Chapter 29

“Carriage, carriage…….”

Even after Cecia left, Prillance stayed in the reception room for a long time. Cecia’s words lingered in her head, yet Prillance could not sort anything out.

Rather, she felt that everything was tangled up, like a thread whose end could not be found. She figured she could understand the situation better if she could see it with her own eyes.

She urged the coachman to go faster. The speeding carriage was rattling and uncomfortable, but she had no time to worry about it.

Even before the carriage stopped, Prillance opened the door and quickly stepped out. Her step soon turned into a sprint.

“Huff…Huff…”

Breathing hard, Prillance stood in the place where the flowers were once in full bloom. Where the scent of jasmine scattered in the wind. It was the last place she heard the voice of Ver, who spoke about Jasmine flowers.

“There was someone I wanted to show these flowers to as a gift.”

She remembered – the way his face frowned and his voice trembled.

But at this moment, there were no flowers.

In the place where the Jasmine flowers were once in full bloom, where the scent alone reminded Ver of Cecia, there was only dust and dirt.

“How…….”

Even when she was looking at it with her own eyes, she couldn’t believe it. Undoubtedly, all the flowers that had once bloomed beautifully in the space have disappeared. Without even being seen by the recipient who was supposed to see the flowers.

How could there be such mischief of fate? Despair surged through her.

After standing in a stupor, Prillance plodded through the dug dirt path. Her shoes sank in the ground and her dress became soiled, but Prillance didn’t pay attention to them.

The shoes buried in the ground caused her feet to stumble and collapse. And at that spot, she began to dig up the ground.

“This can’t be happening.”

As time went by, Prillance’s hands became dirty, yet nothing was caught in her hands. At best, there were only a few stalks indicating the existence of the flowers that were once there. Finally, she couldn’t control her emotions as tears filled her eyes.

What did Ver do so wrong? He lived uprightly, and all he did was love someone, so why……why couldn’t he even have a chance to be happy? Why was this happening to him? Why was God so harsh to him? Was there no way to change his fate?

The soil was dug up here and there. And she shed tears as if it were her life. Despite the tears falling uncontrollably, Prillance continued to dig through the dirt.

“What the…”

Upon hearing the servant say that he had seen the carriage of Marquis Weiand, Ver came out in a hurry. But he was stunned at the sight in front of him.

“Lady!”

Ver’s voice rang sharply. Prillance turned her head in the direction of the sound. Her face was covered with tears.

Soon warmth reached Prillance’s hand, which had been covered with dirt.

“Why are you doing this?”

Ver brushed off her hands that were filled with dirt. He felt the tears falling over his hand that held hers. Ver’s heart ached and frowned at the sight.

“We need to find the flowers that were once here. Someone had dug up all the flowers.”

Then, when Prillance tried to move her hand again, he held her hands tighter.

“Don’t tell me…it’s because of that?”

Prillance’s pale brown eyes, covered with tears, met Ver’s.

“The precious…flowers…you said there was someone you had to show it to.”

The tears made Prillance’s voice tremble.

“You planted them so diligently…with your own hands…”

Prillance recalled the scene where Ver planted each flower by himself.

Each flower contained his heart.

“Those are just flowers that can easily disappear.”

Ver reached out to wipe Prillance’s tears, but quickly lowered his soiled hand. Then, with a handkerchief he had taken out of his pocket, he carefully wiped her tears.

Afterward, he brushed off the dirt on her hands. Then, he noticed the dress Prillance was wearing. It seemed she had sat down without thinking about her now dirt-stained dress.

“You told me there was someone you had to show it to.”

Prillance said, looking up at Ver, who calmly dusted off the dirt from her hands. Then Ver halted his movements for a moment and met her eyes.

In his face was the calm expression he always wore.

“Because the person who needs to see it hasn’t seen it yet, it shouldn’t disappear.”

She became furious when she saw Ver pretending to be calm. In her indignation, tears began to gather in her eyes once more.

The man in front of her had eyes showing resignation. As if he didn’t even want it from the beginning.

She moved to pull out the hand held by Ver, but it didn’t budge.

Prillance was rustling in his hands. Unable to hold back her tears, she eventually cried. Unlike before, where she had only shed a few tears, this time she cried like a child.

Ver carefully put his arms around her. Afterward, Prillance leaned over his chest and grasped the hem of his clothes. She cried, as if to cry on behalf of him who couldn’t cry.

The echo of her tears was transmitted to his chest. Ver, who did not shed any tears, suddenly felt like weeping together with her.

Her crying on his behalf felt like a tune of comfort to him who fell in love, planted flowers, but had to hurt his beloved, and eventually send her away.

He gently stroked Prillance’s back to console her.

However, Ver felt that he was the one who received comfort instead.

A little later, the cry died down and the sobbing stopped.

“Have you calmed down a bit?”

Prillance nodded quietly. Then she released his clothes which she had been holding carefully.

“We need to find the flowers.”

Ver held her hand, which wandered in the air for a bit. He was able to feel Prillance who became stunned at his actions.

“You don’t have to look for them.”

He felt Prillance’s gaze at himself. He met her gaze.

“From the ones I threw away, there is one flower left behind.”

Ver’s answer was something Prillance had never expected. She blinked and tried to understand the meaning of his words. His words seemed to convey that he was the one who had emptied this field.

“Th, That’s not true, right?”

Prillance tried to deny it and hoped Ver would confirm.

“The flowers that were once here, I’ve thrown them away.”

Ver replied, turning a blind eye to her heart.

“W…why? No…why did you have to do that now…I mean…w, why did you throw them away in the first place?”

Prillance grasped his clothes out of grief and asked.

If he had waited a little longer, Cecia could have known his heart. No, if she had been less greedy, if she had been a little faster, if she had only notified Cecia a little quicker. Then Ver and Cecia would not have missed each other.

Upon reaching that thought, Prillance’s hand fell down helplessly.

After all, it was all because of her selfishness.

“I did it because I wanted to.”

It was purely his decision to throw away the flowers. Jasmine had become a flower that reminded him of Prillance rather than of his memories with Cecia.

To be exact, it was the last conversation they had, her expression at the time, and finally, the way he had brought her to tears.

“Your clothes are dirty. We should stop by my mansion first so you could change.”

She told herself she just wanted a bit more. But it was selfishness disguised as consideration. There was no move nor answer from Prillance.

But he could tell she was crying from the small teardrop that fell once more.

“Thank you for crying for my stead, Lady Weiand. I assure you, I am truly fine now.”