Chapter 10
Walk
When I was alone, I didn’t dwell on thoughts of Rachel for long. I had almost no information about her, and seeing her in person was a better way to understand her intentions.
I dismissed the maids and walked alone through the ducal estate’s rear garden. I raised my head toward the flowering tree beside me and inhaled its scent. Yes, this was a flower I knew.
A strong, cool breeze blew from behind. The hat loosely fixed with a ribbon lifted and flew away. The pale pink hat with the sky-blue ribbon drifted across the garden air.
Lifting the hem of my dress with both hands, I chased after it. I didn’t run, but I still felt anxious—what if another gust came and blew it farther?
The hat dropped with a soft tap onto a shaded patch of ground. Thankfully, it didn’t seem dirty. I brushed it gently and set it on my head… and felt someone’s gaze.
When I looked up, it was Cedric. Somehow I had once again wandered near the window of his office. If I walked ten steps, I could reach it.
I considered giving him a small wave and walking past, but Cedric opened the window. Without the glass between us, his cherry-colored eyes looked even clearer. I stepped closer.
“Good morning, Your Grace!”
“Yes, good morning, Princess.”
Still a bit far for conversation? I took one step closer.
The first-floor windows of the mansion were much higher than garden level. To meet Cedric’s eyes, I had to tilt my head back. Cedric leaned his upper body down toward me.
“I was taking a walk.”
“I see.”
“Then the wind blew and my hat flew away.”
“Yes, I saw.”
“I’m glad I found it. It’s a pretty hat—I’d have been sad if it were ruined.”
“I see.”
The same steady replies came back every time. I was in a cheerful mood because of the pleasant weather, so I clasped my fingertips together and smiled.
“The weather is so lovely today. The garden sparkles in the spring sunlight.”
“It does.”
Cedric’s eyes briefly shifted behind me, then returned.
I wondered whether Cedric was alone in his office or if Baron Hudson was inside with him. Standing on tiptoe wasn’t ladylike, but given our height difference, I doubted Cedric would notice. I raised my heels just a bit to peek inside—but it didn’t help much.
“Were you working?”
“I’ve just finished.”
“But it’s still morning.”
“There wasn’t much to do.”
In the kingdom of Lundra, I didn’t see dukes often, but whenever they visited the palace, the dukes and their clerks were always swamped with work. I thought again how different Owen was from Lundra in this regard as well.
“Princess, is something on your mind?”
As I was thinking, Cedric asked a question. I was surprised—oh, he does ask things sometimes. I could have asked about his steward, but instead, I said something else:
“Since you’re no longer busy… I wondered if you could take a walk with me.”
It would be good to spend time getting closer to the owner of the house. Despite living under the same roof, I had spent little time with him.
“Do you mean right now?”
“Yes. Would it be difficult, Your Grace?”
“It would not.”
He agreed, meeting my eyes. Again and again, he held my gaze, never looking away. Making eye contact while speaking was gentlemanly, but still—
“Are you coming out through the window? I’ll catch you.”
I joked lightly. Just looking at each other through a window—how could we take a walk like that?
“I would never risk harming Your Highness.”
“How do you know I’m not surprisingly sturdy? Look at me!”
I spun once in place. My dress spread wide, then settled again. The un-tied ribboned hat began slipping, so I held it with one hand. I continued:
“I might be a very strong woman, you know.”
Cedric’s unreadable eyes flicked to my fingertips, then back.
“I shall save that for a more dramatic moment.”
“That sounds like a gentleman’s way of declining.”
It was such a mild, polite refusal—exactly the sort a gentleman or lady might use. Cedric asked me to wait for a moment, then disappeared back inside.
Soon, Cedric appeared in the garden. He walked toward me with disciplined, even steps and stopped before me. I placed my hand in the one he extended. Cedric adjusted his pace to match mine. Walking together felt light.
The owner of the estate gave me a personal tour of the garden. When I pointed at something with my finger, Cedric explained it. He didn’t seem to know much about the statues, but he knew the names of the trees and flowers well.
I tried hard to memorize the flower names he taught me. When we passed a butterfly perched on a blossom, I tiptoed quietly, trying not to disturb it. When a pleasant breeze came, I held my hat and laughed.
After our walk, I said goodbye to Cedric and went up to the third floor, to the corridor near my room. Leaning toward the window, I looked down at the garden.
Hmm. Thanks to the owner’s tour, I now understood the garden’s layout. That area was the backyard right outside Cedric’s office. That other part was the section hidden behind the big tree. Was there something even farther back? And over there—the place where the leaves turned brilliant colors in the fall. At the far edge of the garden stood tall trees forming a boundary.
The cozy appearance of the garden made me feel warm inside. Starting tomorrow, I thought, I could go for picnics in the spots Cedric suggested.
Half the lawn was in sunlight and the other half was in the mansion’s shade. So the grass looked lime-green, green, and bluish, depending on where you looked. When a light breeze blew, the grass swayed, changing the color of the garden again.
The sunlight reflected off the leaves and pricked my eyes. I closed them and opened them again. It didn’t hurt.
It was spring, and I was eighteen. It was the weekend. I was preparing to go for a walk.
I was still doing my hair. When someone knocked, I asked who it was—it was Shade. He was usually busy, so since he had taken the time to come, I didn’t want him waiting elsewhere while I finished.
“Shall we go for a walk together today?”
When I let him in, that was the first thing Shade said.
“I like walks. But I still need to finish my hair.”
Shade walked toward me as I sat in front of the mirror. The maids bowed deeply to him.
“Can I do it?”
“Do you know how to tie a ribbon?”
“I learned.”
“From whom?”
The Shade in the mirror met my eyes and smiled. The ends of his eyebrows lowered faintly.
“A person from my past.”
I knew Shade had someone in his past. A few years ago, he had broken off his engagement. Since then, the twenty-eight-year-old crown prince remained unmarried—no romance, no fiancée, no wedding—devoting himself only to affairs of state. It had been a worrying rumor throughout the kingdom.
Shade stepped closer, and the maid stepped back.
He took the ribbon from the maid with practiced ease and tied it beautifully. When the maid handed him a pearl pin, Shade tilted his head left and right, thinking, then placed the pin in a spot he seemed to find suitable. After examining my hair quietly, Shade dismissed the maids.
“Today you’re not Crown Prince Shade, but Brother Shade, right?”
When the maids left, Shade’s expression relaxed. Instead of answering, he only smiled—then spoke again.
“Daisy, outside the palace, don’t let anyone touch your hair.”
“Why?”
“Your hair is too beautiful.”
I laughed. It was true there probably weren’t many who would be allowed to touch a princess’s hair.
“What else should I watch out for?”
“If someone tries to lure you with food, don’t follow them.”
“Who would do that to an eighteen-year-old?”
“Don’t go to any art museums.”
“There’s a gallery inside the palace.”
“And don’t go dress-shopping with anyone.”
I loved trying on dresses, but it wasn’t as if I would suddenly go shopping with some gentleman. Since I only giggled in response, Shade focused on finishing my hair.
Shade finally lifted his hands from my hair. He offered his arm politely. I placed my hand on it, and we stepped outside, walking along the small garden’s hedge.
A butterfly fluttered nearby. I reached out, but it didn’t land on my finger. Still, the yellow-winged butterfly didn’t fly away far; it stayed around us. My eyes followed it.
“If anyone invites you for a walk, don’t go with them.”
“Ha ha. Brother, not even for a walk?”
“They’ll fall for you.”
I turned to him.
“No one at all?”
Shade smiled.
“Anyone is fine—as long as they’re a good person.”
“What kind of person is a good person?”
Shade led me under the shade of a tree. We sat on a bench together.
“Someone who can match your pace when walking.”
“Hm?”
“Someone who can lighten your troubles and knows stories that make you happy.”
Shade smiled again.
“And someone who knows what you like.”
I also smiled.
“And someone who treats even your hair with care.”
I finally laughed aloud.
“That sounds like common knowledge about dating.”
“Daisy, knowing something doesn’t mean it’s easy to practice.”
Shade smiled softly. He pressed the ribbon in my hair with his fingertips.
“You have to mean it sincerely.”
“Then if I ever want to treat someone like that… would that be my sincerity?”
“It might be.”
Shade laughed quietly.
