~Chapter 44~
“…”
Silence followed Lisa’s outcry for a long time.
“I-I absolutely did not interfere with anyone’s letters except for Miss Aveline’s. The love letters… they just aren’t coming anymore!”
Lisa, trembling, emphatically confirmed the obvious truth to Ares one more time.
“…Oh, is that so?”
“Y-you really believe me, don’t you? That the Young Master’s popularity has just dropped, and I didn’t steal the love letters!”
“I said I understand!”
Ares, his face as red as his hair, snapped angrily and turned away.
To witness Ares, who suffered from severe arrogance, be instantly cured was quite a sight.
Although seeing Ares’s face about to burst with embarrassment was satisfying, this was not the time to be merely enjoying herself.
“Ahem.”
Aveline quickly wiped the smile from her face.
She double-checked, needing a clear confirmation before beginning the serious interrogation.
“In any case, you just confessed that you interfered with my letters, right?”
“T-that is…!”
“It’s too late to deny it now.”
“…”
When Aveline put on a stern expression, Lisa lowered her head.
“Why did you do such a thing?”
“…I cannot tell you.”
Seeing her lips stubbornly sealed, it seemed Lisa truly had no intention of speaking easily.
“Then call me when you decide to talk.”
“Are you serious? You’re letting her go that easily?”
Ares jumped up the moment Aveline finished speaking.
He looked ready to step in himself if Aveline let this slide.
“Calm down.”
“How can I be calm?”
“You have to hear a person out completely.”
A wicked smile, unsuitable for her innocent face, appeared on Aveline’s lips.
“I never said I was letting her go.”
Inside the carriage heading to the Imperial Palace.
Aveline and Ares were sitting across from each other.
“Do you think she’ll talk?”
Ares, who had been deep in thought, suddenly asked.
It was about Lisa.
Lisa had been moved to an empty servant’s room.
She would not be able to work for the time being, nor could she leave the room freely.
“We’ll have to find a way to make her talk.”
“How?”
“She mentioned earlier that her siblings were being kept in an orphanage.”
And she also said that she only did what she was told.
“First, we need to find out where that orphanage is, and then look over the list of families that run or sponsor the orphanage.”
“Oh.”
Ares looked genuinely impressed by Aveline’s suggestion.
‘It was a good thing I read books diligently all this time.’
She often saw protagonists solve problems by deducing things in this way.
It was rewarding to see her reading finally pay off.
Aveline, feeling proud, sniffed and looked out the window.
“…?”
However, the scenery outside the window was quite unusual.
Aveline, startled, turned her head toward Ares.
“…Where are we right now?”
“I don’t know. We should be almost at the Imperial Palace now, I think?”
“Then what is that…?”
Aveline asked vaguely, and Ares turned his head to look out the window.
“What the heck is that… What?”
He wore the same blank expression as Aveline.
The reason was that the scenery outside the window was different from the usual path to the Imperial Palace.
The sides of the road were densely planted with flowers, as if they were entering a land where flower fairies lived.
The spectacular display of colorful flowers—yellow, white, pink, red, purple, blue, and more—did not end even after they arrived at the Crown Prince’s palace.
“You are a little late.”
As soon as they stepped out of the carriage, Serio, surrounded by flowers, spoke.
As if the flowers they had seen on the way to the palace were just a preview, the Crown Prince’s palace was packed with even more flowers.
There was even an archway made of woven flowers erected at the entrance of the palace.
“I greet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, the future light of the Ristoria Empire.”
Aveline bowed her head before passing through the gigantic flower entrance.
“I apologize for being slightly delayed due to circumstances.”
She then apologized. Regardless of the circumstances, being late for the Crown Prince’s invitation was wrong.
She had threatened Lisa that she would tell the Crown Prince about the letter, but she never truly intended to.
Ultimately, this was a family matter, and letting the Crown Prince know would only bring shame to their family.
‘Hmm?’
But the moment she raised her head, something else entered Aveline’s view.
“Ah, does it suit me?”
An ill-fitting red rose was tucked into the upper pocket of Serio’s outer coat.
The flower looked excessively delicate compared to his large, training-hardened body.
“…The flower resembles Your Highness’s eye color.”
Aveline couldn’t bring herself to say it suited him, so she offered a suitable excuse instead.
“I didn’t know you observed me in such detail. You’re subtly interested in me, aren’t you?”
Fortunately, Serio seemed to take Aveline’s words as he pleased.
“…”
“Haha.”
Serio laughed happily, seemingly pleased even though Aveline’s expression was displeased.
Then, spotting Ares standing next to Aveline, he tilted his head.
“Did I mistakenly send the invitation to the Herols twins instead of just Miss Herols?”
“I only came as a protector, so Your Highness doesn’t need to worry about me.”
“Are you worried I might gobble her up?”
Serio frowned in annoyance, causing a crease to appear on his handsome forehead.
But Ares was not one to back down easily.
“While no one would suspect me of entering and leaving Your Highness’s palace, it would be troublesome if rumors spread that my sister—who is neither engaged nor married—went to the palace alone. Please forgive me.”
“Since when did you care so much about decorum? Well, since you’re here, it’s fine. Why don’t you both enjoy the refreshments I’ve prepared?”
Serio led the twins to the glass conservatory at the end of the garden.
“…There really are a lot of flowers.”
The situation in the conservatory was no different.
Even more spectacular and rare flowers than what they had seen in the Crown Prince’s palace occupied every space.
The only problem was that, perhaps because it was a glass conservatory, the sunlight poured down directly, making it extremely dazzling.
“I heard you received a giant flower basket recently. So I prepared this without any shortage.”
Serio rested his chin in his hand and smiled at Aveline.
“Do you like it?”
Aveline, squinting against the sunlight while looking at Serio, almost dropped the teacup she was holding.
‘If Edward had smiled surrounded by a flower garden under the sunlight, he would have looked like that.’
She almost lost her composure because the Crown Prince looked exactly like her favorite character.
‘Pull yourself together. Edward doesn’t smile that cheesily.’
Although Serio’s appearance was identical to Edward’s, like identical twins, the contents inside were entirely different.
She quickly calmed down by reminding herself of the truth.
“It must not be easy to manage this many flowers, but they are very well-cared for.”
Once again, Aveline offered a polite evasion instead of a direct answer.
“That’s right.”
Serio turned to Aveline, as if the question he wanted had finally been asked.
“This place is managed using mana stones.”
“…Mana stones?”
Aveline dropped the cookie she was holding when a completely unexpected phrase appeared.
It was lucky she didn’t have anything in her mouth, or she might have spit out her tea.
“Are you intrigued?”
Serio asked, seemingly enjoying Aveline’s reaction.
However, even he seemed unable to bear the hot sunlight and was shading his eyes with his hand.
‘Then why did he call us here?’
There must have been a cool, shady place elsewhere.
Serio continued speaking to Aveline, who was grumbling internally.
“That a precious mana stone, whose distribution is prohibited in the Empire, is being used for a mere Crown Prince’s flower garden.”
As Serio said, the distribution of mana stones was prohibited in the Empire.
The Imperial Family managed them separately by grading them, and the number was not large.
The Imperial Family was known to possess nine mana stones.
However, the mana stone Aveline had absorbed from Theron was, naturally, unregistered.
If the Imperial Family found out about this fact, they would certainly not let it go.
“…Well, I suppose that’s true.”
Aveline mumbled softly and subtly avoided Serio’s gaze.
‘Did he figure something out?’
Was there a reason he insisted on summoning her to this dazzling glass conservatory?
At that moment, Serio whispered as if making a secret proposal.
“If the Young Lady were to become a member of the Imperial Family, she could use something like this for even more personal matters.”
‘What did he say?’
‘If she were to become a member of the Imperial Family.’
Although the content was completely different from what she had worried about, it openly revealed that he considered Aveline a leading candidate for Crown Princess.
“Hmph!”
Ares, who had been quiet the whole time, cleared his throat loudly in discomfort, apparently having the same thought.
“Excuse me, I am also here.”
His tone suggested he was displeased at being left out of the conversation.
“And me too.”
A voice belonging to someone not invited suddenly cut in from behind Ares.
‘No way.’
A chill ran down Aveline’s spine at the familiar manner of entrance.
“What are you doing here?”
Serio asked in a displeased voice, confirming the face of the uninvited guest.
“Duke, why are you here?”
Ares, also startled, abruptly stood up.
It was hard to tell if Ares’s frown was due to the sunlight or due to Theron’s presence.
Aveline also turned to look towards the entrance from her seat. At the same time, her eyes immediately met Theron’s.
For a moment, Theron’s gaze seemed to check if Aveline was alright.
“I heard Miss Herols was here and decided to drop by.”
Theron stretched his long legs into the conservatory, quickly closing the distance.
As he moved, the light passing through the glass seemed to move with him.
Theron, standing beneath the light, looked almost divine, like a god from mythology, but his hair was slightly ruffled as if he had hurried.
However, without any sign of breathlessness, Theron looked directly at Serio, wearing his usual picture-perfect smile.
Contrary to the smile on his lips, there was a cold light in his blue eyes.
“May I ask His Royal Highness the Crown Prince what he is doing with the object of my cousin’s pursuit?”
