Chapter 52
The Seedling Market
From tiny seedlings with little leaves clustered together, to deep-colored leaves curled tightly, to short plants with surprisingly thick stems.
Such cute seedlings.
So cute.
After taking everything out, I checked the sizes of the pots and the leaves. I carefully arranged them back into the basket so the plants wouldn’t bump into each other.
Even so, no matter how well I packed them, some of the pots interfered with one another. If this continued, the tender stems might rub together and something could break before we even returned to the ducal estate.
I peered into the basket, then took off my hat. I pulled out the ribbon tucked into it and tried to tie the pots together. Tried—but my hands weren’t very delicate, so it didn’t go well.
As I reached both hands into the rattan basket and struggled to tie the ribbon, my hands blocked my view. Cedric’s hands entered the basket and settled between my hands and my line of sight.
He smoothly slipped the ribbon from between my fingers and began skillfully weaving it between the pots. I slowly withdrew my hands.
I lowered my head to watch what he was doing. Cedric carefully wrapped the pots with the ribbon.
He was very dexterous. The pots were firmly secured, and the ribbon was tied neatly and symmetrically.
“Thank you, Duke. Thanks to you, these young seedlings will be safe until we reach the estate.”
“It wasn’t difficult.”
I placed a hand over my chest and inclined my head slightly. Cedric returned the gesture with a polite bow.
“You said all the plants I chose were good today.”
Lowering my gaze slightly, I playfully pointed at the seedlings inside the basket. Cedric followed my gaze to the basket, then looked back at me.
“That’s because I like everything you chose, Princess.”
“You only kept saying they were good, so I thought you weren’t very interested in buying plants.”
“Did you think so?”
I decided to gently change the direction of the conversation.
“Then how would you answer if I asked about something you liked less?”
“I dislike any plant the Princess dislikes.”
Cedric said it cleanly, with a perfectly composed face.
“You really do say only nice things.”
I laughed. The candy in my mouth had already melted, so I unwrapped a new one and continued speaking.
“I know you’re very knowledgeable about plants, Duke. It’s hard to believe you don’t have preferences.”
“I do have preferences. It seems the Princess’s tastes are similar to mine.”
“Really?”
I widened my eyes, and Cedric nodded.
“I like trees with sturdy trunks. I prefer broadleaf trees to conifers. Of course, flowering plants are the best. If it’s the same species, I prefer leaves without patterns, and darker leaves look more beautiful to me.”
Cedric spoke an unusually long sentence. It felt exactly like he was listing my own preferences, and I was genuinely startled. I covered my open mouth with both hands.
“Oh my goodness! That’s exactly my taste!”
“Is that so?”
Cedric smiled.
“Actually, I’d been looking forward to today. I prepared the deep-blue dress, the rattan basket, and the wide-brimmed hat with ribbon in advance.”
“You did?”
“Yes! But honestly, since you only kept saying everything was good, I felt a little disappointed. It felt like I was the only one excited, rather than choosing things together.”
“Ah. I didn’t realize that, Princess.”
“It’s fine now. Our tastes were exactly the same. That’s not something to feel disappointed about—it’s amazing! I’m glad I asked.”
I felt incredibly happy. That our tastes matched, and that it wasn’t that Cedric didn’t care about anything—everything felt good.
Cedric took a piece of candy from the box and handed it to me. The candy in my mouth had just finished melting, so I accepted it perfectly on time and placed it in my mouth. It was sweet.
“Princess, I was also looking forward to today.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I knew you liked flowers. I wanted to see you happy.”
Cedric glanced into the plant basket.
“And I wanted to carry your basket of plants.”
He smiled. Perhaps it was the sunlight, but Cedric’s cherry-colored eyes sparkled.
“I see.”
I smiled as well. Cedric quietly watched my smiling face, then cast his gaze into the distance. He met my eyes again, then shifted his gaze to the rattan basket.
“We used your hat ribbon to tie the pots. Is that all right?”
“Of course. The delicate seedlings are more important. I can just hold the hat.”
Cedric looked at the hat with a face that was calm, neat—or perhaps both. I knew he was worrying about me.
That thought was so warm, and I was grateful.
“The basket is full. It would be better not to add more pots. You can have the rest delivered instead.”
“No, I think it’s best to head back now.”
I counted the seedlings with my index finger. One, two, three… fifteen. I’d ordered several of each to be delivered to the estate, but it was still not enough to fill the large greenhouse.
“I think we’ll need to come to the seedling market again. Will you carry my plant basket next time too, Duke?”
“Of course.”
“Even if we have to come many times to fill the entire greenhouse?”
“It would be my pleasure.”
Cedric spoke in an old-fashioned tone. I chuckled softly.
“What kind of pleasure is it?”
“I don’t want everything to be suddenly different when I enter the greenhouse one day.”
“You want to watch the changes?”
“All of them.”
Cedric reached toward the ribbon tying the plants inside the basket.
“I want to see everything.”
I watched his fingers brush lightly against the ribbon and the plants.
The seedling market opened early in the morning and closed shortly after noon. People began to thin out. We stood up from the bench as well.
As we crossed the market on our way back to the estate, we passed an area selling decorative flowerpots and ornaments.
Small ceramic figurines meant to decorate pots caught my eye, and I stopped briefly in front of one stall.
It was a palm-sized black dragon-shaped ceramic figurine. From its eyes to its wings, tail, and limbs, every detail was delicately crafted.
As I stared at it, the stall owner spoke.
“Miss, that’s a Rundra figurine.”
“Rundra?”
Only the red eyes were glazed, making them shine. Humans of this era had never seen a dragon, and nothing concrete was known about Dragon Rundra’s appearance.
So some said Rundra was a black dragon, while others claimed he was red. Opinions about his appearance differed, but humans always felt Rundra’s presence on this land and thought of him.
I gently stroked the figurine’s round head with my index finger. It was cute. Black with red eyes—it reminded me of Cedric.
“I’ll take one.”
“This is a handcrafted piece. It’s the only one I have. Is that all right?”
“Of course.”
I accepted the Rundra figurine from the shop owner and looked at Cedric. Cedric stared intently at the ceramic dragon, then asked,
“How do you know this figurine is Dragon Rundra?”
“Even if many dragons once lived on this land, the only one humans remember is Rundra. So any dragon is Rundra to us.”
“I see.”
I placed the figurine on both palms and lifted it to eye level. Even so, tall Cedric looked down at it.
“Isn’t it cute?”
“I’m not sure.”
“It definitely is. Please put this in the rattan basket too.”
Cedric accepted the figurine and carefully placed it into the basket. Though it was meant to decorate pots, it would look fine in the greenhouse as well.
We returned to the ducal estate right away. Chief secretary Baron Hudson was waiting for Cedric. He hurried over and handed Cedric a note. Cedric said something had come up and went inside first.
I headed straight to the greenhouse. I asked Sir Matisse to place the rattan basket inside.
I set the fifteen plants down in various places, still in their pots, imagining how to plant them into a beautiful greenhouse.
Should I lay grass on the floor and create gravel paths? Beneath the entrance steps, I should plant low flower bushes.
Low flowers in the sunny central area, spring and summer flowering trees in one corner. Tall foliage plants from the center up to beneath the glass ceiling, buried into the ground, would look like walls. And behind those foliage walls, I’d plant pink flowering trees.
