Chapter 78
Elia thought she should discuss it with Alexis. There were things she could do, and things only Alexis could.
It happened to be lunchtime anyway.
These days, she was sharing every breakfast, lunch, and dinner with Alexis and Noah.
As she stepped out of the office, she saw Alexis and Noah walking toward her.
“Elly!”
“Your Grace!”
“I was just about to come fetch you, but you’re already out.”
“Yes, I was hungry.”
“I heard today’s lunch is one of your favorites.”
When Noah said that, Elia tilted her head.
“How do you know that?”
“The maid in charge of cooking told me.”
Elia didn’t really have any particular favorite food.
She preferred seafood over meat and disliked heavy, greasy dishes. She liked food that went down softly, and she avoided anything too rich that might upset her stomach.
It was probably because of her old eating habits.
In her past life, she had to maintain her figure to please Raul — he liked women with slender waists.
So Elia had struggled constantly to keep her waist thin.
She avoided fattening foods, ate mostly light meals, and practiced small portions — because eating little meant not gaining weight.
Even after Raul betrayed her and she returned for the second time, her palate didn’t change.
She still preferred light food and small meals — it had simply become a habit.
After lunch, she went for a walk with Noah.
She had planned to talk with Alexis, but Norman came with an urgent matter, so she gave up her seat to him.
She didn’t really have to, but Noah insisted on taking her out for a walk.
Yet, despite being the one who suggested it, he stayed completely silent the whole time.
Eventually, Elia couldn’t stand the awkwardness and spoke first.
“Your Highness, do you have something you’d like to say to me?”
“The Duke suggested holding a festival in the Land of Blessings. He wanted to hear your opinion too.”
“My opinion?”
“Yes. You’re the one who created that place, so he says your permission is needed.”
“I like the idea of a festival. I’m all for it.”
“What kind of festival do you think it should be?”
“One that everyone can enjoy, I think.”
Come to think of it, Elia had never heard of any festivals being held in the Duchy of Cartellani.
In such barren lands, people had been too busy surviving. Festivals were a luxury. The ducal house had to hunt monsters or rely on royal subsidies just to feed the territory’s people.
That’s how it had been in the past.
If someone asked how a prestigious duchy could be so poor — it truly had been.
They simply didn’t know how to make money.
They lacked business sense.
Never having earned much or lived in luxury, they had no idea how to generate or manage wealth efficiently.
It was a miracle they had survived this long.
But now, thanks to Elia, the duchy was growing more prosperous by the day. Several gardeners had been hired to beautify the estate, and the mansion itself had been renovated.
“I feel the same way,” Noah said.
“Then let’s plan the festival together, Your Highness.”
“Of course. I never planned to do it alone.”
It sounded like it would be fun.
Noah’s eyes drifted to the beautifully decorated garden.
“Not long ago, this place was so barren…”
Now, it seemed to brim with life, as if breathing.
The open lawn stretched wide, and at its center stood a fountain that Elia herself had designed — a statue of the first Duke, charging toward the sky on horseback.
It was a symbolic monument that told the origin of the Cartellani line.
The flowerbeds were also designed so that different flowers would bloom each season. Now that summer had arrived, purple lavender and yellow golden grass filled the garden with vivid colors.
The gentle scent of lavender spread through the air, soothing the heart.
As he walked through the garden, Noah felt a deep peace wash over him.
Perhaps because of Elia’s taste, there was even a marble pavilion in the garden where she would often sit to drink tea or enjoy snacks.
They even planned to erect a golden statue of Elia and Alexis soon.
There was supposed to be one of Noah as well, but he had refused, too embarrassed, so his was left out.
“You seem to like the garden quite a lot, Your Highness.”
“I do. It’s pleasant to walk through.”
“It makes you feel peaceful, doesn’t it?”
“Is that why you planted lavender?”
“Yes. I really love lavender. The scent clears my mind.”
Even when she had lived in the Grand Duke’s estate, she’d wanted to plant lavender in the garden. But she wasn’t allowed.
The Grand Duchess insisted that only glamorous flowers befitting the household should be planted — she’d wanted Elia to love roses instead.
So Elia came to hate roses.
They were beautiful on the outside, but their stems were lined with thorns — just like herself, outwardly graceful yet filled with hidden pain.
People thought Elia lived a life everyone envied, but it was all a façade.
She had only pretended to be happy.
Because otherwise, she would’ve had to face the truth — that she wasn’t loved.
That’s how it had been back then.
She had wanted so desperately to believe Raul loved her. Foolishly so.
“I don’t like roses, Your Highness.”
“Is that why you didn’t plant any here?”
“Yes. Their scent is too strong — it overwhelms everything around them.”
Noah’s face turned serious, as though old memories surfaced.
“I don’t like roses either.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. They remind me of someone.”
Someone who had loved roses too much, no doubt.
Elia guessed it must have been the Grand Duchess or the Empress.
Her gaze softened as she looked at him.
“Your Highness, I can’t erase your bad memories, but I’ll try to fill your future with good ones.”
Light shimmered in Elia’s eyes — a light filled with genuine kindness and the wish for another’s happiness.
“Before that, you should take care of yourself a little too. Stop worrying only about others.”
“I like things the way they are, Your Highness.”
“What?”
“I prefer making others happy over taking care of myself.”
“I wish you’d find more things that you love. You never really make anything for yourself.”
She hadn’t realized Noah could see that much.
“Even though you’ve been adopted and became the Duke’s daughter, I can’t help but feel you’ll leave once you’ve achieved everything.”
Elia fell silent.
“You say you’re happy, but when I look closely, you don’t seem that way.”
“How do you know?”
“Why? Did I hit the mark?”
“You seem to know me very well, Your Highness.”
Elia lifted her gaze toward the distant sky.
“I don’t even know my own heart. The Duke and I aren’t related by blood, so I don’t know if it’s right for me to keep living as his daughter.”
“Why not? The Duke would want that.”
“Really?”
“He cherishes you deeply — that much is certain.”
“I know. More than I deserve, even.”
“Does that make you uncomfortable?”
“No. I’m grateful.”
“Then why do you look uncomfortable?”
“I’m not.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Then stop making that face.”
“What kind of face?”
“The kind that looks like you owe him something.”
Another direct hit.
“Sometimes, you look like someone burdened by debt — like you feel you have to repay him somehow.”
Sharp as ever.
Noah’s eyes on her were piercingly perceptive.
“Elly, I’m not running away from my life. So don’t run from yours.”
“And if I still leave?”
“I’ll come find you.”
For a moment, Elia’s eyes trembled.
“No matter where you go, I’ll come for you. The Duke will too.”
As Noah said that with a radiant smile, Elia thought he looked like the sun itself — his golden hair shimmering in the breeze, his violet eyes glowing brighter than ever.
“Then I’ll have to hide very carefully so you can’t find me.”
Feeling suddenly shy, she joked — but Noah answered right back:
“You won’t be able to. By then, you’ll have too many things you love to leave behind. Like the lavender blooming before you now.”
A gentle breeze carried the scent of lavender to Elia’s nose.
“You’re right. I don’t think I could hide anymore. I think I already have too many things I love.”
She had thought she wouldn’t grow attached — but she had.
She’d come to love it all.
Everything in the ducal household.
Everyone in it.
Even this fleeting moment.
Before she knew it, she had soaked into the world of the Duke’s estate, like clothes slowly wet through by a gentle rain.
