Episode 12
Brianna looked at the flowers given to her.
“Gladiolus.”
The flowers Sebastian brought were not dahlias, but pale pink gladiolus.
Looking at them, Brianna smiled softly.
“The meaning of gladiolus is ‘You have pierced my heart.’”
When spoken in the context of lovers, it could mean “I’ve fallen for you.”
But between Sebastian and herself, their bond was one of contract and shared interest.
“I suppose I can take it to mean he agrees with my intent.”
Brianna smiled faintly and held the bouquet to her chest.
But there was something Brianna did not know.
Sebastian had no idea what the flower symbolized.
His reason for choosing it was simple.
“Now that she’s holding it, she resembles it even more.”
The gladiolus stood tall, carrying a faint air of sorrow but unbending in its stance—Sebastian thought it resembled Brianna.
He watched her lift the bouquet to breathe in its fragrance, a smile gracing her lips, and he asked:
“What should I do now?”
In response, Brianna picked up her pen.
[First, please sit across from me.]
Sebastian had expected her to suggest leaving immediately and taking action.
Her request was simple.
He pulled out the chair opposite her and sat.
Once he did, Brianna lifted her notebook to show him.
[It took you exactly one week to come inside and meet me.]
Brianna smiled faintly.
Reading the words, Sebastian’s brows twitched.
“How did she know?”
For the past week, Sebastian had lingered around the café.
From long before Brianna arrived until the moment she left, he had hidden his presence and watched her unseen.
And yet, she had seen through it all.
During that week, Brianna’s routine had been consistent.
She always appeared at the mentioned hour of two o’clock and left promptly at four.
Watching her keep time so strictly left Sebastian with an odd sense of futility.
“You keep time like a blade.”
Strangely enough, he even felt wronged by it.
As though he was the one waiting for her, not the other way around.
Clearing his throat unnecessarily, Sebastian asked again:
“I would like to hear your thoughts on what we should do next.”
[There’s no need to do anything right away.]
Brianna smiled lightly.
Unlike Sebastian, who grew restless, she saw no need for immediate action.
Already, the people of the café would be whispering.
A man bringing flowers to the woman who always came and left at the same times—yet the two spoke not a word.
It was peculiar, and gossip was inevitable.
Indeed, Brianna’s ears already picked up the staff’s murmurs.
“With Sebastian’s presence now plain, the talk will only grow.”
Sure enough, the buzz in the room was swelling.
They had clearly recognized Sebastian.
Brianna smiled faintly and raised her teacup.
Sebastian frowned at her composure.
“I cannot make sense of your words.”
He was a man who strategized endlessly on the battlefield.
To be told to sit idly without a plan was incomprehensible.
Seeing this, Brianna quietly moved her pen.
[Then please, look at me with eyes full of affection.]
When she revealed the words, Sebastian’s expression stiffened.
“To be so flustered by such a simple request.”
Seven parts of her had written it in jest.
But three parts were sincere—she thought such a gaze would have its effect.
Watching his discomfort, Brianna sighed inwardly and lowered her pen.
Then—
“…!”
A low chuckle reached her ears, making her glance up.
“That is amusing.”
Sebastian’s lips had curved into a gentle smile.
Earlier, when she refused to outline a plan, he had been stiff and insistent.
When she finally gave him one, he seemed troubled.
But now, he smiled as if none of that had happened, gazing softly at her.
Resting his arm on the table, he leaned slightly toward her.
“Is this what you mean?”
Seeing him like this, Brianna was the one taken aback.
She lowered her pen and gave an awkward nod.
“This man… knew how to smile like that?”
She had never known.
Back when she had been Anastasia, she had not discriminated between people—Sebastian included.
But she had never paid him much mind.
At imperial banquets or when summoned to the palace by Cassius, she had seen him only briefly, exchanging simple greetings.
Their only real encounter had been when Anastasia offered counsel regarding the army Sebastian commanded.
After that, he left for the north, and they never crossed paths again.
What she knew of him came only from public reputation and the painful past he bore.
Of the man himself, she knew nothing.
“They say Your Grace the Duke enjoys tending flowers, choosing them personally.”
She had only recently learned that a man who lived his life with a sword also cherished flowers.
But Sebastian knew little of Brianna as well.
“They say it was Lady Clark who gathered the remains of Empress Anastasia.”
That was unexpected.
Through their conversation, he understood she respected Anastasia.
But that she herself had attended to the Empress’s body—this he had not foreseen.
And to think she had proposed marriage simply to obstruct her father’s schemes…
Was that truly her only reason?
Sebastian’s instincts told him there was something more—something he could not yet grasp.
His gaze then fell upon her dress.
“Do you own no other clothes?”
The words slipped out before he could stop himself.
Had Ava been nearby, she would surely have given him a stern look while wearing her usual kind smile.
Sebastian hastened to correct himself.
“No, I mean…”
Before he could finish, Brianna revealed her note:
[My father has lately been filling my wardrobe with dresses suited for courtesans.]
The anger of Count Polian toward her had not subsided.
And yet, he spent money to fill her wardrobe.
“Show me dresses with more bare skin. Courtesans’ gowns will do just fine.”
They were garments that revealed more than they concealed.
Brianna recalled them with a weary sigh.
“Still… an empty wardrobe filled means more resources to turn into funds.”
The dresses, sewn by the capital’s finest tailors from rich silks, would fetch a high price.
She had already asked Cora to sell a few of them today.
“Soon, there will be a ceremony where my marquisate is bestowed. Choose something fitting to wear then.”
Polian was eagerly awaiting his investiture as marquis.
He intended to dress Brianna boldly, hoping she might catch the Emperor’s eye.
“I should tell him about that.”
Brianna lifted her pen, meaning to mention the upcoming ceremony of Count Clark’s elevation.
But before she could write a word, Sebastian caught her wrist.
“Let us leave.”
