in romance, engagement, or marriage, devoting himself entirely to state affairs.

When Shade stepped a little closer, one of the maids quietly stepped back.

Shade took the ribbon from the maid's hands and tied it with practiced ease. When the maid offered him a pearl pin, Shade tilted his head this way and that, considering, before placing it neatly in an appropriate spot. After quietly observing my hair for a moment, Shade dismissed the maids.

"So today, you're not the Crown Prince, you're just Brother Shade?"

Once the maids left, Shade's expression relaxed. He smiled without answering, then said something else.

"Daisy, when you're outside, don't let just anyone touch your hair."

"Why?"

"Because your hair is too beautiful."

I laughed. There probably weren't many people who were even allowed to touch a princess's hair in the first place.

"What else should I be careful of?"

"Don't follow anyone just because they buy you something delicious."

"Who would say that to an eighteen-year-old?"

"Not even the art museum."

"There's an exhibition hall inside the palace."

"And don't go dress-shopping together, either."

I did enjoy buying dresses, but it wasn't as though I'd go dress-shopping with some gentleman. I just giggled, and Shade focused on placing the pin.

When Shade finally withdrew his hands from my hair, he made a polite gesture, asking to escort me. I placed my hand on his arm, and we went outside, walking along the fence of the small garden attached to my palace quarters.

A butterfly fluttered by. I reached out my hand, but it didn't land on my finger. Still, the yellow-winged butterfly didn't fly far away, it stayed close, fluttering around us. I followed it with my eyes.

"If someone asks you to go for a walk, don't go with them."

"Haha. Brother, not even a walk?"

"They'll fall for you."

I turned toward him.

"No one at all?"

Shade smiled.

"Anyone is fine, so long as they're a good person."

"What kind of person is a good one?"

Shade led me beneath the shade of a tree. We sat together on a bench.

"Someone who can match your pace when walking."

"Hm?"

"Someone who knows how to ease your burdens, and who knows what makes you smile."