06. Different Days from Before (2)

‘Oh? That’s the shop Adelia and I went to last time.’

There, I had seen a play that left a deep impression about six months ago. The reason why I still vividly remembered that play was simple—it had a theme that closely mirrored my own situation.

The play revolved around the unrequited love of the female protagonist for the male lead, and it ultimately had a happy ending where the male lead fell in love with the female lead. While the initial storyline was somewhat similar to mine, the ending was entirely different.

*Sigh.*

Anyway, I didn’t have anyone to watch such plays with me these days. The person I used to spend most of my day with had disappeared from my life. As a result, my life had changed significantly from before, and I found myself doing many things on my own.

“Amy, once we go a bit further, there’s a garden. Please stop there,” I instructed.

“Of course, Miss.”

A while later, the carriage came to a complete stop in front of the garden. I got off the carriage and walked directly into the garden.

“Oh, Miss Helena, welcome!”

Since I frequented this garden, the owner recognized me and greeted me warmly.

“Could you please show me some of the new flowers you have today?”

“Yes, Miss. I prepared in advance, expecting your visit. Please come this way.”

I followed the owner into the garden, and as I entered the space she had arranged, a variety of flowers with different colors met my eyes.

I looked around at the flowers, and among them, there was one with an unusual color that seemed to be a mix of yellow and lime green. I pointed to it and asked the owner.

“What kind of flower is this?”

“It’s Miss Helena again. This is a flower called ‘Flora’ that just arrived today.”

“Flora?”

Even I, who knew quite a bit about flowers, had never heard this name before.

“Yes, that’s right. Flora is a flower that blooms in warm areas for most of the year, like spring. You can find it not only in the capital but also in the surrounding territories.”

“So, is it difficult to cultivate this plant here?”

“Well, not necessarily. Flora can thrive well in gardens once it has grown its stem indoors in a warm environment for a certain period. Also…”

As I listened to the shop owner’s explanation, I initially felt that it might require a lot of care, but after that initial period, it seemed like it would require less attention than other flowers.

The color of the flowers gave off a pastel feeling, which made me think that planting them in the new Laverian garden I was planning to create would provide a lively atmosphere suitable for the current season.

“Would you like to see other flowers?” the owner asked.

“Sure, please show me.”

With the spot in the garden reserved for planting Flora in mind, I took a look at other flowers.

“What about this one?” the owner asked, pointing to a white flower.

“This seems like Brelia, isn’t it? It’s quite rare to find this flower around here, isn’t it?”

“Oh, Miss Helena, you really know your flowers. We have customers who study flowers just like you, but none of them have made such quick identifications.”

The shop owner looked at me with admiration and praised me as “Miss Helena” again.

“As you know, Brelia is a flower that grows near the coast, right? That’s why, like Flora, it has strong vitality, especially after it has grown its stem. However, it can be a bit challenging to transfer it in its flowering state due to its delicate roots. But we managed to do it in our garden this time. This is the proof.”

The owner displayed a sense of pride in her garden management skills. I had seen her exhibit this pride many times before, and it was this confidence in her garden that allowed me to trust her and entrust her with the flowers for my own estate.

“Today, I’ll take both of these flowers. If you have any seeds, I’d like to purchase those as well.”

I pointed at Flora and Brelia and immediately settled the bill.

“We’ll pack them for you shortly, so feel free to take a little more time to browse.”

I nodded in agreement and continued to explore the garden.

After a leisurely tour around the garden, I saw that the shop owner had carefully wrapped Flora and Brelia, placing them in the rear carriage.

“I’ve placed the requested quantity according to your request. If you find any of them in poor condition when you arrive at the mansion, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Since it’s Miss Helena, I will personally select the healthy ones and send them to your estate.”

“If you’ve picked them, I have no doubt about their quality. So, don’t even mention such a thing.”

“Ah, thank you. Please come visit us again next time. We’ll have more unique and beautiful flowers and plants prepared for you.”

“I’ll be sure to buy a lot.”

With the owner’s farewell, I got back into the carriage. Upon arriving home, I immediately changed my clothes and, accompanied by Amy and several other servants, headed to the garden.

“Where should we plant them?”

Since the shop owner had advised that Flora should be moved in a few more days, I planned to initially grow it indoors within the mansion. Therefore, today’s task was to decide where to plant Brelia.

“Hmm.”

Since it was a white flower, I thought it would be better to place it towards the edges rather than in the center. I carried the Brelia to the left side of the garden, where I had prepared a spot in advance, and directed the servants on how to plant the flower.

‘Indeed, it was here.’

Before planting the remaining flowers, I stepped back to take in the entire garden. The flowers I had brought today harmonized well with my garden. Just as I was about to plant the remaining flowers, thoughts of the Laverian Duke’s garden crossed my mind.

Should I plant some there too?

However, it was not Adeleia but Kaelen who resided in the Laverian Duke’s estate now.

What should I do?

I wanted to go, but when I considered planting this Brelia in that garden, I still hesitated, thinking about Kaelen. In the end, I decided that unless it was the season to change the flowers, I should avoid going to the Laverian Duke’s estate. It wasn’t because I couldn’t freely visit there as I did when Adeleia was around; it was for purely different reasons.

I had been preoccupied with complicated feelings lately because of what Kaelen had said to me at Adeleia’s wedding. Whenever I encountered him during such times, I had a sense of impending danger, as I had made inexplicable mistakes before.

Therefore, I preferred to avoid contact with him whenever possible.

Regardless, even now, I couldn’t quite figure out why Kaelen was asking me to attend the banquet with him. Was it really just because he was concerned about me? If that were the case, I would be fine with it.

Of course, it wasn’t lost on anyone that I would have a difficult time due to Adeleia’s absence.

But I felt uneasy about coming to such a conclusion without a clear reason. “I don’t know,” I thought, no matter how much I pondered. This was the answer I reached after a long deliberation—or rather, the issue I failed to resolve.

A few days later, the day of the celebration for the Crown Prince’s birthday arrived. Until the day of the banquet, I continued to ponder whether Kaelen would truly come. He was someone who always kept his word, but he had never once said he would come to fetch me.

Still, with a hesitant heart, I occasionally looked outside while preparing for the banquet.

Despite not knowing the reason, I became curious about whether Kaelen would actually come. Although he was someone who always kept his promises, he had never said he would come for me.

With a mixture of anticipation and reluctance, I made preparations for the banquet, occasionally stealing glances outside.

Regardless of the unknown reasons behind it, the thought of attending the banquet with Kaelen gave me extra motivation today. So, I tied my auburn hair on both sides and wore a lavender dress that I thought would complement my violet eyes perfectly.

Excluding my cherished hair ornament, which I had lost, I completed all the preparations. After finishing everything, I felt a bit excited as I looked out of the window. Then, I saw the carriage with the lion emblem, symbolizing the Laverian Duke, arriving in front of the mansion.

‘He really came.’

As Kaelen disembarked from the carriage, I halted my thoughts and hurriedly went out of the mansion, fearing that he might be waiting.

“Duke!”

I called out to him with a delighted voice, and Kaelen turned his head to look at me. He looked exceptionally handsome today, as always.

Seeing Kaelen in his black formal attire, I couldn’t help but admire him silently. “You’ve arrived early.”

“Is your preparation not yet complete?” he asked.

“No, everything’s ready. I just need to put on my hair ornament. Please wait a moment.”

As I spoke, I turned to go back inside. Coincidentally, a maid was approaching with the hair ornament in her hand.