Chapter 104: Chapter 104 No matter what you call a flower, its color never changes (9)
It wasn’t long before the shop’s floral scent began to give way to the smell of a rich lemon scent.
It was a nostalgic scent that reminded her of old memories.
“I’ve made some fresh lemon tea. It might taste too sweet,” she said, putting the mug down in front of him.
Drinking the lemon tea and savoring its fresh scent, he responded with a smile, “It’s not sweet.”
He spoke briefly but seemed fully satisfied.
Of course, he couldn’t taste it properly because of the memory of the fragrance of the jar of lemon tea that reminded him of the night he had stayed at her house. He recalled that night when the glass bottle fell out of the cupboard while she was trying to get it. The deep texture of the sticky lemon tea, the touch of his fingertips stroking her cheeks, and their kiss flashed through his mind suddenly, complicating his thoughts.
He put his index finger on the mug handle and took it off repeatedly because of the sticky lemon lightly staining the handle. He smiled bitterly when he felt that his wistful feelings about her would haunt him for the rest of life.
He tried to dispel his complicated thoughts, looking at her stirring the teaspoon carefully. Naturally, he turned his eyes at her yellow hair and green eyes. Then, he recalled the descriptions of the woman on the paper that Zephyllin gave him. He had been distressed by that for the past several days. The anxiety and doubt that had weighed so heavily on his mind were still bothering him, but he struggled to forget about it because he couldn’t do anything about it now. He didn’t want to share that distress with her, above all.
“Did you eat on time? You seem a bit haggard. ”
Breaking the silence, she opened her mouth first. She was looking at his clear jawline.
There was concern in her voice when she spoke.
“Don’t worry. I got more training in the morning these days.”
Recalling his daily sparring with the crown prince, he responded casually.
He wondered how she would respond when she looked at the crown prince’s face, whose cheeks became hollow after only a few days.
“Do not overwork yourself.”
He didn’t expect she would naturally come up with such a warm response. He looked at her seriously. As if she was embarrassed by her words, she avoided his gaze with a sullen look for a while. He laughed a bit, watching her tapping her fingernail on the mug mindlessly.
“You should not overwork yourself, Wendy. I feel sorry for you as you look more skinny than I saw you the first time.”
“I don’t. These days Sir Dowain has taken over most of the hard work here, so my work has lessened greatly. ”
“You don’t have to worry about the crown prince’s agenda, so rest assured. You can stay healthy when you feel relaxed.”
“… I am not worried. So, don’t worry about me. I won’t be worried even if the crown prince visits me again. If he brings me lots of Montrap powder like before, I’ll be happy to welcome it.”
She laughed with a big smile, responding in jest.
He smiled like her briefly then made a gloomy expression and said, “This morning some of the knights by the 2nd Knights’ Badge Enos headed for Johamon. We have reports that the situation there was not very good because of Montrapi. They were dispatched so the disturbances of the Henobi area won’t be repeated. Damages to Montrapi by blight and harmful insects are continuing to spread. Compounded by the difficult political situation, the crown prince is very much worried that the possible disturbance in Johamos due to the Montrapi damages will get worse.”
“Well, I see the price of Montrapi has stabilized for the past several days.”
“It’s because the government released the reserved Montrapi, but it’s only a temporary solution. There are bad guys who stockpile Montrapi blindly to promote price spikes. The prince is looking for a way to crack down on the nobles behind it, but these guys are so clever.”
“What has happened to the bill that the crown prince pushed forward?”
“There are six more days before it will be effective. One day passes very slowly.”
He sighed deeply.
“Is the investigation of the explosion at the prince’s palace still in limbo?”
He nodded bitterly at her asking. It made her feel uncomfortable to see him languid.
Looking down for a moment, she asked carefully, “Even a little clue can help?”
“What do you mean by clue?”
She told him about the conversation she had heard before the explosion of the palace.
She told him after a few days of thinking hard, but he shook his head, contrary to her expectation.
“Forget about it. The contents of the dialogue are not sufficient to pinpoint Duke Engre as the culprit of the explosion. Besides, the price you have to pay to testify about their conversation on that day is too high. Nothing good would come out even if you brought it up.”
“If you hear the voice of the man talking to the knight again…”
“Forget it. Do not try to get involved in the case.” When she made a surprised expression at his resolute attitude, he said with a sigh, “I don’t want to see you put in danger anymore.”
He sincerely said that without any exaggeration in his voice. She suggested that she would follow his advice by nodding slightly. As he was more worried about her than she, she just lowered her head. Afternoon sunlight coming in through the glass of the shop disappeared a bit, her heart was bright, strange enough. She felt as if the light was back on in the room of her heart that she had neglected.
“Will you give me some more tea?”
At his request, she poured more tea into his empty mug. While looking at the tea, he suddenly turned to the door as if he felt someone was outside door.
Shortly afterwards, the door opened and a man stepped in.
Their faces hardened at the appearance of a man. The man with the blue eyes also looked embarrassed a lot when he saw Lard.
“Sir Dylan Lennox!.”
When Lard called his name, she stood up awkwardly with a puzzled look. The chair she was sitting in was pushed back, making a loud noise. After he looked at her, who was embarrassed at his unexpected visit, Dylan turned to Lard again. Lard looked at him calmly.
“What business has brought you here?” He asked.
Quickly pulling himself together, Dylan greeted the captain of the 1st Knights Division and answered, “I’ve got something to talk to Wendy about.”
Lard had to pretend to stay calm when his junior knight called her name and explained the purpose of his visit.
He remembered that Dylan expressed his complicated feelings by calling her Olivia at the recent noble title award ceremony.
With the investigation of the woman Olivia Hazlet was underway, nothing was clear.
‘What if the woman just took after Wendy, or what if everybody misunderstood Wendy as Olivia Hazlet?’
Lard looked at the two alternately stiffly. He felt his assumption might be stupid, but at the same time found it difficult to admit it easily.
Lard noticed a clear embarrassment in her face. He overlapped her images when she encountered Dylan in the Imperial Palace and cried. Their gaze at each other was far from that of those dealing with strangers. Lard felt something strange behind their feelings.
“Are you still looking for the woman? Now that you’ve come here, it seems you haven’t been satisfied with my answer.”
“…I’m not here because of that. ”
“Then, why did you come here?”
“I have something to talk with her, not you. Should I report my private matters to you, sir? Or do I need your permission to talk with Wendy?” Dylan said in a firm tone. He looked angry.
At that moment, Dylan had no choice but to recall Lard and Wendy’s friendly interactions at the palace. His deep sense of loss no longer allowed him to pretend to be calm and casual.
Even before his wounded heart was cured, Lard’s presence with her in the shop was enough to make Dylan go on the offensive now.
“Did you forget that you swore by your honor on the day when the palace fell? ”
“I have not forgotten my oath, but is the oath on that day only applicable to some people? I can’t accept the fact that your presence here has nothing to do with the oath while I’m affected by that oath.”
Without giving in at all, the two were in a sharp stand-off. So irritated, she shouted in an embarrassed voice, “Stop it, please!”
At her shouting, the two eased off the tense atmosphere.
Lard looked back at her. Her face turned white. He admitted that his argument with Dylan was cruel to her and controlled his surging anger.
“Do you want to talk with Lennox? If you want, let me leave.”
Visit freewe𝑏no(v)el.𝘤𝑜𝓂 for the best novel reading experience