Lily of the valley...?
Grayson, puzzled, looked into the box and noticed a card inside. He pulled it out and unfolded it. The words written by Koi caught his eye. Grayson slowly traced the letters with his gaze.
"Does it smell really good?
I heard that perfumers try so hard to mimic this scent, but they just can't seem to capture the fragrance of nature.
I was recommended a few perfumes with similar scents, but none of them seemed close to this one.
So, I asked for fresh flowers instead."
The message continued.
"Lily of the valley is poisonous.
It's amazing, isn't it? Such a lovely scent, yet it holds poison.
They say it signifies future happiness, but does that mean pain is also necessary to find happiness?
Here in France, they say lily of the valley symbolizes love and luck.
That made me think of you.
Like the meaning of this flower, happiness will surely come to you."
PS) Lily of the valley is poisonous, so be careful, but it doesn't affect people with your constitution, so you can safely enjoy the fragrance."
The message ended there. Grayson set the card on the table and brought the box to his nose. Inhaling deeply, he was enveloped in the indescribably rich scent. It was as fresh and crisp as the scent of grass, with a subtle sweetness hidden within. Grayson, enjoying the fragrance, buried his nose in the flowers and took several deep breaths.
“Cute.”
Suddenly, Dein's words echoed in his mind. The pleasant feeling quickly shifted to discomfort. He had casually dropped a meaningful comment, but Dein’s reaction was neither angry, nor shocked, nor did he accept it with any semblance of agreement. Of course, Grayson knew the last option made no sense, but still, Dein's response had been completely unexpected.
What did that mean?
Grayson stared down at the flowers. Such a pure and delicate flower, yet it held poison. A flower with a fragrant scent, but hidden within it was a deadly toxin. And its meaning? "Happiness that will come someday."
“You won’t understand my words now.”
Ashley’s face, as he looked at Grayson, came to mind.
“You’ll want to deny it, saying it will never happen.”
He spoke with conviction, unwavering as he looked directly at his son.
“But if you truly love Dein, even more so, it will definitely happen. Remember my words when that time comes.”
Ashley had added one final comment.
“It’s better to see him alive than to kill him and follow him.”
Why had he said that?
Grayson sank into deep thought. To his surprise, Ashley had even patted his shoulder a couple of times, as if telling him to cheer up.
What was that about?
It was all so confusing. Normally, Grayson would accept his father’s words without any doubt, but this time, it was different.
What is he talking about? Is he crazy?
Grayson seriously thought that Ashley Miller had become addicted to pheromones. The fact that part of his brain had malfunctioned was something the whole family knew. So it wasn’t entirely out of the realm of possibility.
"Why would I kill Dein? That’s nonsense."
Grayson muttered irritably and took another whiff of the flower’s scent. The strong fragrance immediately calmed his mind. Maybe he should tell Daddy, suggesting that Papa should get a brain scan since he was acting strangely.
“If you think you’re going to hurt him, then let him go.”
“Ugh.”
Grayson clicked his tongue and dismissed the thought. It was just nonsense anyway. He took the box to his bed and scattered the flowers on the mattress. Surrounded by the scent of lily of the valley, he soon fell into a peaceful sleep.
"Dammit, the hose is too short! Unwind it more, more!"
At Dein’s shout, Diandre rushed over and pulled the hose from where it had been coiled beside the car. As Dein raised the hose and started spraying water, Grayson hurried over to him.
"Should I do it?"
"Move, I’ll handle it. You should go check with Wilkins if he needs anything."
Grayson, unable to keep his eyes off the fire, reluctantly turned and went to find Wilkins. Wilkins glanced around and then pointed in one direction.
"Maybe there are still some embers over there. Go check, don’t forget the fire extinguisher."
Carrying the fire extinguisher as instructed, Grayson quickly ran in the direction Wilkins had indicated. The fire, which had started in the morning, showed no signs of dying down even by late afternoon. The house, standing alone on the outskirts, had been inhabited by an elderly man. Setting a fire to burn trash was something the man had done countless times, but today, his luck had run out. The flames had spread quickly to dry wood, turning into a massive inferno.
By the time the fire trucks arrived, the entire area had already become an inferno. They quickly scattered, spraying water to prevent the fire from spreading into a wildfire. Luckily, their efforts, combined with some good luck, meant the fire was slowly being extinguished, although it had taken quite a bit of time.
"Phew."
Grayson exhaled and wiped his forehead with his arm before pausing. He had just noticed the sleeves of his shirt were blackened with dust and ash. He could already imagine what his face must look like without needing to check.
Ah, damn it.
He muttered under his breath and scanned the area. There were no more visible embers, but following Dein’s instructions, he sprayed the fire extinguisher around to prevent any possible re-ignition.
Should be good now?
After checking the soaked ground and the charred trees, he backed away and returned to his position. Throughout the process, he kept scanning his surroundings to make sure everything was in order.
Not bad, huh?
He secretly felt a bit of pride rising in him. It wasn’t a big deal after all; he was pretty good at this, even if it was just fire-fighting.
He hummed a little tune and was about to jog back to Dein when his eyes met those of an elderly man sitting on the ground, staring at him. With a vacant look in his eyes, Grayson felt confused. There was only one person who could sit like that, doing nothing amidst all this chaos.
The owner of the house. Or rather, the man who used to own it.
Now, his house was no longer standing. The once towering blackened wooden frame of the house continued to burn fiercely. Grayson, who had seen this kind of expression many times at fire scenes, didn’t think much of it. He was about to turn and go, but suddenly, he saw the man stagger to his feet, walking towards the remaining flames. No one else seemed to notice, as they were all busy with the fire. Only Grayson saw him.
...Ah.
Grayson turned his attention [N O V E L I G H T] back to where Dein was. There was no reason to hesitate. The man’s intentions were clear, and there was no reason to stop him.
But.
Grayson, unusually, hesitated.
What would Dein do in this situation...?
Surprisingly, Grayson thought of something he had never considered before. Then, the next course of action became clear.
"No, stop!"
Grayson shouted and grabbed the man’s shoulder. The sudden movement caused the man to stagger, almost falling backward. He quickly regained his balance and, once he was steady, immediately showed his anger toward Grayson.
"You bastard...!"
Shouting, the man swung his fists at Grayson, who quickly dodged. It was absurd. He had only stopped the man from killing himself, yet the man was now attacking him.
That wasn’t the end of it. The man, eyes bloodshot, kept swinging his fists wildly, shouting at Grayson.
"You were laughing earlier, huh? You think it’s funny? My whole life’s savings are burning, and you find that funny? Damn you, die, just die...!"
The man continued to scream and thrash around. Grayson regretted his actions, but it was already too late. The others, preoccupied with putting out the fire, hadn’t noticed the situation.
Then, the man spotted an axe left beside a fire truck. Seeing the man reaching for the axe, Grayson instinctively kicked him in the stomach.
"Ugh!"
The man cried out in pain as he collapsed. Grayson quickly rushed over and kicked the man in the head to ensure he wouldn’t get up again. As he grabbed the man’s collar to drag him away, Diandre shouted in panic.
"Miller!"
Diandre, looking frantic, quickly grabbed the man from Grayson and laid him down on the ground.
"Stay with him, hey! Someone, help!"
The others, who had only just realized what was happening, rushed over in surprise.
"What’s going on? What happened?"
"There’s an injured person! Hurry!"
"Bring the bandages!"
"We need a stretcher, hurry! This way!"
Amidst the flurry of activity from the emergency medical team, Grayson stood there, still stunned, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
