The Garden of Kindrecesne was certainly beautiful.
Even with my limited knowledge of landscaping, I could tell how well-maintained this place was and how much effort the gardeners had put into it.
“It’s beautiful. Seeing it in person is on a whole different level compared to just watching it from inside.”
“It’s a pity you couldn’t see this view earlier.”
“Hehe, that’s why I’m so grateful to Lord Lyard. Thanks to you, I had an excuse to take a walk for a bit.”
She gave off a different vibe compared to when I first met her.
Back then, she felt like a broken doll, devoid of emotions. Now, however, she seemed much more lively, brimming with vitality.
I only hoped that meeting her again wasn’t too late.
“Ah, Lord Lyard. Do you happen to know the name of this flower?”
Hopping around the garden like a rabbit, she stopped abruptly and pointed to a flower.
It was a flower with white petals and edges painted in light pink. Luckily, I remembered its name from a book and answered her.
“It’s called Bougainvillea.”
“What a unique name. And it’s so pretty. Doesn’t it look like someone playfully brushed paint over a newborn baby’s white skin?”
“That’s quite a unique comparison.”
“Is it? I’m not great with words, so I don’t know if that was an appropriate expression.”
She stood up with an awkward smile, but that didn’t matter much to me.
Whether the expression was fitting or not, the fact that she conveyed what she felt was good enough for me.
From now on, I hope she sees and feels new things and makes them her own. That’s why I’m here, after all.
“By the way, Lord Lyard, why are you standing so far away? Come closer.”
I was observing her admiring the flowers from about two steps away when she waved me over with a slightly sulky expression, pointing to the spot beside her.
Her unexpected request left me a bit flustered, and I inadvertently took half a step back, waving my hands in refusal.
“Ah, no. I’m fine here. Pretend I’m not here and enjoy the view freely.”
“Tch, don’t be like that. If the person offering to teach me about flowers stands so far away, how can I fulfill my role properly?”
“Uh… right.”
She had a point.
If I didn’t carry out the role she suggested, today’s negotiation might as well end in vain.
“…Then, excuse me.”
Reluctantly, I shuffled closer to her, clasping my hands like a proper attendant.
It seemed both the Sylvia I knew and the Sylvia of this world were equally difficult to outwit with words.
That’s a pity.
Still, I decided to silently appreciate the rare opportunity to observe a “flower admiring a flower,” a new kind of beauty in this era.
“Lord Lyard, Lord Lyard.”
“Yes? Is there another flower you’re curious about?”
Suddenly, Sylvia lowered her voice, her face mischievous like a child plotting something as she called out to me.
This gave me a bad feeling.
I couldn’t recall anything good ever happening after she made that expression.
“The flowers here… would it be okay if I stole a few of them?”
As if my intuition hit the mark, she swiftly glanced around and covered her mouth with one hand, whispering an utterly unexpected question.
Though she was somewhat naïve, I never thought she’d ask permission to pick flowers from the garden of her own family while addressing me, an outsider.
“Even if you ask me, that’s not for me to decide… But considering common sense, it should be fine. After all, everything in this castle belongs to the Lady of the house.”
Since I wasn’t the type to argue about age-old principles like “flowers are living beings, not objects,” I simply answered her as such.
“Right? That makes sense. Then, just five stems…”
Sylvia, excited like a child who’d just been allowed to play outside, shook her fists in delight.
Snip. Snip.
Then, as promised, she picked exactly five stems of Bougainvillea, holding them delicately with both hands, and smiled more beautifully than any flower.
“You must really like those flowers.”
Caught off guard by her radiant smile, I found myself smiling back as I spoke to her.
Although we’d passed by flowers several times before, or even visited small flower shops together, she would always watch them admiringly but never showed the desire to pick or buy them.
If she went so far as to pluck flowers that had been grown in her garden, she must have liked them quite a lot.
“Yes, I do like them. But more than that… it’s the first flower Lord Lyard ever named for me. I thought I’d keep it as a memento and maybe decorate my room with it.”
However, it seemed her fondness for the flower wasn’t the only reason.
A memento, huh.
She probably doesn’t realize how happy it makes me to hear her describe her memory with me as a memento.
The memories I’ve given her up until now probably aren’t ones that could be described as “fond recollections.”
Even if our moments together, like strolling through the village or gazing at the lake, could somehow be wrapped up as cherished memories…
At least the last memory must have been the most horrific and unbearable experience of her life.
Ka, Il…
“……!”
At that moment, as my thoughts reached that point, I froze at the sudden sound of a hallucination.
Sylvia’s face, visible above the small bouquet, was momentarily overlaid with a hazy image, like fog.
I saw her lying helplessly on the wide flower field she had always wanted to visit, coughing up crimson blood, her hand reaching out toward me.
Would it have been too late if I had grabbed that hand even then?
Holding onto such thoughts, I was just about to step forward to take her bloodstained hand.
“…Lord Lyard?”
“Yes…?”
This time, the voice of reality brought me back to my senses.
Looking down, I saw Sylvia staring up at me with a worried expression.
“You weren’t responding no matter how much I called. You don’t look well… Are you okay?”
“Ah…”
It was as if reality itself was telling me, “It’s already too late.”
I let out a sigh without realizing it and awkwardly withdrew my hand.
“My apologies. I was just lost in thought for a moment…”
I added a flimsy excuse while biting my lip lightly.
Yes, I already know.
Even without anyone telling me, I know better than anyone that it’s far too late to take her hand now.
No, it’s a hand I abandoned in the first place. I wouldn’t even have the right to take it again.
But if it’s only to pull her out of the abyss named “destined future,” there’s no need to hold her hand.
I can simply fall into that abyss in her place.
For that purpose, there’s one more person I must meet immediately.
After touring the garden with Sylvia, she bid me farewell, saying her allotted time outside was up.
It was regretful, but I had to be content with this for today.
And the meeting ahead was just as significant, so I needed to stay focused.
“Ha-ha, good to meet you, Lord Lyard. I heard there’s been some good news recently? Congratulations.”
“It’s an honor to meet you, Sir Eleanor. It’s not much to celebrate, but I did have a modest achievement.”
The man seated across from me, a man in his early 40s with a thin and somewhat frail physique, greeted me in a slightly flippant tone.
I stood up, bowed, and shook his hand.
This man was Creed Eleanor, Sylvia’s father and the head of the Eleanor family.
How surprising that the news had spread so far in just a few days.
It was astonishing, yet in a way, fortunate.
After all, for my plans, it was essential to give the impression that I had established a solid position within the family.
“Modest achievement, you say. How humble. Your position as the next head is practically confirmed, isn’t it?”
“It’s still far off. I’ve shown so little thus far… Still, I think I’ve at least regained the right to stand at the starting line.”
“Ha, ha! Is that so? But what brings such an esteemed man all the way here to see my daughter?”
After some light pleasantries, the real topic came up, and his snake-like eyes scrutinized me, as if measuring whether I was suitable prey.
What an unpleasant gaze.
At the very least, it was clear he had a personality opposite to Sylvia’s.
But for that very reason, it was a relief—I’d feel less guilty about deceiving him.
“Sylvia, I’m sorry.”
Though I didn’t mean it, I silently apologized to Sylvia in my heart, hoping she would forgive me for what I was about to say.
“Sir Eleanor, would you consider selling your daughter to me? I’ll pay handsomely.”