Chapter 36
The Monsoon
Daimond was later than expected. Perhaps there were simply too many park visitors trying to buy snacks at the outdoor stalls.
A bird with blue feathers circled lazily before settling on the railing of the pavilion. The blue bird looked free.
I stood up. I thought it might be nice to enjoy the pavilion alone, just like that bird. As a princess who was escorted everywhere she went, chances to come to a place like this alone were rare.
Sir Diego took hold of the oars. The boat carved small ripples into the silence. Each time he rowed, the sky reflected in the lake wavered, making it look as though the oars were pushing clouds aside beneath the water.
When Sir Diego set me down at the pavilion, I told him it would be best if he returned to the dock and waited for Daimond. I added that a pavilion floating on a lake—reachable only by boat—posed no danger to me.
Sensing my wish to enjoy the scenery alone, Sir Diego gave me space. I watched the small boat carrying him reach the dock.
Once inside, the pavilion was wider than it had appeared from afar. At its center stood a small wooden table and two chairs.
Each pillar at the corners of the pavilion looked like a picture frame holding the lake’s scenery. In some frames, the lake and forest appeared together; in others, only the lake and sky.
In the end, the lake surrounded everything. And so, from every direction, the scent of water drifted in.
I looked at the forest touching the lake, the sky touching the lake, and the clouds inside the lake. The white cumulus clouds seemed more numerous here than outside the lake.
They reflected so clearly on the surface that it felt as though I could reach out and touch them.
I leaned forward slightly to look more closely—and in an instant, the sky reflected in the lake darkened.
The clouds before my eyes rippled violently. A single droplet had fallen onto the lake’s surface. Then one cloud warped, then another, until the jet-black lake swallowed them all.
Rain was falling from the sky.
A sudden shower.
The words a capricious lake flashed through my mind.
One or two raindrops quickly became too many to count, then turned into streaks of rain. The once-calm surface of the lake was covered in circular ripples made by the downpour. The rain striking the lake created a loud, chaotic sound.
I turned around. Water surrounded me on all sides. What had felt comforting when it was all lake—now it was still all lake.
I was floating alone on the lake.
Alone.
The dark, rain-pelted surface looked like solid ground. It was absurd, but it almost felt walkable. When I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them again, it looked like a deep, bottomless pit.
Mist thickened around me, and the edge of the lake became faint.
I could see the direction of the park, but since the park lay on three sides, the dock was only a blur.
If the mist thickened any further, even the trees of the park would disappear. I knew that then, I would lose even the sense of where I had come from.
The mist grew denser. Now the boundary between sky and lake was unclear.
I was wearing a thin summer dress with a wide neckline and a light shawl over my shoulders. Instinctively, I knew I must not get soaked in this clothing.
The falling raindrops were cold. I hurried to the center of the pavilion and crouched down. The wide roof shielded me from the rain. Thankfully, the pavilion was not narrow, and the roof seemed wide enough to block most of it.
I soothed myself.
This is just a passing shower. As long as I don’t get wet, it will be fine. The sky was clear earlier, so it will stop soon. If I wait like this, the rain will pass, and either Daimond or the knights will come by boat. I knew this. There was no reason to be afraid.
The moment I thought that, a strong wind began to blow. Now the rain struck not from above, but from the side. There was nowhere left to hide.
The rain hitting my body stung. I knew it would be fine as long as my body temperature didn’t drop. I wrapped the shawl tightly around myself and tied it at the center. I pulled my knees up, wrapped my arms around them, and pressed my face between them.
It’s just a shower. A shower that will pass soon.
Boom.
Thunder crashed.
Startled, I lifted my head—and my vision flashed white. Lightning.
I buried my face between my knees again and covered my ears with both hands. I pressed as hard as I could, but the second clap of thunder pierced through my hands and reached my ears. My heart pounded wildly.
It’s a shower. Just a shower.
Another loud crash followed. I covered my ears even tighter. My rain-soaked body began to tremble. I tried to tell myself I wasn’t cold.
It’s a shower. A shower. Just passing.
My body shook more and more. If I didn’t bite down hard, my teeth would chatter. I clenched my jaw. My shoulders tensed.
A shower. A shower. A passing shower.
But what if it isn’t?
I was floating alone on the lake, with no boat. Would a rowboat even come in the rain? Could I swim safely in this weather? I was already so cold—could I enter the water? The pavilion was far from the forest; even strong Sir Diego had to row for quite some time to reach it. I had never swum such a long distance. No—other than the small pool in the Rundran royal palace, I had never swum anywhere else. How deep was the lake? Just at a glance, it was far deeper than where one could touch the bottom.
The sound of rain, the thunder—no matter how hard I pressed my hands to my ears, the noise would not stop.
I wished for quiet. If the rain stopped, someone would come by rowboat. I would board it and laugh, saying what a strange thing this was.
I didn’t even know what I was afraid of. I was simply afraid. I pressed my eyes hard against my knees so I wouldn’t cry.
Thud.
Something wrapped around my body. It was heavy and cold, soaked through with water. My body was still trembling.
Then—again—this time, a person embraced me. My entire body was tense, and I couldn’t lift my head. The person holding me placed their hand over mine and gently removed my hands from my ears. A voice reached me.
“Princess Daisy.”
It was Cedric—his voice still composed.
I couldn’t see his face because mine was buried in my knees, but I could feel that his body was drenched. Water dripped steadily onto my knees. I couldn’t tell whether the drops were falling from me or from him.
How did he know to come? Did he come by boat? Had he been caught in the rain too? It was cold.
My body kept trembling. Cedric, who embraced me as I remained curled up, tightened his arms.
The maids who read romantic novels at the Rundran palace said that when someone hugs you, you can hear their heartbeat. But I heard nothing like that.
In my ears were only thunder, the rain striking the roof and the lake’s surface, the distant voices of Daimond and the knights—and…
Rachel’s voice…?
Had Cedric been with Rachel until just moments ago?
My vision blurred. Rachel’s voice separated itself from the others and grew clearer and clearer. She was calling both Cedric and me. Her voice was filled with pain.
When I left Rundra, I thought three years was not a long time—but also long enough to change many things. And now it seemed that for very small changes, three years wasn’t even necessary.
Because something very small, but unmistakably strange, had happened.
It was strange.
That I worried about what Rachel worried about—yet disliked the way she called out to Cedric with pity.
That now, so many reasons surfaced as to why I shouldn’t be cheering for Rachel and Cedric anymore.
That I remembered the days when I hadn’t been eager to bring Rachel and Cedric together.
That my time spent with Cedric had gradually become more enjoyable.
All of it had changed.
I faintly heard Daimond’s voice. My brother must be terribly worried. The thought that I had to return to him rang loudly in my head.
I thought that was where I was meant to go back—to my brother, no, to the Kingdom of Rundra. I believed my place was inside the Rundran royal palace. Truly. The things I thought of were truly those of Princess Daisy—her beloved kingdom, its people, duty, responsibility.
And then other thoughts…
Me, who had begun to want things.
Me, who had begun to like things.
Just me.
I felt my body being lifted. The arms holding me tightened around my own. My head spun.
The shouts of people grew closer.
— Princess Daisy has been caught in a shower! —
A shower.
Was what I endured really a shower?
No. It wasn’t.
What I had endured was the monsoon—the summer monsoon.
Longer than a shower. Harsher than a shower, yet one that inevitably passes with the season. A monsoon that did not exist in the northern Kingdom of Rundra, only in lands further south.
I had come to Owen and been caught in the monsoon, and this season, too, would soon pass.
I wanted to tell the people of the kingdom: Princess Daisy has weathered the monsoon, so please do not worry.
That I would surely return to you.
The commotion slowly drifted away. I felt someone holding my weakening hand. Even that sensation faded, slowly and gently, into darkness.
